After a busy morning shift, Richard went out to the town for his break while munching on a reheated piece of stale bread. He wasn’t sure if his taste buds were adjusted to this world or if it was just his good mood but even the hard stale bread tasted quite good today.

“Fresh fruits! Come and buy some fresh fruits! I harvested these apples just this morning. Sir, why don’t you buy some for your cute child?”

“Hey, hey, the store up the street was selling these same shoes for half the price. Are you trying to scam me? Do you take me for a fool?”

“Sir, yes sir you. It looks like you are very lucky today. Why not come in for a hand or two?”

The street was bustling with people going about their business. Richard could hear all kinds of conversations going on around him but he didn’t pay much attention to those. He hadn’t come out for sightseeing, he had a destination in mind for today. He was going to the Iron Street.

Iron Street as the name suggests was the place where most of the blacksmiths in Sherry were located. In other words, it was also the place where the most dwarves lived. It was very stereotypical but the dwarves were just utilizing their physique to their advantage. With nimble hands and fingers and a sturdy body, their species was uniquely suited for craftsmanship-related jobs.

But it would be a mistake to assume that all dwarves are craftsmen. Richard had found out for himself after making such a mistake. Some of the dwarves who were regulars at the inn had unique jobs like an author and even an aspiring singer. The aspiring dwarf singer Fynn Thumper was offended when Richard asked him if he was a blacksmith.

“I am a singer! Singer! Just because I am a dwarf doesn’t mean I have to be a blacksmith. Damn it! I only do it as a part-time job until I can become famous as a singer.”

Although Fynn’s anger had subsided and turned into a depressed murmur at the end, Richard apologized immediately and even encouraged the dwarf. “I am sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend you. I was just looking for a blacksmith so I asked you. But I can feel your passion. You will definitely make it big as a singer one day.”

It didn’t cost Richard anything to speak some encouraging words. But those words became the seed of friendship between him and Flynn. It was Flynn who had invited Richard to his uncle’s blacksmith store located in Iron Street.

He had passed by the street filled with the smell of iron and smoke and the sounds of the clinking and clanking of hammers beating on iron. It wasn’t too loud but once you got close to the street you could immediately find out where the blacksmiths were just by the sound and the smell.

Richard followed the smell and the sound to Iron Street and looked around for the Diamondheart Store. It didn’t take long for him to find the sign for the store at the corner near an alley. It wasn’t the best location for the store and the store itself wasn’t a very large one like the few that had caught his attention but since he came at Fynn’s invitation, Richard walked into the Diamondheart Store.

Tingling. The bell jingled, announcing the arrival of the customer. Richard walked inside slowly while looking around the store. Although it wasn’t very large, it was a neat store with all kinds of tools and weapons put on display in an organized manner all over the walls and display tables.

Richard nodded while glancing around, there wasn’t anyone in sight so he decided to look around the store. The tools and weapons on display looked new and shiny. It was clear that the owner had put meticulous care into maintaining the iron products. Just by looking around the store, the meticulous and organized nature of the owner could be discerned.

From the door behind the counter, a dwarf came out while wiping his hands. Richard couldn’t tell if he was young or old. It was difficult to even tell the gender of some dwarves so estimating the age of one was not easy for someone who hadn’t been around dwarves for long.

But judging by the reddish-brown hair and beard, and whatever little facial features he could see beyond the beard, the dwarf had a passing resemblance to Fynn. So Richard assumed that the dwarf was Fynn’s uncle. His voice was gruff like most dwarves but he spoke quite cheerfully.

“Welcome to our Diamondheart store. Sorry for greeting you late, I was busy at the forge. How can I help you today?” His greeting was very welcoming but also felt practiced.

“I am Richard, Flynn’s friend. I had some work for a blacksmith so Flynn invited me to come to this store. Do you take custom orders?”

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

“Oh! You are Fynn’s friend. Then you are our precious guest. Even if we didn’t take custom orders we would make an exception for our precious guests. But even with our friendship discounts, custom orders are expensive. Can I ask what kind of order you have?” Fynn's uncle asked.

Even though his eyes were scanning Richard from top to bottom, his words weren’t impolite. The store owner didn’t immediately disregard Richard’s words based on his age and his clothes. Either because Richard was his nephew’s friend or because it was just how he did business but the store owner continued to listen to Richard’s request without prejudice.

“Sir…” Richard started but was cut off immediately by the owner, “What kind of sir is this? Just call me Uncle Braun or just Uncle.”

“Hmm. Uncle… I wanted to commission you with building a new transportation tool that I came up with. I have the general designs and specifications in mind that I can draw for you. Can you look at it and give me a rough estimation of how much it might cost to build?” Richard explained calmly.

Braun continued to observe Richard while listening to the explanation. He wasn’t sure what kind of tool the kid was trying to commission but he was impressed by the calmness displayed by Richard. His senses were telling him that there was something different about the boy in front of him.

No matter how he looked at the kid, it didn’t seem to Braun that he would be able to pay for anything that required commissioning. But those clear eyes and that confident tone were speaking otherwise. Since Richard had only asked for him to quote the price, he decided to indulge the interesting kid a little.

Braun brought out paper and pencil from somewhere under the counter and placed it on the table. “Here, make the drawings with as much detail as possible. But try not to waste any paper.”

Richard immediately took the paper and pencil and began crudely drawing a bicycle. He even broke down each part and drew them individually. Although the drawings were very crude and childish, they were detailed. Braun was looking at the drawings in amusement at some point, the smile on his face began to fade and he looked serious.

Just by looking at the drawing, Braun was able to understand the mechanism of the bicycle. He could tell just how revolutionary this new tool could be. Although he had some questions regarding some design choices, as a businessman, he was able to see the huge opportunity in those drawings.

“Hmm. I get the general idea. We would need to use wood instead of iron in a few parts but overall, it is not a bad idea. But if it is made like that, how will it stand on its own? Won’t you fall off if you tried to ride something like that? I think it would be better to have two wheels at the back to make it stable.”

Braun didn’t think that a bicycle would be able to stay upright with that design. The wheels were very thin too so there was no way to balance that thing.

Richard understood Braun’s concern but he didn’t bother to explain it in detail, “It will stay upright once you ride it. I am happy with this design. How much do you think building this will cost?”

The childish drawing of the bicycle kept catching Braun’s attention. He knew that a great opportunity was right in front of him. He didn’t want to miss it. Braun looked down at the drawing and then looked at the young boy who drew it.

“I don’t know if you realize it but this is a great business idea. If you just sell this thing, it will sell like Willum’s stews. You can make a lot of money just by selling this thing. So, how about doing business with me with this tool? I will make and sell this and give you a cut of the profit. You don’t have to do anything. You just have to keep this drawing a secret.”

Okay! The fish has been caught.

This was exactly the outcome that Richard wanted. He needed a business partner for this project anyway. In this medieval era where there were no intellectual property or patent laws, he could only use crude methods for business.

Even though Braun was Fynn’s uncle, he had only recently met Fynn so there was only a very vague basis for trust. After verifying that Braun was a smart businessman with some business sense, he decided to reveal the design drawings to him.

An idiot would have tried to cut Richard out and sell the bicycle on their own but a smart businessman would try to keep the drawings a secret and make a deal with Richard. And that was exactly what Braun did. He understood that Richard could just as easily take these designs to other blacksmith stores.

And that wasn’t all. Braun judged that the value of the bicycle design was only secondary. The biggest opportunity was Richard himself. Having a positive relationship with the smart young kid who seemed to be wiser beyond his years seemed like a more profitable business to Braun.

Richard didn’t mince his words either. He got straight to the point, “What kind of profit distribution are we talking about? How much will I get?”

Although the blunt questions might sound rude to some, Braun instead smiled at that. He felt even surer about his decision. “If we are going to sell this thing on a large scale, I need to hire more workers. And since I will be doing most of the work, I think a 70:30 distribution will be justified. You will take 30.”

Richard shook his head, “I will help with sales and even get you a big client who will buy the bicycles in bulk. I will take 40.”

Braun was expecting Richard’s refusal but he hadn’t expected that Richard would add a condition of helping with sales. He looked intrigued, “Okay, let’s put it in the contract that if you help with sales and get us a big client, you will get 40.”

After some more discussions, Braun wrote up a preliminary contract right away. He didn’t want to waste any time and miss the opportunity that had walked right into his door. Both of them signed the contract. Braun was slightly surprised that Richard was able to read and write but considering all that he had seen about Richard in the short few hours, he guessed that Richard was an orphan of some fallen noble.

After signing the preliminary contract, Braun’s thunderous laughter echoed in the store, “Hahaha. I would have never imagined that one day that useless brat of our family would bring in such a great luck to this store. I wouldn’t be mad even if he goes to the circus or whatever now.”