The Lord Just Wants to Have Fun

On a day when spring flowers bloomed in full splendor—

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

Nobles visiting the hot springs watched curiously as a carriage circled the plaza of Silon Village.

Among them were Countess Adrienne and Francesca, head of the Callisto Trading Company. Some foolish men stared blankly at the two rare beauties, even rarer to see together outside the capital.

However, others focused their attention on the wheels of the carriage.

The wheels were thicker than normal carriage wheels, and they were encased in a thick, black band.

“It doesn’t look like metal… Is it leather?”

“I’ve never seen leather like that before.”

“Could it be monster hide?”

As the onlookers murmured among themselves, the carriage came to a stop, and its passengers disembarked.

Philip was the first to step out, extending his hand to help Countess Adrienne and Francesca descend.

“How was the ride?”

“It was incredible. I’ve never been in a carriage with such little shaking.”

“It felt like we were traveling over soft soil instead of stone pavement.”

Francesca, just as impressed as Adrienne, tapped the carriage wheel lightly with the fan in her hand.

“How fascinating. It’s firm yet elastic… It’s not leather, so what exactly is it?”

“This is something called rubber. It has remarkable elasticity.”

The development of rubber had been entrusted to Dr. Phel and his apprentices.

As soon as soldiers captured enough slimes, they began experimenting. And in just two weeks, they had results—thanks to Philip’s guidance.

‘As expected, sulfur was the answer!’

When slime remains were melted and mixed with sulfur, the properties changed dramatically.

The material became incredibly tough and durable, no longer prone to rotting or melting easily.

‘But unlike Earth’s natural rubber, the elasticity decreased too much.’

Through further experiments, they discovered that mixing vinegar and oil helped maintain flexibility.

From there, progress was rapid.

After extensive testing with different proportions of sulfur, vinegar, and oil, the optimal formula was found.

Thus, Slime Rubber was born.

“But, Lord Philip, you don’t seem entirely satisfied.”

Noticing his expression, Francesca deduced that the newly developed rubber was not yet perfect.

“The technology for processing it is still lacking since it’s a recent invention.”

“Really? This already seems quite remarkable…”

“It’s just not as good as I envisioned. There’s room for improvement.”

Currently, the rubber tires were not inflatable tubes but solid rubber bands fitted onto grooved wheels.

For someone from 21st-century Earth, it was far from ideal.

‘I also regret not having time to install leaf springs in the carriage…’

“Oh! It’s so comfortable!”

“This kind of carriage will make long journeys much easier!”

The nobles who eagerly took turns riding the carriage were full of praise.

Some even rushed over to Philip, asking if they could purchase one and how much it would cost.

‘Heh, buy as many as you like. Of course, I’ll sell them at a high price.’

Philip had already planned to design these carriages luxuriously, knowing that nobles would pay a fortune for them.

Just then, Francesca, who had been closely observing the wheels, approached him again.

“Lord Philip, this ‘rubber’—you’re not planning to use it only for wheels, are you?”

Philip smirked. “As expected, your keen eye is unmatched.”

“Hohoho, a material this tough and elastic could be used in many products. Especially in clothing…”

‘Oh, that’s right, that’s another possibility.’

Elastic rubber bands could prevent clothing from slipping, making undergarments more comfortable.

And if spandex-like fibers could be developed, they could create flexible, form-fitting athletic wear.

Philip, lost in thought, scratched his cheek when he noticed Francesca staring at him.

“Is there something on my face?”

“Yes, gold.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Hohoho, it makes me think that investing 10 million Dalant in you was the right decision.”

After her last visit to Baron Brandel’s territory, some executives within the Callisto Trading Company had expressed concerns to Francesca.

While forming a joint trading company was one thing, they questioned whether handing over 10 million Dalant in capital had been necessary.

‘They’re just panicking because they don’t understand. This man is worth more than a hundred million Dalant.’

Take crystal glass, for instance.

It had turned the merchant guilds of the City-State Alliance, including the Florentia Trading Company, upside down.

Nobles who had no choice but to overpay for glass products had immediately switched suppliers, shaking up the entire industry.

The mere thought of it still made Francesca smile.

‘And that magical electric lamp he showed me yesterday…’

It consumed far less mana than traditional lighting artifacts yet was several times brighter.

That alone would become a revolutionary product in the future.

Huge profits were coming for the Callisto Trading Company.

‘Hohoho, I made the right choice coming back.’

This time, Francesca had come to Silon Village after receiving an invitation to a product demonstration.

She had originally planned to send Delpharos in her stead, but she was now very glad she came in person.

“Oh, by the way, Lord Philip. How are the engineers our company sent last time?”

“They’re doing well. The shipbuilders, in particular, have been invaluable.”

“Ah, I heard you recently built a ship on Lake Valhas?”

“Yes, it’s called Blue Dawn. We’re currently conducting test voyages. I personally go once every three days to board it.”

Francesca’s curiosity piqued at his words.

She had heard that Philip had designed the ship himself, so there was no doubt it must be something special.

“Would you like to see it for yourself? I was planning to go to Solein Village tomorrow to join the test voyage.”

“Oh my, really? I’d love to see the ship you built.”

She had been about to ask, but Philip had offered first!

With a bright smile, Francesca eagerly accepted.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow at Lake Valhas. Today, I should make the most of the hot springs.”

Francesca waved her fan playfully and disappeared with her attendants.

As she left, Mau spoke with concern.

‘Let her steal all she wants. Compared to the ships I plan to build, this is just a sailboat.’

Philip had much grander plans—

He was already envisioning ships-of-the-line, clipper ships with steel keels, and even steamships.

A Bermuda-rigged sailing ship was nothing worth hiding.

‘Besides, I need to show results if I want to extract more engineers and funding from my business partners.’

As Philip smirked with scheming intent, Countess Adrienne, who had been quietly observing, approached him with an amused glint in her eyes.

“You two seem quite close.”

“Huh?”

“So this is why you’ve rejected all marriage proposals. It’s not that you’re uninterested in women—you’re just picky. And greedy.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Oh my, feigning ignorance? I also heard you’re especially protective of a certain lovely young acolyte, the one they call an ‘angel’.”

‘Wait, what the hell is this woman thinking?!’

Both Francesca and Liberta were undoubtedly beautiful women.

But Francesca was just a business partner, and Liberta was a saint—not to mention, she was legally off-limits.

“Um, Countess, you’re seriously misunderstanding—”

“Hohoho, now that you’re denying it, you look even more suspicious. Well, I’ll be off now.”

Without even pretending to listen to his explanation, Countess Adrienne strolled off, whispering gossip to her fellow noblewomen as they disappeared into the shopping district.

Philip shook his head.

‘Now the entire high society will think I have impossibly high standards.’

With a sigh, he set off for Solein Village to prepare for the next day’s voyage.

*****

Lake Valhas, a body of water fed by two rivers, was vast and breathtaking.

Not only was it large enough to serve as a proper test site for a sailing ship, but its scenic beauty was comparable to that of a luxury resort.

“Hoho! I never knew the scenery here was this magnificent!”

“We should have visited sooner.”

The deck of Blue Dawn, Philip’s test ship, was packed with nobles.

Since he was already inviting Francesca, he figured he might as well extend the invitation to the other nobles staying in the hot spring village.

‘Kukuku, after the test voyages are done, I’ll convert this into a cruise ship!’

The trial voyages needed to continue to perfect the ship’s performance and train the crew.

But if he could turn it into a sightseeing business at the same time, it was a win-win situation.

‘And, of course, I can use socializing with nobles as an excuse to enjoy some sailing myself. Hehehe!’

Back on Earth, Philip had envied Western sailing enthusiasts who built and sailed their own yachts.

But now, he didn’t have to envy anyone.

Mau shot him a disapproving look just as Francesca approached.

“Despite carrying so many people, the ship moves quite fast.”

“Thanks to the new sails. They’re easy for the crew to handle and catch the wind well.”

As expected, the performance of Blue Dawn was impressive.

Even while carrying dozens of nobles and their attendants, it performed on par with high-speed clippers.

‘If I apply these new sails to my company’s fleet, we can transport goods even faster.’

It was astonishing.

A noble from an inland territory, someone who had never even been involved with shipbuilding, had designed a ship like this.

‘Did his god, Eldir, teach him this? But shipbuilding should be under Iora, the goddess of the sea…’

More than that, Francesca was curious about Philip’s true intentions.

Why had he invested so much time, manpower, and resources into shipbuilding?

‘Is he planning to expand to the coast in the future?’

Delpharos had mentioned that Philip was protecting Lady Liberta, the daughter of the renowned Admiral, Count Estel of the Duchy of Bardia.

Could this be part of a long-term strategy?

‘If he marries Lady Liberta, he could secure Count Estel’s naval support…’

As Francesca speculated on completely unrelated matters, a lookout stationed on the mast suddenly shouted.

“Rocks ahead!”

The helmsman quickly adjusted the wheel, steering the ship away from the danger.

But there was a bigger problem—the creatures gathered on those rocks.

Nobles’ eyes widened as they spotted bizarre figures.

Humanoids with fish-like heads, muscular arms, and bodies covered in dense, shimmering scales.

“Oh my, what are those hideous creatures?”

“T-Tritons!”

“Tritons?”

“Sea monsters! But how did they get all the way here…?”

“Forget that, we need to get out of here!”

The sudden appearance of Tritons sent shockwaves through both the nobles and the sailors.

Philip had a pretty good idea why they were here.

He had heard from Mau that Lake Valhas was connected to the sea through an underground cave system.

The Tritons had likely traveled through that route.

‘Are these things strong? Even the rough sailors look terrified…’

Hearing that, Philip understood why the sailors were so petrified.

Bwoooooong!

The Tritons had spotted Blue Dawn.

A massive one, with a shark-like head, blew a conch shell, sounding an eerie war cry.

The Tritons gathered on the rocks immediately dived into the water—

And then began chasing the ship at alarming speed.