Chapter 51

Chapter 51

#51. Arad Company’s Talents (3)

This is one hundred percent sketchy!

Though Mark was illiterate, he could sense it instinctively.

“Whoa~, you’ve already sold this much?”

“…”

Mark and Daisy stared blankly at the thugs collecting copper from helmets.

There was no longer any hatred, fear, or despair in their eyes.

“What in the world do you want from us?”

Mark asked out of genuine curiosity, having given up all hope.

There’s no way they’re tormenting his disabled self just for this measly amount…

“Still haven’t figured it out?”

At Mark’s pleading, the thugs grinned wickedly.

“You do have some debts, don’t you?”

“Your house is about to be repossessed, right?”

“W-what? How… Could it be?!”

The words brought someone to Mark’s mind – the creditor who visited his home yesterday.

“Do you not find it difficult raising your daughter with such an inconvenient body?”

“The girl has a pretty face and good development. Most importantly, she’s still a virgin, isn’t she? She deserves better than being under such a father.”

“We’ll arrange for your daughter to work in a very nice place. That way, you can pay off your debts instantly and keep your house.”

“Daisy, right? How about it? If you come with these uncles, you’ll never have to do this kind of work again and can live comfortably.”

“Delicious food, nice clothes, no hunger…”

“You might even be full for ten months straight! Hahahahaha!”

Mark finally understood what the creditor and thugs were ultimately after.

No wonder they lent money so easily!

No wonder they didn’t pressure him despite three months of missed interest payments!

“Never! Absolutely never! You bastards!”

Mark stood in front of his daughter protectively, his empty sleeves flapping.

“Trash? Who’s calling who trash here!”

BAM!

With that, the thugs began kicking Mark mercilessly.

The wooden carvings Daisy had made with care broke as well.

“KYAAK! Daddy, Daddy!”

Daisy’s screams came from behind.

“D-Daisy! My daughter!”

She was already grabbed by both arms by the thugs, as if about to be dragged away forcibly.

‘Guards! Guards!’

Tears streaming down his face, Mark looked around.

This area was frequented by the city guards, yet not a single one was in sight.

“Looking for the guards? Hey, wake up.”

As if reading Mark’s thoughts, the thugs smirked.

“The gentleman who commissioned this paid off the guards. They won’t come near here for two hours…”

PUHUUUK!

The thug’s words were cut off.

“GURKK…!”

A sudden shortsword appeared from the side, piercing the throat of the talking thug.

SCHLURP, SCHLURP, PUHUUUK!

Another shortsword and handaxe went on a rampage, leaving five bodies scattered around Mark within moments, including the two thugs trying to abduct Daisy.

“What a sorry sight, Mark.”

“Wha-?! Sir Knight Joseph?”

Mark looked up in bewilderment at his rescuer.

Though it had been years, he immediately recognized the face.

“At any rate, fortunately we’re not too late.”

While helping Mark up, Joseph spoke.

“Hold on… Sir Knight’s arm?!”

Only now did Mark notice Joseph’s left arm.

If his memory served, Joseph’s left arm was shattered by a troll’s punch during the expedition where the Duke fell.

Yet there it was, fully intact, though its skin was sky blue.

“Hey, Mark. Do you only see me?”

Then Mark noticed others arriving with Joseph.

“Den?! Snow!”

They were all comrades-in-arms from the old expedition days who faced death together.

“Den, your leg…! Snow, your hand…!”

According to rumors Mark heard after retiring, Knight Joseph eked out a living as a one-armed mercenary.

Den, who lost his left knee, and Snow, who had all his right fingers except the thumb severed due to frostbite, got jobs sorting magic stones mined in Cadia.

Mark, having lost both arms, had nothing he could do but rely more heavily on his pension.

The problem was that he hadn’t been receiving his pension recently.

“All of you… how?!”

Those who were once incapacitated now appeared perfectly fine.

“We received grace. A miraculous grace.”

Den pulled up his pants while speaking. His left calf was dark brown with embedded magic stones, but functioned normally.

“Once the northerners receive grace, they repay it with their lives.”

Snow flexed his fingers while shouting. His fingers were pure white with magic stone-like protrusions near the knuckles.

“We searched high and low for you.”

Stunned, Mark listened to Knight Joseph.

“Me?”

“With recent treason, records and administration have become a mess. Your pension must have been temporarily cut off, right?”

“Ah…”

So that’s why his pension suddenly stopped.

“So we’ve been traveling around the fief looking for people like you.”

Suddenly understanding why his pension was cut, Mark asked,

“What’s going on?”

“Murder in broad daylight!”

“Arrest them all! Kill those who resist!”

Just then, the city guards arrived en masse.

‘That bastard!’

And Mark saw the creditor with the guards.

“Ten men? Quite the crowd.”

Seeing this, former knight Joseph and former expedition soldiers Snow and Den merely clicked their tongues.

Joseph honed his skills as a mercenary, while Snow and Den were battle-hardened veterans of the polar expedition.

“How dare you fail to recognize your seniors and persecute us like this? These are a disgrace to the north!”

Joseph brandished his sword while saying this.

“Kill them all.”

“?!”

Mark jumped at these words.

“Wait, wait! Even if you’re Sir Joseph, and we’re expedition veterans… killing city guards recklessly will…”

“Don’t worry. We’re official employees of the prestigious Arad Company.”

With that statement, the battle between 10 vs 3 commenced.

YAAAAAAAH!

ROOOAAAR! GURK!

The result was a decisive victory for Sir Joseph’s side.

“Here you go. This guy, right?”

THWUNK!

Den threw the severed head of the fleeing creditor to Mark.

“By the way, Mark, are you still having nightmares?”

“…!”

Looking at the severed head, Mark replied,

“I don’t think I’ll have them anymore.”

His gaze was fixed on Sir Joseph’s restored left arm.

“Daddy…!”

As the situation wound down, Daisy ran to embrace her father.

“There there, my dear. It’s okay, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be alright now.”

Using his face instead of his missing arms, Mark stroked his daughter’s head.

* * *

Recently, massive buildings appeared on the outskirts of High City Lenslet.

Though hastily constructed, they were far from shoddy.

‘Impressive. To think reinforced concrete construction methods continue here in such barren land.’

Perhaps due to the abundant minerals in the north, lime powder and steel-reinforced construction techniques existed.

Apparently, this technology survived from the Golden Age.

‘Well, the north was one of the few regions that largely escaped the madness of the Dark Ages.’

The empire only recently started using this construction method, while the north had been employing it for much longer.

Even back when they were druidic barbarians, they never forgot reinforced concrete and cold iron.

‘Adding witches’ spirit arts to this… no wonder the Great Wall and High City were built here in this harsh land.’

Sturdy and massive buildings were constructed at a speed surpassing Earth’s construction rates.

Buildings that satisfied even me, a native of Earth.

Currently, five such factory buildings were under construction.

The first completed building was heavily guarded by elite knights and soldiers dispatched directly from High City.

Inside, the first thing visible was dozens of adult men processing monster byproducts with saws.

“Hey! Bill! Are the thighs done?”

“All done! Take these.”

“Got it!”

Something felt off about this process by this world’s standards.

Some focused solely on cutting bones,

others on slicing muscles,

still others on tendons or skin.

Once the primary processing was complete, the materials were loaded onto carts and moved further inside.

“Careful! Careful! Put it in slowly!”

“Regulate the fire! Don’t burn it like last time or you’ll get docked!”

Here too, similar scenes unfolded.

Masked individuals wearing thick clothing and gloves sweated profusely while boiling the previously processed byproducts.

“3rd pot, how long has it been boiling?”

“Ah! 3rd pot! Hurry up and take it to the witches!”

“15th pot failed! Failed! Cleanup crew, come handle it!”

Some continuously submerged the byproducts into pots,

others stirred day and night.

In the background, dedicated staff handled material movement and cleaning to ensure smooth operations.

Further inside revealed the core of the facility.

Selected witches sat individually, engraving magical circuits onto magic stones and monster byproducts while humming.

“This isn’t proper artifact creation!”

“How crude and monotonous!”

“To truly create artifacts, one must gather materials, refine them, enchant them, carefully finish them by hand, and even name them!”

Even in this high-level magical circuit production requiring specialized magical knowledge, workers performed only one specific repetitive task.

“Owww! My whole body aches from sitting here filing lines all day!”

The witch laborers struggled with this unprecedented mass production work.

“Put up with it, girl. At least they pay well.”

“Yeah, that’s why we’re doing this. If only my apprentice hadn’t burned down my lab cooking…”

“I’m sorry, Master…”

“Forget it! Take this to the back gate. Tell them all security enchantments are complete.”

Even in the core, the process wasn’t entirely finished.

Once the magical refinement was complete, the materials were carted to the rear exit for final assembly.

“Our next subject is a former soldier named Mark… Oh my, he’s lost both arms. How has he survived until now?”

“Lost both arms, you say? Impressive. What’s his height, weight, and upper body measurements?”

Employees silently adjusted bones, magic stones, and muscles according to the subject’s body type.

Some worked only on bones, others on muscles, still others on tendons and magic stones.

What was familiar to Earthlings but strange to this world’s people – factory-style mass production – was being recreated here.

Previously, artisans handled everything from A to Z in workshops.

But in this thoroughly standardized and specialized factory, large numbers of workers repeated only their assigned specific tasks.

Adding primitive conveyor belt processes using carts boosted production speeds dramatically.

Meanwhile, outside near the rear exit, people missing limbs waited expectantly.

“Next! Mark, come in!”

“Yes sir!”

“Daddy!”

“There there, sweetheart. Daddy will be right back!”

“Okay!”

With that, Mark bid his daughter farewell and entered the building.