The Cliff's Shadow
The Slicer whistled sharply as it shot out in an instant. Its direction was Joseph's left side, aimed straight at Derek and Givra.
“Hyik!”
Derek had already thrown himself toward Givra the moment he heard the whooshing sound. Thanks to having experienced something similar once before.
Fortunately, his judgment was correct, and the Slicer skimmed right over the two of them and crashed straight into the cliff.
Boom!
A large portion of the cliff face was sheared off with a deafening crash.
“Roll!”
“Aaaah!”
Derek and Givra, who had been lying on the ground, hurriedly rolled away from the falling rocks to avoid the debris.
The rocks tumbled down, and clouds of dust rose up.
“Hah… hah…”
Givra was breathing heavily, as if he had been startled.
“…Sorry.”
Joseph, lying flat on his back next to Givra, apologized to Derek.
He stared blankly at the sky for a moment before speaking.
“…No.”
Joseph had nothing more to say at the sight of his expression.
He cleared his throat once and turned to Auk.
Auk, having also startled Joseph, wore an apologetic expression.
“So… what was that just now?”
At that, Auk shifted his gaze back to the cliff as if remembering.
“There was someone up there just now.”
“Who was there?”
“Yes, I couldn't see clearly, but there was some man….”
Joseph followed Auk's gaze to the cliff.
As expected, the man Auk mentioned was nowhere to be seen.
“Should we chase after him?”
“…No, he probably ran away anyway.”
To get to the top of the cliff, one would have to go around the coastline, which was quite a detour.
It didn't seem possible to catch him by running now.
“But, it could be someone who was just watching… or something like that, right?”
“It could be.”
Joseph said that, but honestly, he wasn't fully convinced.
In Valois Territory, maybe, but in Caladon right now, there wasn't anyone who would bother monitoring Joseph.
Of course, Givra had heard that Braham's servant was investigating Joseph.
But that was about gathering information on Joseph's identity, not about monitoring every move.
If that caused Joseph to feel offended and ruin the deal?
The loss would all fall on Braham.
Even if it was indeed someone's spy watching, it wouldn't change much.
The mere existence of a mage in the city being known was the end of it.
Anyway, whether Braham sells the Artifacts or not, the existence of the mage would be known.
There might be other things that happen then, but that was something to think about later.
He didn't want to waste time on uncertain matters.
“I'll continue with the training. It was a bit startling, but it wasn't a serious injury.”
“…Yes.”
Auk glanced up briefly but didn't say anything.
What could he say? His master was continuing the training.
“Derek. You should just stay nearby.”
“Yeah…”
At Auk's words, Derek stood up from his spot.
Then he looked at Givra, who was sitting nearby.
“What about you?”
Givra circled the collapsed rock pile once and shook his head.
“I'll return to the workshop.”
After reporting to Joseph, he immediately disappeared from the cliff.
This guy who was a mercenary is this weak…
And Joseph watched his back as he walked away, feeling a bit tired, and made a vow that Givra must be placed in a desk job no matter what.
***
Several days had passed since handing Zallier's Grimoire to Tabon.
Tabon had a dazed look on his face, as if he had been reading the grimoire and carving minerals for days.
Was I like that too?
Joseph suddenly thought if he had looked that way when researching magic.
Knowing that wouldn't change anything, but it still bothered him.
The soldiers had been chuckling at him, because Tabon's appearance was exactly the same as when Joseph had been locked up.
At the same time, their minds held the thought that he absolutely must not become a mage.
“Before the Artifacts are officially sold, it might be better to move to a separate residence.”
Then, while resting at the inn, Givra, who had come since morning, suddenly brought up his opinion.
He had quit being a mercenary and had become quite free, coming to the inn almost every day.
“What's this all of a sudden?”
Joseph asked in surprise at Givra's question.
Actually, Joseph hadn't thought of moving residence immediately.
No, if it wasn't necessary, he thought it would be better to stay.
He had come to Caladon solely to complete the Artifacts and secure the distribution lines.
Once completed, he planned to move to a nearby place and settle.
But at that, Givra frowned.
“When the Artifacts start being sold on the market, Joseph's name will be known.”
“That would be true.”
Joseph nodded at the obvious statement.
And if the name was known, there would undoubtedly be people looking for Joseph separately.
Like Folmers who had come looking for him in Valois Castle.
“If it's because of the influential people looking for me, they probably won't come to the inn anyway?”
Usually, they would send a carriage to invite Joseph.
After all, the Artifact manufacturing was done in the workshop, Tabon's protection was by Jiren, and the workshop's protection was by the Kerbe Merchant Guild.
Even if there were people with ill intentions towards Joseph, with other soldiers present, they wouldn't easily barge in.
Even if they did, Joseph now could easily defeat most of them.
So, he wondered why bother finding a separate residence to move to.
But Givra still shook his head and spoke.
“This isn't the issue.”
“Then what is it?”
“More rumors will spread than you think, Joseph-nim.”
No matter how small, selling ice Artifacts in summer.
Joseph's name and appearance would spread widely in the castle before the season passed.
“Then, naturally, you'll become the face of the ice Artifacts.”
“…Face?”
At that, Joseph's eyebrows shot up.
“Yes. Considering the Kerbe Merchant Guild's nature and Tabon's work speed, initially they will sell to the nobles. Perhaps they will be the first to recognize Joseph's existence.”
“So?”
“But, if they see the mage who makes the Artifacts staying at the inn, how would the nobles think?”
“…Hmm.”
Only then did Joseph understand Givra's words.
The trust in the Artifacts isn't solely controlled by the Kerbe Merchant Guild.
It's also important what kind of person the creator, Joseph, is.
If they researched Joseph and his first impression was a shabby man staying in an inn room?
It could directly affect the trust in the Artifacts.
That wasn't good.
Of course, considering the performance of the Artifacts, they would eventually be sold.
But if suspicion of the product arises, it would take longer than expected, and that would waste time.
Moreover, thinking about it, he would probably end up staying at the inn until he got tired and found a residence anyway.
“This isn't the only thing.”
“What else?”
“Joseph-nim plans to leave the sales to the guild and go abroad.”
“So?”
“Then, naturally, there needs to be a person and place in the city to communicate with the guild on Joseph's behalf while staying in the city.”
In simple terms, it means there needs to be a Caladon branch of the Joseph Artifact Workshop.
The Kerbe Merchant Guild could contact Joseph directly, but it would be difficult to communicate quickly with Joseph staying outside.
“Even if you don't go outside yet, if you always contact through the inn and discuss important transactions in the inn room, the other party would also feel uncomfortable.”
“…Hmm.”
“Moreover, after going outside, there will inevitably be times when you need to come to the city, and at that time, you would need a safe place to stay as well, right?”
At that, Joseph's words were cut off.
Because there wasn't a single wrong word.
I was only thinking of going as practically as possible.
But hearing it, it wasn't about being practical. This was just a businessman.
One has to know how to spend money to make money.
Joseph realized anew that he had no talent for business.
Then, suddenly, he recalled Braham offering him a mansion.
Perhaps he had thought that far.
But I didn't accept it.
Anyway, Givra's opinion had clear merit.
“So, it would be better to find a suitable residence to stay in even now?”
“That would be right.”
Givra, seeing Joseph listen to his opinion, had a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Then……”
Joseph looked at the faces of the soldiers for a moment.
Jiren had already gone to protect Tabon, and in reality, there were only two of them.
“Auk, you find a suitable place with Givra.”
“Understood.”
Auk answered immediately.
Because Auk was bowing his head, Joseph didn't notice that the corner of his mouth had slightly lifted.
“Then, I'll go look right away.”
Givra took Auk and left the inn immediately.
Joseph watched their backs for a moment and thought.
…This guy, he's unusually capable, isn't he?
He couldn't understand why he had stubbornly insisted on being a mercenary until now.
Changing a decided profession in this world isn't easy, but this was beyond wasting talent; it was like burying it in the ground and forgetting it.
Later, when leaving the city, it would be good to entrust the management of this place to Givra.
Joseph had no idea that Givra was aiming to be a proxy and bringing up such opinions.
He wouldn't answer even if asked.
But, if someone with such a sharp mind, it didn't seem like there would be a big problem.
Even if Givra had other intentions, in the end, Joseph was the one who could make the Artifacts.
He probably didn't think Joseph didn't know that.
In this way, Givra had become the head of the Caladon branch of Joseph's workshop without realizing it.
***
“It's done!”
Two days later.
Tabon, who had finally read Zallier's Grimoire completely and completed the Artifact samples, called for Joseph.
Tabon was waiting for him with a table full of identically shaped ten-sided polyhedral carvings.
“Ooh……”
Joseph was delighted, and Tabon and Jiren exchanged glances and slightly lifted the corners of their mouths.
Probably, their relationship had improved quite a bit during the days of protection.
“Find a medium that matches ice among these.”
Tabon said that and pointed to the one at the bottom right of the table.
“Personally, I don't think the hole-ridden black stone from the desert region or the quartz from Mount Tetra would match well… but for now, it would be good to review them all overall.”
Tabon said that while subtly hoping that everyone would check them all.
After all, he had worked so hard, and if he chose the medium too quickly, it would be a pity.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Joseph patted Tabon's shoulder and signaled to Derek.
Then Derek handed a pouch to Tabon.
It was full of a bit of bonus and herbs.
“Treat your hands first.”
“Ah.”
Tabon finally checked his hands.
His nails were blackened with dirt, and there were many occasional cut wounds.
Probably because he had been speeding up, he had gotten injured.
“Your hands are your assets.”
My assets.
“So, from now on, you should take good care of them.”
You can't just replace a craftsman.
“Aah…… I understand!”
Tabon hurriedly bowed.
An employer who worries about him this much……
Giving such an opportunity at this late age, it was unbelievable.