Kays Translations

Chapter 61: The Steel Compass

“Gerhard-san may come to visit in a few days.”

Claudia said such a thing while tending to the dagger.

Claudia had learned a lot from Lutz and was at least able to do a little maintenance. Lutz, however, is not so sure about the fact that she can now remove the handle at will and check the barrel at any time.

It was a strange way of putting it. She said he might come in a few days, but she was vague and ambiguous. It was not as if she was promising anything in particular.

Lutz looked at her curiously, and Claudia began to explain in the manner of a teacher teaching a poor student.

“I wonder if Gerhard-san is trying hard right now to convince the Count that he should make Lutz, the swordsmith, a member of the Count’s family. If he doesn’t, other houses might come to scout you out first. We’ll have to put a spit on him first.”

“That’s the way it is.”

“Lutz-kun, I hope you are not unaware of your own worth. Excessive modesty is no better than sarcasm.”

“I would be a fool if I submitted my sword on such a big stage and said that I am not that good at all. I have a certain amount of confidence. I might even be the best in the continent.”

“Surprisingly big, confidence!”

“However, it’s just that I vaguely think so, it doesn’t really feel like it. It’s not like I was summoned to the royal palace to receive an award.”

“They gave me a commendation.”

“Huh?”

I did not understand what Claudia was talking about. After the peace talks were over, didn’t she go straight back to the count’s territory with Gerhard and the others?

“I heard that Count Zander and the Marquis of Eldenberger were invited to the capital and were personally praised by His Majesty the King. They must have received gold coins at that time.”

“…We’re the ones who created Amaterasu. Not only were neither I nor Mr. Gerhard nor Mr. Patrick invited, we didn’t even know there was such a gathering.”

“To the royalty and aristocracy, craftsmen are nothing more than tools. I guess it is the owner who should be praised, not the tool, haha.”

Claudia gave a dismissive laugh, and Lutz looked a little annoyed.

That’s the way the world works. There is a limit to the extent to which you can be satisfied with such words.

More than the fact that he was treated like a tool, more than the fact that he was not invited to the royal palace, he didn’t like the fact that the Count and Marquis were acting as if they had made Amaterasu themselves.

I feel as if the name has been destroyed and the name rewritten.

Claudia stood up and stood behind Lutz and put her hand on his cheek.

“It’s no use talking about the rotten mental structure of nobles now. We should at least think of using them.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“You have both enemies and allies. I hope you remember that.”

Claudia kissed Lutz on the cheek and returned to her seat in front of him, ruffling her long hair in a slightly embarrassed manner.

Lutz is at a loss for words and looks around aimlessly to the left and right.

“Hey, Lutz-kun. What would you do if scouts from other countries came before Gerhard-san? A marquis, a king, or the coalition?”

“I have to at least listen to what they have to say. The rest depends on the conditions.”

It would be best to stay in the Count’s territory if possible, and it would be hard to leave even top-notch craftsmen like Gerhard and Patrick. However, the first priority is the safety of myself and Claudia.

“As far as I’m concerned, I think it’s safer to stay out of the Coalition.”

Claudia said with a clouded expression.

“I’m not particularly certain, but I think there’s going to be another wave of unrest in the coalition. Whether the sparks that Amaterasu has sown will light them up or set their homes on fire, I can’t read that at all.”

A king who had acquired great power but seemed to be somewhat in the grips of a fever. The prince, a wise man who was unhappy with the cession of his lands. The knight who moves around behind the scenes. There is nothing more troublesome and uncertain than the human heart.

“I understand, let’s not go to the coalition. But if something happens to the coalition, even the nobles of the Kingdom can’t take it for granted.”

“There is no such thing as paradise. Let’s just run away together to a place where we don’t know anyone.”

Lutz was slightly moved by Claudia’s proposal, but he quickly changed his mind. I can’t put a woman I’m in love with through the hardships of a wandering life just because of my own selfishness.

The worst possible scene came to my mind: I ran out of street money in the middle of my trip, and I let Claudia sell her body while I drank cheap booze.

……I’m not joking, it would be 100 times better to die in a political dispute. That ass is mine, I can’t let another man fondle it.

Let’s get under the protection of the nobility and get around well there. Lutz decided his own path with his jealousy that boiled up from his delusions.

The next day, as the sun was rising overhead, there was a knock on the door.

“Lutz, are you there?”

It is, after all, Gerhard’s voice.

“It is a done deal.”

“It depends on the conditions.”

Lutz and Claudia nodded to each other, unbolted the door bolt, and welcomed Gerhard in.

“Hi, Gerhard-san, we’ve been expecting you.”

“You’ve been waiting for me, huh? Then I guess you know what I want.”

Gerhard, who had been thinking about where to begin, looked both relieved and he had an expression that was half disappointed.

“I would like to welcome you, Lutz, as Count Zander’s personal blacksmith.”

“What are the conditions? ……Oh, let’s not make this too complicated. As you can see, we are living in a hut outside the city walls. You can’t just leave us like this, can you?”

Lutz watched silently, thinking that it would be better to leave the negotiations to Claudia.

“We are constructing a three-story workshop and home. The third floor is the room for the master and his wife, and the second floor has enough space for about 10 apprentices to sleep, if they are packed in. The first floor is the workshop and kitchen, and the well is a 30 second walk away. Except for the fact that it is on the edge of the citadel, it is the best property.”

The homes of craftsmen who used fire were clustered on the edge of the city to limit the damage caused by fire. The prepared house is in a corner of what can be called a craftsman district.

“Is there anything else you’d like?”

“I want a hut for the donkey on the first floor. I want it to be big enough there so that customers can also tie up their donkeys and horses. The workshop and kitchen don’t have to be that big.”

“I will tell him. But if you are willing to make your workshop smaller, do you have any intention of taking on apprentices?”

“I don’t think so at the moment. I think Gerhard-san would be similar.”

Lutz said that he was really uninterested.

Gerhard had to nod. He has been on his own for a long time, and even though he has an apprentice now, he is still alone.

Masters are said to be full-fledged after raising disciples, but troublesome things are troublesome. He didn’t care about the public’s evaluation.

“Patrick, he often does such troublesome things.”

Of the three craftsmen, only Patrick, the decorator, had a large workshop and many apprentices. Socially, that pervert is the most respectable person.

“I suppose he doesn’t mind socializing.”

“Don’t you become a craftsman because you don’t like people?”

“That’s prejudice, Gerhard-san.”

“I don’t think it’s wrong, but…”

Gerhard muttered with a straight face.

“By the way, what is the difference between becoming a craftsman for a nobleman and an ordinary craftsman?”

I didn’t hear the most important part.

“Fundamentally, it won’t change much, so you can continue to do business as you have in the past. But the request from the Count will come first, even if you have other business.”

“That is……”

Claudia added here.

“Lutz-kun, even if you change the order of your work, it won’t be unreasonable. From the point of view of employment, it’s almost as if you always receive the Count’s work first. If you are really concerned about it, you can explain that when you receive a request from a regular customer, you may be late in providing the service for this reason.”

“I see…..yeah, right.”

With Claudia’s persuasion, Lutz agreed and nodded.

It seems that he tends to emphasize things like duty and priorities.

There is a clause that he thinks that it is the aesthetics of a craftsman to throw away the work of hundreds of gold coins for the sake of a previous contract of one silver coin. It’s been that way ever since I met him in the woodcutter’s village.

Although Gerhard was a good craftsman, he was a little worried that this temperament might one day cause discord with the aristocratic society.

“Well then, once again, I understand that you have been retained by the Count’s family.”

Lutz and Claudia bow their heads together. Seeing that, Gerhard pulled his thoughts back to reality.

“I’m grateful. With this, I can also give a good report to the Count. The house will be finished in about two weeks. I will visit you again at that time.”

After saying that, Gerhard left the workshop.

If they move within the city walls, we won’t have to go down the long road to call them. That would be most appreciated.

Two days later, an envoy from the marquis appeared, and five days after that, an envoy from a person too noble to mention his name visited, but both were refused because they were now in the possession of the count’s family.

The latter is clearly from the royal family, but it would be kindness to pretend not to know.

In the end, the coalition never invited us.

I wondered if they were the kind of people who would give up so easily, but I didn’t know anything more than that.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter