Knock, knock, knock…
The sudden knocks on the study door made everyone pause. A maid's voice sounded from outside. "City Lord! Mr. Weiss, Miss Dahlia, and Miss Catherine request an audience."
Lucas and the others exchanged glances. They had just been talking about Dahlia—and now she had appeared as if summoned. Talk about perfect timing.
But... who's Weiss? Lucas raised an eyebrow, then said calmly, "Come in."
Click!
The door creaked open. The maid stepped aside, revealing Dahlia and Catherine standing at the doorway. Beside them was a middle-aged man with sun-darkened skin. His posture was slightly hunched, and he looked a bit nervous—this must be Weiss.
"Please, come in." The maid smiled and gestured politely.
Catherine nodded and was the first to step inside. Her eyes flicked toward Lucas—and her cheeks immediately tinged pink. For some reason, a few embarrassing memories popped into her mind without warning.
Besides the usual three—seeing someone's bare backside, an accidental chest touch, and a forehead touch—her imagination had recently added a runaway romance scenario. She'd been daydreaming about that one a lot these past few days.
At nineteen, she was right at that age when romantic fantasies ran wild. And without the modern world's endless stream of information, her thoughts naturally gravitated toward love stories.
"Ahem, ahem, ahem..." Dahlia cleared her throat, lightly poking Catherine's back with her finger. Snap out of it, silly girl. What are you daydreaming about now?
"..." Catherine blinked and quickly collected herself, shaking off the haze of her overactive imagination. Lately, the lines between the novels she read and real life seemed to blur a little too easily.
"What brings the three of you here?" Lucas broke the silence as soon as they entered.
"Ahem! Lord Lucas, please forgive our rudeness." Dahlia quickly said, offering a noble's bow.
Catherine, technically not required to bow, instinctively followed suit—for reasons even she couldn't explain. Her unexpected gesture made everyone pause for a moment.
"Uh…" Realizing what she'd done, Catherine scrambled to cover for herself. "Thank you, Lord Lucas, for curing my illness."
"It was nothing." Lucas waved it off casually, then gestured toward the seats. "Please, have a seat."
"Lord Lucas, I've come in response to your previous request. I've selected fifteen ship workers," Dahlia began the moment she sat down. Her tone was gentle as she gestured to the man beside her. "This is Mr. Weiss—my fleet's most skilled shipbuilder. He used to work at a major shipyard."
"Oh?" Lucas's eyes lit up as he studied Weiss more closely. The man's sun-darkened skin spoke of years spent working outdoors.
"Well then, Mr. Weiss, I have a question for you," Lucas said, intertwining his fingers atop the desk. "In your opinion, what are the main challenges in building a fifty-meter-long ship?"
"Uh…" Weiss blinked, clearly not expecting such a direct question. He furrowed his brow, thinking for a moment before slowly answering.
"Milord, constructing a fifty-meter ship presents three main challenges…"
"Oh? Please, go on." Lucas's eyes gleamed with interest.
"The reason large ships haven't become widespread isn't just because of their high cost—it's also a matter of technology."
A trace of bitterness crossed Weiss's eyes as he continued seriously, "The structure of large ships has always been problematic. Back at the shipyard where I used to work, they tried to crack the structural issues by building five large ships. But without exception, every single one fell apart after a short time at sea."
He had taken part in constructing those five ships himself. Yet, the massive costs involved eventually bankrupted the shipyard, and everyone was laid off.
"Besides the technical challenges, it's a matter of funding. Building a fifty-meter ship requires constant trial and error. As long as one ship can sail for ten days without falling apart, that would count as a success."
Weiss paused for a moment before continuing, "The most important part of shipbuilding is the wood. Most large shipyards are located by the sea, but the wood suitable for building ships has to be transported from distant places. This is the main reason why shipbuilding is so expensive."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. Summing it up, the key factors were money, blueprint technology, and—standing before him—the shipwright who had experience with large ships. With all that in place, he felt that launching his large ship wouldn't take long.
Weiss pressed his lips together, a bit nervous as he looked at Lucas. His greatest wish was to build large ships again, even if it meant earning less money. Unfortunately, few shipyards were willing to take on such a money-losing endeavor. Most preferred to build smaller vessels of ten or twenty meters.
"Well then, Mr. Weiss, welcome to Sedona City." Lucas said with a warm smile.
"Ah? City Lord, you really want to build a large ship? A fifty-meter-long ship?" Weiss felt a bit nervous. If there was no plan to build a large ship, he might not agree to stay. He would rather remain with the fleet, traveling from place to place in search of a shipyard capable of constructing such vessels.
"Of course. Otherwise, why would I open a shipyard?"
Lucas pulled open a drawer, took out a stack of blueprints, and handed the top three sheets to Weiss. "These are the blueprints for the ship I want to build. Take a look."
"Ah?" Weiss froze in shock—there were actually blueprints? He quickly stepped forward, respectfully took the blueprints with both hands, and began to examine them. The more he looked, the more astonished he became, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"How is this possible? Why didn't I think of this? Compartment design? The ship's keel..." Weiss clutched his head, muttering to himself, his face a mix of frustration and sudden realization.
"How is it? Can you build a ship like this?" Lucas's lips curved into a smile. These blueprints were based on shipbuilding materials he had found in the library. But they were not complete as he couldn't trust him properly yet.
"Yes, of course, I can!" Weiss nodded firmly. With blueprints like these, as long as he had the manpower and wood, he could build ten ships if needed.
"Very well. If you can build the first large ship, I'll reward you with a house," Lucas said seriously. "And in the future, we'll build even bigger ships—this is only the beginning."
"Yes, sir!" Weiss replied respectfully, thrilled at the prospect of constructing even larger vessels.
"Annie, have Max arrange housing for Mr. Weiss and his team." Lucas instructed, turning to Annie.
"Alright." Annie nodded.
"As for the wood, I'll have someone take you to select the type you think is most suitable for shipbuilding." Lucas said calmly. The Forbidden Mountain Range had countless varieties of trees, many of which didn't even exist on Earth—there had to be one perfect for building ships.
He didn't know much about the specifics, nor did he want to worry about them. It was better to leave it to the experts.
"Yes, sir!"
Weiss grinned broadly. It felt like he'd found paradise—the lord here didn't impose unnecessary restrictions, and that was exactly the environment he wanted.
His last employer at the previous shipyard knew nothing about building large ships but still insisted on meddling. Worse still, in order to save money, the man used low-quality wood—no wonder the ships kept falling apart.
The root of the shipyard's downfall was the owner's obsession with the profits large ships could bring. He poured everything into building them, even rejecting orders for smaller vessels, which ultimately led to the shipyard's swift bankruptcy.
Weiss had learned a harsh lesson from that experience: greed and incompetence could sink even the most promising ventures. But here, things were different. The lord understood the value of quality craftsmanship and trusted his workers to do their jobs without constant interference. It was a breath of fresh air.
This time, he thought, I'll build a ship that'll make history.
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