"Clang, clang, clang~"

The blacksmiths placed the bloom iron on the anvil and immediately unleashed what could only be described as a chaotic storm of hammer blows. They first struck it with wooden mallets to knock away showers of spark-like impurities before switching to iron hammers.

The three men were nearly exhausted, yet the metal still had not taken shape. With their lord watching from the side, none of them dared slack off.

"Let me help. Divine Artifact, Arcane Mechanism Fox!"

Kind-hearted as ever, Gogris could not bear watching the blacksmiths struggle for breath. She immediately summoned her artifact to assist.

A flash of radiant light swept across the area.

The nimble fox automaton descended gracefully. Two hammers extended from each side of its body, striking the bloom iron with incredible speed and precision. After a rapid barrage of blows, the metal was finally forged into a gray-silver iron ingot only slightly larger than a fist.

"Thank you, my lady."

The blacksmith hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

Such a massive piece of bloom iron had yielded only this much refined iron after so much labor.

Phield could not help sighing.

Three skilled laborers working themselves to exhaustion for an entire day produced only a lump of iron this small. No wonder weapons and plate armor were so expensive. The production cost alone was staggering.

And this was only the beginning.

To create equipment, the iron would still need to be forged. That was another lengthy process altogether. A single ordinary suit of armor could occupy a blacksmith for an entire year.

After thinking for a moment, Gogris spoke up.

"Perhaps we could improve some of the steps."

"Oh? You’ve already found areas for improvement?" Phield raised an eyebrow. "Let’s hear it."

He had no intention of immediately revealing a mature blast furnace design. His subordinates needed opportunities to think for themselves.

"We could make the furnace larger. Every smelting cycle starts with building a new furnace from scratch, which is quite troublesome."

Gogris carefully chose her words. She did her best not to sound dismissive of the blacksmiths, afraid of discouraging them.

"We could build a slightly larger furnace framework with bricks, then simply coat the interior walls with clay to prevent heat loss."

"But... how would we remove the iron?" one of the blacksmith apprentices asked nervously.

"With hooks. We can pull the iron out from the top using hooks."

The blacksmiths froze.

After pondering the idea, they all gasped in realization.

"How did I never think of that?"

"Excellent suggestion."

Phield smiled.

"That alone would save us the time spent building and dismantling furnaces."

"Not only that. Charcoal has many uses, but its composition is inconsistent and difficult to control. Its combustion temperature only reaches around eight hundred degrees. Frankly, it would be better used to produce steel from wrought iron."

"We can switch to coke as fuel and use limestone as a flux. The bellows can also be improved. Instead of relying on manpower, we can power them with waterwheels or steam engines. Honestly, the entire furnace design is outdated. We should already be using blast furnaces. Better yet, we could go straight to crucible steel production."

As he continued talking, Phield gradually realized the surroundings had gone completely silent.

Everyone was staring at him blankly.

Their eyes blinked in unison.

Every individual word he said was understandable.

Put together, however, nobody had the faintest idea what he was talking about.

"I don’t understand any of it, but it sounds incredibly impressive."

Everyone stood there dumbfounded.

"I got carried away again."

Phield rubbed his forehead.

"For now, we’ll implement Miss Gogris’s improvements. The design drawings will take some time anyway, and we’re still lacking materials."

He sighed.

"Industry is always a complete system. Without a foundation, everything else is meaningless."

"Um, my lord. Regarding the blast furnace you mentioned, I’ve heard of shaft furnaces before."

One of the blacksmiths cautiously spoke up.

"Some major nobles within the Empire and even certain foreign nations possess that technology. I’ve also heard of larger furnace designs."

Looks like new technology had already begun spreading, albeit slowly.

"Good. I understand."

Phield nodded.

"For now, focus on gaining experience. When I need your expertise, I’ll inform you in advance."

After assigning the tasks, Phield decided he had no desire to spend the day working in city administration.

Instead, he returned directly to the rear courtyard of Starnight Castle.

"I’m slacking off today. I really don’t feel like doing anything."

Stretching lazily, he grabbed a drawing board and a charcoal pencil, intending to pass the time with some doodling.

"Phield, you can draw too?"

Tisiana tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"No. I can’t."

With a regretful sigh, Phield revealed his masterpiece.

On the drawing board was an absurdly abstract cartoon dinosaur that looked more like a twisted nightmare than an actual creature.

Tisiana immediately burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! My lord, please stop wasting paper."

"Well, once the trees in the territory grow a little more, paper will be something we can mass-produce."

"Fair enough. I’ll look forward to that."

Leaning lazily in his chair, Phield could not help lamenting how painfully lacking entertainment was in this era.

Aside from pulling radishes, there was practically nothing worth calling entertainment.

With nothing better to do, he began observing Tisiana.

She had wandered over to a pot of rabbit-ear flowers in the corner of the garden, gently inhaling their fragrance.

As if sensing his gaze, she looked back over her shoulder and flashed him a captivating smile.

Combined with her ample figure, slender waist, and decorative thigh straps, she looked every bit like a temptress.

Compared to her, Gogris hardly resembled a fox at all.

Tisiana was the one who truly fit the image.

"Huh? Miss Alice, come join us for a chat."

"I need to help Miss Sarah bake bread. Maybe tonight."

Alice waved from afar.

"I haven’t seen her in ages. She’s actually spending time with those mischievous children."

Phield was genuinely surprised.

Ever since arriving in Nightfall Domain, Alice had seemed completely defeated, as though she had fallen into depression.

"Yeah. She probably lost faith in men."

Tisiana shot Phield a charming glare.

Stepping closer, she formed a sword shape with her hand and playfully waved it around.

"Hmph. If you ever hurt me, I’ll lose faith too. Then I’ll stab you with a sword."

"Heh. You’re threatening me now? If I don’t discipline you today, you’ll probably be riding on my shoulders tomorrow while lecturing me."

Phield lightly smacked her thigh, leaving behind a faint red mark.

"Mm!"

Tisiana immediately blushed crimson.

"You!"

Both embarrassed and annoyed, she protested.

"That’s completely ungentlemanly. It’s against all proper conduct. If you keep doing things like that, then I’ll..."

"You’ll what?"

Phield knew exactly how she thought.

He lightly pinched the soft flesh of her leg. The silky sensation put him in an excellent mood.

"You..."

"Oh? Still not convinced? Quite the temper."

Phield lifted her waterfall-like hair and let it slide across her elegant collarbone before teasing her further.

"Mm..."

Tisiana instantly lost all resistance.

She shrank her neck and sat still like a quail, unwilling to move.

"So? Have you lost faith in me yet? Still planning to stab me with a sword?"

Phield immediately withdrew his hand.

For a brief moment, he even caught a trace of reluctance and grievance in her eyes.

"Not anymore..."

Tisiana parted her lips awkwardly.

"I was just fooling around."

She wanted to criticize him, but the words refused to come out.

After all, she had not tried to avoid him at all.

She understood perfectly well that she liked her lord’s occasional overstepping behavior, yet her rational mind resisted it.

The contradiction left her thoughts in complete disarray.