Chapter 19

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Whitelist us. Ad revenue gives additional support to the translator and keeps the site running.

Interested in being a part of the Nocturne TL team?

We are looking for Editors and Chinese, Korean, and Japanese translators to join our team. Join us on Discord and look for Picky Reader#7543 to guide you through recruitment if you are interested.

==============================================================================================

Chapter 19

[“I see. Well, it’s not so easy to find a vein.”]

[“I’m Sorry.”]

[“No, no. I’m not in a hurry to get results, so just take it easy.”]

[“All right. I’ll get back to you in the evening.”]

[“Yes”]

The first two days of the survey in the Restio Mountains were fruitless.

On the third day, Yuri reported, ‘Nothing of note was found this morning either.’

“Noein-sama, is the survey of the mountain area still not going well?”

“It seems so. Well, we are surveying a vast mountainous area that was previously unknown. It can’t be helped if it doesn’t produce results in a few days.”

Noein replied to Matilda as she offered him a cup of tea after lunch. It was lunch time.

Noein was planning to send out several more survey teams to continue investigating the mountainous area. The probability of finding something conveniently in the first few days was next to nothing after all.

Just as Noein was thinking this, he heard Yuri’s voice a little before evening, earlier than the regular call.

[“Noein-sama, may I have a word with you?”]

[“Yuri? This is faster than usual. What happened?”]

[“Actually, I found something a little curious. On the rock face… I don’t know what it is, but there was a…. blue area.”]

[“Blue? Not like crystals, but the rock itself is blue?”]

[“Yes. It’s meters upon meters wide as far as the eye can see. Its height stands taller than my height. It doesn’t look like precious metals or gems, but it looks like a vein of some kind.”]

[OH… I see, can you bring it home?”]

[“Yes, I’ll scrape off a chunk and bring it back. We’re gonna cut my the research trip short and leave first thing in the morning.”]

[“Yeah. That’s a good idea. Treat it carefully.”]

After the end of his telepathic conversation with Yuri, Noein thought about the ‘blue rock’ that Yuri mentioned earlier.

One thing comes to mind when he hears the description, but if it’s true, it’s……

“It’s a great deal of money. Hehe~”

Noein, who had been working alone in the forest, logging with his golem, muttered to himself and resumed his work with a grin on his face.

・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・

The next day at noon. Noein greeted Yuri and the rest of the survey team who returned safely. Dant, the largest of the survey team, was carrying the ‘blue rock’ in a basket on his back.

Noein immediately receives the report while the people of the territory are excited to see the survey team returning with an unfamiliar lump of rock. They gathered around in great interest as the team reported to Noein.

“This is the blue rock we reported. It was exposed on the rock surface in the mountains.”

“I see. There’s a lot more where that came from, right?”

“Yes. I cut out this lump and dug a little deeper, but it looks like the blue part is still there. It didn’t seem to be too difficult to dig out by hand.”

“So, it wasn’t too hard to dig out…… “

“That’s right. Do you know what this is?”

“I think so. Let me confirm it first.”

Noein struck the lump of rock with his knife. He broke off a piece the size of a fist.

The blue powder spilled out as he scraped the pieces.

This time, he tapped the surface of the piece with the handle of his knife. He brought it close to Yuri’s face.

“Try smelling that?”

“Oh, oh… “

Yuri did as he was told, sniffed the piece, and frowned, sniffing a little uncomfortably.

“What did it smell like?”

“It smells like rotten eggs. Is it Sulphur?”

“Haha, I knew it…… Yeah, it definitely smells like Sulphur.”

After confirming Yuri’s reaction, Noein put his nose close to the shard and confirmed it himself.

“Hey, you knew what you were doing, didn’t you? And if you’re going to check it yourself, why did you even bother to let me sniff it?”

“Oh, you know, it’s a little funny. Sorry~ Forgive me~…?”

Noein put the knife and the piece of rock on the ground, chuckling in a good mood.

“Do you know anything about it?”

“That’s right, this is … hehe. hahahaha~”

Noein tried to give the answer, but he started laughing, even though he tried to hold it back.

Yuri’s face turned a little wry as he saw this, and everyone else laughed as well. Only Matilda, who is standing behind Noein, has her usual expressionless face.

“Hey, stop laughing and say it.”

“Hehehe~ … I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You can’t help but laugh, though. It’s a lapis lazuli gemstone. It’s an amazing discovery.”

Noein finally stopped laughing and wiped a tear from his eye.

・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・

Lapis lazuli is a stone with a distinctive deep blue appearance.

It does not shine as strongly as diamonds, nor does it have the translucent lustre of rubies or sapphires, but it has been known since ancient times as a type of gemstone with a long history.

Even in the northern part of the Kingdom of Lordberg, where mining is thriving due to the presence of the Restio Mountains, there have been few cases of its veins being discovered. It is one of the rarest minerals in the world.

“… Woow~. It’s a rare gem then? This thing?”

‘It doesn’t look like a gem,’ Yuri muttered. The other members of the survey team and the other curious residents of the area didn’t seem to get it either.

“Well, it doesn’t shine in an obvious and flashy way. When you polish it, it becomes a beautiful blue gem that’s shiny and absorbent……. But it’s real value lies elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere?”

As Bart asked, Noein nodded and continued.

“Yes, when the powder is processed, it can be used as a pigment to colour paintings and ceramics. It’s called ‘The Blue of The Mother Sea’.”

“Hey! I’ve heard of this before!”

Edgar, who was listening to the research team’s report, said with a jump in his step.

“It’s a very rare and expensive pigment, as I recall. The powder is more expensive than gold of the same weight, and even famous painters can’t afford it.”

“Yes, yes. You’re well informed of it?”

“I heard that my grandmother was from an aristocratic family and was very interested in painting when she was young, so I’ve heard stories about it.”

Edger had heard that his grandmother was a former noblewoman who had married into the family of his grandfather, who was the mayor of the village at the time, from the baronial family that ruled the area around his hometown.

“But how does Noein-sama know about lapis lazuli gemstones?”

Yuri’s question reminded Noein of his late mother.

His mother, who had risen from the title of the daughter of a Commoner to the concubine of a great nobleman by means of trickery, had never shown any affection for her son, but she had sometimes dragged the young Noein around to talk about the extravagant things she had bought to brag about them.”

If he didn’t show the reaction she wanted, she would instantly get furious and beat him up, so he would just say something like, ‘It’s amazing, Mother.’ The lapis lazuli gemstones and ornaments that she often showed him, as well as the paintings that used ‘The Blue of The Mother Sea’ pigment, were particularly rare and remained in Noein’s memory.

He had also learned how to distinguish lapis lazuli from other blue minerals from books when he was under house arrest at the Count’s house.

“Because of my origin”

“Ah……”

Noein had only told Yuri and the other ex-mercenaries and Edgar, who was in charge of organizing the newcomers, the details of his origins. When Noein hinted at this in front of the rest of the people.

“Anyway, if we can mine this in large quantities, we won’t have to worry about money for the time being.”

“Noein-sama, how much money can we make from this lump?”

Radley asks with a curious expression.

“Well, I can guess. Yuri, how much does it weigh?”

“I’d say it weighs about 50 kilograms.”

“Well, then… At the end of the day, I think the price would be well over 100,000 Leburos, but I wonder how much the wholesale price of the gem would be. Even if it’s a fraction of the price, it’s still tens of thousands of leburos, isn’t it?”

At the mention of ‘tens of thousands of leburos’, there were screams among the former mercenaries, Edgar and others who could do the math. Even Matilda, who normally has little change in expression, widened her eyes.

The other residents, who had no idea how much “tens of thousands” meant, were puzzled, but when Noein explained to them, ‘In other words, just this one lump of rock is worth several gold coins,’ they opened their eyes in amazement as well.

A single 10,000 Leburos gold coin would be enough for a commoner’s family to live modestly for a year in a rural village. If this lump of gold dug out of the rocky surface of the mountain turns into enough gold to live on for several years, and if there is more in the Restio Mountains, they can’t even imagine the exact amount of wealth.

“So, if we keep digging into that vein, we won’t have to worry about funding the settlement for the time being. We can build houses for all of our families, we can provide various facilities, and we can also build other useful things……. hehe, hehehehe~”

Yuri and the others looked dumbfounded when Noein started laughing again at his satirical calculations.

==============================================================================================

This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.

Related