episode_0017

“Are you here to buy something?”

“Yes. When I looked at the items Father Thomas purchased, they seemed to be of very good quality. The price is also very cheap.”

“Low price and excellent quality are advantages that only our blacksmith shop can show.”

Honestly, if you couldn’t use skeletons as blacksmiths, no one could do it. If you use people, there is no labor cost, and the quality also depends on the skill of the blacksmith.

Unless there was a machine that could move autonomously and produce products, there was virtually no place that could compete with me.

“Can you check the items? Father Thomas only purchased farming equipment. I would like to handle various items other than farm equipment… … .”

“Of course.”

Since some time had passed since Father Thomas returned, the blacksmith shop already had ready-made items in stock. It was said that most of the items that could be made at the blacksmith shop were on display.

Therefore, I immediately headed to the blacksmith shop with the owner of the top. Although I wasn’t able to see the upper deck, which was my original goal, my steps were much lighter since I had met a major business partner.

I returned to the blacksmith shop with such light steps that I thought I might be flying, and immediately showed the items. Not only did they show off items that had just been made and were not on display, but they even showed skeletons producing products in real time.

“Oh… … . Are skeletons really making things?”

“This is why we can sell products at low prices. Since there is no need for the labor of a blacksmith, labor costs are saved.”

“… … This is the first time I’ve ever been this envious of a warlock.”

Sang Sang-ju looked at me as if he was truly envious. Since the upper level also required quite a bit of manpower, I felt very envious of being able to save on labor costs. However, it was difficult to operate the top with a skeleton.

It was possible to pay and give away items, but if there were multiple items, receiving money was a problem. Like a blacksmith, it was possible to create enough intelligence to see something, judge the situation, and act, but it was difficult to go through processes such as adding or multiplying numbers.

Still, I was able to stop the thief so that I could leave the place, or let him know that I would be back in a while, so I was able to go see the top with peace of mind.

Anyway, Sang Sang-ju, who felt envious, began to look at the items closely.

I checked the quality by tapping the kitchen knife with my finger and cutting the sleeves of the clothes I was wearing. He even hit the decoration of the necklace hanging around his neck with a hammer.

“The quality is really excellent.”

“Of course. There is no reason for quality to decrease just because it is cheap.”

“The value of the product is truly enormous.”

The merchant looked at the iron products with a very greedy expression. It was so greedy that I was worried that he might just grab it and run away.

But fortunately that didn’t happen. The merchant, who secretly concealed his greed, put the products back on the shelf and approached me.

“I would like to continue doing business in the future. What is the quantity that can be produced?”

It’s as if we can handle everything here! And he looked confident. It goes without saying, but seeing that just made me laugh.

“How much can you take?”

“Yes? What does that mean?”

“We can provide you with the quantity you want as much as possible.”

The owner of the top seemed to have a hard time believing what I was saying. But I never really told a lie.

Since there was time for the top to come and go, there was ample time to meet the required quantity, and if production was insufficient, it was only necessary to increase the number of skeletons. Black magic was a bit of a problem, but it wasn’t like there was no way to supply it.

“Then maybe… … . Can we get everything on this list by next month?”

Seeing my confident appearance, the owner of the business took out a piece of paper and wrote down a list of necessary items. It was said that dozens of items such as kitchen knives, hammers, hatchets, long swords, daggers, and spearheads were needed.

Although the amount was a little large, it was not impossible if maximum production was maintained for 24 hours.

“It might be possible.”

“Contract! Let’s sign a contract right now!”

As soon as I finished speaking, the owner of the merchant grabbed my hand with eyes full of greed.

I laughed lightly at such top-notch behavior and told him one thing to be careful of.

“I don’t know if you heard about the price from Father Thomas, but there are some parts that are difficult to provide at the price I paid to Father Thomas. Since you listened to my request separately, I gave it to you at a cheaper price as a repayment.”

“Oh, of course I understand. What I want is the same price as what the warlock sells to the villagers here.”

The owner of the merchant said that he had no intention of being greedy since it was a cheap product anyway, and that he would buy it at the regular price I was selling it for.

Of course, I wasn’t saying that because the owner of the merchant was nice. Since I am selling it at a price that is incomparable to other places, I could leave a mark even if I just bought it at the regular price. It was a situation where the calculation had already been completed.

It was obvious, but it wasn’t something that was just handed out. I was able to fully predict how much of a mark I could make just by selling the products I made to other regions.

“I will do that. Instead, I would like to be able to obtain high-quality iron ore and firewood in large quantities.”

Although iron ore was readily available, high-quality iron ore was not easily obtained. Also, firewood flowers are used as fuel to light fires in kilns, and as the name suggests, firewood flowers are a very good fuel. It was a daily necessity in this world, small in size but emitting high-calorie heat.

It was an item that allowed commoners to stay warm during the winter, and was a must-have item for blacksmiths all year round. In order to meet the demands of merchants, a lot of firewood and flowers were also needed.

“We will supply all the firewood flowers we currently have. And, the iron ore is obtained immediately on the next flight.”

Perhaps it was because he thought of the profits he could make by selling iron products to other places, but the merchant very readily accepted my conditions.

In addition, a contract was immediately drawn up with various conditions added, and the owner and I signed the contract as is. It wasn’t a particularly magical contract, but unless you were a crazy person who preferred money to life, you wouldn’t have thought of fooling me, a warlock. Even though he was a certified warlock, he was not restricted from retaliating when he was defrauded.

Anyway, after completing the contract, I sold the items produced at the blacksmith shop that could be sold immediately. Coins were of course sold, and firewood flowers, which were a little scarce, were also sold for payment.

“Bring the employees and put them all on the wagon.”

The owner of the merchant called the merchant employee who was waiting nearby and had him move the items to the wagon, and held my hand with a very satisfied expression.

“You have become a very good business partner. We look forward to your continued support.”

“Please take care of me.”

We shook hands, smiling in satisfaction as we had come to an agreement that we were both satisfied with. I was able to find a seller where I could sell products on a regular basis and a buyer who could reliably obtain the items I needed, and the merchant was able to make a considerable profit, so everyone was satisfied.

Moreover, the contract that I and the merchant made was not only welcomed by us. The village people were very happy as the merchant decided to visit the village more often to do business with me. The time required to obtain the necessary items has been greatly reduced.

But I couldn’t just sit back and watch the joys of the village people. This is because the skeletons had to be operated a little more diligently in order to meet the level of volume desired by the merchant.

The skeleton was operated by diligently burning the tobacco that could restore black magic. The skeletons became stronger than usual and began producing iron products as if they were manufacturing items in a factory in a previous life.

“Wow… … . It has dark magic power.”

However, through this process, the black magic power was being consumed very quickly. Not only were skeletons used in the blacksmith shop, but skeletons were also used in my parents’ bakery, and skeletons were also used at home for household purposes. Even in my grandmother’s mansion, there were management skeletons, and in fact, all of them were made using my dark magic.

Fortunately, there was no reason to worry about the skeleton in Grandma’s mansion as it had been injected with a large amount of black magic in advance, but the others were not. Since it was a skeleton that moved non-stop 24 hours a day, it was said that black magic power was being consumed non-stop 24 hours a day.

“What should I do… … .”

For me, dark magic power was a means of production, so I had to find a way to quickly increase it.

More dark magic allowed more skeletons to be operated, and more skeletons allowed more products to be produced. It could also be said that everything I need now comes down to dark magic.

So, I started looking through my grandmother’s books to find a way to increase my dark magic.

That book was written by my grandmother when she realized that she did not have much time left, and it contained things she could not teach me due to time constraints. It was a book I cherished even when I left my grandmother’s mansion.

“Let’s see… … .”

It was clear that the book my grandmother left behind would have the content I needed today. After searching through the book for a while, I was able to find one thing.

This was the part that explained one of the reasons why unauthorized warlocks were defined as enemies and were subjugated.

As warlocks were very familiar with death, they were also quite adept at handling life. And, that was the problem. This is because warlocks were able to extort people’s lives at will.

This was because the vicious cycle of using the extorted life to increase his dark magic and then using that black magic to commit vicious acts again was repeated. He harmed people with black magic, but in order to use that black magic, he harmed people again to gather black magic, so it was strange that he was not subjugated.

“This is a bit… … .”

Of course, I had no intention of doing that. My goal now is to live a quiet life for a few hundred years, not to live a life anxious about not knowing when I will be subjugated.

However, as I was looking more closely at the contents of the book my grandmother left behind, an idea occurred to me.