Chapter 206: Entering New Technique Development (1)
First, there were just too many ongoing tasks. There was an overwhelming amount of work, but a severe shortage of people to manage it.
It was like pouring money and labor into a bottomless pit, forcing it to run, resulting in a ridiculous amount of administrative mess in between. If this continued, problems would inevitably explode.
Billy finally realized why he had been summoned to this territory.
“It means I have to handle things before they blow up!”
Claude’s talk about being a junior or friend was all nonsense. He just dragged him along because he didn’t want to die alone.
His complexion turned pale. At least the students had 20-year contracts, but he and his friends had 30 years.
“Oh no, this can’t be. My family came over too. I accepted the house and money. I can’t run away.”
He wanted to curse, but there was no alternative to just getting the work done. In a desperate attempt to stabilize the territory as quickly as possible, Billy worked without proper sleep.
No matter how much he pushed through, the workload kept piling up. Human stamina has its limits. After several sleepless nights, Billy eventually collapsed.
“I can’t take it anymore…… Just let me die or whatever…….”
At that moment, someone who looked quite disheveled approached him.
“Hello. I am Piote. I’m here for the territory’s healing period.”
“……?”
Billy was so drained he could only look at him with a dazed expression. Then Piote stepped closer and reached out to him.
WHOOSH!
In an instant, Billy’s body was rejuvenated, and he sprang up in surprise, staring at Piote in disbelief.
With dark circles under his eyes, Piote slightly bowed and said,
“It’s time to resume work.”
He left those words behind and stumbled away.
“Wow…….”
Billy let out a hollow laugh in disbelief. Even after collapsing from overwork, he was forcibly revived.
It seemed like he wouldn’t be able to die, even if he wanted to, until the work was done. He had never imagined a crazy territory like this, nor had he heard rumors about it.
Uncontrollable rage surged against the one who brought him here.
“Claude―! You jerk!”
Similar incidents were happening all over the Penris Territory.
Meanwhile, Claude elegantly sipped tea in the office, wearing a face that looked like he might finally live.
“Hmmm…… I should’ve brought you sooner. You’ve suffered needlessly. You’ve wasted a few years of your life.”
While the juniors were just starting to learn the ropes and were stumbling around, the seniors and friends were different.
Having dealt with administrative tasks to some extent, even in a small territory, their problem-solving speed was noticeably different.
Even Claude and the existing stewards of Penris still had a lot on their plates, but it was undeniably much better than before.
Isn’t it thanks to that they could leisurely drink tea like this now?
“Sigh, that was nice, even if just for a moment. Time to get back to work……”
CRASH!
“Ouch! What the heck!”
Something flew in through the office window, shattering it. Wendy quickly blocked it in front of Claude.
A stone that fell to the floor rolled around for a moment before coming to a stop.
It rolled and then stopped.
“What? An assassination attempt? Were they trying to hit me? Who dares do this to the Chief Officer of the territory!”
While Claude was making a fuss, Wendy observed a stone closely and approached it.
Tied to the stone was a piece of paper.
“Sir, it looks like an anonymous tip.”
“An anonymous tip? Is there someone who’s been wronged? Or has one of the newly hired stewards already started with corruption? Well, the place hasn’t stabilized yet.”
There’s no way problems wouldn’t arise among the people. Especially in a territory right after a war.
While they were attentive to public order, it couldn’t be said it was perfect. With food being released in bulk, the number of criminals was gradually increasing.
If a newly appointed steward has already committed fraud in such a situation, it could lead to serious issues.
“Bring it here. I need to check if it’s a complaint of wrongdoings or a report on corruption so we can handle it right away. I won’t tolerate such things in the territory where I serve as Chief Officer.”
With a serious expression, Claude glanced at Wendy, who rolled her eyes before handing over the tip.
With an arrogant look, Claude unfolded the letter and blinked several times upon reading the contents.
[You bastard.]
It wasn’t a plea for justice or a report on corruption. It was just a vulgar insult. A very targeted one at that.
“……”
After a moment of silence, Claude crumpled the paper and tossed it behind him.
This wasn’t something he could resolve.
*
During Claude’s two-month absence, there had been many changes in the territory.
Facilities had sprung up everywhere thanks to the incredibly fast pace of the construction.
Additionally, hundreds of new stewards had come in. With them working tirelessly, the territory began to stabilize quickly.
As the stewards’ families migrated along, the number of technicians increased, which in turn reduced the workload for the dwarves a bit compared to before.
Galbarik and the dwarves spoke cautiously in their workshop.
“I still feel like I might die, but it’s better than before, right? Let’s just maintain it at this level.”
“Exactly. As time goes on, work here will decrease. But we mustn’t let it show.”
“Let’s keep whining about being overwhelmed with work.”
Even the dwarves, who lived and breathed production, were amazed at the workload.
At first, it genuinely felt like they were going to die, but now they were gradually adjusting, taking little breaks, and pretending to be exhausted.
In short, they had learned the ropes.
Galbarik, the representative, smiled as he looked at the dwarves in front of him.
“If we keep this up, we’ll have plenty of free time in a few months. Let’s make sure the lord finds out as late as possible! We’re really being worked to the bone, aren’t we?”
“Absolutely! Ultimately, it’s us on the ground managing the work! Hahaha!”
“With this much work, how would the lord catch on to all this? He won’t have a clue!”
Galbarik and the dwarves burst into laughter. But then, at a certain moment, the laughter abruptly stopped.
Seeing their sudden change in expression, Galbarik asked.
“What’s wrong? Why do you all look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
Yet, the dwarves remained silent.
Before Galbarik could turn away, sensing an ominous feeling, someone suddenly approached him and whispered.
“Let’s start a new job, friend.”
“Whoa! You scared me!”
Galbarik jumped back in shock.
When he steadied himself and looked ahead, Ghislaine was standing there with a nonchalant expression.
‘Crap… he must have heard everything about wanting to have some fun.’
Galbarik regretted speaking too freely, but even if he had kept his mouth shut, it wouldn’t have changed anything.
Someone like Ghislaine, who had to verify everything personally, couldn’t possibly be unaware of the progress.
“You’ve worked hard. It looks like the territory is stabilizing, so let’s start the next task.”
“Wait, what else are you planning to do? We still need more residences and workshops, can’t we finish those first?”
“That can be handed over to others now, right? You just need to check now and then for any issues.”
“Even if I leave it to you guys, it goes smoothly, right? Just check every now and then if there are any problems.”
Once the technicians from the Cabaldy region were brought in to learn new skills and the administrative staff increased, the work began to proceed smoothly.
With the laborers constantly providing food, their enthusiasm led to even more work being done.
Of course, if the dwarves stayed involved, things would speed up, but their efficiency wasn’t as good as it once was.
Ghislaine was seriously thinking about moving forward with the next important plan.
Galbarik and the dwarves slumped their shoulders and wore gloomy expressions.
“So, what’s it this time?”
“We’re entering into new technology development.”
“New technology? What kind of technology?”
They were all moaning earlier, but their eyes lit up at the mention of new technology.
They had done many things until now, but it was starting to get a bit boring—busy work was just turning into simple labor.
Ghislaine said with a subtly arrogant expression, “We’re going to make an alloy. One that’s as strong as steel but much lighter.”
“Did I hear you right? An alloy? You really plan to make something like that?”
“Yes. We’ve had a shortage of iron, so I couldn’t attempt it, but now that we have an abundance, I want to give it a go. I know a thing or two.”
“Whoa!”
The dwarves gasped in surprise.
Making an alloy isn’t something just anyone can do.
Many blacksmiths, alchemists, and mages have tried, but humanity still hadn’t progressed beyond steel.
It’s not just a problem of refining and processing techniques; they don’t even know the mixing ratios of materials.
The research period is long, it requires tremendous funding, and there aren’t any nobles willing to support a venture with such uncertain success.
The dwarves felt their hearts racing again.
Alloys are truly the pinnacle of metallurgy.
It is said that the first bronze and steel were made by dwarves. If this lord can present a new path, it would be a historical achievement.
Especially Galbarik was more excited than anyone else.
Since childhood, his dream had been to create an alloy of new materials.
He had forgotten that dream while compromising with reality as he grew older, but it was now rearing its head again.
“Do you truly know a method for a new alloy?”
Galbarik’s tone changed dramatically to a very humble one. He was that thirsty for knowledge.
Ghislaine smirked and began to jot something down for the dwarves.
The names of various minerals like iron, graphite, tin, and alum crystals were listed. It also noted the order of refinement.
However, the dwarves scratched their heads at this. Something was lacking in the explanation.
“Um… how do we separate these materials and adjust the ratios? Plus, we can’t figure out what temperature we need either…”
One dwarf cautiously asked, and Ghislaine clicked his tongue.
“Do you want me to spoon-feed you? This isn’t a completed technology yet. That’s why we need research. Isn’t this much already a big help?”
That’s true. Knowing what materials to use is the hardest part; the detailed processes will emerge after a few experiments.
As the dwarves nodded in understanding, Ghislaine let out a sigh of relief internally.
The truth was, he only provided this much because he didn’t know the full process himself.
‘How could I memorize all that?’
He remembered it because Claude had made such a fuss about needing that technique back in his previous life.
While such discussions were happening, Galbarik was staring intently at what Ghislaine had written down.
After a long time of glaring at the paper, his face gradually flushed red, and his hands began to tremble.
“H-how does the Lord know about this?!”
Galbarik had spent a lot of time thinking about mixing things up to create alloys himself.
It was the only hobby that broke the monotony of his life.
But the list that Ghislaine wrote down contained most of the materials he had thought about, if not all of them.
Most of the materials that the god had in mind were written down.
Ghislaine had filled in the gaps that had been lacking for some time. The rest would just require some experimentation based on his own plans.
The chilling similarity made Galbarik grab Ghislaine’s arms and shake him.
“Is this also something that the lord thought up? Can we really create a new alloy like this?”
‘It’s you, actually, who created it.’
That’s right. Galbarik was the one who had invented a new alloy in his previous life.
It was precisely because of this technique that the slave traders had insisted on bringing Galbarik first.
After the chaos engulfed the continent, humanity’s technology had to advance rapidly in order to fight back.
And in that tumultuous world, Galbarik ultimately achieved his lifelong ambition.
However, since he couldn’t say it was made by him in the future, Ghislaine averted his gaze slightly and said,
“Well… there’s a legendary blacksmith, you see…”
“Oooh! Who is that? I’ve never heard of such a magnificent title in my life!”
‘It’s you, you’re the one.’
“Please, let me meet him just once!”
‘Just look in the mirror…’
Galbarik shook Ghislaine’s arms, but no matter how much he shook him, Ghislaine could not arrange for a meeting with the ‘legendary blacksmith.’
So, as usual, he made up a plausible story.
“No, there’s a book written by a self-proclaimed legendary blacksmith, and I just happened to see it there. I lost the book when I was a kid.”
Upon hearing that, Galbarik wore a slightly disappointed expression.
“Then you can’t even know if this is really possible, can you?”
“Absolutely possible. So let’s start researching right away. This is something only you can do.”
With Ghislaine’s confident words, another dwarf carefully asked,
“Why is this something only we can do? And why hasn’t the lord tried it until now, knowing that?”
“Because it’s very difficult to process and refine. It’s almost impossible without the dwarves’ skills. Even if we manage to produce it, the thermal conductivity… was it? Anyway, it’s so low that ordinary blacksmiths struggle even to forge it properly.”
The dwarves looked at Ghislaine with skeptical eyes.
Hadn’t he never made it before and only knew the theory? Wasn’t he also aware of the post-production issues?
Yet he brought the dwarves to resolve those problems?
There was no bigger contradiction.
But Ghislaine continued confidently, wearing a face that suggested there was no problem at all.
“The legendary blacksmith said he got to the brink of success. The materials are certain, so it’s definitely worth researching. If we succeed, we’ll truly be the first on the continent. Isn’t that worth the challenge?”
Though his words seemed a bit nonsensical, the dwarves couldn’t refute him after all that insistence.
Ghislaine sighed inwardly.
If he persuaded them by saying he thought of it, they would likely accept it much better.
But he didn’t want to go that far.
‘You can’t just take credit for someone else’s work. Unless they were completely absent, of course.’
With the actual inventor right in front of him, it wouldn’t sit well with his conscience to claim it as his own.
Ghislaine pointed at Galbarik and said,
“I appoint Galbarik as the production leader. And if we succeed in production… the alloy will be named Galbarium.”
“Oooh!”
Galbarik clenched his fist tightly.
It was an opportunity to fulfill his lifetime dream. Plus, he had received a quick insight and inspiration to achieve success.
Just the development alone would be a historic achievement, and if he succeeded, his name would be attached to it. If he backed down now, he wouldn’t deserve to be a dwarf.
“My lord! I will make sure to achieve this even at the cost of my life!”
Galbarik, overwhelmed with emotion, shouted as if he were making a pledge of loyalty.
Ghislaine, acting like a true lord, patted Galbarik’s shoulder with a solemn expression and said,
“Okay, hurry up. There’s no time.”
“…Yes.”
The dwarves moved with remarkable precision and immediately began their research.
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