Chapter 627 – Miners and Walls

000

The road to the adamantite mine after leaving Asteris with Herti was unchanged from the route I had seen yesterday in Raksha’s memory.

A deep mine that can be reached by going through the cave behind the waterfall in a certain order.

On the way to this place, it was a dark road without a single torch, perhaps in order to leave no traces of people as much as possible.

If you go close to the mine, thanks to the magic light that flows from the inside, there will be a light source.

And there, I saw ‘something in the form of a person’ rising from the seat while making a rustling sound.

“Huh?”

That something must have sensed Cleon and Hertie’s approaching presence and quickly turned around.

Then there was a person wearing a round headgear made of opaque glass with a smooth face.

His height was similar to Amelia’s or slightly shorter than that, but the clothes he wore on his body were covered in protective clothing that covered his whole body.

Looking at the figure with no skin exposed, Cleon and the person meet eyes for a moment.

But soon, the hidden eyes of the person behind the mask turn to Hertie, who is standing next to Cleon, and raises his hand.

“Howdy! Herti! Wasn’t today mine inspection day?”

“Bourbon! You were with me. Yes. I’m here for something else today.”

When Hertie responds by calling the person’s name happily, Cleon strokes his heart, saying ‘It’s a relief’ even though he thinks, ‘Is it obvious…’.

Maybe it’s because he’s met too many masked enemies lately, but seeing such an opponent makes him unwittingly nervous.

“You brought a strange guy. Is it a new escort? What about Calia?”

As expected, a thick, low voice burst out from under the mask.

As for the age group, I would have been in my late 40s at least when I was young.

However, thanks to the helmet, the voice resonates quite reminiscent of when Fleur was wearing a mask.

However, what is not reminiscent is the height that does not match the thick voice.

Besides, when he sees the huge pickaxe slung over his shoulder, the same height as himself, Cleon naturally thinks of a being in his mind.

“Could it be, Dwarf?”

When Cleon said that with a mixture of speculation, the other person answered with his arms crossed with his thick arms.

“What is it, brother? Did you say this after seeing how tall you are only half of your brother?”

With his blunt words as if he was a little dissatisfied, he wondered if he had offended Bourbon.

Cleon, embarrassed, bowed his head and apologized to him.

“No… I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t make fun of Cleon-nim, Bourbon.”

However, when Herti talked like that, Bourbon smiled and said, haha!’, Then came closer to Cleon and held out his hand.

“Sorry sorry. As you expected, it’s a dwarf, so don’t worry so much. Well, it’s not pure blood, it’s mixed blood.”

“…”

Somehow, he thought he had been beaten a little, but he didn’t seem like a bad person.

Cleon then shook hands with the other person, holding his outstretched hand.

“This is Cleon.”

“Oh. I heard Herti call it that. So Herti. What is this brother?”

When Bourbon opened his mouth as if he wanted to answer the question from earlier, Herti was about to answer the question as he wished.

“He is not a substitute for Calia. Today, you will explore the inside of the mine with me.”

“Ha? What are you talking about, Hertie. In order to enter the mine, we need a pattern that can escape our petrification curse, right?”

While saying that, Bourbon makes eye contact with Cleon and talks.

“Brother. Have you ever done something wrong with Herti? I think Hertie brought his brother to stone.”

“I have already heard that you need a pattern to enter the mine.”

“What. So, is becoming a stone your future dream? I’ll tell you in advance, but you can’t do things like give it to me.”

Apparently, Bourbon didn’t seem to imagine that Cleon was a person who could enter the mine.

Then, Cleon raised his palm and showed the golden pattern engraved on it.

Bourbon looked at him, brought his face closer, stared at Cleon’s palm, and scratched his head on his helmet as he spoke.

“Eh…? What. Do you have a pattern? So, are you the heir of one of the guys who keep the secrets of the mine like us? …No, there was no one from the dark horse clan. The water doesn’t fit.”

“That pattern was a copy of what I had and handed it over.”

When Herti, who was standing still next to her, explained that, Bourbon said, ‘Hey~ It’s Herty’s pattern…’, And didn’t understand the meaning of the words for a while-

“Herti’s pattern!?”

“Wow…!”

Suddenly, a loud voice burst out, as if it had been amplified many times over, and Hertie put her hand to his ear as if expecting it.

Bahamut makes a ‘Nya Aang!’ Sound and jumps as if in surprise, then hides behind Hertie, and at the voice echoing in the cave, Cleon also raises his hand to his forehead as if his head is dizzy.

“Everyone is surprised when you suddenly make such a loud noise.”

“No…! No, this doesn’t make a loud sound, Hertie! I mean you… The one who can give that pattern is ‘a person who becomes a companion’ and ‘a person who becomes a child’. It’s just the two of us!”

“You know?”

Herti replied calmly even as he felt Bourbon run up to him and shake his hand.

“No, I couldn’t have done that if I knew~! This guy won’t be your son!”

“Is Herti the mother… She might not be bad.”

Cleon jokingly responded to Bourbon’s words, and Hertie blushed.

“What are you talking about! I’m not in the mood for a carefree joke right now!”

As Bourbon grabs his head, he raises his voice in anguish and frustration.

Then he jumped around on the spot, then turned his head toward Cleon and raised his finger.

“You! What is Cleon? Could it be… Then, you became Hertie’s companion!? While I haven’t returned to Asteris for several months!?”

Hearing Bourbon’s disbelief in his voice, Cleon wondered if he should nod his head, but before he could answer, Hertie spoke first.

“That’s right. Me and Cleon-nim are formal, but we have a married couple relationship. I matched the half like this.”

Saying that, when Herti raised his left hand, the ring finger that Cleon had put on in the morning was still on the ring finger.

Bourbon’s head swung! And looked at Herti’s hand, and then again, swish! I turned around and looked at Cleon’s left hand.

Of course, there was also a ring with the same design as Herti.

“Gee, really…? Then… Did Herti and that skinny… Really do it?”

“The dialect has been coming out since a while ago. …And. Yes. That’s right.”

Herti clears his throat at Bourbon’s unbelievable reaction, but sticks with what he thinks.

“I, I can’t even say… My, I… Hertini…”

At what point did he get shocked, Cleon shut his mouth for a moment while watching Bourbon’s attitude.

However, soon after, Bourbon stretched out Chu-wook’s shoulders, and then turned around with a swish.

“… Draw it… I don’t know what to say… She should have noticed that Gasna, whom she’s been seeing since childhood, suddenly brought a man…”

“Don’t worry Bourbon! Cleon-nim is a sincere person, and he thinks of each other with sincerity!”

Herti tried to reassure Bourbon, but Bourbon didn’t look back at Herti’s words and walked toward the mine.

“It’s gone. …Is Bourbon like an old friend?”

When Cleon asks Hertie that question, Hertie answers Cleon with a nod of his head.

“That’s right. Because they are dwarves, they may live longer than humans, but… Even when I was young, I was an employee in charge of mining adamantite in this mine. It resides in this mine.”

“Then, the one who knows this mine best is the Bourbon.”

“Yes. If you need guidance on the internal structure of the mine, you’d better talk to Bourbon.”

To Herti’s answer, Cleon paused and thought for a moment.

What I see in front of me is the attitude of a somewhat horny Bourbon kicking a stone rolling on the ground.

‘…Isn’t that, maybe the difficulty has already gone up a lot…?’

001

Inside the adamantite mine, the atmosphere as seen in the memories of Rakshasa was maintained as it was.

However, after hundreds of years, ores were mined and the space was only expanded.

On the ground, adamantite before being mined and processed was packed into a dedicated cart, waiting to be moved.

No matter where you look around, there are only black ores. Are you really living alone in a place like this? Bourbon.

However, looking around a little more, I could see that something like a tent had been erected at the back of the cart.

It is probably a kind of camp where Bourbon is staying.

There were several things that looked like water bottles piled up, giving off a sense of life.

Bourbon trudging to his tent with drooping shoulders.

When Cleon and Hertie follow suit and head there, Bourbon turns his head and talks.

“What. I will start working again from now on. I don’t have time to hang out with you.”

Looking at Bourbon, who clearly had a worse attitude compared to earlier, Cleon spoke.

“I won’t interfere with your work, so there are a few things I want to ask you. Can you answer the question?”

“…”

Bourbon didn’t respond for a moment after hearing Cleon’s words, but then, after glancing at Hertie, who was standing next to Cleon, Bourbon nodded as if he couldn’t help it.

“Well… I’ve met the quota required for this quarter.. So? What the hell did you come here for? As you can see, all I have here is adamantite and the tent I set up to live in.”

“We are looking for traces of the Earth Dragon, Gaios. And from some records, I noticed that this mine was originally guarded by Gaios. Were there any traces of her found in this mine?”

When Cleon speaks in a respectful manner so as not to offend him as much as possible, Bourbon listens to his words, sits down on the box with his chin on his back, and talks.

“…Earth Dragon, Gaios. Well…”

Cleon’s eyes widen at his tone, as if he might be guessing somewhere, but Bourbon sighs and continues the story.

“It’s been over 40 years since I’ve been here, but it’s not like I’ve been wandering around the mines. As you can see, waves ore come out everywhere. They say selling near the entrance is more efficient.”

“…”

“But what… When I first came here, I was excited and wandered around a bit. I was banging my pickaxe to check where to dig.”

Doing such a thing in a mine that can be said to be a chunk of raw adamantite that is dangerous if handled incorrectly…!?

Cleon broke into a cold sweat at Bourbon’s words, but Bourbon looked a little more worried.

“Bourbon.”

Then, when Herti called Bourbon’s name like that, he raised his voice with a loud ‘Nueaaa!’, Then landed on the ground as if jumping out of a box and spoke.

“Draw! There are at least a few places that bother me. No matter how you think about it, it must have been a heterogeneous space.”

“A report like that…”

When Herti tried to say something, Bourbon sighed and gave a reason, not an excuse.

“My mission is not to uncover the secrets of this mine, but to mine its adamantite. Do you know how cautious my ancestors, the dwarves, were in the mines? If you accidentally wake up the dangerous thing hiding in the mine, you won’t be able to eat or die. I have heard several such stories from my grandfather.”

About that, Bourbon might have been right.

Considering the danger of the adamantite in this mine, he probably didn’t want to cause even the slightest incident.

“…After hearing what I’ve said so far, if you want to take a look there, I’ll guide you. However, if you stimulate the adamantites and cause a chain collapse reaction, it won’t end with injury.”

“…”

When Bourbon says that, Cleon nods his head knowingly and gets up. Get down on your back and talk to him.

“…Please.”

“—Good. Having good manners is a good feeling, hyung.”

Bourbon, whose expression was hidden because he was hidden by a mask, said that, then lifted the pickaxe that had been leaning next to him and put it on his shoulder as before.

Then he talks, making gestures with his fingers to follow him.

“Follow me. However, Herti will stay here and wait.”

“Why?”

When Herti tilts her head at her Bourbon’s words, Bourbon talks to her.

“Can you take a guy who uses a cane because he has a backache to a place where danger might erupt? Just waiting here I’ll be back soon.”

“I think Mr. Bourbon is right. Herti.”

When even Cleon answered as if he agreed with Bourbon’s words, Hertie was silent with her hand on her chin as if thinking for a bit, then smiled as if she understood.

“Then. I’ll wait here worrying about these two worried people. Sorry.”

Perhaps, she didn’t seem to give up on her own desire to follow, but she seemed to have no persuasive power to overturn the logic of Bourbon and Cleon.

Shaking her hand, he sent the two of them off.

002

The road leading to the back of the mine was uneven, and since it was not used often, the space between the placed magic lights was wide, so it felt darker than the campsite near the entrance with Herti.

Cleon walking there, and Bourbon walking a little in front of such Cleon.

As long as his legs were short, he had to walk twice as fast as Cleon to keep his distance, but Bourbon walked without a word, without showing any sign of tiredness.

After all, the dwarf half-blood, the physical ability was on a different level from that of a human.

For Cleon, if he were to think of a dwarf, the first thing that came to his mind would be the thunder lord who harassed them in the gap in the other dimension.

However, it did not mean that he had ill feelings towards the dwarves as a whole.

If so, wouldn’t it be no different from the humans who hate the entire clan of black demons because of the demonic sword emperor?

─However, even so.

It was a little painful even for Cleon to just walk in silence like this.

If there is something or a topic, Cleon uses all his communication skills that he doesn’t usually show, and thinks about it.

After all, what is distinctive is the equipment worn by Bourbon.

Of course, the pickaxe was made of adamantite, but the work clothes that covered Bourbon’s entire body except for him were of a kind not seen anywhere else.

“Mr. Bourbon. Is there any reason why the work clothes you are wearing should cover your entire body so much?”

Just to make a point, when Cleon asks such a question, Bourbon walks away without saying anything for a moment.

What? Have you not heard? Just when I was almost mistaken, Bourbon opened his mouth.

“This is to prevent adamantite powder from accumulating in the body. It doesn’t matter if you come in and out for a short time like you and Hertie, but I spend dozens of days in this space collecting adamantites during my work. Besides, when you pickaxe, it protects you from being injured by flying debris.”

“I see… But the human miners must be similar. I have never seen such equipment used.”

“Under. It’s because humans treat miners condescendingly. Well, and it’s as thick as this and it’s easy to breathe, but it’s probably too high-level for humans to make equipment that can move freely and has excellent defense.”

Bourbon tapped his helmet with his hand as he talked about how proud he was of being a dwarf.

When Cleon heard Bourbon’s words, he nodded his head as if his doubts had been resolved, and when the conversation ceased, there was silence for a while.

Bourbon continued the story as if he had no choice.

“It’s hard to get a little steamy on the inside, but…”

“Ah. It’s hot too. That.”

“Yeah… As thick as it is. Oh, and the fact that the face is made of glass that covers the face like this makes it difficult to see in a dark place? Dwarves have good night vision, though. So, I only take this off when I go to bed. Inside the camp, there are magic tools that can purify the air, so you can sleep without it.”

Well, my daily routine is all about digging ore and sleeping, digging ore and sleeping. Bourbon added.

“Then. Do you only go to the village once every few months?”

“What is it? It doesn’t matter because the carrier will bring you the necessities needed to live here. Even if you don’t see the light. … And then, from time to time, I go to see if there is a rare liquor in it.”

“Alcohol…”

Come to think of it, dwarves are drawn to be quite a drinkers and favorites in various legends. Besides, how high was his love for alcohol, to the extent that there was alcohol brewed using spirit stones with his excellent brewing technique.

“If you say rare alcohol, is it something like Ifrit?”

“Oh!?”

When the name Ifrit came out of Cleon’s mouth, Bourbon looked back in surprise and came right next to Cleon.

As for where her arrogant attitude from earlier had gone, she spoke friendlyly while poking Cleon’s thigh with her elbow.

“What. Are you drinking too? I want you to know that kind of alcohol.”

“I was able to drink because I had the opportunity before. It was very toxic. Originally, they mixed it with Undine and drank it.”

“Right! If you don’t drink with Undine, humans will have holes in their stomachs, so be careful. Ahaha! What, it seems like you have a bit of a hobby?”

He should have laughed and hit the back with his hand, but the position of his arm was low and he would hit Cleon’s hip or waist, but Bourbon laughed heartily as if he didn’t care and then suddenly made a sound of ‘ah’ and the tension plummeted.

“…No, but if you are Herti’s partner, is it good to drink alcohol in moderation…? Ugh…!”

Bourbon clings to his helmet, worrying about Hertie and wondering if Cleon is a drinker, and if that hobby is dangerous.

Then, Cleon looks back at him and talks.

“You seem to really value Hertie.”

“Ok? …That’s right. I’ve known him since he was very young. Just like his parents, he has a sharp side. He’s the ideal guy for a top state. He’s great, even as a human being. …I don’t dare imagine what kind of strange fate caused the eyes to become like that. “

In Bourbon’s voice saying that, there was both deep trust and compassion for Hertie.

“…So you. If you become Herti’s companion, you must never make him sad… If you do, this pickaxe won’t stay still.”

“Of course.”

When Cleon answered Bourbon’s threat by nodding his head without hesitation, Bourbon looked up at Cleon for a while, then stopped and pointed at the wall in front of them.

“…Here.”

Then, the wall is full of adamantite ore that looks no different than anywhere else.

Cleon looks at the wall for a moment, then he looks down at Bourbon.

“How is it different from other walls?”

“What, can’t you see? This is the only place where the ores are ‘laid up later’. In other words, it is a wall artificially created by someone after the mine was built.”

As Bourbon says, he touches it with his gloved hand.

Could it be because he is of mixed blood with a dwarf?

“Besides, respectfully. It tells you that it’s unstable enough to cause an explosion if you insert a pickaxe into it. So, brother, be careful too.”

When Cleon nodded at Bourbon’s words and reached out to examine the wall, the dragon ring he had put inside his bosom trembled as if reacting to the wall.

‘This… After all, there’s something about Gaios in this-‘

He must have sensed the presence of a dragon corresponding to an empty socket up close.

Cleon took the ring out of his bosom, put it on his right hand, and touched the wall with his right hand.

Then, the next moment.

Ocher-colored light flowed from the dragon’s ring, passed through Cleon’s hand and flowed toward the wall the two were looking at.

“What, what!?”

When Bourbon gets flustered and tries to leave the wall, the magical power flowing towards the wall draws a pattern on the wall.

It was a pattern similar to the one drawn on Herti’s palm, but slowly a few more strokes were added to it.

More clearly, it became a pattern embodying the head of a roaring dragon.

If both Bourbon and Cleon look puzzled at the brightly shining pattern-

[Confirm the arrival of the sensor.]

The moment I thought I heard such a voice from inside the wall, a strong light emanating from the pattern enveloped the two of them.

“What!?”

“Wow!”

Naturally, Cleon covered his eyes, and Bourbon raised his voice in amazement at the arrival of that light.

The next moment, along with the sensation of floating in the body- thinking that the surrounding scenery has changed in an instant.

As the light surrounding them disappears, only pitch-black darkness remains.

When Cleon, who had finally regained his sight, looked around, he found himself and Bourbon standing in a completely different space from where he had been before.

“…It looks like I was just blown into space by that light.”

If Cleon grasps the situation and unfolds a magical poem.

Throughout the space, I could feel the strong magic of the earth, leaving traces of it faintly but surely.

“A space somewhere… Where is it… It’s much darker than that…”

Bourbon held onto the helmet on his head with both hands as he spoke.

“…Light up with magic now-“

While Cleon said that, at the same time as spreading light source magic on his hand, which could be said to be the foundation of adventurers.

Bourbon took off the thing that was on his head comfortably enough to make a ‘Pong!’ Sound.

And-

Bourbon’s long two-piece hair flowed down her overalls.

Long enough to reach her waist, it was brown like the husk of a chestnut fruit, and slightly black at the tip, really like chestnuts.

Also, her eyes are an emerald color that glows even in the dark.

Her eyes were big, her nose was high, and her face was a little round, giving a cute impression.

“…”

“Wow. Were you able to use magic? But what’s wrong with your expression?”

Bourbon looked back at Cleon as she spoke in such a sonorous-girlish voice, but she saw Cleon making an indescribable expression and shook her hand to confirm his gaze.

“Hey.”

“…Ah, no. Excuse me… Mr. Bourbon.”

Then, Cleon looked at her once again as she came to her senses at her Bourbon behavior.

Although her body was still wearing overalls—her neck, viewed from above, was only half as thick as the overalls neck.

That much, the work clothes are thick, and the misunderstanding of the body type is probably because most of them are work clothes.

“…Because of your attitude towards Herti, I was thinking you were a man.”

“Huh? Ah what Things like that happen, too. Ahaha!”

Bourbon nodding her head as if she knew what Cleon was talking about – she. Just like before, he pounded on Cleon’s hips and waist.