Firearms in a Fantasy World

Chapter 80: Finally Here

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

"Master Quiller, is that big lake ahead Wes Lake?"

A slightly naive young man in the group exclaimed excitedly.

The old boat builder, Benjamin, couldn't help but chuckle. This apprentice named Vito certainly had a lot of enthusiasm. After a day's journey, everyone else in the group looked exhausted, but he was still eagerly admiring the scenery along the way.

Quiller, riding on horseback, smiled and replied, "That's right. Haven't seen such a large lake before, have you? Do you see that island on the lake? That's our destination for this trip."

Alden Town, is this the place where Lord Quiller resides, Master Benjamin wondered in excitement.

Approaching forty years old, Benjamin was an experienced shipbuilder. He had spent half his life building ships in various shipyards, earning a modest reputation in the shipbuilding industry around Angle Bay. However, he was not one to stick to conventions, always thinking about how to improve current ships.

Just three years ago, he wanted to try his hand at ships that relied solely on wind power without oars. It wasn't his original idea—many people in history had built such ships—but due to the environmental conditions around Angle Bay, they hadn't been widely adopted. After decades of building sailboats, Benjamin was eager for something new.

But as a craftsman, he couldn't afford to build a large ship on his own. He approached the shipyard owner to discuss the matter. Being a senior foreman in the factory, the owner valued his opinion. "I'll look into it and get back to you," he said, and that was the end of it.

Frustrated, Benjamin resigned and hopped from one shipyard to another, but each owner hesitated to invest a large sum in experimenting with a ship type that might not sell around Angle Bay.

During this time, he met a 16-year-old boy named Vito, whose dream was to "see the other side of the sea." He had come to the shipyard to learn shipbuilding technology, dreaming of creating a ship capable of venturing deep into the ocean. To achieve this, relying on human rowing was impossible—it had to be powered by wind. Benjamin felt that the boy's aspirations aligned with his own goals and took him on as his apprentice.

After encountering setbacks for some time, their enthusiasm began to wane. That's when Quiller Foster started recruiting shipbuilders all over.

Benjamin, with a stroke of luck, went to inquire. Quiller happened to be recruiting at the time and personally received Benjamin. During their conversation, Quiller described seeing those two models at the Frand Port Shipyard, which stirred Benjamin's heart as if it had opened a new chapter in his life.

Without hesitation, Benjamin quit his job and signed up with Quiller, bringing his young apprentice along. The boy, already eager to see the world beyond, was more than willing upon hearing they were headed to the Northwest Bay.

And now, they had finally reached their destination.

As they arrived at the town entrance, a group of people was already waiting for them. When they were still far from Alden Town, Quiller had dispatched a fast horse to notify Paul.

Dismounting, Quiller walked towards a familiar figure, who had already extended his right hand.

"Long time no see, Quiller."

"Long time indeed, Paul."

Their hands clasped tightly.

Turning around, Quiller gestured behind him, saying, "I've brought you the shipbuilders you wanted, 30 of them this time, but it's just the first batch. There will be more to come, including experts from other fields you requested."

Paul patted Quiller's shoulder warmly. "Thank you. I've been waiting so long my hair's turning white."

Then he warmly greeted the others behind Quiller. "Welcome, everyone. I hope you'll enjoy your stay in my domain."

He also spotted other familiar faces and greeted them, "Hello, members of the Lichman Adventurer's Guild."

The people behind Quiller also greeted Paul one after another.

Paul instructed his men to settle Quiller's group properly. Quiller and the actual leader of the caravan, Christopher, were invited to the Lord's mansion to dine together, accompanied by Earl Malon Ganard, Steward Ford, Hansel, and other senior officials of the Council.

The dinnerware used at dinner was all porcelain, adorned with intricate patterns, which astonished Quiller and Christopher.

Especially Christopher, who picked up a porcelain bowl and examined it closely under the candlelight, involuntarily exclaiming in amazement.

A gentle tap of the knife and fork on the porcelain bowl produced a crisp and pleasing sound—it truly was a marvelously crafted creation.

During dinner, Quiller conveyed his father, Duke Foster's, intention to cooperate. His family wished to obtain exclusive agency rights for porcelain and paper in the South.

"No problem!"

Paul readily agreed, adding, "But there will be a deadline. After the deadline, both parties must be satisfied to renew the contract."

Currently, he was relatively isolated in the North and even more so in the distant South. If he wanted to operate in the South, he needed to rely on the Foster family, but not indefinitely.

Christopher smiled warmly and said, "Of course, of course. That's how we do things there. Lord Grayman, rest assured, you won't lose out doing business with the Foster family's guild."

He was determined to secure the agency rights no matter what. When they left this time, he would take a batch of porcelain and paper back to the South.

At this point, practical porcelain production had already begun. After gaining Byerldine, the town's pottery kiln had expanded in scale.

Currently, there were over fifty workers, capable of producing 3,000 pieces of ordinary daily-use porcelain per month. However, due to many workers being novices, the quality of the porcelain varied.

The town's pottery kiln now engaged in two types of business:

1. Production of standard porcelain shaped by the kiln itself. For example, a tray was priced at 2 silver coins, and bowls and plates at 1 silver coin each.

2. Custom-made porcelain tailored to customer needs, priced according to the difficulty of production. Some items could fetch as much as several dozen silver coins each.

Transforming a pile of kaolin into a stack of shiny silver coins was indeed exhilarating.

However, the target consumer group for porcelain was not ordinary citizens. After all, many common people had never even touched a silver coin, let alone bought one. The main target was nobles and wealthy merchants.

Because of two military victories, Paul was beginning to feel a bit "inflated" and was no longer afraid of attracting attention. He instructed Steward Ford, responsible for commerce, to relax trade restrictions and gradually expand Alden's trade scope eastward and southward.

Porcelain and paper were both highly sought-after commodities. Alden Town was no longer as quiet as before and was beginning to show signs of "busyness." Foreign merchants often visited, leaving with large quantities of paper and porcelain.

Paul was considering whether to dismantle the floating bridge and have an architect design a proper stone bridge. The current shaky floating bridge was too disruptive to traffic and the town's image.

Alternatively, he pondered relocating some of the population to the southern shore of Wes River, establishing a new residential area, and expanding Alden Town into a true city.

He believed that day wasn't far off.

(End of Chapter)

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