Translator: Cinder Translations
...
After nearly half a month of long-distance travel, Wells finally arrived at the Northwest Bay with the caravan. To his surprise, it wasn't the desolate and dilapidated place he had initially imagined. Although the population density wasn't as high as in the south, it certainly wasn't a barren, uninhabited wasteland.
Upon entering a land called Emden, the towns along the way became more frequent, and the people they encountered on the road no longer had the haggard look of those he had seen earlier.
"This is one of the most prosperous territories in Northwest Bay. It used to belong to the Kent family, but recently, the Kent family was defeated in their attempt to seize the Duke of Northwest's title, so this land is now under the management of our lord, Earl Paul Grayman. The people here didn't always live so well; their previous lord, Maltz Kent, was a cruel and ruthless man. Now, thanks to our Earl's removal of many harsh taxes, the people here can finally fill their bellies."
During a rest break along the way, Wells overheard the leader proudly praising his lord, the very earl he would be serving for the next five years. This made Wells feel that this lord seemed to be a decent man, definitely better than the one who once imprisoned him and publicly humiliated him over a trivial matter.
The further north they traveled, the better the roads became, wider and smoother, and the bumps in the carriage were much less frequent. More and more merchants were seen along the way.
Finally, the caravan reached their destination—Alden Town. Though called a town, its size was already comparable to that of a small city. It was clear that its development hadn't been going on for long, as many buildings were quite new.
This small city completely overturned Wells' preconceived notion of Northwest Bay as a remote and uncivilized place.
The streets were clean and tidy, paved with bluestone slabs, with little litter around, and there were hardly any foul smells in the air, which was even better than the capital, Crystal Glare. Wells found this quite unbelievable.
The streets were bustling with people, whose behavior and appearance did not resemble that of villagers. Here, Wells heard all sorts of different accents, including even foreign languages. Oh! There was even someone speaking Horns Bay dialect. Even merchants from Horns Bay, which Wells considered to be the ends of the earth, had come here to do business.
Many fully loaded carts were constantly coming in and out, suggesting that commerce here was thriving. What amazed Wells even more was that pedestrians and carts automatically kept to the right side of the road, allowing people and vehicles moving in opposite directions to stay on one side, greatly reducing the chances of traffic jams.
"Perhaps staying here for five years isn't such a bad choice after all." With this thought in mind, Wells followed the group to the town hall to report in. The group he traveled with consisted of all kinds of people—blacksmiths, mechanics, teachers, and so on—but Wells was the only alchemist. Along the way, Wells had been in a foul mood and didn't interact much with the others.
Alden Town's town hall was located in the center of the new district on the southern shore of Lake Wes. Previously, the town had been directly managed by the Administrative Court, but since gaining control of the large Emden territory, the Administrative Court had set up a special town hall to manage Alden Town, and its offices had moved from Alden Island to the new district on the southern shore.
The town hall officials arranged temporary accommodations for them and gave them some money to cover their expenses for the next few days. After wandering around the city for a few days, Wells made many new discoveries. It turned out that many of the new products that had taken the capital by storm over the past six months—such as the exquisite porcelain coveted by nobles and the new paper loved by scholars, as well as various printed books—all came from here.
"I never expected Northwest Bay to have such a place," Wells marveled again. It seemed the rumors were not to be trusted.
One day, when he returned to his lodging, the dormitory manager handed him a letter from the town hall, informing him that he had been assigned a job and asking him to report to the town hall the next day. When he went there the following day, an official led him to a nitrate workshop, or rather a factory, and announced that he had been appointed as the factory's Chemical Technology Supervisor. Wells had no objections, as a descendant of an alchemist family, he was quite familiar with nitrate refining, and so he began his new job.
His daily duties included overseeing the workers' operations to ensure no mistakes were made, inspecting the quality of the products, and training apprentices. He found this work quite enjoyable.
Wells took his job seriously and was proud of his identity as an alchemist, adhering to his professional ethics. He used his knowledge to optimize the nitrate refining process, earning praise from everyone at the factory.
There were also several other supervisors at the factory, all alchemists that Earl Grayman had recruited from various places. While exchanging experiences with his colleagues (though he looked down on their abilities), Wells also gathered information about the factory. According to the others, this nitrate factory was a business owned by the earl's family.
"What does Earl Grayman need so much nitrate for?"
"Apparently, it's to supply the earl's ice-making facility. Oh, by the way, speaking of ice-making, the count also invented a delicacy called ice cream, made from crushed ice, cream, and honey. You should buy some to try. Selling this stuff in the summer makes the earl a lot of money."
Wells was a bit puzzled. Could selling snacks really offset the cost of nitrate production? If a large amount of ice was needed, couldn't they just harvest it in the winter and store it in icehouses? There would be plenty. Was it really worth using expensive nitrate to make ice?
But Wells didn't want to delve too deeply into it. After all, the earl was the boss, and how he used his resources was his business, as long as Wells got paid on time.
Speaking of which, the earl treated him quite well. Considering that he was a "high-level talent" from the capital, he was paid three silver coins a month, and the nitrate factory provided room and board as well—he'd heard that the benefits for employees in the various businesses run by the earl were quite good, and every time there was a hiring drive, a large crowd would try to get in.
If it had been the old Wells running his family store in Crystal Glare, three silver coins would have been a pittance to him. But that family store had been smashed to ruins, along with his reputation in the capital, following that humiliating public display.
But here, in Northwest Bay, three silver coins a month were more than enough for a single man like him to live a comfortable life.
Wells had no complaints about his current life. His long-term plan was to save up some money and open an alchemy shop after his contract with the count ended, right here in Alden Town. He was very optimistic about the future of this small city.
Back to the present moment, the reason Wells was angrily drinking in the tavern had everything to do with another humiliation he had just suffered at the lord's manor...
(End of the Chapter)
---
Perks of Joining My Pa treon (pa treon . com / CinderTL)
- Read (FF) Ahead, Currently up to Chapter 560 as of 01Nov24.
- Daily Updates of 2+ Chapters
- Mass Releases (+6 on 29Oct24)
- 2 Other Stories to Read (More Coming in Future)
- Support My Hardwork. and Show Some Appreciation
Become a Paid Member For As Low As $1, Your support is my motivation😊
AND PLEASE LEAVE SOME REVIEWS, It only takes a few minutes. 🥺