Chapter 4:
Emilia, Subaru and the first member of the secret "Epsilon Eridani Research Development Division" William make it back the mansion 3 days after picking up William. William is quickly moved to another smaller installation deep in the forest. Its purpose it for testing and experimenting with new and stronger magic away from onlookers and to avoid collateral damage. And they are all over the domain. Subaru is sure they are used for more than that, but he won't ask more. That same day he gets a letter from Priestella the inventor will arrive tomorrow in the afternoon if all goes well for him. Subaru is happy that the man will come here instead of having to case him down, he heads for Roswaal's office 'Beako must have missed me, it was hard to convince her to stay and help Roswaal find and organize the maps and so that I could have some alone time with Emilia-tan'. He opened the door and found Beatrice marking a mark on one of maps and Roswaal extending another map on a different table.
Subaru: "Hey Beako I missed you so much!" On noticing Subaru Beatrice stopped marking and ran toward him.
Beatrice: "Me to, but now we have no time for that." She immediately held his hand and started to take mana. "Are you ok?" She started a check up on him. "How do you feel?"
Subaru: "Beako calm down I am ok. I won't get mana poising so soon after I got my gate slightly restored."
Beatrice: "Your still stupid I suppose. How can you be so reckless? And how could I let you go alone like that?"
Subaru: "I wasn't alone I had Emilia-tan guiding me." He held Beatrice up and hugged her.
Beatrice: "like I said alone, don't ever do that again in fact."
Subaru: "Yes, it won't happen again unless it is strictly necessary."
Beatrice: "I shouldn't ever be necessary! Any way we have to talk now."
Roswaal: "Very well, now Subaru I have your maps, ordered and categorized. Beatrice took the liberty to make a few marks of interesting or useful places."
Beatrice: "Take this." She hands Subaru a small notebook. "It has the places in order from best to least accessibility of resources in fact."
Roswaal: "We considered iron deposits and cotton suitable soil as top priorities. Coal and manpower are secondary for manpower can be easily moved and coal is cheap to transport compared to iron."
Beatrice: "Roads were also a fundamental part of ordering the list."
Subaru: "…"
Beatrice: "Aren't you going to be grateful I suppose?"
Subaru: "Y-yeah I am overwhelmed by the amount of information." He kept looking at the notebook and the map on display for him.
Roswaal: "Natural to be like so, it took quite some time to make the list and decide how to make it."
Subaru: "The seventh options seems the best to me for now."
Beatrice: "W-what? Aren't you going to choose the first one in fact?!"
Subaru: "It seems good buy this is a secret project and a population so large will be a hazard."
Beatrice: "So manpower doesn't matter?!" Roswaal could only chuckle.
Subaru: "It's not quite that, for the initial part secrecy will be very important but once we finish the first step this list it ideal."
Beatrice: "I suppose my contractor can't be help" She sighed.
Subaru: "But this place here. Why did it not make it to the list?" Roswaal was surprised Subaru indicated a village south of Elior Forest.
Roswaal: "There are no iron or coal deposits in the surroundings and the population is of only 8.000 people."
Subaru: "But I can read that it has the highest quality soil. And the lack of meaningful roads is a plus."
Beatrice: "Maybe you should go sleep and we speak of this in the morning your just talking nonsense now."
Subaru: "Hm. Maybe I am?" Subaru took note of that place and of the currently unknown coal deposit. "I just remember, can you tell me what the quality of this coal is?" He took out the sample from the forest and handed it to Roswaal.
Roswaal: "I believe it to be Anthracite, but I can't be certain."
Beatrice: "It is in fact."
Subaru: "What does that mean?"
Beatrice: "Of the 4 types of coal it's the best and second rarest."
Roswaal: "But there aren't any coal deposits where you went" He leaned over the map searching for any oversight on his part.
Subaru: "There was a deposit of this coal deep in Elior Forest, I don't know how large it was but I'm sure it must be large."
Roswaal: "Maybe you aren't speaking nonsense after all"
They continued deliberating about what place to choose for a few hours until Subaru came out on top mostly do the other 2 being too tired to continue.
The next day:
Subaru spoke to Emilia about needing her to lay out a new and much larger barrier around the town he chose for the project, and she was happy at the prospect of being useful to her knight recently. Other than that, the day went normally until the late afternoon when he arrived. He was received by Subaru himself, he was taller than Subaru by one head, skinny, of slightly brown skin and had very short brown hair, like very short.
Subaru: "Welcome mister Ivan. I am Natsuki Subaru the personal knight of the royal candidate Emilia and head of the knight in the Mathers domain." Ivan did not know who had contacted him or that Subaru was the only knight and was impressed in consequence.
Ivan: "I knew a knight had reached out to me b-but not the legend himself." Subaru giggled a bit at Ivan's impressionable attitude.
Subaru: "Very well now that we have introduced our self's. Shall we enter?"
The 2 went inside and Ivan was introduced to Emilia and Beatrice reacting very well to Emilia which pleased Subaru and Emilia a lot, they went in silence to the guest room prepared for Ivan and entered.
Subaru: "Very well, Beatrice please." Beatrice waved her hands, and a barrier was lifted around the room.
Beatrice: "It's safe to talk now in fact."
Ivan: "Wha? What did she just do?"
Subaru: "I appreciate you being so curious, but we first got business."
Ivan: "Oh yeah, so the letter said that you wanted to sponsor me and my projects for a period of a year under the condition that I work for you. I must warn you; I will not give you exclusive right for my inventions."
Subaru: "Do not worry about that, you will mostly be making machines and tools that I already know the general idea of, but not the specifics of how they work."
Ivan: "So I will be a chisel and you the artist?"
Subaru: "In a way yes. So, what is your answer?"
Ivan: "Will I have time for my inventions?"
Emilia: "You will first have to make the machines Subaru wants, once you're done and Subaru has no more ideas your free to use the resources we will give you how you see fit."
Ivan: "So I will have to use my one money for my projects?"
Emilia: "Yes, but you will be paid handsomely, what do you say of half a knight's salary?"
Ivan: "Make it 1 complete knight and I will consider it."
Emilia: "Very well then…" Subaru cut her.
Subaru: "You will only get 1 knight's salary and to disappear from the Hoshin Company's radar." Ivan's face lit up at this twist.
Ivan: "I was going to ask for 2 knights worth in money but disappearing from the Hoshin Company…" He was deep in thoughts for a moment. "Sounds perfect Miss Hoshin has had her men harass me ever since I declined her offer." Everyone was surprised at this reveal.
Emilia: "What? Hoshin like Anastasia Hoshin?"
Subaru: "I thought she was better than that."
Ivan: "So you know her."
Emilia: "Yes we were in an alliance, but that business is concluded."
Ivan: "Ill have you know she wanted a monopoly of every single invention I ever made and ever will make. I declined and decided to search for another patron, but she scared everyone off. I've been desperate for money ever since."
They keep on hearing Ivans story a few minutes and then once the details of his work where specified and he was handed a book with Subaru's illustrations and plans for industrial age machineries they all departed. Ivan was studying the book and commented.
Ivan: "Very vague. But It could work if…" He took out a paper and started drawing. "If these parts are distributed like this…maybe…we could get rid of this".
Soon enough his paper was covered in scrambles, and he took out another one and another and another, soon the desk was littered with papers. Night soon fell on the world, and everyone fell fast asleep.
The next day was a very active one. Emilia, Subaru, Beatrice and Ivan went to pick up William and then where to head for a small town of 8.000 people some 86 kilometers southwest of Elior Forest.
William's pickup point at [REDACTED:
William: "I genuinely thought you had found someone better and forgot about me."
Subaru: "C'mon you have to think higher of yourself."
William hops on his dragon carriage and since the road is wide enough goes side by side with the other one to talk for a bit.
William: "Well then sir, where are we heading for?"
Ivan: "Is this the man that is going to craft the machines?"
Subaru: "First let me introduce you Ivan this man here is William Cortez the best steal blacksmith that I can take and have no one relevant know." Subaru takes a breath. "William this here is Ivan Vasílievich he is the inventor I hoped to turn to our side."
Beatrice: "Betty's contractor will need you 2 get along in fact."
Emilia: "If you 2 fail to meet Subaru's expectations we can't have you spilling the beans so I will take care of you and any potential problems."
William: "What? Will you guys kill us if we fail?". William was joking.
Ivan: "K-kill us?!" Ivan was actually scared not noticing the joke.
William: "I mean we are talking about the hero that killed the white whale and a sin archbishop in one day, a 400 year old great spirit and a potential ruler to the throne of Lugnica and she wields the largest mana pool in the kingdom if not the world apparently."
Ivan was now terrified realizing just how powerful all the people surrounding him where.
Emilia: "How did you know about my mana?"
William: "You literally make ice weapons out of thin air, and they are better than anything I can ever hope to forge."
Emilia: "But I only used to scare a few mabeast..."
William: "And it was enough."
Ivan: "S-so exactly what will happen if we fail?"
Subaru: "It depends on a few thing, like how you fail and what you do after we part ways. If you fail in a obvious way and go strait to let's say to Anastasia and make my plans work for her your looking like a good prisoner to me." He handed Emilia the dragon. "Ivan."
Ivan: "Yes boss. Boss?" Subaru picked him up.
Subaru: "Make yourself familiar with William." Subaru tossed the man to the other carriage at the speed they were going nothing happened, but Ivan was still shocked. "You 2 will be working together after all."
William: "You ok bud?" He was concerned about the reaction of Ivan. "It wasn't anything dangerous so calm down please."
Ivan: "N-not something Dangerous? How did I not die?"
William: "We are going slowly. You are not accustomed to danger, are you?"
Ivan: "Of course not I always lived in cities where the worst that could happen are bandits finding you and that's only in the outskirts. How about you mister?"
The 2 continued to talk on their carriage and soon Subaru made a sign to go at cruising speed.
Edit: Took down the Emilia playing the serious threat joke on the men I did not intend to make her joking about being the witch, but the men thinking that when all she wanted to do was show off. I realized thanks to a comment that is was ridiculous. I genuinely feel sorry for not noticing before sending out this chapter.