Chapter 94

Chapter 94

#94. The Lensretians

All sorts of exclusive goods made at the Arad Workshop indirectly provided jobs and income to the northerners.

Even without being directly employed by the Arad Company, people could still make ends meet.

They no longer had to wander through snowfields and cities searching for work like vagrants.

Thanks to this trickle-down effect, northerners quickly became affluent.

“Who would’ve thought we’d ever save up five silver coins!”

“Honey, what should we do with all this money?”

“How about a big win at gambling?”

“If we do that, we’ll both be dead. We need to think about the kids.”

With fuller pockets, northerners escaped their hand-to-mouth existence.

They started saving money and naturally wanted to do something with it.

“What about buying and hanging a painting?”

“A painting?”

“I heard it’s trendy to hang portraits of His Highness the Duke of the North in every home.”

“That’s right! I heard the same when I was out gathering herbs.”

“It’s how we maintain our honor as proper northerners.”

“But honey, isn’t it awfully expensive?”

“Not so much that we can’t afford it.”

“To be honest, keeping all this silver at home makes me nervous. Might as well spend some of it wisely.”

“Why aren’t you objecting for once?”

“This is way better than losing it all on gambling or alcohol.”

Items invented by Arad were first used by the High City, the Lenslet Mage Guild, and Arad Company employees.

Then about half a step later, they spread to the Rune Trading Company, the Lenslet Order, and the Lenslet Academy.

It usually took about a year for them to reach even the remotest northern villages.

The Arad Company had become a cultural phenomenon.

“Boss! When I visited the High City recently, everyone was wearing uniforms. They were even made from Rian fabric!”

“Rian fabric?! Isn’t making uniforms burdensome enough?”

“I heard the Arad Workshop developed a way to produce Rian fabric very cheaply.”

“Of course, the wizard of the north.”

“What if our clan wore uniforms too? We have some extra funds anyway. It’d be perfect timing.”

“Great! Let’s place an order with the Arad Company immediately! Oh, what about those Spatial Cases? Any news on those?”

“They said orders are backed up. We probably won’t get them until winter.”

“Tch… That’s the one thing we really needed…”

In most trading companies, mercenary groups, and adventurer clans, wearing matching uniforms like Arad Company employees became common sense.

Portraits of Duchess Ariana of the North became essential decorations in almost every street and home across the north.

Even casual meals were served on porcelain, and beggars on the streets held porcelain bowls for alms.

“Did you hear? The wizard Baron Jin of the north invented another magical device!”

“I did! It’s supposed to pour water wherever and whenever you need it. It also easily disposes of waste and sewage. The name was…”

“Bluetooth!”

“That’s right!”

“What does Bluetooth even mean?”

Naturally, the Bluetooth Series (shower, bathtub, sink, toilet, etc.) recently invented by Arad followed this distribution chain.

After research and development at the Arad Company headquarters,

and final testing at Manager Te’s newlywed home,

mass production began at the workshop.

From there, the Bluetooth Series quickly spread throughout the north via the High City and the Mage Guild.

“Manager! Manager! Did you see Jack’s Inn? They installed the new Bluetooth Series from the Arad Company!”

“Damn! First the employee uniforms and the duchess’ portrait, now they’re installing the expensive Bluetooth system? Do those guys ever think about saving money?”

“What should we do, manager?”

“We can’t lose out! Place an order immediately!”

“Yes sir!”

“By the way, what does Bluetooth even mean?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does Jack know? I heard he’s friends with the wizard of the north.”

“Should I ask him?”

“Are you crazy? Hurry up and place that Bluetooth or whatever order already.”

Naturally, the Bluetooth Series caused a supply shortage.

In the north, where plumbing was underdeveloped, this wasn’t just a trend – it became an everyday necessity.

“Fill up with water instead! Dispose of your waste buckets here!”

A new business emerged with large carriages equipped with spatial water tanks and waste tanks patrolling the streets.

“Ugh… Another late night shift!”

“So, is it tough?”

“Tough? This is all money!”

Thanks to this, employees manufacturing the Bluetooth Series at the Arad Company were working overtime and late nights nonstop.

“Transfer the magic stone coating process from lines 10 to 15 to the academy students!”

“3rd circle handles purification tank circuits, 4th circle handles security circuits!”

“2nd circle and below works on the coating process with the students!”

Regular employees and witch-originated mage engineers alike,

everyone at the workshop was overwhelmed by the flood of work.

“Uuuuuhhhh, there’s just too much work!”

“If it’s too hard, go home. No one’s forcing you, right?”

“But… Last month I earned a gold coin! Can you believe I, a mere 2nd circle, earned a gold coin in just one month?”

“So… let’s keep working.”

“I’ve become addicted to overtime… I can’t stop now.”

The company didn’t force anyone. They simply paid proper overtime, late night, and special shift allowances.

“Lately, doing so much enchanting has raised my rank a bit, you know?”

“It helps with production and creation, though limited to those areas.”

“The role of mages will completely change in the future.”

“Instead of running around battlefields, we’ll be drawing magic circuits in factories.”

“And it’s much more profitable and safer that way.”

An innovative wind swept across the entire north.

And this wave of innovation further accelerated through a communication revolution that tightly wrapped around the north.

“Director, what’s that new crystal ball-like thing I saw at city hall?”

“It’s called a Magic Communication Device. I heard it was developed by Baron Jin of the north together with the Lenslet Mage Guild.”

“Magic Communication Device?”

“With this, you can instantly exchange messages across the continent. Though it does consume a lot of mana depending on the distance.”

“No way!”

“I thought the same at first.”

The mage revolution suddenly left the winter hawks, long-time companions of the north, unemployed.

“For now, it’s still expensive and rare, so it’s only used for official purposes.”

“Ah… If it’s only for official use, we can’t use it privately then. With this, we could instantly hear news from our families back home…”

“That’s why they’re setting up post offices across the entire north.”

“Post offices?”

“They’re government offices that deliver letters and packages anywhere in the north for a fee.”

“Honestly… The speed of change is hard to keep up with.”

“Same here.”

Economically, culturally, technologically, institutionally…

The north underwent tremendous progress.

Something new was developed every day, new organizations were established, and new laws and systems were added.

The northerners had no time to be bored.

Far from it, they were busier than ever.

But each day was exciting and enjoyable to that extent.

“There’s no place in the continent developing as fast as our north!”

That excitement naturally turned into a sense of belonging and pride as “northerners”.

“Northerner? No! We’re Lensretians! We’re Lensretians!”

“These days, hanging family photos next to His Highness’ portrait is what makes a true Lensretian.”

“We’re not imperial citizens. Not just northerners either! We’re Lensretians!”

Lensretians. Before they knew it, the northerners had started calling themselves that.

* * *

The harsh cold wind of this land blew outside the window.

This winter, entering my fourth year in this world, felt somewhat worn down.

Peeeeep-pip-pip!

At my office in the workshop, the Magic Communication Device sitting on one side of my desk lit up with an alarm sound.

It was the direct line connected to the Palace of Glory.

“Haaah…。

I sighed and activated the Magic Communication Device.

Flash!

Bishop Entaire’s face appeared inside the communicator.

[Arad, can you come to the High City sometime soon?]

“What’s the matter?”

I asked Bishop Entaire with tired eyes.

[You look quite exhausted.]

Apparently, my fatigued appearance was transmitted to Entaire through the Magic Communication Device.

“The entire workshop is pulling all-nighters in three shifts daily. It’d be strange if the CEO wasn’t working hard while everyone else is.”

Orders were flooding in from across the north.

The employees are busy, but so am I as the CEO.

Between the academy, research and development, quality management, and everything else, I’m swamped.

Even Bishop Entaire is crying tears begging me to sell him Bluetooth systems and cameras.

Well, if your empire’s mage tower can make them too, that’s fine then?

“So what’s the matter? I just visited the High City last week.”

[Regarding the administrative organization you lectured about at the academy. Aren’t we applying that to the High City now?]

“Yes… That’s correct. Prime Minister Rio Entaire.”

[Hmph! Still not the official title. Anyway, there are some growing pains since we’re implementing it for the first time. And it’s too complex and deep to handle through simple questions via the Magic Communication Device.]

“I understand. I’ll find time to visit sometime next week.”

[Ha ha ha! Thank you! This Magic Communication Device sure is convenient! No need for messengers or winter hawks! I heard the winter hawks in the High City have all gotten plump lately.]

“Still, relying too much on magical devices isn’t good. Sometimes traditional methods are better.”

[Absolutely! Well, I have a meeting, so I’ll end here.]

With the promise of next week, Bishop Entaire ended the communication with a bright smile.

“Ah… This is why I didn’t want to install these Magic Communication Devices in the first place.”

After finishing the communication, I sighed and slouched back in my chair.

The suppression on witches had been lifted.

The north had truly entered the age of public mills.

Especially after the lessons learned from the last great plague, the importance of communication had grown even more, making the development and popularization of the ‘Magic Communication Device’ inevitable.

However, despite its convenience, I remained conservative about the spread of these devices.

More convenient communication meant more calls,

which meant more trivial matters to deal with.

“…”

For a fleeting moment,

I closed my eyes and rested quietly in my chair.

These days, with things being so busy, I wouldn’t be able to keep going without taking advantage of these little breaks.

How long was I like that?

Knock knock knock

Just as I had dozed off for about ten minutes, someone knocked and entered the office.

“Mr. President, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

It was Mary.

“So, did the investigation finish?”

“Yes.”

She had just returned from handling some recent incidents.

“And Manager Te?”

“Manager Te is still on-site coordinating the situation.”

Mary handed me a stack of documents.

“Here’s the compiled report.”

“Tsk tsk tsk…”

I clicked my tongue while silently reading the report Mary handed over.

“Now what do you plan to do?”

She asked me, looking at my expression.

“What else? The accident happened because of our employees. It’s my responsibility. I need to apologize and compensate those who were harmed.”

“What about the employees who caused the problem?”

“They need to be fired. Further punishment will be handled by the High City.”

Amidst all this busyness, I had to send Mary and Theo on another mission.

It was regarding a fraud case caused by our own employees.

“Figuring this out now…”

“I’m sorry for the failure.”

“This isn’t your fault. It’s mine.”

“I’ll focus more on employee training starting tomorrow.”

“While employee training is important, there’s something more crucial we need.”

“What is that?”

“We can’t rely solely on Frosthaven forever.”

As organizations grow and society develops, various incidents and accidents naturally occur.

“We need to establish additional departments within the company: audit, intelligence, security, and public relations.”

It’s like getting chickenpox – a natural part of growth.

We just hadn’t prepared in time due to being too busy.

Still, one fortunate aspect was that the scale of the incident was small and we discovered it relatively early.

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