Typhon Imperial Capital, Aldernan, a special small-scale banquet is being held in the noble district.
Bright magic spar lamps illuminate the spacious main banquet hall. Golden tassels hang from the high roof, forming a gorgeous curtain above the hall. Soft and cheerful tunes echo in the interior space, and the music carries The unique intoxication and extravagance of Typhon's "Nightingale Chronicle" period. The nobles from the central Typhon area like this kind of music from the previous era, which seems to remind them of the "good times" before the Empire's New Deal. I like to dance to this nightingale-like melody, remembering the era when nobles could still enjoy a lot of privileges and control all the wealth of a piece of land.
However, today, many years after the implementation of the New Deal, they can only reminisce to this extent in a melody.
This kind of private banquet, which only invites a few close friends, is destined to not have too many guests. A dozen invited guests stand together in twos and threes, talking casually in the hall. The mellow wine and exquisite snacks are not too much By attracting these high-society visitors, their attention is almost always on the small temporary enclosed platform in the center of the hall. There is an oddly shaped machine with an iron frame and a series of complicated The connecting rods, gear mechanism, and the neatly arranged cotton threads between the metal rods in the upper part of the machine make people think of "spinning", but this is the first time everyone has seen such a weird loom.
The guests stopped around this machine intentionally or unintentionally, discussing or speculating in low voices about the origin of this machine and the purpose of the banquet host to put it here. It doesn't match, and it is definitely not for decoration to put it in the middle of the hall, so what is the purpose of putting it here, Viscount Hermiel, the host of the banquet, an orthodox nobleman
"It's probably some kind of novel magic toy." In the banquet hall, a young nobleman wearing a dark brown coat was discussing in a low voice with his partner next to him, "After all, Mr. Hermiel is famous for playing with novel things. "
"I heard that it was brought out by him from the 'Imperial Manufacturing Association'," the partner next to him responded, "that eccentric old magician has gotten very close to Mr. Hermiel recently..."
"That eccentric old magician? Is there such a person in the Craft Association?"
"Oh, that's a well-known person. It is said that Ms. Windsor personally vouched for him. I heard that he used to be a high-ranking member of the Royal Wizards Association. He had already retired, but this time he was invited by His Majesty's recruitment order..."
The low-pitched discussion among the guests did not last long. As the sound of the music gradually became soothing and low-pitched, everyone's eyes turned to the entrance of the hall in unison. The attendants in dark red jackets opened the heavy and gorgeous door. , and wearing a loose dark coat, wearing a monocle, the tall and thin Viscount Hermiel appeared at the door.
This Mr. Viscount, who was less than thirty years old, had a happy smile on his face. He was always so beaming, and there was an atmosphere that good things could happen at any time around him. Behind Mr. Viscount, there were two strangers.
One of them was wearing a black mage robe, with an old appearance and a gloomy demeanor. At first glance, he looked like an old-school mage with a strange temper and difficult to get along with. The hunchbacked middle-aged man with a tense expression on his face, even though he was wearing a brand new and decent woolen coat, shrank like an inferior person. He followed Viscount Hermiel and Behind the black-robed mage, the expression on his face was tense, as if he was about to faint at any moment.
The unfamiliar faces aroused the curiosity of the guests, but no one was rude to ask hastily. They just glanced at the two guests behind Viscount Hermiel with aristocratic reserve, and then turned their attention back to the host of the banquet. body.
The visitors were all friends of Viscount Hemil, so naturally they would not be so restrained. Some people raised their glasses of wine and greeted the host with a big smile: "Thank you, Viscount Hemir, for your fine wine and food. This banquet is really impressive. I was very impressed, especially the display on the spot. My friend, why don’t you come to introduce your new toy to everyone?”
"This is not a toy, Viscount Dewey," Viscount Hermiel said with a bright smile on his face. He strolled towards the center of the hall, came to the weird machine, and then turned to face the guests he had invited, stretching his arms Pointing to the machine behind him with an exaggerated gesture, "This is a new era!"
"You really like this kind of exaggerated words more and more recently," a lady wearing a veil couldn't help but shook her head with a smile, "you said the same thing when you introduced a 'machine that can write' to us last time , unfortunately it just shreds the paper..."
Hermiel immediately raised his head, and said seriously: "I'm already improving that machine, and I'm sure I can get rid of its annoying little gears. As for the machine in front of you, please rest assured that it will definitely not be like the last time. The same problem, it is already a practical creation!"
Then he turned his body slightly and beckoned the middle-aged man in a wool coat with a tense face to come forward: "Mr. Martin, please come forward and demonstrate this incredible thing to my friends."
It turns out that this person who seems to have gone to the wrong place is here to help the Viscount demonstrate the machine
The guests looked at the middle-aged man named "Mr. Martin" coming to the machine with a hint of wonder, watching him busy checking the parts of the machine back and forth, calibrating the gears, injecting grease into the gaps of the parts After the machine, the nervousness of the middle-aged man seemed to disappear at once. Like a skilled old craftsman, he completed all the preparations with dazzling movements, and then started the machine under the instruction of Viscount Hermiel.
Accompanied by the weak magic fluctuations at the bottom of the machine, a weird creaking sound came from between its gears and connecting rods, and then... This complex engineering creation made an astonishing miracle under everyone's eyes. matter:
It is weaving!
The machine creaked for a few minutes, and then stopped under the control of "Mr. Martin", while the surrounding guests had widened their eyes.
Finally someone exclaimed: "God of knowledge, Hemir, you finally created something useful!"
Viscount Hermiel showed a reserved expression, he put his hands on his stomach, and sighed in an aria-like tone: "How I wish this miracle of engineering was done by me, but unfortunately the noble code requires me to be honest. This is the work of this Mr Martin, the fourth smartest man I have ever met, who named it the 'Angle Loom' . . . "
The noble guests in the hall let out a small exclamation again, and this time, they finally took a serious look at that "Mr. Martin".
Martin stood tensely under the gazes of the nobles, his hands clenched and relaxed unconsciously, he was so anxious and excited, and his machine that was ridiculed by others was finally recognized and given a chance. The venerable nobleman even held a banquet specially for this purpose to demonstrate his invention, without any intention of encroaching on his reputation.
"Gentlemen and ladies, you can ask Mr. Martin about the details of this machine, please don't scare him, he is my honored guest," Viscount Hermiel said loudly with a smile, "and if anyone wants Buy this machine, do something with it, then please come see me after the party I've had the honor of being the first investor in Angre's looms and I'm always looking forward to having friends with me Let’s start a great business together.”
Afterwards, the Viscount left the venue. He left the banquet hall to the Angre loom and its inventor, and he returned to the lounge next to the banquet hall with the old mage Daniel.
"Master Daniel, it's such a pleasant day," Viscount Hermiel said happily as soon as he entered the lounge, "Do you know? My favorite thing is to bring out a new thing, and then appreciate everyone's surprised expressions..."
The old mage Daniel nodded: "Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Viscount."
Although he has a strange personality, he still understands the basic etiquette, and now in order to complete the task of the master, he must also establish a good relationship with every "target" as much as possible.
"Don't be so polite, master," Viscount Hermiel said quickly, "Ms. Windsor once pointed me out, and I count myself as her half-disciple, and you are her mentor, so you can solve your problems. My pleasure."
Daniel glanced at the young nobleman: "You do have some mage talent."
"Ah, I know this talent myself. I probably won't be able to go very far on the road of magic, and I'm still a person who can't bear hardships." Viscount Hermiel waved his hand, "That's why I prefer to focus on Fate has been kind to me on the 'Wonderful Object'. I finally found such a valuable 'Wonderful Object', and I also met a master with unique vision and wisdom like you. To be honest, although I can see that Angre weaving The machine is of great value, but without your enlightenment and guidance, I am afraid that I would never have imagined its true power in my life... "
Daniel accepted the Viscount's compliment frankly, and then asked insincerely, "Mr. Viscount, do you think your friends will be interested in Angre's loom?"
"Ah, they are all a group of people who are as interested in new things as I am, but not everyone has the same courage to invest as I do. You know, many aristocrats lost their land and lost their remaining assets It is so precious that even the banquets are only held twice a month," Viscount Hemir sat on the soft bed in the lounge, leaned over to pick up a fruit from the fruit plate next to him, and said while smelling the aroma of the fruit, "But there are still two... oh, three people, who should have both vision and courage, and they will join the group."
"That's good," Daniel nodded, "The more people participate, the faster our scale will expand, and the more obvious the publicity effect will be. Angrei Loom has completed registration with the Manufacturing Association, and you will not only You can open a factory, or you can sell the authorization of the loom, and its income can far exceed the annuity."
"To be honest, I can't wait," Viscount Hermiel put the fruit aside, "But to be honest... Although the Angrei loom is very useful, it needs enough yarn supply to be of maximum value. , Mr. Martin... can we really design a new type of spinning machine before the end of the cold moon?"
"He will succeed, don't worry, after all, the structure of the spinning machine is much simpler than that of the loom, and there is also the water spinning machine invented by the Herits in 714 as a reference," Daniel smiled, although That smile was not so much comforting, but more creepy. "Besides, I will help him. I know a little about mechanics..."
Viscount Hermiel breathed a long sigh of relief: "That's good, as long as the spinning machine is in place, I have nothing to worry about."
"No, there is actually one more thing that should be worried about in advance." Daniel shook his head and reminded in time, "Mr. Viscount, don't you think that if the spinning machine and the loom are started at the same time, we will need a lot of... cotton? ?”
"...I've really thought about it," Viscount Hermiel's expression became slightly serious when he heard Daniel's words, "People near the imperial capital mostly grow grains and beans, and cotton is mainly planted in the south. In other places, and even in the south, their cotton output should not keep up with the consumption of the machine, and the efficiency of the machine is really amazing."
"Why don't we think of a way to persuade those farmers who grow grains and beans to also grow a little cotton? Anyway, cotton can have a good harvest in the central region," Daniel recalled the master's teachings in his mind, and slowly guided, his face showing The more obvious smile still has a creepy taste, but in the eyes of Viscount Hermiel, this smile is full of sincerity and friendliness, "Farmers will get great benefits, the price of cotton purchased by factories is comparable to Their income from selling food is much higher... "
"Then... what if they don't want to?" Viscount Hemil hesitated, "Many farmers are very stubborn, and now there are imperial laws protecting them, and I can't forcefully change the things in their fields..."
"Mr. Viscount, you need to work hard in the parliament to attract more people to the textile factory. As long as everyone becomes our investor, the congressmen will naturally realize the importance of cotton..."
"Ah, Master Daniel, do you still understand the operating rules of the noble council?"
"Understand a little."
Looking at the old mage with unique vision and outstanding wisdom, Viscount Hermiel finally couldn't help showing admiration: "Master Daniel, let me say that you really should come back to the imperial capital earlier, your knowledge and vision You are so outstanding, if you had returned to the imperial capital two years earlier, you would have already become a man of the hour here."
"No, Mr. Viscount, this is the age of young people," Daniel said unhurriedly, "Keep looking forward, you are about to become a man of the age."
Viscount Hemir laughed loudly. He stood up, took down the wine glass and red wine from the wine rack not far away, poured a glass for himself and Daniel, and then handed a glass to the old mage in front of him: "Let us Celebrate it, Master."
Daniel took the wine glass and raised it slightly: "To this beautiful era."
"To this beautiful age."
(Abnormal comics have a reward function! So a wave of publicity...)