Preparation
Joseph immediately paid the full amount to the blacksmith.
The blacksmith jumped in surprise when the silver coins flew out.
If it were someone else, they would typically give a down payment and decide the remaining payment based on the result. Even then, most of them would try to find flaws and reduce the amount however they could.
But to pay the entire sum upfront like this...
“Joseph-nim, wouldn't it be better to give only part of it at first?”
The soldiers asked Joseph with somewhat surprised eyes.
Of course, Joseph hadn't thought of it either.
'It seems fine.'
Joseph's gaze briefly turned toward his own house.
It wasn't far from the blacksmith's house, and the surrounding farmland was wide, so it was visible.
And the conscript soldiers running around nearby came into view.
Right in front was a mage and a noble living there, so the blacksmith wouldn't have other thoughts.
If he tried to cheat the noble's group?
In such a small village, if he had the courage to commit fraud to that extent, it would be something to acknowledge in reverse.
But right now, it's the height of cold wind weather.
Faking it and running out of the village in this situation would be insane.
Especially since Joseph and Ogier had already given up camping outside and returned to Doran.
'This is a kind of carrot and stick strategy.'
Paying money first gives the carrot.
“If the result is unsatisfactory, then kill him then. Right?”
“Yes... Yes, yes, that's right.”
By giving the stick along with the warning.
And it seemed he understood it well.
After finishing the conversation with the blacksmith, Joseph immediately headed to the village.
“Now, I need to find someone to make shields. Something big and sturdy.”
But the soldiers' expressions darkened at the word "shield".
'He still doesn't trust our abilities.'
They had just realized that Joseph's actions weren't solely out of consideration for them.
It was consideration mixed with distrust.
But they couldn't stop it.
The employer was going to do it, what authority did the soldiers have to stop him.
It would only make their score worse.
“... If it's shields, wouldn't it be better to order them all at once from the blacksmith?”
Auk asked, but Joseph shook his head.
“Shields made of wood aren't that difficult. It's better to find someone with good handiwork and entrust them.”
Joseph wasn't trying to get some grand shield.
He just wanted to make plenty of sturdy wooden shields and cover them with a lot of leather.
In the end, shields are consumables.
They break easily after a few hits.
It was better to make extras and take them out when needed.
'Iron would be too heavy.'
If it gets tiring, carrying the shield would be hard.
That would definitely lead to full power drain.
“......”
A mage appeared in the village, and the residents' gazes from afar were felt.
Due to the recent dream commotion or the risk of directly involving the nobles, their faces were all cautious.
Joseph called one of them.
“Hey.”
He glanced sideways, and the one who met his eyes.
He was startled when Joseph called him, but didn't dare to run away.
“Yes, yes! W-what is it?”
With an anxious expression, he approached Joseph and asked.
“Who is good with handiwork in this village?”
“If it's that, then the one at the village chief's house...”
Then, realizing something, he closed his mouth.
Joseph frowned, so he quickly added.
“If it's handiwork, then Derrick is the best!”
“What?”
Joseph looked somewhat dumbfounded, then nodded as if understanding.
'He was an orphan.'
He'd been dragged to all sorts of rough jobs.
It wasn't that he had good handiwork from the start, but through doing various things, it naturally improved.
Derrick scratched his cheek at the villagers' words.
Since his past wasn't particularly good, he seemed reluctant to mention it.
'If there was no magic, I would have been like him too.'
Joseph, thanks to becoming a mage, could escape from being a slave by becoming a hunter.
Whereas Derrick escaped because he became Joseph's soldier.
“Is there no one else?”
Joseph had no intention of assigning shield making to Derrick.
He needed to act as his soldier.
It would be better to do more training instead of giving him such odd jobs.
“Um......”
The villager fumbled through his memory at Joseph's words, then opened his mouth again.
“If it's Gapoi, there's a guy with good handiwork who has some free time, hehehe.”
“Gapoi?”
Auk, listening from the side, quickly interjected.
“The one who got beaten after hiding Dorian last time.”
Auk and Derrick talked about Gapoi with somewhat uncomfortable expressions.
When asked about it, they hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“He's the one who manages the village chief's serfs. His personality is bad.”
Derrick seemed to have quite an unpleasant feeling about him.
It seemed he had suffered a lot from him while serving as the village chief's slave.
Even trying to manage his expression, his brows were furrowed.
Joseph could roughly guess what kind of person Gapoi was.
Among humans, the worst quality isn't the ruler or the worker, but the one in between who eats the leftovers.
Since the word "human rights" doesn't exist in this world, it's understandable how he managed the serfs.
Beating the lower ones made the upper ones happy, so there was no one to curb him.
'Similar to that Hayra guy.'
Joseph thought this Gapoi was similar to Hayra, the son of the Bari Village chief.
Bari was a much smaller village, so there weren't open serfs, but in terms of using the village chief's power to beat the lower ones, it was the same.
'The village chief and his set of bastards.'
Suddenly, a good idea came to mind.
“Then, go to him.”
At Joseph's words, the soldiers, especially Derrick, showed subtle expressions.
If entrusted with the task, he would surely assign work to other serfs and pocket the money.
Thinking this far, Derrick's stomach boiled.
He even seriously considered whether to stop Joseph.
'That Gapoi guy... he'd be happy to earn some pocket money.'
But when they arrived at Gapoi's house, something unexpected happened.
“Shield making won't take long, but it's quite urgent.”
“......Yes?”
Joseph's words, the opposite of before, made Derrick look bewildered.
Joseph continued calmly.
“So, it's not something that can be assigned to just anyone. Naturally, someone is needed to supervise if they make it properly.”
“......”
“Since you're good with handiwork, I'm entrusting it to you... It should be fine, right?”
After mulling over Joseph's words for a moment, Derrick spat out a short laugh.
He understood the meaning of the employer's words.
“Of course. I'll immediately call Gapoi.”
He immediately went in front of Gapoi's front door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Gapoi! I know you're always lounging around at home! Come out!”
“What, what?”
When Derrick knocked roughly on the door, a small curse came from inside.
Soon, a middle-aged man with a rat-like appearance came out.
“Gapoi, when called, you should come out quickly. What are you doing?”
Derrick spat on the floor while slacking.
“Derik? Who the hell is this...! Why are you suddenly acting up?”
When Gapoi saw Derrick's face, his expression crumpled instantly.
But it was just cursing a few times.
“The mage-nim is looking for you.”
“......Mage?”
At those words, Gapoi's expression crumpled even more.
If it was during soldier recruitment, maybe, but now mages were the second most human to avoid in Doran Village.
The first was, of course, the noble Ogier.
“You have something to entrust to you.”
After saying that and stepping aside, Gapoi's eyes finally saw Joseph.
“Hah! M-mage!”
Gapoi immediately jumped in front of Joseph.
“Y-you called for me?”
“Yeah. I heard you know the villagers well.”
Joseph patted Gapoi's shoulder while bending down to check on him.
“I'm looking for someone to make shields, and I suppose you know some with good handiwork?”
He handed over a coin and asked, and Gapoi's face brightened instantly.
As expected, money was what calmed the fear.
“Of course! Hehehe, I know several good guys.”
Joseph demanded to make as many shields as possible before winter ended.
After all, when winter comes, farmers have little to do.
They wait for the weather to warm while eating stored wheat and firewood.
It was good that there was a way to receive proper compensation in such a situation.
“Derrick will come periodically to check the shield level.”
“......Yes?”
At those words, Gapoi's eyes shook.
“It's an important task, so supervision is necessary. Any complaints?”
“Ah, no.”
“Yeah.”
Joseph patted Gapoi's shoulder again and turned his back.
Then, Derrick, who had been standing behind Gapoi, approached his side and spoke.
“Distribute the compensation properly. If you see that you've wasted it, immediately tell the mage-nim and you'll be punished.”
At this, Gapoi's expression hardened instantly.
It didn't sound like a joke.
Derrick saw Gapoi's expression, laughed once, patted his shoulder like before, and immediately followed Joseph.
A new duty to periodically visit Gapoi had been added, but he looked very happy.
Joseph, seeing this, smiled faintly and asked the soldiers.
“Auk, Jiren. What else do you think is needed?”
“Um......”
Jiren tried to say something but was stopped by Auk.
From the recent situation, Auk understood why the employer was asking such questions.
Auk's mind started spinning quickly.
'Without burdening Joseph-nim... what do we need?'
“Ah! After the conscript soldiers' training ends, wouldn't it be good to have someone to clean or organize?”
Recently, after conscript soldiers trained every day, the area became a mess.
Sweat and spit were basic, and someone fighting and pissing had an odor too.
Because of that, for the soldiers who continued training even after conscript duty ended, it was quite a hardship.
Moreover, Joseph's house was on the outskirts of Doran Village, so unlike inside the village, the roads weren't tidy.
What if there were people who cleaned and shaped the roads every day for the training soldiers?
“Ah, I see. That's definitely an important task.”
Joseph was impressed by Auk's words.
'Hygiene is the most important.'
Moreover, since it's work needed for training, no need to pay extra.
It wasn't an excessive demand, so little backlash from the village.
Of course, for those who clean, it would be annoying to do it every day.
“Then, are there some people in the village who can do that?”
Then, the soldiers each pulled out some names, looking very happy.
Especially since Jiren suggested it, Joseph was a bit surprised.
'There must be a lot accumulated.'
Joseph smiled faintly and walked around the village with the soldiers.