I was walking through the meadow with the two of them, Helene and Io.
My goal, of course, was the mountain ox. To hunt it down and cash it in. I’ve only hunted one animal today, and I haven’t made enough money at all.
「He took on a force of a thousand men by yourself?」
「Yeah. Nearly half of them were overlooked, but most of the soldiers who were overlooked stopped being soldiers because they complained of trauma. …… I’ m not surprised.」
「I’ll be watching him. Kakeru-san killed a lot of monsters and Sandros by himself. That’s why.」
「Sandros. That’s Sandros, the king of Hell?」
「Yes! That’s why I’m not surprised about a thousand people. I think he’s amazing, Kakeru-san.」
Behind me, Helene and Io are having a friendly chat. I’m glad to hear that the two of them hit it off right away.
That’s fine, but I still can’t find …… mountain oxen. We’ve been walking around for quite a while, but I can’t seem to find anything.
The moment they spotted me earlier, they ran away.
I don’t want to think about it, but …….
（I think you are being avoided.）
Eleanor said.
「Maybe I overdid it.」
I thought that might be so. Maybe I’m perceived as a dangerous person among mountain oxen.
After a bit more walking, I finally found a mountain ox, but this time there was a person ahead of me.
I saw a group of about ten mercenaries, all wearing the same kind of armour.
It’s a shame I found it, but then something even more shocking happened.
As soon as I made eye contact with the mountain ox, the mountain ox fighting the mercenary group suddenly turned and ran away.
he moment it saw me, it ran away, ignoring even the enemy in front of it.
……This is no good.
☆
Back in town, I came to the Andreu Trading Company with Helene and Io.
I told Andreu exactly what I had experienced earlier.
「My goodness……」
Andreu wiped the sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief and made a complicated face.
「It is true that Yuuki-sama may have overdone it, if I may say so myself. In the past few days alone, you’ve done the work of hundreds of people.」
「If that’s really the case, you may not be able to hunt mountain oxen for a while.」
「Yeah.」
「So, is there anything else I can do to make money? Preferably something that pays well.」
「Yes, there is……」
Andreu pondered with a straight face.
I thought for a while, then looked up and saw Io behind me.
「You are Io Akos, rank C, I believe. You’re good at lightning magic.」
「Yes.」
Io nodded, her voice a little embarrassed.
His reaction was, “Why did you come here?”
「Are you having in party with Yuuki-sama?」
「Yes.」
「It’s not that there aren’t jobs that can be done …… if you have a lightning magic user.」
「You’re acting a little evasive.」
「It’s quite risky, after all.」
「Let me hear it anyway.」
「Yes. It’s mining Orikudite.」
Mining? I think it’s some kind of ore.
It didn’t sound too dangerous, but I heard Io gasp in the background.
「Andreou-san, that’s a bit of a challenge…….」
「I know. But Yuuki-sama said 『Something that pays well』」
「That’s true, but ……」
Io looked at me with a complicated look on her face.
I was curious about the mining of the Orikudite that made her look like that.
☆
The three of us warped to the meadow inhabited by mountain oxen and headed on foot to the rocky mountain beyond.
「Orikudite is the name of the magical ore found in that mountain.」
「Magical? You mean magically created ore?」
「There’s a monster named Orikuto who lives there, and it always leaks a special kind of thick magic. The magic is so strong that it almost materializes. The magical power sticks to the rocks around the nest and dries up. Orikudite is made up of hundreds or thousands of layers.」
「I’ve seen it before.」
Helene continued.
「The magic that the Orikuto releases varies from day to day, so the overlapping layers formed a beautiful pattern that resembled the colours of the rainbow. I remember it as being mysterious and very beautiful.」
「I see.」
I imagined it somehow. From the description, I guess it’s like the colorful annual rings of a tree.
「How expensive is that?」
「Yes, I’ve heard that it’s very difficult to collect, as well as beautiful.」
「To be frank, Orikuto is immortal.」
「Immortal?!」
I was indeed surprised by that statement.
「Not only are they extremely strong, but they also regenerate quickly no matter how hard they are attacked. Its only weakness is lightning. When you attack with lightning magic, it stops moving for a while.」
「I see, I’ll have to stop it from moving and collect the Orikudite while I’m at it. So, Andreu told me this story because Io was with me.」
「Yes, because he knew I could use lightning magic. It is said that if a party cannot use lightning magic, it is like heading for death.」
That much?
I see what she means. When one goes out with a party to defeat a powerful enemy, it is common for the party to have the appropriate members and equipment to go with it.
In the case of a monster named Orikuto, that means lightning magic is the only choice.
「Okay, I’ll distract it when I see it so that Io can cast lightning in that gap.」
「Yes.」
While the vanguard is holding them off, the magician strikes them with magic on their weak points.
Io answered immediately without hesitation to the orthodox tactic.
「And this is for Helene.」
I take out the black magic balls from my pocket and give them all to Helene.
「What is this?」
「It’s an offensive item. It can be activated by throwing it at an opponent. Use it at your discretion, Helene.」
「I understand.」
「So, let’s do some mining.」
「Yes.」
After a quick meeting, we headed up the rocky mountain.
I suddenly realized that there was a strange aura around me.
It’s a strange aura, a strange bright green…… and yet I don’t feel anything when I touch it or inhale it
「Is this it? Orikuto’s aura?」
「Probably.」
Io nodded her head. A little further on, I could see that the rock wall was clearly different.
It’s as if a layer of paint has been applied to what used to be a bare rock.
Just when I thought it was here, it appeared.
「It’s Orikuto!」
Io exclaims.
「Okay, here we go!」
I tightened my grip on Eleanor and took off towards Orikuto.
I glanced at the two women.
The two pairs of eyes seemed to trust me completely.
「Eleanor.」
（What is it?）
「I’m going to take it down, help me!」
I wanted to betray their expectations in a good way.