There were simply too many tasks in progress. There was an overwhelming amount of work, but far too few people to manage it.
Currently, the territory was being run by throwing money and labor at it, forcing things to function. This resulted in countless administrative issues piling up. Eventually, this would lead to problems exploding.
Billy finally understood why he had been brought to this territory.
"So, I'm here to clean up the mess before it blows up!"
Claude's talk of juniors and friends had been complete nonsense. He had dragged them here simply because he didn't want to die alone.
Billy's face turned pale. Students might have a 20-year contract, but he and his friends had signed for 30 years.
"Ah, no. My whole family moved here. We even received a house and money. There's no way to escape."
Cursing was useless. There was no choice but to deal with the work. Billy worked tirelessly, barely sleeping, to stabilize the territory as quickly as possible.
However, no matter how much work he cleared, the tasks kept piling up. Human stamina has its limits. After several sleepless nights, Billy eventually collapsed.
"I don't care anymore… I can't do this… Just kill me or leave me alone…"
At that moment, someone looking extremely haggard appeared.
"Hello, I'm Piote. I'm here for the territory's touring medical treatments."
"…?"
Billy could only give a puzzled look, lacking the strength to sit up. Piote approached him and stretched out a hand.
Fwoooosh!
In an instant, Billy's body recovered, and he shot up, now staring at Piote in disbelief.
Piote, his dark under-eye circles making him look ghostly, gave a slight bow and said,
"It's time to resume work."
With that, Piote staggered off, leaving Billy stunned.
"What the…?"
All Billy could do was let out a dry laugh in disbelief. Collapsed from overwork, yet they'd forcibly revived him just to make him work again.
It felt like he wouldn't be able to die until the work was done. He had never heard of, let alone imagined, such a crazy territory.
An uncontrollable rage welled up toward the one who had dragged him here.
"Claude—! You bastard!!!"
Similar situations were happening all over Fenris Territory.
Meanwhile, Claude was lounging in his office, sipping tea elegantly, looking like he was finally able to relax.
"Hmmm… I should've brought them here earlier. I went through so much trouble for no reason. Lost a few years of my life over it."
While the juniors were just starting to learn the ropes, stumbling and falling, it was different with the seniors and his old friends.
Having handled administrative work in smaller territories, they were noticeably faster at resolving problems.
Even though Claude and the existing administrators of Fenris still had a lot of work to do, they couldn't deny that things were much better than before.
The fact that he could now leisurely sip tea was thanks to them.
"Phew, that was nice while it lasted. Time to get back to work—"
Crash!
"Oh my! What the?!"
Something flew through the window, shattering it. Startled, Claude watched as Wendy quickly stepped in front of him.
A small rock rolled to a stop on the floor.
"What is this? An assassination attempt? Were they aiming for me? Who dares to attack the head butler of this territory?!"
While Claude was making a fuss, Wendy approached the rock and inspected it closely.
The rock had a piece of paper tied to it.
"Head Butler, it seems to be a letter of complaint."
"A complaint? Did someone suffer an injustice? Or has one of the newly hired administrators already committed corruption? Well, we haven't fully stabilized yet."
It was impossible for no problems to arise among people, especially in a territory recovering from war.
Though they were working on security, it wasn't perfect yet. With large quantities of food being distributed, crime was on the rise.
If a newly appointed administrator had already committed corruption, it would cause major issues.
"Bring it here. Whether it's an injustice or a report of corruption, we need to address it immediately. Such things are unacceptable in a territory where I'm head butler."
At Claude's stern demeanor, Wendy rolled her eyes but brought him the letter.
Claude opened it arrogantly, but his expression quickly shifted as he blinked several times at the contents.
[You bastard.]
It wasn't a plea for justice or a report of corruption. It was simply an insult—direct and unmistakably aimed at him.
"…"
After a brief silence, Claude crumpled the paper and tossed it behind him.
This was not a problem he could solve.
***
During the two months Claude was away, the territory underwent significant changes.
Thanks to rapid construction, various facilities had sprung up everywhere.
Additionally, hundreds of new administrators had arrived. With so many people working tirelessly, the territory was stabilizing quickly.
The arrival of their families, many of whom were skilled workers, also reduced the workload for the dwarves.
Galbarik and the dwarves were chatting cautiously in the workshop.
"It still feels like we're going to die, but it's better than before, right? Let's try to keep things like this."
"Yeah, over time, the workload here will decrease. But let's not let it show."
"Let's keep pretending it's hard and unbearable."
Even the dwarves, who lived for crafting, were overwhelmed by the sheer workload.
Initially, it had truly felt like they were going to die, but now they had figured out how to pace themselves and sneak in breaks.
In other words, they had developed a system.
Galbarik, the leader, grinned as he looked at the gathered dwarves.
"If we keep this up, we'll have plenty of free time in a few months. Let's make sure the lord doesn't catch on too quickly! He's been working us to death!"
"Exactly! Ultimately, it's up to us in the field to manage things! Hahaha!"
"There's so much going on, there's no way the lord can keep track of everything. He's bound to be clueless!"
The dwarves burst into laughter, but it abruptly stopped.
Galbarik noticed their sudden change in expression and asked,
"What? Why do you all look like you've seen a ghost?"
Before he could turn his head to see for himself, someone leaned close and whispered,
"Let's start something new, my friend."
"Whoa! Damn it, you scared me!"
Galbarik jumped back in fright.
Regaining his composure, he saw Ghislain standing there with an indifferent expression.
'Damn it… he must've heard everything.'
Galbarik cursed himself for speaking carelessly, but it wouldn't have mattered. A meticulous person like Ghislain would have already known the progress of every task.
"You've worked hard. Now that the territory is stabilizing, let's move on to the next project."
"What? Another project? We still need to expand residences and workshops! Can't it wait until that's finished?"
"That's already progressing well under others' supervision. You just need to check occasionally for any issues."
With skilled workers from the Cabaldi region learning new techniques and the increase in administrative staff, things were running smoothly.
Additionally, with a steady supply of food, the laborers were motivated to accomplish even more.
While having the dwarves stay involved would speed things up, their efficiency wasn't as high as before.
Ghislain had decided it was time to tackle his next, truly important plan.
Galbarik and the dwarves slumped their shoulders, looking utterly dejected.
"So, what's the new project this time?"
"We're going to develop a new technology."
"A new technology? What kind?"
The dwarves, who had been grumbling moments ago, immediately perked up at the mention of new technology.
Despite the workload, they had started to grow bored. The tasks were increasingly becoming repetitive labor.
Ghislain smirked slightly and said,
"An alloy. Something as strong as steel but much lighter."
"Did I hear that right? An alloy? Are you really going to make something like that?"
"Yes. Until now, we couldn't attempt it due to a lack of iron, but now we have plenty. I know a little about it."
"Ooooooh!"
The dwarves exclaimed in astonishment.
Alloys were not something just anyone could make.
Countless blacksmiths, alchemists, and mages had tried, but humanity had yet to progress beyond steel.
The lack of advanced smelting and processing techniques was a hurdle, but the biggest problem was not knowing the proper material mix ratios.
Research required time, enormous funding, and uncertain prospects. Few nobles were willing to sponsor such efforts.
The dwarves' hearts began to race.
Alloys were considered the pinnacle of metallurgy.
It was said that dwarves had created the first bronze and steel. If this lord could present a new path, it could be a historic achievement.
Galbarik, in particular, was more excited than anyone.
As a child, his dream had been to create a new alloy.
Though he had abandoned that dream as he grew older and made compromises with reality, it now resurfaced.
"Do you really know how to create a new alloy?"
Galbarik's tone became exceedingly humble, revealing his thirst for knowledge.
Ghislain chuckled and began jotting things down for the dwarves.
He listed minerals such as iron, graphite, tin, and alum crystals, along with the order in which they should be smelted.
But the dwarves tilted their heads, sensing something was missing.
"Um… how do we separate and proportion these materials? And what temperature is required?"
One dwarf cautiously asked, to which Ghislain clicked his tongue.
"Do you want me to spoon-feed everything? This isn't a finished technology. That's why research is needed. Isn't this already a big help?"
That was true. Identifying the materials was the hardest part; the details could be worked out through a few experiments.
As the dwarves nodded in understanding, Ghislain inwardly sighed in relief.
The truth was, he didn't know the process himself.
'How would I remember all that?'
He only knew this because Claude had insisted in a past life that this was a crucial technology.
As the conversation continued, Galbarik stared intently at the notes Ghislain had written.
After a long moment of scrutiny, his face turned red, and his hands began to tremble.
"H-How does the lord know about this?"
Galbarik often tinkered with ideas for mixing materials to create alloys.
It had been his only hobby amidst the monotony of life.
Yet, Ghislain's notes, while incomplete, included most of the materials he had thought of using.
It was as if he had filled in the gaps he had been missing. All that remained was to test his ideas.
Overwhelmed by the uncanny resemblance, Galbarik grabbed Ghislain's arms and shook them.
"Did you come up with this, my lord? Will this really create a new alloy?"
'It's you. You're the one who made it in the future.'
Indeed, Galbarik was the one who developed this alloy in a previous life.
It was precisely because of this technology that Ghislain had made it a point to secure him from the slave traders.
After calamity swept the continent, humanity's technological progress had rapidly accelerated in response.
In that chaos, Galbarik had fulfilled his lifelong dream.
But Ghislain couldn't exactly say that. He averted his gaze and replied vaguely,
"Well… there's this legendary blacksmith…"
"Ooh! Who is it? I've never heard of such a grand title in my life!"
'It's you. Look in the mirror.'
"Please, let me meet them just once!"
'Just look at yourself.'
Though Galbarik shook Ghislain's arms fervently, there was no way even he could introduce him to the "legendary blacksmith."
So, as always, he improvised.
"There's a book written by someone who claimed to be the legendary blacksmith. I happened to read it when I was young, but I lost it."
Galbarik's expression grew slightly disappointed.
"Then we don't even know if this will work?"
"It absolutely will. Start the research right away. Only you can do this."
Ghislain's confident tone silenced any remaining doubts. Another dwarf hesitantly asked,
"Why are only we capable of this? And why hasn't the lord tried it before, knowing this?"
"This process requires extremely skilled smelting and crafting. It's nearly impossible without the craftsmanship of dwarves. Even if we succeed in extraction, the law… What's it called, thermal conductivity? Anyway, that makes it hard for ordinary blacksmiths to even forge the alloy properly."
The dwarves exchanged skeptical glances.
How could someone who hadn't made it know about these issues? And how convenient that he had brought dwarves along to solve them?
The contradictions were glaring.
But Ghislain spoke confidently, as if there were no issues at all.
"The legendary blacksmith almost succeeded. The materials are correct, so it's worth the effort. If you succeed, you'll be the first on the continent. Isn't that a challenge worth pursuing?"
Though his explanation didn't fully align, his insistence left the dwarves unable to refute him.
Ghislain inwardly sighed.
If he claimed to have come up with this himself, they might have accepted it more readily.
But he didn't want to go that far.
'I can't just steal credit for someone else's work, especially when they're right here.'
Pointing to Galbarik, Ghislain declared,
"I appoint Galbarik as the lead developer. If you succeed… the alloy shall be named Galbanium."
"Ooooh!"
Galbarik clenched his fists tightly.
This was his chance to fulfill a lifelong dream. Now, he had a clear starting point and inspiration for success.
The development alone would be a historic achievement, and if it succeeded, his name would be immortalized. If he couldn't seize this opportunity, he didn't deserve to call himself a dwarf.
"My lord! I'll accomplish this even if it costs my life!"
Overflowing with emotion, Galbarik shouted as if swearing an oath of loyalty.
Ghislain, maintaining a dignified air befitting a lord, patted his shoulder and said,
"Good. Get it done quickly. We don't have much time."
"…Understood."
The dwarves moved swiftly and began the research immediately.
[T/L: Please support me and read 145 extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]