episode_0029

“Welcome. It’s Smith Skeleton!”

Jiena adapted to the blacksmith shop in an instant. He was able to quickly figure out where something was and was very responsive to customers.

They treated customers so warmly that it made you wonder if they were elves who had truly committed a crime and become slaves.

“Elf girl. I’m planning to cultivate a new field this time. Is this a good idea?”

“Senior, if you want to use it when plowing a hard field, buy the one over there rather than this one. It’s a little heavy, but the blade is a little thicker and longer, so it’s better for plowing hard fields. Because it is heavy, it gets stuck deeper into the ground. If you are plowing a well-plowed field again, this is enough.”

Even, as if it were not a lie that he also likes growing plants, he was seen recommending appropriate farming equipment to the village farmers. Even though the person was younger than him, he was treating the person kindly without speaking informally or speaking informally.

Of course, that didn’t come without a price. Since selling products well means doing a good job, we decided to give a very small incentive.

Although it was a very small incentive, giving 1 med for every 1,000 meds, Ziena said it was good and was working hard. If they worked hard, they could escape slavery sooner, rather than 100 years later.

Jiena worked so hard that even though it had only been a few days, the incentive she received was over 200 Med. In short, Zienna’s sales over the past few days were more than 200,000 med. That was only considering sales to individuals, excluding transactions with merchants.

Of course, things weren’t all going well for Jienna as she adjusted to working at the blacksmith shop.

There were even cases where men, including several mercenaries who were impressed by Jienna’s appearance, flirted with her or sexually harassed her. But that was all for Gienna’s first two days on the job.

On the first day, I worked briefly as a test, and the next day was the actual working day. And, Jiena, who was infuriated by the flirting of the many men who came that day, literally smashed a mercenary who touched her buttocks.

They say that what you are good at is destroying your opponent, and you really did it very well. Not only did it shatter his arms and legs, but it also destroyed the man’s life.

“… … At that time, all the men there put their butts back.”

Among the people looking at Jiena in the store, all the men took a deep breath and put their butts back. Including me.

Anyway, because that happened, no one did anything foolish after the third day of work. Even in the case of people coming in from outside, they tended to be very calm in front of Jiena, although it may have been because they had been told by someone.

However, it seemed as if the truth had been strangely distorted and a rumor had arisen. When paying for goods to Jiena, some mercenaries took a posture that seemed to protect their lower bodies. However, Jiena did not know what the rumors were about, but she was actually liking it, saying that it had become more comfortable. I didn’t really care, because I wasn’t really harmed.

Rather, there was something else to worry about now. I was practicing black magic using my personal time that Jiena gave me while working hard.

It was training to create a higher-level skeleton, not just a skeleton that could be called a simple skeleton soldier.

I was prioritizing training in something called differentiation, which allows the skeleton to have more detailed features. For example, the goal was something that could be called a Skeleton Archer or Skeleton Warrior.

I learned a lot from my grandmother, so I was concentrating because it was possible with a little more effort.

But the actual goal was not differentiation. A skeleton becoming an archer or warrior was of no interest to me at the moment. In the first place, basic differentiated skeletons such as archers and warriors could still be made. Considering the materials needed for the process, making it with goblins or orcs is not a waste in itself.

Anyway, my goal now was to create a Skeleton Mage, a special type of special type. The Skeleton Mage literally had tremendous uses.

It was possible to create flame, which is the most important thing in a blacksmith shop, at a very high temperature, and it could also serve as a control entity that allowed me to control the skeletons very easily from a distance. In addition, it was a useful entity in many ways because it could even perform the process of converting the blood that Father Thomas periodically brought into blood essence on my behalf.

For that reason, I started studying and experimenting to create a skeleton mage. I looked through the books my grandmother left behind, and tried the parts I needed to do myself.

“Boss!”

While I was making my own plan, verifying what was written in the book, my concentration was broken by Jienna’s sudden action.

“What is it?”

“A customer came looking for the boss.”

“A customer?”

Because my concentration was broken, I responded a little bluntly, but I had no choice but to close the book when I heard that he was a customer looking for me.

“Did you ask who it was?”

“Ossipi… … I think you said that?”

“Ossipi? Who else… … . Ah!”

There was someone who came to mind in Jiena’s words. He was an official at the upper level who supplied raw materials, which can be said to be the most important items needed in our blacksmith shop. The raw materials included iron ingots, iron ore, and miscellaneous iron. In short, it was said that someone essential to running the blacksmith shop had arrived.

To be more precise, he was an official of the upper level run directly by the lord, the owner of the territory to which this village where I am located belongs.

Since my uncle usually purchased raw materials on my behalf, he was someone I had no contact with, but today I was able to meet him in person.

“It’s in the living room, right?”

“Yes. Boss, I told you to take a customer to the reception room in the corner if there is a customer looking for you.”

“Good job.”

“If I did well, do you give me an incentive?”

“… … You have become a monster steeped in capitalism.”

I headed to the living room with a foolish thought, wondering if I had created a monster elf who was obsessed with money.

“So you are giving incentives?”

Ignoring the shouts coming from behind, I headed toward the living room.

When dealing with merchants, talking to Father Thomas, etc. It was created because the need for a parlor was felt in its own way, and although it was actually called a parlor, there was nothing particularly special about it. There was only a leather sofa and a wooden table.

Anyway, as I entered the living room, I saw a middle-aged man sitting arrogantly with his legs crossed.

“Are you here? You’re busy… … . Hmm?”

Osipi, who was sitting with an arrogant look, looked at me and tilted his head. Considering that my father had always purchased raw materials such as iron ore on my behalf, he seemed embarrassed that I had come out instead of him. But then something seemed to have occurred to him, and he slowly nodded.

“… … You said you passed down the blacksmith shop to your son. So, you’re the son of Rugus Steele, and you’re the warlock who runs the blacksmith shop from now on?”

“That’s right.”

“I see. Well then, let’s get straight to the point. I can’t help it because I’m very busy.”

Osipi, who did not let go of his arrogant attitude even though he said he was busy, started talking as if he was giving notice.

“We will have to raise the price of iron supply in the future. Please understand that we have no choice as a result of an infectious disease spreading among the slaves working in the mines and the amount of mined water has decreased.”

“Yes? No, what… … .”

I was about to get angry at Osipi’s words for a moment, but it was difficult to even say anything. Although the amount mined decreased, it was clear that the amount needed would remain roughly the same. In that case, it was natural for prices to rise.

But looking at Osipi’s still arrogant appearance, I felt like he was lying. I had a strangely bad feeling, it felt like this guy was planning to rob my pocket.

“So, how much will the price rise?”

“Half. I should get half more than before.”

“What?”

When I heard that raw material prices would be increased by 50%, I frowned. I spent quite a bit of money purchasing Jiena and the materials needed for black magic training, but when the prices of raw materials suddenly rose, it became quite a headache.

The prices of items sold in stores will immediately rise, which will reduce people’s desire to purchase them. If that were the case, my benefits would ultimately be greatly reduced.

“No, why do you suddenly want to get half as much?”

“There is nothing we can do. There was an epidemic among the slaves. If you think it’s expensive, don’t buy it. Since the quantity is not that large, it is enough to sell it to another blacksmith shop.”

“… … .”

I couldn’t decide what to do as he was being so overtly forceful. Although raw materials could be obtained in small quantities through various merchants, it was not possible to make all the quantity required at the blacksmith shop.

There had to be a business partner that could purchase goods in bulk, but the only one that Ossipi belonged to was the top merchant. There was no other way for me to do so unless I left for another territory or resorted to smuggling.

This is because the only way to obtain raw materials in large quantities within the territory was through the upper level directly under the lord, due to reasons such as rebellion by the people of the territory and the pretext of controlling materials from being transferred to hostile territories.

You can’t avoid buying something just because it’s expensive, but if you buy everything you need, it’s a burden. It was like a situation where the back and forth was really tight.

“Hu… … . It can’t be helped. Then, I only buy about 30% of my usual amount.”

After thinking about it for a while, the decision I made was to purchase only 30% of the amount I was previously purchasing. It had been a while since my uncle last brought in raw materials, so there was some raw materials left in stock.

It was thought that there would be no problem for a while if we contacted other merchants in addition to the merchants we were currently dealing with and obtained even a small amount of additional raw materials.

“Well, do it that way.”

Although the quantity being mined has decreased, Osipi has maintained a very arrogant appearance, perhaps because demand has not decreased. It seemed like there were many people who would purchase raw materials, even if it wasn’t me. As a result, they said there was nothing to worry about because they would never suffer any loss.

No, in some ways, it felt like it was actually an advantage. This meant receiving more money than if the same quantity had been sold.

In the end, Osipi left the blacksmith shop, looking as if he had nothing to regret. He left a message saying that he would come back soon with 30% of the existing volume.

“Boss.”

“Uh.”

After Osip left, I was wondering what to do with the raw materials, and Jiena approached me.

“What does the person who just left say? I’m listening right now, but I don’t immediately understand what it means.”

“That person named Osipi? What did that person say? No, before that… … . Are you listening now? Are you riding a carriage?”

“It’s not because our elves have long ears.”

Jienna pointed to the elongated ears that were pointedly sticking out through the blonde hair, which could be said to be an external characteristic of an elf.

“Can you really hear it even though it’s that far away?”

“Yes. I’m saying to myself that it’s regretful right now.”

Ziena said that Osipi was muttering to himself as he was leaving, and she began to tell me what he was saying.

To sum it up simply, since our blacksmith shop consumes a lot of raw materials, we thought we could make huge profits by raising the price of raw materials. Moreover, he also informed me that he was wondering if there had been instructions from the lord and what he should say to the lord.

“This is absurd.”

“Boss. What is that person talking about?”

“Hmm… … . He said he was sorry that he tried to do something similar to the guy who scammed you and failed.”

“… … Should I come with an arrow in the back of the head?”

“Don’t do it!”

Rather than finding a way to resolve this situation, I had to first stop Jienna, who seemed to be ready to grab her bow and arrows at any moment.

As if he was going to throw away an ax if the bow and arrow didn’t work, he cursed Jiena and stopped her as she took the hatchet from the display stand. Hahahaha – I ignored Jiena, who was rolling around on the floor with a breathless laugh, and started thinking about a way to solve this situation.

Meanwhile, the inside of the blacksmith shop where things were being made came into view. Skeletons were seen producing products by vigorously hitting the heated iron.

“… … Should I dig it up?”

If you can swing a hammer, you can also swing a pickaxe. If there is a blacksmith skeleton, there can also be a miner skeleton.