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The sales of The Iron-Blooded Alchemist Volume 3 were several times higher than those of other fairy tale books or manga.
Not only did it surpass other books, but its sales were also significantly higher compared to Volumes 1 and 2, largely due to the raffle ticket it included.
Many people bought multiple copies in an attempt to increase their chances of winning the limited-edition Imperial Certified Alchemist Pocket Watch, which could only be obtained through the raffle.
As a result, commoners were pleased to be able to purchase the comic books at a lower price after the raffle tickets were removed.
Those who bought multiple copies could recoup some of their money, making it a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Finally, the day of the pocket watch raffle arrived, and people began gathering in front of the Yuren Trading Company.
Each branch of the company had distributed crystal orbs, allowing people to watch the main raffle event happening at the headquarters.
This raffle was accessible only to those with raffle tickets.
To ensure fairness, the Yuren Trading Company invited VIP nobles to the main event at their headquarters, and even representatives from the Magic Tower were in attendance.
In the center of the reception room stood a large, round container filled with slips of paper.
This raffle machine had been specially crafted by the Magic Tower to ensure fairness.
When the button was pressed, a gentle wind magic inside the machine would stir the slips of paper, and the first slip to pass through the opening would determine the winning number.
Since the Magic Tower guaranteed that the machine was tamper-proof, even the most skeptical attendees had no choice but to accept that this was a raffle entirely dependent on luck.
The entire event was recorded on a memory crystal and would be distributed to the company’s branches. The winning numbers would also be posted on the bulletin boards, but the sheer number of people gathered at the branches showed that no one wanted to miss the moment of the draw.
Finally, the raffle began.
“There will be a total of 12 draws! If more than one slip comes out, only the first one will be considered a winner, and the others will be returned to the container!”
Since this was such an important event, Esteban, the head of the Yuren Trading Company, personally conducted the raffle.
While such events were usually handled by branch managers or employees, Esteban had decided to step in due to the unexpectedly large crowd and the intense excitement surrounding the event.
He was the best person to handle any unforeseen situations.
The waiting crowd began shouting cheers and jeers, even though they knew Esteban couldn’t hear them.
The air was filled with a strange heat despite it being winter, and the people’s eyes were full of greed.
‘If I win, my life will change!’
On the day the pocket watch was displayed at the Yuren Trading Company’s headquarters, several nobles with gold-filled pouches had come, pleading to buy it from him.
Some of the offers were jaw-droppingly high, but Esteban had firmly refused.
He had declared that the pocket watch could only be obtained through the raffle, forcing everyone to back down.
However, as the saying goes, “seeing is wanting,” and the number of thieves trying to sneak into the Yuren Trading Company to steal the pocket watch had dramatically increased since that day.
Not only professional thieves but also all sorts of amateurs had attempted to steal the pocket watch.
All of them, however, were caught by the company’s hired mercenaries or by the traps set by the Magic Tower and were promptly sent to the Empire’s prison—a story that had already spread widely.
The reason so many had targeted the pocket watch was due to a mysterious tycoon who had placed a bounty on it.
The declaration that anyone who brought the pocket watch would receive 100 gold had driven people to attack the company.
This bounty had effectively set the minimum value of the pocket watch at 100 gold, adding to the frenzy surrounding today’s raffle.
Of course, those who wanted the pocket watch out of genuine fan loyalty weren’t too happy about this.
“Damn it, that watch should belong to a true fan like me.”
Many believed that the pocket watch, with only 12 in existence, was priceless and should not be valued in mere gold.
And so, for various reasons, the eyes of the excited crowd were fixed on Esteban’s fingers.
His hand finally moved toward the button, and at that moment, the slips of paper inside the container began swirling like cherry blossoms in the wind.
“This is just a prototype, but the quality is already good enough to sell.”
“Nonsense! The joints aren’t smooth enough yet. Using Arachne’s silk was the right choice, but it feels like we need to mix in something else.”
Ignoring Krun’s protests, I continued to examine the new golem arm.
The precision of each part was astonishing, fitting together to create a natural movement.
Krun’s boast that he could create it if given the proper materials and equipment wasn’t a lie.
Of course, there were still critical areas that needed improvement.
The connection between the golem arm and the nerves required technology from the Magic Tower, and this prototype model had so many parts that it looked incredibly complex at first glance.
According to Krun, even a single missing screw would render the arm inoperable, making it unfeasible for practical use.
Moreover, the materials used were exorbitantly expensive.
It was hard to tell if I had brought in a master dwarf or a gold-eating monster, considering his insatiable love for expensive materials.
Thankfully, there were no mithril or orichalcum metals available on the market, or he would have surely begged me to buy them, even if it meant selling himself into slavery.
‘But what am I going to do with this?’
Despite the high quality of the new golem arm, its commercialization posed a problem.
While it was certainly more advanced than the existing golem arms sold by the Magic Tower, its price was also significantly higher, limiting the potential customer base.
Selling it to commoners was out of the question, and while it could be sold to knights who had lost their limbs, there weren’t that many of them to begin with.
Since I had promised Krun that he could continue his research as a condition of his employment, I had no choice but to keep the project going and find a way to commercialize it.
I wanted to recoup at least some of the investment, and if such a product could be made accessible to commoners, it could bring hope to many people.
I had once thought that earning a lot of money would solve all my problems, but ironically, it had only created more.
The things I wanted to do and the things I needed to do seemed to be increasing by the day.
At first, I thought I would be satisfied with just making enough to live comfortably.
“I wish I had more time…”
I found myself wishing for a room like the one from the manga that allowed time to flow differently, where I could create dozens of comics and bring in the artisans to develop over-technology.
But realizing it was an impossible dream, I felt a wave of melancholy.
The only way to fill this sadness was with more work.
“Sena, you did a great job today. You can go rest now.”
“Already?”
“You’ve already drawn for two hours today. You need to rest properly.”
Despite my words, Sena insisted that she wanted to keep drawing, but I firmly sent her out of the workshop, knowing that overworking her at such a young age would be wrong.
“Young Master! Does that mean we can leave too?”
“What are you talking about? Have you been drinking while working?”
Seeing Sena leave, the artisans gathered around me, asking if they could go home as well. I responded as if they were out of their minds.
“Wh-what?! Why only Sena? Why can’t we leave…?”
“Everyone, Sena is only twelve years old. I already feel guilty for having her work when she should be playing.”
These people really needed to learn what was worth envying.
The artisans seemed unable to argue with my reasoning and slowly returned to their workstations.
“That’s why you should have stayed up all night like I did! Haha, I’m off now.”
Watching this, Krun quietly tried to slip away toward the door.
“Alain, close it.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Alain, who was waiting outside the door, closed it just before Krun could reach it, locking it securely.
“What…what are you doing?! I finished my work! I stayed up all night too!”
“Yesterday was yesterday, and today is today. Finished your work? Have you completed the initial production of the figures for the goods shop opening soon?”
“Well, not exactly…but I did finish the prototype of the new golem arm….”
“I’m disappointed, Krun. I’ve supported your research and development as promised, but you’re prioritizing your own projects over production?”
Krun bristled at my words, retorting in frustration.
“What are you saying? Are you calling me, Krun, a dwarf who would break his word?!”
“Of course not. So please, go make the figures. If you work through the week, we should be able to meet the production targets.”
“Of course! There’s no such thing as impossible for dwarves!”
Grumbling, Krun returned to his workstation.
I wasn’t much different. Before returning to my desk, I downed a vitality potion in one gulp and continued working on The Iron-Blooded Alchemist Volume 4.
Since Sena was still learning and not yet able to speed up the process, I had to work as quickly as possible on my own.
‘Three hours left until Brother Manuel arrives.’
At my request, the workshop had been designed to be locked from the outside, so no one could leave until someone came to open the door.
Some people had tried to use the bathroom as an excuse to escape, but the bathroom was inside the workshop, and food and drinks were always stocked, so no one could leave before the designated time.
For those who didn’t want to leave but still needed sleep, there were even small beds available.
Honestly, I was worried that the artisans might refuse to go home, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
These facilities were better than those of the Korean military, yet…
Next update on August 19th at 11:00 PM.
Thank you for the chapter!
Thanks for the chapter