Chapter 497 – Disrupting Species (1)
A blacksmith in Alishik.
At Elphex Workshop, known for its golem and puppet dolls, the sound of hammers did not stop even in the middle of the night.
《Golem Workshop Contest?》
Hamoyed, the master craftsman and head of the Elphex workshop, was impressed by the words of the young man who had just entered the room.
“What kind of nonsense is that? Is it the hobbies’ hobbies? Or is it the lord’s desperate measures to revitalize the tourism industry?”
“What kind of tourism is this season? You know for sure that every time a ruin is discovered, the number of ordinary tourists drastically decreases and only adventurers and grave robbers flock to it.”
Hearing the ironsmith (鑄鐵匠: metal craftsman), Hamoyed tried to say something, but took the fact that he was the son of a retired business partner, and passed it as a night.
“Ouch! Why are you hitting me again!”
“It’s done. Give me what you brought.”
Hamoyed, who snatched the announcement from the young man, immediately widened his eyes.
《The winning prize is the exclusive right to supply the Alithic Golem Troops?》
“That’s why I brought it. But it will be difficult to participate—-“
“What is difficult! This is an opportunity given by the sun god!”
-Boom! The young man immediately sighed at the workshop manager’s ardent speech as he pounded the documents on the table. It was as expected.
If this was simply a blacksmith’s pride issue, he would have no reason to express disapproval.
However, in the eyes of the workshop manager, whose cheeks had recently sunken, he could only see the ambition of a merchant, not a blacksmith.
《It’s a chance to prove our workshop’s technological prowess once again! If we win this competition, our workshop can be listed as a guild!”
《… Did you regret being eliminated from the screening that much?”
The name ‘guild’ is heavy.
Just looking at the fact that the founding condition of an adventurer’s guild is that ‘the guild leader must be a master class’, you can feel it.
Although the detailed requirements are different for each field, it is not easy for a new organization to get its name, no matter what it is doing.
That is why many industries adhered to the title of ‘○○ Guild ×× Branch’.
Even the Blacksmith Guild had no difficulty in that regard, and even the Elphex Workshop, which had many outstanding artisans, had already gone through several meridians during the screening process.
And after suffering the third high ordeal of being eliminated in the judging just two months ago, Hamoyed’s obsession was growing stronger.
“You child! That’s the reason your salary negotiations ended, aren’t you okay?!
“Of course not… Don’t you have a budget?”
At the young man’s words, Hamoyed shut his mouth.
《… Damn, performance! After all, it’s a matter of performance! If the stage for our artisans is properly prepared, the future of being listed as a guild and enlisting nobles as patrons will be right around the corner!”
“Isn’t that performance issue ultimately a budget issue?”
Since metal artisans called cast irons were, after all, a non-mainstream blacksmith, the young man’s main job was budget management.
He was using his position and natural talent to that side.
《Budget, budget! Go round and round that damn budget!”
Hamoyed fixed his eyes on the official document as if exasperated.
The motto of Elpex Workshop is ‘high-quality, small-volume production’.
That was an unsuitable motto for the current trend, where Narmer-Nile’s golem demand is more than 90% for foot soldiers—in other words, “Mass-produced products.” That is the reason why we suffered successive failures due to lack of performance.
In the recent trend, golems are expendable items that cost people’s lives.
The important fights were taken by the existing elite soldiers, so Hamoyed gave up his pride at the cost of repeated failure three times.
As the company grows, it becomes faithful to the reason of supply and demand rather than original intention!
It was something that many organizations experienced during the guild listing.
But is giving up craftsmanship a good thing or a bad thing?
It was a matter that the iron shop, which should hold the reins of the workshop, was not yet sure about.
《If you can’t produce results, orders and budgets won’t come in, so it’s a vicious cycle where you can’t produce more results! Wouldn’t this contest be the only way for the knights to overcome this? Huh? Cast Iron!”
《… As long as you succeed, that is. But could it have been held for no reason? There are several candidates for the championship.”
─Fallang. The iron master pulled out a few more papers.
“There are many familiar names in the Participation Team, but here are some things to note. Dunamis Workshop.》
“It’s a name I’ve never heard of. What kind of aristocrat’s subordinate workshop is this?》
《This workshop was founded by the Romanian Senate family, Armals. The head of the workshop named as the representative… You are a new black mage hunter in Britannia, which is hot these days.”
At the series of flashy names, Hamoyed closed her mouth as if she had soldered it this time.
Armals. The ferocious Romanian eagle.
It is common for aristocrats to sponsor promising talents, but this desert nation is also famous for its discernment and ability to snatch only the best technicians while flying out of sight.
But, why do they get on the bandwagon of Narmer-Nile by sponsoring an emerging workshop founded by a master of the Mithril class?
If you have even a little bit of notice, you can’t help but be nervous.
“Who knows? It’s a journal held by the lord to paint the signboard of the Dunamis Workshop with gold.”
《… No, no. It doesn’t matter though. Think about it. The golems participating in the Dynamis Guild are called puppets. The golem subspecies of those Romanian artisans.”
Hamoyed murmured as he turned over the official document.
“What is a puppet in the first place? Isn’t it a golem that specializes in ‘direct control’, a type of golem operation? Since the output of the core drops significantly, it means that the caster needs backup.”
He couldn’t control his body and ran around his room, holding his hand.
“The pilot will not be that warlock hunter himself. However, he is a way for a great creature to have a companion like that. It must be a tactic trying to gloss over the lack of technical skills with the amount of mana and the skill of the user.”
“If that’s true, isn’t it the same as having no chance of winning?”
“Sounds stupid! Totally different! This is a battle for the ability to make golems. Look! The content of the tournament is a duel between golems, but the conditions are set so that you can see your technical skills. We just need to find a good pilot!”
The golem maker, whose eyes were red with anger and lost pride at being ridiculed by the public, spoke loudly.
《The application deadline is two weeks later. Now turn the production line with empty hand craftsmen into special products for the competition! No, tell those who have work to hurry up and finish it!”
《What about the scheduled supply?》
《It’s a cheap golem that will be used anyway, or a toy tailored to the taste of nobles! Relax your shoulders and tell them to finish quickly! Even if you do that, have you ever been tricked by our golems!”
Is that so?
The ironsmith was dumbfounded, but he wasn’t wrong.
Since they are master craftsmen with outstanding perfection, it would not be difficult to produce results comparable to those of other workshops by compromising a little on craftsmanship. As both craftsmen, I could be sure of that.
“Use the rest of your budget and borrow it if you don’t have enough money! After you win, you win and pay back! Long live the warlock hunter!”
“Uh… Then, I will also seek a golem pilot.”
Now that the news of the competition has spread, finding a talented pilot will put stars in the sky.
The cast-iron shoved the practical matter back into his mouth, so Hamoyed shouted briskly.
“Daksoe is not afraid of water and fire. Let’s proceed right now!!
It was the moment when the artisans of the Elphex workshop were confirmed to work overtime for two weeks.
And this kind of scenery was not necessarily their problem.
“Work, work! Gather all your technical skills and make the most perfect golem in two weeks!”
《No high-quality golem cores? Then you should catch the boat! What are you doing stupidly!
“Sing back!! Germania’s technology is the best in the world——!!”
“You guys, your holiday is ruined! Overtime rules here now!!
The sweat, blood and tears of many artisans were being reborn as golems one by one.
***
“Turn it off—billion.”
I burped on the veranda of a 30-story guesthouse.
It was because the food in this damn desert country was damn hard to digest, and it was also because I was being called around by people who wanted to mate with the elderly through me and ate so much.
Of course, there was no reason to hang out with such a pair if it was the way it was. There was no reason to stay at Alishik for long.
“Tsubeol. I shouldn’t have given you two weeks of preparation time.”
In the end, that was the problem. I rubbed my teeth with a toothpick and tilted my head.
Originally, I was going to take it down as if a gang of fist thugs would attack and destroy everything in a real fighting manga.
However, when my marketing greed and Yeongju’s greed of ‘don’t go anywhere and stay near my house?’ Finally fused, a two-week grace period was created. The strategy was completely changed to Nigawa mode.
Eight hours ago, the dramatic agreement that took place after my proposal was translated into human language and summarized roughly like this.
─You want to stay here for two weeks and do a contest? Heh heh, don’t be silly. What do we dig and do business with? Are you going to have a good talk with the other lords?
─The real rich don’t lose, they call the other person? You wouldn’t be able to avoid being treated as a bum even if you rode a tricky carriage to visit? If you wait in my neighborhood, things you are interested in will gather.
─It’s bitter. But you understand that staying at your mansion is a bit like that, right? It feels like you’ve decided on all your business partners.
─I’ll find a good hotel for you. Will your wives like it too?
A fucking politician is a politician. I couldn’t say I didn’t like it because I grabbed my weakness as my beloved wife and broke it as it was.
Fuck that and tell the wives, ‘Let’s sleep at a nearby guesthouse instead of a 5-star hotel!’? Fuck am I kicked out?
Since it was a class society, they compromised moderately by moving from the top floor to a place a few floors lower, but this guesthouse was a crazy suite that naturally made the sound of ‘billion’. It is said that it is because it is a place for nobles to stay.
But I swiped my corporate card with the mindset to get rid of it, and then the receipt with 8 zeros in front of the elders flew away, so I avoided the future of hearing ‘heh heh fucker’, so this is alchemy.
“Hey, networking is so important.”
Crossing my legs, I opened my whiskey and enjoyed the splendid night view of Alishik.
Since the lord is also a 5-star hotel in his own territory, he must have received DC and paid for it. Originally, the things that rich people use are concerned with the fact that they spend money and receive services rather than cost-effectiveness.
Anyway, it’s not even my money, so who knows? Hehe.
“Oh~! Senior, you’re trembling alone again~.”
I’m trying to give the feeling of a gold spoon at the top of the penthouse, but it’s an entry for a character who breaks colic.
As I tried to turn around, the back of my head was surrounded by the soft touch that penetrated my hair.
Lalilura squirmed at my cheek and smiled.
Even if you look up from below, if you see something pretty, she is also a beauty.
“What are you thinking?”
“I was thinking about it for a while, but you pushed it through my chest and it just slipped out of her head.”
I was deliberately wearing a dancer’s outfit here to look at me, so I wasn’t stingy with praise.
No, the fabric looks soft and has a nice texture for an indoor wear, though.
“Really? Then I’ll make you even more stupid~♡”
─Kkuk, Kkuk! Lari Lula pressed against her chest and hugged my neck. Her soft under breasts covered my face.
I’m so happy, but Juji isn’t standing.
‘The bowl suddenly gets dirty.’
They said they would call someone to fix this fucking disease, but I called myself because it was obvious that I would waste time making excuses. It was only signed by Lord Alishik. He said he could only watch his expression rot.
“But why are you out there? It’s very cool inside. There are so many things to do!”
“Isn’t it cool because it’s night here too? Would you like a drink?”
“Aha♡ Is the day when the sunbae offers me a drink? Is that a sweet drink?”
“Sweets? Why don’t you just order a few cocktails?”
When I rang the bell, a bill of exchange came flying. I ordered a few drinks from a nearby catalog and sent them back.
Look at this primitive radio system. Every single one of them breaks the colic.
After receiving her room service and coming back to the veranda, Lari Lura was dancing behind her night view.
“~♬”
The dance mixed with the hum was familiar. This is a dance performed by some dancers in a circus troupe.
If you danced behind the moonlit night, it would be easy to look like a crazy person, but Lalilu, who waved the dancer’s mauve cloth as if he was familiar with the dance, had a charm worth watching.
Lightly…
After her brief entertainment, Larry Lura giggled.
“Isn’t the person who asked me to do a naked circus just too engrossed to dance?”
“Because there is such a thing as atmosphere.”
“Whoops. Shall I take it off? Shall I take it off?”
“If I throw away the holy water I brought from my waist dance.”
Lari Lura, who had been dragging her by the dance of her pants, bit her tongue. I put down my cocktail and gave a belated clap.
“Did you learn to dance? It’s the first time I’ve seen it except for the one I danced at the wedding.”
“Because it’s not my job~♡ If it’s just imitating, there’s nothing difficult.”
─Papat! Lari Lura moved her fingers up like an animal’s jaws and fluttered through her fabric.
This is our junior who is a pro in body coordination. Even if it was difficult to manage mana, imitating her movements would be like eating rice cake while lying down.
I brought her chair, sat Lari Lula down, and clinked her glasses.
Larry Lura drank her drink and rested her head on my shoulder.
“What are we toasting to now?”
“How about anything. Let’s pretend it’s a blank check for you and me.”
“Huh. Spread it too.”
As I got closer, the breastbone exposed in the defenseless dancer’s costume came close to me. It is a black hole that absorbs men’s gaze.
The days of superhuman patience are over. Her eyes were sucked in by themselves, so Lalilura covered her mouth and laughed.
“Puhuh. It’s super easy, senior♡”
“I released this today, so it’s a pity.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the middle of a long time, and I’m going to have a good time. And shed bitter tears.
“Ugh. It hurts, but I miss you a little, so I feel a little bit resentful.”
“Good. Every now and then, I’ll give you a squeeze.”
“Wow! Seniors are really, really trashy in the best way♡!”
“Why? Do you think you’ll fall for him because he’s a bad guy?”
“Yeah? If you’re happy while getting hit, you’re a pervert, right?”
“Hey. Fran and Veronica will cry.”
After drinking the cocktail, Lalilura smiled as she wrapped her arms around my waist.
We drank alcohol with the night air and night view like that.
As if he quickly got drunk, he petted Ralilura, who had doubled her usual charm. My eyes stared coldly at the orange lights shining on the beige street.
This Narmer-Nile journey is an extension of my work for me and part of my vacation for my wives.
However, Odin’s eyes were already aware of the disturbing mana flowing behind that beautiful night view.
