Departure
With the addition of Amira, the magician with astonishing hidden power, the full-scale re-investigation of the mana ore mines was about to begin.
Apparently, there had once been a bustling town there, but now it was abandoned, completely uninhabited.
There was a possibility that monsters or bandits had taken up residence, so Lord Doyle of the Trion family had requested that Elina and I accompany the expedition.
Our top priority was to protect Curtis Village, of course.
But if the mana ore mines were to become operational again, it would likely bring some benefits to our village as well.
If that could help improve the lives of the people, we decided we definitely wanted to lend a hand.
Well, even if anything were to happen in the village, we’d arranged for the old dragon Asletica, who lived in the lake, to come to the rescue. So we weren’t leaving it entirely undefended.
“Leon, Bulk, and Lindel—I'll be counting on all of you.”
Since we planned to take on this mission with the full strength of the local station, it went without saying they’d be coming too.
Once our preparations were complete, we departed from Curtis Village and set off for the mana ore mines.
Before heading straight there, however, we were scheduled to meet up with another unit.
It seemed there was already a team heading to the destination ahead of us.
According to Amira, they were also soldiers directly under the McCreed family.
“To think they’re committing that much manpower...”
“Lord Donold seems to have high hopes for this Abbott region. I heard that Lady Alyssa has been getting along quite well with the local lord at the ball...
But that man wouldn’t lend his support for such a simple reason. I believe he’s genuinely taken a liking to the Tryon family’s lord.”
Amira offered that detailed explanation.
Now that the potential revival of the mana ore mines had emerged thanks to advancements in magic technology, there was no way they wouldn't lend their support.
“Anyway... I see that mountain all the time when I’m out farming, but heading toward it now, it feels like it’s quite far away.”
Elina, who was serving as our carriage driver, muttered that.
For the people living in Curtis Village, that mountain—the mana ore mines, formally known as Mount Gothel—had become something of a symbolic landmark.
Hardly anyone in the village even knew it had once been a mining site for mana ore, so it made sense that it had taken on that sort of role.
In any case, the journey to Mount Gothel was no easy feat.
It wasn’t just the distance; the terrain along the way was rough and wild.
Even Leon and Bulk looked like they were having trouble navigating it, and it took us quite some time to get through.
I wondered if the advance team had already reached the abandoned village at the base of Mount Gothel.
After several hours traversing bad roads, we finally reached a slightly open area.
There, the advance unit was in the process of setting up tents.
It seemed they had judged that it would be difficult to proceed further today, and decided to camp for the night here.
First things first, I needed to meet the person in charge to let them know we’d arrived.
As I stepped down from the carriage—
“Hey, been waiting for you.”
It was my colleague Gary who called out to us with a grin.
What do you think about this chapter?
