Chapter 35

Ricardo made three magic guns. He presented one to Emilia and was considering giving another to his brother Antonio.

The job of raising demon trees is dangerous. Currently, there is no danger since they are raising the demon tree Kumiri, but if they were to start raising other demon trees like Trill in the future, there is a possibility of encountering danger.

Ricardo wanted to raise the demon tree Trill to secure materials for the magic rod. There were almost no demon trees in the vicinity of the capital, and he had been struggling with how to secure the materials for the magic rod.

Ricardo also commissioned Emilia to make hip holsters for storing the magic guns.

By the time he had finished making the magic guns and learning the techniques of a magic craftsman, half of the hot season had passed, and he had become accustomed to his work at the miscellaneous affairs bureau.

At the experimental breeding ground, he hired three boys who lived in the slums. They were boys of Ricardo's age: the tall Dario, the hawk-nosed Eriq, and the big-eared Fred. These three boys were recommended by Master Romano. Their parents had died, and all three were orphans.

When Ricardo first saw the three boys, they were all thin and wearing dirty clothes.

Antonio gathered the three boys and explained the experimental breeding ground.

"You will be responsible for cutting and collecting the weeds that the demon trees eat."

"Understood."

The three boys seemed reliable.

"Mr. Antonio, we were staying in an abandoned house in the slums. Will we be commuting from there?"

Antonio thought it would be difficult for them to walk from the slums every day due to the distance.

"If you don't want to commute, you can also stay in the work shed."

The small house Ricardo had built for himself to stay in was completed. However, it was designed for one person, so it had only one bedroom.

It had a small bedroom, a kitchen, and a slightly larger room. Ricardo intended to use this larger room for meals and paperwork. He called this small house the utility shed.

"It's fine to stay in the work shed. Thank you."

Dario expressed gratitude on behalf of the three. Among the three, Dario seemed to be the leader.

Antonio thought he would need to buy bedding and clothes for the boys. He had received two gold coins from Ricardo to use for the boys he hired, so the funds were sufficient.

Antonio took the three boys to the city, pulling a newly bought cart to go shopping.

In the city, he bought cheap beds, sheets, blankets, tableware, cooking utensils, and two sets of used clothes and underwear. After purchasing the necessary items for living, they returned to the experimental breeding ground and unloaded the cart.

After that, he went to the agricultural area east of the capital, pulling the cart, and bought a large amount of wheat straw. Laying the wheat straw on the bed and covering it with sheets completed the beds.

Antonio decided to be responsible for purchasing food. Ricardo had lent him a convenient cart, so he planned to buy enough for three days and transport it.

Eriq said he was good at cooking, so Antonio decided to let him handle it.

Antonio inspected the three plots and confirmed that the demon trees were growing well.

The demon tree Kumiri in the first plot had grown as much as the Kumiri he had seen in the magic realm. Since the fruit-bearing demon tree Kumiri had also grown to the same size, this Kumiri would likely bloom and bear fruit soon.

The demon tree in the second plot, which had a branch grafted from Sazami (named Olive demon tree because it resembled an olive tree), was blooming with many white flowers.

Judging from the number of flowers, it would likely bear a lot of fruit.

The apricot demon tree in the third plot was moving the least. Although it seemed less energetic, it was absorbing the most weeds for nutrition, and the branch grafted from the Shuram tree was growing well, so it should be fine.

Ricardo listened to Antonio's report on the experimental breeding ground and decided that he could leave it to his brother for a while.

Recently, he had understood the routine of the miscellaneous affairs bureau, which involved compiling request letters and result notes into reports, and could finish his quota in the morning.

As for whether he was using his free time productively... he had been feeling a bit mentally exhausted, so he was taking it easy.

There was a park-like area within the grounds of the Magic Guild with grass and evergreen trees, and he would nap or daydream in the shade of the trees.

Monta had started training to climb and fly on trees. Ricardo enjoyed watching him and spent his time in a relaxed, dreamy state.

About ten days later, he was called by Claretta, who was in charge of new member education.

When he went to the second waiting room on the second floor, Remigio and Bianca were already there.

"I called you because it seems you have too much free time just writing reports."

Remigio looked irritated at Claretta.

"I'm busy with research. Get to the point."

He had been researching a new composite magic, leaving the report writing to his servants. The research paper submitted by Massimo had caused a stir among magicians, and many were trying to discover new composite magics. Remigio was one of them, researching a composite magic of [Wind] and [Fire].

Claretta glared at Remigio.

"I've decided to assign you one of the requests that have come to the miscellaneous affairs bureau."

Ricardo regretted napping in the Magic Guild. It seemed Claretta had seen him and was assigning him work.

"What is the request?"

"Are you familiar with the underground passages beneath the capital?"

Ricardo had not known about them, but Remigio seemed to know, while Bianca did not.

"Relics from the old dynasty, right. What about them?"

The old dynasty Remigio referred to was the Amadora Kingdom, which flourished before the current Romanus dynasty was established. It had been destroyed about 800 years ago in a great collapse, and after about 400 years of chaos, the Romanus dynasty was established and continues to the present day.

"Apparently, some magic beasts are nesting in part of the underground passages, and I want you to investigate."

Bianca frowned.

"Are these magic beasts dangerous?"

"No, they seem to be rats."

Hearing 'rats' made Ricardo think of masked rats. He hoped to avoid encountering a large number of masked rats in the underground passages.

"Hmph, rats. Why bother with such small fry?"

Remigio said irresponsibly. Claretta's face tightened.

"If the magic beasts crawl out into the capital, it will cause a commotion."

"Rats, really?"

Remigio seemed to have experience fighting magic beasts. For him, masked rats were just minor enemies.

"Anyway, you will go into the underground passages and investigate. If possible, find out where the magic beasts are entering from."

Ricardo and the others were assigned to investigate the underground passages. The reward for the request was not very high, suggesting it was considered an easy job. The investigation period was five days, and the underground passage network beneath the capital was so extensive that it could not be investigated in a day. Naturally, they would be on a break from writing reports.

Claretta told them to prepare the necessary equipment for the investigation by the end of the day. For the underground passage investigation, they would need light and catalysts.

They borrowed lanterns from the Magic Guild's supply warehouse and replenished catalysts from a catalyst shop in the city.

"With such a low reward, we can't use expensive catalysts."

Bianca grumbled as they bought catalysts together.

Remigio said he didn't need to replenish, as he had stock at home.

Ricardo and Bianca bought several [Earth] catalysts.

The next day, Claretta led them to the underground entrance near Bizer Castle in the center of the capital.

The entrance was sealed with an iron door.

Two soldiers stood in front of the door and opened it when they saw Claretta.

"Be careful. Some of us have heard the cries of magic beasts."

Ricardo thought they should deal with the magic beasts themselves if they were saying such things, but these soldiers were guarding the castle and could not leave their posts.

"You must return to the Magic Guild by evening and report. Don't forget that even rats can be dangerous."

When the door closed, it became pitch black inside. They lit the lanterns, and three figures appeared in the light.

Bianca was dressed in loose pants and a shirt, with only a rod as a weapon and a catalyst pouch.

On the other hand, Remigio was wearing expensive clothes. His shirt had lavish embroidery that glittered in the lantern light.

His outfit seemed completely out of place. He was carrying a short sword and a magic rod.

Ricardo himself was dressed in his usual hunting attire, with a magic gun in his hip holster.

Inside the iron door, there were stairs leading underground. They were wide enough for five people to walk side by side and were made of processed stone.

"Stop daydreaming and let's go."

Remigio called out. He didn't seem to have a light. Ricardo and Bianca held up the lanterns as he started down the stairs.

"Hey, it's dark down here. Shine the light properly."

Ricardo sighed at the spoiled noble's complaint.

They descended the stairs and arrived at the underground passage. According to Claretta, the underground passages spread throughout the capital in the shape of an infinity symbol '∞'.

They were about six meters wide and three meters high, making them quite spacious. Ricardo wondered what the people of the old dynasty used the underground passages for. As a Japanese person, he thought of subways, but in this world, where science and technology were not advanced, they were likely not used as subways.

"Alright, let's head northeast in a clockwise direction."

Ricardo thought Remigio's opinion was reasonable, as the magic beasts were likely entering from the Crem River area, but deciding without consulting the others was...

Bianca shrugged and headed northeast. Ricardo started walking, using magic sense to search for magic beasts.

After about an hour, his magic sense detected something ahead. It seemed to be masked rats.

"There are five masked rat-like magic beasts ahead."

When Ricardo gave the warning, Remigio and Bianca took out their rods and catalysts.

Ricardo was surprised that Remigio took out his magic rod. He had thought Remigio would use his short sword to take down the minor enemies, the masked rats.

Ricardo placed the lantern on the ground, drew his magic gun with his right hand, and held his magic rod in his left.

The masked rats appeared from the darkness. As they rushed over in a group, Remigio cast [Storm Fang Array]. Several wind blades flew toward the masked rats.

The attack seemed to be a total annihilation, but it was difficult to target the dark-colored masked rats in the dim underground passage. Three of them were fatally wounded and fell, while the remaining two attacked Ricardo and Bianca.

Ricardo shot the masked rat attacking Bianca with his magic gun and then struck the one attacking him with his magic rod.

Bianca was startled when the masked rats appeared from the darkness. She had fought them before, but that was in a sunny meadow. She didn't realize how difficult it was to aim in a dim place.

While preparing her magic, the masked rat attacked her.

She ran for her life. At that moment, she heard a whizzing sound. The masked rat in the air trembled and fell to the ground lifelessly.

"Huh?"

Surprised, she looked at the young Ricardo and noticed he was holding a strange weapon in his right hand, which he had used to attack the masked rat.

After the battle, as Ricardo was collecting the fangs of the masked rats, which could be used as catalysts, Bianca approached him. Up close, the young colleague looked like a child.

Bianca was surprised to learn that this young boy was more experienced in battle than she was.

"Thank you for helping me."

Remigio also approached.

"Hey, what weapon did you use just now?"

"It's a weapon called a 'magic gun' that I developed with Emilia's workshop, which is making new magic guns."

"A type of magic gun. It's small."

He looked at it with a covetous eye, but there were only three magic guns, and Ricardo couldn't give one away.

Ricardo put away his magic gun and urged them to move forward.

"Tch, it was too dark to fight. Do something about it tomorrow."

This noble didn't seem to think about solving the problem himself. Although he had taken the spring magician certification exam, which was unusual for a noble, it seemed he didn't want to be treated specially just because he was a noble. He just wanted to become a magician as quickly as possible.

"We're not your servants, we're your colleagues."

Bianca protested, unable to hold back.

Remigio looked surprised, probably because he had never been contradicted by anyone other than his father.

"Besides, why didn't you bring a light?"

"Stop complaining. I'm the strongest here. It's more efficient for the others to support me in battle."

Tactically, he wasn't wrong, but it was problematic to assume he was the strongest from the start.

To prevent the mood from becoming more hostile, Ricardo intervened.

"We shouldn't be arguing here. Let's move forward."

Bianca smiled.

"Somehow, Ricardo seems like the oldest."

Thinking about mental age, he was the oldest.

"Is that a compliment? Anyway, we're approaching the Crem River, so check the walls for any holes. The magic beasts might have dug them."

If magic beasts were entering the underground passages, they would likely have dug from the surface to connect to the passages.

"You're really reliable."

Bianca glanced at Remigio and said.

In the next thirty minutes, they encountered and repelled two groups of masked rats. During these encounters, Remigio repeatedly used mid-level lower magic. ...Was he okay with his catalysts and magic power?

While Ricardo was worrying unnecessarily, he heard a dragging sound from ahead.

He quickly activated his magic sense and received a large reaction that couldn't be from masked rats.

"Large reaction ahead. Be careful."

Remigio clicked his tongue.

"Tch, a large reaction doesn't tell us anything."

"Then, go check it out yourself. But it might be dangerous."

Ricardo had no patience left to cater to the noble's mood. The reaction ahead was comparable to a bicorn armored bear.

"Cheeky..."

Ricardo took out his magic rod and [Scatter Blast Spear] catalyst.

Bianca, looking worried, asked Ricardo.

"Hey, what is it?"

"The reaction is as large as a bicorn armored bear."

Hearing this, Remigio and Bianca's faces tightened.

Finally, the creature appeared in the light of the lantern.

It was three meters long, mole-like in shape, and covered in black fur. In its mouth was what looked like a human foot, and upon closer inspection, a corpse was under the giant mole's body.

Ricardo and the others gasped and paled.