Chapter – 79
“Ah, Corporal Kudo.”
“I was calling you loudly from outside, but it seems you didn’t hear.”
“Well, yes. Something like that. I was a bit busy.”
“Oh? And here I thought Private Carlisle was pretending not to see me on purpose.”
“N-No way.”
“Mind if I sit?”
With a sly grin, Kudo squeezed himself into the carriage.
Thump, thump!
The carriage trembled twice, meaning Marder and Wilson must have climbed aboard as well.
Since they were in the middle of the capital, the carriage couldn’t move fast. Kudo’s reconnaissance team, however, had exceptional stamina and speed, so catching up was easy for them.
“Those lunatics! That’s the Sigmund family’s carriage!”
“Are they insane?!”
As soon as the men recognized the carriage as belonging to the Sigmund family, they stopped the chase.
Because where were they?
In the heart of Decaron—where no one dared stop or climb onto a Sigmund family carriage.
Unless they were a Sigmund themselves.
And the city guard of Decaron—the knights who maintained public order—were no exception.
“S-Stop right there!”
Neigh!
The knights who rushed over after receiving a report of a street brawl turned their horses around the moment they saw the Sigmund carriage.
“All of you, freeze right there! Don’t you move!”
“Screech!”
Thanks to that, only the men who had been brawling with Kudo’s group ended up getting chased by the city guard.
“What on earth happened?”
“Just a little squabble. Haha.”
“A squabble…?”
“Seems some of them were family of fallen soldiers. They came at us saying, ‘Must feel great being the only ones to come back alive,’ and picked a fight.”
“Oh?”
“It happens often. Those who lose family sometimes lose their reason.”
Kudo shrugged as if it were nothing serious.
“It’s a common occurrence.”
Maranello chimed in with a bitter smile.
“Honestly…”
Carlisle shook his head, fed up with the never-ending chaos of northern life.
Brawls in the north were rarely due to just one reason.
Soldiers on leave often got drunk and caused trouble. Living daily with fear of death and constant stress meant that, with even a bit of alcohol, they would lose control easily. Street brawls between soldiers and civilians—or soldiers against soldiers—were almost routine.
And not just soldiers.
Even ordinary northerners had such aggressive temperaments that fistfights were extremely common. As long as civilian damage wasn’t severe, no one interfered much. Pay for any property damage and a small fine, and even the city guards generally let it go.
“But Private Carlisle, where exactly are you headed?”
“Out for some fresh air.”
“…Sorry?”
Kudo reacted exactly the same as Maranello had.
“You just got back on leave and you already miss Kuberin?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then where…?”
“Let’s say I’m suffocating being back home.”
“A rich young master’s hardship, is it?”
“Yes, well. Something like that.”
“You must be extremely suffocated then. Haha.”
Kudo laughed.
“But… you’re not getting off?”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to follow me?”
“Is that not allowed?”
Kudo looked genuinely hurt.
“It’s not like you can’t. I really am just stepping out for air.”
“Are you sure it’s okay if we tag along?”
“The city guard won’t let you return anyway. You’ll have to hide in your quarters for a few days, silent as mice.”
“Sharp of you. Heh.”
“…”
“Then I’ll take the liberty of imposing on you.”
Kudo settled in, crossing his legs comfortably.
“You really are shameless.”
“You flatter me.”
Kudo replied to Maranello with a smirk.
…What’s with that?
Carlisle sensed a suspicious atmosphere between Maranello and Kudo.
He had felt this before—like the two knew each other from somewhere.
“You two know each other?”
“Of course not.”
“Not at all.”
They answered simultaneously.
Which only made it more suspicious.
Are they gritting their teeth trying to pretend they don’t know each other, or is it just me?
Carlisle narrowed his eyes at the two, but soon gave up and looked out the window.
Whatever.
It didn’t really matter to him.
“So where exactly are we going?”
“Toward the Murell Mountains first.”
“Isn’t that a place with nothing to see?”
Kudo looked puzzled.
The Murell Mountains, southeast of Decaron, were barren and rocky highlands. There was nothing scenic about the place—certainly not a destination one would choose for fresh air.
“There might be something to see.”
Carlisle glanced at Evangeline as he responded.
Kudo’s concern proved correct—there was nothing worth seeing in the Murell Mountains.
The highlands were barren, dry, and rocky. From afar, all one saw were jagged stone peaks jutting into the sky.
“What are we even here to look at?”
“Oh, I’m sure there’ll be something.”
Carlisle answered Wilson casually.
“Looking for something? If so, tell us—we’ll help.”
Marder grinned.
Sitting on his shoulder was Huginn. “Helping” clearly meant aerial scouting.
“I appreciate it, but that won’t be necessary.”
“No?”
“This one will do everything.”
Carlisle pointed at Evangeline.
“M-Me?”
Evangeline panicked.
Carlisle had told her to make time and follow him without questions, but she hadn’t the slightest idea what he planned.
“Yep. You’ve got the most important role.”
“What… role exactly…?”
“I’ll explain later. First, we need to switch rides. If this carriage falls off the mountain, we all die together.”
A wise decision.
The mountain paths were too narrow already—continuing by carriage was practically begging for death.
They left the carriage in a nearby village and switched to new mounts:
Donkeys.
Hee-haw! Hee-haw!
Though small, donkeys were strong and had excellent endurance, perfect for mountain terrain.
Riding them deep into the Murell Mountains, the group set up camp for the night.
Morning came.
“Ask the earth spirit where minerals are buried in this mountain range—what kinds, and where.”
“…Sorry?”
“Just ask. It’ll tell you.”
“For real?”
“Yep.”
Evangeline wasn’t the only one shocked—Maranello nearly jumped.
“Young Master, what do you mean? Is it possible to locate ore deposits using an earth spirit?”
“Maranello, you didn’t know that?”
“This is my first time hearing it.”
“Please, study sometimes. Don’t just practice swordsmanship.”
“….”
Maranello cursed at Carlisle with his eyes.
How dare a man who lived his life allergic to books lecture him about studying?
“And where did you even learn that?”
“It’s written in old books. Earth spirit users aren’t valued just for war.”
“…?”
“Humans live off the land. Not just humans—everything living depends on earth. Wars are ultimately about land too, aren’t they?”
“I suppose one could say that.”
“If you can communicate well with earth spirits, you can do a lot. The royal family wasn’t pestering to take Evangeline for the military alone. There’s a reason they exposed how desperate they were.”
“Heavens…”
“You heard, right?”
Carlisle turned to Evangeline.
“This isn’t hard for you. Just calmly ask the earth spirit.”
“Yes, Young Master. I’ll try.”
Evangeline summoned the earth spirit.
Thud!
A giant three meters tall appeared.
A Titan.
A mid-rank earth spirit.
“■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■?”
Evangeline asked in the spirit language.
The Titan nodded, scanned the surrounding mountains, then pointed to several specific spots.
“Write it down.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
She drew circles on a map at the indicated locations and added brief notes.
Once the Titan finished its task and disappeared, Evangeline handed the map to Carlisle.
“Two mana-coal mines and one gold vein?”
“Yes.”
Maranello, who heard, widened his eyes.
“A g-gold mine, Young Master?!”
Not only Maranello—Kudo’s group looked equally shocked.
“Gold?!”
“There’s gold buried here?!”
“You’re kidding…”
Gold held extremely high value in this world as well, practically equivalent to currency—even more precious than most.
But Carlisle wasn’t interested in gold.
Gold wasn’t the important part.
With enough mana-coal, the Winter of Doom will be nothing.
[Mana-coal] was even lower grade than the lowest quality mana stone—almost worthless as a magic resource.
But it was still a mana-based material. When burned, its energy efficiency far exceeded regular fuel.
It produced five times more heat than regular coal, created no smoke, and was easy to mine. With just a few engineering units, one could accumulate years’ worth of fuel in a few months.
If I sell all my mana stones at high prices and switch to mana-coal for fuel, the profits will be enormous.
Only the royal family could pull off such an investment.
Buy cheap, sell high.
A basic investment principle—but with mana stones being a strategic resource, buying and selling them recklessly was impossible.
To profit from mana stone trading, one needed privileged information—something only the royal family had.
But if Carlisle had ample mana-coal, he could sell off his mana stones or use them for other purposes.
Especially in the harsh northern winters, mana-coal would become an invaluable resource.
The gold mine could be developed slowly.
“What’s this one?”
Carlisle pointed at a marked location labeled “Mine.”
“Apparently it’s a dwarven mine.”
“Dwarves…? As in, Dwarves?”
“Yes.”
“There were dwarves in the north?”
Carlisle turned to Maranello.
“I’ve heard that centuries ago, dwarves were occasionally seen, but officially, there are none now.”
“So it’s an abandoned mine?”
“Most likely.”
“Why did the spirit tell us about it?”
Carlisle asked Evangeline.
“It said there are many valuable resources inside—top-grade mana stones included.”
“Even though it’s abandoned?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm.”
Carlisle thought for a moment.
If the dwarves abandoned a mine that still contains valuable resources… there must be a reason.
Dwarves were exceptional blacksmiths, miners, artists, skilled alchemists, and talented mages.
They were also physically strong and fierce warriors.
There was no chance they would abandon a good mine without reason.
“Meaning there’s danger involved…”
“We should investigate, Young Master.”
Maranello suggested.
“Should we?”
“This old man will protect you.”
“Alright, then.”
Carlisle nodded.
“Let’s investigate the dwarven mine.”
He made the decision because—with Maranello guarding him—there was nothing to fear.
