Outside had changed dramatically.
Yesterday it was dark and I could only tell that something was there, but now a fairly impressive wooden manor had been built. Behind it stood a giant-sized warehouse and another building the same size as the manor. What was that?
Giants were spread out, working in different places, creating a scene that reminded me of Tobu World Square. I have never actually been there, though.
「Takato, you’re up?」
As I stood there absentmindedly watching, Gorg appeared.
「Yeah. You’re helping out too, Gorg?」
「My wife’s parents are here. I can’t just do nothing. They are people I owe a lot to.」
So even giants have that sense of consideration toward their father-in-law. Hard to understand for someone who has never been married.
「Still, being able to build all this in about ten days is incredible. Giant craftsmanship is amazing.」
Those huge hands doing such delicate work. Well, humans build dollhouses, so it is not like giants could not do the same.
「Well, the reward is good. Other craftsmen came asking if they could help too.」
「Can you buy carpenter tools in town?」
I still had not bought any. I would need to go buy them around tomorrow.
「I already bought them and had Ladarion enlarge them. We traded cloth for the cost.」
「Is cloth really enough to cover that?」
It clearly did not seem balanced.
「That part is up to Romy. Ask Miriel later.」
If Miriel was handling it, there should be no problem. Things like that probably worked better between women.
「Please introduce me to Romy’s father. As the one who made the request, I want to greet him properly.」
「I’ll introduce you after the work is done. He’s old-fashioned. He gets angry if you talk to him while he’s working.」
Even in a fantasy world, there was such a thing as a generation gap. It felt strange.
「Alright. Are her father and the others staying here?」
Some huge sheets of cloth had been set up, and a simple stove had been built.
「Her father and a few craftsmen are staying overnight. Some others commute. They are working over there too.」
「This is really full-scale. I feel bad for asking so casually.」
「Don’t worry about it. Clients who pay generously and even provide food and alcohol are rare. More than anything, they are free to build however they like, so of course they get enthusiastic.」
Is that how it is? I do not really understand how craftsmen think.
「Well, as long as they build something good, they can do as they like.」
I have no idea about construction at all. In that case, it is better to leave it to professionals. Even the reward is not a big expense if I use the power of the bracelet. A mansion like that would easily cost hundreds of millions in my original world. Depending on how it was built, it could even reach several billion. Being able to build it for about one gold coin is nothing but a huge bargain.
Before long, it was time to finish work, and the old man and the other craftsmen came over after cleaning up.
「Hello, I’m Takato. Thank you for accepting this job.」
「So you’re Takato. Thanks to you as well. It was a good deal for us. The women are especially happy. Cloth is hard to come by, after all.」
「In that case, I would like to ask you for more work. I am thinking of building a training ground deeper in the forest.」
「Is it urgent?」
「No, it’s not that urgent. We haven’t even recruited goblin contractors yet. Maybe around next year.」
We have the acting lord on our side. If they want to make use of us, allowing the use of the forest should not be an issue. On top of that, Koraus has a policy of maintaining good relations with giants. Rather than opposing it, they should approve it. We are paying for it ourselves.
「I see. Call us when the time comes. Work has been decreasing over the past few years.」
With giants around, there should be plenty they could do. Why are they lacking work? I doubt that acting lord would neglect giants.
「Are there too many people?」
「That’s right. There are times when there’s no work for several days. The intervals for repairing the city walls have grown longer too.」
「If you have people with free time, could you lend me about five of them? I want to build a simple fort a couple of days into the forest. We will provide meals during that time. As for the reward… what would be good?」
Since it is a simple fort meant to gather goblins, they would probably be tied up for about a month. Paying that in cloth would mean an absurd amount. There is no way they could handle that much.
「Hiring us for one silver coin per day is more than enough.」
「I have a question. Do giants use human money too? Those tiny things?」
Compared to a human hand, it would be about the size of a single bead. It might be usable, but I am sure I would lose it.
「Giants in town hire humans to manage their money. When we want to buy something, we tell them and have them handle it.」
That was Gorg speaking. A kind of wisdom for giants living in towns, I guess.
「This time, it was payment in goods, so we didn’t bring them along.」
「I see. Then should I give it to that person?」
「Yes. I’ll bring them next time.」
I might need to hire someone to manage my funds too. I should talk to the guild master about it.
As I was thinking that, the guild master himself arrived.
「Then eat well, and please take care of things again tomorrow.」
With that, I went to greet the arriving guild master.
Leave a Reply