AWDC Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Ladapole

We stayed in the capital for about a month, doing this and that.

During that time, Roy managed to secure a sales route for the paper through a merchant introduced by the Secretary of Finance.

However, the merchants didn’t exactly meet our expectations.

They claimed the price was too high. They thought it would be difficult to sell at our desired price.

In this world with a low literacy rate, the demand for paper is limited.

The only promising customers seem to be nobles or church officials.

Even the merchant introduced by Lord Midland hesitated because of this.

We had no choice but to have them buy a small number of bundles as samples.

Between these business negotiations, we were mostly occupied with serving as Roy’s attendants and sightseeing in the capital.

Nothing particularly difficult happened, but there was one thing that bothered me.

It was the fact that we never met Samuel, the lord’s heir.

The lord’s heir wouldn’t meet with us, even though someone from a retainer family in the village had come all the way to the capital to pay their respects.

I heard that John and George, who had been living in the capital for a long time, had only met him two or three times as well.

No matter how many times we went to see him, we were turned away, either because he was out or because it was inconvenient.

“It seems he’s been breathing the bad air of the capital,” Roy said, clicking his tongue unhappily.

Around that time, a man came to visit us at the inn where we were staying. He was a small man in his thirties, wearing inexpensive but clean clothes.

“Lord Midland told me to visit Roy.”

“Which of the dukes are you referring to?”

“Oh, it’s the former lord.

My name is Ladapole.

I can do anything, from carpentry and stonemasonry to blacksmithing.

If you have me, I can take care of any trouble you have.”

The man’s words started flowing like a waterfall, continuing from his self-introduction.

He proudly talked about what he had done so far.

Apparently, he had come to Toriholi Village looking for a job.

Looking at his slightly slanted, fox-like face, Toma nicknamed him “Fox” in his mind.

However, the man’s boasting didn’t stop easily.

He began to list the construction and improvements he had done so far, one after another.

“Wait, I understand that you can do anything.

Since you were introduced by His Excellency, I trust you, so please close your mouth for a bit.”

“Well, I’ll stop then,” the man said with a slightly dissatisfied tone.

“First of all, I’m Roy.

I’m the executive officer in Toriholi Village.

These here are Toma and Jim. Although they are young, they are working to improve the village as engineers.

Can you cooperate with these two to improve the village?”

“Yes, yes, there’s no problem. I can get along with anyone.”

After that, Roy discussed the terms of employment with him.

He seemed more interested in the work than in the money, so they came to an agreement, and he decided to work in the village.

“Is he really going to be okay with all that talking?”

After the man left, Jim said, not hiding his dissatisfaction.

“Well, it’s true that he’s very talkative.

It would be great if he moved his hands as much as his mouth.

We’ll soon find out if he’s just a talker or if he can actually do the work.

Well, if he’s no good at the work, we’ll just throw him out.”

With Roy’s one comment, the conversation ended.

Despite our concerns, we decided to return to Toriholi Village with Ladapole.

On the way back, I also observed him, but other than being talkative, there were no particular problems.

“This saddle is well made, but there’s room for improvement in the stirrups.”

I didn’t have much experience riding horses in my previous life, so I hadn’t felt any inconvenience, but he seemed to notice it right away.

“See, if you make this part round, it will be easier to put your shoes in.”

As he said that, he pointed out the improvement while riding.

“Tell your opinion to the blacksmith when you get back to the village.”

“Yes, sir, as you wish.”

He easily complied with Roy’s request.

Everything was like this, he would immediately say what he noticed, but he never seemed like a bad person.

In this country, engineers had not been considered very important.

Craftsmen such as blacksmiths and carpenters were only required to faithfully carry out the tasks assigned to them.

Craftsmen were only supposed to focus on making things, and they were not supposed to make improvements or modifications.

But Ladapole wanted to do something new, something beyond just being a craftsman.

“I can do it better. If I improve this, it will be more convenient.”

Ladapole was always thinking about better ways to do things while working.

However, there were few people in the capital who understood his ideas.

Only the former lord saw him as a rare person.

But there was no one else who understood his abilities, so he desperately tried to sell himself.

As a result, he became a bit of a chatterbox, and sometimes he was thought of as an eccentric.

But for the village, engineers are more valuable than anything else.

Lord Midland probably saw that and introduced him to us.

Roy immediately began to treat him as a valuable person.

“There’s a lot for you to do in the village.

Toma and Jim should give Ladapole various orders.”

“Yes, yes, leave it to me.”

Jim, who had initially looked at him with suspicion, eventually became friendly with him, and the journey back to the village became a lively one.