Chapter 84
At that time.
A little distance away from Cecile’s workshop yard.
Hidden demons whispered among themselves, their voices carried only to each other.
“What’s this? What a mess. I was wondering what they were working on so hard…”
“The weapons can’t even cut through a log, and the armor broke with just a Water Ball.”
They were spies sent by Demon King Delrak.
For some time now, they had been moving around Ludwig’s domain, gathering information.
Delrak had baited Ludwig with the tunnel construction deal, but he was always suspicious.
He wanted to make sure Ludwig’s side wasn’t secretly plotting something else.
Knowing Delrak’s nature well, Kiren had even sent his direct agents earlier than the diplomatic delegation.
“Heh! What good is earning money if you don’t even have the basics of magic engineering?”
“Exactly. Just hiring one craftsman doesn’t mean you can mass-produce artifacts. How pathetic.”
The spies, still cloaked in invisibility magic, quietly retreated.
The content of the secret report they would send to Kiren was already decided.
Ludwig’s domain is trying to modify weapons and armor into artifacts.
Seems to be a countermeasure for their lack of soldiers.
Test results show the quality is hopeless.
No real progress can be expected for the next several years.
Of course, they had no idea.
Their presence had already been discovered, and even their hiding place was exposed.
Even the conversations they were having now were being transmitted in real time to Richmond.
Ariella had known they would come spy on the workshop today and had prepared a show for them.
This way, the spies kept sending false information back to Delrak’s territory.
They had been doing so all along.
“Ah, we should also add that Ludwig’s injury seems to be worse than expected.”
Not long ago, a Dead Eater had appeared in the domain.
Though they managed to hunt it, Ludwig was injured in the process.
Since then, the Demon King hadn’t shown himself outside and kept himself hidden inside the castle.
Also, large amounts of herbs were seen being transported inside the castle.
“Herbs are one of this territory’s main sources of income. I heard they have really powerful effects.”
“Ten times more effective than normal herbs, right? If even those can’t heal him, then the injury must be serious.”
Muttering like that, the spies returned to their hideout.
Whoosh!
High in the sky, beyond their sight, a dragon was already tracking their movements.
Philly muttered in her innocent little voice.
“They sure are busy again today.”
“Contractor, we’ve removed all the magic stones.”
“Good. Well done.”
After the spying eyes disappeared, the soldiers removed the magic stones from the fake artifacts they had used for the show.
Looking at the pile of stones on the workbench, Cecile spoke.
“Now we need to attach these to real weapons and armor.”
“Those sneaky guys made us waste so much effort. We already have enough work as it is. Sorry, I’ll help you with this.”
“It’s fine. I actually enjoyed it.”
She said it lightly, and it didn’t sound like a lie.
“Thanks to this, I gained new experience and data. Like how much strength normal iron weapons show when magic stones are attached.”
“They were basically useless, weren’t they?”
“Yes. It was an intentional failure, but still, they were really worthless. To be even a little useful, we’d need to attach far larger stones to normal iron weapons.”
“And that would just increase costs, not to mention mess up the balance.”
“You’re right.”
Ariella and Cecile sat side by side and began real work.
The weapons and armor used in the “play” were made from common iron.
But the ones they were attaching magic stones to now—the real artifacts—shone with a dark, deep luster.
This is Dark Iron.
Dark Iron was a special mineral, considered precious even in the Demon Realm.
It absorbed magic well and conducted it easily, so it was widely used in artifact-making.
When Ariella first visited Cecile’s workshop, all the tools she saw had been made from Dark Iron.
“By the way, there’s one problem.”
After finishing up some work, Cecile spoke again.
“You gave me all the Dark Iron weapons left in this domain, right?”
“Yes. We’ve used everything. There’s none left.”
“Then soon, we’ll have to stop. The supply is running out.”
Ariella had expected this day would come eventually.
But Cecile’s speed was much faster than she thought.
“So the remaining weapons are all just normal iron?”
“Yes. If you want, I can still make artifacts out of those. Just like we did for the show.”
“But their performance will be terrible.”
“Unless we use twice the number of magic stones.”
Neither option was what Ariella wanted.
She nodded.
“Then we need to secure more Dark Iron weapons.”
“That’s not as easy as it sounds.”
At the Demon King’s Castle, during a meeting.
A dwarf who had been summoned looked troubled.
The Southern Merchant Guild had already surpassed Fedwick in influence.
Even so, he shook his head at the idea of supplying Dark Iron weapons.
Veteran merchant Geru agreed.
“Weapons… are usually… made… in each… Demon King’s domain… and used… there.”
Demon Kings often sold surplus food or daily necessities to other territories.
But weapons were an exception.
Unless there was an extremely strong alliance, no one would hand over a sword that could stab them.
And Ludwig’s domain didn’t have such an ally.
Delrak offered peace, but Ariella knew there was a hidden dagger under his tongue.
“Especially Dark Iron weapons. Everyone would rather hoard them than sell them. Our guild only handles very small amounts.”
“Then what about the ones we already had in this domain?”
Geru answered.
“Most likely… from… before the downfall…”
Ariella understood his meaning well enough.
“They were produced and stored before the domain collapsed, right?”
In the distant past—no one knew exactly how many Demon Kings ago—this land had once held many Dark Iron weapons.
But over time, they had leaked out until only a small amount remained.
And Bephar must have taken a good chunk for himself too.
Ariella clicked her tongue and asked again.
“What about unrefined Dark Iron ore or ingots?”
“That’s also difficult.”
“Why?”
“Because of this land’s location.”
The same old problem came up again.
“Dark Iron is traded in ore form. It’s easier for each smelting workshop to process it for their own needs that way.”
From the mines, the ore was lightly cleaned, then transported to its buyer, who would make it into ingots.
The supplier had the advantage. It was sold in a way that minimized their costs.
“But Dark Iron is extremely heavy—much heavier than normal iron.”
“So… it’s… loaded… on ships… and moved… along the river.”
In the south of the Demon Realm, the great Serbenew River flowed, reaching up to a kilometer wide.
Unfortunately, it did not connect to Ludwig’s territory.
“Which means it would have to be carried over mountain roads.”
The roads were narrow, barely enough for a single horse-drawn cart, and the slopes were steep and dangerous.
“No small wagon could manage it. The steep slopes make it impossible.”
“What if we break the ore into smaller pieces and carry them with hundreds of carts? Ah… but that would skyrocket transport costs.”
“Not only the labor cost of breaking it, but also loading and carrying would be extra. And breaking it increases the surface area—if exposed too long, it oxidizes, gets impurities, and the quality drops.”
It was an option only the very rich could afford.
And there was one more problem.
Demon King Delrak.
Even if we somehow carried Dark Iron over the mountains, the route would have to pass through Delrak’s territory.
And Delrak, who was already watching closely, would never ignore it.
Normal iron could at least be excused as farming tools.
But Dark Iron? Everyone would know it was for making weapons.
He would immediately interfere.
Ariella’s worries grew heavier.
“…We need to find a realistic way.”
