The Workshop
A workshop illuminated solely by candles cast a dim glow, with no light seeping in from outside. The rhythmic sound of carving stones echoed softly through the air.
Metal craftsman Haguss sat on a dusty wooden table, methodically whittling a small stone with his chisel.
"..."
Haguss glanced sideways at the figures sitting before him.
A mage clad in gray robes, staff wrapped in cloth, observed his work with an impassive expression.
'This is damnably bothersome...' Haguss thought.
How many hours had passed already?
The mage had suddenly appeared, tossed him a stone and chisel, and ordered him to carve according to the artifact's design.
At first, he was startled, but he could understand the reason.
Haguss had accepted the Kerbe Merchant Guild's commission.
The compensation was decent, and it was a chance to demonstrate his skills, so there was no issue.
But why was this madman watching the entire process?
'Insane people...' He sighed inwardly, but couldn't let it out.
The mage was terrifying enough, and with three soldiers behind him, he couldn't even speak up.
'Aren't these guys bored?'
The mage mentioned there were many crazy people, but these soldiers didn't seem ordinary.
Ordinary sword-wielding mercenaries couldn't tolerate boredom well.
Therefore, guard duty was one of the tasks they disliked most.
'What the hell is going on?'
Yet these men waited quietly beside the mage with faces devoid of complaint.
One stared blankly into the void.
Another quietly sewed torn canvas.
And another kept glancing into the empty workshop as if on guard.
They were passing the time as if waiting like this was second nature.
'I'm suffocating here.'
Haguss bit his lip lightly and raised his hand.
"Um..."
"What? Not done yet?"
"Ah, no. May I go to the restroom for a moment?"
The mage muttered "Ah, I see" and looked toward the window.
He couldn't gauge the passage of time without sunlight.
"Jiren, come with me."
"Understood."
At those words, Haguss's expression twisted, but he immediately bowed his head.
No, he hadn't committed any crime, and going to relieve himself with a soldier accompanying him?
But he lacked the courage to protest.
He was merely a commoner with slightly better hand skills.
All he could do was regret his decision to accept the Kerbe Merchant Guild's transaction.
'For some reason, they gave a lot of money...' Haguss thought.
He wasn't a greedy man.
He had no great ambitions for power or wealth, and as a craftsman who could support himself with his skills, this was simply a painful ordeal.
"...You seem to have many complaints."
When Haguss and Jiren headed to the restroom outside the workshop, Joseph spoke up.
He examined the small carving Haguss had produced.
It was indeed skillful, cleaner than the clumsy ones Joseph and Derek had made.
'That's all.'
Joseph hadn't watched him for hours merely to verify his skills.
He didn't trust Haguss.
No matter what Brahm said, he wouldn't proceed without confirmation.
Honest people exist everywhere, but they vanish when you look for them.
The instinct to lie down and rest is human nature.
Even Joseph had left Bari Village and caused such a commotion because he wanted to live comfortably.
Therefore, he had to confirm directly what kind of person a craftsman was.
'Can't trust a lazy man.'
I can, but my employee can't.
To rest, someone must work hard.
So, pay them to hire them.
Thus, Haguss carving artifact materials must work diligently.
But for the past few hours, Haguss had been checking Joseph's gaze repeatedly.
Rolling his eyes around, clumsily slowing his pace, it was obvious.
'Even if I'm watching, that means it's in his blood.'
Haguss was a man who knew how to adjust production numbers skillfully.
So, he couldn't know how many carvings he could complete in a day.
Brahm had guided him to Joseph after seeing his skills, but hadn't assessed his personality.
"..."
Joseph looked at the soldiers.
Auk and Derek stood with dazed expressions. When Joseph looked, they hurriedly straightened up.
These men seemed young to Joseph, but they had desperation at least.
They were desperately trying to grasp the opportunity that had fallen from their grasp to escape their situation.
But Haguss had none of that.
Brahm had probably given quite a bit of money, but Haguss didn't seem to have much attachment to it.
Living like this now, there was nothing particularly regrettable.
'Rather, it would be better to hire a new person.'
Joseph thought that far, and immediately stood from his seat.
At that moment, Haguss, who had returned from the restroom, stopped in an awkward pose.
"Why alone? Where's Jiren?"
"Um... The soldier said he would go relieve himself too..."
"Right. Well, okay. Go home for today."
"Eh?"
Haguss's expression brightened slightly at Joseph's words.
Joseph didn't like that even more.
Instead of answering, he waved his hand to gesture for him to leave again.
Haguss, sensing the cue, bowed and immediately turned to leave.
"Haa..."
Joseph let out a long sigh.
He wasn't trying to judge if Haguss's behavior was right or wrong.
He just wasn't the type of human Joseph needed.
'Annoying.'
When something is resolved, another problem arises.
Thinking about it, even though it's not a big deal, this kind of thing stacking up is surprisingly very stressful.
In a week, Brahm will send the artifact materials here after selecting them.
Joseph wanted to prepare properly before that, but seeing this, it seemed he would have to hire a craftsman again later.
'Can't recruit soldiers en masse like that...'
Anyway, as he makes artifacts, Joseph's name will be known even if he doesn't want it.
But he didn't want to attract attention recklessly.
He had only opened transactions with the Kerbe Merchant Guild, and the fact that he had only three young soldiers wasn't changing.
"...For now, there's no choice."
Joseph, pondering for a moment, soon took out Zallier's Grimoire.
He had planned to borrow this when a craftsman to cooperate with was decided.
Joseph would enchant the magic, but the actual completion of the artifact's shape was done by the craftsman.
So, he thought the worker needed some understanding of artifacts.
Originally, this wasn't a grimoire but an introductory book with the basics of artifacts, so he wasn't particularly attached to it.
But seeing Haguss's appearance, it was a waste of breath.
"Damn it."
Joseph muttered a small curse and opened the book.
He was thinking to kill time until the office worker who went to hire a cleaner returned.
"Who are you?!"
But at that moment.
Jiren's voice came from outside the workshop.
"Hic—!"
And a sound of someone swallowing breath.
"Who is it?!"
Jiren yelled, and Joseph reflexively raised a mana orb.
Then Derek and Auk drew hand axes from their waists.
Derek then ran out and kicked the workshop door.
Bang—!
The old wooden door was smashed and fell back.
Outside, a man in leather armor was sitting under the window of the workshop.
Jiren, who discovered him, stood glaring at the man, and Derek was ready to swing the axe anytime.
"W-wait! Misunderstanding...!"
The man sitting on the ground looked at Jiren behind him and Derek in front and cried out in fear.
Then he tried to get up from the floor while staggering.
"You bastard!"
But Derek didn't care.
He immediately ran to the man and punched him in the face.
He didn't swing the axe during this, but it seemed he thought that with the soldiers, he had to subdue the guy alive so Joseph could assess his temperament.
Since they had followed their employer for months, they understood Joseph's tendencies to some extent.
Thud!
Derek's fist landed properly on the man's face.
Even the fist had leather gloves.
The man's face was roughly torn.
The man fell, and the three soldiers all rushed in.
"Ugh!"
The man started being beaten by the three without even screaming properly.
"Um..."
And Joseph stood beside the smashed wooden door and quietly watched the man.
If it were before, he would have stepped in, but since the soldiers were catching the suspicious guy, there was little to do.
"Stop."
Just before the man lost consciousness, Joseph stopped the soldiers.
The soldiers who were happily swinging feet and fists immediately backed off.
Joseph looked down at the man from a slight distance.
'Not an assassin...'
Joseph thought while watching the man flailing his arms in the air.
He had reflexively taken out a mana orb, but seeing the appearance, it didn't seem like a particularly threatening guy.
He had a short sword at his waist.
But it didn't seem like he intended to draw it, and seeing him being beaten, it didn't seem like drawing it would make much of a difference.
Moreover, it looked too sloppy to be an assassin.
Joseph had been ambushed several times before.
Especially thinking about what happened in Valois Castle, this guy was a rookie... or worse.
'Wasn't it that he just grabbed a passing person?'
To be sure, he asked Jiren, who shook his head as if he was wronged.
"No! I was trying to look inside by sticking to the window."
It seemed he was indeed trying to peek at Joseph.
"Hmm, right. Then I have to do it as usual."
Joseph instructed the soldiers to take off all his clothes.
From the armor to the inner cloth clothes.
He looked clumsy in many ways, but he didn't intend to be careless.
"Ugh..."
The soldiers looked at each other with disgusted faces, and Auk first started taking off the man's upper body.
Later, Derek took off the greaves and legs, and the last Jiren took off the cloth clothes.
The soldiers dragged the suspicious guy in half armor into the workshop.
Joseph sat on the chair in front and raised a mana orb.
"Go fetch water."
Soon the soldiers brought a bucket full of water, and immediately poured a bucket of water on the tied man's face.
"Hic!"
The man, who was still dazed and out of it, gasped loudly when cold water was poured on him.
The man looked at his body, then lifted his head with a bewildered face.
"..."
What entered his eyes was the man sitting on the chair and the unknown light spheres floating around, and the three soldiers standing beside him as if protecting him.
The man swallowed saliva slowly.
"Are you awake?"
Joseph lowered his voice and asked, and he slowly nodded his head.
"Who are you?"
"M-my name is Givra."
The man answered in a trembling voice.
Joseph remembered for a moment.
Givra, a name he hadn't heard before.
Joseph waved his hand, and the mana orb slowly approached the man.
"Hi, hic!!"
Then the man started struggling in fear.
Because he was tied to the chair, he couldn't move properly and fell backward.
Thud!
The fallen Givra's gaze fell on the old workshop's ceiling.
And the mana orb stuck to his nose as it erased the ceiling's appearance.
Joseph looked down quietly and muttered softly.
"Fire."