CH 180

“My name is Will Alexis. I hear you have helped my daughter a lot.”

He says while bowing deeply.

“And that you found ore in the dungeon. Do you have any with you now?”

“Father! You’re jumping ahead too much.”

“Hn? Sora, was it? I did hear a lot about you. Yes, a lot. And you can speak to me normally.”

I feel like I shouldn’t ask what he heard and from whom. It’s like a sixth sense is warning me that’s dangerous. I have a good idea of who it was though.

I do as he says, and put magic ore, magic crystal, and mithril on the table.

He raises his voice in admiration, and calls someone. The person he calls picks up what I laid on the table, and starts examining them with what looks like a magnifying glass.

“Sir, there is no mistaking it. I have no objection in terms of quality either.”

“Hm… Then we should put together a team to investigate… The issue is how much we can mine. Do you know?”

His face is serious all of a sudden. I’m sure his head is working really fast doing all sorts of calculations.

“I honestly don’t know either. I just saw a place where it looked like there was ore and mined. I’m sure a specialist can do a better job finding it, and I think it’s really up to the dungeon itself. And I think we need to see if the ore is replenished when the dungeon changes.”

“Hm…”

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s say we can keep mining rare ore in the dungeon. What then?”

Will frowns and stares at me. It’s like he’s observing me, and scanning my whole body.

“All I can say is that it’s dependent on national policy. Even if we can start mining in the dungeon, it’s going to make its way to the market. It also depends on how much can be mined.”

That sounds about right. There’s not much point in thinking about it, so all I can do is hope that the people handling it know what they’re doing.

“Well then, let us discuss what comes next. It will depend on what the survey team reports, but assuming this information is true, a reward is in order. What would you like?”

Two things come to mind, but I don’t know how reasonable they are.

“At the very least, you are free to say what you want. Don’t hold back.”

It kind of feels like I’m being tested, but I guess I can at least try saying it.

“Sora said he wants to attend magic academy.”

Leila interjects from the side while I’m thinking.

That’s not me, it’s Hikari. And for some reason she looks happy about that.

“Is that so?”

“Ah, not really me, but members of my party said they would like to try going there.”

“Well, sure?”

Leila is being glared at, but she just looks away.

Eventually those eyes turn to me, and I add.

“I can think of two things. One is an issue with orphans, and the other information about a slave.”

“Can you tell me more about it?”

He sounds interested, like he wasn’t expecting me to say something like that.

“The issue with the orphans is something that’s bothering one of the members of my party. No, there are people in this city concerned about it too. So if it’s possible to improve that, I’d like to have it done.

As for the slave, it’s someone who is a childhood friend of two members of my party. They think she probably became a slave, so if it’s possible to use your connections to look for her, that would be great.”

“…There is nothing that can be done about the orphans at present time. We are doing what we can, but basically, it’s all about funding. Maybe we can direct the extra funds from mining ore in that direction. As for the slave, that is not within my field.”

Of course. You’d have to be knowledgeable about slaves or a weirdo to take the initiative to investigate that.

From what I see, that’s not the image I’m getting from Will. Then again, maybe that’s just me.

“Slave… If you don’t know what happened to this person, maybe they could have become a combat slave?”

“Maybe. We managed to find one, but the other, an elf, is still missing.”

“…You are looking for an elf?”

He wrinkles his brow, crosses his arms, and looks like he’s thinking.

“Is there a problem with that?”

“Not now, but back when the war was still going strong, there were rumors of elves being kidnapped. There aren’t that many elves in the first place, but…

I haven’t seen any elf slaves in years.”

I’m pretty sure Drett said something like that too.

There’s that whole thing with Chris too, but I’m starting to think that this world is actually a pretty harsh place for elves to live.

“We will contact you again about the reward. But as for the academy, we can arrange for at least a trial period. Of course, I have heard you are not too good with magic, so it might be good for you.”

Did a chivalric order contact him or something like that. Leila looks puzzled too.

“I’ll talk about this with the others.

“Yes, this was a productive meeting. It depends on the survey team, but we will talk again after we get results”

He’s putting his hand out for a handshake for some reason. I hesitate, but shake his hand.

There’s a heavy feeling in my hand. Isn’t that a bit too tight? It doesn’t really hurt or anything, but it’s like he’s squeezing my hand.

“Then let us meet again.”

He says with a clear expression, but what was that there at the end?