episode_0022

“Father!”

When I returned to the village, I headed straight to the blacksmith shop. It was because quite a bit of time had passed since I was away, so I was very nervous.

“Andrew! They said it would only take a few days, but how long did it take?”

However, when I returned to the blacksmith shop, my father welcomed me in a very impatient manner. I wondered if something had happened and asked the whole story.

“A few days ago, it came from the top. And also from the village guard.”

“The top and the guards? If it’s at the top… … . The top that comes to our town periodically?”

“Yes.”

At my father’s words, I remembered again the date I had promised with the merchant. However, the promised date has not yet arrived. In fact, there was a little bit of leeway.

“There is still some time on the promised date, but I guess they thought that if they arrived early, they would be able to receive the goods early. By any chance, did you make a fuss asking for something?”

“It’s not like that. I just kept watching with great discomfort from nearby.”

My father waved his hand, saying that it was very difficult to keep receiving the burdensome gaze from the man.

“Well, I feel a bit burdened by the merchants’ gaze. Especially in cases where profit is at stake, they tend to just look at you. By the way, dad. What do you mean, the security team came to visit?”

“Ah, yes. He asked me to tell him that he wanted to purchase equipment to arm the security forces. Most people want a spear point, breastplate, and helmet.”

“I’ll go see the security captain later.”

New business customers are always welcome.

“It’s your blacksmith shop anyway, so do it yourself. I have to go help your mom, so I’ll just go.”

My father took heavy steps that matched his muscular body, as if it was okay that I came. However, my father, who had been walking a few steps, suddenly turned around and looked at me again.

“At this point, why don’t you find some trustworthy employees? I have to run a bakery with my mom, but it’s hard to be in charge of a blacksmith shop for a few days.”

He added that if something urgent happened, he would close the store for a moment, run to the bakery, and then come back.

To be honest, I was also thinking about hiring an employee, so I nodded lightly. I definitely felt the need to find someone I could trust and entrust to the blacksmith shop.

Anyway, after seeing my uncle leave, I looked around the blacksmith shop.

Skeletons were pounding hard with hammers to produce goods, and there was quite a pile of goods to be delivered to the top in the corner. Although not all of the promised quantity has been completed yet.

“Are you there!”

However, as I was looking around the blacksmith shop, someone came into the blacksmith shop. I thought he was a guest, so I went out and saw someone I had met once before. To be exact, he was someone I briefly saw in passing when signing a contract with the merchant.

“It’s the top, right?”

“Ah, yes! Andrew Warlock was here!”

“The item is not fully made yet. There is still time left for the promised date, right?”

“Ah… … . Is that also true?”

As expected, the reason I came early from the top was because I had a vain hope that I would be able to receive the goods earlier if I came a little earlier.

This seemed to be because most blacksmiths took a long time to make one item, so they carried out transactions with sufficient inventory in advance. Since he was familiar with such things, I could say that I came early expecting that he would do the same.

“Then when can I come?”

“On the promised day… … I would like to say that, but there is a way to secure the quantity a little faster.”

“What is that method?”

The person who came out from the top put his face towards me as if he wanted to tell me quickly.

Avoiding his burdensome face, I immediately took a piece of paper and scribbled down the words. Then, I took a paper filled with information and handed it to him.

“Could you take this and post it on the mercenary hall bulletin board?”

“You mean the mercenary hall? But, can mercenaries read?”

“Oh, there’s an old man there who often reads to me. Some of the mercenaries can also read simple words. So you can just paste it, but if possible, read it to the mercenaries before coming back.”

What I wrote was a request letter to ask mercenaries. It was a very simple request, saying they would give you money if you found the corpses of monsters and brought them back.

Since black magic power had increased significantly, it was time to significantly increase the number of skeletons to use. The easiest way for me to get the monsters’ bodies now was to leave them to the mercenaries.

Originally, there was an idea to ask the merchant to retrieve the body, as the cost of staying in the village would be reduced if the time required to produce goods was shortened, but that method was not chosen. Since there was a part related to profit, there was a possibility that something different would come out later. The relationship with the top was perfect, giving only what was given and receiving only what was received.

Anyway, when asked to post a request form on the bulletin board of the mercenary club, which was not particularly difficult, the top staff member immediately nodded and left. They say that just granting that much a favor would shorten the time needed to produce the quantity, and there was no employee at the top who wouldn’t do it.

And, as if the employee at the top who had left had properly posted the request on the mercenary hall bulletin board, after a few hours had passed, mercenaries appeared bringing the corpse of the monster.

Perhaps because they decided to pay the request fee generously, mercenaries carrying the corpses of monsters were lined up in front of the blacksmith shop in an instant.

“Oh, I guess your skills are pretty good? There aren’t many injuries. Ok, buy it!”

“Ah… … ! Everything is fine, but you’re missing a finger? A blacksmith’s fingers are his life. Oh, I’ll buy the one next to it that doesn’t even have a toe.”

“No, why do mercenaries blow up their faces when they ask them to bring in an unharmed body? Still, since it’s fine, I buy it… … .”

“I said the body had to be in good condition. I can’t buy this.”

“Hey~ You caught an orc too? The body is also fine. A muscle was a little torn, but that was no problem, so buy it right away!”

I inspected the corpses brought by the mercenaries and purchased as many corpses as my funds would allow. I paid so much money that I was almost broke right now, and bought the monster’s corpses.

Of course, the monster corpses purchased in this way were instantly turned into skeletons and put into the blacksmith shop.

As a result, there were a total of seventeen skeletons moving in the forge, consisting of two Orc skeletons and fifteen Goblin skeletons.

Two Orc skeletons began producing premium line products using the high-quality iron ore brought by the merchant, and the remaining fifteen Goblin skeletons began producing regular products.

As skeletons began producing products twice as many as before, inventory piled up very quickly. So much so that even the quantity ordered from above can be produced in just one or two days.

This was thanks to investing a lot of dark magic obtained by purchasing blood. The time required for one skeleton to produce a product was reduced, and with more skeletons moving, products could be produced in an instant.

“Warlock! Could you please tell me how much stock is ready?”

And, just when almost all of the quantity requested by the merchant was made, the owner of the merchant came to visit.

“Not much time left.”

“I’m really sorry for rushing you, but I need to move a little quickly because I have to urgently purchase something from the other side. How long do you need?”

“Um… … . buy… … ?”

“Sa? Is it three days? Or is it four days?”

“3… … .”

“… … ?”

“This… … .”

“No way… … ?”

“Work! It’s all done. Please check that all the items collected over there are the same quantity as the contract.”

How did it come at such good timing? Even the skeletons came one by one just before completing the items. Thanks to this, I was able to have some fun by doing the prank I always wanted to do.

But whether I was happy or not, the merchant immediately moved quickly to the place I pointed and started checking the items. Perhaps he had brought a separate contract with him, and the merchant checked the quantity and quality of the items in the contract.

“Oooh! There is absolutely nothing lacking in quality, everything is of uniform quality!”

“Some people can’t buy good things cheaply, and others can’t buy bad things expensively, right? Uniform quality is the greatest advantage of our blacksmith shop, Smith Skeleton.”

To be honest, the quality of iron products in this world, which was all handmade, was uneven. Compared to that, the products produced by my skeletons boasted uniform quality.

Anyway, the owner of the top was very impressed for that reason and immediately began to gather his employees. This was because the quantity was so large, and I had to bring the money to pay for it. Since it was a considerable amount of money, it had to be heavy, and there had to be manpower to protect the money, so a lot of people were needed.

Dozens of merchant employees rushed in and moved items under the instructions of the merchant. All kinds of items were carried by the employees and piled up in the wagon at the top.

“Warlock. Here is the price. Since you prepared the items earlier than expected, I added a little more as a thank you. I hope we can continue to do good business in the future.”

The upper part of the bag looks very heavy… … Rather than a gun, something closer to a sack was placed in front of me. The thud and the sound of the chararang made it possible to know that there were quite a few coins even without looking.

I immediately checked the inside of the battery. It was full of coins minted in the kingdom. After using magic to measure the value of currency, which both wizards and warlocks can use, it was clear that it was slightly more than the amount specified in the contract. It wasn’t a lie that I put in more money.

“Good luck with your next transaction.”

“Thank you.”

When I held out my hand and expressed my intention to do business again next time, the owner of the company held my hand with a very bright smile.

After shaking hands for a while, the owner of the top left after confirming that all the items were packed. Perhaps it was true that there was urgent work to be done, but things were moving around quite hecticly.

“Hahaha! I’m rich now!”

No, I think I was just excited to sell the iron products I purchased cheaply at a high price in another region. Later, I thought it would be a good idea to create my own business like the owner of the business and expand my influence to distant regions.

However, thoughts about the sangsangju who left like that could not last long. It was no different, because there was a guest who came to visit me.

“Andrew. No, should I call him Andrew Warlock now?”

“Hey, uncle. What kind of warlock are you? I just do what feels comfortable. I used to hit honey chestnuts too.”

Right away, the security captain, with whom I had a bit of a relationship, came to visit. Now that I think about it, I remembered that my father had requested that the guards be armed.

I forgot for a moment that I was going to meet the quantity requested at the top first.

“Okay, since you said so, I’ll take it easy. I asked your father last time, could you make me some weapons and armor?”

“Ayu! Of course it is possible!”

army… … Although it may be true, the village guard was also a type of military organization. Naturally, people tended to use iron products continuously and purchase new items or perform maintenance on a regular basis. And, it was all about money.

It wasn’t for nothing that there were people who served in the military or served in the military in their past lives. It was a small security unit, but because of that, they tended to look for a wider variety of items.

Not only the weapons used by soldiers, but also iron blocks to firmly connect wooden fences, shovels to dig moats, hinges used to make doors connecting the inside and outside of wooden fences, etc. In fact, all kinds of items were purchased in the name of the security guard.

“Just tell us what you need! We’ll serve you anything at a reasonable price!”

Such an important business customer could not be overlooked.