episode_0042

While I was imagining the benefits that could be gained by hiring blacksmiths to do research and development, the blacksmiths were also thinking about various things of their own.

They were whispering among themselves when I looked at them, imagining that piles of money might pour out. I couldn’t hear it clearly, but it seemed to be about what I’m thinking right now and what you want to do – do you have any other thoughts?

But while they were whispering among themselves, they soon looked as if they had realized one thing.

“… … But we don’t have a choice, do we? To be honest, I don’t think the noble will go out of business or raise prices, so I guess we only have two options. Either accept the nobleman’s offer, or hold on to the blacksmith shop that is sure to fail.”

This is when they realized that, in fact, they had no choice.

Unless I went out of business or raised the prices of my products like crazy, there weren’t many options for them.

All they did was wait for the blacksmith shop to fail, find another job, move to another area and run a new blacksmith shop, and hire me to do research and development according to my suggestion.

Naturally, there was only one realistic choice among them. Being hired by me.

It was not easy for those who had lived as blacksmiths for more than a dozen years to change their profession, and moving to another region was not a good choice. It was obvious that as my business grew, I would expand into other regions. Even if I moved to another region and ran a blacksmith shop, the situation would be the same when I entered that region. Even if I didn’t enter the market myself, if there were merchants selling my products in the area, the result would be the same.

In the end, the blacksmiths, who had no choice but to realize the reality, let out a small sigh. And, among them, he who was the first to open his mouth spoke again. Of course, under pressure from other blacksmiths around him.

“I am truly sorry to ask you this question, but… … . By any chance, is employment guaranteed?”

“Of course it is guaranteed.”

“Are you saying that you will not be fired just because research or development is completed?”

“Of course. There are so many things to research and develop in the first place. It’s stupid to fire someone just because they completed one thing.”

It wasn’t that all my memories of my past life had disappeared. Of course, I also remembered a few things about iron. Considering only those things, it was clear that even if the blacksmiths in front of me worked until they died, they would not be able to complete their research and development.

Rather, what they should be concerned about is not job security, but making sure they have the freedom to leave. If you were good at your job, it wasn’t just a guarantee of employment; it could also work you until you died.

“Ah, but if you are lazy and don’t work properly, you can get fired. There’s no reason to pay a salary to someone who plays and eats instead of working, right?”

No matter how much I lost my job because of me, I had no intention of taking responsibility for their lives for the rest of my life. The world is always changing, and if you don’t follow the changes properly, there are bound to be people left behind.

Of course, I didn’t intend to just place restrictions on them. Working people needed things to motivate them. It is said that just looking at Jiena will free her from her slave status, so she has become a money-crazy elf and is working very hard.

“Instead, if you research and develop something and achieve results, you will be rewarded appropriately. If I develop a new, very novel product and sell it, I will give you a certain amount of money every time the product is sold.”

Have you ever heard of royalties?

“Um, are you really giving us a reward if we develop something?”

“It will not only give you information about developing products, but also about what you can achieve through research. If you create a technology that can smelt better quality iron, you can also pay a fee for using that technology. If you make the right product or technology, you might even experience being buried in a pile of money, right?”

The blacksmiths quickly realized that the compensation I was talking about was not a small amount. And then, he started to raise his hands.

“I am! I will do it! I really want to try research and development!”

“R&D was something I always wanted to do!”

“We will create technologies that are helpful to nobles!”

The blacksmiths seemed to think that there would be a limit to the number of seats, so they competed and shouted loudly, saying that they would do it first.

I smiled at him and told him a few things I needed to know.

“Just for reference… … . It is said that I will pay a salary and even provide royalties for using the results of research and development, but appropriate sanctions can be imposed on anyone who betrays me. If you freely sell or share your results with someone.”

Although I didn’t remember the details, I still remembered that in my past life, there were people who stole technology and sold it. I was absolutely not in the mood for such a thing.

Anyway, when I heard that I, a nobleman and warlock, would impose sanctions, the blacksmiths looked shocked and shocked. It seemed like they expected that if something like that happened, it would definitely not be an ordinary sanction. Since it wasn’t really a lie, I didn’t correct their thoughts.

Besides, there was one more condition that needed to be discussed now.

“And, I need to move my residence. There are issues with security issues and ease of management. Even by my standards, it takes more than 10 days for a round trip from where I live to here. If you were to follow the carriage at the top, it would take about 10 days just one way.”

This world was not a world where communication was possible with palm-sized objects like in my previous life. So, it was necessary to invite people to do research to where I was staying. This was due to delays in specifying the direction of research and development and receiving reports on the process or results of research and development.

It takes several days to report that something has been achieved or the progress, and even to get permission to conduct some research, it takes several days. No matter how quickly I did it, each process would take at least ten days, so it was inevitable that the research facility would be located where I reside.

The blacksmiths also nodded as if they understood this to some extent.

In fact, unlike my previous life, the reason for changing residence in this world was very simple. Most people changed their residence depending on the lord ruling the territory. If a person had a violent temper or was subject to high taxes, he or she would change his or her place of residence, even if it meant running away at night.

“What are the taxes where you live?”

“About ten percent. It’s not at a universal level.”

One of the blacksmiths who nodded immediately asked about taxes.

This world was not one with things like communication or computers like in my previous life. So, taxes were usually collected once or twice a year, but the collection method differed depending on the occupation. Employees or store owners paid all their money in coins, while farmers tended to pay it all in one lump sum at the time of harvest. In the case of self-employed farmers, it was similar to 10%, but in the case of tenant farmers who did not have their own land and rented land from a lord, they paid more than half in taxes.

If you are a blacksmith like me, you may pay taxes, but you may also pay by making items as a form of contribution. Of course, now that I am a noble with tax exemption benefits, I have no reason to pay taxes anymore.

Anyway, the blacksmiths nodded, noting that the tax was not particularly cheaper than other places, but it was not too much either.

“I will follow the nobleman. Please leave the research and development to us.”

After hearing various conditions and considering them, the blacksmiths eventually decided to follow me to my village and conduct research and development. It seemed like he chose to follow me because the future was uncertain even if he stayed like this.

“However, we need to dispose of our assets, so could you give us some time on that?”

“Yes. It’s hard for you to organize everything in a few days, so let’s go together next month when I come to this branch to supply goods.”

“Thank you for considering our situation.”

The blacksmiths seemed relieved to have been given some time. It was obvious that they would incur significant losses if they tried to liquidate their assets in a hurry, so it would be very welcome for them to be given time.

But one of the relieved people suddenly raised his hand.

“There are students whom I teach techniques… … . What do they do?”

“If you were teaching skills to your students, did you pay them? Or did you get it?”

“Neither given nor received. Although I work, I can’t pay money to teach skills.”

The blacksmith shook his head as if asking something obvious.

If you think about it, this was a natural thing in this world. There were no educational institutions, and what the state took the lead in training was only soldiers and knights. Therefore, it was more common to get paid to learn productive skills. As long as he said he neither gave nor received it, he was considered a good person.

“Then we can just take the disciples who want to go with us. Of course, if my students have sufficient skills or are capable of participating in research and development, I will pay their wages and work for them. It is the same to receive rewards when you achieve results.”

“Thank you!”

He must have been attached to his students, and seemed very happy to hear that he was taking care of them as well.

Anyway, all the blacksmiths decided to follow me, so I signed a simple contract with them. It was a contract that stipulated that the blacksmiths would conduct research and development with my support, and I would promise to receive appropriate compensation for the results generated during the process.

The blacksmiths who wrote the contract held the contract in their arms as if it were a treasure and left. They would finalize the disposal of the assets by the time I arrived to deliver the goods to the Carbon branch next month.

And, in fact, they were waiting for me with all preparations completed when I returned from the preliminary preparations next month. They were waiting for me with all their family members and a large bundle of luggage in their arms. Since even the disciples were there, the crowd was quite large.

Due to the original blacksmith shop becoming my property and going out of business and the low prices, sales at the Smith Skeleton Carbon branch had skyrocketed. Naturally, the number of items ordered has increased enormously. Therefore, we were able to take so many people to the village without difficulty. This was thanks to the fact that several cart skeletons were pulled to bring a lot of goods.

After quickly delivering the goods, people were seated in the empty cart. People seemed nervous yet excited about the fact that they were leaving for a new place.

After seeing everything they had to do in Carbon, they returned to the village with a cart full of them. It was as if the number of residents had increased by dozens in an instant, but since preparations had been made in advance, there were no problems. A house for them to stay in had been found in advance, and the building to be used as the research and development headquarters where research and development would be carried out had also been prepared.

The building named Research and Development Headquarters had a kiln like a blacksmith shop and was full of tools such as anvils and hammers. It was a place where you could study and do everything from making iron from iron ore to making actual products.

“You can do research here. Basically, you can do research autonomously, but if there is something I request, you can give it priority.”

The blacksmith nods his head at my words… … No, those who had now become researchers began to look around the inside of the R&D headquarters. It seemed like they were checking the condition of the kiln and the status and location of various tools.

“So what should we do first?”

The leader of the researchers who were looking around the R&D headquarters, and the person who evaluated his skills as the best among them, asked me a question as a representative.

But that had already been decided. When I decided to bring them in, I decided from the beginning what I would have them do first.

“We just need to find a way to smelt iron more easily and cheaply. The goal is to find out how to process iron ore and what additional things to add to make good quality iron at a cheaper price.”

As blacksmiths who have lived with iron up until now, when I was told to find a cheaper way to smelt iron, their will began to burn brightly.