Chapter 66

The next morning, when he woke up, Ricardo saw the beast hunters he had hired as guards standing watch on the watchtowers and the defensive walls.

Ricardo stretched his stiff body, which had become rigid from sleeping on the hard ground, and drank a cup of water from the water barrel. The water in this barrel had been drawn from a well in an abandoned village at the foot of the Palente Plateau.

The Palente Plateau receives little rain, making it difficult to secure water.

Bernardo had bought a large number of water barrels and transported water drawn from the well of the abandoned village, which was formerly called Modva Village. Of course, he used storage aquamarines for this.

Seeing the numerous storage aquamarines prepared, Ricardo felt the enthusiasm of the Milan financial group for this coal business.

"Good morning."

Tania woke up and greeted Ricardo.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"I was pretty tired, so I fell asleep quickly, but my body aches all over."

Tania and a few other women slept in a carriage inside the circular fortress. The trained beast hunter women seemed to have slept well, but Tania, who was not used to it, spent the night in a light sleep.

"I feel the same. I regret not bringing a bed with us, since we have storage aquamarines."

"But, how will we return? You said you would fill the barrels with materials from the Death Ope after defeating it."

"Yes, that's why I didn't bring too much, but we managed to get two aquamarine tree fruit crystals."

"We didn't expect to get aquamarine tree fruit crystals when we set out, so it can't be helped."

"Yes."

As Ricardo and Tania were talking, the others woke up and started preparing breakfast.

The breakfast was oatmeal made from oats. It contained crushed nuts and seemed to be high in nutrients, but it wasn't very tasty.

The coal miners headed to the coal field to dig for coal, leaving only the ballista shooters, Ricardo, Patrick, and Tania in the circular fortress.

Ricardo and the others' role was to repel any beasts trying to enter the circular fortress.

The plateau is home to many insects like grasshoppers and earthworms, making it an ideal habitat for ground-running spiders, which prey on them.

"Here come the ground-running spiders again."

Patrick aimed his Wind Magic Gun at the approaching ground-running spider and pulled the trigger. The spider was torn apart by the shockwave and died.

A panther cat, having learned that approaching the fortress would result in pain, ran up to the spider's corpse, grabbed the spider's body, and fled. However, it seemed to be waiting nearby for more spiders to die.

"Damn, they're smart."

Patrick muttered with a scowl.

On the opposite side, Ricardo was on guard with his Magic Gun. For small and fast ground-running spiders, a regular Magic Gun seemed more effective than an Earth Magic Gun.

Sometimes the Earth Magic Gun missed its target.

Ricardo raised his gaze and saw something moving in the distance.

"What is it?"

Ricardo called Tania, who was taking a break.

"Is something wrong?"

Tania climbed up to the defensive wall. Ricardo pointed to the east.

"...They're finally here. A group of Death Ope."

The ballista shooters on the watchtowers also spotted them and reported to Ricardo.

Ricardo fired a Signal Flare, a type of Fire Magic, into the sky. A red flame ascended and exploded with a loud noise.

The coal miners, who were digging for coal, threw down their tools and returned to the circular fortress. Once everyone was back, the steel door was closed. This door was also made in the capital and brought by Bernardo.

"Is the ballista ready?"

Bernardo called out to the ballista shooters. The ballista was loaded with arrows tipped with the poison of a steel scorpion.

The shape of the Death Ope became clear.

The ballista was aimed at the Death Ope. There were two ballistas on the watchtowers, each with a maximum range of about 400 meters, as Ricardo had been told.

However, they could only accurately target the Death Ope from about 80 meters away.

When the leading Death Ope approached to about 80 meters, the first poisoned arrow was fired.

The poisoned arrow pierced the trunk of the Death Ope, which continued to advance as if it had taken no damage.

However, the Death Ope stopped moving halfway.

"The poison is working. Keep firing!"

Bernardo shouted unusually loudly.

The ballista shooters turned the handle to pull the string and started firing poisoned arrows as quickly as possible. However, it was impossible to stop all the approaching Death Ope.

A Death Ope that reached the defensive wall struck the sandbags with its scaly toothed whip, causing the bags to burst and dirt to fly up.

The horses, which were tied inside the circular fortress, neighed in alarm. The carriage driver tried to calm them, but it was difficult with the sound of the scaly toothed whip striking the sandbags.

Ricardo took out an Earth Magic Rifle on the defensive wall and aimed at the tumor on the tree liver of the Death Ope, pulling the trigger.

The Earth shockwave hit the tumor, causing a crack to form.

"One more shot."

The second shockwave hit, and tree liver oil started to leak from the tumor. Ricardo realized that the Earth Magic Rifle could defeat the Death Ope, but it would take two to three shockwaves to hit the tumor, and the Earth Magic Rifle alone couldn't handle the group.

A Death Ope charged at the defensive wall where Ricardo was standing and swung its scaly toothed whip.

"Watch out!"

One of the beast hunters shouted. Ricardo narrowly jumped off the defensive wall.

It was a close call. Ricardo's face turned pale, and his expression tightened with fear. Such moments are inevitable when dealing with beasts, and he felt fear each time, but he never got used to it.

The ballista continued to reliably defeat the Death Ope. However, many Death Ope surrounded the circular fortress, attacking the sandbags and scattering dirt.

"We should have brought more sandbags."

Bernardo said, beads of sweat on his forehead.

The ballista shooters worked tirelessly, and a few beast hunters climbed the watchtowers to help. In the end, two Death Ope remained, one of which Ricardo defeated, and the other was taken down by the ballista.

Incidentally, Tania and Patrick had cooperated to defeat one Death Ope with magic.

"It's over. Coal miners, please repair the collapsed areas with sandbags. Beast hunters, please finish off the Death Ope."

Fifteen Death Ope were defeated in total. The ballista took down eleven, Ricardo three, and Tania and Patrick one.

"We should make the defensive wall thicker and add another ballista."

Bernardo analyzed the battle.

Ricardo cut off the branches of the scaly toothed whip from the defeated Death Ope and stored them in a storage aquamarine. He also stored the remaining trunk and roots. Everything fit, which would have been impossible without Ricardo's storage aquamarine.

These materials from the Death Ope would be taken back to the capital, and after Ricardo kept the materials he wanted, Bernardo would sell them and distribute the money among those who participated in the battle.

The beast hunters were in good spirits with this additional income.

Seeing the coal miners looking envious, Bernardo said,

"Please work hard to repair the fortress. If you finish by today, I'll give you a bonus."

Everyone started working enthusiastically, and the repairs were completed by the time it started to get dark.

After that, the coal mining proceeded smoothly, and when they exceeded the target amount by about 20%, Bernardo decided to end the operation.

He wanted to leave the coal miners and beast hunters to continue mining, but the water and food supplies were running low.

Ricardo performed the Magic Manipulation Engraving on the aquamarine tree fruit crystals during the night break. For the first one, he expanded it to its maximum capacity as a regular storage aquamarine, giving it the volume of a 10-tatami room.

For the second one, he stopped at six tatami and engraved the temperature regulation function, setting the temperature to between -55°C and -60°C.

He chose this temperature because he remembered that fish meat like tuna could be stored for about a year at this temperature. For reference, a typical freezer is around -20°C.

The circular fortress was to be dismantled, with only the ballista and steel door being taken back.

It was decided to leave the sandbags and wood behind as they were not worth transporting.

"I hope the circular fortress remains intact until we return."

Ricardo's question made Bernardo tilt his head.

"Perhaps. If there are no people inside, the Death Ope might not attack, right?"

"But, someone might find this place and use it as a base for unauthorized coal mining."

Ricardo pointed out, having heard from Bernardo about unauthorized coal miners.

"...That's true. In such cases, the Death Ope might attack and destroy it, but I don't think they would stay for long without the ballista and door. The chances of it being destroyed by the Death Ope are about 50-50."

Bernardo said that if they encountered such people, the Milan financial group, with proper authorization, could demand that they leave.

The large amount of coal was stored in the storage aquamarines collected by the Milan financial group. The coal from the Palente coal field is asphaltite, which is a high-quality fuel with little smoke and is traded at a high price.

The return journey was smooth, with only a few beasts encountered.

Upon arriving in the capital, the coal miners were paid their agreed wages and bonuses and dispersed. The beast hunters were also paid their fees, and Bernardo said he would pay the reward for the Death Ope after converting it to cash.

Ricardo took out the materials from the Death Ope and placed them in Bernardo's store warehouse.

Ricardo and the others also received their rewards, and Tania and Patrick negotiated to purchase Magic Guns at a discount.

They wanted Magic Chromatic Guns but had to give up on that.

After returning home and feeling relieved, Ricardo received a report from Antonio about the breeding facility.

"The new Death Ope, Kumiri, has grown significantly. Could you graft a Shuram tree branch onto it soon?"

"Sure, I'll go to the breeding facility tomorrow."

"No, you just returned from a trip. Take a day off and come the day after tomorrow."

The next morning, Ricardo spent the morning quietly and went to the Magic Guild in the afternoon.

He reported his return to Isarco and asked about the Serrato Prophecy.

"The Serrato Prophecy? I don't know much about it. I don't think there's a book about it in the library."

As expected, there was no book about the Serrato Prophecy in the Magic Guild's library. Still, he went to the library and searched through historical records.

There were no records about the Serrato Prophecy, but it seemed true that abnormal weather occurred every 90 years. The records from 90 years ago mentioned many deaths from cold and starvation.

Tracing back further, the same was recorded 180 years ago. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Is the royal family planning any countermeasures?"

Ricardo muttered, picturing the city in his mind. He didn't think the royal family was doing anything. Thinking about the royal family, he remembered the prince's request.

"I'll consult with the prince."

He heard that the prince was working at the Baiser Castle's administrative office after attending the king's birthday celebration. He could write a letter to General Samuele's mansion, and the prince would make time for him.

Ricardo wrote a letter and decided to deliver it to the general's mansion on his way back from the Magic Guild.

"Mr. Ricardo."

Ricardo turned at the sound of his name. Greta was standing there with a happy smile.

Tata-ta, she ran up, took Ricardo's hand, and swung it around.

"I'm glad you returned safely."

Ricardo returned to the laboratory with Greta and gave her a bracelet as a souvenir. Greta's face lit up.

"I'm so happy. Thank you."

Ricardo told Greta about his trip, and her expressive face and nods made him feel at ease.

"Can I come to learn magic from tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, I have to go to the breeding facility."

"Is that so? ...Oh, can I visit the breeding facility?"

"Yes, but I have work in the morning, so can you come to the breeding facility a little before noon?"

Ricardo drew a simple map and gave it to her.

"I'll definitely come."

The next day, Ricardo went to the breeding facility with Monta.

Antonio and Dario were preparing to graft the Shuram tree branch onto the Death Ope, Kumiri. The preparation involved catching the Death Ope.

Monta, seeing Dario and the others chasing the Death Ope in its enclosure, thought they were playing. He jumped over the fence and joined in, chasing the Death Ope.

Ricardo and Antonio performed the grafting operation on the Death Ope in a work shed, where it couldn't be seen.

Around the time they had processed about 30, a luxurious carriage arrived at the breeding facility. When Ricardo went to greet them, Greta's maid got out first, followed by Greta, who looked around before getting out of the carriage.

"Welcome."

As Ricardo greeted Greta, the Marquis Boniperti got out of the carriage.

"Hello, Marquis."

The marquis looked at Ricardo sharply.

"I heard my daughter wanted to visit the breeding facility, so I decided to come along. Is that alright?"

"Of course, it's fine."

Ricardo felt a bit annoyed for a moment but tried not to show it.

The Marquis Boniperti had come to assess Ricardo, the person his daughter, Greta, was so fond of. He was worried because his daughter talked about nothing but Ricardo at home.

"Brother, can you prepare lunch?"

"Sure."

As Antonio was about to go to the kitchen, another carriage and a group of guards arrived.

The marquis's expression changed slightly when he saw the crest on the carriage.

Ricardo, thinking it couldn't be, ran to the carriage.

The prince got out of the carriage.

"Prince."

The marquis called out to the prince.

"Marquis Boniperti. What a coincidence to see you here."

Ricardo panicked, thinking the prince had come so soon after he had entrusted the letter to General Samuele's mansion the previous day. He sighed inwardly, thinking the timing was terrible.

Thank you for this year.

Next week is a holiday, so the next post will be the week after next.