Chapter 35

We continue down the underground passage.

But soon, as a door appears on the left wall, Selena says,

"This door leads to the opposite shore of Ars Island... It's locked here too."

It's a door made of magic ore, but even when Selena pushes and pulls the handle, it doesn't open.

"The outside is a den of monsters. Let's leave this door as it is... um, can I ask someone to guard this area?"

When I say this, Selena nods and turns to the Guardian... the armored race following behind us.

"For now, three of you, stay here."

"Yes, sir!"

With that, three armored races began to stand guard near the door.

Judging from their performance in the previous battle, even one of them is powerful. With three, we should be fine.

"Alright, let's move forward."

"Yes. There should be an entrance to the mine a little further ahead."

Selena says this and proceeds down the passage.

Soon, a huge door comes into view.

A heavy, metal double door, about twice the height of an adult man, resembling a castle gate.

This must lead to the mine.

"This is also locked with a magic device... Alright."

I immediately manipulate my magic to unlock it.

Elysia, seeing this, says,

"Indeed, you're quick!"

"...Once you do it once, you remember. Shall we open it?"

"I'll take care of it. Let's do it, Selena."

"Yes! – Huh!?"

Selena pushes the left side, but the door doesn't budge at all.

I thought it was still under a locking spell, but that wasn't the case.

When Elysia pushes the right side, it opens easily.

Seeing this, Selena's eyes widen.

"Ah, what?"

"What's wrong, Selena? It won't open on your side? Heave-ho."

Elysia immediately pushes the left side as well.

The door slides open smoothly.

Selena looks at this in astonishment.

"Eh, Lord Elysia... did you use magic or something?"

"No... I just pushed it."

"Without magic, with those slender arms?"

Elysia tilts her head.

I didn't think she could open such a heavy door by herself either.

But for Elysia, who has inherited the strength of an orc, it's probably not heavy at all.

Indeed, the contrast with her maid appearance is quite striking...

"Really, looking at me like I'm a monster... Selena, your arms are slender too, you know."

"Sorry."

Selena apologizes sincerely.

I think Selena also has a gap between her appearance and her abilities...

"Anyway, let's go inside. [Holy Light]... Wow."

I can't help but exclaim.

I tried it because my followers have increased, and now I can produce ten light orbs.

"The holy magic is becoming quite usable... "

"Lord Alex, if you need light, we can provide it."

A voice comes from behind.

"Wow, the armored races can use it too. It seems to be a fairly large space, so can I ask you to help?"

"Yes, sir."

The armored races extend their hands forward, illuminating the area with light.

The [Holy Light] spell. It's not a light orb but more like a beam that illuminates the distance.

The space beyond the door becomes bright. With over twenty of them illuminating, it's very bright.

"This is—"

Before us, a vast cavern spreads out.

It's so wide that an entire town could fit inside.

There are holes that look like mine shafts in various places on the walls, and multi-level corridors are attached to reach them.

The corridor we came out of is part of this.

At the lowest level, buildings that look like warehouses and houses are visible. There are also water channels, making it a small town.

Selena says, impressed.

"This is the famous... or rather, the once-famous central mine of Tiars. I've heard that mithril, among other things, is abundant here."

"Wow. So there are other mines in Tiars too?"

"Yes. There are places where orichalcum, which was used for the door earlier, is mined. There are also places where adamantite and hihiirokane are mined... By the way, my armor is made of mithril! And so are the armored races here."

Mithril is as hard as iron and can hold the most magic among magical ores.

Adamantite is the hardest among magical ores but doesn't hold much magic.

Hihiirokane is similar to adamantite but is said to make sharper blades.

Orichalcum doesn't have any particular features but can be considered all-purpose.

There are other magical ores, but these four are the most popular.

"Wow... So all the famous magical ores can be mined in this province."

A single mithril knife is worth at least a hundred iron knives. Mining the ore here, refining it into metal, and selling it... how much profit could be made?

But Selena says,

"However, even though they are abundant, they can't be mined in large quantities like iron or coal. Also, the veins of magical ores are very hard."

"Also, whether it's even safe to mine them is a question. I'll call Yuri—"

I smoothly teleport to the base in Roblion.

"–! Ah, Lord Alex."

Yuri was just hammering a knife on an anvil.

"Sorry to surprise you. Were you in the middle of something?"

"No, it's fine. More importantly, you're here."

"Yes. I found a vein of magical ores. Come with me."

"Yes! I've been waiting for this!"

Yuri grabs a few picks nearby and quickly comes to my side. It seems she had them prepared.

I return to the central mine with Yuri.

"–!?"

The armored races seem surprised by our sudden disappearance and reappearance.

"Sorry to surprise you. I can use teleportation."

The armored races nod in understanding.

They really have developed emotions...

Then we enter a nearby mine shaft.

It seems to be a relatively unexplored shaft, more like a horizontal cave.

Yuri examines the rock wall closely and says,

"This is indeed a mithril vein... Wow! I've never seen such a large mithril vein before!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes. If we mine this rock wall for a day, we might get enough mithril for one knife!"

It might seem small, but it's enough to cover the food expenses of my followers for a week.

"Let me try mining it once!"

"Sure, go ahead."

I say, and Yuri swings the pick vigorously, striking the rock wall.

A palm-sized piece of rock is immediately chipped off.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Yuri says,

"Phew... It's still hard, but we blue-haired races can mine it!"

"I see... But it's a lot of work to do both mining and forging."

Transport can be handled by slimes, but mining requires both skill and strength. Ratmen might be a bit lacking in strength.

"No, no. We have experience in both forging and mining... By the way, if it's okay, I have a proposal for you, Lord Alex."

Seeing Yuri's hesitation, I ask,

"A proposal?"

"Yes... Actually, there are groups of cyclops hybrids scattered throughout the empire. It would be wonderful if they could be called here and become your followers... Of course, it's also for mining and forging."

"Wow. That would be a great help. If they can come to the town between the capital and Roblion, I can go and pick them up directly. Please do that."

"Thank you!"

Yuri bows.

"If any of my acquaintances are still alive, I would have liked them to serve you too... Hmm?"

Selena notices Elysia holding a pick next to her.

"Since I'm here, I'll help for a while. I'm confident in my strength!"

Saying this, Elysia strikes the rock wall.

Then,

"–!?"

The rock wall crumbles with a loud noise, and a large chunk of rock, about the size of several horses, is chipped off.

Selena and Yuri are stunned.

Elysia, seeing the broken pick, looks apologetic.

"Yuri, I'm sorry! I broke the pick."

"It's okay, I can make another. But, Elysia, you might want to stop mining. Giving too much shock might... you know."

Yuri says with a wry smile.

If Elysia continues mining, the mine shaft might collapse.

"Oh... I see."

Elysia looks disappointed.

But in the midst of this, I notice a change in the flow of magic around us.

The abnormal flow... I immediately look toward the lower levels of the cavern.

"That is—"

There, small rocks are floating and beginning to form a large mass.

The mass gradually takes on a human shape, and a red light appears in the head area.