Chapter 121: The Mining Town of Nois part2
Outside Nois, while we waited for Gloria to swing by, Katolle spoke up.
「Alan-sama, what exactly is a rail carriage?」
「Do you know about mine carts?」
「No, I don’t.」
It’s a sensitive topic, but summoning Gloria too quickly might raise eyebrows. Besides, Katolle is trustworthy, and he will be involved in its use once it’s put in action, so he needs to understand it. I should sober up and teach him a little.
「Ore’s heavy. People can’t haul it far, and even with horses a normal wagon struggles on narrow tracks.」
「Right.」
「So you lay iron rails and put the ore on iron carts that run on them—mine carts. Horses pull them uphill; downhill they roll to the foot without horses.」
「I see—that’s how it’s done!」
「Nois and its mines sit high; you only need to go down to the base—perfect for mine carts.」
「And a rail carriage?」
「We link Nois and Gantz with rails. A horse-drawn rail carriage runs on those rails. It can’t turn freely like a wagon, but the rail keeps all the pull going straight—so the same effort hauls more weight and the horses tire less.」
Iris had taught me the rest: rails let you take curves at higher speed and smooth out bad ground—great for freight.
「Wouldn’t deep wagon ruts work?」
「Rails are many times better. The wheels don’t jump out, so you keep speed through bends and don’t bog down on bad patches. And you can’t get lost.」
The deeper the rut, the steadier the ride. In Ares we paved the main streets and inset wheel grooves to mimic ruts—that idea points straight at rails. You lose free movement, but gain stability. A horse-drawn rail carriage is one milestone on the road to smoother transport.
Our real goal lay beyond: rails for steam locomotives. But pitching the horse-drawn phase first would go down easier.
「So you are really serious about trading with Nois, then. But does Ares truly need that much iron and coal?」
「A city of tens of thousands needs arms for tens of thousands. Rails are iron too. A growing city can’t have too much iron—and Gantz is in the mix as well.」
「Your vision is always grand, Alan-sama.」
In Iris’s plan, Ares will grow to host at least a million souls. To unify the continent, you need at least that much. A rail net of Nois–Gantz–Ares is a big endeavor for us now—but it won’t be wasted.
「One more question, sir.」
「Go on.」
「If hauling is hard, why not smelt in Nois and ship the finished iron to Ares? Coal’s needed for smelting anyway. You’d move more iron that way, no?」
Sharp. We have other uses for coal as well, but there is a better lesson here.
「That’s sound merchant thinking. My view’s a bit different.」
「Different how?」
「We could build blast furnaces in Nois—but it takes time and money, and you have to train their people.」
「I see—time.」
「And beyond that: Nois isn’t my city. Building there exports our tech and our jobs. As a lord, I want Ares’s people employed in Ares.」
「Right—jobs for our own.」
「Exactly. Tax base, too. We also keep the know-how home. There’s one more reason—see it?」
「I don’t.」
Serena answered in Katolle’s place. 「It’s defense, right, Alan?」
「Nois is too far. If our furnaces exist only there and an enemy holds Nois, we’d lose the iron production. If furnaces are in Ares, we can still buy ore or coal elsewhere and keep producing.」
「Exactly—full marks, Serena.」
She basked a little.
「Don’t let it get to you, Katolle. Different specialties, different angles.」
「I just can’t range as wide as you do, sir.」
「Serena, Sharon, and I are soldiers—we default to risk. You, as a merchant, chase efficiency, and that’s fine. Just remember: many valid lenses exist. Our job is to find a compromise among them. Don’t forget that.」
「Yes, Alan-sama.」
We left Nois and returned to Gantz. Going straight to Ares would’ve been simpler, but we’d promised to do the artifact’s checks and training in Gantz. Apart from the stay-behind detail, the others had already headed to Ares.
We parted with Gloria outside the gate and waited for our carriage. We had to move the guild’s artifact—and Gloria’s saddle, too.
「Gloria’s arrival stands out; the carriage from the base will come right away.」
「Right. And I want a saddle like this in Ares as well.」
「Good idea! Have the new one delivered to the Gantz base; when we leave, we can use this one to get to Ares.」
Gloria likes flying us around, so let’s do that. I’ll place the order with the leatherworks tomorrow. Once we start raising wyverns, we could have them make wyvern saddles, too.
Back at the base, someone unexpected was waiting.
「Kevin-san, what brings you here this late?」
「I was hoping to speak with Your Excellency. I’d heard Lord Corinth’s party had already departed for Ares and thought I’d missed you, but then heard the dragon had returned and hurried over.」
「I see. Let’s talk inside.」
I left the saddle and artifact to the Satellite members and headed for the office. Fewer people than usual tonight—no need to stand on ceremony.
Lord Leister knew I’d be back, so using this room today and tomorrow would be fine. Serena and Sharon followed. Katolle split off to set tomorrow’s schedule with the Commercial Guild.
I showed Kevin-san in. 「What’s on your mind?」
「I hear you’re establishing a Commercial Guild in Ares.」
「News travels fast, as expected.」
Silas-san probably told him. Town faces shared intel; nothing secret here.
「In that case, I’d like to found an Adventurers’ Guild in Ares as well.」
「I don’t mind, but you haven’t seen Ares yet. Are you sure about deciding something so important like this?」
「Watching your people tells me Ares is no smaller than Gantz—and its future is greater. Building a guild there from scratch? Nothing more rewarding.」
「So you’ll personally lead the launch?」
「Yes. I know the lay of the land, and I can speak easily with the Gantz guild and the adventurers.」
City affairs in Gantz will be directed by Lord Leister, the newly appointed magistrate. Kevin-san is already more conduit than pillar.
He’d had a rougher time when Gantz was first handed to me, but with the royal appointment, politics are stable now. With Lord Leister and Silas-san, Gantz will be fine. I can green-light this.
「Choose a capable successor. We’ve counted on you; a weak replacement won’t do. If that’s covered, I welcome building an Adventurers’ Guild in Ares. We’ll provide land and a building.」
「My thanks. Ares is the Great Demon Forest’s forward city now. As guildmaster, I’ll deliver results.」
He is really fired up. Ares is growing and in the middle of the Great Demon Forest. We haven’t matched work to adventurers well, and while we could cash their spoils, ranking up is an issue. With proper civilian institutions, city life would start to hum.
「I’ll leave for Ares tomorrow once I finish with the Commercial Guild.」
「We’ll head out as we’re ready. Staff will move in phases, not all at once.」
「I’ll have receiving set up.」
We shook on it.
「By the way, Your Excellency—your thoughts on a Magic Guild?」
Cara, the guildmaster of Gotania’s Magic Guild, flashed through my mind. I’ve been making more and more magic devices without the guild’s input; truthfully, I would prefer to maintain my distance from the guild. Still, we need to restock alchemical fluids and resume development.
「I’m A-Rank in the Magic Guild, but I… make all sorts of devices on my own. So the distance is… tricky.」
「No need to worry. Neither guild exists to constrain a ruler; we support good governance. If you support the Magic Guild, there’ll be no friction. The Adventurers’ and Magic Guilds are close. The Magic Guild is underappreciated, but essential to a city. We aid members’ device-making; we don’t restrict it. Let me handle it.」
「In that case, I’ll entrust the founding of a Magic Guild branch to you as well.」
「Understood. I won’t disappoint.」
After I saw Kevin-san out, Serena and Sharon spoke.
「He’s motivated. And if we bring in the Adventurers’ Guild, things will move quickly in Ares.」
「Once there’s a Commercial Guild, you need an Adventurers’ Guild.」
「If we can stock the materials, I’d like to restart device development.」
We also need to revisit Serena’s old idea of weaponizing certain devices—perhaps as part of the soldier-gear program.
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