Blacksmithing Is Child’s Play for a Dark Mage - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 38
A month had passed.
The Pioneer Settlement bore no resemblance to what it had been thirty days before.
Three stone buildings had been fully restored.
Roofs that had blown away were rebuilt, and cracked walls were sealed solid with stone and mortar.
The largest two-story structure became Tei’s residence and command post, while the other two served as storage and workshop.
A wooden palisade now enclosed the settlement’s perimeter completely.
Thick logs had been driven deep into the earth, their ends sharpened to points and set upright.
The height was roughly twice that of an adult man—tall enough to bar most monsters from passing.
Beyond the palisade ran a moat.
Four meters deep and four meters across, it had been filled with water drawn from the nearby river.
Between the moat and the palisade stood scarecrows hung with Madness Skull Ornaments at regular intervals.
In truth, completing all this work in a single month should have been impossible—but the tireless labor of Skeleton Soldiers made it feasible.
Over that month, goblins had raided three times more, and crapters had clawed their way up on several occasions.
Yet every threat was resolved automatically.
Some monsters went mad from the Mental Erosion emanating from the skull scarecrows, others fell into the moat and drowned, and still others were slaughtered by the Skeleton Soldiers.
Tei had not needed to lift a hand once.
The settlement had grown to considerable size.
Including farmland, it was now built to accommodate roughly a thousand people, and wooden barracks and quarters for three hundred slaves had already been completed.
Situated along the riverbank, water was never a concern.
Imperfect though it remained.
The settlement now had the proper form to be called a town.
And at the same time.
Tei had summoned the Silver Shield Guild mercenaries he’d hired in Harundale to the Pioneer Settlement.
Of course, he’d also overseen the relocation of every item and slave from the stone cottage to this new location.
There was no need to maintain a workshop in Harundale anymore.
Now the Pioneer Settlement housed roughly a hundred Skeleton Soldiers, twenty mercenaries, and three hundred slaves.
A small but formidable stronghold.
That was what the settlement had become.
* * *
“It’s been some time, Tei. Good to see you.”
A visitor had arrived.
Mark, Sub-Master of the Silver Shield Guild.
The very man Tei had negotiated with when first arranging the escort contract.
“Welcome, Mark. Thank you for making the long journey.”
“Ha. Think nothing of it. A distance like this is nothing to a mercenary.”
He smiled as he spoke, but his eyes were scanning every corner of the settlement.
The palisade. The moat. The Skeleton Soldiers. The buildings.
It was clear he was astonished that such a town could exist in the Southern Untamed Lands.
“You must have had a reason to come in person.”
“Straight to the point, I see. Yes, I’m here about the escort contract.”
Mark straightened his posture.
“The protection zone has shifted from Harundale proper to this location, so we should renegotiate the terms. This place is quite different from the city after all.”
It was a reasonable point.
Security work in Harundale’s city streets bore no comparison to security in the Southern Untamed Lands, where monsters roamed freely—the danger was on an entirely different scale.
This was the sort of situation where a hazard surcharge could be justified.
But instead of accepting, Tei offered a different proposal.
“Mark, I intend to maintain the monthly payment of one thousand gold.”
“Maintain it? You mean keep the amount as is?”
“Yes. However, I’d like you to reduce the number of mercenaries.”
Mark’s eyebrows shot up.
“Reduce them? But this is a monster-infested zone. Shouldn’t we be increasing their numbers?”
“Defense is adequately covered by the Skeleton Soldiers and the items I’ve created. A month of operations has already proven this.”
Tei gestured toward the window.
Skull scarecrows stood at intervals along the palisade.
And Skeleton Soldiers moved methodically about on patrol.
“Over the past month, we’ve had roughly six raids—crapters, goblins, and miscellaneous smaller monsters—yet we’ve suffered no casualties. All threats were handled automatically.”
“When you say automatically… surely you don’t mean—”
“Yes. I haven’t needed to intervene at all. There were nights I woke to find every monster already dead.”
Mark fell silent for a moment.
His gaze lingered on the skeleton scarecrow before returning to Mark.
“Then you’re saying mercenaries aren’t necessary?”
“In terms of pure combat strength alone, mercenaries aren’t necessary.”
“Ha. Bold words indeed. Then what’s your reason for maintaining them?”
Tei met Mark’s eyes directly and spoke.
“The name of the Silver Shield Guild is what I need.”
Mark’s eyes shifted.
The dark mage understood at once what Tei wanted.
“The same story as before. Backing. You’re talking about that.”
“Yes. When Pioneer Settlement succeeds, I’ll be granted a baronial title. But who would pay attention to a newly minted baron? The fact that the Silver Shield Guild stands behind me—that alone keeps other nobles and merchants from acting rashly.”
“…You’re refreshingly honest.”
“Honesty makes things easier for us both, doesn’t it?”
Mark folded his arms.
After studying Tei for a long moment, he spoke.
“Very well. We have a proposal of our own.”
“I’m listening.”
“We’ll maintain the current number of mercenaries. We won’t reduce them.”
“The same fee but maintaining the numbers? Wouldn’t that be a loss for the Silver Shield?”
“In exchange.”
Mark held up a finger.
“Exempt the Silver Shield Guild’s partner merchants from transit tariffs when they enter and exit Pioneer Settlement.”
Transit tariffs.
In this age, there were many types of taxes.
Among them was the transit tariff, a tax imposed on those crossing the walls or boundaries of a domain.
It combined the simple passage tax levied on people moving through, and the commercial tax levied on those bringing goods to conduct trade—collectively called the transit tariff.
It was one of a lord’s major sources of income.
Once Tei became a baron and had this settlement recognized as his domain, he would gain the right to levy transit tariffs on merchants passing through.
The Silver Shield Guild was asking to be exempted from that tariff.
They wanted their partner merchants to move freely in and out without taxation, conducting business unfettered.
In return, they would maintain the mercenary numbers and actively serve as this settlement’s backing.
‘True merchants, after all.’
Tei marveled inwardly.
The Silver Shield Guild wasn’t a simple mercenary company.
It was a multifaceted organization with a network of partner merchants and fingers in logistics.
With transit tariffs exempted, they could monopolize trade throughout the southern regions using this settlement as their hub.
Monster materials. Seafood. Timber. Stone.
Resources from the Southern Untamed Lands could be handled exclusively by Silver Shield merchants.
In the long run, profits far exceeding a thousand gold per month would flow to the Silver Shield.
But.
It wasn’t a bad deal for Tei either.
Maintaining mercenary numbers strengthened his defenses.
The Silver Shield actively providing backing secured his political safety.
Most importantly, once Silver Shield merchants began moving through the settlement, his supply lines would stabilize.
And.
His goods would sell far better.
There was an advantage to being a primary producer.
‘That’s why negotiations should be win-win.’
“Agreed.”
Tei extended his hand.
“Transit tariff exemption. I accept.”
A smile spread across Mark’s face.
“A wise decision.”
Their hands clasped.
Tei was smiling, and Mark was smiling too.
It was a handshake where each man had secured what he wanted from the other.
* * *
A settlement.
Running even a small manor or domain required various personnel.
Where would one find such people?
A proper noble would secure manpower through vassal families that had served their house for generations.
Otherwise.
Hire a commoner educated at an Academy.
In fact, the Balantma Empire had several Academies established precisely to produce such ‘bureaucrats’.
Naturally, of course.
They were all private institutions.
Much like the numerous guilds that existed in Harundale.
The most prestigious Academy among them was the Balantma Imperial Academy.
Operated directly by the imperial family, it was renowned for selecting students solely on merit and ability.
Because it offered full scholarships, students who gained admission bore no living expenses.
As a result, it was known to commoners as an essential pathway to social advancement.
Though, it was said that those who failed to maintain certain grades would be expelled.
That’s why even getting in was difficult.
You had to possess foundational knowledge.
That’s right.
In this world, Academies functioned much like universities in 21st-century Earth.
Simply graduating from an Academy all but guaranteed social advancement and employment.
Yet Tei dared not even dream of hiring graduates from the Balantma Imperial Academy.
Why would such people come to a village barely beginning its settlement?
In 21st-century Korean terms, it would be like a startup small business trying to recruit graduates from Harvard or MIT—or from SKY, Korea’s top universities.
Unless he offered astronomical salaries… but even then, it would be practically impossible!
So.
He lowered his expectations.
He decided to aim for graduates from the lowest-ranked Academy among the Balantma Empire’s institutions.
The Balod Academy, as it was called.
A venerable institution with two centuries of history, it had once been quite respectable, but its prestige had since declined considerably.
By his past life’s standards, it would be comparable to the lowest-tier university in Seoul, Korea.
Why Seoul tier at all, you might ask…
Because there simply weren’t many Academies in this world.
The Balantma Empire had fewer than twenty Academies.
And even for the last-place Academy among them.
Graduates were reliably placed as junior administrators in Baron households.
One hundred percent employment guaranteed! One hundred percent social advancement!
So it was fair to compare it to the lowest-tier Seoul university from his past life.
Nevertheless…
“Hmm. There’s not a single capable prospect here…”
Tei was reviewing the documents sent from the Balod Academy’s Employment Bureau.
His lips twisted as he scanned the papers.
Hiring civil administrators in this world followed roughly this procedure.
Post a recruitment notice at the Academy.
I am a lord, so-and-so, and I’m looking to hire staff.
Something along those lines.
Then interested applicants submitted their résumés through the Employment Bureau.
After that came the interview process.
A Black Mage is Too Easy as a Blacksmith
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Automaton G
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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