Chapter 60: Apparently a Super-Rare Metal
“Lilcarlia-san, actually… there’s something I’d like to ask you about.”
“Oh? What is it~?”
That day, as usual, Lilcarlia-san had come to collect the day’s harvest. I waited for her in the garden, holding out a peculiar mineral we’d managed to extract from our crops.
“Do you know what kind of mineral this is? I’ve heard it’s called Adamantite.”
“Fwah!?”
Lilcarlia-san let out a strangled, almost comical sound of surprise.
“A-a-a… Adamantite~~~~!?”
“Y-yes. It’s something we’ve started harvesting in our garden, but I’m not entirely sure what it is…”
“Adamantite is—ah! It’s an ultra-rare metal said to rival Orichalcum in hardness!”
“W-wait, ultra-rare metal…? Does that mean it’s on the same level as Mithril…?”
“No, no, no! Absolutely not! It’s far rarer than Mithril, and its value is orders of magnitude higher. People say it’s almost mythical!”
“Ehh…?”
I stared at it in disbelief. So this dull-looking, blackish rock, which looked no different from ordinary iron at first glance, was actually something so extraordinary.
“I can’t really imagine it being that hard… From my perspective, regular iron already seems plenty tough.”
“T-True… For example, even dragons supposedly can’t bite through it.”
“I’ve never seen a dragon…”
“W-well, then… how about this—if an Atlas stepped on it, it wouldn’t even crack?”
“Ah… that I can kind of picture.”
I recalled the Stampede incident. Even Mithril weapons had taken significant scratches from ordinary monster attacks.
“If an Atlas’ enormous body trampled on it, even Mithril armor could be shattered into pieces without surprise.”
“Then, if we made weapons from this…”
“Legendary-level weapons, without a doubt! But… there is a big problem, you see.”
“A big problem?”
“It’s so hard that there are probably only a handful of blacksmiths in the entire world capable of working it.”
“I-I see…”
…What a shame.
“By the way, what exactly is Orichalcum?”
“That… is said to be a metal of the gods. A mythical-grade substance.”
Lilcarlia-san explained that in terms of hardness, Adamantite and Orichalcum were almost on par. Yet Orichalcum had an incredibly high magical conductivity, far surpassing Mithril.
“Moreover, mythical-grade Orichalcum weapons are said to possess unique abilities.”
“Unique abilities?”
“Yes! For instance, the divine spear Gungnir, which never misses its target, or the divine sword Fragarach, which automatically fights enemies…”
What the…? That’s absolutely insane. Only weapons of mythical status could be so outrageous.
“Even without reaching that level, though… if the Mithril is of high purity, a skilled magician could enchant it.”
“Enchant it?”
“Yes—so you could cast magic just by swinging it, or have wounds heal when striking an enemy. Depending on the enchantment, it could be very convenient.”
“I see…”
“If we made weapons from your Mithril, Geo, a competent magician might be able to enchant them.”
That was good news. The sword we’d bought for Sena at the start of our adventuring days had begun to lose its edge. She had fought well with it all this time, but I had been thinking of giving her something new.
If Adamantite wasn’t an option… Mithril would have to do.
Yes. Why not use this chance to make weapons from high-quality Mithril?
“Lilcarlia-san, what about this Mithril? Do you think we could make some good weapons with it?”
“~~~~!?”
“…Lilcarlia-san?”
“W-w-what is this!?”
“Eh… could it be… it’s no good?”
It was supposed to be high-quality Mithril… yet, unlike medium-quality Mithril, which glowed faintly, this piece shone not at all.
“No, no, no! That’s not it! The lower the purity of Mithril, the more magical energy it releases, causing it to glow brightly!”
“Then, if this doesn’t glow at all…?”
“It’s one hundred percent pure Mithril!”
Apparently, it was something almost impossible to obtain naturally.
After speaking with Lilcarlia-san, I made my way to Shifa-san’s house.
Shifa-san was out adventuring with Sena today. My purpose was to see her father—whom I had only recently learned was named Billy.
“Huh?”
At the entrance to the workshop, I noticed a figure I didn’t recognize—a girl with blue hair.
She wasn’t very tall. Her round, sparkling eyes gave her the air of a little woodland creature, cute and alert.
For some reason, she was hiding behind the door, peeking inside the workshop.
“Hah… haah… h…hot… it… looks… haah… haah…”
Her gaze was fixed on the smiths, who were hammering red-hot iron while half-naked. Among them, Billy stood with his broad, sculpted back facing us.
He looked so cool. Even for a moment, I could see the intense concentration in their work. The air inside the workshop seemed almost forbidding to outsiders.
Perhaps that’s why the girl was waiting outside… though she seemed a little out of breath.
“Um… can I help you with something?”
“Hyaa!?”
The moment I spoke, she jumped back in shock, almost screaming.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. I just… wondered if you needed something?”
“N-n-n-no! I-I’m not suspicious… I’m not a suspicious person…!”
“Oh… okay…”
I hadn’t thought she was suspicious, but her panicked insistence almost made me doubt it.
“I… I just came to see Shifa…”
“Shifa-san? Oh… she’s not here right now. She’s out adventuring.”
“O-oh… I see… th-thank you!”
She said that and scurried off, almost running away.
Hmm… she does seem a bit suspicious after all. I hope she doesn’t cause trouble for Shifa-san.
I waited until the smiths finished a stage of their work, then approached Billy.
“Hey, Geo, what brings you here today?”
“Actually, I’d like you to forge a sword with this.”
“A sword?”
“Yes. My sister’s sword is nearing its limit.”
“Ah, I see. That’s an easy favor, then.”
“Of course, I’ll pay properly.”
“Heh, you’ve done enough for me already. I’ll take care of it at a very reasonable price… W-wait—what is this!?”
Billy’s eyes went wide, and he shouted in astonishment the moment he saw the high-quality Mithril I had brought.