Chapter 26: Protect the Blacksmith’s Workshop, Part 2
“This… is… g-gold ore?! And it looks like it has a remarkably high gold content too! Where on earth did you get this?!”
“I grew it in my garden.”
“Y-y-y-your… garden?! You can… grow ore now?!”
“I recently learned how.”
“Whaaa….”
Lilcarlia-san stood there, utterly stunned, her expression frozen in disbelief.
“W-with an amount this large, the value would be incredible…”
“How much would we need to sell to pay off the debt, do you think?”
Yes. That was it. I had been thinking of selling this gold ore and using the money to help Shifa-san.
“No, no, no! That would be far too difficult!”
“Huh? Why not?”
Her denial caught me off guard, and I asked for clarification.
“You see, it’s not like selling ordinary groceries. Selling a small amount might be fine, but if you try to sell this much, people will definitely question where it came from. Mines capable of producing gold are tightly controlled by the kingdom or local lords. If you’re not careful, they might suspect you of illegal mining.”
“I see… then gems would be out of the question too…”
“Gems are also a no-go.”
I nodded slowly… It really would be difficult.
“Mithril too…?”
“Eh? Do you mean… you can harvest mithril as well?!”
“Yes, I can.”
“That might actually work!”
“But… won’t people think it was stolen?”
“No, no! Mithril isn’t like ordinary ore. It can only be found in areas rich with magical energy. So, on the contrary, if the magic is strong enough, you can find it anywhere—even outside official mines. Dungeons and other places, for example.”
So, the places where mithril could be mined weren’t necessarily under the control of the kingdom or lords. That meant it could potentially be traded more freely.
“Then, mithril wouldn’t be a problem…?”
“Of course, it’s a rare metal, so selling an excessive amount would still draw suspicion.”
“I see…”
“But—but! I just thought of a brilliant idea!”
A few days later, I accompanied Lilcarlia-san to Shifa-san’s home workshop.
“Excuse us for intruding.”
“Hello there~”
Inside the workshop, despite the presence of the artisans, an eerie silence hung in the air, thick and heavy, as if the room itself were mourning. It felt like the somber quiet of a funeral. Clearly, they had failed to gather the money in time.
Shifa-san was there too.
“Geo? What brings you here?”
“Oh, Shifa-san. Actually, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
“?”
I introduced Lilcarlia-san to Shifa-san’s father.
“This is Lilcarlia, a merchant. She’d like to place an order with your workshop.”
“Nice to meet you, I am Lilcarlia~”
Shifa-san’s father frowned, suspicion etched deeply into his features. Dark circles under his eyes suggested sleep deprivation.
“An order, you say…? But our workshop is practically doomed to close today…”
“Oh, no worries! The client is willing to pay in advance if necessary~”
“Really…? But could it possibly be enough to cover all the debts?”
Despite his skepticism, he leaned in, eager to hear the details. Desperation clung to him like a shadow.
“The details of the order… but first, it might be faster if you see this.”
With a flourish, Lilcarlia-san pulled from her magical bag the mithril ore harvested from my garden. And there was a lot of it.
“W-what… this is mithril ore?! And in such quantities…!”
The ore shimmered faintly with magical energy, glowing softly as though it carried a heartbeat of its own.
“With this, we’d like to commission two hundred sets of swords and armor.”
“Two… two hundred sets?!”
Shifa-san’s father’s eyes nearly popped out in shock.
“But… mithril is notoriously difficult to work with… the cost would be astronomical… and the time needed for delivery…”
“Neither of those is a problem. Per set, we can pay this much—how does that sound?”
“Huh?! Th-this much?!”
“Yes~. And we don’t mind how long it takes, so please, no shortcuts.”
“Of course! My skills as a blacksmith—my ‘Gift of Craftsmanship’—are second to none! I will not fail you!”
He pounded his chest confidently, brimming with pride and determination.
“Then please, take this as payment.”
Lilcarlia-san, with her usual calm smile, casually produced several platinum coins from her bag.
“Platinum… real platinum coins…”
“Of course, genuine~”
Platinum coins were said to be worth dozens of times a gold coin, used only by nobles and wealthy merchants. Even I had never seen one before.
His throat worked nervously as he swallowed hard. Just as he reached out cautiously, one of the craftsmen shouted:
“Boss! You’re not getting tricked again, right?! Who is this client, anyway?!”
“Oh, yes~” Lilcarlia-san nodded cheerfully.
“The client is—”
“Not so fast.”
Suddenly, the bald man from before barged into the workshop, sneering as he surveyed the room.
“You’ve got the gold ready, I hope? Ah, no need to ask, ha ha!”
Lilcarlia-san greeted him with her usual bright smile.
“Hello there~”
“Huh? Who are you?”
“I am Lilcarlia, a merchant. We are currently negotiating a business order here~”
“Hah! A merchant, and yet you can’t see? This workshop is doomed to close today!”
“Oh, no need to worry~”
She brushed him off effortlessly, handing some of the platinum coins to Shifa-san’s father.
“Is… this really okay?”
“Of course~”
Shifa-san’s father, still suspicious, showed a few coins to the bald man.
“Our debt is 500 gold coins. This should cover it, right?”
“What…?”
The bald man’s face twisted in disbelief.