CH 90.3

I asked the big scalekin guy, who looked terrified, “Can I touch it?”, and picked it up.

It is heavy and doesn’t seem to be a toy that only imitates the shape.

It is a simple brass pocket watch with no engraving but the hands are in perfect working condition.

I took out my own watch and compared it with it. The hands are moving at the same speed like a proper watch.

「Did you buy this somewhere? Got it?」

「N-no……it was made by this guy.」

「This guy」

He pointed to a boy sitting next to him.

「Are you Schenkers?」

「Yes. I work in a leather factory while he works in a sewing factory.」

The boy looked at me as if he was gauging me out but I wondered if he was just curious about the kind of person who bought him.

I put my palm with the watch in front of the boy and asked him a few questions.

「How did you make this?」

「I made it by scrapping each part one by one.」

「Where did you learn how to make it?」

「I am from a watchmaker family. It was my grandfather who taught me.」

「How long did you make it?」

「Since I have no proper tools, I made it for around six months……」

「I see……Chicken, what do you think?」

I handed the watch to Chicken, who was standing behind me, and she looked at it from various angles before pursing her lips in admiration.

「Nice work. I think we should try to get a little more detail on the origin and background of the slaves.」

「I agree」

After accepting the watch from her, I turned to the boy and asked, “How much is this?”.

「Five gold pieces, master」

He answered so casually without a hint of guilt and he  was even directly looking at me.

「O….oi, Casio! You’re talking with Sawadi-sama……」

「It’s okay」

I stopped the scalekin from remonstrating the boy and crouched down on the ground and faced him head on.

Five gold coins or about 500000 yen.

The watch I’m currently using costs about the same.

No one would normally pay five gold coins for a watch that has no engraving, no windshield, and no idea how long it will run.

However, I put ten gold coins in his hand.

「Do you want to be promoted?」

「Yes, master」

His eyes were burning with motivation and ambition.

This is the kind of person who will improve himself if he has money and time.

These ten gold coins were, so to speak, an upfront investment.

The skill to make money is hard to come by and I’m sure he will get his money’s worth even if I have to pay 20 gold coins.

「Ah, gold coins……one two….Casio, how many?」

「10」

「Ano, Sawadi-sama? That’s a bit too much, isn’t it?」

Chuckling at the scalekin who was counting the gold coins using his fingers, I handed the watch to Chicken who’s waiting behind me.

「What’s your name?」

「Casio desu」

「Chicken, take Casio as the official watchmaker.」

「Understood」

When I said that to Chicken, who’s smiling as much as I do, the scalekin shouted, “You did it!” and hugged and lifted Casio.

「He can read, he knows numbers…..he can draw maps and he can make tea…..」

「Yeah yeah」

Apparently, he is well-liked and has a promising future.

Now, we’re going to have a bathhouse and a watch shop……what in the world is our company about……

Speaking of tourism, when the 100 meter high magic construct that we are building now is completed, won’t that become a tourist attraction again, just like the baseball stadium?

After all, this is a world where skyscrapers don’t exist yet.

In this city, even the main building of the magic academy, which is about 20 meters high, and our five-story apartment building, which is slightly lower than that, stand out conspicuously.

Something five times that high might not even exist in the royal capital……

If tourists come to see it, are we going to go through the trouble of looking for an inn or bathhouse again?

I feel like……I’m making my life harder than I have to……