Chapter 271 – MASTER CRAFTSMAN (1)
Adendorf was a dwarven craftsman.
He was one of the hundred dwarven craftsman living in Argon Port, but he was a very special dwarf.
Having a white and fluffy beard and thick arm muscles, he was much taller than other dwarves by a whopping one handspan.
A man who was said to be one of the most handsome dwarves.
But there was one more thing that made him special.
“Guild master, if we don’t do anything this time, at the next election for the guild master’s position…”
Adendorf frowned at the words of the restless dwarven craftsman in front of him – his nephew, Mariendorf, who was more like a merchant than a craftsman.
“I know, I know, you punk. I know that very well.”
Dwarf Guild Master.
The leader of the Dwarf Craftsman Guild representing the rights and interests of all dwarven craftsmen living in Argon Port.
The guild master was not a position anyone could have.
They had to possess skills that all meticulous and proud dwarven craftsmen would acknowledge, and must be wise and intelligent enough to deal with the timid and clever humans.
In addition, they had to maintain a dignity befitting a guild master, so they had to have more than a certain level of a.s.sets, and the dwarf guild master must look different from other dwarves, so they had to have a good-looking face too.
And most importantly, they must be popular.
After all, a guild master’s popularity among the dwarven craftsmen was very important because it was an elected position.
In any case, since the position of guild master could only be climbed after completing these difficult conditions, there were many things that needed to be taken care of when one became a guild master, from small ones to big ones.
9 years.
Adendorf had been the guild master for at least 9 years, but he was worried about the next election.
As it had many benefits, there were also many compet.i.tors aiming for the guild master position, but his worries was because of the guy called Tandol from a wizard family who had recently become extremely popular.
Even if he was wrong, Tandol was someone who was eagerly looking for a chance to strike him, so if he made a mistake here, it was clear that Tandol would immediately clamor that he be impeached or something.
“Ah, sh*t. This is driving me nuts.”
The dwarven craftsmen at Argon Port had already gone crazy over the corpse of a common Adult Dragon.
But what about an Ancient Dragon?
The corpse of an Ancient Dragon that was even called a G.o.dlike being!
‘I want it. I really, really, want to have it.’
Adendorf was a craftsman before he was a guild master.
He wanted to make a weapon or something from the Ancient Dragon’s claws, scales, and teeth, something that he wanted to touch at least once in in his life, something that was normally untouchable for dwarves.
‘Perhaps it will become my life’s masterwork!’
The so-called masterpiece.
Proof that he was born and raised as a craftsman who lived life without any regrets.
However, the problem was that the deal was not going as wanted, so Mariendorf was stomping his feet repeatedly.
“Mariendorf, are you sure that there are no other methods?”
When he asked in frustration, Mariendorf took a deep breath and answered.
“Yes, guild master. The only way we have now are Count August Bayer and Countess August Chase.”
There were six people who had the rights to the Ancient Dragon’s corpse.
Ghostblade Kamael.
Iron Man Landius.
Holy Angel Lena.
Necromancer Velkian.
Count Jude August Bayer, the Swordless Swordsman, and Countess Cordelia August Chase, the Explosion Angel.
“This is seriously driving me nuts.”
Ghostblade Kamael was a general of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, and that organization had its own craftsman group.
Therefore, Kamael had no intention of selling even a small piece of the Ancient Dragon’s scales.
All of it would be processed within the Guardians of the Holy Cross.
‘Velkian is said to be in the royal capital.’
The physical distance was so great that even meeting up for a deal was impossible.
‘The Iron Man and Holy Angel have said that they would entrust it to the Ghostblade.’
Four out of six were gone, so only two were left.
However, these two were known throughout the kingdom as the couple of the century, so there was actually only one person in the negotiating table.
‘What am I supposed to do here?’
Since there was only one supplier, it was impossible to adjust prices or meet the conditions based on different suppliers.
Moreover, what the two had was the corpse of an Ancient Dragon, the ultimate in scarcity.
One could not establish a market price in the first place, as even the smallest scales were worth a fortune.
‘How am I supposed to make a deal with all these!’
The craftsmen instigated by Tandol were pestering him to obtain it no matter what because they all wanted it, but the couple of the century had refused all of their requests for a deal.
“Are they trying to raise the price? Surely, Count August Bayer and his wife are not going to hand it over to the Guardians of the Holy Cross, right?”
“Guild master, the two are still engaged and not married.”
Aren’t they like a married couple though?
“No, you punk. Does that matter now? Still, it’s hard to even call him by his last name, August Bayer.”
“Ahem, ahem. Anyway, this deal must be successful. Otherwise, the next guild master election will surely…”
“I know, you punk. Now that I see it, this guy’s not trying to come up with a plan, he’s just playing hard to get. He’s not doing this for no reason, he just wants to increase the numbers! Isn’t it?!”
When Adendorf became angry, Mariendorf sweated profusely so he wiped his shiny forehead with a handkerchief and said.
“Anyway, uncle. No, guild master. Unlike before, Countess Cordelia August Chase will also appear at today’s meeting, so it will be little different, right? Rumor has it that Count Jude August Bayer will listen to anything that Countess Cordelia August Chase has to say.”
“So rather than Count Jude August Bayer, Countess Cordelia August… f*cking sh*t! No more! I don’t want to call them by their full names! We’re the only ones here after all!”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down.”
“Haa… huu… Anyway, are you saying that we’ll target the girl? Like bribe her with a necklace or something?”
“That’s not a bad idea. There’s a story about dwarves offering a necklace to a G.o.ddess and experiencing heaven, right?”
It was a story of a thousand years ago, when G.o.ds actually walked on earth.
“Okay, that’s good. We have to come up with a plan somehow, so let’s take everything and go. If we take everything that we have, I’m sure the countess will find something that she will like.”
Having made a decision, Adendorf headed to the luxury inn, the meeting place, with lots of luggage.
And an hour later.
“That’s hard. As I’ve said several times, we have no intention of selling it.”
Count Jude August Bayer.
He was very young by human standards, and by dwarf standards, he was a very young kid who was still wet behind the ears, but he was not an opponent to be taken lightly.
Neither Jude nor the Bayer family could be taken lightly.
‘His father is a Sword Saint, his older brother is one of the Ten Great Swordmasters, and he is the hero who saved the royal family.’
What’s with this ridiculous family?
Moreover, he was no longer the hero who saved the royal family.
He was also the great hero of the south who killed an Ancient Dragon.
Ancient Dragon Slayer.
The benefactor of the royal family.
A rising star in the Guardians of the Holy Cross.
The only disciple of Iron Man Landius, said to be the strongest man in the world.
‘Crazy… even people like him don’t appear in hero stories.’
It wasn’t just him and his family that were outstanding. His fiancée and her family were prominent people too.
The youngest commander in the history of the Royal Guard Magic Corps, the Magic Tower Master of the Red Dawn Tower, and a famous wizard scholar who had published several papers at the Royal Society.
It was the background of Countess Chase, the fiancée of Jude August Bayer.
There were rumors that his fiancée, Cordelia Chase, was not even a human but an angel.
A real angel.
‘Ugh, she’s beautiful, really beautiful.’
Adendorf glanced back at Cordelia who was sitting next to Jude with a smile, and he took a deep breath to calm his heart that had begun to pound.
Perhaps because she was a real angel, Adendorf’s aesthetic sense kept going crazy.
In his mind, Adendorf wanted to make at least one statue with Cordelia as a model right now.
But he had to be patient for now.
What really mattered was the corpse of the Ancient Dragon.
“Count August Bayer. Please reconsider.”
“I apologize. Again, I have no intention of making a deal.”
Adendorf took another deep breath when Jude waved his hand as if he found it difficult too.
Because he could roughly guess Jude’s innermost thoughts.
‘You b*stard, it’s not that you don’t really want to make a deal.’
He could tell by the expression, gaze, and att.i.tude that his opponent was a sly fox.
Adendorf was a guild master of nine years after all.
He was able to see through the other at once.
‘F*ck it, why must every guy I face to make a deal always be this heartless?’
Count Jude August Bayer is willing to make a deal.
He’s just doing this in order to get a more favorable deal for him!
‘I really want to beat him up.’
But I can’t.
Because it’s an Ancient Dragon.
Because it’s an ANCIENT DRAGON!
Adendorf held back his irritation and opened his mouth again. In order to say something.
But at that moment, something unexpected happened.
“Guild Master Adendorf.”
“Yes? Oh, yes. Go ahead.”
Jude was the first to speak up.
As Adendorf quickly clasped his hands and took a listening posture, Jude spoke with a smile that looked very beautiful. But for Adendorf, it was a smile that made him want to punch Jude.
“As I’ve said before, it’s impossible to sell the parts of the Ancient Dragon to the Dwarf Craftsman Guild. However…”
Adendorf felt impatient upon hearing Jude’s last word, but he endured it and persevered.
It seemed that Jude’s true innermost thoughts would soon be revealed.
‘What is it? What the h.e.l.l is it?’
Are you trying to ask for a really outrageous price?
But it wasn’t.
Rather than doing something as shallow as raising the price, Jude said something completely different.
“It may be possible in a different way. Not in the buying and selling things way, but in another form of transaction.”
“What… kind of deal are you talking about?”
“Actually, it’s not a deal in a way. It’s more like a contract.”
Contract.
Normally, one had to write a contract when making a transaction, but what he meant was a little different from that.
Adendorf narrowed his brows and waited for the next words, and Jude continued with the dark smile that Cordelia liked so much.
“My offer is as follows.”
***
The next afternoon.
A huge commotion arose among the dwarves gathered at the Guild Hall.
“What?! The guild master is gathering people to relocate?”
“Didn’t he originally go there to buy it?”
“Wait, rather than that… Are you saying that they’re leaving Argon Port? Where are they going? Why all of a sudden?”
It was true.
The guild master had originally gone there to buy things, but he came back with a strange public announcement that said:
Great Migration Plan to the North
The Baranto family led by Adendorf will be leaving the south and moving to the fief of Count August Bayer in the north, which lies exactly at the border between the central and southern regions.
Anyone who wants to go with us must submit an application for migration to the Baranto family.
“Northwards?”
“The guild master’s family is leaving? He’s abandoning Argon Port and the guild master position?”
It was unbelievable.
It took over 200 years for the Baranto family to take root in Argon Port.
They had built up so many things, yet they were all willing to simply throw that away.
“But he’s really leaving. He’s already packing up.”
It was true. Adendorf and the entire Baranto family was preparing to leave for the central region.
What the h.e.l.l is going on?
What is actually happening?
And the answer was revealed by Mariendorf who was sent by the Baranto family.
“What?! A city of ancient dwarves?!”
Sword Seeker, the group of dwarves who pursued the ultimate sword?
An underground city built by one of them, the Black Horn Guild?
They were attracted.
They couldn’t help but be attracted.
According to the story, many facilities of the Black Horn Guild still remained.
“The art of the ancient dwarves!”
“The now lost golden civilization!”
The hearts of the dwarven craftsmen were pounding.
A city built by the ancient dwarves.
They would live there, creating new works with the tools of the ancient dwarves.
“The guild master is said to be the mayor of the ancient city.”
“Well, it’s worth moving to then.”
Because it was a higher position than the guild master position.
Moreover, it wasn’t just a city. It was none other than a city built by the ancient dwarves.
“But does it really exist? None of us have seen it.”
“No, but what matters is the source. Do you seriously think Count August Bayer would lie?”
“No.”
He was an Ancient Dragon slayer and national hero who saved the royal family.
There was no way such a person would deceive them with that.
“Are you really going then? Are you leaving Argon Port?”
“Wait, what about the Ancient Dragon? Who’s going to negotiate then?”
Or rather, are you saying that the guild master is just going to leave and ditch his responsibilities?
While the dwarves murmured among themselves, Mariendorf delivered one more information.
It was information that made the dwarven craftsmen, and even Tandol from a wizard family, decide to move.
“A free supply of Ancient Dragon parts?”
“No, no. Wait. It’s not a supply. We’ve just been hired to do it.”
They were hired by Count August Bayer.
To live in an ancient dwarven city and respond to Count August Bayer’s requests.
“If you’re employed, what else is there to it? How is it different from now?”
“Yeah, that too.”
They had been currently making a living by responding to the requests of the 7 southern families.
Migration to the center.
A city of ancient dwarves.
The scales, claws, and teeth of an Ancient Dragon.
“Then, let’s go.”
“That’s right, let’s go.”
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s go.”
“LET’S GO!”
Almost all of the dwarven craftsmen began packing their bags to migrate.
In fact, the ‘Dwarf Workshop’, one of the major industries in the Argon Port area, was entirely leaving.
Naturally, this news spread throughout the south within a day, and one of the 7 southern families, Viscountess St. Crute, reacted to it the most.
“They’re leaving? They’re leaving for the center?”
Dressed in a splendid and provocative red dress like always, Viscountess St. Crute blinked her eyes while looking bewildered.
She had no choice but to do so.
The Dwarf Workshop was the prey that Viscountess St. Crute was keeping an eye on.
To be more specific, the situation was as follows.
Originally, Count Luculia made the most money through the Dwarf Workshop.
But the Luculia family fell in this Malekith incident.
‘In short, now is the time to swallow the entire Dwarf Workshop.’
But the Dwarf Workshop is moving out altogether?
They’re leaving the south?
“Does that make any sense? What about the contract they had signed with us this time? What will they do with that?”
“They’ve just signed the contract and nothing has been done yet… They just have to pay the penalty.”
“What?”
One had to pay a penalty if they broke a contract.
The situation was surprising, but also confusing.
“Are the dwarves leaving us a group? Who in the world is behind this?”
“That…”
Viscountess St. Crute’s secretary wiggled his fingers and relayed the rumors he heard from the Dwarf Craftsman Guild, and the viscountess clenched her teeth.
“Count August Bayer! How could you do this to us!”
Strictly speaking, the Dwarf Craftsman Guild did not belong to anyone.
But how could he rip them off like this!
‘If I could do as I please!’
She wanted to push them away with the power of the 7 southern families like usual.
She also wanted to physically threaten the dwarves.
But it was impossible.
Because her opponent was an Ancient Dragon slayer.
Because he was the disciple of Landius, a benefactor of the royal family, and a strong man said to become one of the Ten Great Swordmasters in the future.
‘This son of a b*tch has everything?’
And his fiancée is an angel? Is he someone that came out of a hero storybook?
‘Ah, seriously! Even using a beautiful woman to lure him won’t work.’
His fiancée was an angel, so something like that wouldn’t work.
She couldn’t lure him with bribes. The moment the Ancient Dragon was defeated, the wealth of Count August Bayer surpa.s.sed that of Viscountess St. Crute.
“What about the dwarves? Is there any way to stop them?”
“Well…”
“What is it?”
“Can we give them an Ancient Dragon… They’ll just ignore us if we don’t have Ancient Dragon parts…”
At her secretary’s words, Viscountess St. Crute patted her chest in her frustration.
“No, NO, NOOOOO!”
I was about to get my hands on the Dwarf Workshop!
It was a good time to devour it!
“I’m a bit sorry.”
At a totally different place.
Jude turned to the direction of Viscountess St. Crute’s mansion and said with a bitter smile.
He was well aware of the fact that Viscountess St. Crute was targeting the Dwarf Workshop.
‘However… we’re doing all of this to save the world.’
The fight ahead was likely to be an all-out war against the demon followers.
At the present, Jude and Cordelia needed a huge number of equipment that could arm a huge group.
“It’s all right. Viscountess St. Crute is a bad person anyway. She uses her family’s power to bully and pressure small merchants, doing a lot of bad things. The dwarves are much better off going with us.”
Cordelia’s words were simple and honest, so Jude nodded his head.
In fact, as Cordelia had said, Viscountess St. Crute was famous for her atrocities.
“Hmm, okay. That’s a good enough reason then.”
For their cause of saving the world, and the atrocities of Viscountess St. Crute.
Considering the quality of life of the dwarves, this choice was the best.
“Hehe, anyway, it went well.”
If the dwarves start living in the ancient city, their territory’s industry would naturally develop.
Commerce would also develop once a lot of goods come and go.
‘Then the young people will live well, right? The number of young people will also increase.’
Because there would be many new jobs in the territory.
It was clearly a simplistic idea, but it wasn’t entirely wrong either.
“Anyway, we’ve solved one thing, so let’s move to the other.”
“Yes, yes, that’s fine.”
Cordelia gladly nodded at Jude’s words before she suddenly turned her head into one direction.
Their next goal.
The person they must meet before leaving the south.
‘The legendary master craftsman Ca.s.sius.’
The only person who could make myth-rank dragon equipment with the scales of an Ancient Dragon.
In order to meet that person who was hiding deep in the south, they had to go through a difficult process, but Jude and Cordelia had no intention of doing that.
“You know where they live, right?”
Where Ca.s.sius lived in hiding.
“Yes, of course I know. Shall we go on horseback for a change?”
“Okay, that’s fine with me. Let’s ride a horse.”
Cordelia willingly nodded her head, and Jude grinned before summoning his Phantom Steed.
Of course, only one Phantom Steed and not two.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Count.”
Jude sat in the front while Cordelia was on the back.
The Phantom Steed carrying the two of them soared into the air.