“It’s been a while, Master. I apologize for the sudden visit.”
“Oh, no need to apologize! If it’s Viscount Earlkvist, you’re always welcome.”
About two weeks had passed since Bart had gotten involved in the argument between the young blacksmith and the master in Retvik.
The master smiled as he greeted Noein, surprised that not only Bart, but his lord himself, had come to visit the workshop.
They weren’t in the usual reception area at the front of the workshop, but in the drawing room used for business discussions with nobles and wealthy clients.
Noein placed almost all the orders for farming tools and equipment his domain needed at this workshop. The amount of money involved in those transactions provided a considerable income for the master. It was only natural that he felt a little nervous yet eager to offer his best hospitality to such a valued customer who had shown up unannounced.
“So, what brings you here today?”
“Well, Bart here told me you have an interesting blacksmith, so I thought I’d come by and have a chat. I hear he’s eager to develop something new…”
“Are you talking about that young fellow!?”
The master already knew that Noein wasn’t here just to pick up some farming tools. But to think he came specifically to meet that troublesome youngster was unexpected.
“That one’s just a starry-eyed kid, hardly worth introducing to someone like your lordship, haha.”
“Oh, really? Well, since I made the trip all the way to Retvik, if you don’t mind, I’d still like to meet him. Who knows, we might get along as fellow starry-eyed youngsters.”
Noein smiled, and the master’s face stiffened.
He realized too late how foolish it had been to call someone “starry-eyed” in front of Noein, who, despite his youth, was pursuing the ambitious goal of developing the Bezel Forest. He feared it might come across as him belittling Noein too.
“Would you allow me to meet him, please?”
“Y-Yes! I’ll call him right away, so please wait a moment.”
When Noein smiled again, the master jumped out of his chair and ran off toward the workshop.
“Just so you know, that blacksmith has quite the strong personality. He might even be able to hold his own against you, Lord Noein.”
“That sounds fun.”
While waiting, Noein exchanged these words with Bart, grinning.
After hearing Bart’s report about a craftsman in the Retvik workshop who was trying to create something interesting, Noein had immediately decided to come and meet him in person. The talk of the designs Bart had seen made Noein feel it was worth the trip.
“Sorry for the wait, my lord… Come on, hurry up!”
“Geez, why do I have to meet the customer?”
“Shut it! A noble wants to see you!”
Dragged in by the master, a man in his mid-20s appeared, exuding a lazy demeanor. His hair was carelessly grown out, and his beard poorly shaven. His casual attitude in front of a noble made it clear he was quite the eccentric.
The master forced the young man into a chair in the drawing room, and Noein spoke up.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Noein Earlkvist, the lord of the neighboring territory to the west of Viscount Keinitz’s lands. A pleasure to meet you.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you.”
“…”
“…”
“You idiot! Introduce yourself properly!”
The master, flustered by the sudden silence after Noein’s greeting, smacked the young man on the head.
“Ouch… Uh, I’m Damian. I’m a blacksmith here.”
“Thank you for the introduction, Damian.”
Despite Damian’s less-than-polite behavior, Noein remained unfazed, smiling gently.
“Master, I’m sorry to ask, but could you leave us alone for a bit? Damian might find it hard to talk freely with his boss around.”
“Uh, sure, but… this guy’s an idiot, so he might say or do something rude…”
“I promise not to hold him accountable for his behavior. Please, if you don’t mind.”
Still looking a bit anxious, the master left the room. Noein then turned to Damian again.
“Damian, I’m sorry for calling you in so suddenly. I’m actually interested in the new weapon you’re developing. Something about it being a ‘dream weapon’ that allows even the untrained to handle a bow?”
“You’ll listen to me!?”
At Noein’s words, Damian practically leapt out of his chair, almost throwing himself onto the table in excitement. His reaction was so dramatic that Mathilda, standing behind Noein, instinctively stepped forward to protect him.
Although slightly taken aback by Damian’s unexpectedly enthusiastic response, Noein calmed Mathilda with a “It’s okay” gesture and continued the conversation.
“Yes, I’d love to hear more about it. Depending on the details, I’m even considering bringing you to my domain and allocating funds for the development.”
“Is that true?! Ah, it feels like a dream! Are you a god?!”
“No, no, it’s just that I’ll consider it after hearing the full details. Could you tell me more first?”
“Of course! Finally, I’ve met someone willing to seriously listen to me!”
…
On the battlefield, knights—specifically cavalry—are the stars, but it is the archers who determine the number of casualties in war.
According to a scholar’s statistics, it is not swords or spears, nor even offensive magic (which has relatively few practitioners), but bows that kill the most people in battle.
Such is the power of projectile weapons. As a result, having an elite group of archers directly correlates with having a strong army.
However, maintaining a skilled archer unit is no easy task.
With swords or spears, one can cause damage by simply swinging or thrusting, but using a bow requires strength to draw the string, endurance to maintain the posture, judgment to aim accurately, and the skill to release the arrow at sufficient speed. In short, archery is a specialized skill.
Therefore, training archers to a battle-ready level requires a lot of time and money, and maintaining their proficiency is equally challenging.
It was these circumstances surrounding archers that piqued Noein’s interest when he heard Bart’s report about the young blacksmith, Damian.
Damian’s concept of a “new weapon that anyone can use to become an archer” involved fixing a bow horizontally onto a wooden base. The user would pull the string, set the arrow, and, by pulling the trigger, the string would release, sending the arrow flying.
“I call this the ‘crossbow.'”
“I see. Is the name inspired by the archer from the Chronicles of Alexander?”
“Yes! Wow, Lord Noein, you know your stuff!”
The Chronicles of Alexander is a well-known tale in the southern part of this continent. Apparently, Damian named the weapon after Crossbow, the strongest archer and a companion of the protagonist, Alexander.
“This is a brilliant idea… With this, you could create an archer unit much faster than by training from scratch.”
“Exactly! That’s it! The crossbow only requires the user to aim and pull the trigger. It’ll need some practice, but it’s nothing compared to learning archery. Even a child could use it!”
A bow that merely requires pulling a trigger to shoot—this weapon would revolutionize warfare if put into practice. It could drastically alter the way battles are fought.
In theory, with one of these for each person, Arlkvist’s 150 residents could become 150 archers.
Noein thought to himself that coming here was indeed the right choice. Missing out on a talent like this—someone developing something so groundbreaking—would be a huge loss.
On top of that, Damian was a blacksmith. Since the Arlkvist domain didn’t yet have a blacksmith, having him would be invaluable.
Suppressing a sinister smile and the urge to lick his lips in anticipation, Noein decided that he would bring Damian into his domain.
