kscans

Chapter 75 - Chapter 11. Part One, Preliminary Results

"There’s nothing like solid ground after a long carriage ride."

Stretching with all my might in the Bertold workshop, I felt every muscle protest. The trip had been shortened, but three and a half days on the road was still a heavy burden. I was genuinely happy just for the simple pleasure of sleeping in a real bed tonight.

"You sound like an old man."

"The real old man is the one over there," I said, pointing to Fulsy. He was lying face down on a cot, one hand pressed to his lower back. He had been ecstatic about all the data we were collecting on the road, but it seemed the moment we arrived, his back pain came rushing back.

Even so, he had already gathered two of the craftsmen before his cot and was peppering them with questions about the carriage. He was probably trying to figure out how to improve the accuracy of his mobile observatory. His inquisitive spirit was as impressive as ever.

The two men, looking utterly bewildered by his rapid-fire questions, shot a pleading glance toward Noel. To them, Fulsy was a baron, so they couldn’t just brush him off.

"I'll go talk with Bowgan-san and the others," Noel said.

"Yeah, please check on the status of the dies for me."

"I know. Thanks to you, the situation is even more critical than when we left."

"It wasn't my fault. Blame the First Knight Order and the Carriage Guild for their interference."

Ignoring my protest, Noel walked over to Fulsy.

"Another new girl? You shouldn't make Mia worry so much, you know," Jacob said, having joined us at the workshop.

"What was remotely romantic about that business talk? Besides, Mia knows her better than I do. Forget that, just tell me about the preliminaries."

"...Understood."

Before I could sink into a soft bed for the first time in days, there was a mountain of issues to deal with. This was all the Second Prince's faction's fault.

"First, the knight orders. The lead three carriages arrived in Bertold this morning. That means they traveled from the Royal Capital to Bertold in almost exactly three days. Those were, of course, the three improved carriages from Prince Craig's Monster Knight Order. About ten hours later, the six carriages from the First Knight Order arrived, and an hour after that, the remaining three from the Monster Knight Order."

"A gap of about half a day. Just as expected."

"The Prince's horses looked like they still had plenty of fight left in them. But the men and horses of the First Knight Order looked completely exhausted."

Over a short distance, you can push the horses hard and the gap won't be as noticeable. But this race was a long-distance journey with heavy cargo.

"What was even more impressive was Kenwell. They were the only ones who kept up with the Prince's three carriages. The other participants seemed to be struggling just to keep pace with the First Knight Order. Half of them dropped out during the preliminaries. Some even wrecked their horses. The weight of the cargo must have been too much for them."

So the difference is overwhelming. The ones who failed the prelims hadn't even reached Bertold yet. Deciding to have a reset point here was definitely the right call.

"You know from riding in one, but that machine is incredible," Jacob said. "It's not just the speed. The difference in travel fatigue is night and day."

"It's going so well it's almost unnerving," I replied. But Jacob shook his head.

"Remember those four new carriages that entered in the general category? Two of them still haven't arrived in Bertold. The other two came in second and fourth in the prelims, right behind Kenwell. Not that the rankings mean much when they're almost half a day behind, though."

"So two carriages backed by the Carriage Guild are now free to move as they please."

They must have realized during the journey to Bertold that they had absolutely no chance of winning against us fairly. The Carriage Guild's situation was actually far more dire than the Knight Order's. At this rate, the carriages we improved in Bertold would leave everyone else in the dust, in both the knight and general categories.

"They have no choice but to resort to extreme measures. Their obvious target is..."

"Yeah. Now that they're out of the race, they can unload their cargo. And they'll probably hide their license plates too."

"Never mind the damages if they break the carriage, but removing a True Iron plate is impossible without a proper forge."

That meant their movements would be completely exposed. I glanced over at Fulsy, who was passionately explaining his antenna to the craftsmen.

The measurements had been a success. The results themselves were a headache, but it also meant we could move freely on the return journey.

"It's almost like you want them to make a move. You're as good as ever at cornering people."

Jacob looked at me and smirked. Coming from a man whose work didn't shy away from rough business, his words carried some weight.

"You make me sound terrible. This is our home turf. It's only natural that we have the advantage."

We could predict their methods and timing. The number of people they could mobilize was limited, too.

"That's why it would be easiest for everyone if they just gave up."

"Yeah, yeah. In any case, we've got more than just the Prince making a move. We have our own people on it too. We're fully prepared," Jacob said with the eyes of a hunter.

"What about that other carriage?" I asked, bringing up my biggest concern. We had lost track of the Carriage Guild Master's carriage on the way. Normally, one would assume it had gone into hiding like the other two, or perhaps even retired from the race.

"It came in third. Apparently, even the Knight Order couldn't track it until it reappeared near Bertold."

"Third place, even though neither we nor the Knight Order could follow its movements?"

It must have taken an extremely unusual route. I looked at the map.

"For example, if they cut through here, it would shorten the distance considerably, but..."

"Normally, that would take even longer. Not to mention the carriage could break down."

By passing the preliminaries, they were showing their intent to compete for an official rank. I could understand that, since having the Carriage Guild Master's company fail the preliminaries would be a fatal blow to their reputation. The starting order for the main race is based on prelim rankings, so the time difference doesn't matter. The Carriage Guild's three carriages would start right behind Kenwell.

"In the main race, they have to pass through checkpoints. They can't choose their route freely like they did in the prelims. Let's just observe them carefully. In the worst-case scenario, a one-of-a-kind, custom-built machine is no real business competitor for us anyway."

"True enough."

Jacob pointed at the map. There were three marks on the route from Bertold to the Royal Capital. Notes were scrawled next to them, detailing conditions like the distance to the forest and the surrounding visibility.

"Alright, so we'll leave that carriage to you, Young Master, and let them play their hand. As for the others..."

"Okay. I'll contact our allies and tell them to proceed with the current plan," Jacob said as we concluded our discussion.

"By the way, should we be worried about the First Knight Order?"

"Nah, they're already in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat."

We would let the First Knight Order save face. In fact, it was better for us if they focused on just that.

"Bowgan and Dolph said they have something to talk to you about."

As Jacob disappeared outside, Noel brought the two craftsmen over.

"How is the production efficiency for the bearings?"

"The process is pretty much set. The defect rate has dropped considerably too," Bowgan said.

"We got a lot of experience with the installations on the knights' carriages and the one for that big merchant. We're getting the hang of adjusting the leaf springs for each carriage now," Dolph added.

"That's great progress. It's more than enough if we're just dealing with a few carriages."

If it was just the Knight Order, Kenwell, and a few others, the two of them could handle it all.

"If we had more people to just handle things like deburring and polishing, yeah, we could probably make about ten a day. Even an apprentice should be able to do it after a month or two of training. The quality of the parts right out of the mold is just that good," Bowgan explained.

"Haha, well I did make you two struggle with the True Iron to compensate."

"This other matter is a bit tougher," Dolph said. "A lot of our colleagues are interested. But, you know. Even with the Grand Duchess's backing, we have our old connections to think about..."

"So they think this is just a noble's whim."

Dolph scratched his head at my words. I understood how they felt. If I weren't involved from the very beginning, I would be wary too. Power is a great thing to have on your side, but the moment it turns away, the backlash can be immediate. There is an old saying about riding a tiger, once you are on, you cannot get off. Considering the precarious financial situation of craftsmen, it was only natural for them to be cautious about such volatility.

I had to do something about the carriage merchant in Bertold who was pressuring the craftsmen. Pegatta, that was his name. He was one of the Capital's Guild Master's men.

A simple warning, or rather a threat, was one thing. But if it came to them or their families being physically harmed, there was a limit to how much we could protect them, even here in the Grand Duchess's own domain. These two had already become far too valuable as human 'assets'.

Eventually, we would take in people from the farming villages who were out of work, but that was impossible with just two professional craftsmen right now. We needed to train people to bridge the skill gap between veterans and complete novices.

"We'll figure something out about getting more people. Now, are the preparations for that other matter ready?"

When I asked, Bowgan and Dolph both made grim faces.

"It's related to gathering more people, so I'm counting on you."

I pressed them with a deliberate smile. As a cautious person myself, I could sympathize with their hesitation, but this was not the time for it. For this matter, at least, I needed these craftsmen to step forward a little more.