Chapter 85

After the historic meeting with the lizardmen concluded, as usual, we gathered to discuss things with Kyle.

There was a bit of fooling around with Mai and Persia, but the moment Kyle took his seat, everyone switched from the playful atmosphere to a more serious one.

"Brother Craft, thank you for your hard work this week."

Kyle, sipping the tea the maid had prepared, began to speak as if it were casual conversation.

"It was tough for you too, Kyle, considering how the reports on everything else except the lizardmen were put on hold."

"Indeed, it wasn't something I could decide on my own. I'm truly relieved that His Majesty the King accepted it."

"Yes, I'm glad too."

As soon as the conversation shifted to the lizardmen, everyone's expressions became more serious.

"Perhaps the timing was good. His Majesty the King has been working to change the long-standing prejudice against sub-humans and is advocating for the extermination of the demon race and the expansion of the kingdom."

"I see. If we can establish relations with the lizardmen, who were thought to be extinct, at this time, it would be a significant achievement for His Majesty the King."

"Yes, it would be."

Still, it's impressive how Father Orthros managed to get the King's approval in such a short time. He must be a big catch.

"So, what will happen to the lizardmen from now on?"

"Yes. As we discussed beforehand, we will assist them in developing the wetlands we found near the former Golden Dawn."

As planned, we'll start developing the wetlands.

"So, it will be a large-scale operation with a group of adventurers, right?"

"Yes. We need to clear out the hydras living in the vast wetlands. It will be a big job."

At that moment, the man I was most concerned about came to mind.

"Is Zaid okay with this?"

"True, the wetlands are closer to Zaid Village, but that's from the perspective of adventurers who grew up on stamina potions. From the perspective of the development area, it's quite far."

"Indeed, while it's a day's journey for adventurers from Golden Dawn, it would take ordinary soldiers three days, or even more."

By the way, Raidock isn't the standard. If we used him as a benchmark, it would be a difference of several days.

"Just to be safe, we'll stop by Zaid Village to get Brother Zaid's permission before heading to the wetlands."

"What if they refuse?"

"We'll switch to the backup plan."

"We'll build a settlement on the banks of the great river that flows next to this Golden Dawn, right?"

"Yes. However, I asked the civil servants to inquire about their lifestyle from Jurala, and apparently, they prefer wetlands to rivers, and swamps to wetlands."

I see. We want to secure as much wetland as possible, but politics will inevitably get involved here.

I'll do what I can, and leave the rest to Kyle.

"Well, whatever happens, we'll have to do our best."

"Yes!"

I personally think the chances of Zaid refusing are high, but Kyle seems to believe that if we meet with him directly, it will be fine.

If they refuse, we'll just do our best to help the lizardmen build a village that's as comfortable as possible for them.

It's better than living in a village that's been contaminated by giant poison frogs and is at risk of being attacked again.

"Well, let's get to the souvenirs for Kyle."

I took out three ingots from my spatial storage and lined them up on the table.

I hadn't been able to talk to Kyle at all this week because of the negotiations with the lizardmen.

Kyle's gaze shifted to the ingots, stopping on one of them.

"These are... I understand the mithril, but what about the other two?"

I quickly exchanged a glance with Reifan, and she began to explain.

"Yes. This is a mithril ingot. An ingot of this size would require several barrels of ore. The quality is also very high."

Kyle nodded but swallowed hard.

He must be shocked by the value, but sorry, the real shock is yet to come.

"Then, the heavier ingot is adamantite."

"Is this...!"

Kyle's eyes widened as he poked the adamantite with his fingers.

He's handling it like a gemstone, but both adamantite and mithril are tough enough to withstand rough handling, Kyle.

"Reifan, an ingot of this size would be worth a lot, right?"

"Yes. While the price of mithril ore is rising, the price of finished products is actually decreasing. However, adamantite is extremely rare, and a refined ingot of this size... "

Kyle swallowed again.

Yeah, it's worth a lot.

But Kyle, there's more.

"And the last ingot... orichalcum."

Kyle looked up, clearly not understanding the situation.

"Ori...?"

"Yes. The legendary metal, orichalcum."

"...W-What!? This huge block... is all orichalcum!?"

"Yes, it is."

Yeah, you'd be surprised.

Orichalcum is a legendary metal, and when it's found, it's usually in small quantities in the depths of dungeons, and mostly in the form of processed items. Finding it as a solid block is almost unbelievable.

"This... this is incredible."

"That's not all."

I took over from Reifan.

"Actually, it was discovered that orichalcum is an alloy of mithril and adamantite."

"...What?"

It was always a mystery. People had been searching for the ore, but it was never found.

The possibility of it being an alloy was also explored, but even the most renowned blacksmiths couldn't figure it out.

That's because the alloy requires advanced alchemy, and the forging skills needed are also highly advanced. Plus, the materials are mithril and adamantite, which no one would have thought of.

I told Kyle the shocking truth I learned from the emblem of the Twilight Alchemist.

"Using these mithril and adamantite ingots... we can create orichalcum."

"...!"

He was speechless.

Kyle couldn't find the words and just opened and closed his mouth.

"Brother Craft, as expected."

"Thanks to Raidock and the Casper sisters."

I waved my hand lightly.

"More importantly, I want to decide what to do with these."

Kyle closed his eyes slowly and remained silent for a long time.

By the time the tea had cooled, Kyle finally opened his eyes.

"...We should present the orichalcum we found to Father... the Margrave."

"I see."

"He can also present it to His Majesty the King."

Considering the amount we found, I wasn't too disappointed that we wouldn't be able to use any of it.

However, now that we know how to make orichalcum, I really wanted Reifan to make some.

Reifan, having gained the knowledge of how to process orichalcum, would have wanted to try various methods.

Looking at Reifan, she seemed a little disappointed.

Especially since orichalcum has incredible properties, and thinking about how much easier it would make things to have items made from it, it was disappointing.

However, with such a large amount of orichalcum, there's a high possibility it could become a source of conflict. Kyle's decision was reasonable.

Just as I was starting to feel a bit resigned, Kyle continued with a sly smile.

"However, we will consider the mithril and adamantite as the property of this Golden Dawn. Brother Craft, do you have any good ideas for using these two valuable metals?"

The smile he showed for a moment seemed like a mirage as Kyle smiled and tilted his head.

"Haha! I do! The best possible use!"

"That's great. The usage... I'll leave it all to Brother Craft?"

"Sure! Leave it to me!"

Thus, the mithril and adamantite ingots remained in my possession.

Reifan's eyes sparkled.

Don't worry! There's plenty for Reifan to do!

Later, we made various orichalcum items, but that's a story for another time.

Hehe, look forward to it!

◆

About a month had passed since that day.

While Reifan and I were obsessed with orichalcum, Kyle had been coordinating with adventurers to advance the monster extermination operation in the wetlands.

He sent adventurers to scout multiple times and had lizardmen warriors travel back and forth to confirm if the land was suitable for the village.

It seems the wetlands are the best environment for the lizardmen, and they pleaded to live on that land.

In the end, half of the vast wetlands would be used for farmland, and the other half would be the lizardmen's village, with the lizardmen responsible for maintaining and defending the farmland.

Kyle intended to discuss everything with Zaid after all the preparations were complete.

He wanted to show that the wetland development was not just a pipe dream but a feasible plan, and then propose joint farmland development.

I hope it goes well.

When the coordination training for the wetland extermination team was completed, and some of the orichalcum items were finished, it was time to set out.

I held up the orichalcum item I had distributed to my companions to the sun.

Reflecting the sunlight, it was a complete artifact.

I made it in a rush, but could this be a national treasure?

Sorry, Your Majesty, Father Orthros.

I couldn't help but make it, but it's so convenient that I won't hold back!

I looked around again.

Experienced adventurers who had participated in the dragon battle, lizardmen warriors, newly recognized adventurers, and of course, the Casper sisters were all present.

Some soldiers were accompanying Kyle as his personal guard.

Persia was staying behind this time.

By the way, Reifan was also participating.

For her, it was impossible to stay behind when they were going to clear out the monsters in the wetlands.

The old Golden Dawn village, now Zaid Village, was built on the site of the village where she used to live, and the stampede that destroyed that village came from the wetlands.

The sight of the warriors lined up was impressive.

Kyle stood at the front and cleared his throat.

"Then, the wetland extermination team! Let's set out!"

"「「「YEAH!!!」」」

And so, the new battle for development began.

The manga adaptation will be published in 11 days!