Dwarf-Made (1)
“Sigh… Fuck.”
Until just a moment ago, Jeron had been filled with dreams and hope.
He had thought that if he could monopolize Earth, life in this world would be incredibly easy.
If he could supply unlimited resources to this barren, impoverished fief, what greater cheat key could there be in the world?
But after returning to his room and studying the portal, Jeron discovered a few facts that left him unable to hide his disappointment.
In the process of examining the portal’s functions in more detail before seriously bringing over goods from Earth, he realized that a sort of weight limit was imposed on it.
He had figured this out after transporting some iron from the smithy and noticing that the golden light on his palm was gradually fading.
It had been a simple experiment. If he could bring items over without limit, he had planned to find a truck, load it with supplies, and bring it all back.
Arming the fief’s soldiers, bringing them to Earth, and raiding a military base would practically end the game.
What would happen if he brought back a massive quantity of firearms and armed everyone?
Conquering the world in a few years wouldn’t be impossible.
However, once he realized there was a weight limit to bringing things through the portal, he felt as if the family’s guardian dragon was smirking deviously at him.
"Bwahahaha! Did you think you could just coast through life? Don't expect things to be so easy, kid. You'll go bald early if you keep that up."
That damn lizard. Why act so generous if you were going to pull this?
The weight wasn't the only problem.
The volume of the items also affected the limit, much like a courier service charging based on both weight and size.
Jeron organized the facts he had gathered so far.
1. The more items brought from the other world, the more the Golden Key fades. If it turns completely black, no more items can be brought over for the day.
2. The color of the key is also related to the time spent there. The more items brought back, the shorter the stay on Earth becomes.
3. The Golden Key recovers its power naturally over time.
The power of the Golden Key was not infinite.
Could it be that his ancestors had also faced similar limitations on their power?
It was a highly reasonable hypothesis.
The family's power was like a gacha game that granted random abilities, but whatever power it gave, it was always far superior to ordinary people.
Yet, despite using such special powers generation after generation, it was a bit strange that they had remained a mere barony.
The problem was that the guardian dragon had given them a power that ran out of steam far too quickly.
Based on the facts confirmed so far, two hypotheses could be made.
First, that the power of the Golden Key was replenished by the mana in one's body.
Mages who could manipulate mana were extremely rare. Anyone who had mastered magic to the point of being useful in war could rise rapidly through the ranks of nobility.
This hypothesis felt plausible because during the generations of ancestors who were presumed to possess mana, the family's title had risen significantly.
At one point, the Farrow family had even wielded great influence as a county.
Second, that the power was just naturally short-lived.
This was actually the worse scenario.
If the first hypothesis was correct, obtaining mana somehow would increase the amount of goods he could bring from Earth. But if it was the latter and there was an absolute limit?
“If that's the case… I'll just have to remove the dragon from the family crest.”
He had to believe that obtaining mana would grant him more power.
Only then could he build up his strength in this godforsaken medieval world.
Knock, knock.
“Young Lord?”
Violet brought in a puppy.
This was for a living organism experiment, to see if living things other than Jeron could pass through the portal.
Based on the results so far, the portal didn't seem to pose any danger, but he hadn't felt comfortable conducting biological experiments on a living human. It wasn't as if the fief had death row inmates lying around, either.
“……”
Violet stood awkwardly by Jeron's side.
“You can leave.”
“Can't I stay a little longer? I think I need to clean up, and the laundry…”
“I'll call you if I need you. Go on.”
She left Jeron's room with a dejected expression.
Now, the biological experiment would begin.
Would the puppy be able to pass through the portal?
“Pant! Pant! Pant!”
When he opened the portal and let the puppy loose, the creature scurried all over the room.
Driven by canine instinct, it sniffed around everywhere.
It would be trouble if it decided to mark its territory.
Seeing another world open on one side of the room, the puppy dashed toward it at full speed.
“Hey! Don't run like that!”
Boing!
As the puppy tried to cross the portal, it was gently pushed back.
As expected, the portal did not directly harm living creatures.
This time, he picked up the puppy and stepped through the portal.
Jeron passed through smoothly with the puppy in his arms.
“It works.”
This was a significant harvest.
He had worried about what to do if living things couldn't pass through, but this meant humans could likely cross without much trouble as well.
However, they couldn't just walk through on their own; they had to be in physical contact with Jeron to cross over to Earth.
Jeron quickly checked for any penalties.
“I knew it.”
He had anticipated this.
Jeron's Golden Key never let him get anything for free.
The color of the Golden Key engraved on his palm had faded significantly.
The energy consumed was equivalent to bringing back about 15 kilograms of goods from Earth.
Currently, his weight limit seemed to be around 40 kilograms, making this a massive loss.
Unless it was an absolute emergency, he would have to refrain from crossing the portal with other people.
Of course, even without this restriction, the knowledge that Jeron possessed the power to cross into another world could trigger a massive butterfly effect, so he had to remain cautious at all times.
This was enough for the experiment.
Knock, knock.
“Young Lord!”
“What is it now?”
It was his adjutant, Sir Garcia.
Currently, the knights of the fief were spending very busy days.
They were occupied with filling the massive gap left in the fief's military forces.
They were traveling to the villages under the barony to recruit soldiers and training the recruits they gathered.
Increasing the military meant reducing the hands available for farming, which could lead to a decline in productivity in the long run, but they had no choice.
“Baron Romid, the tax collector from Hanes County, has arrived.”
“Is it already time to pay taxes? Did you try asking to delay it?”
“You know how it is, don't you?”
Garcia wore a tearful face.
The fief was currently in shambles, and losing their troops had created a massive void. But that was strictly an internal matter.
If they did not pay a certain amount of taxes to the county, their trade rights would be revoked immediately.
The fief's main income came from various herbs and monster hides, and the county was the one that received and processed them.
In the kingdom, not just anyone could do business; one had to obtain permission. For the Farrow family, which lacked independent trade rights, the Count's assistance was absolutely necessary.
In the cold society of nobles, humanitarian aid did not exist.
Thus, failing to pay taxes meant their trade rights would be stripped away on the spot.
“I'll be right down.”
Jeron fell into thought.
It was true that noble society was bloodless and tearless. However, unless they were political enemies, they did not try to excessively plunder or create problems for neighboring fiefs.
Count Hanes belonged to the same faction, so he had no reason to harm the barony.
They fulfilled the contract because it existed.
In the medieval era, the nobility itself was built on contracts, so once a contract was signed in writing, they tended to risk their lives to keep it.
Failing to keep a contract was seen as disqualifying one from being a noble, and in severe cases, it could even lead to the stripping of one's title.
While the tax issue was unavoidable, Count Hanes was not an entirely terrible man.
Every time the barony paid taxes, they sent a gift, and the Count would send back a return gift of greater value.
It could be considered a form of tributary trade.
Although that tributary trade only added about ten percent more value to the gift rather than doubling or tripling it, it had still helped support the fief's finances.
Suddenly, the jewelry Jeron had swept up from the second floor of the pharmacy yesterday came to mind.
“This… maybe I can squeeze the Count dry with this?”
I take it back. Guardian Dragon, I shall call you my guardian deity from now on.
In the reception room of the lord's castle, Baron Romid, the tax collector of the county, wore an ecstatic expression.
The knights were no different.
From Sir Garcia to the Knight Commander, Sir James.
Everyone was staring in shock at the finely engraved golden dragon.
Watching them, Jeron barely held back his laughter.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with the ring itself.
It was 24k pure gold, and a dragon ascending to heaven with a pearl in its mouth was engraved on it.
The dragon's pearl was a sapphire, cut with extreme precision. It was definitely not technology of this world.
On Earth, such a ring was commonly called a 'dragon ring.'
It was the kind of ring one could easily see elderly people wearing in the countryside.
And what about the case?
It was a gold-plated case engraved with a traditional landscape painting.
Inside the landscape, there was a mountain and a pine tree that looked like the January card from Hwatu, and a golden dragon ascending under the moonlight of what was clearly the August card.
In short, it was the height of tackiness.
Honestly, if it were me, I would have sold it to a jewelry shop immediately, but here…
“This is an incredible heirloom, Young Lord!”
Greed flickered in Baron Romid's eyes.
He looked as if he wanted to steal it and run away right now.
But doing so would only get him caught and beheaded within an hour, so he held back. Embezzling a gift was also out of the question.
Although corruption was rampant within society, there was a line that was strictly kept in the world of rulers.
Betraying someone within the same faction would inevitably breed resentment. Even if it didn't happen in this generation, it was common for descendants to start a territorial war to avenge their ancestors, so nobles tended to respect that line.
“I intend to send that as a gift.”
“Pardon!?”
Baron Romid was quite shocked.
In his eyes, it was undoubtedly a family heirloom, so he was bewildered that Jeron would send it as a gift.
The fief's knights were equally startled.
“N-No, Young Lord! If you give away our heirloom as a gift, the late lords will not be able to rest in peace!”
“Young Lord! Not the heirloom!”
“Quiet.”
Jeron put on a performance of a lifetime.
He really didn't want to do this, but he spoke as if he were parting with a precious heirloom despite the pain.
The Count, upon receiving this, would have to send back a return gift worth at least ten percent more than the ring's value. That is, if the gift was accepted.
At this point, Baron Romid had no choice but to ask openly.
“This is a item of too great a value, which leaves me bewildered. Is there something specific you wish to receive from the Count?”
“I hope to obtain a mana cultivation method.”
“Pardon!?”
“I also need weapons and armor. Please speak to the Count so that we may have a good result.”
Baron Romid packed the heirloom(?) with extreme care and departed.
To deliver it to the Count as quickly as possible, he immediately rode off with his escort knights.
As they watched them leave, Sir James asked urgently.
“Young Lord! You ordered me to act along earlier, so I did, but I was truly shocked. Is that not truly a family heirloom?”
“An heirloom? The only heirloom in our house is a single golden goblet.”
“Then what was that ring just now…?”
“I found it in some ruins. It is difficult to say more, so keep your mouths shut.”
Jeron could never reveal that he had picked it up while rummaging through a drawer on Earth.