I Was Reincarnated as a Marquis in Another World- Chapter 3

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Bobto
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If humans have something inconvenient they will resolve and conquer it.

They have chased away beasts that threatened human survival by making fires, prevented the situation of not being able to farm due to lack of water by creating reservoirs to store water, and more.

and they will continue doing so with every inconvenience they have.

If they didn’t know what was inconvenient, they wouldn’t have tried to find solutions, and they wouldn’t have bothered to make fires or dig reservoirs.

Reforming the territory is the same.

Only by knowing what this marquis territory lacks can success be achieved.

Now that I had convinced the Marquis and gained an opportunity to prove my abilities, I returned to my room to prepare for a field survey of the territory.

But if I say I’ll go out alone, they’ll surely stop me, saying it’s dangerous…

Who should I take with me?

While I was packing my luggage and pondering, there was a knock on the door and a raspy male voice was heard.

“Young master, may I come in?”

“Who is it?”

At those words, the owner of the voice beyond the door spoke as if disappointed.

“It’s Varso, young master.

Why are you being so distant with me…?”

Varso, I’m sure he was the guy who followed Ciel as his escort knight to the academy in the beginning of the novel.

And according to what was set up, he was described as someone like an uncle who had known Ciel for over 10 years.

So I answered in a relaxed tone, as if talking to an uncle.

“Come in.”

Then the door opened, and a tall, muscular man with a bushy beard approached me and spoke familiarly.

“I heard everything.

I heard you refused to go to the academy.”

“Well, if I go to the academy, I’ll only learn etiquette and swordsmanship that a knight needs to have.

I thought there’s no need to go all the way there for 4 years just to learn such things.”

“Your swordsmanship skills are already on par with decent knights.

So you’re right there’s no need for you to go.”

“Right, but why did you come?”

Hearing those words, Varso nodded his head and said,

“The Marquis ordered me to escort you.

And he also told me to deliver this to you.”

I received the pouch Varso handed me and opened it.

Inside were about 20 coins made of gold, at the size of 500 won coins.

Seeing that, Varso exclaimed excitedly,

“With one gold coin, you can buy a cow.

So with 20 coins…

With that money, you could buy a house with a small store attached to it at the foot of the castle…

Congratulations on becoming rich.”

“Thanks, Varso.

Now that I have money, I’m going to the market, so come with me.”

**

A street where shabby wooden buildings stood side by side, with pictures symbolizing things like a beer mug and pot for an inn, a hammer and anvil for a blacksmith, and a shirt for a fabric store.

In the corner of that street, there were also people who set up shoddy tents and sold cheap farming tools, vegetables, or grains inside. After looking around the market like that, an employee came out of the blacksmith shop, holding out a sword sheathed in a scabbard, and said,

“Come on, handsome young master over there.

How about this sword?

Although it’s a bit much for a knight to carry, it’s perfect for carrying as a spare on the battlefield. I’ll take 3 silver coins for it.”

“No, it’s fine. I just came out for a look.”

“Aw, don’t be like that. How about buying one?”

As the blacksmith shop employee persistently tried to persuade me, Varso, who was standing behind me, touched the sword and said,

“Didn’t he say he’s not buying?”

“I’m sorry, Sir Knight…”

“If you understand, get lost.”

With those final words, the employee who was recommending the sword scurried away.

And I continued to go around the market with Varso, observing and experiencing as much as possible.

I went into an inn with Varso, ate cheap beer and an endlessly boiling mystery stew, went into a fabric store and tried on the shabby clothes that peasants mainly bought and wore.

I also went into a blacksmith shop, directly touched and swung weapons made by the blacksmith such as swords, spears, armor, and shields, and then went to a bakery and ate rye bread that peasants ate.

The rye bread had a distinct dullness and nutty flavor of rye, but at the same time, it felt like stones were being chewed in the bread, perhaps because they used rye flour that wasn’t properly refined.

Like that, Varso and I looked around the market near Kreutel Castle for about 2 hours and went out to its outskirts.

“Why are those baker’s guild guys making bread that people eat like that?

If they’re going to use rye flour to make bread, shouldn’t they at least filter out the stones?”

“Well, it’s bread they’ll sell to poor folk like low-class workers living nearby.

No one says anything even if a few stones are mixed in.”

Hearing those words reminded me of what my grandmother used to say.

“In the past, the rice they sold had stones mixed in, so when making rice, you had to use a sieve to filter out the stones before eating.”

Even in those days when the concept of machine threshing and milling existed, it was like that. So is it natural for stones to come out of the bread peasants eat in this era…

While walking lost in thought, a well came into view.

At the well, housewives were huddled together chatting, pulling the rope tied to the bucket to draw water.

“Heave-ho, oh my… I’m going to die after drawing just one of these.”

“Ma’am, you’re really exaggerating.”

“My back hurts, maybe because my husband used too much strength in bed last night.”

“Oh my, this wench.

My husband can’t even use strength when I feed him bread… Are you making fun of me?”

They say that laughing, but it wouldn’t be easy for the women to use a bucket to fill their water jars the size of their own height.

And they have to carry that back to their own homes, which wouldn’t be an ordinary hardship either.

If I slightly solve this, couldn’t I gain the support of the low-class and other citizens?

Seeing this, I smiled and said to Varso,

“I have a good idea. Let’s go to the blacksmith shop.”

**

Next to the door were a furnace and bellows used for melting iron, large and small hammers used for pounding iron, and an anvil and chair used for working on heated iron.

Inside, about 4 blacksmiths were heating iron, shaping the heated iron with hammers, and sharpening blades.

Also, as soon as I entered, I felt heat that was incomparable to a sauna.

Varso seemed unable to stand such heat and complained.

“Young master, I think I’m going to be steamed to death.

Why are you deliberately putting yourself through hardship by coming to a place like this?”

I left such Varso alone and called the blacksmith who was hammering near the anvil and asked,

“I have something I need made urgently.

Can you help me?”

“The master is sharpening blades in the back.

Go Ask the master.”

Following the direction he pointed, I approached the one who seemed to be the master and said,

“I am Ciel von Kreutel, the successor of Kreutel Marquisate.

There’s something I urgently need made. Can you help me?”

Hearing those words, the master swung his hammer in the air as if annoyed and said,

“There’s no way such an esteemed person would personally come here to ask to have something made.

Get lost quickly, or I’ll report you to the guards.”

Hearing that, I felt a momentary sense of unfairness, but it’s not unreasonable for the master of the blacksmith guild to show such a reaction, since it’s rare for nobles to directly come to such a place.

So I held out the dagger engraved with the Kreutel family crest and said again.

“I am Ciel von Kreutel.

There’s something I’d like you to make.”

Seeing the dagger engraved with the crest, the master quickly changed his attitude, prostrated before me, and said,

“I’m sorry for not recognizing such an esteemed person… Please, anything but the crime of Lèse-majesté…”

“I don’t care about that.

Instead, make what I want as quickly as possible.

As for money… I’ll give you 1 gold coin as an advance.”

“Did you say 1 gold coin?”

“Yes, I need 8 round-shaped irons that a thick rope can go through in the middle, 8 loops that a rope can go through, and wooden pillars and a stand that can withstand the weight of the rope.”

Hearing those words, the blacksmith pondered for a moment, then nodded and said,

“Yes, I understand. Even if we hurry, I think it’ll take until the day after tomorrow.

Is that alright?”

There are still 2 weeks left, so 2 days should be fine.

“Alright, then send the finished goods to the Kreutel residence in 2 days and receive the rest of the money.”

With those final words, I left the blacksmith shop and returned to the residence.

**

When the promised time came, the blacksmith guild delivered the things I ordered.

I instructed the servants to install a pulley-operated well bucket in the courtyard well of the residence, explaining the custom-made parts one by one.

Then, I directly demonstrated how to use it in front of them.

“Listen well. Now, if you use this, you no longer have to pull the rope with strength like before. Just by lightly turning the handle, the bucket will come up.”

I started turning the handle as I said it, the bucket connected to the pulley slowly began to rise. The servants saw that and spoke in admiration.

“Drawing water was extremely difficult, but now we just need to turn it without using strength?”

“I heard you were a very smart person, but to think you could even make something like this…”

“We use pulleys when lifting heavy things, but attaching this to a well bucket to draw water more quickly and easily… Why didn’t I think of that?”

As I finished pulling up the well bucket like that and poured the water into the water jar placed next to it, the Marquis, who had apparently been watching,

approached behind me and said,

“Is this what you asked the blacksmith guild to make?

It certainly looks easy to use, but you’re not saying you won’t go to the academy just because you made something like this, right?”

“Right now, it may just look like a tool that’s easier to use than existing well buckets, but if installed in wells near deep riversides or fields, it will be a big help in drawing water.”

“Indeed, if drawing water becomes easier, it will also be easier to transport water using wagons… Then farming will also become a bit easier.

Well done.

By creating this, you have proven that your risk was not in vain.”

Since words of recognition came out of the Marquis’ mouth, he’ll change his mind about telling me to go to the academy, right?

With such expectations, I looked at the Marquis, but the words that came out of his mouth were different.

“However, the ability you showed me is the ability a technician should have.

It’s not the governing ability you need to show as the successor to succeed me.

Therefore, I cannot accept your unreasonable refusal to go to the academy just because of this.”

“But…”

“Of course, I am proud that my son made such an excellent tool in just 2 days.

So I will support you in every way so you can learn a lot at the academy.

In addition to living expenses, I will give you 2 gold coins per month as an allowance.

You may also freely spend the 20 gold coins you received before going to the academy.”

It’s good that I was promised 20 gold coins and 2 gold coins per month as an allowance, but the fact that I have to go to the academy doesn’t change.

And if I go to the academy, I will die and this territory will be ruined.

Now that it’s come to this… I knelt on one knee before the Marquis again, bowed my head, and pleaded.

“Please give me one more chance.

This time, I will definitely show you the ability I need to show as a ruler.”

In response to my words, the Marquis replied in an arrogant voice.

“Well then, try doing as you wish.

But if you fail this time, then you must go to the academy without a word.”

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