IBWMD 40

~Chapter 40~

I stared straight at the squirming shopkeeper and said,

“Do you want to go talk in a teahouse or something?”

“I’d feel bad wasting your time. I don’t think it’ll take that long…”

Even as he said that, his constant glancing around made me more annoyed than anything.

Finally, I sighed and slung an arm over his shoulder.

“Urk!”

Okay, it was less of an arm sling and more of a headlock. The shopkeeper wheezed and clutched at my arm.

“Shall we go?”

“Ack, okay, okay, miss!”

That’s when I felt it—a strange sensation brushing my cheek.

The kind you get when someone’s staring at you intensely.

“Huh?”

I looked around, but saw nothing unusual. Except…

“Did you see that just now?”

“See what?”

“Something like a snake’s tail just slid into the shadows…”

It looked like a snake’s tail disappearing.

“A snake? In this winter?”

“….”

“They should be hibernating. Wouldn’t even be out in the city.”

He wasn’t wrong. I slowly blinked and murmured,

“Never mind. I probably imagined it. I dreamt of a snake.”

“What kind of dream? Was it a bad omen?”

“No, just… a really handsome snake trying to bite me.”

“…Is anyone you know about to give birth?”

“….”

I nearly screamed.

I scratched my tingling cheek a few times, then tightened my grip on the shopkeeper.

“Put a little strength into it. A little more.”

“I’m not even that strong!”

There were definitely people stronger than me. Like that muscle-head who fights well even while acting all prickly.

That guy could probably open a castle gate alone…

‘Now’s not the time to be thinking about him.’

Why was I thinking about Karl again just from a snake reference?

The shopkeeper was still whining.

“I bet you’re the strongest of all the young ladies here!”

“Stop exaggerating and let’s go. You’ve been too jumpy this whole time.”

“You’re not exactly acting normal either, miss. And your acting skills are—urk!”

“I don’t know teahouses around here. You pick the place.”

Only after I squeezed his shoulder again did he stiffly smile and start walking with me.

* * *

“That cave I mentioned before with the monster meat…”

Once we settled into a private room in a teahouse, the shopkeeper gave me a discreet glance.

He raised his rough hand upright like a vertical wall and whispered near his lips.

“The cave… that mine?”

“I think there’s still rare minerals in there.”

“It looked abandoned from the outside.”

“I thought so too, but… it wasn’t closed because it was empty.”

Then he pulled out something wrapped in thick cloth.

“I think it was closed because it got too dangerous.”

“…”

“There are cracks all over inside.”

I suddenly remembered Karl’s voice from when he stopped me from entering.

“I can’t let you enter that mine.”
“It was closed a long time ago due to monster contamination and unstable terrain.”

So Karl had known what that place was. He let me in anyway because I was stubborn.

‘Always cold and grumpy… but soft on me after all…’

…Why was I thinking of that again?

I shook my head and continued.

“The contamination is severe—monsters have nested in it.”

“Exactly.”

The shopkeeper nodded and unwrapped the cloth.

Thud. A lump rolled onto the table, and I frowned.

“Is this blue titanium?”

“Thought it might be. That’s why I brought it.”

Blue titanium was a rare mineral used in high-end weapons and magical tools.

To mercenaries and knights familiar with quality arms, it was second only to mithril.

So that mine held blue titanium.

‘I didn’t realize.’

When I went in with Karl, rescuing people came first, so I didn’t notice the ore. As soon as the rescue was done, he practically tossed me out too.

“I showed it to that blacksmith you introduced… He says he can work with blue titanium.”

That was good news. The mineral was notoriously hard to refine.

“And if that much came out, there may be a decent deposit.”

Then he said something that truly caught my attention:

“Maybe enough to fix the weapon shortage.”

“It would help with Saint Portou’s winter defenses.”

“…Eventually, we’ll have to report it to the domain.”

Blue titanium was rare enough to require official reporting.

“But I don’t think we can use it right away.”

I agreed. The piece before me was visibly tainted—saturated with monster miasma.

The shopkeeper cautiously suggested,

“Could you purify it… maybe?”

“I could try.”

I stared at the half-dulled glow of the once radiant ore.

It was doable, but…

“With my holy power, this one piece could take days.”

“Oof.”

A fist-sized rock, thoroughly corrupted.

Even removing toxins from monster meat took me hours each dawn—this would be far more demanding.

‘If it were someone like Commander Istar…’

He wasn’t promoted just for skill—his divine energy was immense.

‘People say the gods abandoned us because so few are born with real divine power these days.’

He could probably aim for cardinal or even pope—being the pope’s illegitimate son, it wouldn’t be surprising.

‘But unless you’re at that level, this’ll take too long.’

Especially if there’s more ore to purify.

There probably weren’t enough priests or holy knights in this region to handle it either.

‘And once the temple learns of it, they’ll report it to the capital—and the Emperor will claim it.’

Was there another way?

‘A method to extract monster toxins without divine power…’

Then, like lightning, a memory flashed through my mind:

“Humans slaved away while dragon magic purified the land…”
“Some say the Duke’s family inherited a relic—the dragon’s heart, used to detect monsters…”

‘Oh.’

I didn’t even have time to scold myself for thinking about Karl again.

A solution was just within reach.

Dragon’s heart, relic, dragon magic that purifies miasma.

‘So if that’s…’

I strained to link the words floating in my mind into something coherent when—

Clatter—slam!

“…?”

The door to our room suddenly burst open with a loud crash.

‘We already got our tea though?’

I turned to see a man in a hood step in, looking frantic—like a puppy needing to pee.

‘Who…?’

Even while on guard, I had a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘…He looks familiar.’

Smaller than Karl but still sturdy. Taller than average. Slouchy but athletic arms…

I narrowed my eyes at him when—

BAM! The shopkeeper sprang up and pointed furiously.

“You can’t just barge into a private room! What are you—”

“Uncle.”

That voice made my narrowed eyes widen.

“…Jeremy?”

The shopkeeper called out his name in a dazed voice.

Apparently not planning to hide anything, the man threw off his hood.

‘No wonder he looked familiar.’

It really was Jeremy.