By the Grace of the Gods

Multiple chapters posted today.

This is the first chapter.

“Ah, it really feels great to be outside.”

After successfully finishing the magical beast hunt in the first mine tunnel, Zeff stepped outside and smiled contentedly.

“There’s no time to enjoy the fresh air. We need to head back and file the report first.”

“I know. Well, after that, it’ll be around noon. Just a little more to go.”

We were called together and headed toward the entrance of the abandoned mine.

That place was once a plaza where ore and mining tools were brought in and out. Unlike the slopes and rocky areas elsewhere, it had been neatly leveled. Today, it was just a spot to park the carriage and gather, but back when it was thriving, there was also a resting area for workers.

“Oh.”

As we walked through the tall, overgrown weeds reaching up to our waists along the slopes and rocky paths, a strong wind blew occasionally. The fact that one side of the path was a cliff probably added to this. Without any shelter, the wind rushing through in the warm sunlight felt open and refreshing.

Looking toward the direction the wind came from, I could see the road we had taken from Gimul town to the mine, stretching straight ahead through lush green trees under a cloudless blue sky. It was peaceful and comforting.

“Young master, please be careful. There’s a cliff over there.”

“Thank you.”

I received a warning from Zeff. Indeed, if I got too close, I might misstep. The grass made it hard to see the ground...

Looking down, I saw a large amount of earth and sand piled messily at the bottom of the cliff. That must be the waste rock piles from mining, what they call spoil heaps, right? This was my first time seeing such a thing in reality.

Though it wasn’t exactly pretty, seeing red soil partially covered by weeds somehow made me sense the vitality of nature. However—

“What a waste…”

They said this mine had almost zero iron output now. But isn’t there iron in the soil even if iron ore isn’t being extracted? That red color is iron oxide, rust, isn’t it? I probably could convert it into iron using alchemy... but alchemy has a shady reputation, and alchemists are often seen as frauds, so it probably won’t be used.

As I thought about that, the plaza where we were supposed to gather came into view. Further ahead, I also spotted Mr. Reinhardt and madam waiting strangely by the entrance.

“Welcome back!”

“How was it?”

“Mother, Father, I defeated lots of cave mantises!”

“Hmm, it seems you did quite well.”

“Ryoma-kun kept the monsters at bay from the middle of the fight, so I could safely use magic. And Ryoma-kun defeated even more than I did!”

“Ryoma-kun protected you? Thank you.”

“By the way... were there really that many cave mantises?”

“It seems the tunnel we went into was the cave mantis’ nest. We didn’t see any other magical beasts.”

“I see. Then in the afternoon, why don’t you come with us to another tunnel? I’d like to see the area and how Ryoma-kun fights.”

“Really? I’ll do my best!”

“Oh my, but first, let’s have lunch. Others should be back soon. Until then, tell us more about the first tunnel.”

After reporting the details, we had lunch. We planned to go to the second abandoned mine shaft after eating.

“By the way, Ryoma-kun, what were you thinking about earlier?”

“Earlier?”

We had lunch with the four from the Duke’s household. We were talking about the morning’s impressions and how Eria fought. As soon as that topic ended, the young lady asked, but I didn’t know what she meant.

“You said earlier, looking at the scenery, that it was wasteful, didn’t you?”

Ah, that time. I understood but found it a bit hard to answer that question.

“Ah, well, nothing special.”

Ah, that sounded suspicious.

I could tell I was obviously trying to dodge the question.

“That sounds very suspicious.”

“You’re bad at lying, aren’t you?”

“Is it something difficult to say?”

“If you have something to say, don’t hesitate to say it, okay?”