Go Dig Up Some Burning Stone

"So, here's your job for today."

I said, looking at Azu's face.

I'd given her a full extra day off to rest.

Perhaps because of that, her complexion was much better. Still plenty of mileage left in her.

"Thanks to your work, the grassland situation's clear now. A large-scale Black Snake extermination is being organized. Sounds like they'll mobilize a bunch of rookies like you. The pay's barely above manual labor, but they'll still get bodies."

Adventurers of her level were mostly hand-to-mouth types scraping by. Dangle a meal and a bit of coin in front of them and they'd bite.

"There's no point sending you to something that cheap. The monster-hunting efficiency is terrible."

Safe but inefficient? No thanks. Not when better options existed.

"The Adventurer's Guild posted additional work, and I'm sending you on that instead. The job is to investigate why the Bird Monsters have been declining."

"Um, Master… how am I supposed to figure that out?"

I looked at the quest form again.

It basically said: go poke around and find something useful.

The reward was fifteen silver coins. Better than the now-devalued Black Snake bounties, but…

The Black Snake population had exploded because the Bird Monsters that preyed on them had declined.

But Bird Monsters had no natural predators in the grasslands.

The reason they hadn't overpopulated before was that Black Snakes ate their eggs and chicks.

The grasslands had run on that cycle, and it was what made them a good source of medicinal herbs.

My shop dealt in herb-related products, so this wasn't someone else's problem.

Herb prices had already ticked up a bit.

"Normally, figuring that out would be your job too, but since you're a kid who's barely done a real day's work, I won't hold it against you."

I pulled out a map and crouched down to Azu's eye level.

She flinched a little at my closeness.

I pointed at the map so she could follow along.

"Past the grasslands, there are cliffs. Beyond the cliffs, the monsters get stronger, so people don't normally go near them."

There were iron ore and burning stone deposits out there, but better and safer sources existed elsewhere, so nobody had bothered with the area. The grassland monsters were strong enough to injure unarmed civilians, too.

But Azu had already proven she could handle Black Snakes easily enough. Her gear saw to that.

Monsters near the cliffs shouldn't be a problem for her either.

"If something's been hunting the Bird Monsters, it'd be coming from here. Part of the cliff has a gradual slope you can walk down."

Azu studied the map for a while, then tentatively pointed at the cliffs.

"This area has dangerous monsters, right?"

"Much stronger than Black Snakes, apparently."

"And I'm going alone… right?"

"The reward's too low to split, and nobody would team up with a slave."

"… Under… stoood."

Dripping with reluctance. Still not what I'd call industrious.

But at least she didn't whine. I'd spare her the discipline.

"Also, take these."

I handed Azu a pickaxe and a pair of heavy gloves.

"Um…"

"If the monsters there seem manageable, dig up some black rocks while you're at it. Burning stone. You know what it is?"

"I know about burning stone. The village chief used it in winter. It makes things warm when you burn it."

It had plenty of uses, but heating was the main one.

The warm season had passed and the weather was comfortable now, but the cold would be coming before long.

Burning stone sold well in the cold months, but procurement costs went up too.

If Azu could bring back even one fist-sized chunk, that'd be twenty silver coins.

High-quality pieces would sell to blacksmiths for even more.

"Dig some up. If it's truly impossible, I'll forgive you, but at least try to bring back one piece. Understood?"

"I think it's going to be really dangerous… Can I run if things get bad?"

"You don't need to risk your life. Now go earn."

Azu stood, hooked the pickaxe onto her belt, and stuffed the gloves into her rucksack.

The pickaxe was a small one, sized so even she could handle it.

Good. She was starting to look the part.

I gave Azu some pocket money and sent her off.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

Sent on my way, I gnawed on a piece of overly salty jerky as I headed for the cliffs.

Last time had ended pretty badly, so I wanted this one to go smoothly.

Burning stone… Back in the house where I used to live, we never had any.

When winter came, I'd wrap myself in a thin, worn-out blanket and curl up shivering.

Would Master burn some for me?

Since it would be a problem if I stopped being useful, I probably wouldn't have to shiver.

Or maybe, when it got cold, he'd call me to his bed.

That would be fine too. Shivering through winter was truly miserable.

If I slept with Master, it would be much warmer than sleeping alone.

Just as Master had said, a crowd of rookie-looking adventurers were heading toward the grasslands. None were younger than me, but they were all young. And most of them moved in groups.

Were those parties?

Did I envy them? … Not really. Even to my eyes, most of their gear was obviously poor.

What they wore could barely be called armor. Most had on nothing more than slightly thick cloth.

Their weapons were knives at best. A few carried staffs. Were they mages?

I'd heard that novice mages ran out of energy after just a few spells.

I had the sword and armor Master gave me.

He'd probably keep sending me on things beyond my level, but he wouldn't send me on anything truly reckless. I believed that.

His love of money was plain as day. The clothes he'd bought me were probably just to keep me motivated. And honestly, it worked. I was happy.

He wanted to make me strong enough to earn big. That was why even the dangerous tasks should be manageable.

I was still thinking such carefree thoughts.

For an adventurer, there was no such thing as zero risk.

I had completely forgotten that.