Ambition of Steel 2

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Mr. Guy Burns, 26 years old, is a mechanician from the capital city.

The so-called mechanician refers to craftsmen who create all kinds of peculiar machines, such as music-playing music boxes, and automata that can walk by themselves after being wound up, and so on. In short, they are all things that seem incredibly ingenious and sophisticated to others.

For example, the clocks in this world were crafted by a mechanician. However, when that master invented it, he probably didn't expect it to quickly become popular across the continent, replacing sundials and hourglasses as the most important timekeeping tool.

The creations of mechanicians are highly popular among the upper-class society. Some people are even willing to pay a fortune to have them customize strange devices for themselves.

Of course, the most welcome customers are the children of wealthy families, especially boys, who naturally have an innate interest in machinery.

Children from poor families also like these things, but their economic circumstances largely isolate them from mechanicians. Whether they want to buy their works or learn their techniques, it involves considerable expense.

Mechanicians generally live quite comfortably due to their skills, technologies, and the profits they bring.

But Guy Burns is somewhat of an outlier in this field.

He was born into a lower noble family with a relatively comfortable background. As the second son who couldn't inherit the family title, his father sent him to study under a renowned mechanician he knew, hoping he could make a name for himself this way.

Young Guy was immediately fascinated by the bizarre contraptions in his teacher's house when he was a child. He spent all day there and couldn't even be called home for dinner.

To be honest, in the eyes of his teacher, Guy Burns' talent in this area was relatively mediocre. However, the boy's strong interest in mechanics and his persistent attitude were very satisfying to him.

Burns' teacher taught him everything he knew, hoping he would carry on his legacy.

After completing his studies, Burns began his career as a true mechanician active in the vicinity of Crystal Glare.

But not long after, he did something that earned the resentment of his peers—he actually taught various mechanical manufacturing methods and principles to the children of poor families. He charged extremely low fees, or even nothing at all, simply because the other kids would say, "Wow, this is so interesting!"

Can you believe it? All those profound and mysterious technologies were spreading out in an extremely inexpensive way. Won't everyone become a mechanician in the future?

Wouldn't the mechanician profession become as worthless as farming for farmers or blacksmithing for blacksmiths?

Even Burns' teacher warned him that continuing like this would offend many of his peers.

But Burns still insisted on his consistent style.

Finally, some peers couldn't stand it anymore. They framed Burns with fabricated charges through connections with noble families, and threw him into prison, making him "reflect" for a whole year. This was the result of his teacher pleading for him in front of many industry bigwigs.

The day he was released from prison, some hooligans came to warn him: "Don't let us catch sight of you in Crystal Glare again. Get lost."

Burns knew it wasn't these hooligans who didn't want to see him; it was the people behind them.

As he hesitated about where to go for his future development, he happened to encounter Hansel recruiting people in Crystal Glare, including for the profession of mechanician.

Northwest Bay? It's a bit remote. But I was just about to leave the capital, and then I ran into this recruitment from that direction. Could this be God pointing me in the right direction?

So Guy Burns, filled with confusion and hope, signed up with Hansel.

And there, he found several other colleagues who, for various reasons, couldn't stay in the capital, each with their own difficulties.

And so, Burns bid farewell to his family and set off with a group of people towards Northwest Bay.

Upon arrival, he found that the local armory's development of flintlock rifle components had hit a bottleneck. Local craftsmen were scratching their heads over how to manufacture qualified spring plates.

They approached the mechanicians from the capital with a trial attitude, and it just so happened that Guy Burns had some insights into the production of high-quality spring plates. Moreover, he wasn't someone who liked to hoard knowledge, so he taught the local craftsmen what he knew about making spring plates.

This earned him a substantial reward and gained him high prestige among the craftsmen.

Of course, at that time, he didn't yet know what the craftsmen needed the high-quality springs for. The military department wouldn't immediately open up to these newcomers from outlying areas; they had to pass various long tests.

Burns was assigned to the official task of working at the Mechanical Factory in Alden Town, responsible for developing a new type of carriage equipped with spring suspension systems.

There, he encountered a strange machine called a "Harvester," which could effortlessly replace several farmers harvesting large swathes of grain, greatly saving time and labor.

It was as if Burns had suddenly opened the door to a new world. Previously, he had a vague notion in his mind, but upon seeing the harvester, this moment clarified it immensely:

"Machinery isn't just for viewing and playing with; it should play a greater role in more fields!"

When he had just arrived in Alden Town, he still harbored a faint sense of superiority. After all, this place was quite remote and obscure. Most people probably hadn't even heard of the profession of mechanician, let alone seen those strange and marvelous inventions.

But at that moment, he became humble. There were already people ahead of him in this land. Perhaps this clunky and crude machine wasn't as delicate as a music box, but its potential impact far exceeded that of a mere entertainment device.

When he learned from the craftsmen at the factory that the original design of the harvester was proposed by Earl Grayman, Burns looked forward to the opportunity to meet this nobleman.

One day, as he came to the workshop at the factory as usual, bustling around an experimental model carriage, someone came in specifically asking for him.

Interrupted in his work, Guy Burns was very reluctant, even if the person was a fellow from Crystal Glare—the current chief secretary of the lord, Bernard Francis.

Bernard greeted him warmly, "Mr. Burns, long time no see. Looks like you're enjoying your work."

"I am indeed enjoying it. Does Chief Secretary have something to discuss with me?"

He thought to himself, it would be better if no one had come to disturb him.

"I'm here today on behalf of Earl Grayman. His Lordship would like to invite you to his office at 2 p.m."

"Invite me? To his office?"

Burns was a bit pleased; wasn't this exactly what he had hoped for?

"Please inform Earl Grayman that I will be there promptly."

(End of the Chapter)