Chapter 124 - Kingdom Building Rute?

One day passed...

My condition improved and I decided to go for a light walk. I visited the deck to breathe fresh air while looking at the forest and mountain scenery in the distance.

The winds caress my cheeks gently.

The meat of Crystal Cobra and other monsters?

Well, unfortunately, when I ate them, four hours have passed since they were taken from the corpse. Therefore, I didn't get Stat Points from them.

Again, it was a pity and I couldn't do anything about it. 

However, because of this experience, I made a promise. I just need to eat the monster meat as soon as I can after I get it.

Now, back to the deck.

Looking down from this place, I could see dozens of Teria's crews packing up chunks of Earth Crystal that they had taken from inside the cave into a wooden box. And then, they ship the box into the Airship.

"We don't need Earth Crystals that much right?" I asked no one when I saw six big wooden boxes stacked into one. 

And those wooden boxes don't include the other boxes that are being shipped to the Airship.

"These people are too active and a little greedy," I whispered. My fox ears are moving in discomfort.

And yes, I can conclude that they will sell all those Earth Crystals in wooded boxes.

It became a natural outcome when I agreed to the agreement that they could do the Item Gathering as long as they didn't obstruct or give harm to my exploration.

I watched them for some time before finally walking away. I wanted to find and then flirt with Ruciel but...

"Hey, Eclaite." 

Teria found me first.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I want to hear your next plans and I want to tell you about several things that happened in that cave. So, please come with me."

I followed Teria. Minutes passed and we reached the kind of meeting room. Ruciel, Ronove, Lostria, and some of the Teria's crew were already present.

I sat in a chair and then, Teria, Lostria, and two of Treia's crew gave their reports to me.

Teria and Lostria find another large chunk of Earth Crystal in another part of the cave. 

One of the crew said that he found a large and deep hole down to the earth.

As for the other one, she told me that the Crystal Cobra was done being processed. The material obtained from that monster was now stored in this Airship warehouse.

"We found the Earth Crystal mine as you said. Now, tell us what you think about it?" Teria asked and she looked excited.

"Hmm... I want to prioritize exploration to the Death City Vulvanier. Then, for later, I want to mine the Earth Crystal and sell it. Therefore, I want to secure the cave by buying the land around it."

"I don't think you can do that," Ronove said.

"What do you mean?"

"People like us can't buy land directly from the kingdom. We are only allowed to buy land in a place designated by the kingdom as a city or village."

I fell silent after hearing that explanation. Seconds passed and the thing that popped into my head was, "we seem to have no other choice but to do illegal mining."

Different types of gazes and expressions were given to me by everyone in this room after I finished saying my idea.

"Don't do that!" said Ronove firmly. "It's just going to call trouble. If you get caught, not only will you get punished, you will also lose this Earth Crystal mine."

"...I'm I have no other ideas."

I gave up and raised both my hands. I leaned back in a chair with my ears and tail hanging weakly.

I glanced at people and said the question, "Does any of you have ideas to secure the mine?"

They put on a thoughtful expression. Silence enveloped us for some time.

"You can pioneering a mining village," said Ronove, breaking this silence. 

"Pioneering a village?" I repeat.

The old woman nodded her head. "Yes, invite people to stay and mine the Earth Crystals in this place. Then, be the village chief. Once the village is made, you just have to register it and pay taxes to the kingdom. After all of that, this land and the mine will be yours."

"Is that possible to do?"

"Yes, if you're lucky, you can become a knight or even a noble."

"Eclaite is already a knight," Ruciel explained.

And thanks to that, Ronove gave me another glance. "If you're a knight, the procedure needed to pioneer a village will become easier."

"Starting a village is not a bad idea," Lostria said.

And in support of that idea, Teria nodded. "I have some connections, transportation, and labor won't be a problem. A village will be done in weeks."

"I'm happy you find the way out but it gives us another problem," I told them. "We don't have the money to fund all those plans."

"Didn't you ever say you wanted to buy an Airship?" Lostria asked. "Why don't you use that money? I think that's enough."

"I wanted an Airship and not a village. More than that, taking care of a village sounds troublesome."

"I can also invest in pioneering this mining village," said Teria. "You don't have to worry about the money you used for this opportunity because you can get it back in two months. As for managing this new village, I can give some of my friends a call. One of them might be interested." 

"Hmm..."

Yes or no, It's a tough decision for me to choose.

Pioneer a village and earn income from the Earth Crystal mine. It sounds sweet but I'm sure, taking care of the village and mine was complicated and troublesome, different from the system in Ark Fantasy Online. 

I doubt I can do it.

As for entrusting this responsibility to others. I'm not comfortable enough about it. I don't know anyone I can trust to help me with this.

Teria?

We've only known each other for a few days. I know she's not a bad woman but I still have doubts about starting a business or whatever this is with her.

I haven't been able to make a decision, so...

"I'll think about pioneering a mining village after we're done with the exploration," I said my decision. "We have to focus and finish what's in front of us before we think about anything else."

"You intend to leave this place without anyone taking care of or guarding it? That was a bad decision and I think, we should make the village as soon as possible," said Teria.

And I wondered, "Why are you quite obsessed with pioneering this mining village?"

"Well..." Making a sound, Teria glanced at us. Then, she look at her crew who were in this room.

A long pause appeared and we were waiting for an answer from Teria.

The woman took a deep breath and said, "This mining village might be able to save us- I mean me and my comrades."

"Saving you from what?"

"... from being unemployed."

The answer surprised me greatly.

"I honestly say, I or we are in a miserable situation. There wasn't much work we could take in Cadebre and it's been quite a while that we haven't had a good-paying job. Moreover, taking care of this Airship was not an easy thing to do. If our situation doesn't improve, we will… unemployed."

"That's heavy background," I commented and Teria made a wry smile.

"So, what's your decision, young girl?" Ronove glanced at me. At the same time, she tapped the table with her index finger.

"My decision is still the same," I began to explain. "We're going to focus on the exploration. We can pioneer the mining village afterward. There is a possibility that the treasures we might get from the exploration can give us a big help. And Teria, if you're worried about this place falling into the hands of someone else, you can ask friends you trust to take care of and guard it."

"Good then," Ronove replied. "I agreed to give you help on your exploration instead of pioneering a village. I want to get The Despair Tears of The Deaths as soon as possible." 

"And you'll get it," I assured Ronove.

The old woman responded with a nod to the head.

"We've already decided what we're going to do with the cave," Lostria began. "Now, Thousand Rock Islands. Tell us more about the place."

"Wyvern, Knife Beak, and Blast Moth in considerable numbers. We have to avoid them and we'll get through the Thousand Rock Islands safely."

...

"That's it?"

"Yes, that's it, Lostria. And if I have to add something, I'll say, we should also avoid the stones that floating in that place."

"...Isn't there a mine or something like that in that place?" Teria tried to investigate.

I shook my head. "There are no mines or other natural resources that we can seize in that place."

However, there was a ruin there. And yes, I don't want to tell them about it because there's a precious treasure I don't want to share with strangers.

After that, we made plans to deal with the monsters roaming the Thousand Rock Islands.. I also didn't forget to tell them some routes that could give us protection from the detection or ambush from the Wyvern, Knife Beak, and Blast Moth.