31. The faster you go, the faster you go back
“Sweep… I’m sorry I took the knife without permission, yes. I will apologize.”
“Yeah… Do you know how distraught I’ve been since yesterday?! I didn’t get much sleep!”
“Write… Ha… I’m sorry. To be honest, I didn’t expect it to be that important.”
“Whoa… That’s it, that’s it. I also returned the knife, so I won’t talk about it anymore. I was rude to you, so I apologize for that.”
Unfortunately, I had no choice but to return the famous sword of Mogdan that I took last night’s hard work.
In the first place, the short sword I used before wasn’t that bad either. No regrets at all…
…Of course there are regrets. Sipal. If there is no lingering attachment, it is certain that he is a priest or a spy in the demon king’s army.
However, how can they be proud of themselves when they hold onto a person in the middle of the main road as if they were going to kill them and scream at them to give them back? Even if I’m a person who doesn’t have a lot of fun, there is a degree.
It’s a shame because I brought the shortsword I used before, just in case, I almost got rejected before I even started the full-scale request.
“Sniff!… Hah… Yes. I’m sorry. Sipal.”
“…By the way…”
As Mogdan led the way toward the depths of the mine with a lantern in his hand, he narrowed his eyes and looked back at me.
“…How long are you going to stay like that?”
Mogdan’s stocky fingers, wrinkled between his brows, headed for the dust shield covering my nose and mouth.
“Huh…! Haa… Ah, this?”
“Yes, that! You’ve been using it ever since… Haa… And making perverted noises, but this isn’t your bedroom right now!”
“No… I know that too.”
Mogdan’s scolding was a hundred words, but I shrugged my shoulders and answered deftly.
“Haa… This is really amazing. It smells just like the smell of burning prickly pears.”
There is a grass called Baeknyeoncho that lives only in the middle of the Songgot Mountains in the Elven Kingdom.
There is really no reason for the name Baeknyeoncho, but it is a rare herb that is extremely good for health and can extend lifespan up to 100 years! Well, of course it’s not like this… It’s just because there is a folktale that the flowers that bloom on this grass don’t wither even after a hundred years.
It is not particularly effective as a medicinal herb, and the flowers are not extremely beautiful either. At best, if you boil the tea and drink it, it will only make the circulation of mana a little smoother for a while, but there is another reason why cactus is popular in the world.
“Sweep… Haaa,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,”This is really strange, it is really strange as the smell of burning prickly pears…”
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None other than that, it is popular as a grass that is put in an incense burner and burns incense.
If you put cactus in an incense burner and burn it, a very refreshing and sweet smell spreads gently.
However, it is not particularly addictive like narcotics or toxic harmful to the human body. Rather, it has the effect of purifying the air, so it is in high demand among men and women of all ages.
Even the fragrance is concentrated as much as the time spent in blooming the cactus, and due to this fact, farmers who grow cacti do not deliberately pick the flowering cactus as if they were making wine, but mature the fragrance.
If you hang it in your pocket after drying it, it also has the effect of purifying the air, so it is also commonly used as a filter between dust screens in mines.
“Okay. I won’t. This is really… To the point where I want to take a few separately. How did you come up with the idea to heat the cactus with mana circuit and use it as a filter?”
As I admired the dwarves’ technological prowess that had been so neatly processed, Mogdan, who had just been giving me a face, shrugged his shoulders and moved on again.
“…Hmph. A great invention of us dwarves. Miners make up a large percentage of the workers in the Dwarven Kingdom. When my master is doing well…”
“…Ah. f*ck.”
Ah. This kid is starting again.
Looking at the other party members, including myself, hardening their expressions, it seemed that everyone had grown tired of Mogdan’s dodol-like conversation.
While arguing with Mogdan and walking all the way to the mine, I found out a few things, one of which is that Mogdan’s pride for the dwarf race… The so-called ‘dwarf mulberry’ is truly unique.
“So… My master… Dwarves are one of the few races on the continent who can match their dexterity…”
Amy. As I came this far, I think I heard enough of that story to sink my ears.
“Oh, yes. You guys are great you are awesome You are great.”
“…You have to see our master once to stop saying that.”
“Okay, let’s move on to work.”
“…Yes, work. Hmmm…”
When I pretended to put on a serious face to change the topic of conversation, Mogdan corrected his expression and started talking about this quest.
“I don’t know if you guys knew it, but I’m the person in charge of mines 12 through 16 here in Bellion Mine.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“…I wish I knew by now. Anyway… But for the past 7 years, it has been running well without any problems, and thanks to this, I was recommended for the position of head of mine safety this year. However…”
This is what Mogdan said.
The fact that he finally got a chance to sit in an important position at Bellion Mine felt quite good, as his passion and hard work for the past seven years seemed to have been rewarded.
It was literally Sam who started at the bottom and rose quickly through the ranks.
However, the joy did not last long.
“Haa… I started having problems about a month ago.”
“As for the problem… The disappearance of miners?”
“Yes! I’ve been working hard so far, but now I’m in a situation where I’m missing out on promotion! Does this make sense?!”
Mogdan seemed very moved while he was talking.
…Baby. Make my heart hurt
I patted Mogdan’s hard shoulder as his beard trembled.
“Jeop…Well, there are times when people fall down in life. Give me strength Can’t we aim for the next opportunity?”
“Everything… Next chance! You guys just need to eliminate the cause so I don’t miss out on promotion! Don’t talk like you’ve already failed!”
“…Ah, really. Yes.”
We ducked through the sparsely protruding wooden beams set to the height of the dwarves and stepped deeper and deeper.
“Okay… Anyway, this is a more serious problem than you guys think. It’s a bit embarrassing for me to say this, but here in Bellion, the dwarves are a high-class workforce.”
As Mogdan scratched her head and tapped the intermittently flickering lamp, Luna, who had followed me behind me, lifted her tiptoe and poked her head over my shoulder and asked.
“By the way, if I had to say monsters that could come out of the mines, they would be at the level of mountain kobolds. Can’t you even cope with that?”
For some reason, the bones were mixed with the horse, Luna seemed to be dissatisfied with something from the time she accepted the request.
“Hey, why are you talking like that again?”
“…But… It’s a waste of time to have to deal with such pathetic bastards. I want to deal with stronger guys with this spear.”
“Arthur. No matter how famous a sword is, you should try chopping straw before using it in real combat.”
At Luna’s voice, Robin, who was walking close to me, also tilted her head and expressed her doubts.
“I see…? At that level, if I had requested support from the garrison, wouldn’t it be necessary to spend even gold coins?”
Before anyone could readily answer Robin’s question, Princess Alexis, who was following him, cautiously opened her mouth.
“That… I heard that the royal family recently declared a blue mobilization order. So, maybe cities that are a certain distance from the front line are in a situation where they can’t use their garrisons carelessly.”
“”Ah…””
Both Robin and Luna let out a sigh as if they realized the situation, and Mogdan nodded her head and followed.
“The lady over there is right. Lately, the lord has been a little untidy, so it was difficult to take out a separate garrison. Rather than just sucking your fingers and watching, it’s better to hire a skilled adventurer at that time, even if you pay money. If you leave it alone, it will only get worse.”
“Hmm. A wise choice. It just so happens that someone with skills like me asked me out loud.”
“The other girls and that priest are quite trustworthy… Are you sure that badge was given to you by the guild? It’s not fake, right?”
“…But this bastard… Hey dude. You know you can’t counterfeit badges, right?”
“Pugh… Yes. I’ll try it once. Oh, you’re almost there.”
Modgan tapped the flickering lamp again and moved to a fairly large cavity in the middle of the tunnel.
Watching Mogdan sitting on a rock in a wide pupil and shaking off the hem of his trousers, we sat down and took a break.
“…Ah, really. Mogdan. As you say, we still don’t know the exact cause of the miners’ disappearance, right?”
“Yes. I’m going to explode, very much.”
“Eolssigu. Seeing him flirt with me at the plate, it seems that his personality has already burst.”
“That…That’s…! Mmm… I don’t know what to say either. You already apologized.”
After a brief banter exchange, we moved our legs again and headed deeper into the mine.
Somehow, the more I go in, the more I get a bad feeling, but it must be because of my mood.
…It must be because of your mood, right?
* * *
“Um… Warrior. Is this really right…?”
“Then, is there any other way?”
Even so, Adrien lowered her eyes and shook her head at the sharp attitude of Lee Yu-jeong, a hero who had recently turned into a grumpy figure due to being locked up in an inn.
Amidst the awkward atmosphere, the warriors and their companions silently started packing their bags again.
The appearance of the girls suddenly preparing to enter Merden Forest again was the result of Maya’s remarks two days earlier.
‘The mana core is being eaten…? Wait, that’s…’
‘Surely… Can others confirm this, Maya?!’
Checking the state of the mana core by channeling her own mana into someone else’s mana stem requires a high degree of concentration.
Thanks to Maya’s dedication to becoming a master mage, they all knew the seriousness of their condition.
Erosion of the mana core.
It is a symptom whose exact cause has not yet been identified, and is said to be occasionally expressed in soldiers who fought on the frontlines.
Since no clear cause is known, there is no standard treatment.
In this world, there are very few people who are not born with mana.
Austin belongs here, he himself said before. Because he had no mana core by nature, he was a rare member of the ranger who couldn’t use magic.
That means that even ordinary people, who make up most of the continent’s population, have a small amount of mana cores in their hearts.
Soldiers whose mana cores have been eroded are slowly disintegrating from the inside out, throwing off their intelligence as humans, having difficulty controlling their emotions, and being filled with all sorts of negative thoughts.
In the end, they become monsters with only power and the desire to destroy them.
A monstrous disease that is said to have virtually no way to return to a human once it mutates due to its ferocious appearance with no intellect.
It didn’t take long for him to realize that the change in his feelings toward Austin was probably caused by the erosion of his mana core.
But.
“Heh… Heh… Something like that… There’s no way you can be forgiven for such a lame excuse!”
Isabel, who was filled with sadness, wet his eyes with tears like jade beads.
“…Isabelle…”
Looking at Isabel’s pitiful cry, Gracie felt her heart grow cold with her own guilt.
So, is there really no way to cure the erosion of mana cores?
‘Our master. Probably belonging to the Demon King’s army. You said it would be the work of the corps commander… But the truth is still accurate. No.’
On the very day that the erosion of the mana core was confirmed, Maya’s words were enough to plunge them all into despair.
‘But. That there is no way no.’
The method that came out of Maya’s hesitant mouth was not a good method, even with empty words.
“Let’s go. Let’s catch Argyle and ask her about the erosion.”
According to the words of the teacher of Maya, the erosion of the mana core must have been the work of the demon army.
Unlike the two days of lazing and regretting endlessly, the appearance of the girls leaving the inn was life-threatening.
“…Austin…”
Erosion of the mana core.
If you can fix this, go to Austin and apologize again.
“I don’t think I deserve it…”
It was Adrien who was self-deprecating about his duplicity, reminding him of the criticisms he had fired at Austin.
There is a long way to go, but not much time.