Chapter 53 - Episode 52: The Blacksmith is an Eccentric ①
The primary job of Bart, a retainer serving Squire Noein Arqvist, is the transport of supplies.
Valued for his communication skills and an appearance that tends to leave a favorable impression on others, he is entrusted with the role of transporting exports—including raw lapis lazuli—to Retovik in the Viscount Koenitz territory, and conversely, gathering necessary supplies in Retovik to bring back to the Arqvist territory.
Furthermore, behind these transport duties, he had been given instructions such as "collect information about outside the territory while in Retovik" and "report any information that might be useful to the Arqvist territory in detail."
"Alright, I'm heading over to the workshop, so you lot go ahead and get a lodge. You can just rest for the day."
"Understood, Bart-sama."
"We'll reserve rooms at the usual inn."
When transporting raw lapis lazuli to Retovik, time is consumed by procedures with the Miles Trading Company and waiting for the confirmation of goods, so it is customary for it to become an overnight stay.
After giving instructions to the territorial residents who had accompanied him to help with the transport of supplies, Bart headed toward a certain blacksmith workshop.
Noein was on friendly terms with this workshop, which boasted one of the largest scales in Retovik, and often requested orders for iron farming tools, implements, nails, and other items necessary for the Arqvist territory.
Carrying the order form entrusted to him by Noein, Bart entered the large building of the workshop located on the outskirts of town.
"Hello. I've come to place an order for farming tools."
"Ah, hello there, retainer-san from the Arqvist territory. I'll call the master immediately, so please wait a moment."
The front entrance of the workshop was equipped with a reception desk, and the employee standing at the counter responded to Bart immediately upon seeing him.
Since Bart had become a regular here as Noein's messenger, there was no need to go through the trouble of introducing himself.
After waiting for a while, the workshop master arrived. He had sweat on his forehead, as if he had been working until this very moment.
"Sorr-y for the delay, retainer-san."
"No. I'm the one who always visits so suddenly..."
"You're comin' from the Arqvist territory, so it can't be helped if it's sudden. Don't let it bother ya."
Laughing cheerfully, the master took the order form from Bart and asked for the details of the order. Because Bart was the messenger of Noein, a landed noble, the master himself went out of his way to handle the matter directly every time.
"—Alright then, I've officially taken the order."
"Yes. I'll come to pick them up the next time I'm in Retovik... probably in about two weeks."
"Understood. I'll make sure the goods are ready by then."
Just as he was about to conclude the transaction smoothly as usual, an intruder appeared.
"Ah! You were here! Master, please listen to me! Please look at this blueprint just once!"
A young man, holding a piece of paper in one hand, strode forward from the direction of the workshop's workspace behind the reception, rattling on toward the master.
"Hey! You can't come over here!" the reception employee tried to stop him, but the young man shook him off and reached the master. He completely ignored Bart, who was currently in the middle of a transaction as a customer.
While Bart was surprised by the sudden occurrence, the master clearly wore an expression of anger.
"Idiot! Don't come out this far! It's rude in front of a customer!"
"Customer? Ah, sorry for interrupting the business talk... more importantly, Master! I beg you, please let me make this! You'll understand if you look at this blueprint! I've improved it again!"
"Shut up! How many times do I have to tell you that you're arrogant for a rookie! Get back to the rear!"
Then, a back-and-forth argument unfolded in front of Bart between the young man pressing him to "listen to me" and the master scolding him to "get back to the rear," and eventually, the master forcibly silenced the young man with a blow to the head.
"Ow... you didn't have to hit me..."
"Good grief... retainer-san, sorry for showing you such a pathetic sight. This fellow is a blacksmith who recently transferred to us from another workshop. His skill is good, but he keeps causing trouble like this."
Upon asking, it turned out this young man was a problem child who had been fired from several other workshops in Retovik after causing disturbances like this.
He was born to a blacksmith in a farming village near Retovik and had been exposed to blacksmithing since childhood, so he had the skill, but because of this behavior, there was no workshop he could fit into.
This was because he apparently "wanted to develop new things" no matter what. Even at the workshops he had drifted through, he would persistently pester the masters, saying "I thought of this tool" or "I want you to let me make this," only to be told he was fired, and he was repeating the same behavior here.
Incidentally, he was currently fired up, claiming he had "thought of a new weapon that would completely change the nature of war."
The master had also given in once and let him try the development, but the resulting prototype was apparently too immature and useless.
"That's why I'm tellin' him to stop talkin' about dream-like things and devote himself seriously to his training, but he doesn't have a listening ear. I hired him because I'm an acquaintance of the blacksmith at his family home, but if it's like this... oops, sorry for making the customer listen to my grumbling."
"No, it seems the Master has it quite difficult as well."
Bart responded with a polite smile. Since the Noein he served had also struggled with the handling of a certain slave until quite recently, he could imagine the hardship of having a problem child as a subordinate.
"Even so, a 'weapon that changes war'... I used to be on the battlefield myself, so I'm a bit interested."
"Oh! Customer, are you interested!? Will you listen to me!?"
When Bart showed interest, the young man pounced with the momentum of a carnivore that had found new prey.
"Idiot! Don't indiscriminately pester even the customers! In the first place, it's twenty years too early for a youngster like you to do development! Blacksmiths spend their youth immersed in training! That's how I gained my experience too!"
"The Master's thinking is outdated! If you have a talent for development, age doesn't matter! If there were someone who gave me more development time and budget, I could make something that would change the world!"
"There's no way such a person exists! Stop spouting such nonsense already! Do you want to be fired from here too!"
The young man and the master entered into an argument once again. Just by listening to this fight, Bart could understand why they were so mismatched.
He could understand the master's argument as well. Basically, craftsmen experience the lower ranks while they are young, and they can do as they please only after they become veterans, go independent, and have their own workshop.
In this northwestern part of the Kingdom of Roadberg, because it is peaceful and there is little change in society, such conservative thinking is particularly deeply rooted. Of course, the master was also completely immersed in such thinking. This apparently displeased the ambition-filled young man.
As the young man grew heated in the argument, Bart picked up the so-called blueprint that had been dropped on the floor at some point and skimmed through it.
This... Noein-sama might be interested in this.
Bart was in charge of transporting supplies outside the territory, and also in charge of collecting information outside the territory. As a retainer with such duties, he decided to report this incident to Noein.