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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 163
As he slowly approached Leon, about to make him a proposal, Raida flinched.
Leon looked puzzled.
“Huh?”
“Why… is something wrong?”
Without answering, Leon suddenly started walking toward the back.
Puzzled by his strange behavior, Raida quietly followed him with Ravena still on his back.
For about thirty minutes, they walked through the tunnel.
Then, at a fork they had passed long before, Leon tapped on one of the walls.
He gave it a light knock with his hand.
Thud!
Crack...
At the same time, something shattered.
A powerful flow of energy that had been maintaining some form of magic was released.
Raida had not noticed the presence of a hidden space.
In fact, it seemed even Leon had missed it due to the intense flow of magical currents.
Intrigued, Leon's expression shifted.
“A shrine of some sort?”
The finely crafted altar lacked any grotesque features.
Instead, it was pristine and white, as though it belonged in a sacred temple.
Strange glyphs and symbols—unlike anything found on the continent—adorned the altar.
At the center, something floating above it captured both of their gazes.
Leon slowly approached the altar.
“Hmm… I guess I’ll have to ask someone about this.”
“That… it feels like a relic of the Holy Kingdom. It gives off an aura of divinity. I feel like I’ve seen something like this before…”
“Your tone has changed a little.”
“You deserve such respect. Besides, thanks to you, I’ve surpassed my limits. I won’t forget this debt.”
“Suit yourself.”
Leon nodded at Raida’s sudden formality.
Then, he pulled out a communication artifact.
Is communication even possible in a tunnel like this?
Just as he expected, the artifact failed to work properly, and Leon’s face twisted with annoyance.
“Machines… ugh.”
Then, to Raida’s shock, Leon slammed the artifact against the wall.
Bang! Bang!
Incredibly, the artifact reacted to his mana, sparking and sputtering before finally starting to function.
“Sometimes, you just have to hit it to fix it.”
“…Hah.”
Since when did artifacts start working by getting smacked around?
But he didn’t have time to dwell on it.
Leon’s voice echoed in his ear.
“Luna, I think I’ve found a relic.”
—A relic?
“Yeah. Wanna come check it out?”
It took Luna less than thirty minutes to arrive, flying at incredible speed.
“This is…!”
Her eyes widened in shock.
Having flown at a breathtaking speed, Luna’s eyes grew round the moment she saw the object floating above the altar.
“Th-this is…!”
“Do you know what it is?”
“Nope.”
Then why the dramatic reaction?
Taking the strange object from Leon’s hand, Luna turned it over, examining it with mild interest before quickly losing curiosity.
“I’d have to crack it open to know for sure, but it doesn’t quite feel like a relic.”
Even if it wasn’t technically a relic, the divine aura emanating from it suggested it was no ordinary object.
“Can you read the inscriptions on the altar?”
Luna casually walked into the inner chamber and scanned the altar.
“These are ancient glyphs. I’ve seen something similar before, but scholars gave up trying to decipher them.”
Ignoring Raida’s explanatory remark, Luna narrowed her eyes.
“Hmm…”
“Can you read it?”
“Demon… Diablo.”
Her soft murmur made Raida flinch.
“Demon Diablo? A demon, you say… that’s a little unsettling.”
To the people of the continent, demons were indeed an unsettling and ominous presence.
“Is that a name you recognize?”
“It’s from a children’s fairy tale. The demon who curses with slander. If someone speaks ill of others, they are said to be possessed by the demon Diablo. Just a silly legend.”
Seeing Leon’s skeptical look, Luna simply stared at the altar and shrugged.
“Humans know very little about angels and demons.”
Previously, Luna had mentioned that angels and humans weren’t all that different.
If demons were the same, then perhaps it was foolish to assume that demons were inherently evil.
After all, even though there had been many bizarre rituals performed in history, there had never been any credible reports of a demon actually being summoned.
“This artifact seems related to the demon Diablo. No harm in keeping it.”
With that, she casually tossed the object into her subspace storage.
“Just in case, I’ll hold on to it.”
“Go ahead. Ah, before that, could you check on her?”
Leon gestured toward Ravena, who was still unconscious.
Luna narrowed her eyes as she observed her condition.
“She’s just exhausted. She’ll recover with rest.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Lord Leon, would it be alright if I stayed here for a few more days?”
“For what reason?”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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“I need to report that the mine has stabilized, but I’ll need evidence. I’d like to remain here for a few days to investigate and document the mine’s stability.”
That makes sense.
Without that proof, Vergal would never lift the development ban he had imposed on the area.
“Stay as long as you like.”
Raida respectfully bowed to him.
“Lord Leon.”
“Yes?”
"Thank you for your great teachings. Thanks to your guidance, I have overcome a significant hurdle. I will never forget this favor. However... do you have any plans to publicly share your technique?"
Mana mines only require management, and there are very few unstable ones.
Therefore, currently, there are hardly any places that could cause such a disturbance, but it seemed like he wanted to eliminate the possibility itself.
"Although the number is small, if you utilize that magic circle of yours, you could save many from mana disasters."
At his suggestion, Luna subtly looked around before staring at him.
"It is impossible."
"What do you mean?"
"Even if you knew, you would not be able to implement it. The only way is if Leon installs it himself."
"Then, does Lord Leon..."
"Leon has no obligation to go that far."
Raida, with no words left, bowed his head.
"In that case, I will not make any further requests. However, if there is anything you need help with in the future, please contact me. I will gladly lend a hand, however small it may be."
"Go and report well to the association."
Although he had argued with him, he was in charge of managing mana disasters and seemed to see the mere presence of people in dangerous areas as a significant issue.
His actions were reasonable, and I did not blame him for worrying about potential casualties.
If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have engaged in the conversation at all.
In any case, the events that occurred in the mine had to be officially reported to Melissa.
"Take it."
"What is this?"
Melissa, who spent most of her time beside Arsha outside of working hours, tilted her head as she looked at the white lump I handed her.
"What does it look like?"
At my question, Melissa turned the lump over and asked.
"Silver? No, it's not silver... Could it be mithril? From the mine?!"
Her eyes widened as she shouted.
In a mine, iron ore, copper, lead, and many other ores are found, but among them, mithril is one of the rarest to be discovered.
Naturally, since it is only mined in a few of the many mines, mithril's value is extremely high.
Melissa's eyes seemed to demand that I answer affirmatively as soon as possible.
"Are your eyes not open properly? Does this look like mithril?"
"What? No? I thought mithril was found in the mine."
Realizing it wasn’t mithril, disappointment washed over her face.
She had thought it was the big find of mithril, but it wasn’t, so she seemed let down.
"What a pity. I thought maybe the highest-level ore like mithril was found in our mine."
"What's so regrettable? This is even better than mithril."
"Huh?"
"Orichalchum."
At my words, she stared at me blankly for a moment.
"What?"
"What?"
"No, did I hear that wrong? Is this...?"
"Orichalchum."
She dug at her ear.
"Uh... Um... Am I mistaken? The... divine metal? Orichalchum?"
"Yes."
"Uh... Um... Orichalchum is mined?"
The value of Orichalchum was incomparable to that of mithril.
The amount of Orichalchum circulating in the market was extremely small, and whenever it appeared, it caused a lot of commotion due to the rarity of its supply.
In a situation where common sense could not keep up with reality, I began to explain as best as I could.
"Orichalchum is a mineral, so of course, it can be mined."
"How?"
"Do you know about mana veins? It’s mentioned in the report."
"Uh... Um. It says that from mana veins, magic stones or mithril, along with high-quality iron ores that have absorbed mana, are found."
She quickly flipped through the papers.
"It says that with regular mana veins, as long as mages manage them, there’s no problem with mining."
"Right."
"But if it's an unstable mana vein, things are different."
At my words, her eyes widened in realization.
"That’s... a mana disaster..."
"I’ve taken care of it."
Her face showed confusion, as though she were hearing that a huge storm was coming and I had somehow solved it.
"What... did you fix? Was that a disaster that could be fixed?"
"Why not? There’s nothing that can’t be done. I’ll organize everything and make a report, so you can read it. In any case, even in those unstable mana veins, if the mana blood is strong, Orichalchum is generated in small quantities under extreme conditions."
In other words, a mine that would normally be impossible to mine could now be mined, allowing the extraction of Orichalchum from it.
"The reason there are no Orichalchum mines on the continent... is that it’s originally in an environment where it can’t be mined, but you’ve solved it."
A mana vein with such intense mana blood is extremely rare, and even if such a place is found, it is practically impossible to mine.
The reason there is so little Orichalchum in the continent is precisely because of this.
Of course, the amount is small, but still.
"Wow... I can’t keep up with reality right now. Orichalchum... Orichalchum..."
Suddenly overwhelmed by the enormous news, she fell into a bit of a panic.
Behind her, Luna was looking at the decoration she brought from the Diablo altar, turning it over and inspecting it.
I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like she wasn’t as clueless as she let on.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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