Chapter 368 The Craftsman ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”So, this is Lord Harvest’s workshop…”
”Yeah. I moved everything recently for… reasons. I haven’t really had the chance to get it organized yet,” I replied.
I was playing host to Viscountess Ray Nixfen and her father, Master Tail. I’d invited them to collaborate on my production expansion plans, and at Tail’s request, I was showing them around my personal workspace.
To be precise, we were in the room adjacent to our earlier meeting—the same space I used for the third phase of “Project Harvest.” There was still a bed tucked in the corner, but I managed to hand-wave it away, claiming I often pulled all-nighters for my research.
”Are you sure about this, Lord Harvest?” Ray asked, her voice tinged with hesitation. “Technically, our families are competitors in this market.”
”We’re supposed to be partners now, aren’t we? If I can’t trust you in my workshop, there’s no point in doing business together,” I said.
”I suppose you’re right,” Ray said with a small smile. “It’s just… magic users usually treat their workshops like sacred ground. ‘No Trespassing’ is the default setting.”
Ray’s idea of a workshop probably came from old fairy tales and picture books. In those stories, stepping into a wizard’s den was usually a one-way ticket to a curse. To be fair, she wasn’t entirely wrong. For most mages, the workshop is a fortress of secrets. There are countless stories of meddling apprentices being vaporized by magical traps. Then there are the grimoires where the authors spend half the time bragging about how they managed to sneak into their own masters’ labs.
I was the outlier. During my time with my alchemy mentor, Old Man Kogima, I basically lived in his workshop. He probably figured I was too dense to steal his secrets anyway. Even now, if I looked at half the junk in his old place, I wouldn’t have a clue what the materials were or what they did.
”What you see here isn’t everything,” Master Tail interjected, his eyes scanning the room. “I don’t know much about mages, but a true craftsman never leaves his best work in the open.”
”Exactly,” I agreed. “The real sensitive research is kept under lock and key.”
Ray blinked in surprise, then nodded. She looked less shocked by my words and more by the fact that her father was speaking so candidly. Her demeanor shifted. The noblewoman and the friend vanished, replaced by the sharp, focused gaze of a professional. She looked exactly like her father.
The two of them began a circuit of the room, inspecting my tools. Their eyes were piercing; there wasn’t a hint of condescension, even though they knew this was a workshop for “adult” magic items. Eventually, Tail stopped in front of a specific piece of equipment.
”This mold… is this how you make those?” he asked.
He was looking at the hinged press I used for the Ddo-Buddy. Since I didn’t need mass production here, it was the old single-unit model. Tail had clearly realized the mold was shaped like… well, a man’s anatomy.
”Yeah. Want to try making one?” I asked.
”No. I’d rather watch you do it,” Tail replied.
”Fair enough. Watch closely,” I said.
I didn’t bother with a lecture; for a man like him, seeing the technique was worth more than a thousand words. I poured in the Ddo Pleasure-Aid Fluid and cast the Hardening Magic in one fluid motion. I’d learned back at Duke Badcage’s factory that most veteran smiths preferred “show, don’t tell.” Talking too much was just an insult to their intuition.
Tail didn’t watch the mold; he watched my hands. Ray, meanwhile, watched her father watching me. It was a perfect snapshot of their master-apprentice dynamic. I knew right then that bringing them on board was the right call.
”And… there we go. That’s the process. Thoughts?” I asked.
”I’ve seen enough,” Tail muttered. “Your movements are clean, your mana control is steady. That only comes from tens of thousands of repetitions.”
”It’s not that impressive,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “I just had to make them fast if I wanted to eat.”
”A man who stakes his life on his work is a man I can trust,” Tail said solemnly.
Beside him, Ray nodded, looking like she’d just received a divine revelation. I felt a bit awkward. We were standing over a prosthetic, after all. And Tail was the man who had built a noble house on “Help Stalks.” His praise carried a weight that felt almost too heavy for the situation.
”May I?” Tail asked, gesturing to the press.
”Go ahead. This is just a prototype press, but if we move forward, I’ll be giving you the multi-unit industrial molds,” I explained.
Tail picked up the mold, turning it over. “A standard metal casting… why aren’t you using a more conductive alloy?”
”Huh? Oh, honestly, it worked well enough as it was. I never really thought about it,” I admitted.
”That’s a testament to your skill, and the skill of your people. But in my territory, not every worker is a mana-prodigy. If you want to scale up, you need to lower the barrier for the workers. Better conductivity means less strain on the caster. Especially if you’re pouring multiple units at once.”
”That’s… actually a great point. Thank you,” I said.
I hadn’t even considered tool optimization for lower-tier workers. It was a total blind spot. My top elf, Tania, could probably pour a hundred of these at once with her mana capacity, but for a common laborer, a better mold would be a lifesaver.
Wait. If I optimized the molds and started using mana stones to automate the hardening process…
I realized where my train of thought was heading. I knew exactly what lay at the end of that road: the “Ultra-Miniature Magic Circuit” I was helping to develop. We were on the verge of an industrial revolution for adult goods. I wasn’t sure if the world was ready for a “Ddo-Buddy Revolution,” but the idea was starting to sound tempting.
”Is something wrong, Lord Harvest?” Ray asked, peeking at my face.
”Nothing. Just realizing I still have a lot to learn,” I said. I decided to keep the “revolution” talk to myself for now. Slow and steady. “Is there anything else you’d like to see, Ray?”
”Actually, yes,” Ray said. “Could we see where you store your raw materials? Your research components?”
”The warehouse? Sure, but be warned: there are a lot of monster parts. It gets a bit gruesome.”
Ray laughed. “Lord Harvest, how many monsters do you think I’ve hunted in the last few months? Besides, the monster parts are exactly why I’m here. We have so many materials from the hunts that we don’t know what to do with.”
”Oh? If you’ve got surplus, I’d be happy to buy them off you,” I offered.
”That’s one part of it. But watching you work… I realized our house can’t just rely on Nyx Stalks forever. We need to diversify.”
”I assume you want to come too, Master Tail?” I asked. “To see how I manage the inventory?”
”If it’s not too much trouble,” he grunted. “I would like to see the heart of your operation.”
Notes:
• Nixfen – A viscount aristocrat who has started manufacturing and selling adult goods similar to Kento’s products in the Royal Capital’s pleasure district. He is described as a ‘pretty boy’ or ‘gentle-looking man’ (yasao) but is a territory-holding noble likely trained in combat.
• Tail – Former Viscount Nixfen and Ray’s father. A master craftsman with rugged, calloused, and scarred hands. Stern expression, socially awkward, and proud of his family’s ‘specialized’ trade.
• Ray – A Viscount with flaxen-gold hair in a men’s wolf cut. Possesses a sweet mask and a prince-like aura. It is revealed at the end that Ray is actually a woman. She has started manufacturing and selling adult goods similar to Kento’s products in the Royal Capital’s pleasure district.
• Kogima – Kento’s alchemy master. A middle-aged man who is a henpecked husband to his wife, Josephine.
• Tania – An Elf adventurer who, despite her race’s reputation for low sex drive, is secretly quite passionate. She initially seemed ‘wasted’ (emotionally dry) to her friend Raika, but was easily introduced to the pleasure-items sold at ‘Harvest.’ She is easily embarrassed and attempts to maintain a dignified facade, despite her recent, frequent purchases. She wears practical but light armor over a simple cloth tunic and short pants, highlighting her grace and agility. Her primary relationship is one of friendly senior-junior with Raika.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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