episode_0064

As I was spending time producing items that could be sold in the spring, the weather was gradually getting warmer.

As the days passed, the cold became lighter and I felt warmth. Although it still felt cold in shady places, it even felt cozy in places where the sun was shining. Of course, it was extremely cold when the wind blew.

I checked the items made around the time when cold and warmth coexisted, on the borderline between winter and spring.

Some of them were on store shelves, but most of them were quietly stored in warehouses, and about 90% of the items made were agricultural tools.

“With a hoe and phlegm… … . Okay, this should be enough.”

This is because it was obvious that all kinds of farm equipment would be sold out in the spring. No matter how warm the days get, good iron farming tools are needed to break the ground, which has been frozen so hard all winter that you don’t even know if it’s ground or metal.

“Thank you! Come again!”

Just looking at the customer who had just left, he was a farmer famous in the village for his diligence. They were worried that there would be a crowd of people waiting to buy something later, so they had already come to buy something.

It was expected that there would be that many orders for farm equipment, so I made a bunch of them. Even if a huge quantity was ordered from Carbon, it could be shipped immediately.

Of course, this was possible because large quantities of steel plates were being produced. This is because there were a number of agricultural tools that required only cutting a solid steel plate into shape and then attaching a handle. All that was needed was to roughly cut the steel plate and trim the shape, so production had to be very fast.

Especially for items like shovels, it was really simple. All you had to do was cut the iron plate into a pentagon, cut the flat part like a wing, and connect the handle. It took less than 30 minutes to make one shovel, so it was natural for the quantity to pile up.

Anyway, I was prepared enough that there would be no problem even if a large number of customers arrived with the arrival of spring, so I spent time at the store with the hope that the days would get warmer and customers would come in droves.

The wall that had been destroyed to bring in the troll’s body was neatly repaired, and it became a daily routine to stare blankly out of the store around the window that had been built in its place, waiting for customers to arrive.

“Hey, people are slowly coming out now.”

And, after looking at the window for a while, I could feel that spring was coming more and more. During the winter, there were only one or two people moving around very occasionally, but now some people have started to go outside.

On sunny days, people came out to hang their laundry, and children also played with their friends in the village. There were even people who only did business during warm hours.

“Oh my, Baron! Try some of this!”

However, some of those who moved like that came to see me. They brought everything from simple snacks and other items to clothes suitable for spring.

There was one reason for giving them. The reason was to thank them for saving this village from trolls. Even the kids, probably because their parents told them to, would often nod and say hello when they saw me.

“Hey, I haven’t done much. I will eat well.”

Since they were all my valuable customers, I smiled softly and humbly at them. This was also a method of customer management.

Anyway, as I was watching people moving around more actively than in the middle of winter, I was able to hear various rumors. It was like a rumor that an herbalist who had tasted some money from mistletoe was feeling regretful, or that my friend Grill woke up early from hibernation and caught several sleepy animals.

In addition to the weather, it was possible to definitely feel that spring was coming because we heard stories here and there showing that winter was passing and spring was coming.

However, someone came faster than spring.

“This is the blacksmith shop.”

It was Levs Digar. The crown prince’s bodyguard and the eldest son of the Digar family, the head of the royalist faction, had come to the blacksmith shop in person.

No, how did this guy come here? Even though spring is coming, winter isn’t completely over yet.

A person I never thought I would see in the village came to visit me, so I looked dazed for a moment. But I couldn’t stay blank forever, so I quickly shook my head, brushed away all my distracting thoughts, and stood up.

Although he hasn’t inherited the title yet, he is still scheduled to become a duke, and since he is a person with a connection of his own, I decided to welcome him. First of all, I was also a member of the royalist faction.

“It’s been a while. By the way, how did you come here when it’s still winter?”

“There is a warming artifact, so there is nothing difficult. The downside is that it’s expensive, but if you have urgent work to do in winter like this, you have no choice but to use it.”

“Ah, yes… … .”

I nodded roughly as I saw Levs peeking at the necklace hanging around his neck. Levs was also a highly skilled knight, so it was obvious that if he had something like that, moving around in the winter wouldn’t be difficult. Nothing was impossible as long as you had the few supplies needed to move.

Since the first question I had was resolved, I immediately took Levs to the reception room at the back of the store.

“The tea smells quite fragrant, doesn’t it? This snack also tastes pretty good… … .”

“This time, a troll approached the village, and when I caught it, the villagers thanked me and gave it to me.”

“Troll? Wasn’t it dangerous? It would have been a disaster for a small town.”

“Because there were skeletons, I was somehow able to block them without taking any damage. Although a few skeletons were smashed.”

“Still, I’m glad there was no damage.”

I also nodded to Levs, who nodded. Although losing a few skeletons was a pain in my stomach, I could see it as a benefit since I gained a troll skeleton.

Anyway, for a while we talked about topics such as whether anything had happened during the winter. It was a short story like something happened in the direct territory and something happened in the Duchy of Digar.

And, as we talked, I began to wonder why on earth this gentleman had come to the blacksmith shop even though spring had not yet arrived. I didn’t come here to talk about things like this.

“Is it possible to order items in bulk now?”

But as if Levs sensed my doubts, he began to reveal the reason for his visit.

“Bulk order? Of course it is possible. I think I said it last time.”

“I heard that, but didn’t you say that you lost a bit of your skeleton?”

“Ah, that’s okay. That’s literally how many. In addition, since troll skeletons were already made, the production volume itself increased slightly.”

When I told them that it was possible to order, Levs responded as if he was glad.

From his appearance, I could tell that he was a customer who had come to order something. It was also a large customer who would purchase a lot of items.

“What do you need? Now that it’s spring, do you need farm equipment?”

I looked at Refs with anticipation – wondering if I should buy some pre-made items. But Levs shook his head at my words.

“What we need now is a weapon. Are weapons not allowed?”

“Weapon? No, it’s not impossible, but it’s sudden. I heard that there are usually a lot of people looking for farm equipment during this time.”

It was my first winter and welcome spring while running a blacksmith shop, but I heard a lot. Researchers, including Abuji, say that when spring comes, sales of farm equipment increase significantly.

“Farmers have no choice but to look for farm equipment the most during this time. But our circumstances are different.”

Refs began explaining why he had no choice but to find the weapon.

“You know that people can’t move when winter comes. And, that means the soldiers can’t move either. Of course, not only war, but even small-scale local warfare is impossible in winter. But if spring comes like now, the story will be different.”

“War… … .”

The word war made me nervous for a moment. Since I was born and have lived in this world for some time, I am well aware of the dangers of war. There were people nearby who had been taken to war and returned half-crippled.

But I soon realized that this could be another opportunity for me. War requires enormous amounts of materials, and of course those enormous materials were full of iron weapons to arm soldiers.

“If it’s war… … Where and where? Is this really a national game?”

“It’s not a national game, so you don’t have to worry. It’s just a small territory war. However, there is a high possibility that the territory war will become a proxy war between the royalist faction and the noble faction.”

“A proxy war between the royalist faction and the noble faction?”

“Last year, you began to keep the noble faction in check. As you know, we also dealt with the aristocratic liaisons who were influencing the judges.”

“Ah! Come to think of it, the people I saw for the first time disappeared completely.”

I remembered that the staff had completely changed when I first joined the auditor and the second time I visited. I thought it was just a shift shift and didn’t pay any attention to it, but it seemed like it was taken care of.

“In addition to the judge, he also eliminated attempts to reach out to the territory directly under his control, and punished several nobles of the noble faction who violated the laws of the kingdom. From the nobles’ point of view, they cannot help but be dissatisfied with your actions. However, since I cannot harm you as a member of the royal family, I am planning to retaliate by killing one of the lords belonging to the royalist faction.”

“The aristocratic faction wants to support their lords, and the royalist faction wants to support their lords, right?”

When I saw Levs nodding his head slowly, I could understand why he had come to visit me in person. He was the eldest son of the royalist leader’s family, and had come to seek supplies for support. Of course, since I am also a member of the royalist faction, I may wish for a little additional support.

Naturally, I decided to provide a little extra support. It was an opportunity to publicize the excellence of my products. I couldn’t miss this. If royalist nobles armed with my weapons were to win a territorial war, it was only natural that Smith Skeleton’s products would receive attention.

“So, how much do you need?”

“I want weapons that can fully arm seven knights, and weapons that can arm three hundred ordinary soldiers. I would like the knights to be armed with full body armor, and the soldiers to be armed with weapons that do not cause any inconvenience in movement. Spring is just around the corner, so it’s a little urgent… … Is it possible? Because the noble faction suddenly declared a territorial war, we didn’t have time to react.”

“Hmm… … . Although it is difficult, it is not impossible.”

It seemed that the requirements could be met if all the skeletons available were put into full operation while squeezing out all the dark magic power.