Bart, a retainer serving Noein Earlkvist, has a primary duty of transporting goods.
Due to his favorable appearance and strong communication skills, he has been entrusted with transporting exports, such as raw lapis lazuli, to Viscount Keinitz’s territory in Retvik. Additionally, he is responsible for gathering the necessary supplies in Retvik and bringing them back to the Earlkvist territory.
Alongside his transportation duties, Bart is also instructed to “gather information about areas outside of Retvik” and “report any useful information for the Earlkvist territory.”
“I’m heading to the workshop, so you all go ahead and secure lodging. Feel free to rest for the day,” Bart instructed.
“Understood, Bart-sama,” the retainers replied.
“We’ll reserve rooms at the usual inn.”
When transporting raw lapis lazuli to Retvik, Bart often spends the night there, as the process typically involves time-consuming procedures with Miles Trading Company, including paperwork and product inspection.
After giving instructions to the retainers accompanying him for assistance, Bart made his way to a particular smithy.
This workshop, one of the largest in Retvik, had close ties with Noein, who frequently ordered iron farming tools, equipment, nails, and other necessities for the Earlkvist territory.
Bart, holding the order slip entrusted to him by Noein, entered the large building on the outskirts of town.
“Hello, I’ve come to place an order for farming tools.”
“Ah, welcome, sir from the Earlkvist territory. I’ll call the master right away, so please wait a moment,” responded an employee at the reception desk, quickly recognizing Bart and promptly attending to him.
As Bart had become a regular here, serving as Noein’s representative, there was no need to introduce himself.
After a short wait, the master of the workshop appeared, sweat glistening on his forehead, likely from working up until the moment.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, sir.”
“No, I’m sorry for always dropping by unannounced…”
“You’re from the Earlkvist territory, so it can’t be helped if you have to drop by suddenly. Don’t worry about it,” the master said with a hearty laugh, taking the order slip from Bart and confirming the details.
Being Noein’s representative, the master personally attended to Bart’s orders each time.
“Well then, I’ve received the order.”
“Thank you. I’ll return to pick it up in about two weeks when I come back to Retvik.”
“Understood. I’ll have everything ready by then.”
Just as their usual smooth transaction was about to conclude, an intruder appeared.
“Ah! There you are! Master, please listen to me! Take a look at this design!” A young man marched over from the workshop’s work area, waving a piece of paper and bombarding the master with words.
“Hey! You can’t come here!” shouted an employee from the reception, trying to stop the young man, but he pushed past them, ignoring Bart entirely as he reached the master.
Bart was caught off guard by the sudden interruption, while the master’s face clearly showed his anger.
“You idiot! You can’t just barge in here like this! It’s disrespectful in front of our customers!”
“Customer? Oh, sorry for interrupting the meeting… But master, please! Let me make this! Just look at the design, I’ve improved it again!” the young man pleaded.
“Enough! I’ve told you before, you’re too cocky for a newbie! Get back to the workshop!” the master barked, but the young man continued to argue, trying to get the master to listen.
Eventually, the master had no choice but to silence the young man with a firm punch.
“Ouch… There’s no need to hit me…”
“Honestly… Sorry for showing you such a disgraceful scene, sir. This guy recently transferred from another workshop. He’s skilled, but he keeps causing trouble like this.”
The master explained that the young man was a problematic individual who had been fired from several other workshops in Retvik due to similar antics.
The young man had grown up in a blacksmithing family in a village near Retvik and had been working with iron since he was a child, so he had skill, but his behavior made it hard for him to fit into any workshop.
Apparently, he had an obsession with “developing new things.” In every workshop he’d been to, he would constantly bother the masters, proposing new tools or asking to create something new, which eventually led to him being fired. Here, too, he was repeating the same behavior.
By the way, it seems this young man is currently boasting that he’s come up with a “new weapon that will revolutionize warfare.”
The master of the workshop gave in once and allowed him to try developing it, but the resulting prototype was so crude that it was completely unusable.
“I keep telling him to stop daydreaming and focus on serious training, but he just won’t listen. I hired him because I know his family’s blacksmith, but this is what I get… Oh, sorry for rambling on to a customer.”
“No, it sounds like you have quite a handful to deal with,” Bart replied with a polite smile. He could empathize, given that Noein, whom he served, had recently faced difficulties managing a certain slave, so he could imagine the challenge of handling a troublesome subordinate.
“Still, a weapon that could change the course of war, huh… I used to be on the battlefield myself, so I’m a bit curious about it.”
“Oh! You’re interested, sir!? Will you listen to me!?” The young man latched onto Bart’s words like a predator finding new prey.
“You idiot! Stop bothering the customers! And besides, you’re way too young to be thinking about development! Blacksmiths should be devoting themselves to training in their younger years! That’s how I gained my experience!”
“Your thinking is outdated, Master! If you’ve got talent, age doesn’t matter! If someone gave me the time and budget for development, I could make something that would change the world!”
“As if someone like that even exists! Stop spouting nonsense already! Are you trying to get fired from here too!?”
The young man and the master plunged back into their argument. Just listening to their quarrel, Bart began to understand why they were so at odds.
He could see the master’s point. Generally, craftsmen start by learning the ropes in their early years, and only after gaining enough experience can they do as they please—usually when they’ve gone independent and set up their own workshop.
In the northwest part of the Kingdom of Lordberg, where peace and social stability prevail, such traditionalist views are particularly strong. It was clear the master was steeped in such a mindset, which must have rubbed the ambitious young man the wrong way.
While the argument was heating up, Bart noticed that the young man had, at some point, dropped the design he had been carrying. He picked it up and casually glanced over it.
(This… Lord Noein might be interested in this.)
As Bart was not only responsible for transporting goods outside the territory but also for gathering information, he decided to report this matter to Noein.
