Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 176

“Use this sword for the time being. It seems like the completion will take at least six months.”

Ultore, who was working on Léctĭo, called me over one day and handed me a sword. A dragon's mark was engraved on the blade.

“It’s a sword our ancestors made for the great Dragon King. Now that the dragons have disappeared and the sword has returned to us, it has not found a master.”

“What’s the name of the sword?”

“Jin-Yong-Geom, the Dragon Sword.”

“What a cringey name.”

“……”

In truth, he too thought the name was too childish. However, the one who named this sword was the Dragon King, so he couldn't bring himself to say it.

“I’ll call it Laevateinn.”

“What does that mean?”

“It has no meaning. I just named it after a legendary sword I know.”

“Laevateinn. It has the same name as the sword of fire said to have been made by the god of mischief long ago.”

There were times when I felt the myths here were similar to the myths from my past life, and it turned out not to be a delusion. Because Laevateinn was, in fact, a sword made by Loki.

“That’s a decent name. The former owner of this sword was a Fire Dragon.”

I wasn't curious. I had recently reached a state where I didn't particularly need a sword. However, my hands felt empty without one.

“It has a summoning function, just like the Léctĭo you have. Place your hand here.”

When I placed my hand on the blade, it glowed and I felt a strange sensation. After a very brief imprinting period, I naturally learned the summoning function of Laevateinn.

“Remarkable. So natural. None among us could handle it so naturally.”

It might have been nothing to me, but the power contained within the sword was so great that even a considerably skilled person would have difficulty handling it.

“Use that for the time being. That sword can be said to be on par with Léctĭo.”

“I’ll use it well.”

“Oh, and don’t you need artisans in your domain?”

“I need artisans, more than anything. What I need more than anyone is a beer artisan.”

“A beer artisan…?”

“That’s right. This is an urgent matter. When I return to the domain, I won’t be able to drink those good beers I had here anymore. And refrigeration technology is also important. I’m asking you for this favor.”

I had never spoken with such long breaths since coming here. My eyes were more serious than ever, and so was my expression.

“Hahahahahahaha!”

Seeing my dead-serious face, Ultore burst into hearty laughter and then nodded his head.

“I’ll try to gather some volunteers!”

“My Arthur Domain is always open to my friend. Come and visit often.”

“Of course! I’ll soon wrap things up here and go to my friend’s domain to play and eat.”

“You are most welcome.”

More than anyone else, I needed to befriend the dwarf king before me.

Only this king could give me what no one else in this world could. With a desperate heart, I even added empty words I had never used in my life, trying to get close to him.

And a few days later, I began my return journey to the Arthur Domain, accompanied by a considerable number of dwarves.

***

“Hmm…? So, all those dwarves are?”

Dexter, who was in charge of the domain’s administration on the front lines, looked at the nearly 300 dwarves who had come in a crowd with me and wore a dumbfounded expression.

“So, what did you say was the specialty of the people from here to here?”

“Beer brewing.”

“Beer… brewing?”

“That’s right. We’re good at making weapons and farming tools, but what we’re especially good at is beer!”

“Then… from here to here?”

“We specialize in making beer refrigeration facilities.”

“Beer… refrigeration facilities?”

Something was strange. The dwarves were the most skilled artisans in the world, and there should have been many who specialized in various fields like architecture, weapon smithing, and equipment crafting, so why was everyone here only talking about beer?

“Of course, we are good at crafting various other equipment, but the field we specialize in the most is beer refrigeration facilities. Uahahahaha.”

Every time the dwarves laughed heartily, Dexter's expression contorted strangely.

“Then what about the rest?”

“We came because Lord Karl said he’d let us play and eat. We’re pretty prominent figures in the Dertringen Kingdom.”

About 30 dwarves, who appeared to be of some age and status, spoke so brazenly and confidently about coming just to freeload.

“Ah… yes.”

Dexter Fletcher, who was in charge of the domain's administration, was extremely bewildered by the current situation.

Since he had started managing the domain administration here at Anne's special request, he thought today might be the most baffling day of all.

“First, shall I guide you to the workshop…?”

“Workshop? No. You should guide us to the beer warehouse and the liquor storage!”

Overwhelmed by the dwarves’ fierce momentum, Dexter reluctantly nodded and guided them to the beer warehouse.

“What a mess! This is why our Lord Karl was so disappointed. This is too shabby a place for a great drinker.”

“Let’s build a new one. Let’s find a spot and build it anew. Let’s build the largest and grandest building.”

“That’s it! Let’s try building the most beautiful, largest, and greatest liquor warehouse on the continent!”

The 300 dwarves, excited, shouted, raised their hands, and cheered. And a short while later, a huge building really started to rise in the city at a terrifying speed.

“Um… what about the materials?”

“Materials? We’ll take care of that, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Um, then what about the manpower?”

“Manpower? We’ll take care of that too, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Meals?”

“Food? You have to provide that!”

While Dexter was fumbling, the dwarves procured stone and iron from somewhere and began to rapidly construct a building.

And the building, rising at a terrifying speed, was a massive construction project that extended from the basement to the ground floor.

The completed building, built with additional dwarf manpower that seemed to appear out of nowhere, was the most magnificent in the city, second only to the Lord's castle, and its beauty was simply incomparable to any other structure.

“So this is why they say dwarf… this and dwarf that.”

The people couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the completed building.

[Arthur Domain Brewery.]

And people couldn't hide their further bewilderment at the sign hung in front of that great structure. To think that enormous high-rise building was a liquor factory.

‘They could have at least built an administrative office.’

Just as Dexter was clutching his chest in frustration, I appeared with a light footstep from somewhere.

“How is it, Lord?”

One of the dwarf artisans shouted from atop the building, laughing heartily.

“Excellent.”

At that short exclamation, the dwarves laughed loudly and applauded in self-congratulation.

“Beer has arrived from Dertringen! It’s a party today!”

“Good.”

I nodded, and the dwarves excitedly shouted from all over the building. That day too, I drank like a madman.

“So, this city isn't bad, but still…”

“It's a bit boring to just drink, so let's also repair some buildings, build some new ones, and the taste of liquor after breaking a sweat is also good.”

“That’s right, they give us food and a place to sleep. We have to do at least that much for the post-labor drink to taste right.”

“Well then, while I’m at it, I’ll take a look at the weapons for old time's sake.”

The dwarves, quite drunk, agreed to fix up the various parts of the Arthur Domain that they didn't like. And from the next day, the dwarves began to appear here and there like fairies, helping people out.

From construction, minor repairs, maintenance, to reconstruction, the dwarves who appeared and disappeared like fairies in every field that required an artisan were a blessing in themselves.

The people of the domain, grateful for such dwarves, offered them food and drink and gave them money.

Then the dwarves, delighted, spent that money and helped to revitalize the domain's economy.

“This is working?”

Dexter, who had sighed at his first sight of the dwarves, marveled at the surprising changes they had created and looked at me once again with an admiring gaze.

‘His Lordship had seen through all of this. Indeed, Dexter, you are still far too lacking.’

While Dexter, the head of domain administration, was marveling next to Marquis Nigel, the object of his admiration, me, had my mind filled with thoughts of the beer being made in the liquor storage.

‘The temperature of the storage was astonishing.’

They had created a storage with an extremely cold temperature. Carbonation was being created in there. The barrels they made were specially sealed so that the carbonation would not escape.

Gulp.

A smile of satisfaction, greater than any I had ever shown, spread across my face as I swallowed my saliva unknowingly.

“All these changes are thanks to you, my Lord. You are truly a natural-born lord. How did you come up with such a brilliant idea?”

“Anything can be achieved if you are desperate enough.”

“Huh… to think your heart for the domain is that desperate… I’ve learned something new again.”

The object of Marquis Nigel’s admiration and the meaning behind my answer were completely different, but in the end, as long as everyone was happy, it was a good thing, and so the Arthur Domain continued to run perfectly that day as well.

***

The dwarf-made beer produced in the Arthur Domain began to be supplied to several places on the West Continent at some point.

And the reaction was so tremendous that people formed processions to the Arthur Domain to obtain the dwarf-made beer.

“I’m sorry, but we have nothing to sell. Even the people of our domain are buying it at a premium because there isn't enough to go around.”

As there was a limit to the production volume, the price of beer skyrocketed to the point where a single glass was traded at over 20 times the price of regular beer.

Even so, supply was not easy, so I and the dwarves began to manage the stock for sale and for self-consumption separately.

And through negotiations with the dwarves, a second brewery was established, and a large-scale brewery was built to produce a slightly lower-quality, mass-market beer, which began to be sold across the continent.

When 70% of the profits from that went to the Arthur Domain and 30% to the dwarves, the dwarves were able to proceed more quickly with their preparations to go out into the world with the pouring wealth.

“Uahahaha! This is all thanks to our Lord Karl.”

When the brewery began to rake in an explosive amount of gold coins, Ultore, who had come to visit to express his gratitude, forgot his thanks and was soon tilting endless glasses of liquor with me.

“We will build a defensive line between our domain and Dertringen from here to here. We will deploy troops here to help each other. This place will be fortified. And the main road will be paved from here like this.”

I secured a bridgehead between Dertringen and the Arthur Domain and agreed to build a joint fortress and domain for both dwarves and humans at a midway point.

By doing so, a massive large-scale civil engineering and construction project was carried out, creating a virtuous cycle in the economy.

To purchase dwarf-made weapons and equipment, one had to go through the Arthur Domain, and the exclusive trade rights for them were given to the Arthur Domain.

Thanks to this, the power of the Arthur Domain began to grow incomparably. And this series of events made Duke Jacques Marin, the ruler of the West, and Duke Ellenhower, another faction in the North, think differently.

***

People sat with stern expressions in the meeting room of the Somerset Domain.

“We can no longer stand by and watch the Arthur Domain, my liege.”

Even Viscount Jennings, who had always maintained a relaxed face, could no longer look as comfortable as before as he watched the Arthur Domain rise with terrifying momentum recently.

“The Arthur Domain is our ally, and Lord Karl is a man with no ambition for the emperor’s throne.”

“…Power is something that can change a person at any time. Even if it’s not Lord Karl, the people around him will not leave him be.”

How could Ellenhower not have considered that part? However, he believed his judgment of me, whom he had watched for quite a long time since the old days, was not wrong.

“This cannot continue, my Lord. There are no eternal allies, nor eternal enemies.”

It was when everyone fell silent at the story Viscount Jennings had brought up.

“My liege, a person has come from the Marin Domain.”

An envoy who would cause a stir in their meeting had arrived.