“The training ground is complete! Come take a look, little brother!”
“It looks great according to the blueprints. Thank you for your hard work.”

The construction of the training ground established in the Arien Territory was finished. One training ground was specifically for Charlotte's personal use with the powerful sword, and another would serve as the main base for Vermont Security. So, there were two buildings.

“The foundation is sturdy. Unless a dragon crashes into it, there’s no way it’s going to collapse.”
“Ha ha ha!”

Thanks to wandering around the construction site quite a bit and learning from Count Arien, I had gained a solid understanding of basic construction knowledge. Of course, I wasn’t at the level where I could dictate everything to a construction company, but I was at least knowledgeable enough not to be easily swindled.

“Ha ha! So how do you plan to pay for the construction work...?”
“I won’t take the interest on this month’s investment, and I’ll deposit the remaining 700 million in cash by tomorrow.”
“Really! Tomorrow? I can finally eat meat dishes again! Ha ha ha!”

Tears of joy streamed down Count Arien's face. Watching him like this felt somewhat bittersweet. He was a count, yet he lived a life burdened by debt.

‘I’ll have to place more orders in the future.’

If the count faced the grim reality of never being able to repay his debts, that would be problematic. I needed to ensure he turned his gaze away from that reality and focused solely on the illusion of repaying his debts.

That way, I could suck up 50 percent interest annually from the measly investment of 10 billion.

‘Now that the training ground is complete, should I get the equipment next?’

Both the training ground and the staff were ready. All that was left was to confirm the operational organization and equipment. The operational organization was under Sylvia’s supervision and was already completed. Now, it was time to check the equipment.

“Oh, Master! You’ve arrived! It’s very noisy and hot inside, so let’s talk outside!”

Jacob emerged from the forge, dripping with sweat. Glancing inside, Yulia noticed the furnace was constantly emitting heat, and the workers were diligently hammering away at the iron, soaking their clothes with sweat.

The blades shimmering with light were extraordinary. It was the mana heat she had seen before. It seemed Jacob had successfully trained his employees.

“Do the employees now know how to handle the mana heat?”
“Oh, they can manage the preprocessing well enough, but after that, I still have to handle it. I don’t have any apprentices who can follow me yet.”
“...”

Seeing Jacob speak so casually, it became clear that he was indeed an extraordinary person. The apprentices he was training were all seasoned blacksmiths well past middle age. They all had at least 20 years of experience, yet they were in a position where they were learning from Jacob, who had only been hammering for two months.

“Are the employees following your instructions well? If there are any who refuse to obey or challenge your authority, let me know.”
“Fortunately, there are no employees opposing my authority yet. However, the problem is they keep trying to learn even after work hours. They’re so eager to learn that I’m having to give personal lessons one by one, and they’re losing sleep.”

It seemed that in the face of overwhelming talent and skill, everyone had set aside their pride. They were already showing a tremendous thirst for knowledge.

“Since they’re making progress, they should be able to catch up to my level within three months!”
“No. Don’t do that.”
“Excuse me?”
“Just teach them casually from now on and focus more on sharpening your own skills.”
“May I ask why?”
“Right now, everyone is crawling on their knees to learn as much as they can, but the moment they surpass you, they will become arrogant. What if they master the mana heat and then leave to set up their own forge? One of the easiest ways to win a competition is to prevent the emergence of competitors in the first place.”
“Oh! I understand!”

[The evil god, ‘Kali,’ fervently takes notes on what you said.]

“Removing competitors...” may sound too aggressive. Preventing competitors in advance. Yes, that sounds more appropriate. In other words, it’s like pulling the ladder out from under them.

If I’m going to monopolize, I need to do it properly. If those employees all become my people, that might be different. But for now, they’re still untrustworthy. So I only plan to have Jacob as the sole master of the mana heat.

“How is the production status of the equipment we ordered?”
“More than half is complete.”
“How much longer do you think it will take for the rest?”
“Now that we’ve picked up speed, I think the remaining quantity will be finished within two weeks.”

That was an excellent pace. Despite being equipment made with mana heat, which couldn’t be mass-produced, they were still achieving this speed.

In that case, could I entrust even more to them? Should I consider expanding the forge and hiring more employees? How about running a 24-hour shift with three teams?

As I seriously contemplated this, Jacob’s face began to turn pale.

“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, no. It just feels like the air suddenly got cold... ”
“It’s nothing. Load the finished equipment onto the carriage. We’ll move it straight to the training ground in the Arien Territory.”
“Yes... I will do that...”

I had intentionally ordered a large quantity of equipment, even considering some extras. Even half would leave a bit left over for all the employees.

Now that the equipment was ready, Vermont Security was truly prepared for launch.

Should I start tomorrow?

That might trigger Sylvia’s complaints since she was already overwhelmed with work. She’d surely say that if I started training employees on top of everything else, she wouldn’t have a moment to breathe.

‘I should give her a little carrot.’

Let’s bring some uplifting news. I had promised that before.

“And I’ll place a new order.”
“Again? How many hundreds of blades this time...?”
“Just one blade.”
“Oh. I see. Phew. Huh...?”

Jacob let out a relieved sigh, but then, sensing something was off, his pupils trembled. Yes, it’s just one blade. A rather particular one.

“If it’s a double-edged sword for both hands, you can decide on the other specifications yourself. Just make sure it’s a special sword.”
“A special sword means...?”
“Unleash your creativity. Make the most unique and extraordinary sword you’ve ever seen.”
“The best sword I’ve seen was the holy sword made by my grandfather...?”
“Didn’t you finish that? You should certainly be able to create a sword that surpasses it.”
“The finishing touches were nothing special! The foundation, the base, is what matters, and how can I make a sword that rivals a holy sword...?”
“Oh, you’re making a grave mistake. I’m not asking you to create a sword that rivals the holy sword. I’m telling you to create a sword that surpasses it.”
“...!”

Jacob’s eyes widened in surprise, clearly flabbergasted.

His expression indicated he was about to burst out in frustration.

‘I hope you struggle a bit. Your talent isn’t limited to just coating existing items with mana heat.’

The first order had proven that Jacob could handle large volumes. Now it was time to verify quality, not just quantity. After all, I couldn’t keep churning out mass-produced items indefinitely. I needed to catch up to Master Jain.

“Uh, I can’t make such a sword...”
“You’re not seriously considering saying you can’t, are you?”
“...!”

With a gentle squeeze of Jacob's shoulder, I lowered my voice and encouraged him sincerely.

Come on, stop whining. You’re a man, aren’t you? You can’t just back down.

“Do your best. If it’s your best effort, I won’t be disappointed.”

No one succeeds on the first try. It’s only natural to go through multiple failures, but what’s important is the spirit of challenge, not fearing failure. Even if surpassing Master Jain seems impossible right now, it’s through this challenge that paths will open up.

That was the intention behind my words, but...

“I-I’ll make sure to produce a result you won’t be disappointed with!!!”
“...”

[The evil god, ‘Kali,’ is impressed by your motivational rhetoric.]

It seemed to place a significant burden on Jacob.

Well, whatever the case, that was good.

Jacob was a horse that would run well only when spurred on.

“Let’s do well. Okay?”
“I’ll do my best!!!”

Seeing Jacob shout caused expressions of concern to spread among the employees who had been glancing over from inside.

Did I tighten the discipline too much?

Secretly pretending to shake hands with Jacob, I slipped something into his palm.

“This is the advance payment. Since this is your personal order, don’t share it with the employees; keep it entirely for yourself. The rest will be exchanged for the finished product.”
“Yes... I understand...”

With a slight wave of my hand, I turned and got back on the carriage.

As I turned the corner and entered the road, I spotted Jacob doing a handstand and bowing towards the carriage, with his legs raised high into the air.

When he asked me what a grand bow was last time, I had taught him, and now he was doing this.

Seeing it was embarrassing.

I should have never shown him that.

‘What’s with the theatrics for just 300 million?’

The blank check I had given Jacob was filled out for 300 million Larks. That amount was nothing substantial.

After all, money was abundant. Jacob needed to get used to it.

Of course, I could have exploited him heavily.

But once Jacob realized his own worth, he would feel an intense sense of betrayal.

In human relations, the most important thing is trust. And those who have been treated fairly from the very beginning will develop not only trust but also loyalty.

In any case, I had now commissioned an item that would motivate Sylvia.

Now, there was truly only the launch of Vermont Security left to push forward.

‘It should go well.’

Despite appearances, this world was filled with danger. With magic, evil gods, and dark magic around, there was no way it was safe.

That’s why I believed there would be considerable demand for security services.

The investment amount was no joke.

There were already many employees and equipment prepared.

If we failed, the impact would be quite significant.

...Though, considering it was only a year’s worth of toll fees, I could recover from it.

“Sylvia. Where is Sylvia?”
“Master...!”

The moment I returned to the mansion and got off the carriage, Sylvia rushed out barefoot.

Instead of the tight riding outfit she usually wore for work, she was in a light, flowy dress. Her hair was disheveled, indicating she had rushed out in a hurry.

“Is there an urgent matter?”
“There are some alarming rumors circulating!”
“Alarming rumors?”
“There’s a rumor going around that you’re raising commoner slaves to take them as wives!”
“...!”

Damn it.

Who spread such baseless gossip?

That was just my wishful thinking.