Prologue 3
There was a huge cave at the entrance of the mine, and a lot of wooden houses were built there. The ones on the ground were lodgings and facilities for adventurers. The place where the miners lived was pushed to the very edge. Moreover, it was built vertically as though clinging to the cave wall.
A thin wooden staircase with no railings was driven into the wall. When you see these, you know you’re outside the range of the dungeon. Because the walls of the dungeon are always glowing, but it does not glow here, and the walls of the dungeon automatically repair gradually when damaged but the walls here do not act in the same manner. The wooden stakes lodged into the wall have been intact for many years. Or maybe even decades. Sometimes, the thought of those woods breaking crosses my mind, and I become afraid to climb up them, so I try not to think about it.
And because there is a large hole in the ceiling of the cave, we have daytime and nighttime. Naturally, rain falls through, too. However, since the “wall houses” were not built on the ground, it hardly ever gets wet.
*Ground rumbling*
There it is again. I can hear the earth rumbling. I feel like I’ve been hearing those a lot lately, but none of the miners cared. They said these things happen all the time and we can’t stop working just because of that. Well, I guess they are right.
「The tremors have subsided…」
「Hey, little brother. What are you doing? Let’s go.」
Lark and I cleaned ourselves with a damp cloth after today’s work and headed to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was built on the ground, as opposed to the wall. Probably because it uses fire, or because it requires a lot of space. In the long and narrow space, tables and log chairs were messily arranged, and the steam rising from the pot filled the cafeteria without being aired out.
Potatoes, carrots, onions and a small quantity of meat were all boiled together with salty spices. In addition to that, there was also bread, but the bread baked in the old furnace was sometimes charred pitch black. Although, that doesn’t seem to be the case today.
Most of them were root crops because they last for a long time. Very rarely, we get some vegetables. Those are unpopular among the miners, but I enjoy them. I can get more nourishment from eating vegetables.
「You did well, Lark! Congratulations!」
「You finally did it. I’ll give you more meat in celebration of today.」
「You will also be finally leaving this place, too! Congratulations!」
Lark unsurely thanked the miners, as they congratulated her one after another.
The news that Lark brought back a 6-star skill orb,【Shadow King★★★★★★】, soared through the mine.
「You’re so small, boy. Eat well and grow big.」
A tough-looking man casually rubbed my head from behind.
「I am growing just fine, thank you.」I replied in a low voice to the man who was smiling broadly, but I’m sure he didn’t hear me. After all, the inside of the cafeteria was so noisy that you have to cover your ears.
「Oh, the little brother. You have to eat more, too. Here, let me serve you extra meat.」
It was also usual for me to get a little more meat from the auntie in the cafeteria. By the way, there was a tattoo on the auntie’s arm, too. Everybody here was a slave.
I took the wooden bowl containing my food and an iron spoon and went to the back of the cafeteria with Lark.
The table we always use is short and difficult for adults to use. So it’s just right for us.
「Everyone is talking about you, Lark. You found a 6-star skill orb, after all. This will finally end your slave contract period.」
We are slaves, but we are paid according to our work. The pay goes up in accordance with the number of stars you find, and when the amount reaches a certain point, your term of service expires and you become a commoner. You can then leave this dark, dangerous, and damp mine.
Well, surely I will miss Lark once she’s gone, but… the miners here are all in the same position – the position of slaves – and always help each other out. There are not only slaves like me who were sold to this place, but also criminals who were sent here as atonement for their crimes. But almost everybody here is so gentle that I sometimes wonder if they really did commit a crime. A blue tattoo which looks like a bangle is the proof of slavery. If there are two, they’re a criminal slave. Lark and I have only one. Roughly half of the slaves are criminal slaves.
I’ll be fine even if Lark leaves.
If you look around in the noisy cafeteria, you’ll see men dressed in thin cloth – rarely some women in between – all of whom have solid physiques.
No matter how you look at it, Lark and I are the only ones who can crawl into the Raccoon hole. If Lark is gone, I’ll be diving into the raccoon hole alone. It’s a slightly scary thought, but I can pull through knowing I can leave here someday. And one day a child younger than me will arrive at this mine. At that time, it would be pitiful if he or she didn’t have a friend of the same age.
「I think I can manage even without Lark around. Look at these guns.」
I curled my biceps to show it off. Hmm… can’t see it, but it’s there right? Yeah, yeah, it is definitely there. As long as I keep believing. Where there is a will, there is a way.
「…………」
Even as I was showing off my nonexistent biceps, Lark didn’t say anything.
「Lark? What’s wrong?」
「Hmm? Oh… I was just thinking they’re all idiots.」
「Wha?!」
What is she saying all of a sudden?
「Think about it. How much do you think a 6-star skill orb will go for? …It is worth almost an entire country.」Lark said secretly.
「What! I-Is that really true?」
「It was me and you who found it. But I was the only who was given freedom. Isn’t that strange? You should also have been freed at the very least.」
「…Because you were the one who found it.」
「The quota of 10 skill orbs per day is set on you and me together. Then you should get a reward, too, right? However, that bastard…」
Lark requested the skill orb inspector to reward me as well.
However, he flatly refused saying, Who’s gonna crawl into the Racoon hole if this guy leaves as well?
Until now, it was thought that only 1-star skill orbs came out of Racoon hole, 2-star at best. But all that changed when Lark found a 6-star.
They probably have no intention of setting me free until at least they find another miner with a small body like me.
Despite knowing that, Lark bared her fangs like a wild animal, literally. That’s strange… Lark should have been cast the same contract magic as me, but her desires are more apparent than mine.
Contract magic is not all-powerful either. I’ve heard that you can’t completely suppress a desire that is too strong.
「It’s fine… I don’t want to go outside either.」
「What are you babbling about…」
「Ouch!」
She knocked my forehead with her knuckle causing my head to rock back.
「Ah man… I wish I had hidden the 6-star instead. And used it when I got to leave the mine.」 Lark said, while looking up hollowly.「I messed up… It’s a 6-star, you know… I wonder what kind of power it has…」
At the end of her line of sight, there were only dust-covered beams on the ceiling filled with cobwebs.
