Chapter : 21

The Council Chamber of the City of Markel.

This place, which should be solemn, was filled with loud shouts like a marketplace.

“The guild members' backlash has reached its peak!”

“Ha-! Backlash? That's nothing. Look at our city now. Are the traders coming? The damn free market that the Margrave created is sucking the money out of our city!”

“What on earth is the Chairman doing?”

“That's right-! Isn't this going completely differently from what you told us? What? That he would kneel if we pushed hard?”

The city council members vented their complaints to each other.

But the key figures who should have stopped them could only listen in silence without saying a word.

It was all true.

Due to the complex situation in the Elang Kingdom, they had thought that if they pushed hard, the Bellua Margrave would accept their demands.

But the Bellua Margrave did not move as they wished.

He compensated the disgruntled nobles with his own money, and instead, opened the free trade market to merchant guilds from other regions, declaring a direct confrontation with the city.

In a flash, their source of money was cut off.

“Quiet! Will we get anywhere by being divided like this?

This is an act of treason against the city. If we are divided, isn't it the devilish Margrave who will be laughing!”

At that moment, a council member stepped forward and shouted. He was the right-hand man of the Chairman of the Markel City Council.

He tried to stop the current chaos by any means necessary. But it was not a good method.

“What? An act of treason?”

“Division? Is it wrong to speak the truth?”

“Do you not see the angry protests of the city dwellers outside? You? How dare you say such a thing!”

The enraged council members pointed outside and shouted.

Outside, a group of people opposing the council's policies were protesting in a mob.

The city guards were trying to suppress them by any means, but it was not easy due to their large numbers.

“We can just ignore those riff-raff! There is something more important right now.”

“Something important?”

“Yes! From what I have found out, the lord has hired a large number of Dwarves!”

At that cry, a momentary silence fell over the noisy council chamber.

“Dwarves?”

“Don't tell me he's planning to venture into weapons workshops and textiles?”

A hubbub.

Looking at the stirring crowd, the council member looked at the Chairman of the Markel City Council with a triumphant expression.

“This is clearly a will to fight us, the city council, head-on. To push us into a corner like this!

Isn't that right, Chairman? We must change our methods now.”

“Change our methods? Are you suggesting we start a war?”

“There's no reason we can't start a war. Isn't that right, everyone?”

“Hear, hear-!”

In an instant, the meeting hall became noisy again.

Divided into hawks and doves, they poured out their opinions. But in such cases, the hardliners' voices are bound to be louder.

Before long, the public opinion of the city council was heading towards war.

And the Chairman of the Markel City Council, who was watching it quietly, smiled.

'It's done-!'

Due to the series of policies implemented by the Margrave, his support had been rapidly declining.

If the council chose peace, his own life, who had instigated this situation, would not be spared.

That's why he needed to change the atmosphere towards war by any means necessary.

“I know what you are all worried about. But isn't the Margrave driving us to a point where we have no other choice? He's even hiring Dwarves to enter our market? This is a declaration of war against us-!”

The chairman, who slammed the table, scanned the crowd and shouted.

“If we just take the beating, we will only end up in disgraceful submission. Have you already forgotten how we gained the autonomy of this city? If words don't work, then only the sword remains-!”

“Hear, hear-!”

“The Margrave is no longer our ruler!”

“So let us not be afraid and unite as one. Let us unite with allies who will be our strength. Then the lord will eventually surrender-!”

Everyone cheered at the cry of the Chairman of the Markel City Council.

The city council meeting ended like this.

Now, there was no way to avoid war.

Of course, not everyone was happy with this situation.

'He's crazy-!'

The vice-chairman of the Markel City Council and the head of the Hopfen merchant guild, who was on the opposite side of the chairman, screamed inwardly.

A war-! At a time when they should be apologizing and seeking reconciliation, those stupid fools were finally ruining things.

It wouldn't matter if it were the old scarecrow Margrave. But wasn't the current Bellua Margrave showing tremendous growth?

The situation had changed.

The head of the Hopfen merchant guild couldn't imagine how much of a price they would have to pay to gain freedom from the Margrave.

'Should I rather join hands with the Margrave?'

He was a trader, after all.

Even if the Margrave sold a large quantity of goods from his factory at a cheap price, the damage to him would be almost nonexistent.

No, on the contrary, if he took those goods and sold them in other domains, he could make a pretty good profit.

And think about the many policies the Margrave has implemented recently.

Didn't he turn the artisans' complaints to his advantage and make them his own limbs? This was a different move from other nobles who were only full of greed.

That's why the heart of the head of the Hopfen merchant guild could not help but quickly lean towards the Margrave.

'Yes, let's meet him. I have to find a way to survive.'

* * *

It was to break the resistance of the city council forces, but I had no intention of doing it half-heartedly.

I immediately started building factory facilities using the Dwarf artisans that Captain Konrad had brought.

In fact, the blueprints were more like conceptual diagrams, so I was worried that the Dwarf artisans might not be able to make them, but that was a needless concern.

The skills of the Dwarf artisans were beyond imagination.

“Human Lord, this is truly amazing! To use the power of flowing water to move that large machine! And that shaft? I never thought to use gears in that way. With this concept, we could create various machines that move automatically!”

As they said that, they huddled together and discussed the blueprints I showed them, and then they went and made something on their own.

“Here! We've made something. What do you think? Isn't it good? We tried to incorporate some of the concepts of that water-powered machine into the spinning wheel! We did a rough experiment, and the quality of the thread is a little poor.”

“Huh?”

And I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh when I saw the result.

At the same time, a series of alarms popped up.

[A great achievement has been discovered.]

[You have advised on a mechanical device that will change the world.]

[Prestige and Legitimacy increase by 1.]

[You are granted the effect of a Lord who calls for innovation.]

[Lord who calls for innovation - Promotes invention.]

It seemed excessive, but it was understandable. The machine in front of me was...

'Isn't this a water frame?'

The water frame was something that was made in the 1700s.

Suddenly, an object that transcended the era had appeared.

Of course, there wasn't a tremendous amount of technology in that spinning frame.

It was a wooden machine that could be made with the technology of the Middle Ages.

“A-hem. Why, is the... result a little bad? Was this not what you originally wanted?”

“Hey. I told you not to make useless things, didn't I?”

“What do you mean, useless? It takes so much effort to spin thread!”

As I was silent, the Dwarves looked at me and bickered with each other.

From their perspective, I was an excellent employer who allowed them to make complex mechanical devices to their heart's content.

That's why they were reacting like that, not wanting to lose the precious customer(?) they had acquired.

“Bad? No. It's excellent-!”

“Haha. Right? I knew it!”

Of course, unlike their worries, I hadn't had such a thought for even a second.

'By the way, they said Dwarf technology is the best.... It wasn't just an empty saying.'

I can only be amazed.

I just gave them a slightly more advanced concept, and they brought back such a result.

Someone once said that medieval people weren't stupid, they just hadn't discovered it yet, and that was indeed true.

“How long did it take to make this?”

“Hmm... it was our first time making it, so it took a good two weeks, but if you give us some people, I think we can make one every three days, Human Lord.”

The productivity wasn't bad either. Then it seemed I could make a spinning mill with this.

In this era, spinning thread was extremely hard labor, but with this, it was clear that a vast amount of thread could be produced smoothly.

'No, wait a minute.'

Then, a thought occurred to me and my eyes sparkled.

'If I can make a spinning frame, why can't I make a loom?'

The flying shuttle.

The loom, also known as the flying shuttle, was an enormous object that triggered the first industrial revolution in 18th century England, but when you think about it, it wasn't a particularly complex or technologically demanding object.

The most difficult parts here would be the concepts of springs or bearings?

'But won't those Dwarves be able to handle that?'

Recalling that the specialty of Dwarves in [Pangea Universalise] was plate armor, it was clear that their level of metallurgy was also quite advanced.

“Can you make something like this too?”

“Something? Are you asking me to invent something again!”

“Of course, of course. I can make it. Just say the word!”

“You punk? You should at least listen to what he has to say.”

The Dwarves bickered with each other again.

I calmed them down and opened my mouth.

“This time, it's a loom. But the important shuttle in weaving, instead of moving it by hand, you just have to pull it to make it move back and forth.”

“Hmm…. Pulling it to make a reciprocating motion? I don't quite understand from just your words, Human Lord.”

“Well. The shape of the loom has been like this so far, hasn't it?”

I unfolded a piece of paper and drew a picture.

“This shuttle has to be done by hand now, but what if we cut a groove underneath it and give it space to move?”

As I said that, I drew a conceptual diagram of how the direction of the force moving the shuttle would change.

At that, the Dwarves exclaimed in admiration and their eyes sparkled.

“Oh! Yes. It's simple, but it's amazing!”

“This way, it would take less effort, wouldn't it? You don't have to move your hands back and forth.”

“My friend. There's something more important than that, isn't there? With this, we could weave a much wider fabric.”

As expected of Dwarves.

To see it once and understand its principle and advantages.

With the introduction of the flying shuttle, humans were finally freed from the limitations of their own bodies when weaving fabric.

Until now, the width of the fabric was short because of the arm length needed to move the shuttle back and forth, but from now on, since a mechanical device would be used, it could be infinitely large.

“How about it, is it possible?”

“Possible? Of course!”

“Just wait a little, Human Lord. We'll make a great one and bring it to you!”

The Dwarves thumped their chests and boasted, then left the room in a hurry. It seemed that even the time spent talking was a waste.

'I really can't stop them.'

Watching the backs of the Dwarves, I let out a chuckle. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed that they would bring back the result soon.