The Deal With The Duke, And The Jewel

We were guided into the mansion to negotiate with the Dwarf Duke.

I thought as we walked.

—I had intended to put the child in my debt and have them connect me to the duke, but to think I would meet the duke himself.

All that remained was to negotiate well and get permission to dig out the jewel.

When we entered, a red carpet was laid out, giving a different impression from the dwarf town.

Plenty of sunlight entered through the large windows.

We were guided to a reception room with many pieces of furniture decorated with intricate craftsmanship.

When we sat on the sofa, Gustav called a maid.

“I’ll have ale. You two will drink too, won’t you?”

“You drink in the middle of the day?”

“Why not? Alcohol is the lubricant of the heart and words—bring three.”

The maid lowered her head and left.

Soon, glasses filled with foaming ale were brought over.

Gustav lifted his glass with an amiable smile that did not match his stern face.

“Then, to celebrate zero deaths, cheers! —Puhah! Ahh, ale really is exceptional after a job well done!”

He drank about half of it in one gulp and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Liricia and I only took one sip each. There was no way we could imitate him.

I placed my glass on the table and spoke.

“So, about the Puchi Elixirs.”

“Ohh. Getting right to it, are we? …How much did you sell one for in the Royal Capital?”

“Twenty thousand gort in limited quantities. From now on, I’m thinking of removing the limit and selling them for fifty thousand gort instead.”

“That’s quite the price. With that effect, I suppose it’s reasonable… Hmm, since I’ll be buying in bulk, can you lower the price?”

“How much are you thinking?”

“Let’s see… How about twenty-five thousand?”

“Forty-five thousand.”

“Thirty thousand!”

“Forty thousand gort.”

“One more push!”

Gustav made his thick chest bounce as he stuck out a rugged index finger.

I brought up the topic at this exact moment.

“Then I can make it thirty-eight thousand… but there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

Gustav’s thick eyebrows twitched. He narrowed his eyes warily.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing major. Uh, was it the Sixth Tunnel? I want you to let me dig there a little. Just for one day.”

“Hmm. The sixth, huh—The ore should have been mostly mined out already. Is that still fine?”

“I don’t mind. I’m just looking for something.”

Gustav tilted his thick neck curiously and stroked his chin. The short beard rubbed by his thick palm made a light sound.

“That makes it suspicious in the opposite way. May I ask what it is? If it’s a mineral vein, I cannot grant permission.”

Troubled, I looked at Liricia, who was sitting beside me.

“Do you think it’s all right to tell him?”

“I believe Duke Gustav is someone we can trust. Rather, perhaps we may even ask for his help.”

She nodded, making her silver hair sway. Then she took a tiny sip of ale.

I turned back to Gustav.

“Sorry. I acted like I was doubting you. What I want is an orb that can revive the Sacred White Dragon. And for a very personal reason.”

I could not exactly say it was because I wanted to make the Sacred White Dragon, which would help save the world, watch my shop.

However, Gustav lifted the corner of his mouth and smiled, showing his white teeth.

“Hmph, so that is it. If Alec is searching for an orb, then I do not mind.”

“Is that all right?”

“No problem. Right, former hero Alec?”

“You knew?”

“I met you once about twenty years ago. I had not yet inherited the title back then, though.”

“So that’s what happened. Sorry, I forgot.”

“It means I have become so handsome that I am unrecognizable, hmph.”

Gustav showed a likable, stern smile and gulped down his glass.

I also tilted my glass of ale as I spoke.

“Then the deal is settled. If you prepare a storage room, I’ll leave about a thousand bottles there.”

“Yes, there is an unused detached shed at the edge of the garden, so put them in there.”

“Understood. Also, when we investigate the Sixth Tunnel, I’d like it to be just Liricia and me.”

“No problem. I shall write a note.”

When Gustav snapped his fingers, a small dwarf girl in a maid outfit came over with paper and a pen.

He quickly wrote a message and handed it to me.

“With this, no one should complain. Use the elevator to go to the mine tunnel. If you show this paper to the workers, they should guide you.”

“Thanks.”

I thanked him and put the paper into the magic bag.

—Now then, what should I do from here? Should we go get the jewel right away?

As I tilted my glass while thinking, I noticed Gustav staring at me.

His lips moved as if he wanted to add something, but he said nothing.

It bothered me, so I asked him first.

“What is it, Gustav? Is there something?”

“Will you accept one request from me?”

“Well, if it’s something I can do.”

“It is nothing. You are searching for the Sacred White Dragon’s jewel, yes? You can do it while you are at it… I want you to search for my daughter.”

“Oh? Is she missing… Is there a possibility of an incident? Is she a little girl?”

I asked because I thought it might be kidnapping.

However, Gustav shook his large head.

“No, my daughter is eighteen. There was a note left behind, so she left home of her own will. But I do not know where she is, and I am worried.”

“Of course you’d be worried. She’s a girl of that age, so who knows what danger—”

Interrupting my words, Gustav put a serious expression on his stern face.

“No, I am worried that she may have put someone to the sword.”

“That’s what you’re worried about!? What kind of dangerous person is she?”

At my retort, Gustav wrinkled his brow and stroked his chin.

“As one would expect from my bloodline, she is large for a dwarf. However, her bone density and muscles are several times that of a human. As a result, she conceals tremendous physical strength.”

“I see.”

“If she were facing one or two hundred soldiers or monsters, she would likely tear them apart and massacre them.”

“We’d better secure your daughter quickly, but for a different reason—Liricia, can you do it?”

I looked at Liricia.

Searching for things was an angel’s specialty.

She nodded. Even though she had only drunk a little ale, her cheeks were red.

“Yes, leave it to me.”

“Understood, Gustav. We’ll search for her later and contact you. But if she seems safe, we won’t forcibly bring her back.”

“Yes, that is fine. As long as I can confirm my daughter’s safety.”

Gustav breathed out in relief.

Only at that moment, he did not look like an imposing duke, but an anxious father.

—However.

That was what I thought.

When I was a hero, this would have been fine. But now I was just an ordinary person.

I did not want to help people for free.

Ah, I see.

I drank my ale and spoke.

“In exchange, once I inform you whether your daughter is safe, become Liricia’s guarantor. I want to free her from unconditional slavery.”

“I see. So it is an exchange condition. Very well—judging from her work, she is unlikely to be a bad person.”

Gustav looked at Liricia and nodded seriously.

I drained my glass in one gulp and stood up.

“All right. Then let’s finish our business quickly. We’ll go to the mine tunnel. …It probably won’t take even an hour.”

“Mm. I shall have dinner prepared.”

Liricia and I thanked him and left the reception room.

The drunk Liricia was walking with an unusually sharp and serious face, but her footing was light and unsteady.

Before leaving the duke’s mansion, we delivered one thousand Puchi Elixirs to the shed at the edge of the garden.

Then we left the grounds and went toward the inner town.

We used the elevator in the city wall and descended to the Sixth Tunnel.

Liricia, who was beside me, was walking with springy steps.

“The ground is soft, Mashter.”

“Huh? You got drunk from just that much, Liricia?”

“I feel all floaty, floa—”

Liricia, speaking with her mouth lightly open, looked a little airheaded and cute.

But I needed her to work.

We showed the map to a dwarf who was working and had him tell us which branch tunnel was our destination.

I took Liricia’s hand and entered the branch tunnel, then took out the sub-device and spoke to it.

“All right, Kou. Absorb the obstructing rocks and stones together.”

“Aye aye, sir.”

When I pressed the sub-device against the wall of the branch tunnel, it began absorbing the rock wall bit by bit.

I adjusted the size of the hole so people could pass through and proceeded deeper inside.

I turned back toward Liricia, who was following behind me.

“Liricia, tell me the exact location of the buried jewel.”

“Yees.”

When she raised one hand and stretched, white wings spread with a flutter.

With her drooping eyes looking hazy, she mumbled the chant.

“—Dark Magic Detection.”

White feathers flew out at a more irregular speed than usual.

The shape they spread into was also a distorted ellipse.

…It seemed we would not be able to search for the dwarf girl until her drunkenness wore off.

Then Liricia pointed diagonally forward.

She was pointing slightly downward.

“It seems to be this way, Master.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

“Yees.”

Liricia gave a weak reply while smiling. Her silver-haired head was swaying.

I pressed the sub-device against the wall she pointed at and absorbed it.

After going about three meters forward, a yellow sphere appeared from the wall.

“Oh. This is it.”

Beside me, Liricia peered at it through her monocle and nodded.

“Yes, this is it. There is no doubt that it is the earth jewel.”

I absorbed all around the sphere with the sub-device.

The sphere rolled down into my palm.

—It ended surprisingly easily.

I put it into the magic bag and spoke.

“All right, then let’s go back.”

“Yes, Master.”

As we walked through the dim mine tunnel, the sub-device vibrated.

I put it to my ear and spoke.

“What is it, Kou?”

“There is something that bothers me.”

“What is it?”

“There are no impurities in the rock or soil?”

“Hm? What do you mean…?”

“The rocks and mineral veins are like something a dungeon made?”

“Huh? Is there a dungeon nearby?”

“There is not. It probably died?”

I wrinkled my brow and thought.

“In other words, this mine was created using the power of a dungeon? And the dungeon disappeared?”

“Probably, that is how it is?”

“Understood. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Yes.”

I ended the call.

Then I brought the unsteadily walking Liricia with me and returned the way we had come.