Chapter 72 Graham-sans Request

Is it here

A location around five days away northeast from the Royal Capital, on the mountain side of Mount Elres at an abandoned entrance to a mine.

Right now, we were standing in front of it.

The beginning of this event started ten days ago.

Jou-chan, I have a small request

In the evening of that day, Graham-san unexpectedly turned up at my house.

And as if it was a difficult subject to talk about, he cut off his words.

Does jou-chan know about Mount Elres? Its a location northeast of here around five days away by carriage

Uhh, I more or less know about it, but if I remember correctly, theres currently an abandoned mine within that mountain, right? But currently there are monsters and beasts that have settled in that mountain, the mining area also has things like monster dens in it

When I tried picking it out from my knowledge, that mine should have been closed for nearly fifty years from now. It was formerly used to excavate gold and unusual ores, the town at the foot of it was extremely thriving.

However, the amount of output decreased, and after the mine was closed, monsters settled there after a short time; many adventurers attempted to seek out the remaining ores, and have supposed to have died. That story was from twenty-five years ago, but I dont know what its become nowadays. Well, looking at Graham-sans appearance, it doesnt seem to have changed for the better

Aah Truth is, ya see, its absolutely necessary for me to gather a type of ore over there no matter what. I put out a commission in the guild a little while ago, but there still hasnt been a fella that would take it. Therefore, its that. Wouldnt it work if its jou-chan?, was what I thoughtna. After all, youre the sacred treasure wielding dragon slayer, right? Though youre B ranked, I believe youre almost the strongest within the adventurers, ya know?

Eh? That, how does? The guild has laid out a gag order, I also have not told anyone, and yet

Even I have various connections, ya see. Dont worry, I havent said anything about this to anyone. Well, some humans know about this, however.

How did you know what I was thinking

I can immediately understand from looking at jou-chans expression. Well, for that reason, Id like to request jou-chan but, could you possibly accept it? Aah, of course, if the contents seem unreasonable, I wont mind if you pull back. Because even I value my lifena. We can also come to an agreement at that time in order for you to not get a minus for the commission failure, ya see.

Fumu, if its fine to just go, then I dont mind trying1

But, why is that ore needed? Besides, even if you dont go pick it up yourself, shouldnt you be able to buy the ore itself? I dont think its necessary for you to go as far as to risk yourself going there to pick it up

If Im not mistaken, that ore can be mined in other locations. Like for example, the northern country Wait, the northern country?

Aah, its just as jou-chan thought. Though the ore itself can be mined in a country other than here , the yield is considerably small.2So far its mostly imported, the majority of it are from the northern country. But that place, the northern country ceased its exports. Thanks to that, the value of the ore in this country has raised drastica

lly, and its by no means easy to buy it. Theres practically none on the market Because of that, if Im to buy the required amount, the cost would be outrageous, and there absolutely wouldnt be enough time. Which is why even though I know the risks, I have no choice but to rely on that mountain.

I see So that abandoned mine, is it? Certainly, even though its said to be abandoned, just because it was abandoned because it wasnt profitable anymore, doesnt mean it was abandoned from exhaustionne.

By the way, the northern country is the one Takahashi-san was summoned at, called the country of Soutines.

Also, the reason I want that ore Its for the sake of revealing a weapon at the contest taking place at this times New Years festival. A weapon made of iron would be fine regularly, but this times contest is a little differentna. Theres an opponent that I absolutely cant lose it. For the sake of that, I need that ore no matter what. Therefore I ask. Could ya take me along to that mountain?

U~n, well, I dont mind going, but Besides, he said it was fine to turn back if it was dangerous No, I understand that it is dangerous but.

Ill verify the contents for the time being, okay? Firstly, the commission, escort Graham-san along to Mount Elres. Excavate and return with the ore from within. Graham-san will do the excavation, is that right? During that time, its fine if I guard the perimeter and eliminate foreign enemies, right? And so on the way inside, at the time I judge that its impossible to advance, thereupon its fine to turn back.

Aah, thats right. Of course, Ill prepare the necessary items, even if we turn back midway, Ill still pay half the reward. This is my last request to jou-chan. If it turns out I participate in the contest with a regular iron weapon and lose to that guy, I wont be able to regret it even if I wanted to3Please

Haa I understand already, so please raise your head. Alright then, since Ive been in your care, Graham-san, I will undertake it. However, at the time I think its impossible, even if our goal is in front of our eyes, we will turn back, okay?

Really!? Im grateful!

And so, when do we depart? If it takes five days one-way, there isnt much time, right? I dont know how long it takes for Graham-san to make the weapon but If I remember correctly, the mountain side of Mount Elres, the snowfall normally begins in November, right? As expected, when it begins to snow, it will be impossible to climb, you know?

Well, if I use sorcery, we will be able to manage some way or another if its a little bit of snow, but we wont be able to move once we reach our destinationne

Its currently the 6th of November right? Since the arrangements and preparations are necessary, how about departing in four days? If so, I think wed be able to return before it begins to snow. Jou-chan should also prepare your necessary arrangements. Ill also prepare the carriage, so come to the eastern gate after three days at 3 koku. Aah, do you need to go to the guild and accept the commission?

After saying that, was it because he was happy that I accepted the commission? Graham-san returned home as if he was hopping.

After that, I purchased clothes to protect me from the cold and other necessary items, and departed with mountain climbing provisions.

We jolted on a carriage, which Graham-san had borrowed, for five days, stopped for one night at the town at the foot of Mount Elres, then began mountain climbing early in the morning the following day for approximately a day.

Theres an awful lot of beastsne As expected, I wonder if its because winter is just around the corner, so the beasts are hungry?

Fortunately, we didnt encounter any monsters, but there were many beasts Weve been attacked by bears and wolves over ten times. I defeated them all, but as a result, the distance that could have been crossed in half a day, ended up taking a day.

Ahh, well, aint it good that were safe? As expected, at the time we were surrounded by over forty wolves, even I was feeling nervousna. To easily defeat them, as expected of a dragon slayer.

Thats easy to sayne Well, thanks to them huddling together, with an area-of-attack magic explosion, half of them were unable to fight

For the time being, lets camp here for todayne. There is a good looking cave over there. Lets take a rest there.

At a location a little ways from the mine entrance, a small cave can be seen. The depth is around five meters, I think? Its height is close to three meters, its enough to keep out the evening dew.

We decided to make camp there, and began setting up the necessary preparations.

Im in charge of firewood gathering and things like barrier magic, and also the cooking. Graham-san is in charge of securing the beds and producing the stove. It seems like I have a larger amount of work, but since there are the right people for the right job, it cant be helped. I cant have Graham-san, who is more or less the escort target, to gather wood where monsters or beasts may appear during that time, and Graham-san cant use sorcery. In addition, even if I leave the cooking to Graham-san, it would be tastier if I did it. Yes, it cant be helped you see

During the time the sun completely set, I collected the firewood and a fire was started. While Graham-san was lighting the fire, I prepared the barrier and alarm magic. Once that finished, it was time to cook.

By the way, barrier magic has a similar effect as a barrier magic tool, but because its said that the levels of the monsters around here are high, Im using sorcery. For sorcery and a magic tool with the safe effect, although it depends on the ability of the practitioner, sorcery basically displays a higher effect.

Well, because even barrier and alarm magic doesnt mean absolute safety, us two will take turns keeping watch.

After having dinner, the first watch was left to Graham-san, so I decided to quickly sleep.

With my tired body from the mountain climbing I was unaccustomed to, I was lured into sleep right away.