Chapter 500: Hello, Worker

“Congratulations, worker. You’re hired.”

“Mm,” Henry mumbled, crestfallen.

“…Hm?!” Henry’s head snapped up. “I’m hired?!”

It wasn’t until Henry had signed the contract and was walking home in a daze that he remembered what he had set out to do that day.

By the time he got home, the sky was completely dark.

Henry’s father looked at him with a stony expression. He knew he was in for it tonight, so he could only obediently explain what he had done that day.

What Henry didn’t expect was that his father wasn’t the least bit angry. Instead, he burst out laughing, overjoyed.

“It’s a pity you can only go for a while,” Henry’s father said, somewhat regretfully. “Besides, for blacksmiths like us, the noble lords won’t allow us to go to other territories to work for other lords. More and more strange things have been happening in Giant’s Foot lately. If only our whole family could move to Iron Valley.”

Henry never thought his blunder would actually earn him his father’s praise.

“Why didn’t you tell me about such a good job before?” Henry asked.

Henry’s father’s expression changed. “Who told you to spend your days thinking only about throwing cow dung with those scoundrels! I’ve told you many times!”

Seeing the raised fist, Henry instinctively flinched.

“If I wasn’t worried you’d get sent back beaten black and blue, I’d give you a thrashing right now!” Henry’s father said. “Go there and be a good blacksmith! Work hard. I hear that if you become a foreman, not only can you work for longer, but you’ll earn more. Maybe in a year or two, you’ll be able to marry your cousin.”

‘Cousin?’ Henry thought of his cousin, her face covered in pimples, freckles, and acne, with a mole on the tip of her nose. Every time he saw her, it was a struggle to find her mung-bean-sized eyes.

With everything so densely packed, it was simply impossible to tell them apart.

Henry nodded emphatically. “I’ll definitely be a good blacksmith, make money, and come back to get married.”

‘With Teresa!’

A horse-drawn carriage carrying four people swayed as it left the village. On the road, Teresa was incredibly excited, chattering nonstop. The official who had interviewed her had said that a pretty, cute girl like her would have the chance to work in the castle.

A castle! Where you could see handsome Knights and a magnificent Lord.

You could wander through the beautiful castle and eat delicacies you’d never even heard of.

No woman could refuse a castle.

Likewise, no man could refuse a castle either.

After a long journey, they met up with the main group.

Only then did Henry discover that a huge group of people were heading to Iron Valley for work—a dense crowd of probably over a thousand.

Everyone was incredibly excited.

Eat, rest, then travel onward in silence.

The rest of the way, there would certainly be no more carriages; they had to go on foot.

As they were leaving the territory of Giant’s Foot, Henry saw another group of explorers.

Unlike the Mercenaries, who valued money above all else, these explorers had only appeared this year. It was said they were searching for a special kind of treasure hidden in many strange and bizarre caverns.

And in this dangerous search, death was an utterly normal, everyday occurrence.

Not every explorer risked their lives, though. Some specialized in collecting the corpses of the fallen, taking their money and valuables, and then selling their broken armor or shattered blades cheaply to small-time blacksmiths like Henry’s father to make a small profit.

Then, some poor explorers who wanted to try their luck would buy these repaired, broken blades from Henry’s father for a very low price.

It was purely hard-earned money, which was why Henry didn’t like his father’s work at all.

‘Thank goodness I’m finally leaving this hellish, bizarre land!’ Henry felt a great sense of relief.

They traveled day and night, an arduous journey.

They finally arrived at the Iron Valley territory. In a daze, he was separated from his acquaintances like Nikus and Teresa and was sent to a small village entirely populated by blacksmiths.

His daily work consisted of tending the large furnace—adding fuel, stoking the fire, and hammering iron.

The main job for the group was to forge things like hoes, axes, and pickaxes, as well as repair various tools.

If it weren’t for the good pay and the fact that meals were provided, Henry would have felt it was worse than being at home. At least at home, he could slack off from time to time.

A month passed in a flash, and it was now November.

He felt a bit regretful that he couldn’t see Teresa’s pretty face.

Iron Valley’s climate was more southerly, and the leaves were only slightly yellow. Henry heard from someone from Porcupine Territory that the leaves there were already beginning to fall, the weather was getting colder, and they even needed to wear extra layers.

Today was Henry’s first day off. He couldn’t believe he actually got a holiday, and that he could get paid even without working.

“It’s only been a month!”

Henry couldn’t help but gasp as he walked down the road.

He clearly remembered this road being bare when he arrived. In just one month, houses had sprung up like weeds, lining the roadside.

Many people were gathered together, forming what looked like a small marketplace.

After wandering around for a bit, Henry remembered Teresa. After asking for directions, he spent 2 copper stars to board a cart pulled by a packhorse. After a morning of swaying and rocking, he arrived at Iron Wall Castle.

After some questioning, Henry successfully entered the castle.

The towering castle walls were like a giant beast.

“If you have a relative in the castle, you can go to that Soldier up ahead. He’ll help you announce your visit,” the man driving the cart told Henry.

“Thank you!” Henry said gratefully.

After asking for directions several times, Henry finally saw Teresa. She was wearing a beautiful dress, a white ruffled apron, and her hair was specially braided, with one plait draped over her shoulder.

“Henry!” She was thrilled to see him. “It’s so good to see you! Do you know about Nikus? He’s already a small-time leader. We just saw him a few days ago. How have you been?”

Seeing a familiar face in a new land is the most exciting thing.

Henry nodded, and listening to the girl’s cheerful chatter, his anxious heart began to calm down.

But Teresa’s conversation was all about the castle—the noble masters, the Lord, and this or that Knight. He could only nod along awkwardly, feeling like he couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

“I want to settle down here,” Teresa said, turning to look at Henry.

It was like a signal.

Henry swallowed. “I want to stay and be with you, too, if that’s possible.”

But his words were cut off by a sudden “SCREEECH—” from the sky.

Henry jumped in fright.

Teresa’s eyes filled with adoration. “Haha, that’s the Lord’s mount, a magical Flying Horse.”

“A Flying Horse?” Henry’s eyes filled with longing. In this magical territory, he was seeing things he had never witnessed in his entire twenty years of life.

“Henry, what were you about to say?”

“It’s nothing.” Henry stood up. He suddenly remembered something Nikus had said: men couldn’t stay in Iron Valley forever.

Teresa said, “I’m going to save money to buy a house. The steward told me that if we work hard, earn money, and buy a house, we can get residency here and possibly become permanent residents. The Lord is on very good terms with Prince Hoffman. I’m just saying… doing so might give us a better chance, but it’s not a guarantee.”

A sudden burst of confidence filled Henry. He said, “I want to work hard and save money to buy a house!”

“We can do it together?”

“Together!”

Teresa leaned in, and Henry opened his arms to embrace her. Perhaps they were just huddling together for warmth, or perhaps it was a feeling that had long been there. In any case, at that moment, they truly wanted to stay, to work hard, and to earn money.

For a better tomorrow.