Chapter 13
Somehow, I ended up dragged into the guest room.
Gain Hyung was seated in the head position. Across from him, Eldin Robel sat.
“Hehe.”
And beside me, Wendy, who I had no idea when he had arrived, was already there.
“Why the hell are you here?”
“It looks fun.”
Seriously. This isn’t some idle gossip café. Gain Hyung never once scolded the guy for acting like this.
More accurately, it felt like he had just given up. He didn’t even bother to care.
“Your face has changed a lot, hasn’t it?”
Eldin Robel’s burning gaze left me completely speechless.
He stared at me like he might pierce through my face any second now.
“I’ve been eating really well lately.”
“Ha.”
With a snort, Eldin made a face like a clown. He told me to come and then threw a tantrum? What was that?
Tack. Tack. Tack. Tack.
He drummed his fingers on the table again and again, as if something was making him uneasy.
“The monsters we took care of this time have started moving again.”
“No way. The population is down, and they’re already active again?”
“Yes. The numbers are even higher than before.”
Gain Hyung’s expression grew serious. I just sat there silently, not knowing what was what.
“The Crocker are creatures that rarely leave their own territory. And they almost never intrude on human lands. But if they’ve done it twice…”
“Hmph. You don’t even have a head on your shoulders either, do you? Exactly. They’re monsters.”
Monsters. A completely different species from ordinary beasts.
Every so often, they were wild mutants that evolved by absorbing mana overflow along with their malice.
“That’s just speculation. There’s no way monsters crossed the Valces Mountain Range.”
BOOM!
Eldin suddenly slammed the table with both hands and yelled.
“You’re saying this has nothing to do with our estate?”
“I’m only analyzing it coldly. It doesn’t get solved just because you get angry because you’re being swayed by emotions, like you.”
“Who said I was only angry?!”
“But… Why did you call me here?”
Before we spiraled into useless overheating, I cut off the flow.
Eldin glanced at me, then sat back down.
Success.
“I saw something the guy used last mission. Robon 001? Right?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“I came because I wanted one of those. It doesn’t look that useful, but since it’s better than nothing…”
The way he spoke with such a smug face was annoying.
I felt like saying, “If it doesn’t look useful, just leave?” But I held back first. There’s a saying that the truth is also a customer, right?
“That guy borrowed it while carrying full bags of grain like that?”
A small smile tugged at Gain Hyung’s lips. That relaxed laugh was enough to make Eldin even more irritated.
Look at Eldin’s twisted expression. He tried to play it cool, but it showed on his face.
“Shut up. That’s because my subordinates are so pitiful.”
“Your face was the most entertaining part.”
Hyung’s demeanor was so different. Usually he was quiet and heavy, but right now he sounded like a young guy teasing a friend.
It felt a little closer somehow.
I didn’t like Eldin this brat one bit.
“Quiet! I’m talking to this guy. I need about 100 of the Robon-001. It seems the effect wears off a little when used frequently.”
“Yes, 100. I knew the Robel family was rich, but I didn’t expect this much.”
“Hahahaha! For our family, that’s pocket change. The grain I brought today is just a small favor to poor people.”
Eldin laughed heartily at my cheeky remark. What an easy-to-handle guy.
How much would I charge? About 1 silver per unit through family connections for production costs.
I told Hector it would be 10 silver each. Eldin would probably want around 20 silver.
“These guys have a lot of money.”
Wendy beside me poked my side and whispered in my ear.
“How much?”
“A lot.”
Hmm. Confirmed.
“Okay. 100 units. At 40 silver each, that’s 4,000 silver. Hmm… 200 gold should be fine.”
“W-what? 100 gold? Are you kidding me right now?”
“What? Kidding? For the knights, 200 gold is nothing to the Robel family, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Oh dear, if 200 gold is a little much, since it’s the Robel family, I’ll cut it by 5 gold.”
At that, the brat became interested and his eyes sparkled.
“No! It’s not that I don’t have 200 gold, it’s that that thing is so expensive!”
“Expensive? Didn’t that save your lives last mission?”
“…Even without that it’s enough—”
“Say it carefully if you have a conscience. Eldin.”
“…190 gold isn’t okay?”
“Okay! I’ll give it to you at 190 gold specially!”
Eldin’s face turned sour. It was too late to change his mind now.
Wendy quickly pulled a contract out of his pocket and placed it in front of me.
Why did I think he came here for this?
I could guess why Gain Hyung hadn’t said anything.
“That’s when…”
“Since it’s already decided, let’s finish it quickly.”
I wrote the contract in an instant. I didn’t need to write much. The form was already complete; I only had to add the price.
“Here, sign.”
***
Eldin left.
With a completely sour face.
Probably because he wanted to show off the Robel family’s prestige, he came in a Black Terrahole. But we saw him off riding our Black Terrahole R1.
Eldin’s muttered complaint as he saw us get in the car was still ringing in my ears.
“Fucking hell…”
That single word carried a deep emotion rising from deep in his stomach, raw and clear.
When I returned to the estate, Gain Hyung praised me one more time.
“You sold it for a pretty high price. Well done.”
“Eh?”
I was surprised, but Hyung laughed and said,
“You thought I didn’t know? The 100 gold I gave last time was just my apology for misunderstanding you. Samuel heard. The Pacific Merchant Guild sold it for 10 silver each.”
Actually, I had been worrying because I received 100 gold from Hyung at the very beginning, but I didn’t realize he knew.
I was so proud of my big-hearted brother.
“From now on, I’ll only take the raw material cost from Hyung.”
“Good. You need to earn money to make better things, right? Once the building I’m building now is finished, it’ll cost a lot in various ways.”
He patted my shoulder and walked away, and my face muscles relaxed with a warmth toward Gain Hyung.
The longer I stayed, the more I sensed that the family members looked one way and felt another inside.
Outside cold, inside warm.
I smiled without realizing.
“Pervert bro! Because of me you earned more money, so make me a toy too!”
This guy was the only one making it imperfect.
“Where the hell do you keep popping up like this every time?”
“Hehe. I always come openly, don’t I?”
“…Okay.”
For a while, peaceful days continued.
I spent every morning running, reading, and repeatedly researching mana stones while waiting for the new research lab I was building.
And from Vulkan, I produced two versions of the crossbow I had been worried about.
One was a compound crossbow. It had a foot pedal at the end of the launch rack to maximize string tension, added a pulley system to maximize the string’s elasticity and destructive power, and was a special bow made for this era’s knights.
The second was a pump-action crossbow.
It had a pump slider in the middle, so it could be automatically reloaded just by pulling the handle—this mechanical bow unimaginable in this era.
The advantages and disadvantages of the two were very clear.
The compound crossbow had strong destructive power, but reloading was difficult and firing rate was very slow.
The pump-action crossbow had very fast reloading and firing rate, but its destructive power was weak.
But since their characteristics were so starkly different, their uses would differ.
The compound crossbow was also shaped uniquely because it was made for this era’s knights.
The bow was thick, and the tension was maximized using troll tendons. Normal soldiers could barely pull it even once.
I had completed one prototype, but with my strength, experiments were impossible.
“Um… Should I ask Wendy?”
But… no matter how much I searched the estate, he didn’t appear.
“Where did he go?”
I thought he was wandering around the estate like before.
“Um?”
One huge human was lying precariously on a tree.
Burgess Bladewyn, the second son of the Bladewyn family.
I was still uncomfortable with this big lazy brother. Everyday, he would say it was troublesome and not come out of his room, and instead sleep in a place where no one would notice—like this was his daily routine.
Even after a fair amount of time, I still hadn’t had a proper conversation with him.
Normally I would have just passed, but suddenly curiosity struck.
I went under the tree and stared at him.
Probably sensing my presence, Burgess turned his gaze to me.
“What?”
“Hyung, are you strong?”
“Yeah.”
“Then can I use this just once?”
I said it with the mindset of if it’s not possible, then it’s not.
Wendy wasn’t here and Gain Hyung was busy training. The only ones playing around here were me and the second brother.
I didn’t know his skill level, but judging by his build, he probably wasn’t weak.
Burgess, who had been hesitating for a moment, came down.
Crack. Crack.
Branches shook violently, and leaves fell like rain.
“What is that?”
Oh, I just wanted to test it once, but it succeeded.
“It’s a compound crossbow. Using the pulley—”
“I don’t know. Give it here.”
He reached out his hand, but it looked like his palm was 1.5 times bigger than mine.
The bow that was enormous to me seemed normal-sized in Burgess’s hands.
“There, put your foot on the pedal and—”
Srrrrrriiiiick…!
Immediately, he grabbed the bowstring and pulled it with all his strength. His thick muscles twitched, and he gritted his teeth.
Insane. He just pulled it with raw strength?
Did he use aura? The tension was raised so high that even a human couldn’t pull it?
I had made it by making troll tendons mature in mana liquid for a long time, as seen in books. I had pulled it myself, but even with the foot pedal, it barely moved.
Crack—
Almost at the end, sparks flew from Burgess’s arm as he gritted his teeth, and finally he pulled it all the way and locked it.
So that’s aura.
Seeing it directly, I understood. It was completely different energy from mana. The arm that had been trembling from using aura stopped vibrating.
He doesn’t seem happy about it.
Did using aura hurt his pride?
“Done?”
“Then can you hit this iron plate with it?”
“Iron plate?”
“Yes.”
I pointed to the thick iron plate I had set up about 300 meters outside the estate.
It might be a bit far.
I had thought to do it at 200 meters.
At that moment.
BOOM—!
With a startling whoosh, the bolt flew straight and pierced the iron plate.
Insane.
I had only thought it could bend the plate at this distance.
“Good.”
“Really? Then once more—”
As I said that, he threw the bow to me and climbed back up the tree to lie down again.
“Troublesome.”
“…Then I have something to ask about what you just did.”
“Get lost.”
I pouted and went to the iron plate.
This laziness was the same as always.
“I calculated wrong?”
No way. This result came from an unexpected variable I hadn’t anticipated.
And it was probably aura.
“We’ll need a lot of clinical tests. Um… what should I do…”
While thinking, I was walking toward the estate when I saw Wendy coming out from the main building.
His cheeks were puffed up like he had a grudge against something.
“Oh… wait.”
A good idea popped into my head.
A smile formed on my lips. I immediately went into the main building.