Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Training the Apprentices
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Humans are stubborn creatures.
Having taken offense at everyone's criticism and dissuasion, I erased retreat from my options and blindly executed the plan step by step.
First, I went to Hans Young Lord and bought large quantities of denim and leather.
"Young Lord, do you have about 300 meters of leather and denim available?"
"Leather and... denim? You mean denim, not serge, right?"
"Yes, denim. Cotton twill, dyed in a deep blue. That's what I'm after."
"Why go for that cheap stuff on purpose...? It'll just pile up as inventory. You sure?"
"It's fine."
"Hmm... No returns on the denim once you take it, okay? We don't have anywhere else to sell it, so stock buildup would be a problem for us."
"Got it."
Hans Young Lord, doubting my sanity, kept confirming it was denim up until he stamped the contract and even added a no-returns clause, but in the end, I secured it without much hassle.
Next, I headed to the smithy to see Patrick.
"Can you make spurs?"
"Spurs? Hmm... I can, but... why the sudden interest?"
"The atelier's going to handle riding outfits, so I figured I'd get matching shoes as a set while I'm at it."
"Well~ More orders are always good for me... but spurs might take a bit longer. That okay?"
"How long for a design like this?"
"Whoa~ Fancy design. For these... a pair would take one to two days?"
"Plenty of time. And could you do just one pair right away? I'll pick them up in two days."
"Of course."
The talented blacksmith prodigy Patrick could make anything.
After ordering a sample pair of spurs and leaving the smithy, I made my way to the tailors' guild.
"Can you help me find some craftsmen who handle leather shoes?"
"Finding them isn't hard, but why come to the tailors' guild for that...?"
"You're the only guild I know. What choice do I have?"
"Ugh... Fine, I'll recommend some suitable ones."
The guild master was flustered by the madman seeking shoemakers at the tailors' guild, but our kind guild master graciously understood and connected me with shoe-making craftsmen.
After that, I prepared a new camera for photos and gave the newspaper a heads-up on when I'd want the ad to run, wrapping up the preliminary work.
With materials ready, next was prepping the staff.
Throwing in our noble trio of tailors would make it too easy, but while they could handle leather jackets or vests, assigning them to denim pants and leather leggings felt like overkill.
Cowboy outfit denim pants and leggings have wide hems, so no need for a perfect fit.
Just pay attention to the hips, and a bit loose elsewhere is fine.
Mobility is priority one.
So this time, it was Elin and the new faces' turn to shine.
"Nice to see you all."
I greeted the three gathered in a dusty corner room on the rarely used second floor with friendly warmth.
"Ehehe..."
One was Elin, giving an awkward smile and a slight bow.
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you."
Beside her was a brown-haired, blue-eyed boy with an intellectual air—Oliver J. Peter, one of the two new apprentices, fourth son of Wharton Baron.
In a place that rarely uses initials, he stood out with the J. in his name, but it turned out the real oddity was that it wasn't an initial at all.
The reason was bizarre: Wharton Baron and his wife argued over whether his middle name should be 'James' or 'Jonathan,' so they just went with J.
I thought they were joking at first—how fun for a kid's name—but it was real, leaving me pretty shocked.
It felt like messing around with a child's name.
Of course, being a middle name, it wasn't a huge deal...
"Nice to meet you too, boss."
And next to Oliver was the little one wagging his tail and grinning—Wirgen Lupus, a beastkin.
I assumed wolf from the Lupus surname, but no, he was a dog beastkin.
His great-grandfather was a wolfhound, hence the name.
Somehow, both picks were such unique kids.
Well, unique or ordinary didn't matter—as long as they learned well and were eager.
"This is the first time we've properly sat down face-to-face like this, right?"
After some perfunctory greetings, I slouched into a relaxed pose and started with light chat.
"Yes, Howard Young Lord has been so busy... It was hard to see your face."
"Yeah, it's been tough catching a glimpse of you, boss."
"I should've gotten you started right away after hiring, but I left you hanging for two weeks. Sorry about that, especially since I took you on as apprentices."
"No need to apologize. We've been learning all sorts from the others."
"Some places take apprentices and make them do chores for years. Two weeks is nothing."
"Thanks for being so understanding."
Despite their odd naming stories, both had plain, steady vibes—wonder if they'd hold up. But since Elizabeth and Herbert Young Lord picked them, they wouldn't lack adaptability.
Given time, their inner madness would emerge and they'd blend right in.
"Now I've got some breathing room to focus on you all and teach you the ropes."
"Yes, we'll learn hard."
"Yep~"
"Any questions from adapting these past two weeks?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Me neither."
"Good to hear."
No real chit-chat topics, so I wrapped up the intro and straightened up.
As I straightened my back and sharpened my gaze, the three kids matched my seriousness, tensing up and meeting my eyes.
"Why do you think I called you here separately today?"
"Hmm..."
Confirming they were ready, I tossed out a question to kick things off.
All three furrowed their brows in thought, pondering carefully before speaking with hesitant expressions.
"For the formal greeting?"
"Did... new work come up...?"
"To teach us something new?"
"O~"
Wirgen's guess was a bit simplistic, but Oliver and Elin had solid ones.
"You're all right. Partly because I hadn't greeted you properly amid the chaos, and partly to assign you work. That's why I gathered you."
"New lessons, then. Looking forward to it."
"Already? We haven't learned much yet."
"It won't be too hard... right?"
"Shouldn't be too tough, and I'll take plenty of time to teach you."
The kids showed varied mixes of worry and excitement for the new challenge, but I wasn't crazy enough to dump real work on half-trained apprentices.
Of course, I'd drill them mercilessly for about two months, but they could handle it.
I pulled paper from a basket and spread it on the table.
Revealed were drawings of denim pants and leather leggings.
"These are the clothes you'll learn to make. One's denim pants, the other's leather leggings."
Their eyes locked on the paper.
Staring intently, nodding slowly, they glanced at each other and me before speaking cautiously.
"Doesn't... look too hard..."
"Eek!? Doesn't it look super tough?"
"There are way harder clothes than this. This one's on the easy side."
"Really? Gotta practice like crazy then..."
Wirgen deflated at the confident pair, tail drooping.
I patted his head lightly to reassure him.
"Don't worry too much. Practice like mad for a few months, and you'll reach Elin's level."
"Really? I'll trust you, boss."
"Yeah, just put in the effort."
Dog thing, maybe—with just a few words, Wirgen perked right up.
Tail up, smile on. Satisfied, I pulled my hand back and poked the paper.
"You'll get your cutting and sewing training here from now on."
"Yes."
"Our first goal is mastering these denim pants and leather leggings in the drawing—to the point you can produce satisfying quality within a one-day time limit."
"One day..."
"By when do we need to reach that level?"
"Two months, ideally? A bit longer is fine too."
"Hmm..."
I said a delay was okay, but their faces stiffened.
Two months.
Not easy to master something, but nothing a death march of practice couldn't fix.
Especially cutting and sewing, which scale directly with practice time up to a point.
"Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you intensively to make these two outfits. Steel yourselves."
"Yes."
"Understood."
"Yesss...!"
Grinning, I signaled the real lessons were coming. They nodded vigorously, resolve firm.
Serious faces and eyes aimed at me—full of determination. Perfect.
"Any more questions?"
"No."
"None here."
"......"
No questions.
Staff prep done.
Now, teach them while making prototypes for the ad.
Just waiting on materials—start as soon as leather and denim arrive...