Volume 3 Chapter 7 When it comes to this, Lene is long
After tending to the woman who'd fallen off the cliff and carrying her to the manager's hut, I handed off her care to Lene. Then, in the hut, I was discussing work with Mr. Heim, the foreman of the logging site.
"Sure, the initial investment for magic stones is higher, but Healing Potions aren't permanent. If you don't use magic stones, you'll end up spending more on Healing Potions in the long run."
"I see... but the workers are really exhausted and complaining. Magic stones don't help with fatigue, right?"
"That's right, magic stones only enhance abilities. They don't have any fatigue recovery effects. As I mentioned before, using potions continuously will still cost money. So, how about we supply Healing Potions only at the start? The initial investment would be a little higher, but there wouldn't be any ongoing costs."
Mr. Heim seemed worried about the upfront cost of magic stones and wanted to get by with Healing Potions, but if he chose the cheaper option now, the costs would pile up later.
I patiently explained the benefits of using magic stones.
Damn, I've become a proper businessman.
When I first came to Sartzstadt, I knew nothing about business. I learned by doing.
So, in the end, Mr. Heim agreed to consider my plan.
Even though money comes in regularly, long-term continuous delivery is a big burden for us, and besides, we won't have time to get new customers.
With the magic stone plan, Mr. Heim's side can keep the total amount down, and it's a win-win for both of us.
"...By the way, who was that woman I helped earlier?"
I decided to ask about the thing that had been bugging me.
I mean, she was mining in a place where you could get seriously hurt if you fell. It's kind of worrying, right?
"Ah..., actually, recently someone said, 'Don't bother me with work, just let me mine on that cliff,' but I don't really know her background. Anyway, the land on the cliff isn't under my management, and it doesn't belong to anyone, so I didn't need permission or anything..."
So, even Mr. Heim doesn't know her?
Well, then I guess I have to ask her about the situation myself.
Doing stuff like that, she wouldn't have enough lives even if she had a dozen.
"Ryuuji, she's awake."
"Oh, speak of the devil..."
Lene, who had been tending to the woman in the makeshift bedroom with a bed, came back.
From my wife's expression, it didn't seem like the woman had any serious injuries.
I took a break from the meeting and headed to the woman's side with Lene.
* * *
"Thank you so much for saving me!"
The woman, sitting up halfway from the bed, shouted energetically and bowed deeply towards me.
Wow, I thought she looked mature, but she's pretty lively, isn't she?
"You're welcome! I'm not asking for a favor in return, but I'd like to know what you were doing mining in a place like that. Oh, by the way, my name's Ryuuji. I'm an enchanter."
"Nice to meet you! I heard from LenLen! I'm Aine, and I'm a scholar!"
Well, look who it is, LenLen.
For this person, Lene is younger, so let's not worry about how she addresses me.
But if she calls me the same way, I might have to reconsider.
So, she's a scholar, huh?
That makes me even more curious about what she was doing on that cliff.
I wonder if she found something interesting as a magic stone craftsman.
If she discovered any rare ore, I'd really like to get in on that.
"So, about the reason you were mining on the cliff... I was digging for coal!"
"...Coal?"
Lene twisted her head, unsure about the unfamiliar word that just popped up.
Even I, being an enchanter and a magic stone craftsman, know my minerals, but I've never heard of that.
"Well, um... here it is!"
Aine rummaged through her magical bag and pulled out a small burlap sack.
I wonder if coal is inside this thing.
"Go ahead and take a look inside! Oh, but don't touch the coal, or your hands will get all black!"
"Ah."
I gently peered into the burlap sack that Aine handed me.
It has a strange, medicinal smell.
But it just looks like a regular black stone.
Lene, who was peeking in with me, seemed puzzled by the mystery stone, making a weird sound.
"It doesn't seem like a gem... so what exactly is coal?"
Not knowing its value, I threw up my hands in defeat and asked.
At first glance, it just looks like a plain rock, and I can't understand why a scholar would take the risk to mine it.
When asked, Aine went, "Oh, well good thing you asked!" and puffed out her chest a little, looking all smug about it.
Come on, just answer already.
"It's a burning stone! In Goldmont, it's used as fuel instead of firewood or charcoal for things like iron smelting, you know!"
"...But it doesn't look like it wants to burn..."
My and Lene's gaze, more skeptical than trusting, landed on Aine.
I mean, stones burning? That's just not something I can believe....
After that, Lene and I learned about the amazing properties of coal from Aine's passionate explanation.
Apparently, this coal, like charcoal, burns at a really high temperature when it's processed, and it makes iron production way more efficient.
She used to be a scholar at Goldmont who was studying this coal, but she got fired by her clueless boss who didn't understand her basic research, so she ended up coming all the way to BeisteinKingdom.
"...Fired by a clueless boss, huh? Sounds familiar... I had a similar experience a year or so ago..."
"Is that so?"
I looked off into the distance with a faraway expression, and Aine looked at me curiously.
Lene chuckled, like she understood what I was thinking.
Yeah, being kicked out of the 〈Berserk〉.
"But, burning stone...? I'm super interested. The byproduct, coal tar, seems like it could be used in alchemy or something..."
"Oh! So you understand the appeal of this mineral!"
Suddenly, Lene and Aine were getting all excited and started talking about something I couldn't follow.
This is how it always goes with my wife.
Remember when I had a long chat with Mr. Galdun, the dwarf who runs the forge? That lasted until evening...
Feeling a weird sense of discomfort, I let out a sigh and decided to head back to Mr. Heim without waiting for the conversation between the two girls to end.
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