173-157 Cave (2)

"...... What?　Wasn't it just now that I was going to take on the Skeleton Knight?　Wasn't it?

No, it wasn't. It's a dreaming mistake.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.

Poor Toya.

It is true that there is no need to push yourself when you can easily kill yourself,......, but it is a bit pathetic.

"I'm sorry, Toya. I was already chanting.

...... No need to apologize, though.

I'm not sure if I'd be able to do that if I were you.

You can't help but notice that the way Haruka and the others handled the situation was not wrong as a tactic.

It is only natural to minimize the risk of injury in a real battle, let alone in training.

There's not going to be any additional ...... in the cave. But this cave looks pretty big. Is it a stronghold of the undead?　The undead seem to like dark places.

Haruka throws a light into the cave and peers into it.

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How is it, sir?　Considering the fact that they were armed, could it have been a bandit hideout?

Is it possible that the bandits were destroyed for some reason and turned into the undead ......?

It's possible, isn't it?　But it's a very big bandit gang, isn't it?　I don't know if it has anything to do with the undead we've killed so far, but there were about 60 of them here alone.

"Sixty-seven if you count the ghosts.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea.

If you think all of them are skeletons, that's more than 100 ...... gold coins.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

You'll have to put up with the smell, though.

But if you're a bandit group, don't you think you're a little too far off the beaten path?　They may be good at staying undetected, but they're not good at their job. ......

I don't know the detailed geography of the area because maps aren't easy to find in this world, but the closest road we know of connects Rafan and Sarstat.

Is it a good place to spend almost half a day to get there?

Or is this about as far as it is possible to go?

If we build a hideout too close to the attack site, it will be easy to be found, and there is not always a convenient place to build a hideout.

And here, you can hide in the forest and travel close to the road, so in a way, it might be a good location.

There is also the possibility that they are ...... mercenaries or irregulars in the army.　These swords and shields are old, but they look good.

Toya, who was collecting weapons dropped by the skeletons, tapped one of the swords and said something like that.

As he said, the sword had little rust, and even to my untrained eye, it looked reasonably well made.

There were other swords similar to it lying around, so I picked one up and examined it.

The material is not ordinary iron. Judging from the lack of rust, it's probably white iron.

The price of an ingot is about ten times higher than that of ordinary iron, so it seems to be a rather expensive sword. .......

--I'm not sure.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not.

If you look closely, you can see some kind of pattern on the base of the sword, near the hilt.

There are some Japanese swords that have dragons carved into them, but from the shape of this sword, it seems to be a crest of some kind.

Oh, I have one on my sword.

I'm sure you'll be able to find something that will work for you.

Of the swords we found, three swords that appeared to be made of white iron had emblems engraved on them.

This is most likely ...... the property of some nobleman or his private army. I think a scabbard would give us a little more information. ......

Unfortunately, no scabbard was available because the skeleton was holding the sword without it.

It might be lying around somewhere, but most likely in a cave?

"Whoa. Trouble?

Yuki raised an eyebrow, and Natsuki nodded deeply.

If you sell it, you're in trouble. You can either melt it down and turn it back into a material or store it in your magic bag.

But this is white iron, and our furnace won't melt it.　If you get me a new one...

I'll keep it.

I know!　I knew it.

I know." Haruka replied with a biting tone, and Toya nodded, a little dejected.

In fact, if Toya really wanted to, she could use the remuneration being distributed to build a workshop as good as a full-time blacksmith's, but with almost no need for it, she can't bring herself to do so.

It would be a lot of money to invest as a mere hobby, and it would only be used once a week at most.

But there were many undead who didn't have weapons,......?　A lot of undead with no weapons,......? private armies of nobles and a lot of ...... workers?　Could this be an abandoned mine?

"I see, then .......

If you're a soldier or a bandit, even if you're a lowly one, you probably have a weapon or two.

But only a few of the undead we've fought have had weapons. Most of them were unarmed zombies and skeletons, and there were quite a few of them in total.

If you think of them as workers in the mines, their numbers make sense.

"This cave is certainly man-made, isn't it? It's obvious that the ground is flat.

Well, it's usually uneven, if it's a natural cave.

As Natsuki pointed out, the ground of the cave, illuminated by the light, was prepared for easy walking.

I don't know much about it, and I'm sure there are differences in degree depending on the way the cave was formed, but I'd say it was either dug that way or flattened out afterwards.

"What are you going to do?　Do you want to go in?

"Well, ......, let's go in for a little bit. If it's too deep, we'll turn around right away. You're not prepared for this.

Okay.

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With that in mind, it would be best to just take a quick look around.

We entered the cave with Natsuki, who has scouting skills, in the lead.

After a short walk inside, the passage became a little wider, so that four people could walk side by side.

Fortunately, there was no sign of the enemy at the moment.

It seems to be certain that human hands are involved.

Natsuki, who was walking in the lead, pointed to a wall illuminated by a "light".

There were traces of some kind of tool, indicating that this place had been dug by human hands.

If possible, a bandit's hideout would be nice.

Why?

They might be hoarding something, right?　If it's an abandoned mine, don't you think they'll just find ore?

But it's been a long time since they turned undead, right?　And if someone had killed them, they would have already taken the treasure.

I'm sure you're right, he's dead, so it's ...... unlikely that it's an epidemic.

When a disease breaks out, they'll abandon their hideout.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

I'm not sure if it's an epidemic.　Should we bring in the canaries?

"Geez. Volcanic gas wiped out ......?

Not necessarily volcanic, though. Carbon dioxide will kill you.

Do you have a gas detector?　It's a magical device.

Hmm, I don't know.　I don't know. It might be useful in the mines. I think it might be possible. ....... Haruka, do you remember?

I think there was ....... It's pretty thick, so I've only skimmed it.

That must be the alchemy encyclopedia that Haruka bought.

I've seen it myself, but it's all handwritten, and it doesn't have an easy-to-understand index, so it's not easy to find what you're looking for.

This is true for all the books I have, but the readability varies greatly depending on the writer.

Thanks to God, I don't have any problems in reading and writing, but thanks to this ability, which is in a sense very powerful, I can understand the strength of the habitual characters at the same time, and it takes me a long time to read them.

In fact, it would have been easier to translate the text into Japanese without asking any questions. ...... I really feel grateful for easy-to-read print.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.　Gas is a bad idea, right?

Yes, ...... that might be a good idea.

I'm not sure what to make of that.

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Considering this, it is not so easy to say, "It's okay if it's just a little bit," or "Let's go back if it looks bad.

Then it might be just right. Look, look. There's a fork in the road.

When I looked at the end of the cave, I saw that the path split in two at the end.

We had walked a few hundred meters from the entrance to the cave, considering the time.

"It's deep enough to have gas, but it's not good to go without mapping, is it?

"We don't know where we're going. Let's go back.

Okay. Well, it doesn't look like a bandit's hideout, not at this depth.

No. It's too deep for bandits to dig, it's useless.

It's too deep for bandits to dig, it's pointless.

The mine is almost abandoned.

The treasure at ...... doesn't look too promising.

We sighed, made a U-turn, and walked towards the entrance.

By the way, do you think we should report this place to the guild?

"To the guild?　Why?

Because it looks like an abandoned mine, but it's a mine, right?　Aren't mines usually controlled by the state?

...... That's true. If we do something wrong and they say we're stealing, we'll be in trouble.

Yes. I think we should ask them about it.

Well, in a way, mining is a strategic commodity.

In addition, there is a high possibility that some nobleman was digging the mine. ...... I hope it won't be a problem. .......

I'm not sure what to make of this.