Chapter 571: Expansion

Inside a manor south of Carol City, a large warehouse-turned-shed was brightly lit.

This property belonged to the great merchant Kord. The shed and several surrounding buildings had once served as warehouses, storing fodder for his horse caravans and goods in transit. But since spring of this year, the warehouses had been repurposed. Kord had purchased five magical vehicles all at once, forming a new fleet. The traditional horse-drawn carts were immediately cut by half, with the remaining ones reassigned to rural traders. With fewer carts came less need for fodder, so the old warehouses were converted into workshops and laboratories.

Kord, dressed in a light jacket and with his hair neatly combed, stepped into the shed. Magic crystal lamps hung from the ceiling, casting a bright glow that made the interior as bright as day. The spacious room was divided by waist-high partitions into several sections. Newly acquired simple machine tools hummed cheerfully in each area, the clinking of metal parts mixing with the buzz of magical mechanisms. The air was tinged with the peculiar scent of lubricating oil. Kord wove through the sounds and smells, heading straight to a partitioned corner at the far end.

Several young men in short robes were busy at workbenches. Seeing Kord enter, they turned and saluted him. Kord quickly waved them off. “No need for formalities—just focus on your work.”

The apprentices returned to their tasks, while Kord stood by the bench, watching them bustle about.

These were mage apprentices and rune craftsmen he had recruited at great expense. While apprentices and craftsmen themselves weren’t costly, these had studied at the academy run by the Bureau of Administration and had earned their magical technician certificates, which greatly increased their value.

Hiring them had been a significant investment, but to Kord, their contributions were well worth it.

On the workbench lay a once-complete magical device, now dismantled into a pile of parts: several rune circuit boards, and a series of control, power supply, and linkage mechanisms neatly spread out. Each piece was labeled with its function. Nearby, stacks of draft papers and scrolls were covered in dense calculations and notes—just a glance would overwhelm an ordinary person.

“Sir, we’ve fully disassembled the M-2 universal magical terminal and understood the function of every rune board,” said a young mage technician with messy short hair. “We’re currently calculating the power output and interference coefficients of the Ice Spike rune board using rune logic. We believe that by adjusting its projection area and adding a well-insulated casing, it’s entirely feasible to create a container that can preserve food…”

“Excellent, excellent,” Kord nodded repeatedly. “Any difficulties?”

Another young man spoke up, “We need a more stable mana source. The previous magic network units we bought were secondhand, and some are already failing—unusable.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already sent Pal to purchase new magic network units. This time, all brand new.”

“That settles it.”

The technicians returned to their work, while Kord lingered by the bench, watching them busy themselves with runes, papers, and formulas.

He could only understand a fraction of it, but that didn’t stop him from being deeply absorbed.

Since winter, his experiment in advertising Carol’s local specialties had been a huge success. Local merchants, having tasted the benefits, had become supporters of magical industry and its byproducts. His new company, Kord Household Services, launched this spring, was his second venture into this new era.

It seemed this attempt would also be a great success.

The advent of magical industry had transformed production methods. As a successful merchant, Kord saw more than just changes in manufacturing. After buying his first magical vehicle and experiencing its power and efficiency firsthand, he realized just how incredible this technology was—a common man like himself could control a machine of immense strength simply by pulling levers. It was almost unimaginable.

For Kord, the biggest shock wasn’t the vehicle’s power, but the fact that magic could truly belong to ordinary people.

His mind opened, and he saw business opportunities in the price of magical vehicles.

Magical vehicles, magic network communications, large machinery—these were beyond his ability to replicate or produce. But what about smaller, simpler devices?

The Bureau of Administration officials hadn’t forbidden him from doing so, so it was allowed.

His approach was simple, even bordering on comical to true magical technicians. He bought a universal magical terminal from a government-run store, dismantled it, and with his limited rune knowledge and basic courses from the academy textbooks, he pieced together the heating rune group, power supply, and a recessed iron plate. He placed a pot on the plate and cooked a half-raw vegetable soup.

That soup was the worst he’d ever tasted, but he was immensely proud of his clumsy “heating platform.”

Then, he registered Kord Household Services.

He couldn’t rely on buying magical terminals from stores and dismantling them to produce his own products—that would only lose money. So he scoured every department of the Bureau, acquiring a rune press machine that was half broken from overuse.

Without technicians, he copied the entire rune logic and mechanical basics courses from the school (printed books were scarce, and textbooks weren’t for sale), and with the help of literate young men from his family and guild, studied for half a month and repaired the broken machine tools.

Using his prestige and connections, he spent a fortune hiring several young people with magical technician licenses—these very ones before him.

He bought a large number of magical devices—from the Cecil Mechanical Works and the Magical Technology Research Institute—everything from universal magical terminals to agricultural pumps and machines, even expensive magic network communicators, all dismantled into parts.

He built his own “modern factory” and “laboratory,” even working alongside laborers to build a crude small machine tool powered by a discarded piston-type magical engine. It could only drill holes in metal plates, but its efficiency far surpassed manual labor.

This was his “Kord Factory,” though not his first. His original factory was further north, near his mansion, but after a rune malfunction caused a fire that destroyed much of it and panicked nearby residents, he had no choice but to move equipment and staff here.

All this had cost him nearly half his fortune. The wealth he’d accumulated through trade had been poured into these machines and workshops like water. Many thought he was mad, dazzled by the illusions of magic network broadcasts, risking everything at his age…

But in the end, his first batch of magical heating platforms sold two thousand units. The wealthier upper-class citizens simply couldn’t resist such a convenient device—not just because it was novel and useful, but because escaping the smoky, firewood-fueled life was a symbol of status.

Kord’s “products” were actually quite simple in principle, just like his initial clumsy attempt. He bought complex magical devices, then dismantled them to find simple technologies he could master, or studied school courses for ideas and methods.

At this stage, magical technology wasn’t that complicated. Many basic principles could be understood and controlled by ordinary people. The civilian market was so untapped that any slightly convenient invention had huge potential. Kord’s first task was to find civilian “demand points.”

His method was straightforward—study the lives of nobles and the extraordinary, focusing on their conveniences and comforts, then find ways to realize those through magical technology.

Nobles and the extraordinary had always lived comfortable, convenient lives, far beyond what commoners could imagine.

They had magical lighting, artificially controlled temperature and humidity, instant communication, AI servants, and could enjoy any delicacy in any season…

As a commoner who had grown wealthy through trade, Kord knew both the struggles of common folk and the lifestyles of the upper class. He leveraged this advantage to uncover countless business opportunities—

Mages could heat food with magical flames, so he could make civilian heating platforms; mages maintained eternal spring in their towers, so he could use rune boards and ventilation to create similar effects; nobles could enjoy ice in summer and always have fresh meat, so he aimed to make affordable, convenient containers that could produce ice and preserve food…

Kord Household Services’ success had attracted attention. Now, in Carol and surrounding areas, many merchants were stirring, preparing their own companies. Many acquaintances came to Kord seeking advice. It was as if people had finally realized an obvious truth:

Magic brings convenience, and whoever brings convenience seizes business opportunities.

Voices came from the factory gate. Kord looked up to see his eldest son, Pal, pushing a cart with several workers. They carefully guarded the cargo—a large crate bound with wooden slats and straw ropes, bearing the mark of the Cecil Rune Foundry.

The new magic network unit array had arrived—laboratory grade.

Kord hurried over and called nearby workers to help unload. But Pal pulled him aside, wearing a deliberately mysterious expression.

“Father, I have news for you…”

Kord glanced at his son. “What news?”

“The Duke of Cecil has learned about your company and what you’re producing. Guess what happened?”

Kord’s heart suddenly tightened.

What happened?

He suddenly realized there was another risk in what he was doing—he was dealing with and replicating the lord’s property. Though he was only tinkering with simple “gadgets” in the lord’s overlooked “small domain,” dismantling Cecil-made magical devices, making new machines, hiring magical technicians—wasn’t that taboo?

Though the Bureau officials hadn’t stopped him, and Cecil’s laws seemed to have no prohibitions, and the lord insisted on strict legal adherence… would the lord himself really follow those laws? Would he be angered by Kord’s bold actions?

Kord’s mind raced with all these thoughts, forgetting that the advertisements he’d placed on the magic network had surely been approved by the highest Bureau of Cecil. Pal noticed his father’s tension and suddenly burst out laughing, pulling a carefully rolled-up paper from his pocket.

“Father! This is a commendation signed in the Duke of Cecil’s own hand! And you’re about to be knighted!”

Kord froze, stunned, standing rooted to the spot.

Two seconds later, he suddenly snatched the commendation order from Pal’s hand, trembling as he carefully unfolded it. Then, word by word, he painstakingly read through every line.

At the very end of the commendation was the official decree of his new title.

He read it over and over again, only then noticing the barely contained smile playing on Pal’s face beside him.

“You little rascal—you actually dared to play a trick on your own father!”

“Oh, Father! Don’t forget your knightly grace!”

(End of chapter)