Chapter 52

Chapter 52

#52. The Boss, the Secretary’s Situation (1)

Mark, the soldier who had lost both his arms, entered the factory through the back gate and found himself in an enormous wonderland he had never seen before.

“Wow…!”

“Mark, take off your shirt.”

Before he could fully marvel at the sight inside the factory, a man who looked like a clerk gave Mark an order.

“Yes, yes!”

“His Highness the Duke of High City has ordered it, and this pair of arms, crafted by the witches of High City and the hardworking staff of Arad Company, is hereby granted to you in the name of the Lenslet Enthusiasts Group.”

He received the two arms he had long desired far too easily and simply.

Mark just stood there.

Employees waiting nearby attached the bionic prosthetics to his severed arms as if they were assembling something, with indifference.

Once connected, the two prosthetic arms merged with Mark’s body with a squelching sound like tentacles.

“All done. Try moving them slowly. Start with your fingers, then wrist, elbow, and shoulder.”

“Check the sensation by pinching after moving them.”

The color of the new arms was yellow, but he didn’t care at all.

“Aaaaaah!”

He just cried tears of joy from feeling sensations he hadn’t felt in years.

“Do you pledge loyalty? To Mr. Jin Arad, who invented these life arms, and His Highness the Duke of High City, who willingly covered all costs involved?”

A clerk with an abacus on his belt asked Mark as if conducting some kind of ritual.

“Of course! I’ll dedicate my life and soul!”

Mark nodded frantically while still crying.

“Good. Then do you swear to work at the soon-to-be-built Second Factory?”

“I swear! I’ll bury my bones here!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Mark took the oath immediately after hearing about it, having already learned from Den and Snow how this royal company operated.

“And will you send your only daughter to the soon-to-open Lenslet Academy?”

“What’s an academy…?”

But when talk of his daughter came up, Mark suddenly became cautious.

“It’s a place where children are taught reading, arithmetic, and magical engineering.”

“What’s magical engineering?”

“It’s core technology for making all sorts of magical devices, like your new arms. It’s a form of magic.”

“So… does that mean my daughter will become a witch?”

“Not quite. Think of it as cultivating talent specializing in enchantments.”

“Enchantments…? Anyway, it’s good, right?”

“…Of course it is.”

“How can such a great place accept someone as lowly as my daughter…?”

“If we follow that logic, giving expensive arms to a retired soldier like you wouldn’t make sense either, would it?”

Frowning, the office staff responded to Mark’s concerns.

“Are you daring to reject the kindness of His Highness the Duke and the boss?”

‘This guy got his arms replaced and even a job, and he still doesn’t trust us? What an ungrateful fellow!’—a similar nuance could be felt in the employee’s tone.

“No, no! Absolutely not! It’s just too unbelievable…”

“Tch! Next!”

The employee stopped dealing with Mark and shouted “next,” realizing that he’d had similar doubts when he first started himself.

* * *

The historic First Factory of Arad Company.

Though hastily built due to time constraints, it was surprisingly sturdy thanks to reinforced concrete and the elementalist magic of the witches, and it had everything it needed.

Magic really did help with construction, apparently.

“Boss, hello!”

“Boss, you’ve arrived!”

As I looked around the factory, employees working noticed me and hurried over to greet me.

“Get back to work! Focus on your tasks! Don’t mind me!”

I waved my hands, instructing the employees to concentrate on their work.

‘Everyone’s skills are top-notch. The productivity is incredibly ideal.’

Watching the employees get back to work made me feel pleasantly surprised.

‘Maybe it’s because they’re people from the harsh northern region in medieval times; they’re used to tough labor.’

Any initial doubts I had about hiring employees from this world disappeared long ago.

‘Especially the soldiers we recruited recently have extensive knowledge of butchering and human anatomy.’

Most of them may not know how to read or write, but their understanding of butchering and human anatomy is exceptional.

It seemed like growing up in the northern lands where hunting, war, and slaughter were everyday occurrences made them more adept.

‘Each one feels like a skilled worker. Is this how recruitment officers feel when they take in rookies from farming backgrounds?’

Even among the northerners, the elite soldiers of High City were carefully selected.

And from those elite soldiers, we handpicked those with excellent manual dexterity—so the pool of production talents at Arad Company was virtually limitless.

Thanks to this, we managed to mass-produce chimera prosthetic limbs much earlier than expected.

‘Ah! How long has it been since I’ve seen such a scene?’

Seeing the smooth manufacturing process run so efficiently reminded me of my ‘Jin Industries’ back on Earth.

‘If I brought the magic stones and magical technology here to Earth, my Jin Industries could dominate not just Korea but the whole world!’

On the other hand, wild fantasies bubbled up.

“Boss, here’s the current status of pending orders.”

My brief daydream ended when Manager Te arrived with a report.

“Hmm… I didn’t realize there were so many disabled veterans in the north.”

“Yes, sir. More people are struggling to survive than we thought.”

With dark circles under his eyes, he answered my question. Last time I saw him, he was studying late into the night after work. He’s truly an exemplary employee.

I should buy him more books and give him a generous raise this week.

“The resilience of humans is truly remarkable. Some even haven’t received subsidies due to administrative issues and corruption.”

“Yes, it’s infuriating. How can they steal from these people when there’s nothing left to take?”

“His Highness the Duke was reportedly very angry. It seems executive officers across the entire northern region have been mobilized. Another large-scale purge is likely starting.”

“I fully support it. Those guys are a disgrace to the north.”

While conversing with the manager, I wondered if this tragedy could have some positive implications.

“Sorry to say this to the disabled veterans, but this incident will likely lead to further centralization of power in the north.”

The Duke’s influence was already strong in the north. Recent events have made it even stronger.

In fact, nearly half of the northern territories are now directly governed by the Duke.

Additionally, two-tenths of the remaining half belong to nobles like Valkyrie, Sun, and Haytai, who absolutely loyal to the Duke.

Only three-tenths of the land is managed by regular northern nobles.

Walking through the factory with Manager Te, I said with a hint of regret,

“These chimera automails are truly a pity. While it’s unavoidable in the north, if we sold them across the empire and the entire continent, we could practically rake in money…”

“I share your regret, Boss. However, it’s difficult due to the involvement of black magic.”

Theo nodded in agreement with my statement. After all, Manager Te probably knows better than anyone else the value of these chimera prosthetics.

“High value, but no profit…”

I clicked my tongue in lamentation, sensing a strange sense of déjà vu at the same time.

‘The current situation reminds me of the early days of Jin Industries on Earth.’

Upon reflection, during the early stages of my business on Earth, we hardly made any profits due to market penetration and R&D. We were treated like bottomless pits consuming investments.

Back then, most of my schedule was dedicated to persuading investors and recruiting more of them—it was quite a struggle.

‘Or is the situation actually better for Arad Company? At least we started as a royal company, receiving blind investment and support from the government.’

Thinking further, things seemed even rosier now.

‘The gold and silver coins we received from the empire were all given to us.’

Moreover, Ariana invested all the money she extorted from the empire into Arad Company.

Thanks to this, my business in this world avoided bankruptcy and expanded further.

“Hmm… Rich folks might try to acquire these prosthetics and limbs through backdoors, don’t you think?”

However, I wasn’t satisfied with just investment funds.

“Didn’t we hear that quite a few renowned mercenaries originate from the north?”

“That’s correct. Upon reflection, few among them would be completely unscathed. They’ve spent their lives on battlefields. There must also be plenty of nobles who became disabled while fighting alongside them.”

Teo nodded.

Naturally, the idea struck me: ‘If we go through them, maybe we can sell more of these chimera prosthetics and limbs. Perhaps some of them are even related to Frosthaven.’

“I’ll propose this once to High City, Boss.”

“No. I’ll bring this up directly to His Highness the Duke. I’ve been thinking about something for a while now.”

This is where it begins.

Money! Serious haggling with money.

The battle between deficits and surpluses, expenses.

We must do anything to increase sales, anything at all.

Manager Te and I moved toward the center of the First Factory.

Looking at the witches engraving magic circuits in the center, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

“Can’t we hire more witches?”

“Yes… Unfortunately, they prefer freedom and tend to be closed-off. If they aren’t desperate for money, they rarely want to work.”

Somehow, the faces of the witches engaged in factory-style labor were distinctly different from the other employees I’d seen earlier.

They looked like they were doing it only out of obligation.

‘If it weren’t for the spellbooks I wrote and the Golden Carriage, they probably wouldn’t have agreed to this.’

If they weren’t in dire need of money, they definitely wouldn’t have participated. That was the vibe.

But there was nothing we could do. Witches, after all, are egotistical individuals who don’t even listen well to Grand Witch Isabel.

And this wasn’t just limited to witches—it applied to all mages across the continent.

‘We’ll have to give up mass-producing spatial cases for now due to the witches’ exclusivity.’

We want to expand the business, but our capacity isn’t there yet. Capacity.

We should be grateful they’re willing to engrave magic circuits on prosthetic limbs and legs for now.

‘But we can’t just sit around waiting for the academy to open.’

Watching the witches, I felt an unnecessary sense of urgency.

Time, time is the problem.

‘With the gold and silver coins we received this time, we can barely last until mid-next year.’

Fundamentally, it’s a matter of funds.

Rising wages, daily increasing factory and dormitory costs, academy buildings, meals for employees…

Not to mention, Lenslet Academy has to operate free of charge. Meals, textbooks, teachers, accommodation, clothing, living expenses… Everything must be covered by the company.

‘I’d like to charge, but we need money to charge, right?’

Most northerners are still poor.

Besides, I didn’t particularly want to charge while providing all these services.

After all, the matters I mentioned earlier are both costs and investments.

‘But this damn academy is quietly a money-sucking ghost. Especially since there are no proper educational institutions in the north, it requires even more funding.’

Until now, if someone wanted to learn something in Lenslet, they had to personally invite retired bureaucrats or knights, or study abroad in the empire.

Since there were no proper educational institutions, the initial investment costs inevitably doubled.

‘We must create that at the Second Factory! Only then can we achieve sustainable profits. A solid cash cow will be born!’

Naturally, my thoughts turned to the second factory that will soon be completed.

Like the Arad salt project, it involves a magical process that requires no magic but relies heavily on technical know-how, making it impossible to copy.

‘Finally, we’re doing it. The first business idea I originally planned to start with.’

That honey pot of a business idea shone brightly in my heart.