The Forgotten Workshop
Joseph selected one of the locations from the list and moved with his soldiers following the guide of the guild office worker.
At first, he had thought to walk, but behind the guild building, two carriages were waiting.
Both looked more expensive than the carriage he had brought.
“Get in, please.”
The office worker waited for Joseph to board the carriage before climbing in after him.
The soldiers also boarded the second carriage. Since it was the first time they were riding not from the driver’s seat, they looked strangely awkward.
“The workshop seems quite far away?”
“No, not really. Actually, even walking wouldn’t take long.”
That was because he was a guest of the Kerbe Merchant Guild, so they were treating him this way.
Braham must have been genuinely concerned.
The office worker’s attitude was also very cautious.
‘What did I say?’
The carriage slowly drove for about five minutes past the blacksmiths’ workshops and the Artisan Guild building.
After following the inner wall, another small building came into view.
“This is the workshop where the artisans are.”
The office worker pointed to the buildings.
Outside, there were more people wearing weapons on their waists than artisans.
“Are they security mercenaries?”
“Yes.”
They appeared to be from a mercenary guild that had a cooperative relationship with the guild.
Since it was a place where artisans gathered, there were many things made of metal or gems that were valuable.
Naturally, they had to focus on security.
Some of them were wearing metal armor, so they didn’t seem sloppy.
However, they were gossiping among themselves, saw Joseph’s carriage, and made ugly faces.
Some even spat while muttering curses under their breath.
‘What?’
Joseph looked at them with a puzzled expression, and the office worker noticed and said.
“... There are many in the mercenary or artisan groups who don’t like guild office workers like me.”
Unlike those who use their bodies working outside, office workers sitting lazily in the guild building aren’t looked upon favorably.
“... Because they don’t know anything about administration, that’s why such words come out...”
In this era, doing ‘paperwork’ was not common.
Labor was, of course, using the body, and that was the common sense that one would be rewarded for it.
Yet a person who is neither a noble nor a powerful figure sits in front of a desk all day?
This alone causes dissatisfaction in the eyes of those who use their bodies.
Joseph slightly opened the carriage window, and the mercenaries snorted and turned their heads away.
‘Is it similar to the situation between field workers and office workers?’
Of course, there were more subtle reasons if one dug deeper.
For example, they hire fewer people, and if there’s a problem with the workshop security, they blame the mercenaries.
Or the issuance of the necessary workshop permits is constantly delayed.
But the office worker didn’t tell Joseph that far.
Joseph, seeing those mercenaries, clicked his tongue lightly.
‘... Stupid thing.’
In this world, connections are one of the most important things above all else.
Because there isn’t a proper social system like in the previous life, it’s even more necessary to be careful.
Obviously, dealing with the person responsible for paying his salary is a stupid thing.
Anyone who touches numbers must always get along well with them.
What kind of mischief this office worker will do later?
The mercenaries don’t seem to be thinking deeply about such risks.
‘Well, you have to learn these things...’
So Joseph quickly got out of the carriage and headed to the small building deepest inside the workshop area.
The deepest place, one small, shabby building came into view.
Before entering the alley, the office worker showed a worried expression.
“This place has been empty for a long time. It’s much smaller than the others, and doesn’t have any particular advantages to boast about...”
Just looking at it, it’s old, and because it’s right under the outer wall, sunlight doesn’t come in well.
It’s common for artisans to lock themselves in dark places, but this is a bit too much. They have to light a lamp even in broad daylight.
The rent for the workshop might not be high, but considering the cost of candles or oil, it seems like a loss.
If it’s not a sloppy person looking for a workshop, they wouldn’t even come close.
That’s why it’s been empty until now.
“It’s okay. I’ll decide after seeing it myself.”
What Joseph is looking for now is not a normal workshop.
Of course, normal evaluation isn’t important.
Moreover, if it’s a corner that no one cares about, he can be more at ease.
After all, the things he needs are to be entrusted to the Kerbe Merchant Guild.
“I understand...”
The office worker sighed lightly and led the way.
The old door creaked open, emitting a musty mold smell and filled with dust.
It immediately felt like a place no one had managed for a long time.
“Ugh!”
The office worker hurriedly entered and opened the windows.
However, there was no sunlight and little wind, so not much changed.
He tried to brush off the dust with his hands, watching Joseph’s reaction.
Probably worried that this precious guest wouldn’t like it.
Unlike the office worker’s extreme reaction, Joseph quietly looked around the workshop.
‘Mana...?’
A faint trace of mana was felt inside the workshop.
It was similar to what he had felt at the Kerbe Merchant Guild.
“Was the person who used this place before some specific person?”
The office worker, after a moment of hesitation, answered.
“I don’t know in detail because I started working before that... Probably, he was also a guest of Kerbe Merchant Guild at that time.”
From that, it was roughly understood. The Kerbe Merchant Guild specializes in distributing artifacts.
So, at that time, it was likely that research or manufacturing related to artifacts was done here.
‘Wasn’t this the first time someone made such a request?’
The workshops in the list shown by the office worker were mostly in remote places.
Joseph chose this even more secluded one among them. Because he didn’t want to be noticed during research.
‘Is it that mages are all similar in this regard?’
In the middle of the workshop, there was an old wooden table, and rusty carving knives were rolling on it.
Behind it, there was a dusty display case with roughly carved stones or wood sculptures.
Upon closer look, they were similar to lighting artifacts, though shapes differed a bit.
“Replacing furniture and tools would be better.”
The office worker sighed in relief at Joseph’s words.
Probably, this guest doesn’t care much about the workshop’s appearance.
Thanks to that, he can avoid being scolded by the guild master.
“Yes, I’ll do that. I’ll immediately call people for cleaning and furniture replacement!”
The office worker enthusiastically bowed his head repeatedly.
He said he would arrange workers right away.
Meanwhile, Joseph headed to the central table.
He picked up the rusty carving knives on the old wooden table.
The trace of mana was felt, but direct usage traces were minimal.
The rough carvings in the display case seemed like simple practice pieces.
‘This mage who used this place... was either a beginner in artifact research or had no talent.’
Or perhaps he stopped research for some other reason at a crucial moment.
Joseph thought for a moment, then shook his head. The circumstances of others are not important.
What is important to him is only completing his own artifacts.
Joseph wiped the dust from the table with his hand.
Separately from waiting for cleaning, he wanted to make something right now.
But he didn’t have materials to start right now.
The materials promised by the Kerbe Merchant Guild would arrive in a week or so.
“By the way, where is the artisan I requested?”
Clearly, Braham said he would arrange an artisan to do the carving work along with the workshop.
Since the materials haven’t arrived yet, he hasn’t shown his face.
The office worker hesitated for a moment at Joseph’s question.
“He might be at the nearby workshop.”
“Then can you call that person right away?”
* * *
The life of a ‘connection-less mercenary in the city’ is boring.
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are the same life, whether you’re a farmer or a mercenary.
You were just holding a knife instead of a hoe.
Of course, while doing mercenary work, there are times when one is noticed by a target or noble and hired.
But naturally, one must have basic skills.
Unfortunately, Givra, a low-ranking mercenary of the Hysen Mercenary Group, is not such a talent.
He was just a bit faster runner and a bit longer endurance than others.
No connections, so he couldn’t learn swordsmanship.
No connections, so it was hard to find decent jobs.
He just guarded cheap trade goods warehouses from the port or patrolled.
‘Instead, I should have inherited the family business.’
The young man who came to the city with high spirits is now a bearded uncle who has lost his motivation, living a day-to-day life.
He will live without much change in the future.
While facing the salty sea breeze, he will watch from afar as a younger, more talented or better connected mercenary rises to upper mercenary.
I thought of taking a boat far away, but it’s not that easy.
Merchants are not fools, so when escorting ships, they always hire upper mercenaries.
Ultimately, it means that to board a ship like Givra, you need money.
‘Even that, connections, connections...’
It’s impossible for a son of a rural farmer to succeed in the city.
He realized it too late.
While feeling relieved that he can reduce one mouth, he still remembers his parents’ eyes when they sent their child far away, sad.
Now, faces he can’t see anymore.
Givra just idly looks at passing merchants and carriages today.
Then, a man approaches from far away.
He looks quite neatly dressed for a commoner, and it’s someone Givra knows.
‘Is he a Kerbe Merchant Guild servant?’
He remembers because he had escorted baggage for Kerbe Merchant Guild before.
Although he didn’t talk directly to the low-ranking mercenary, he had seen him talking to the captain.
His memory is fortunately not bad.
The servant approaches the gate guard, bends his waist carefully, and greets formally.
“I have something I want to ask about the person who passed through the gate yesterday...”
The servant says cautiously, trying to take a few silver coins from the guard’s pocket.
The guard takes the silver coins with a sullen expression and says.
“There were a few people who passed yesterday. I don’t remember any specific one.”
Givra watches the scene indifferently, then frowns.
‘What?’
Searching for someone by the guild is common, but usually the informant who receives money from them does the job.
It’s rare for a servant to personally ask the guard for such detailed descriptions.
‘Who is it that Kerbe Merchant Guild is sending even a servant to find?’
He subtly bows his head and listens to the conversation between the servant and the guard.