NOVEL NEXT Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Although he didn’t like it, the Factory Manager started gathering materials, thinking there was no helping it since he had already taken the order.
He borrowed a bunch of books about medieval swords from the library and searched for various materials online.
“Damn it. Swords are complicated.”
The Factory Manager let out a deep sigh as he put the books and notes down on the desk.
“Are you having trouble?”
Illia, who brought him coffee, asked, and the Factory Manager nodded, running his hand through his hair.
“If I had ever made a sword before, I’d know. But I can’t not make it now that they threw money at me. This is killing me.”
At the Factory Manager’s lament, Illia peeked at the books and papers.
“You said you made one before.”
“That was because I had the exact same one to copy. This is a new design. I can’t ask anyone, damn it…”
The Factory Manager took a sip of his coffee, and Illia glanced outside the office.
“What about Mr. Popper?”
“Huh?”
“Mr. Popper makes swords, doesn’t he?”
The Factory Manager thought for a moment and nodded.
“Right… There’s Popper. I should go see him.”
The Factory Manager gathered his papers and books and got up from his seat. He went out of the office and shouted to Channing and Tehez, who were working.
“I’m going to the blacksmith’s to see Popper for a bit, so keep working!”
“Huh?! Why so suddenly?”
Channing asked back, but the Factory Manager went out the back door without looking back. Channing shrugged and went back to work.
While Channing was welding and Tehez was grinding the weld surface with a grinder, making their product, Illia, who was cleaning a corner of the factory, was startled by the sound of someone knocking on the door and looked in that direction.
If it had been the back door, where ordinary customers came in, it wouldn’t have been so surprising.
The knock came from the front door, which was always locked. The front door that the Factory Manager had said should never be opened.
Illia was at a loss as to what to do.
-Bang, bang!-
The knocking on the door grew louder, and she could hear the doorknob turning.
What should she do? While Illia was wavering, the door was knocked on even louder.
“What should I do?”
Illia asked Channing and Tehez with a tearful face, and Channing and Tehez, with surprised eyes, didn’t know what to do either.
-Bang, bang!-
The knocking on the door echoed loudly again.
“I’ll… open it.”
Illia said, and Channing and Tehez nodded.
Illia swallowed hard, slowly approached the door, took a deep breath, and unlocked it.
-Click-
With a click, the lock opened, and the door swung open. Illia hurriedly stepped back.
“Why were you so slow to open the door?!”
Someone came in through the door and, seeing Illia, widened their eyes in surprise.
It was a middle-aged woman with hair cut shorter than a bob, wearing jeans and a leather jacket, and carrying a leather carrier in her hand.
Noticing the woman’s surprised gaze through her gold-rimmed glasses, Illia quickly bowed and greeted her.
“We… Welcome.”
The middle-aged woman still looked at Illia with surprised eyes.
Illia shrank even more under the woman’s gaze.
The woman put down her leather carrier and spoke.
“Oh. Yes… Hmm? Who are you?”
“I’m Illia.”
The middle-aged woman scratched her head and asked again.
“Hmm. I see. Illia. Where is the owner?”
“Ah. He went to the blacksmith’s across the street for a moment.”
“I see. Then I’ll wait for a bit.”
The middle-aged woman walked into the factory as if she knew the way.
“This place hasn’t changed.”
Channing and Tehez looked at the middle-aged woman who went and sat on a chair in the corner of the factory. The woman, glancing at them, waved her hand.
“Ah. Don’t mind me and keep working.”
The middle-aged woman got up from the chair and went to the water purifier, where she started to make instant coffee in a paper cup. Channing and Tehez, with awkward expressions, went back to work.
The middle-aged woman, drinking her coffee and looking around the factory, saw the sword hanging on the back door and walked towards it. Looking at the sword hanging on the wall like a signboard, the middle-aged woman stroked her chin.
“A Viking sword? Pattern welded. It’s been reworked from a broken one. Hmm. Where did he get this?”
-Greetings.-
The sword spoke to the middle-aged woman, and she looked around with slightly surprised eyes and then at the sword.
“Did you speak?”
-Indeed.-
“Oh. Interesting. Is there a speaker inside the wall or something? It’s a funny prank. It’s not the kind of prank he would pull though.”
-It is because I have a spirit residing within me.-
“Haha! Is that the setting?”
While the sword and the middle-aged woman were talking, the back door opened and someone entered the factory. It was the Factory Manager.
“Ugh… I’m back… Uh?!”
The Factory Manager, coming in through the back door, saw the middle-aged woman standing in front of the sword and widened his eyes in surprise.
And then.
“Uh… Uh… When…”
“Yahoo! Long time no see. Has it been 3 years?”
“Uh… Yeah.”
The Factory Manager stood there blankly with surprised eyes, and the middle-aged woman smiled and walked towards him first.
“What are you doing? You’re going to just stand there even though we haven’t seen each other in a long time?”
“No. It’s not that… Come into the office first. Illia! Bring us some coffee.”
“I already had some.”
The Factory Manager and the woman went into the office, and as the door closed, Channing and Tehez let out deep sighs.
“Wow… Who is that?”
“I know, right? And she came in through the front door?!”
Channing and Tehez talked about it and took a short break.
***
The woman who entered the office sat on the sofa and looked at the Factory Manager with curiosity.
“You hired foreigners. What country are they from? They don’t look Southeast Asian. Are they Central Asian?”
“No, not that… They’re…”
“They look a bit Western. Are they Uzbek? Kazakh? I heard a lot of people from those countries come to work these days.”
“Well… Just. I don’t know either. More importantly, what brings you here so suddenly? You were abroad, weren’t you? Europe?”
The Factory Manager asked, and the woman nodded.
“I came in from the US. I went to Europe and then to the US. I had to come see my grandson since he was born. You and I are grandparents now. Time flies.”
The woman said with a smile, and the Factory Manager nodded in surprise.
“Ah. Right… I didn’t know.”
“What? You didn’t know? Are you still not in contact with your son?”
“Well…”
The Factory Manager mumbled.
The woman frowned at him and sighed.
“Well, I guess that’s to be expected with your stubbornness and his. Neither of you change even with age.”
“Ah, stop it! Why are you bringing up the past!”
“Oh dear. Such a temper. More importantly, aren’t you happy to have a grandson? Should I show you a picture?”
The woman took out her phone from her pocket, and the Factory Manager waved his hand.
“No, thanks. What’s the point? I didn’t even get a call about my grandson being born.”
“Come on, just look. He’s so cute.”
The woman held out her phone screen, but the Factory Manager forcefully pushed it away.
The woman sighed and put her phone back in her pocket.
“Fine, if you don’t want to see him. Such a stubborn old man.”
“So, you saw your grandson and your son, why did you come here instead of going back abroad? Or staying at your son’s house.”
“My son’s house is uncomfortable. I got a hotel room nearby. I wanted to see your face, and I heard you reopened the factory.”
The woman glanced around. Looking at the grime-covered factory office, she smiled.
“This place hasn’t changed.”
“It’s been sitting here for 20 years without being sold. But I worked hard to make it usable. I bought new machines too.”
“New? They look like you bought them used from a bankrupt factory. They’re all worn out.”
This time, the woman looked at the desk. Books and materials the Factory Manager had brought in to make the sword were scattered all over the desk.
The woman picked up a few sheets of paper and spoke.
“What’s this? Are you trying to make a sword? What’s gotten into you? It’s not even a triangle ruler or something that people who use swords would ask to be made, it’s a Western sword.”
“I got an order. A 16-year-old girl wants a sword made as a birthday present. I need to know what I’m doing.”
“Huh? Hahahaha! The chairman of the best kitchen knife company in the country got an order for a combat sword for a little girl? That’s funny. You hated making things one by one like a blacksmith.”
“I quit being chairman. I’m just a factory manager now. And you know I don’t like making things like that.”
The woman laughed and looked through the book. It was a catalog with pictures of various swords from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
The woman flipped through a few pages and spoke again.
“Chairman or factory manager, it’s all the same. It looks like you borrowed every book with a picture of a sword in it. You’re probably thinking of just glancing at them and making something similar, right?”
“Well, I have to. Swords aren’t my specialty. Isn’t it fine if I just make something similar?”
“Oh, come on. If swords were something you could just make like that, why would there be blacksmiths specializing in swords? You know you can’t just make kitchen knives like that, right?”
The woman lightly scolded him, and the Factory Manager crumpled up the paper he had been drawing on. Seeing this, the woman chuckled.
“Hahahaha! This is the first time I’ve seen you look so weak. Alright, I’ll help you.”
At the woman’s words, this time the Factory Manager looked at her in surprise.
“You know I’m the professional here, right?”
“I saw you tinkering with things before, but you couldn’t make anything decent then.”
The Factory Manager replied awkwardly, and the woman smiled and looked at him.
“Do you think I was just playing around abroad for 3 years?”
“Then what were you doing?”
“Blacksmithing! Specifically, making swords. In Europe, places like Germany and Italy, there are still blacksmiths who make swords the old-fashioned way. I learned from those workshops. I’m different now.”
The Factory Manager swallowed, speechless, and the woman slammed her hand on the table and stood up.
“So, I’ll make this. I didn’t expect to find something so interesting after coming back to Korea. Alright, give me some work clothes. There’s a lot to do.”
The Factory Manager nodded silently.
The woman strode over to a cabinet in the corner of the office, opened the door, and rummaged through it, pulling out a set of work clothes.
It was a new set of work clothes in a bag, but it was covered in dust, as if it had been sitting there for a long time.
The woman checked the size, ripped open the bag, dusted off the work clothes, and threw them on the sofa. Then she took off her leather jacket and jeans.
“What are you doing, taking your clothes off like that?!”
“Oh my. Why are you acting like this after seeing everything for decades?”
“Damn it! Just get dressed!”
Surprised by the woman suddenly taking off her clothes, the Factory Manager turned around and shouted, and the woman chuckled and put on the work pants and zipped up the jacket.
Then she opened the leather carrier she had brought and took out her equipment. A leather apron, safety shoes, and thick gloves.
After changing into the safety shoes and putting on the apron and gloves, the woman walked to the door, and the Factory Manager sighed and stood up, following her.