The Lord Just Wants to Have Fun

“Damascus Steel Sword? Isn’t that something only dwarves can make?”

Even the senior knights, who had just received their swords, widened their eyes in astonishment.

The blade gleamed silver, adorned with patterns resembling tree rings or flowing water—unmistakable traits of Damascus Steel.

“It’s real! A real Damascus Steel Sword!”

“Receiving a sword like this… Only the Royal Capital’s Imperial Guards carry such weapons!”

What was known as Damascus Steel on Earth was called Damascus Steel in Laterran. It was said to have been first developed by a dwarf named Damas.

‘Is that really the case? The name is too similar… I bet it was actually spread by an otherworlder from Earth, just like me.’

Regardless, Damascus Steel Swords were considered legendary weapons, known for their hardness and exceptional cutting ability, all crafted by dwarven hands.

“My Lord, how did you acquire such a precious thing…?”

“However valuable that sword may be, it is nothing compared to the loyalty of those who follow me, setting aside their pride for my sake.”

At Philip’s words, Carpenter and the knights were deeply moved.

Some even had tears welling up in their eyes.

“Ugh… Thank you, my Lord!”

“I, Carpenter, shall continue to serve you with my utmost devotion!”

Seeing their reactions, Philip smiled in satisfaction.

To maintain firm control over the military, he needed to secure the loyalty of Carpenter, the Knight Captain, as well as the senior knights who led their own squads.

So, without hesitation, he had poured all his remaining points into crafting Damascus Steel Swords using his Golden Hammer skill.

‘But now my points are completely drained… I need to replenish them.’

After Carpenter and the senior knights had left, Philip summoned his guardian angel, Mau.

“Hey, Mau.”

“Give me a quest to earn some points.”

“Tsk, that damn ‘mission’ again…”

Philip found Mau’s smug attitude irritating, but he had no choice but to accept the task.

Thanks to the Golden Hammer skill, he could now create Damascus Steel Swords with ease—something he’d dreamed of doing since his days as a YouTuber.

Without that skill, he would have been sweating away in a forge, hammering for hours just to produce a single blade.

“I’m still a beginner, so don’t give me anything too absurd.”

“Adapting is different from completing missions! If you tell me to go slay the Demon King or something, I’ll have no choice but to flip the table!”

As soon as Mau finished speaking, a translucent scroll appeared before Philip’s eyes, detailing his new mission.

Mission: Expand Eldir’s temple within the lord’s castle.

Reward: 500 points
Time Limit: 7 days

“Eldir’s temple? There’s no Eldir temple in my domain, though?”

From what Philip knew, the only religious structures within the lord’s castle were the Shrine of Valian, housed in the Knights’ Tower, and outside the castle, there was a Temple of Gaia, the earth goddess worshiped by the peasants.

But an Eldir temple? He had never even heard of such a thing.

“How the hell was I supposed to know that? The original guy didn’t have that info in his thick skull either!”

The previous owner of this body had shown zero interest in Eldir, which explained why Philip was completely clueless about such basic facts.

‘Well, I was planning to expand the forge for my own purposes anyway. This works out perfectly.’

Deciding to strike while the iron was hot, Philip set out to fulfill his mission.

The forge was located in a spacious clearing on the outskirts of the inner city streets.

As the only blacksmith shop in the lord’s domain, it was managed by Chief Blacksmith Hans.

Hans, along with a dozen apprentices, produced not only weapons like spears and swords but also horseshoes, farming tools, and all sorts of essential equipment for the territory.

“My Lord, what brings you to this humble place?”

Hans, drenched in sweat from his work, bowed deeply in greeting.

“I had some business to check on. More importantly, how is the silver extraction going?”

“We’ve managed to produce silver ingots worth 60,000 Dalant so far, my Lord.”

For secrecy and better management, the smelting furnace had been relocated from the abandoned mine to this forge, where silver was now extracted in a dedicated workshop inside.

“You’ve done well. When the treasurer sends someone, hand it over to them.”

“Understood, my Lord.”

Philip patted Hans on the shoulder before looking around the forge.

Hans watched him with curiosity.

‘He never used to show any interest in the forge… Is it because he overcame a crisis thanks to Eldir? Well, even I must admit, that technique was amazing.’

Hans firmly believed that the lead-silver separation method had been a divine technique granted by Eldir.

To him, it seemed as if the lord had fully embraced his role as Eldir’s Apostle.

“Hans, when was this forge originally built?”

“Hmm… my grandfather’s grandfather, and his grandfather before him… If I had to guess, it was probably built when the founder of the Brandel family first received this territory.”

Philip recalled that the Brandel family’s founder had lived about 200 years ago, around the late years of the Second Divine Era, in the year 994.

The Second Divine Era, which lasted roughly a thousand years, was often referred to as the Dark Ages—a time of chaos when the underground demons and monsters serving the Demon God Azra invaded, seizing the Paradise Lands where the World Tree stood. Nations fell, and countless races were displaced.

During the final years of this era, the founder of the Brandel family, who had been a mercenary and adventurer, played a role in the establishment of the Arteria Kingdom and was granted both his title and lands.

“It’s really that old?”

“Well, it was destroyed in wars and burned down a few times over the years.”

As a result, the current forge had only been rebuilt about fifty years ago.

Philip was beginning to understand why Eldir had ordered the forge’s expansion—not only was the place old and cluttered, but the facilities were in terrible condition.

‘With this furnace, there’s no way I can produce high-quality iron.’

“And why do you suddenly ask about this, my Lord?”

“Eldir has given me a mission. He ordered me to expand his temple.”

“Ohh, is that so?”

A bright smile spread across Hans’ wrinkled face.

“If there’s no urgent work, I’d like to start immediately.”

“All tasks have been completed, so we can begin right away.”

Philip wasted no time and immediately gathered workers to start the expansion project.

The first step was clearing out the interior, moving the anvil, hammers, and tools outside. Then, he ordered the merging of the forge with the adjacent material storage to create a larger workspace.

“But then we’ll have nowhere to store materials, my Lord.”

“Then we’ll just build a new storage next to it.”

Philip planned to fully utilize the spacious empty lot near the forge.

“Knock down this wall and reinforce it with pillars.”

“Put a window over there. Good ventilation and lighting are crucial for working conditions.”

The part he focused on the most, however, was the furnace.

Back when Philip was a YouTuber, he had worked part-time at a village blacksmith to learn smithing techniques while also studying various historical furnaces.

From what he could tell, the furnace Hans was using was barely more advanced than a bloomery furnace.

Bloomery furnaces produced wrought iron, which had low hardness, strength, and ductility and contained too many impurities.

‘That’s why they had to hammer it so much—to remove impurities and excess carbon.’

With his knowledge, Philip decided to construct an open-hearth furnace, heavily utilizing firebricks, just like the one invented by the Siemens brothers in the 19th century.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a furnace this flat…”

“It uses a heat-regeneration principle. The heat from burning fuel circulates continuously to maintain high temperatures. This method will produce better-quality iron and increase production by about 20% compared to your old furnace.”

Hans was astonished by Philip’s explanation.

“Amazing… Did Eldir teach you this as well?”

“Uh… yeah, sure.”

Truthfully, Philip wanted to build a Bessemer converter, which would greatly enhance productivity, but that required high-level metallurgy skills, which weren’t available yet.

‘Even an open-hearth furnace is groundbreaking in this medieval-level era.’

Philip had little concern about the supply of iron ore and coal.

He had already confirmed that his domain possessed one iron mine and enough other mining resources to be self-sufficient for now.

“But where do you get the coal from?”

“From the mines in the northern part of the domain, my Lord. This type—gray, hard, and full of small holes—is particularly good.”

Hans pointed to a pile of naturally formed coke, known as peat coal or pitch coal.

In other words, there was no need to process bituminous coal manually—a major convenience.

‘It’s not like some fantasy novel where I find a mountain full of gold in my backyard, but the resources here are still decent.’

After completing the furnace construction on the first day, Philip moved on to creating basic machinery such as water-powered bellows and mechanical hammers, utilizing oxen and horses for power.

Hans, upon seeing the blueprints Philip had drawn, was deeply moved.

“These kinds of facilities… I saw them once, in a large refining workshop in the Royal Capital, back in my younger days… I never imagined we’d have them here in our domain.”

“Oh? So these already exist somewhere?”

“Yes, my Lord. In large-scale operations, some places even use windmills or waterwheels.”

In addition to the forge improvements, Philip also built a research lab adjacent to the expanded forge and increased the number of apprentices.

Hans, observing Philip’s active involvement, couldn’t contain his curiosity.

“My Lord, why are you going beyond mere expansion and setting up new furnaces and equipment?”

“To produce better and more iron, of course.”

For his ambitions, Philip needed a large supply of high-quality iron—whether for weapons, steam engines, or construction materials.

Though Philip’s reason was simple, Hans interpreted it differently.

‘The recent droughts have left the people restless, and bandits and monsters are rampant. As the Lord says, securing iron is essential for making good weapons. And…’

With better weapons, not only could they protect the domain, but they could also expand their territory—whether by annexing neighboring lands or by driving out monsters and pioneering the Prill Mountain Range.

The turbulent era ahead presented an opportunity for the Brandel Barony to rise in power.

‘Perhaps I can be the foundation for that growth!’

The thought of leaving his name in history filled Hans with fiery determination, like the roaring flames of the new furnace.

“I will devote myself entirely to realizing your vision, my Lord!”

“Thanks, but don’t overwork yourself.”

The two, though envisioning different futures, exchanged knowing smiles.

[You have expanded Eldir’s temple.]
[500 points have been awarded.]
[Eldir is extremely pleased with the improved forge, featuring a more advanced furnace and tools.]
[You have received a bonus of 200 points.]
[Temple Effect: All blacksmiths working here gain a 10% increase in skill and stamina.]
[Crafting failure rate reduced by 5%.]

A few days later, after the expansion was fully completed, Philip received his mission rewards.

When the first molten iron poured from the open-hearth furnace, the blacksmiths gasped in awe.

“The output has increased!”

“Huh? It’s not just more—the quality is far superior to before!”

But the surprises didn’t end there.

Unexpectedly, the effects of Eldir’s Temple kicked in, causing additional changes.

“Whoa! I feel stronger all of a sudden!”

“My hammering feels more precise than before!”

Feeling a newfound energy, the apprentices worked with excitement and dedication, and the quality of the weapons and farming tools they produced significantly improved.

‘Tch, bragging again.’

Philip smirked and walked toward the research lab adjacent to the workshop.