Mining Resumes

Before heading back to the mining city, he did one more pass of the site.

He trusted Azu and the others completely, of course, but given how critical this was, he wanted to see it with his own eyes.

Just as they'd described, the area had turned to desert.

He scooped up a handful of sand and watched it slip through his fingers.

The ground, which had become a toxic swamp, had been drained of every last drop of moisture along with the poison, leaving behind nothing but dry sand, or so he'd been told.

"Can plants really grow back from this? Even if you planted seeds, it seems like they'd have trouble taking root."

"Not as it is, no, but if I keep producing rain with magic to let the water soak in, it's possible. It'll take a long time, but for me, that's not much of an issue. In fact, being able to build the ideal environment from scratch might not be a bad thing."

"That's a long game, but impressive all the same. If there are any supplies you need, just say the word. I'll arrange them."

"That sounds nice. I might take you up on that."

He wanted to maintain the connection with Evalin.

Humans with ties to an elf were few and far between.

They arrived at the site where the forest spirit had been fought.

There was a lone patch of forest still standing.

So this was where the small Monster Pit had appeared.

He thoroughly inspected the spot they'd pointed out, but found no trace of anything.

Elza had taken care of it, apparently.

He hadn't known she was capable of something like that.

The toll seemed to have been heavy. He had to wonder if she was really all right.

"Thank you for your concern. I'm perfectly fine, full of energy."

He'd asked just to be sure, and that was Elza's answer.

She rarely spoke her true feelings, so she might well have been putting on a brave face.

Alexia and Evalin used magic to scan the surroundings.

"There's absolutely nothing. I'd have to extend the detection range all the way to where the barrier used to be before picking up any signs of life."

"So it literally sucked everything dry. If the barrier hadn't been there, who knows what would've happened."

What Evalin had done was honestly reckless in some ways, but putting up the barrier early and preventing the spread was worthy of genuine praise.

Thanks to that, a major disaster had been averted.

Still recovering, he felt his stamina was a bit low.

Having confirmed there were no remaining issues, it was time to head for the mining city.

He scanned the area.

He hoped it would return to a proper forest someday…

Just then, a strong gust of wind blew through.

"Thank you."

With a rushing sound, he thought he caught a voice for just an instant.

But when he looked toward the wind that had blown after it, as if in pursuit, there was nothing.

Azu and the others hadn't heard anything either.

… These things happened sometimes.

Together with Azu and the others, they brought Evalin along and headed for the mining city of Shirok.

At the entrance, they found Kitan, the city's representative and Coal King, waiting eagerly with his subordinates.

Apparently, he'd been standing watch like this ever since they'd gone into the forest.

"Yohane-san, what happened?!"

He grabbed Yohane by the shoulders.

The man had a solid build, so even that much made Yohane's whole body shake.

"I'll tell you everything, just please calm down."

"Forgive me. I got ahead of myself. Seeing Evalin-san here as well, dare I hope for good news?"

He finally let go.

Yohane cleared his throat and relayed that the problem had been resolved.

The full truth was difficult to convey without causing misunderstandings, so he explained that a mutant monster had appeared and triggered the Mosquito Monster outbreak.

The cover story was that Evalin had mistakenly believed the mine was the cause of the mutation.

Telling the truth wouldn't accomplish anything useful.

"… I admit the mine wasn't the cause. I'm sorry."

"N-not at all! I'm just glad the misunderstanding with you, an elf, has been cleared up, Evalin-san!"

"I'll release the mines now."

Kitan seemed thrown off by how readily Evalin bowed her head.

But he could also see Kitan going out of his way to be deferential—Evalin could single-handedly overpower the entire city if she wanted, after all.

From Kitan's perspective, rather than make an enemy of the elf who'd disrupted his business, if she'd unblock the mines, he was willing to let everything else slide.

"Ah, truly remarkable work, Executive Officer, direct servant of Her Majesty the Queen! You absolutely must stay at my home tonight. Evalin-san, you as well, please."

"We'll take you up on that, then."

"Fine by me."

He'd considered declining, but there was the matter of showing proper courtesy.

Evalin moved her right hand, and a shimmer of light indicated some kind of magic at work.

"That should have removed all the boulders I sealed the mines with."

"All of them, just like that—hey! You there!"

Kitan called over a subordinate and sent them running toward the city immediately.

No doubt he'd be dispatching miners to the tunnels right away.

With all the delays, they had a lot of ground to make up.

If they didn't, it would cut into their income.

Business would be booming for a while.

With this, the burning stone supply shortage would resolve itself over time.

"Right this way, please. I'll have a meal prepared at once."

Kitan ushered them toward his home, rubbing his hands together.

"Hey. Why has that human been grinning like that? He was all sour-faced just a moment ago."

"Because you removed the boulders, Evalin-san. It really was a matter of life and death for this city."

"Really?"

Trying to explain economics to Evalin didn't seem to register.

… From an elf's perspective, anything they wanted was easy enough to come by.

Thanks to magic, there was almost nothing they couldn't do.

That left humans with no way to establish leverage.

And the power balance tilted heavily in the elves' favor.

Having a neighbor like that would be a constant thorn in your side.

Even in a friendly relationship, an undercurrent of unease would always remain.

If there were mutual interests binding them, it might be more comfortable, but… he felt like he'd caught a glimpse of why elves and humans couldn't coexist.

Kitan went all out with the welcome.

He uncorked fine wine, laid out dish after dish, and even had an entire cow slaughtered and prepared for them.

It was practically a minor noble's banquet.

Evalin seemed to take a liking to the wine and kept drinking.

Her cheeks had a slight flush, so apparently elves could get drunk.

"Yohane-san. Thank you so much for resolving this. Please, take this."

Kitan produced a pouch and handed it over.

Inside were several large, magnificent uncut diamonds.

They hadn't been cut or polished, but their value was clearly substantial.

Even stacking gold coins wouldn't easily buy these.

Princess Yupe and Anatia would probably be more thrilled than Queen Tianis.

Even giving one to each of the three would be more than enough of a haul.

Maybe he'd give some to Azu and the others as presents, too.

"They're all genuine. We come across them from time to time during excavation, and they're quite popular with the ladies. I considered simply giving you money, but seeing as you're surrounded by so many women… I thought these might be better received."

"You're sure about this much?"

"Of course, of course. A stable supply of burning stone is a critical mission for me as well. This barely scratches the surface of my gratitude."

His hand was seized and shaken, pumped up and down over and over. The gratitude came through clearly.

Evalin and Elza drank too much and were completely hammered, so they decided to stay the night and head back in the morning.