Due to working all night, I collapsed into sleep.
When I woke up, the sun was already setting.
“Huh…?”
My head hurt as if it were splitting, likely because I slept for too long.
“I hope Nia managed to deliver it properly…”
The sooner the results co out, the more ti we’ll have to prepare against Rastok.
To be honest, I just hope there were no delays because of the design aspect.
‘…Co to think of it, I think I saw the Hero.’
Was the reason I ended up lying on the bed because the Hero brought here?
As that thought crossed my mind, I quickly shook my head.
“Why would he bother with ?”
It’s far more likely that Lafirie, seeing sleeping on the floor, put on the bed instead.
But then, what about the voice I heard and the Hero’s face I saw before falling asleep?
Maybe it was just sothing I imagined after not seeing him for a whole day...
“…”
I don’t know. I slowly got up, trying not to feel dizzy, and stepped out of the room.
The mansion was quiet, but the harsh, desolate atmosphere from before had almost disappeared.
It now felt like the peaceful calm one would expect in a serene country house.
‘If I leave the Hero’s party, living sowhere like this wouldn’t be so bad.’
Finding a decent house in the countryside and living a peaceful life… To be honest, it would be quite lonely living alone, so it would be nice to take soone with .
For example, Nia.
“...But would Nia want to go with Rosen?”
Of course, she’ll live with the Hero, but after that, she’ll probably stay close to her childhood friend Rosen.
What about Lafirie?
Lafirie would return to the Elven Kingdom and succeed to the throne, so that wouldn’t work.
Serlyn has her own estate and mansion, so she wouldn’t move to the countryside either.
Aria would likely be given a ho by the church.
‘That older sister… I’ve already lived with her for about a year, so I don’t want to do that again.’
‘The assassin heroine? Hmm…’
She would probably refuse my offer, wanting to stick close to the Hero.
‘…In the end, I have no one.’
Was my social circle always this small?
Well, I haven’t exactly tried to make friends since I ca to this world.
Most of the connections I have were naturally ford while learning magic.
Still, I couldn’t help but sigh at how few connections I had.
“...?”
Why did I look down just now?
I don’t know anymore.
I should ask Nia about the prototype’s progress.
A little later, I t Nia, who smiled brightly as she gave feedback from the others.
“They said the effects are great!”
“You’ve already completed the experint, huh?”
“Yep! I told them that you wanted the results as soon as possible. They grabbed it and rushed off imdiately!”
Hmm.
Did they do that just because of the ‘Hero Party’ title?
If that’s the case, I feel a bit sorry.
There’s no need to rush to the point of running around in such a hurry.
“They did say it would be better if the size could be adjusted depending on the size of the blacksmiths’ forges and mines.”
“That was already sothing I was considering. So, there’s nothing else to worry about.”
“Exactly! You’ve worked so hard. If there had been any complaints… I would’ve fixed them myself.”
Hearing the ‘Witch of Embers’ say she would “fix it” sounded a little intimidating.
“What about the others?”
“They’re all resting. Oh, as for the Hero…”
“What about the Hero? Isn’t he resting too?”
“He ca to the mansion this morning but left right away. He said he’d handle all the requests from the nearby villages.”
So, the Hero ca to the mansion?
‘...’
Then was the vision I saw before sleeping really him?
“...”
“Big sister?”
“No, it’s nothing. Could you give the report? I need to start working on the adjustnts.”
“Oh, yes!”
I’m planning to work just a little today and go to bed early. I don’t want to ss up my sleep schedule again by staying up all night.
The next morning, after waking up at a normal ti, I headed straight to the city managent office.
“I’ve made additional improvents here.”
“Overnight… As expected, you’re impressive. Can we proceed with mass production?”
“Yes. What’s the status of the Ranar ore?”
“We’ve prepared it at the entrance to the mine.”
With so many people working, things were moving fast.
I accompanied the city managent workers to the mine and saw a mountain of pink ore piled high.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
Leaving the anxious city workers behind, I took out the master key and started engraving the spell.
“Let’s start with the first stage of processing.”
Then the second and third stages of processing, forming the ores into the proper shapes for each size.
Thanks to the mana I’d stored since Alpareth, I had enough to use large-scale magic like the Spear of Ultima.
That afternoon, while I was busy with the processing work, Nia ca running, panting as she carried sothing.
“Sis…! It finally arrived…!”
“What are you doing here?”
“This… Aria told to bring it to you as a snack.”
When I opened the box, I saw it was full of cookies shaped like carrots.
The mont I recognized the shape, I started salivating.
So, I put one in Nia’s mouth and then tasted one myself.
“Delicious!!”
“...”
As expected from Aria, known as the Hero’s official partner. From basic soup to these high-end cookies, her cooking skills are exceptional.
Since I can hardly cook like this, Aria just seed more and more amazing to .
“Need help with anything?”
“No. Go back to the mansion and practice magic.”
“...Okay.”
It seems that practicing magic nonstop has started to get to her.
But soon, when Rastok appears, she’ll get plenty of chances to use magic, so I hope she can wait until then.
“What about the others?”
“Lady Aria gave you the cookies and went straight to the church… Lady Lafirie and Lady Serlyn are patrolling the city.”
“And the Hero?”
“He’s probably out again today, don’t you think?”
After telling what the rest of the party was up to, Nia started heading back to the mansion.
I called out to her.
“Nia.”
“Yes?”
“If you see the Hero… Could you ask him to et this evening?”
“Of course!”
Nia didn’t ask why, and I felt grateful for that.
To be honest, I don’t have a particular reason to et him.
It’s just that I haven’t seen him properly in a few days… and I’m worried I might forget what he looks like.
After she left, I continued working while waiting for the evening to arrive.
“That’s enough for today.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Miss Louis. Let escort you back to the mansion.”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
At my words, Knight Lux approached with quiet footsteps, and the city worker backed away, understanding the situation.
“I should be finished by late tomorrow. After that, it’ll be up to you.”
“I’ll make sure to pass that along.”
The worker scribbling furiously in his report suddenly thanked .
“Thank you for doing so much for our city.”
“…I’m just doing what I’m supposed to. No need to thank .”
Feeling a bit awkward about the praise, I tried to change the subject, but the worker’s expression was serious.
“No, we are all truly grateful to you and the Hero Party. Thanks to you, our city, which had been falling apart, is starting to co back to life.”
It seed there had been many internal issues. But with the Hero Party addressing the major problems, other aspects were gradually improving as well.
“Our city supplies important resources across the empire, but because we’re so far from the capital, we hardly receive any support. And then the incident with the Marquis…”
“I see.”
“That’s why… I wanted to express my gratitude.”
I couldn’t refuse the gratitude at that point.
I averted my eyes and nodded slightly in response, as did the worker and the others watching from behind.
Later that evening, Nia brought news about the Hero.
“It looks like the Hero won’t be coming back tonight.”
“Oh…”
“A group of monsters appeared, and since they’re nocturnal, he’s staying in the village to handle the request.”
“I see… Alright, I’ll head inside now.”
“Good night.”
Our timing was off again.
But this was the usual way of the Hero Party.
Unless sothing big like the siege at the Twilight Fortress occurred, we would be scattered across various cities, each handling our own tasks.
Once the battle against Rastok begins, he’ll return. I just have to wait until then.
“…”
Still, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of loneliness.
With that thought, I faced the next day and returned to the mine to continue processing the ore.
Sothing felt off, though.
“...!”
“Hurry… Move…!”
The miners, who usually managed to stay cheerful through hard work, now wore grim expressions as they rushed about.
Wondering what was going on, I was about to approach them when soone burst out from the crowd of miners.
“Move, please!!”
“What the…”
One of the miners, looking panicked, was pushing his way through the crowd while carrying another miner on his back.
The miner on his back… sothing was wrong with him.
His limbs were lting like soft cheese. His face had turned blue, possibly from the shock.
‘A mining accident…?’
But what kind of accident would cause such injuries?
I asked one of the nearby miners about the situation.
“A lot of miners died while working in the distant mountains. We don’t know the cause. The guards are on their way now.”
The distant mountains?
The farthest mountain from Rakru… there are several candidates.
One of them is the mountain where Rastok is hiding until the battle begins.
But Rastok isn’t responsible for what happened to them.
‘What is this?’
In the original story, there was no ntion of Rastok being discovered by miners or miners dying en masse.
These injuries aren’t from monsters or magic related to Rastok.
So, why are they injured like this?
For a mont, a certain demon ca to mind.
But I quickly erased that thought. There’s no way she could be here.
“...Master key.”
I summoned the master key and glared at the distant mountain.
Sothing strange was happening.
Reviews
All reviews (0)