Vol 1: Chapter 21
My mind was blurry when I woke up. The cause was Raikira-san’s shocking story I heard last night.
「Morning, Reiji.」
「Ah, good morning…」
When I arrived at the entrance lobby, Raikira-san was there as usual and I seemed to be the last to arrive.
「You have your bed hair.」
「Ah, sorry…」
「What’s wrong? You look absent-minded.」
「Oh, nothing…」
Mimino-san combed my hair with a small comb.
(Is there any way to help him…?)
Just when I was thinking that, a fist came down on my head.
「Ouch!」
「Get yourself together, Reji. We’re leaving the city today.」
「Ah, y-yes!」
When I looked at Raikira-san, with teary eyes, I realized that this was a message from him. —Don’t worry about adult business.
…But you didn’t have to hit me for that.
「What? You got something to say?」
「…No, nothing.」
「Huh? When did you two start getting along so well?」Mimino-san asked.
「We are not getting along!」
「If you ask us if we’re on good terms, that’s probably not so…」
「Ah?! Brat, are you trying to keep me away?」
「Do you want us to get along?」
「No, of course not! What are you talking about?!」
「So bothersome.」
「WHAT!?」
「Ahahahaha, see, you are getting along~」Mimino-san laughed, as she watched us.
Non-san and Dante-san simply watched us with a smile.
「Well, let’s get going. Non and I will go to the government office and get a departure permit. Mimino–」
「I will go replenish the seasonings.」
「Right. What will Raikira and Reiji do?」Dante-san asked.
「I’m fine with anything.」
「Can I go to the Adventurer’s Guild again?」
「You wanna go to the training ground again?」Raikira-san asked.
「Yes!」
「You have strange likings.」Raikira-san said. Despite that, he decided to follow along with me.
We parted with everyone else, and headed for the Adventurer’s Guild.
The city was bustling in the morning; people selling goods, people carrying carts, people holding big baskets, people walking quickly to their destination.
I don’t know if Raikira-san grasped the location of the Adventurer’s Guild in just one day, but he swiftly navigated through the back alleys.
…That’s amazing. I am completely lost. I’m glad I didn’t insist on going alone.
「Ah, children.」
At the back alley, I saw three children looking into rainwater that had accumulated in a large pot.
「Hah, you’re a child too.」
「Ah, well, that’s fine for now.」
「Stop getting so cheeky, you.」
We passed by the children.
…I guess you can always find children playing in the back alleys no matter the world.
No! Wait! Wait a moment! Just wait a moment!
「Heeeeeeeeey, you guys!」
「Eek!」
As I rushed towards them frantically, the children got shocked and ran away.
「O-Oi, Reiji! What are you doing?! You’re not supposed to do that」
「Oh, um…」
「First, introduce yourself and then ask if they wanna play together.」
No, that’s not what I care about.
「This……」
As I got a glance of the pot when we passed by just now, something caught my eye.
「Just as I thought.」
There was a white creature squirming about like an earthworm… or is it actually a kind of earthworm? It was like the kind of worm you can find near the ditches in Japan
…Exactly what I was looking for.
「Ah? Is this what those kids were looking at?」
「Raikira-san, do you know what this is?」
「Beats me. Some kind of creepy creature… wait, what are you doing, Reiji!?」
I thrust my arm into the pot and took out the white earthworms.
「I never thought I’d find it in a place like this…」
I learned about it from 【World Ruler】.
It was one of the three materials needed to break Dante-san’s petrification.
Raikira-san had a startled look when I carefully carried the white earthworm over to my leather bag. The distance between me and Raikira-san grew bigger by just a little (physically and mentally). But the reason he didn’t ask me anything probably has to do with the fact that I successfully sold the turmeric yesterday. He was probably wondering if it was some kind of medicine.
I was overjoyed. If I can get one more material, I can cure Dante-san’s petrification! By the way, it seems that it is necessary to feed the white earthworms with “Leaf of Life Tree”. They’re probably eating them inside the leather bag.
And it seems to be okay if they die after eating, so I decided to leave them in the bag. The thought was a little uncomfortable, but nothing much I can do.
「Ah~ Raikira-san, I don’t really expect you to know the answer, but I want to ask something.」
「Hey… Is that really the proper way to ask someone?」
「Do you know anything about a “deep silver metal”?」
「Ah? Are you asking about Mithril?」
「Wha!?」
Really? The answer was that easy!?
I can already see Dante-san’s cure within arm’s reach!
「That is it! Mithril! A fantasy element! Does it really exist!? Is it really silver!?」
「Ah? What do you mean by “fantasy element”?」
「Ah, no, let’s not dive into that topic. Let’s get back to mithril.」
「…Man, you always say some weird shit. Well, okay… mithril is just mithril. It’s a metal that can be mined in very small amounts from a Mithril mine, and it’s staggeringly expensive. It kinda looks more silver than pure silver.」
「I need to get my hands on it no matter what! What should I do?」
「Impossible.」
「Wha……」
「The handling of mithril is controlled by the country and is not sold to the general public. It is a felony if you get it elsewhere. In the first place, the quantity is very low, so it does not appear in black markets either.」
「No way…」
I was shocked.
I thought the cure was within arm’s reach, but… I guess you can only get lucky so many times.
Ahhh, how unfortunate… I wonder if I can’t get even a little bit of it. Oh mithril! Though, it is not certain if mithril is the last material I’m looking for.
