29 – Flame Oil
“It’s not gasoline.”
I thought of gasoline when they said it was flammable, but the solid fuel was a bit different from gasoline.
Instead of the pungent smell of gasoline, there was a nutty smell of sesame oil.
I realized that gasoline was not suitable for cooking.
If the food smelled like gasoline, it would be inedible even with the best seasoning.
‘I wonder if it could be used as a chainsaw fuel. Too bad.’
Gasoline would have been a great help if I had it.
I asked the children with a sigh.
“You light this lump on fire?”
“Yes! It burns really well, so you have to use only a little.”
I wondered how the elves, who cherished the trees, cooked their food, and then I saw this utensil.
But it seems like it could be useful for other things besides cooking.
I handed the solid fuel chunks back to the kids and continued to ask questions.
“I see. But how do you make this?”
“We mix the flame oil from the draca with fat and harden it!”
“Draca?”
“Yes! You also call the monsters draca, right? Don’t you know that, Mr. Candidate?”
The kids started to chatter excitedly, showing off their knowledge.
Even though they called me their benefactor of life, they didn’t seem to be afraid of me, who had tainted mana.
Well, that’s a good thing.
I nodded along to the kids’ reactions and asked them what I was curious about.
“Can I see the flame oil that hasn’t hardened?”
“Um… the flame oil flies away if you leave it alone, so the amount decreases. That’s why we don’t leave it alone and mix it with fat like this.”
Oil that catches fire easily and evaporates if left alone.
I thought it was a different kind of oil, but isn’t this really gasoline?
“Oh! There’s flame oil under the fuel chunk here! It must have been some oil that didn’t mix with the fat. Take a look.”
I followed the kids’ words and lifted the solid fuel.
Inside the basket made of sturdy leaves, there was a little transparent liquid.
I knew it was completely different, but I couldn’t get the idea of gasoline out of my head.
I left Pii to the kids and ran out of the kitchen.
[What! What is this! Where are you going?!]
“Wait a minute! I’ll get the chainsaw!”
I ran across the village with the chainsaw in my hand and returned to the kitchen without delay.
Then I started to carefully collect the flame oil that was pooled in the basket without a moment to catch my breath.
The children were puzzled by my sudden action, but Pii seemed to understand it right away and expressed his concern to me.
[Are you going to use the flame oil as fuel? Won’t it ruin it for nothing?]
“I’m not sure either.”
If it was an ordinary chainsaw, Pii’s words would have been likely.
The engine of the chainsaw could have been completely unusable, so what I was doing was practically gambling.
Logically, I should stop right now.
“But it’s not impossible.”
But this was not an ordinary chainsaw.
It was a special weapon that was close to a ‘holy sword’ that received the blessing of the wild god, Mahesar.
My long-time partner wouldn’t lose to something like flame oil.
I swallowed my saliva and started to put the flame oil into the chainsaw.
[Eek! I don’t care if it explodes!]
As soon as I put all the oil in, Pii shouted at the children to stop them.
Come to think of it, it might have been dangerous to experiment in front of the children.
I took the chainsaw and went outside the kitchen.
“Whew… Let’s try it once.”
I found a suitable place with no people and lifted up the chainsaw.
I saw Bii and the kids peeking out of the kitchen window in the distance.
I took a deep breath and pulled the starter cord of the chainsaw.
– Vroom!
The chainsaw shook with a sound I hadn’t heard in a long time.
The dried-up engine soaked up the flame oil and everything was ready.
It would surely start the next time.
I clenched my teeth and pulled the starter cord again.
– Vroom!!
The familiar vibration rang out once more.
At the same time, I felt the dormant engine wake up and fill up with explosive power.
It was a feeling of reaching the peak of harmony with the chainsaw.
I smiled and lightly squeezed the trigger of the chainsaw.
―――!!
The roar of the chainsaw echoed through the quiet village.
It was a cruel roar of a newly born chainsaw, similar to the scream of a monster.
This time, I pulled the trigger hard and raised the rotation speed to the limit.
――――――!!!!
The worry that the chainsaw would break down because of the wrong oil was washed away.
The chainsaw drank the flame oil as if it had met the elixir of life and showed a performance that it had never shown before.
It was like seeing a fish that met water.
It was less than when I used mana, but it felt more powerful than when I fed it gasoline.
Maybe the wild god had blessed me and took care of this point as well.
It was only natural that my faith in Mahesar grew even more.
‘Thank you so much.’
I couldn’t praise the wild god in the elf village, so I sent my gratitude to Mahesar in my heart.
Our kind-hearted Mahesar would look at this kind of thank-you message with a smile.
He wouldn’t be annoyed like some cranky goddess somewhere.
[Gaul! Did you succeed?]
As I got closer to the wild than nature, Bii came over and asked me, bouncing around.
I turned off the chainsaw and smiled brightly.
“I totally succeeded.”
Now the chainsaw’s motor can run on mana, and the engine can run on flame oil.
Normally, I would use the engine, but when I need more powerful output, I would use the motor.
I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of my partner who had become stronger.
With this, I could show off a stable force as long as I had enough flame oil.
I held up the chainsaw and shouted at the kids in the kitchen.
“Kids! I need more flame oil!”
The kids in the kitchen stuck their heads out of the window and answered.
“We’re out of it!”
“Come and grill some meat!”
Ah. This.
Judging by the children’s reaction, the flame oil is not a resource that is left over.
Does that mean I have to find a way to secure a stable supply of fuel?
[Pfft. He told you to come and grill some meat.]
By the way, I don’t know what kind of manners these brats have towards a druid candidate.
“Sigh. Let’s go.”
Just go if you have to go.
* * *
“You need flame oil?”
“Yeah. I’d like to get it supplied steadily.”
With the help of the kids, I grilled the meat to a delicious degree and headed to Seize with a plate.
But I can’t feed him meat for free.
I demanded flame oil and shook a large piece of meat.
Seize frowned and answered sullenly.
“Do you know what flame oil is?”
“Oil that catches fire.”
“You don’t know anything. That’s the oil that makes up the breath of a flying monster. You can’t get it just by asking.”
Seize tied his hair in a line before the meal.
I listened to her explanation and fanned the hot meat.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Monsters. That is, drakas are divided into two major types. Those who fly in the sky and those who can’t fly. You can only get fire oil from monsters that can fly.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know exactly, but monsters seem to make their bodies lighter with fire oil. Thanks to that, they can fly in the sky with such a huge body. The act of spitting out fire oil and igniting it. That is, if they spit out ‘breath’ a few times, they can’t fly for a while. That’s the proof.”
I nodded my head as I scooped some meat onto the plate that Pii brought me.
Shiz was so hungry that she fixed her eyes on the meat and continued her explanation.
“You can only get it from flying monsters, and even then, the amount you can get decreases if you make them shoot breath. Fire oil is a rare material, more than you think.”
“Hmm.”
“Besides, we elves use fire oil in many places. From the lights that brighten the room to the fire that we use for cooking, we mostly use fire oil. So even if you’re a druid candidate, you won’t be able to provide a lot of it.”
Shiz’s explanation was convincing enough.
You can’t just give away a resource that is in high demand but low supply to a druid candidate.
But I needed fire oil.
And I needed a lot of it, enough to use it without any burden.
I held up the plate full of meat and asked Shiz.
“Is there no way?”
Shiz scowled and answered.
“If you need it that much, join the monster hunting and raise your contribution. There will be plenty of opportunities when we return to Eldenore, as the hunting season will begin.”
“Can I join the hunting?”
“Have you forgotten who I am and what kind of leader I am?”
Shiz Lanches Owl.
She was the hunting leader of Eldenore and the high elf who led the hunting team.
As I realized that fact anew and showed that I understood, Shiz snatched the meat plate from my hand and said.
“You’ll get sick of hunting monsters.”