Chapter 28 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—That’s How It Goes, Right?

Here we go again, I guess.

'Today marks the tenth day since I arrived in this brave new world. A lot has changed, but, it's not nearly enough.'

My grin widened as I stared at the heap before me.

We were currently outside the village. By 'we', I meant every single townsfolk.

Of course, everyone was reverent enough to stay a good distance behind me. The only people who maintained some level of proximity with me were Sarah, Byron, and—surprisingly enough—Lucy.

The latter happened much to my dismay, but I couldn't piss off the strongest person in the village, now could I?

Anyone would wonder why every single resident in the developing town would leave the walls confining them and go on an excursion outside.

The answer was quite simple—it was because of the heap of rubbish that stood before everyone.

"A mountain of trash, uh…? Brings back memories…"

My world had junkyards where heaps and piles of garbage were dumped into.

Though this single pile was nothing compared to the mountainous heap in my world, it still evoked memories of my previously normal life.

The current junkyard was made of things I deemed unfit for use when I was giving the town a makeover.

Not only did I get rid of the worn-out Tents and ragged clothing, but several appliances were also thrown away.

I replaced their primitive lifestyle with some level of civilization. That meant their old stuff had nowhere to go but here.

'Burning them would have been a waste and would have caused harmful pollution, so I had the people gather them here. To think it has reached such a degree…'

Our Village had expanded, and we also intended to grow further. To do that, we needed to get rid of this heap.

Of course, leaving something like this to fester was against my philosophy of hygiene, so our development plans aligned with my intentions.

"He—I mean, Sam… what should we do about it?" The adorable Priestess asked me with her wide eyes full of hope and innocence.

Byron also asked something similar, and the villagers behind were prepared to follow my orders to the letter.

I glanced at the only one who didn't make a comment.

'This girl…' I made sure my glance was careful as I stared at her.

Lucy said nothing.

She simply stared at me with her round, crimson eyes. Even though no words were uttered, I could sense the great pressure of expectation emanating from the girl.

'',

"You all do not need to do anything. Leave this to me." I finally gave my response with a confident smile.

"Sarah… you have the materials I require, don't you?"

"Yes, S-Sam… here."

As instructed, the Priestess brought out two vials filled with my most valuable tools—of course, not counting my Grimoire.

'Mana Chalk and Mercury… perfect! But, hmmm?' I stared at the two vials, noticing something odd.

"The quantity seems a bit small. What's the problem?" I looked at the Priestess, who looked a little uneasy.

'What's going on, don't tell me—?!'

I used [Five Seconds Rule] to look into the future and found out the reason.

"Ah, I see…" I quickly added, cutting Sarah off from her speech.

It was stupid of me not to realize it sooner. To cover up my stupidity, this was the most effective means I could utilize.

"The Mana Chalk and Mercury have run out, haven't they?"

Sarah nodded nervously.

'Shit! I should have thought of this!'

Since resources were finite, it was common sense that these things would be exhausted with the way I had been using them so often.

"As expected…" I murmured, garnering looks of praise and reverence from the audience.

It would be bad news if they realized that my oversight had caused such a fatal error.

The only way I could turn things around was to make it seem as though I had foreseen everything from the start.

My actions here would probably come back to bite me in the long run, but this was the best I could come up with at the moment.

"Hmph. It's no problem. This much will do." I smiled at Sarah, who was beginning to tremble in my presence.

She handed the materials over to me, and I decided to work my Magic.

Thanks to the constant utilization of Runes, my Skill [Runecrafting] had Leveled Up considerably.

It was effective to the point that I could efficiently use a smaller amount of materials to achieve my desired result.

'This amount is cutting it close, but I should be able to make do with it…'

My initial plan was to resolve everything on my own, but since the ingredients were lacking, I would end up needing the aid of everyone to supplement the effects.

"First, let me design the Circle."

'',

And that I did.

By creating a Magic Circle around the heap and replicating the drawing I memorized from my Grimo—I mean, Tablet—I could conclude the first portion of my plan.

And what plan was that? The answer was RECYCLING!

Why the heck would I just throw away junk without thinking of any good use for them? Sure, they were old and worn out, but Magic was an amazing concept.

Certainly, there had to be a good use for them!

"Remain where I position you." As soon as the Circle was done, I arranged for a select few individuals to stand in specific locations outside the circle.

Their job was to insert their Mana into the Magic Circle to compliment the Mana Chalk that was used.

That would, in turn, energize the Mercury. Once that was done, the Magic Circle would handle the rest.

>SHIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG<

The result was magnificent—just as I expected.

The blue glow of the Magic Circle enveloped the pile of garbage, filling it with miraculous energy.

Slowly, the heap began to change form—molding itself according to the design I designated.

"It's birth… is nigh…" I said smiling, watching in suppressed excitement.

Everyone marveled at the miraculous sight, and I even saw some people bowing in response to the emergence of the giant figure that was being made.

After a while of waiting, it was finally complete.

"I-it's a miracle!"

"T-to think the things we thought were worthless could… birth this…"

"I was so foolish to have suggested burning everything!"

Everyone marveled before the hulking figure that now stood dormant within the Magic Circle.

Even Lucy, who was silent the whole time, finally uttered a soft whisper to fully express how she felt.

"A-amazing…"

Indeed! It was truly a fine work of art—the best I could produce from useless pieces of trash.

"A Magic Golem…" My voice was calm, as though stating a simple fact.

Its body parts were a culmination of the old and rusty parts of the properties of everyone—so it wasn't exactly top-tier.

Still, having a 10-Ft Golem at my beck and call wasn't a bad deal, either.

"I think I'll call it Jason."