The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 206: Developing a New Technology (1)

There were far too many tasks in progress at once. The sheer amount of work was staggering, yet there weren’t nearly enough people to manage it all.

They were barely keeping things moving by pouring in money and manpower. As a result, administrative errors were piling up everywhere. This kind of disorder was bound to cause problems eventually.

Billy soon realized why he had been summoned to this estate.

“So, I’m here to fix everything before it blows up, huh?”

All that talk from Claude about being juniors or friends had been utter nonsense. The guy had just dragged him along because he didn’t want to deal with it alone.

Billy’s face went pale. At least the students had a 20-year contract, but he and his friends were bound for 30 years.

“No, no way. My whole family’s here now. We’ve even received a house and money. There’s no escape.”

He wanted to curse, but there was no alternative to getting the work done. Determined to stabilize the estate as quickly as possible, Billy worked tirelessly, barely getting any sleep.

However, no matter how much he cleared off his plate, the workload never seemed to decrease. Human endurance has its limits, and after pulling several all-nighters, Billy eventually collapsed.

“I don’t care anymore… I can’t do this… Just kill me or whatever…”

At that moment, someone who looked thoroughly exhausted approached him.

“Hello, I’m Piote. I’m on a medical tour of the estate.”

“…?”

Billy was too drained to even respond properly, simply staring in confusion. Piote stepped closer and reached out a hand toward him.

Whirr!

In an instant, Billy’s body was fully recovered, and he sprang to his feet, staring at Piote in disbelief.

Piote, his dark circles deeply etched under his eyes, gave a slight bow and spoke.

“It’s time to resume your duties.”

Leaving only those words behind, Piote staggered away.

“What the hell…”

Billy couldn’t help but laugh hollowly in disbelief. Even collapsing from overwork wasn’t allowed; he was forcibly revived to keep going.

It seemed that until all the work was done, he wouldn’t even have the luxury of dying. This insane estate was beyond anything he had ever heard of, let alone imagined.

Unbearable anger surged as he thought of the person who had dragged him into this madness.

“Claude—! You son of a bitch!”

Similar situations were unfolding across the Fenris Estate.

Meanwhile, Claude was sipping tea elegantly in his office, looking like he was finally at peace after a long time.

“Hmmm… I should’ve brought them here sooner. All that suffering was so unnecessary. I’ve wasted a few years of my life.”

While the juniors were just beginning to learn the ropes, stumbling and making mistakes, the seniors and his friends were a different story.

Having dealt with administrative duties in smaller estates before, they were noticeably quicker at resolving issues.

Even for Claude and the existing administrators of Fenris, the workload remained substantial and grueling. However, it was undeniable that things had improved compared to before.

Being able to leisurely enjoy tea, even if just for a moment, was proof of that.

“Hah… That was nice while it lasted. Time to get back to work…”

Crash!

“Eek! What was that?!”

Something crashed through the office window, startling Claude. Wendy immediately stepped in front of him to shield him.

A small stone rolled across the floor before coming to a stop.

“What’s this? An assassination attempt? Did someone aim this at me? Who dares target the Chief Overseer of this estate?!”

While Claude made a fuss, Wendy carefully observed the stone and approached it. Tied to the stone was a piece of paper.

“Chief Overseer, it seems to be a written complaint.”

“A complaint? Is someone protesting an injustice? Or could one of the newly appointed administrators already be involved in corruption? Well, we’re still in the stabilization phase.”

Issues among people were inevitable, especially in an estate recovering from war.

Despite their efforts to maintain order, perfection was still out of reach. The recent distribution of large quantities of food had also led to a gradual increase in criminal activity.

If one of the newly appointed officials had indeed committed corruption, it would be a serious issue.

“Bring it here. Whether it’s about an injustice or exposing corruption, we need to address it immediately. Such matters cannot be tolerated in an estate under my oversight.”

Claude’s expression turned serious, his demeanor radiating authority. Wendy rolled her eyes slightly before handing him the letter.

Unfolding it with a self-satisfied smirk, Claude read the note. His eyes blinked several times in disbelief as he processed the words written on the paper.

[You bastard.]

It wasn’t a plea for justice or a report of corruption. It was just an insult. A direct and very targeted one.

“……”

After a moment of silence, Claude crumpled the paper and tossed it over his shoulder.

This wasn’t a problem he could resolve.

* * *

In the two months Claude had been away, the estate had undergone significant changes.

With astonishingly rapid construction, various new facilities had sprung up all over the territory.

Additionally, hundreds of new administrators had been hired. As they worked tirelessly, the estate began stabilizing at a remarkable pace.

The arrival of the administrators’ families also brought in more craftsmen, which slightly eased the workload for the dwarves.

In the workshop, Galbarik and the dwarves whispered cautiously among themselves.

“It still feels like we’re working ourselves to death, but isn’t it a bit better than before? Let’s try to maintain things at this level.”

“Yeah, we have to. Eventually, things will calm down even more around here. But we can’t let them see that we’re managing better.”

“Let’s keep pretending we’re on the verge of collapse.”

It was a workload so immense that even the dwarves, who lived for crafting, were left speechless.

At first, I felt like I might actually die from the strain. However, over time, I learned to manage the work by feigning just the right amount of complaints and sneaking in occasional breaks.

In short, I had figured out how to pace myself.

Galbarik, the leader, smiled as he looked at the dwarves standing before him.

“If we keep this up, we’ll have plenty of free time a few months from now. Let’s make sure the lord doesn’t catch on too quickly! He’s working us to the bone as it is, isn’t he?”

“Of course! In the end, it’s us on the ground making all the adjustments! Hahaha!”

“With this much work, how could the lord possibly keep track of it all? There’s no way he knows a damn thing!”

Galbarik and the dwarves laughed heartily. But then, all at once, the dwarves stopped laughing.

Seeing their sudden change in demeanor, Galbarik asked,

“What? What’s with the faces? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

Even so, the dwarves remained silent.

Before Galbarik could turn his head, sensing an ominous chill, someone suddenly leaned close to him and whispered,

“Let’s start a new project, my friend.”

“Whoa, damn it! You scared me!”

Galbarik leapt back in shock.

Regaining his composure, he looked ahead and saw Ghislain standing there with his usual nonchalant expression.

‘Ah, crap… he must’ve heard all of that about taking it easy.’

Galbarik regretted letting his mouth run, but staying silent wouldn’t have changed anything. Someone like Ghislain, who insisted on verifying every detail for himself, couldn’t possibly have missed the progress on their work.

“You’ve done a great job so far. The territory is stabilizing nicely, so it’s time to move on to the next task,” Ghislain said.

“What now? Can’t we finish expanding the residences and workshops first?” Galbarik protested.

“Those projects are already running smoothly in other hands, aren’t they? You just need to check in occasionally to make sure there aren’t any problems.”

With new engineers from the Cabaldi region rapidly learning techniques and administrative staff steadily increasing, work had started to progress more efficiently.

On top of that, the steady supply of food had kept the laborers motivated, driving them to accomplish even more.

Of course, if the dwarves stayed deeply involved, the pace would accelerate, but the efficiency wasn’t as good as it had been at the start.

Ghislain was now focused on advancing the truly critical next phase of their plans.

Hearing this, Galbarik and the dwarves slumped their shoulders and wore gloomy expressions.

“So, what is it this time?”

“We’ll begin developing a new technology.”

“A new technology? What kind of technology?”

For all their earlier whining, the dwarves’ eyes immediately sparkled at the mention of new technology.

Although they had accomplished a great deal, they were beginning to feel the monotony creeping in. It had been all work and no play, gradually turning into something closer to mindless labor.

Ghislain spoke with a subtly arrogant expression.

“We’re going to create an alloy. Something as strong as steel but much lighter.”

“Did I hear that right? An alloy? Are you really saying you can make such a thing?”

“That’s right. We couldn’t attempt it before because we lacked the resources, but now we have more than enough iron. So, I’m going to give it a try. I happen to know a thing or two about it.”

“Oooooh!”

The dwarves cried out in surprise.

Creating an alloy wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Countless blacksmiths, alchemists, and mages had tried their hands at it, but humanity still hadn’t progressed beyond the stage of steel.

The limitations of smelting and processing techniques were a problem, but the real issue lay in not knowing the proper mixture ratios for the materials.

Research took a long time, required massive amounts of funding, and carried an uncertain chance of success. No noble was willing to sponsor such endeavors.

The dwarves felt their hearts racing anew.

After all, alloy creation was the pinnacle of metallurgy.

It was said that dwarves were the first to create bronze and steel. If their lord could steer them toward something new, they might achieve a feat worthy of a place in history.

Among them, Galbarik was especially excited.

His lifelong dream had been to create a new type of alloy.

Though he had long since compromised with reality and buried that ambition, it now stirred once more within him.

“Do you truly know how to create a new alloy?”

Galbarik’s tone shifted, becoming much more humble. He was that desperate for knowledge.

Ghislain chuckled and began writing something down for the dwarves.

The list included names of various minerals like iron, graphite, tin, and alum crystals. It also detailed the sequence in which the materials needed to be smelted.

However, even after examining the instructions, the dwarves tilted their heads in confusion. Something was missing.

“Uh… how do we separate these materials and adjust their ratios? And how much heat do we need…?”

One of the dwarves cautiously asked, glancing at Ghislain.

Ghislain clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Do you expect me to spoon-feed everything to you? This isn’t a finished technique. That’s why it requires research. Isn’t this much already a significant help?”

That was true. Identifying the necessary materials was often the most challenging part. The finer details could be resolved with a few experiments.

Once the dwarves nodded in agreement, Ghislain let out a quiet sigh of relief.

The truth was, Ghislain didn’t know the precise process either, so this was as much as he could provide.

‘How could I possibly remember all of that?’

He only remembered this much because, in his previous life, Claude had thrown a fit about how crucial this technique was, pestering him endlessly until it stuck.

While this exchange was taking place, Galbarik was still staring intently at the notes Ghislain had written down.

Galbarik stared at the paper for a long time, his face slowly turning red as his hands began to tremble.

“H-How does the lord know about this?”

For years, Galbarik had been secretly brainstorming ideas to mix different materials and create an alloy.

It had been his only hobby amidst the monotony of daily life.

But the list Ghislain had written down, though not complete, included most of the materials Galbarik had thought of himself.

Ghislain had filled in the gaps that Galbarik had struggled with. All that was left was to conduct experiments based on his own ideas.

Shocked by the uncanny similarity, Galbarik grabbed Ghislain by both arms and shook him.

“Did the lord come up with this too? Can this truly produce a new alloy?”

‘It’s you. You’re the one who came up with it.’

Indeed, it had been Galbarik in a past life who had created the new alloy.

It was precisely because of this achievement that Ghislain had been so adamant about ensuring Galbarik was brought along during the chaos.

When calamity swept across the continent, humanity’s technology had no choice but to advance rapidly to counter the destruction.

Amidst the turmoil, Galbarik had eventually realized his lifelong dream.

But there was no way Ghislain could tell him that he would make it in the future. Avoiding his gaze, he gave an ambiguous answer.

“Well… there’s a legendary blacksmith…”

“Whoa! Who is it? I’ve never heard of such a grand title in all my life!”

‘It’s you. You’re the one they’d call that.’

“Please, let me meet them just once!”

‘Just look in a mirror….’

Galbarik shook Ghislain’s arms desperately, but even Ghislain couldn’t arrange a meeting with a “legendary blacksmith.”

As usual, he improvised.

“There’s a book written by someone who claimed to be a legendary blacksmith. I read it by chance when I was young, but I lost it.”

At this, Galbarik’s expression fell slightly.

“Then we don’t even know if this is truly possible, do we?”

“It’s absolutely possible. That’s why you need to start the research immediately. Only you can accomplish this.”

Convinced by Ghislain’s confidence, another dwarf cautiously asked, “Why is it only us who can do this? And why didn’t you try it earlier, if you already knew about it?”

“This process is extremely challenging. Without the skill of dwarves, it’s practically impossible. And even if the material could be produced, the heat conductivity—or whatever it’s called—is so low that regular blacksmiths can’t even weld it properly.”

The dwarves gave Ghislain skeptical looks.

How could someone who had never made the alloy know not only the process but also the post-production issues?

And yet, he had brought them here specifically to overcome those problems?

It was a contradiction of the highest order.

But Ghislain, unfazed, continued confidently.

“The legendary blacksmith got close to succeeding. The materials are correct, so it’s worth researching. If you succeed, you’ll become the first on the continent. Isn’t that a challenge worth taking?”

The argument didn’t quite add up, but with Ghislain pressing them so insistently, the dwarves couldn’t bring themselves to argue back.

Ghislain sighed internally.

It would have been easier to convince them if he claimed the idea as his own.

But that wasn’t something he wanted to do.

‘I can’t steal credit for someone else’s work. Not when the person responsible is standing right in front of me.’

Pointing at Galbarik, Ghislain declared, “I appoint Galbarik as the head of this project. If it succeeds, we’ll name the alloy Galvaniium.”

“Ooooh!”

Galbarik clenched his fists tightly.

This was his chance to achieve his lifelong dream, and he had been given the inspiration and starting point to do so.

Just developing the alloy would be a historic achievement, and having it named after him was the ultimate honor. There was no way he could refuse. To do so would be to forsake his pride as a dwarf.

“Lord! I will accomplish this, even at the cost of my life!”

Overflowing with emotion, Galbarik practically shouted as if making a vow of loyalty.

Ghislain, maintaining a lordly air, patted Galbarik on the shoulder and replied,

“Good. Hurry up. We don’t have much time.”

“…Understood.”

The dwarves sprang into action, beginning their research with impressive coordination.

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