Chapter 47.2

“How many should I recruit?”

“Bring as many as you can find. Oh, and it doesn’t matter if they’re disabled.”

“…!”

Theo’s eyes shifted upward, as if recalling specific individuals.

He’s probably thinking of his injured comrades.

It was easy to read Theo’s thoughts from his expression.

“Once you’ve recruited the people, find a large plot of land on the outskirts of the High Tower. We’ll build a factory there.”

I continued speaking to Theo, answering his curious question.

“What is a factory?”

“Think of it as a very, very large workshop.”

“Ah, I see! But… to purchase land in the High Tower, you’ll need permission from Her Highness, the Grand Duchess.”

“Don’t worry about that. Do you think the Arad Company became a sanctioned trade group for nothing? Here, take this.” I handed him a token bearing the seal of an official trade group. “Show this, and no one will raise any objections.”

“I understand! I’ll see it through—without fail!”

“One more thing,” I added, trying to temper Theo’s fiery enthusiasm. “Don’t try to finish everything today. Take your time. Even if you hire people immediately, there’s nothing for them to do yet. We’ll need a few days to prepare.”

Theo, burning with resolve, nodded vigorously and left the workshop with purpose.

‘He became a knight of the High Tower’s standing through sheer effort. He’ll manage just fine. Besides, Sir Rosie will probably help him discreetly.’

The tasks I’d assigned Theo—recruiting workers and securing land—might have seemed daunting, but they were surprisingly straightforward in this world.

Unlike Earth, where complex permits and paperwork could drag on for ages, the era we were in lacked such hurdles. As a sanctioned trade group, even the minimal bureaucracy that existed here was no obstacle.

‘Let’s trust him for now.’

Truthfully, I could have handled the recruitment and land acquisition myself. Hiring workers, in particular, was something I would normally insist on doing directly. However, I had a good reason for delegating it to Theo.

‘He’ll likely bring in injured soldiers and knights. Northerners live by the credo: repay kindness twofold and grudges tenfold.’

First, the people Theo recruited would have a low likelihood of betrayal.

‘If I’m going to recruit, I may as well choose trustworthy individuals.’

Given the sensitive nature of my work, people with unwavering loyalty were ideal for both me and the Renslets.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

The second reason for delegating was simple: I was incredibly busy. There was a mountain of production and research demanding my attention.

‘When am I going to cut and test all this?’

The underground workshop was cluttered with materials I’d taken from the spoils warehouse: monster hides, bones, tendons, muscles, corpses, and mid-tier magic stones. These were the substitutes I had chosen for magic alloys in creating automail.

Gulp.

The sight of the materials made me swallow dryly. I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Had this not been the North—where the Church and Mage Tower’s influence was weak—I wouldn’t have even dared attempt such a thing.

‘I never thought I’d end up using black magic this way.’

The automail I envisioned involved life magic, a branch of black magic often labeled as “chimera magic,” forbidden for its creation of grotesque hybrids.

However, black magic, like any tool, could yield different outcomes depending on its use.

Didn’t Earth have something similar? Nuclear power, for instance.

***

Scritch, scritch, scritch.

I began by working on the magic stones.

The automail I envisioned required three types of magic stones, all mid-tier, to keep production costs reasonable. Each would be enchanted with circuits for electricity, telekinesis, and life.

‘For the electric circuit, brain-attribute stones will work. Telekinesis pairs best with neutral stones. The issue is the life circuit…’

The life circuit was the tricky part—it used black magic despite its name. The magic involved bore more resemblance to necromancy or chimera spells.

‘For the life circuit, let’s test compatibility with light, fire, wood, dark, water, and earth attributes.’

Slowly and meticulously, I engraved the circuits onto the stones, exercising extreme concentration, especially with the life circuits.

Time passed—quickly or slowly, depending on perspective—and the initial tests concluded.

‘Dark and wood attributes have the best compatibility with life magic.’

I successfully identified stones that harmonized well with life circuits. So far, so good—everything was progressing smoothly.

Now it was time for the next step.

‘Theo’s physique is about this size, right? Probably.’

I began cutting the monster materials.

Scritch. Scritch. Crunch!

Using a saw more suited for logging, I sliced through muscles, bones, and tendons.

Though it looked like I was haphazardly cutting, every stroke was calculated with precision.

These parts would soon replace a human’s body. Their shape needed to mimic human anatomy as closely as possible. Muscles, hides, and tendons had to be cut along their natural grain. Bones, being larger than human ones, required careful resizing.

‘This might be the most physically and mentally demanding work I’ve done.’

Monster materials were incredibly dense and durable.

Sweat poured down my face as I sawed through them.

Finally, after much toil, I had processed enough materials to assemble a prototype.

The next step was alchemy, the fantasy equivalent of chemistry.

Even after cutting and shaping them, monster tissues remained vastly different from human ones. Alchemical treatments were essential to make their properties similar.

Plop. Plop. Dunk.

I immersed the processed materials—bones, muscles, hides, and tendons—into prepared alchemical solutions.

Vrrrrrrmmm.

The liquids began to glow, signaling successful enhancement.

Out of ten containers, seven produced a radiant light, indicating success.

“…”

Yet, even as I observed the glowing solutions, my expression remained grim.

‘Even with my luck stat, this is the success rate? For anyone else, it’d have to be at least 30%. Should I refine the manufacturing process?’

Obviously, I couldn’t keep doing this work alone indefinitely.

There was a reason I’d instructed Theo to recruit skilled artisans.

Alongside creating the automail, I was also planning for mass production.

By the time night fell, my work was far from over.

The lights in the underground workshop remained on, burning steadily into the small hours of the morning.

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