Is That My Alter Ego

14 – Steel Mine

“Ah… Who are you…?”

The woman spoke lazily, yawning and slumping down as if she had just woken up… Ah, she must have been sleeping until just now.

By the way… she seems to be the owner of this workshop. It doesn’t seem to be organized at all… and above all, the furnace seemed to have been burning for too long, leaving only ashes.

“Do you not run a business here?”

“Ah… no? Oh… it’s not that…”

Not running a business, but it’s so disorganized like this?

“By the way… are you a mercenary? Judging from your muscles and face… you’re handsome, you know?”

“This…!”

Scratch-scratch! Scratch-scratch!

Maybe because she doesn’t clean, there seem to be a lot of rats.

“Well… if you don’t run a business, I’ll go then.”

“Um… how should I explain this… It’s not that I don’t run a business… it’s more like I can’t, you know~?”

“Can I ask for an explanation?”

“It’s bothersome, but…”

“If you explain, maybe we can help?”

To her, who seemed even bothered by the explanation, the offer of help brought an unexpected spark to her eyes.

“Well… it’s not a long story. Just… all the materials needed for making and refining armor are completely depleted…”

That’s it? Can’t you just buy the materials again?

If not that, maybe she doesn’t have money? Or is there another story…?

“Do you happen to be out of money? Can’t you just buy the materials again?”

Seris asked the woman as if genuinely unsure. In truth, I also wanted to say those words, so I didn’t bother to provoke her.

“Well… it’s not that simple~ Of course, I have money too…”

“Then is there a problem with the supply of materials?”

“Oh~? That’s right~ Exactly. The ores I deal with aren’t being supplied these days, so I had no choice but to take a break from work.”

– By the way, my name is Spin~ So it’s Spin’s workshop…

Spin explained that due to the lack of supplied ores, she too had to take a break from work.

“As far as I know, there shouldn’t be any problem with the supply of ordinary materials.”

“That’s right. But the ores I use… are a bit rare, you know?”

As the guild leader of the Mercenary Guild, I unavoidably came across various news, even if I didn’t want to.

I naturally knew about the affairs in Leria Village, and I could gather some information about events happening within the Empire.

Being more knowledgeable about information than the average person, I knew that there hadn’t been any major issues with the supply of ordinary ores.

Except for one thing, excluding special ores.

Based on my speculation, Spin seemed to be a blacksmith who only dealt with that ore.

“You. Is the ore you’re looking for… Mithril?”

“Oh! That’s right! I’m a blacksmith who only handles Mithril!”

As expected. Spin was indeed a blacksmith who knew how to handle Mithril.

Mithril. The most commonly used ore in this world, lighter than iron but much stronger.

However, not only was the method of obtaining it unknown, but blacksmiths who knew how to handle Mithril were also rare.

“So Spin was one of those blacksmiths. My intuition was right!”

Indeed, the cliché that you can find something special in an old workshop was true even in this world!

“So, can you help me?! If you do, I’ll do it for a special price!”

“Hmm.”

Whether it was because there was hope of being able to work as a blacksmith again or not, Spin suddenly became lively, breaking free from his sluggish posture.

It was such a drastic change that one would think he was a completely different person.

“Will you help me just once? I’ll do a good job…”

Pat pat-

Spin suddenly put on a seductive expression and started caressing my left arm.

Scrreech-!

“…Please let go of my arm.”

Thud-!

Watching that scene, Ceris stiffened her expression and pushed Spin’s arm away.

“Hey. Even a little touch can wear it out…”

“Don’t touch.”

Seris quickly summoned her magic and spoke to Spin with a forceful posture.

“Vice-Captain Seris.”

“Understood.”

As I cautioned Seris, she immediately withdrew her magic.

After that, I started to seriously consider this proposal.

“Hiccup. Ah… okay… It was just a joke, why are you so angry…”

“I warned you in advance.”

“Are you perhaps lovers? Or… something more?”

“….Hic! Ah…no, it’s not like that…!”

What did they just say? I missed the situation because I was lost in thought.

Well, it mustn’t have been anything important. If it were serious, Seris would have handled it well.

“About helping, could you explain how you expect me to help?”

“Oh! Of course! It’s simple! Just bring me some mithril ore!”

“Wasn’t there a problem with the mithril supply?”

“Um… I’m not really sure about that. The supplier just told me they can’t deliver right now… When I went to the mine, they wouldn’t let me in either.”

“Is the supplier the only one?”

“Yes! In this Leria village, Steel Mine is the only place that deals with mithril!”

Hmm… The only supplier in the area says they can’t supply mithril.

I wonder if there’s a problem at the mine?

“So, we must head to that mine, it seems.”

“Yes! Probably?”

“What about the discount rate? How much will it be?”

In truth, this was the most important part. Even if they offered a discount, if it wasn’t significant, there wasn’t much merit in it.

“Hmm… 30%?”

“Good. I’ll go right away. Wait for me.”

“Thanks for the quick decision! Here, take this map!”

I was only expecting 15% to 20%, but 30%?

This was an opportunity not to be missed. The chance to get Mithril equipment at 30% off might never come again.

“Vice Captain Seris, is this alright?”

“If it is the Captain’s decision, I have only to follow!”

“Thank you. Let’s get going then.”

“Yes!”

It was a unilateral decision on my part, and I could have been reprimanded, but all I received from Seris, with her unwavering trust, was gratitude.

‘Alright. Shall we go get fitted for armor?’

It was to procure materials for armor, but well, it’s all the same.

Mithril armor… Just you wait! I’m on my way!

***

“If we follow the map… this should be the place. Captain.”

“It seems we’ve found the right spot.”

After entrusting Seris with navigation and following her closely, we arrived at a location.

It was clearly in the middle of a mountain, and the signboard boldly proclaimed ‘Steel Mine’, so it seemed we had arrived at the right place.

“No outsiders allowed.”

As we stepped onto the mine’s property, a man with a weary expression spoke to us.

His face looked just like someone who had been working overtime for days. He must have been through some tough times.

“May I ask if there’s a problem at the Steel Mine?”

“To outsiders… Wait. Are you mercenaries?”

“That we are.”

As soon as we confirmed we were mercenaries, his face lit up. He looked like an office worker who had just been granted a vacation after a long period of overtime.

“Did you come here on a request?! Please, I beg you. Save our mine!”

“Tell us what’s the problem.”

“I’m Iron. The manager of this Steel Mine! Sigh… I’ll get straight to the point. A monster has appeared inside our Mithril Mine.”

“A monster…”

So the reason we couldn’t mine Mithril ore was because of a monster. That explains why there was no supply.

The workers there, being mere laborers, wouldn’t have had the means to confront a monster.

And, as I recall, there was a request in the Leria village about solving the mine monster problem.

The pay was somewhat ambiguous, and since no one knew what kind of monster it was, no one had accepted the request.

“Do you know what kind of monster it is?”

“It’s hard to be certain because the mine is so dark… but from what I saw in the dim visibility, that monster had Mithril ore embedded in it. That much is certain!”

“A monster with ore embedded in it…”

If I were to say a monster with ore embedded in it, only one comes to mind, right?

“Golem.”

A monster that often appears in many games, usually consisting of entities including ore, and there were many solid and powerful examples.

But in the demon dictionary I saw, I couldn’t find any types of golems.

Hmm… Then maybe it’s not a golem. But there’s no other monster that comes to mind besides golems.

“P-Please, I beg you! It’s a tough one that doesn’t even get scratched by ordinary swords and spears! If this continues, our mine will be ruined…!”

“I get it. The demon must exist inside that mine, right?”

“Yes…yes! That thing hasn’t moved a single step since it appeared!”

A monster with a hard exterior, embedded with ore. If my guess is correct, it’s probably a definite type of golem.

“So, is this an opportunity to find a new demon?!”

In this world, if you discover a new type of demon and submit evidence, the Mercenary Guild will provide a suitable reward.

That means, I can obtain mithril and additional capital at the same time!

Lately, things seem to be going smoothly. Well then, let’s go inside quickly!

“Let’s go. Vice Commander Ceris.”

“Yes? Commander. But we don’t have any weapons…”

We didn’t bring our usual weapons. There was no reason to bring weapons since we were just wandering around the village.

With the level of this village, most things could be resolved even without weapons.

Will you trust me?

If that’s the Commander’s will, I will believe.

Thank you. Then, take this.

“A pickaxe..?”

Seris, who received a well-crafted pickaxe from me, had a bewildered expression on his face.

It was indeed bizarre to be given a pickaxe instead of a weapon when going to hunt monsters.

‘But, who says a pickaxe can’t be a weapon?’

Aren’t there games like that? Games where you conquer the world with just a pickaxe…

And, it’s a well-known historical fact that pickaxes are more effective against golem types than other weapons.

Well, if it turns out not to be a golem inside, we can always come back out.

“Then, I shall enter.”

I too picked up a neat pickaxe lying on the ground and started to enter the dimly lit cave.

Seris, still puzzled, tightly gripped the pickaxe and followed.