Our peaceful conversation continued, drifting from the topic of farming to the weather, and I heard something that caught my attention. Apparently, the cold this year would be harsher than usual, and the snowy days would be more frequent.
"Is this abnormal weather?" I asked.
"Not exactly. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say that this is what's supposed to be normal," Kufo replied. "Ryoma-kun, do you remember the reason we brought you to this world?"
"It was to bring Earth’s mana over here, right?"
"Exactly. To compensate for the mana deficiency, we brought a massive amount of mana along with you. As a result, the entire world is revitalizing on a global scale. Think of it like a human body that was suffering from malnutrition; it’s finally getting a proper meal and recovering."
"To begin with," Fernobelia-sama added, "the environment and climate on the surface are governed by a complex web of factors, constantly shifting to maintain a balance. You should simply view this as the temperature fluctuations becoming a bit more pronounced."
Thanks to Fernobelia-sama’s technical supplement to Kufo’s explanation, the situation became much clearer. It seemed that this year's severe winter and the increased snowfall were actually positive signs for the world’s health.
However, a "minor" climate shift was still a climate shift. The problem was that this assessment of "minor" was strictly from the perspective of the gods. From a human standpoint, we needed to make sure we were properly prepared.
"It certainly feels different for humans," Kiriluel remarked.
"As long as people haven't neglected their winter preparations, I don't think there will be any immediate disasters, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful," Lulutia added.
Hearing them chat while sitting side-by-side, I couldn't help but feel validated.
"I meant to mention this eventually, but I completely forgot," I said. "Even the information and common sense I received before coming here had slight omissions or discrepancies compared to what the general public knows."
When I said that, the three deities who had first guided me to this world looked genuinely apologetic.
"I’m not trying to blame you," I assured them. "Things have worked out in the end, and it even gave me the chance to get closer to the Duke and his family."
Besides, even among humans, there are culture gaps between nations. Even people from the same country deal with generation gaps if they're only ten years apart. Between humans and gods, it was only natural for there to be a vast divide in perception.
"It is a help that you understand, ho-ho," Gain said with a chuckle.
"When you’ve existed as long as we have, your sense of time becomes quite vague," Lulutia noted.
"Honestly, decades or centuries are little more than rounding errors to us," Kufo admitted with a boyish shrug.
I didn't think I'd ever truly grasp that sensation. Regardless, there was no doubt that there would be more snow than usual from now on. That meant preparations were necessary, and at the same time, it looked like a prime opportunity to create new jobs for the people.
As I was mulling this over, Selerepta called out to me with a smirk. "You're planning to start something new again, aren't you?"
"For now, I'm thinking about snow countermeasures for the town. Even if a single snowfall is light, if it keeps piling up without melting, it paralyzes the movement of people and goods. If it were just me and my immediate neighbors, I could handle it with magic and slimes, but doing that for the whole town is impossible. If heavy snow is going to be a yearly occurrence, we should build a system to deal with it now."
"Specifically?"
"First, I'll gather workers and use human-wave tactics. The influx of laborers to Gimul is still continuing, after all. For efficiency, I’ll prototype some of Earth’s snow removal and ice-breaking tools. There are also some results from my Slime Research that might be useful, but..."
"Oh? You seem unusually hesitant," Willieris pointed out. "Usually, when the topic involves slimes, you speak with such glee."
I’d been told that by my human friends too. I wondered if that was simply the universal perception of me.
"They seem useful for snow removal, but there are some research results that require extreme caution in handling."
"Caution? What’s that, did you make a bomb?" Kufo joked.
It was actually uncomfortably close to the truth.
"Wait. You didn't actually make one, did you?"
"No, no, I didn't make a bomb. It's just that while I was experimenting, I accidentally synthesized something that acts a lot like gunpowder."
"Wait, I haven't heard about this!"
"That’s because I haven't talked about it yet. There was so much else to cover that it got pushed to the back of the line."
"I'd like to hear about it," Kufo insisted.
"Ryoma, your eyes are already starting to sparkle," Tekun noted.
Oops. Was it that obvious?
"Then, I'll keep it brief."
The origin of this discovery was the acidic detergent I made recently for the hot spring cleaning in the Fatma Territory. That detergent was a mixture of Acid Slime acid and Sticky Slime adhesive fluid. It was a simple creation, but it made me realize that I’d completely overlooked the possibility of mixing the products generated by different species of slimes.
Between managing various evolutions and finding uses for their individual abilities, I’d been so preoccupied that the idea had slipped my mind entirely. Looking back, I wondered why I hadn't tried something so basic sooner, but I pushed that regret aside to focus on the results.
Regarding that acidic detergent—besides the liquid itself, a minute amount of powder had precipitated at the bottom of the mixture.
"This is the powder in question."
"Ho."
"Hm."
I retrieved a small vial of the powder from my Item Box and set it on the table. The gods seemed to recognize it immediately. When I had used Appraisal on it, this information appeared:
Name Undecided (Temporary Name): Super-water-repellent Powder A substance born from mixing Sticky Slime adhesive fluid and Acid Slime acid. Extremely water-repellent. Highly flammable; handle with care. Contains slime mana.
Personally, I suspected this was the core substance responsible for the water-repellent effect I used for waterproof cloth.
"Mixing slime fluids creates something like this?" Tekun asked, intrigued.
"It appears the mana contained within the fluids interacted and underwent a transformation," Fernobelia-sama observed. Given his reaction, I had to ask.
"Is this rare even for gods? When I appraised it, it didn't even have a proper name."
"Rare for us? Well, seeing it in this form is certainly unusual," Tekun mused.
"It would be exceptionally rare for humans," Fernobelia-sama added. "Let’s just say it is a substance with properties bridging magic medicines and mana stones. A full explanation would be time-consuming."
It was clearly far more complex than I had anticipated.
"Then I’ll just continue my research at my own pace," I said.
"That intention is commendable. You should apply yourself," the God of Scholarship encouraged.
Once the tangent was settled, I got back to the main point.
"The birth of that powder made me curious, so I started mixing fluids from other slime species as well."
"I figured as much," Kufo said, nodding.
"I can practically see you in your lab, grinning as you experiment," Lulutia giggled.
"The next one is the real issue," I said. "It's another mixture, but this one might actually work for the snow. It's a black powder. It looks like finely ground charcoal, but it lacks any luster. The ingredients are Scavenger Slime Fertilizer and Deodorant Slime Odor-absorbing Fluid."
I took a breath before continuing. "That one is a bit of a troublemaker. When I first mixed them outside—because I was worried about toxic gases—it suddenly began to boil and then exploded. The splattered bits caught fire, and I had to scramble to extinguish them. It felt less like a chemical reaction and more like I'd just set off an incendiary bomb."
"Ryoma, how can you say that with a smile?" Kiriluel muttered.
"She's right, lad. We're just glad you're safe," Gain added.
"It's fine. I made sure to have shields and a safe evacuation area ready just in case. Failure is a part of research, and safety measures were strictly followed."
I continued, "After investigating that black powder more carefully, I discovered it has the property of efficiently absorbing light and converting it into heat. I ran an experiment by adding the powder to a cup of water to make a sludge, then shining light on it. Depending on the intensity, sunlight can make it boil in seconds. Within three minutes, the water evaporates entirely, and the dried powder ignites."
"If it generates that much heat just from light, I think I can use it for snow removal."
If I just wanted to melt snow, I could scatter it on top. However, once the snow melted and the water evaporated, the powder would likely catch fire and cause a blaze. In that case, ordinary crushed charcoal would be safer. But if I could implement proper safety measures, the black powder would be far more effective.
"Do you have a plan for those safety measures?" Lulutia asked.
"Well," Willieris added, "if you want to start using this by the next snowfall, you don't have much time."
"I have a plan to prevent ignition," I explained. "In my previous life, we had something called an incandescent light bulb. It produced light and heat by passing electricity through a filament. The earliest filaments were made of carbonized paper, and later, carbonized bamboo. Now, why didn't the filament just burn up instantly? The answer was a vacuum."
I explained the three requirements for fire: fuel, heat, and oxygen. "By creating a vacuum inside the bulb, the oxygen is removed. I want to do something similar. I’m thinking of using Sticky Slime hardening fluid plates. They’re heat-resistant and transparent enough to let light through. I want to seal the powder inside them. I’ve already confirmed that the black powder doesn't generate heat in a dark space, so mixing it should be possible. My only concern is if the powder reacts chemically with the hardening fluid to become something else."
"I don't think that's a problem," Tekun interjected. "This water-repellent powder here is already very stable. The black powder should be the same. If you're just mixing them physically, they likely won't change. Though I wonder what would happen if it were a 'similar substance' that we know of... This is getting interesting."
I didn't know what "similar substance" Tekun was referring to, but he was examining the vial of water-repellent powder with intense curiosity.
"If you'd like, you can keep it," I offered. "I can make more as soon as I get home."
"Oh? Well, don't mind if I do!" Tekun grinned, and the vial vanished from his palm. He seemed happy, so I was happy.
"Oh, right. One more thing."
"There's more?"
"The black powder is for snow, but there's a different one. The 'gunpowder' that Kufo mentioned. It's separate from the light-reactive stuff."
"Wait, so that wasn't the gunpowder?" Kufo blinked.
"Well, the black powder looks like it, but it's hard to handle because of the light reaction. Though, thinking about it, if it ignites upon exposure to light, it could be used as a light-triggered bomb... if I can just work out a safety mechanism to prevent accidental triggers, it could be a sort of time bomb—"
"Ryoma-kun, your thoughts are drifting toward weaponry again. Focus on the explanation," Kufo nudged me.
"Right, sorry. The 'gunpowder' is a mixture of Acid Slime acid and Fluff Slime fluff. It creates a cotton-like substance that burns with incredible intensity when ignited. On Earth, we called it nitrocellulose or guncotton. I used to use it for magic tricks at parties. If you process it a certain way, it becomes single-base powder, which is used in handgun ammunition."
"That's not just 'like' gunpowder; that is gunpowder!" Kufo exclaimed.
"And it’s incredibly cheap to make, isn't it?" Lulutia added.
"My slimes provide the materials in bulk for free. It's cost-effective and easy to produce."
"Otherworlders who seek firearms are not uncommon," Fernobelia-sama mused. "But they usually give up due to the cost or difficulty of manufacturing gunpowder. To think you would stumble upon it this way."
"It wasn't intentional," I admitted. "Besides, I'm not a military expert. Gunpowder is actually a bit too much for me to handle alone."
"Really?"
"The one who knew about all that was Tabuchi-kun, my former subordinate. He was a huge military otaku. Most of what I know about nitrocellulose and ballistics comes from him. I only have fragments of knowledge. When it comes to guns, I only really know about the revolvers I saw in old anime about assassins or thieves. I know next to nothing about modern weapons."
I had fired real guns a few times during overseas business trips, but they never felt right. I could use them, but there was no feedback, no weight to the action. For me, a bow was always the superior projectile weapon.
"So, the most I could probably manage are things like black powder, horokudama, maybe some muskets or basic dynamite. But I have no experience actually building them. Personally, I'm more interested in using it for mining or construction—blasting work is much more peaceful. I might research firearms eventually, but they're dangerous. For now, I'll keep the research a secret and probably just dump the responsibility onto Reinhardt and the others."
"That would be for the best," Gain agreed.
Kufo and Lulutia also gave their nods of approval. However, for a fleeting moment, I could almost see the image of Reinhardt clutching his head in despair at the new workload... but it was probably just my imagination.