‘Things won’t go as easily as you think.’
Ian smiled.
This dangerous period was, in a way, also an opportunity.
“Brother, rejoice. The birthday banquet this year will be the grand celebration you’ve always wanted.”
Ian had always wanted a lavish banquet for his birthday.
Due to the territory’s poor financial state, the banquets had never met his expectations.
But now, things were different.
With the discovery of resources in the uncharted lands and the influx of investments, Schrantz had become financially stable.
This time, they could host a banquet that would surpass all previous ones.
However.
“Forget it. What kind of freezing banquet is that? It’s better to just eat and drink with the people working in the estate for a day.”
Ian had no intention of holding a grand banquet.
‘I’d rather use that banquet money for something else.’
It would be more productive to use that money to prepare for the future.
‘Do you know how much money noble banquets cost?!’
At the very least, dozens of gold coins, and sometimes even hundreds, were spent on noble banquets.
‘It’s all just a waste of money, a waste of money.’
Now that they had financial stability, they could afford it, but it still felt like a waste.
‘Of course, there are benefits to holding a banquet.’
Hosting a banquet and inviting nobles to enjoy themselves could significantly increase loyalty and favorability, and it would also elevate the family’s prestige.
If he still had the “Tyrant” title, he might have considered it for the sake of loyalty.
‘But the “Tyrant” title is long gone, and I’ve already raised loyalty enough. Is it really necessary?’
After considering everything, he couldn’t find a good reason to waste money on a banquet.
What good would raising the family’s prestige do immediately anyway?
And having too many people around would just be exhausting, so Ian decided to keep it simple with people he knew.
‘Besides, nobles I don’t know will come, and I’ll have to pretend to know them. That’s just annoying.’
In fact, that was the biggest reason.
However, Jurdan, unaware of Ian’s thoughts, smiled in surprise.
‘He’s prioritizing us over the surrounding nobles.’
Jurdan had been observing Ian’s efforts to care for the people and work diligently for the territory.
He no longer looked at Ian with disdain.
Ian had clearly changed.
Even when he sensed that Ian had changed, Jurdan hadn’t fully believed it.
He had even deliberately given Ian difficult documents to test him.
He thought Ian would soon run away or push the work onto others.
But Ian had tried his best to handle everything himself.
Ian, who took responsibility for his work.
That’s why Jurdan no longer had any reason to dislike him.
Now, he saw Ian as someone who could work alongside Hubert and contribute to the family’s progress.
—
* * *
—
As the weather warmed, flowers bloomed, and leaves sprouted.
The farmers, who had little to do during the winter, became busy again.
But it wasn’t just the farmers who were busy.
Ian’s workload also increased.
This was because they had officially started mining mithril.
In fact, the pioneer village had sent a portion of the first mithril ore mined to both Ian and the Duke of Endran.
Ian, holding the mithril ore that had arrived for him, immediately headed to the blacksmith’s forge.
“Wow! Is this mithril ore?”
“Look at how it sparkles! It’s so beautiful!”
“I never thought I’d see mithril with my own eyes.”
The blacksmiths couldn’t take their eyes off the mithril ore.
It was their first time seeing mithril in person.
In this remote countryside, seeing mithril in person was something they could only dream of.
“Young Master, did you call for me?!”
Olgrim was off duty today, but upon hearing that Ian had summoned him, he hurried to the forge.
“Yes, sorry for calling you on your day off.”
“Not at all. If the young master calls, I should come. But what did you need me for?”
“Do you see that over there?”
Ian pointed to the box containing the mithril ore placed among the blacksmiths.
“Is that mithril?”
He had already heard about the mithril discovery in the pioneer village.
Thanks to regular correspondence with his colleagues, he had also heard that mining would begin soon.
“I want to entrust that to you. I’d like you to use it to create three swords, showcasing your full potential.”
The amount of mithril sent from the pioneer village was enough to make exactly three swords.
They were for Ian, Hubert, and Hugo.
Ian had requested one for Hugo, hoping he would wake up, and Hubert had easily agreed.
Upon hearing this, Olgrim’s eyes widened as big as the sun in the sky.
“Y-You’re really entrusting me with mithril crafting?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Olgrim even shed tears as he expressed his gratitude to Ian.
No matter how renowned a dwarf blacksmith one was, only a few ever got to work with mithril.
For dwarves, crafting something with mithril was a lifelong dream.
There was a saying among dwarves that they would give up drinking for life if it meant getting a chance to craft with mithril.
That’s how much of an honor it was in dwarf society to create something with mithril.
—
[Olgrim expresses deep gratitude to you. Loyalty has increased by 5.]
—
‘I expected it, but he’s really happy.’
Ian was somewhat taken aback, not expecting Olgrim to be so emotional.
“But are you sure you can entrust me with mithril crafting?”
After crying for a while, Olgrim finally composed himself.
His next words were unexpected.
“Do you not know how to craft with mithril?”
“My master was an exceptional dwarf blacksmith, so I was taught how to work with mithril. But crafting something with mithril isn’t as easy as it sounds.”
Olgrim explained the reason.
Even the slightest mistake in the process could turn mithril into something as fragile as glass rather than steel.
“I’m worried I might waste this precious mithril.”
Ian checked Olgrim’s skill window.
—
<Skills>
―Dwarf’s Craftsmanship (Unique)
―Dwarf’s Sense (Unique)
―Weapon Crafting (Advanced) Lv.1
―Armor Crafting (Intermediate) Lv.9
―Equipment Repair (Advanced) Lv.1
―Blunt Weapon Mastery (Advanced) Lv.4
—
Olgrim had been steadily leveling up his skills while staying here.
‘This is just barely above the minimum threshold.’
The minimum skill level required to craft with mithril was Advanced.
Fortunately, Olgrim’s Weapon Crafting skill had just reached Advanced.
‘It’s not like there’s another option anyway.’
Olgrim was the only one here who knew how to craft with mithril.
‘Think of it as a chance to level up his skills.’
Using rare materials would significantly boost skill proficiency.
The only problem was that the material was mithril.
‘But mithril will keep coming from the pioneer village, and he’ll have to handle it eventually.’
So Ian decided not to worry too much.
As long as the mithril mine didn’t run dry, mithril would keep coming.
“Don’t worry about that. Even if you fail, I won’t hold you responsible. Just do your best. That’s all I ask.”
At Ian’s words, Olgrim’s expression changed.
“Don’t worry, young master. I will do my best to succeed and repay your trust.”
His eyes shone with determination, as if he was ready to risk his life for Ian’s trust.
Ian encouraged the blacksmiths by providing them with meat and alcohol, and then he headed to his next destination.
The place he visited was Sera’s alchemy laboratory.
“Young Master, what brings you here?”
It had been a while since Ian last visited.
Though he occasionally passed by the corridor or exchanged greetings, it had been a long time since he visited during work hours.
“I came to check how things are going.”
“Thanks to your concern, things are going well.”
“Is that so?”
Although he said that, Ian could tell how well she was doing by looking at the potions piled up in the laboratory.
—
<Potion of Vitality>
Grade: Common
―Increases Strength and Agility by 2 for 2 minutes
―Increases Movement Speed by 15% for 2 minutes
<Potion of Stamina>
Grade: Common
―Restores 30% Stamina
—
There were various other potions as well.
Ian had instructed her to create potions that would be useful in battle, and she had been diligently following his orders.
The potions she created were neatly stored in the barracks’ warehouse.
They would be helpful in future battles.
‘She can’t fill the warehouse all by herself, but…’
Still, it’s better than nothing.
‘Her skill levels must have improved quite a bit by now, right?’
Ian immediately checked her skills.
—
<Skills>
―Herbology (Beginner) Lv.5
―Alchemy (Intermediate) Lv.1
―Potion Brewing (Intermediate) Lv.1
―Magic Studies (Beginner) Lv.3
―Elemental Magic (Beginner) Lv.1
―Destruction Magic (Beginner) Lv.1
―Support Magic (Beginner) Lv.1
—
‘As expected of a proven talent!’
Sera’s skill levels had been rising rapidly in just a few months.
The speed at which her skills were improving was truly astonishing.
Whenever he checked on her after forgetting for a while, he was always surprised by how much she had grown.
‘It hasn’t even been a year since I recruited Sera, right?’
In less than a year, her Alchemy skill had already reached Intermediate.
For skills with Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced grades, they evolve to the next stage after surpassing Level 10.
Thanks to Ian’s generous support, her growth had accelerated, but her own efforts played the biggest role.
‘I think she’s even practicing magic diligently after work and at home.’
Unlike before, when she only knew Magic Studies, she could now actually use magic.
‘At this rate, isn’t she like a character with a bugged growth rate?’
Though he had such suspicions, it was actually a good thing for Ian in the current situation.
He had recruited an exceptional talent for the territory.
‘Keep leveling up those skills!’
Sera would become the territory’s greatest talent in the future.
And Ian would be able to utilize her as his right hand.
“Young Master.”
“Hmm?”
Ian, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to reality at Sera’s voice.
He had been staring at her absentmindedly, which seemed to make her feel a bit shy.
“Ah, I was just lost in thought for a moment. My apologies.”
Ian, feeling embarrassed, quickly averted his gaze.
‘Ah, the atmosphere got a bit awkward.’
Ian decided he needed to fix his habit of zoning out during conversations.
He cleared his throat to lighten the mood and then stated his business.
“Actually, I came here because there’s something specific I need you to make.”
“What is it?”
Sera, now confident in her potion-making abilities, rolled up her sleeves.
It was a sign of her confidence, but…
“A Half Elixir.”
“……Half Elixir?”
At Ian’s request, she made a face as if asking what that was.
“I’ve heard of Elixirs, but what’s a Half Elixir?”
