The Lord Just Wants to Have Fun

“Hohoho, Baron, though it’s a bit late, congratulations on your victory.”
“Thank you.”
“I was certain you would win.”
“I’m grateful for your confidence, my lady.”

The first to approach and offer their greetings were noble ladies who had left for the royal capital to avoid the territorial war. As if to reflect Philip’s newly elevated status, they acted friendlier than before. However, Philip responded only with polite and formal pleasantries.

Just then, from behind the crowd, Delpharos and Countess Adrienne approached and asked,

“You must be quite busy, so what brings you here all of a sudden? Are you perhaps holding a victory celebration?”
“It’s not a celebration banquet, but rather, I wanted to introduce a new product that was developed as a result of this territorial war to those who support our domain.”
“A new product?”
“Yes, it’s on display separately. Please, follow me.”

With a courteous demeanor, Philip led Delpharos and Adrienne forward. Unlike the other nobles, these two had genuinely tried to support the Brandel territory, whether for the sake of stabilizing trade relations or repaying past kindness.

“Another new product? Lord Philip, you truly have a remarkable talent.”
“Indeed. In the past, the Apostles of Eldir were simply skilled in working with metal.”

Beyond convenient items like Zippo lighters and handheld fans, Philip had also introduced delicious foods previously unavailable, such as coffee, corn cheese, and popcorn, as well as entertaining pastimes like golf.

These were luxuries even in the royal capital.

Thus, noble ladies, including Adrienne, followed eagerly, curious about what novel creation Philip had come up with this time.

After a short walk, they arrived at a shop in the hot spring village.

“Oh my, what is this fragrance?”
“It smells like coffee.”
“I think I also detect the scent of rosemary flowers.”

Following the pleasant aroma, the noblewomen entered the shop, where they saw colorful, egg-sized objects displayed neatly on the tables.

“Baron, what are these?”
“These are soaps.”
“Soaps?”
“Yes, they are used for washing clothes and bathing. You can think of them as solidified fragrance extracts.”

These soaps were made using soda derived from burnt seaweed. For the noble ladies’ refined tastes, Philip had enhanced them with coffee and floral extracts, creating a luxurious product.

‘This world does have soap-like substances—lye, iris water, and fragrances extracted from plants and animals, for example.’

However, these alternatives were inconvenient to use and had limited effectiveness. In particular, fragrances were extremely expensive.

By contrast, the premium soap Philip had developed was more affordable while offering a stronger and more lasting scent.

“When you wash with this soap, it removes dirt from fabrics and skin, leaving behind a pleasant fragrance.”
“I heard that fragrances can ward off evil spirits. Does this soap have the same effect?”
“Yes, it purifies unclean things, repels illnesses, and enhances one’s beauty.”

The greatest benefit of soap was its disinfecting properties—it eliminated germs on both skin and clothing, preventing minor diseases.

‘But since people in this medieval fantasy world don’t even have a concept of germs, explaining it scientifically wouldn’t work.’

Instead, Philip took advantage of superstition to promote its benefits.

The noble ladies, more than anything, were captivated by the claim that it enhanced beauty. Across all times and cultures, a woman’s greatest interest was beauty.

“Now, I’ll hand out some samples. Try them yourselves, and if you find them effective, please spread the word.”
“Hohoho, thank you.”
“I must try this immediately.”

Fortunately, they were in a hot spring village. With bathing facilities readily available, some impatient noblewomen quickly left to test the soap.

However, Countess Adrienne, who spent nearly half of every month indulging in hot spring baths, did not join them.

Instead, her eyes widened at another product on display.

“Oh my, this is glass!”

Goblets, bowls, bottles, accessories—all made of glass.

Like Adrienne, several noblewomen who recognized the unique luster and texture of glass couldn’t hide their amazement.

“Could it be that you made this glass yourself? I heard that the glass-making techniques are closely guarded secrets of the Aksium Empire in the southern continent and certain city-states on the Ordia Peninsula…”

“That’s correct. However, our domain has successfully developed its own independent glass-making method.”

Had he once again received Eldir’s divine blessing?

Unlike the noblewomen, Delpharos examined the glass products meticulously. He was certainly surprised that Philip had independently developed glass, but he still needed to verify whether the items were commercially viable compared to imported goods.

‘Overall, they’re heavy and somewhat crude in design. Some of these bottles even have slightly warped necks…’

Perhaps he had succeeded in developing the manufacturing method, but the processing techniques still seemed lacking.

‘Well, it’s only natural. The glass artisans of the Aksium Empire have honed their craft for centuries, and even the city-states of Ordia, which only joined the export market a hundred years ago, are far ahead in terms of expertise.’

However, despite its imperfections, this glass had something special—something that made Delpharos unable to hold back his admiration.

“Well, what do you think, Master Delpharos? Does it seem marketable?”

Philip’s question was met with a delighted response as Delpharos, after carefully inspecting the glassware, nodded in approval.

“I’ve seen many different glass products from the southern regions, but I’ve never encountered anything this clear and transparent. It looks as though it’s been carved from crystal.”

‘Of course! Do you know how much effort I put into making this crystal glass?’

Philip had only been able to develop glass after acquiring soda ash. Having watched documentaries and YouTube videos on glassmaking in the past, he knew the process well enough.

However, recruiting skilled glass artisans was an impossible task. Not only were they extremely expensive, but the Aksium Empire and the Ordia city-states guarded their craftsmen with an iron grip.

To secure the commercial viability of his glass, Philip had decided to create something that didn’t yet exist in this world—crystal glass.

By adding lead during production, crystal glass achieved a brilliance rivaling that of gemstones.

“As the processing techniques improve, the price of these products will rise significantly.”

“I understand. It will get better in time.”

Philip’s ultimate goal was to create crystal glass chandeliers.

Once the candlelight hit those beautifully crafted chandeliers, even the Pope himself wouldn’t be able to resist buying them.

‘Speaking of which, something amusing happened when I finally succeeded in making crystal glass.’

Philip’s lips curled into a smile as he recalled the events of a few days prior.

******

At the newly established glass workshop…

“We finally did it!”

“Woohoo!”

The dazzling crystal glass sparkled under the light.

After countless trials and errors, they had finally achieved success, and Philip and his glass artisans erupted into cheers of joy.

“Well done! That’s it for today—everyone, head to the tavern. Drinks are on me!”

“Long live our Lord!”

Philip watched with satisfaction as the jubilant artisans rushed off to celebrate.

Just then, a translucent scroll suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Lord Eldir is displeased with a certain apostle’s recent negligence. Instead of wasting time making useless items, you should focus on metallurgy.]

‘Huh? Why?!’

He had expected to earn plenty of points as a reward for developing a new product, yet instead, he was being scolded!

While Philip tilted his head in confusion, Mau appeared.

‘What? But glass is made using fire, isn’t it?’

Apparently, the divine realm was more specialized than Philip had assumed.

Even within the field of manufacturing, smithing and glassmaking seemed to be governed by different deities.

“”

“Hey, how can I trust those amateurs to handle everything?”

The artisans working in the glass workshop were originally potters who had made and sold jars and ceramic dishes in the domain.

At first, Philip had hired refugees from the Prill Mountain Range, but since they knew nothing about glassmaking and had poor craftsmanship, there had been no progress.

And since hiring proper glassmakers was out of the question, he had settled for training local potters instead.

Although he had taught them some of the glass-making process, they were still clumsy when it came to handling it.

If he left them to their own devices, they would never produce commercially viable products, so Philip had no choice but to get directly involved.

Just as Mau continued nagging him, a scroll suddenly materialized above the bird’s head and unfurled itself.

“Beautiful artworks illuminate the world. The God of Art, Lamuze, finds your work commendable and grants you 500 points.”

“The God of Art?”

So glassmaking fell under the domain of the God of Art?

As Philip pondered this revelation, Mau rubbed the bump on his head and muttered,

“”

Philip had just learned two important things:

First, gods were more emotional and human-like than he had expected.
Second, he could earn points from other gods as well.

‘Isn’t this a jackpot?’

He was always short on Golden Hammer skill points compared to the things he wanted to create.

This could be a great alternative way to earn more!

Mau seemed to catch on to his thoughts and flapped in alarm.

“”

But Philip ignored him and casually launched a counterattack.

“By the way, Mau, you’ve been getting kinda lazy lately. This won’t do. Three weeks—no popcorn for you.”

“”

Mau flapped around in protest, but Philip paid him no mind and stepped out of the workshop.

*****

“Gods and humans… they’re really not that different, huh?”

Philip finished reminiscing about the past and returned his focus to the present.

Delpharos, who had been watching quietly, suddenly requested a private meeting.

Philip accepted, and after finishing the promotional event, he moved to the village chief’s residence in Silon Village.

The moment they were alone, Delpharos wasted no time.

“Lord Philip, please allow our Callisto Trading Company to handle the distribution of your glass products and soap!”

Having gauged the noblewomen’s enthusiastic response to the soap and recognizing the rarity of Philip’s glass, Delpharos was certain both products would be a massive success in the market.

That’s why he immediately requested exclusive distribution rights.

However…

“Hmm… I was actually considering working with a different trading company this time.”

“…Pardon? Which trading company reached out to you?”

Delpharos was visibly shocked.

The Callisto Trading Company had already been reaping substantial profits from distributing Philip’s previous inventions, such as the Zippo lighter and handheld fan.

As soon as they acquired stock, the products sold out in an instant.

This had significantly strengthened Delpharos’s position within the company.

And now, out of nowhere, Philip was saying he planned to work with someone else?

“Well, recently, the heads of Mirein Trading Company and Pinole Trading Company paid me a visit. They had some interesting discussions.”

Both companies were smaller than Callisto but had extensive distribution networks within the Arteria Kingdom.

They must have reached out because Philip’s inventions had gained fame across the kingdom.

‘Though, in truth, they didn’t actually talk about business… But how would he know that? Hehehe.’

As the old saying goes—intervene in fights, but encourage negotiations.