Chapter 24

“Stop him!”

“Evacuate the students!”

“Everyone, come this way!”

“Where did that monster come from?!”

The trees of the forest were uprooted by the massive tail, while spells and slashes struck the monster’s tough scales.

The aftermath of the battle spread beyond the lake, engulfing the nearby forest and growing more intense by the moment.

“What are you doing here? It’s dangerous, evacuate now!”

“Y-Yes, understood!”

And Aint, panting heavily, joined the evacuation line.

“I-I escaped alive… The sea dragon won’t win, right?”

— What nonsense. Even though the sea dragon is a spiritual beast and powerful, the academy gathers the best talents of the empire.

The professors teaching there were people who would stand out even among the strongest anywhere.

— And more importantly, that thing isn’t even an adult.

“That’s not an adult?”

— Sea dragons grow up to 50 meters. They aren’t called spiritual beasts for nothing.

“Damn it…”

— Well, putting that aside… Did you bring the adamantite?

“Of course.”

Aint checked the bag hanging from his waist. It was a subspace pouch the academy had provided for this exercise.

Initially, it contained basic potions, emergency supplies, and some dried meat, but now it was filled only with adamantite.

He had thrown out everything else and packed it completely with the mineral.

“To think I almost died for this…”

Just as he finished extracting the adamantite and was about to leave, he realized the sea dragon was surfacing.

— The spiritual herb! Don’t forget the spiritual herb!

Gardner’s voice stopped him just as he was about to flee, and thanks to that, he managed to collect the herb in time.

The problem was, the sea dragon saw him doing it.

Upon witnessing its most treasured possession being stolen, the beast went mad and began chasing him.

Aint barely made it out of the lake alive, and if it weren’t for the professors and assistants stationed in the area, he probably would’ve ended up as the sea dragon’s dinner.

Usually, when someone stole the spiritual herb, the dragon would rage, but there wasn’t much it could do. By then, the thief had already fled and the dragon, with its poorly developed sense of smell, couldn’t track them.

However, due to the “butterfly effect” caused by Fernan, Aint had discovered the adamantite and the order of events had changed.

Now the dragon had seen him with its own eyes taking its treasure.

And a dragon wasn’t generous enough to let a thief with its treasure right in front of it escape.

That had caused the current situation, though Aint couldn’t know that.

“Anyway… luckily, everything turned out fine. The professors will handle the sea dragon…”

Now the problem was how to sell the adamantite to Fernan without raising suspicion.

“If he asks how I got it… what should I say?”

— Just tell him it’s not stolen goods and not to ask questions.

— If he’s one of those rich types, he’ll probably buy it even if it is.

After all, he didn’t need to explain. Adamantite was such a valuable mineral that everyone wanted it, no matter where it came from.

He had the upper hand.

“How much should I ask for…?”

Right then—

— Look, there’s your rich guy.

Following Gardner’s words, Aint turned his head and saw Fernan.

But his appearance was strange. He was drenched in sweat and frantically scanning his surroundings, eyes wide.

“Who’s he looking for?”

He didn’t know who, but it was clear Fernan was in a rush.

Then, their eyes met. Fernan quickly approached, panting, and said—

“Aint Armian.”

“…You mean me?”

At Fernan’s apparent sigh of relief, Aint was puzzled.

Was he the person Fernan had been looking for? Why?

— What’s with that rich guy? Did he swallow something weird?

— Looks to me like he’s worried about you. Am I right?

Aint felt the same, and that’s why he didn’t understand.

— Could he know you got the adamantite and the spiritual herb?

— Impossible… there’s no way he could know.

Both Aint and Gardner were confused.
But so was Fernan.

‘Hmph.’

He had only come looking for Aint hoping he was alive, without thinking about what to say afterward.

‘What am I supposed to say now?’

Luckily, thanks to the fierce battle between the professors and the dragon, no one was paying attention to their conversation.

After gathering his thoughts, Fernan decided to act boldly.

“Was there no one else?”

“No one else?”

“I mean were there any other students nearby. As an assistant, I have to ensure their safety.”

“Ah… is that all?”

“What else would it be?”

At Fernan’s irritated look, Aint shook his head.

“No, nothing.”

“If you have nothing else to say, go join the other stu—”

“Before that, I have something to tell you.”

“Something to tell me?”

“Yes.”

Aint nodded and spoke quickly.

“By any chance, does your merchant guild also deal in minerals?”

“Everyone knows our guild deals in minerals. What are you getting at?”

Aint gave an awkward smile.

“It’s just… this isn’t a good place to talk…”

“Follow me.”

Fernan and Aint moved to a secluded part of the forest where no one was around, thanks to the exam being suspended due to the sea dragon.

“Talk. You’re not thinking I’ll give you minerals for free like the elixir, are you?”

It was true he had obtained mithril thanks to him, and could give it if he wanted.

But, as always, he mustn’t show weakness.

That was the fastest path to being seen as a fool.

“No. There are two reasons why someone seeks a private audience with a merchant, right?”

“To buy or sell. But since your wallet’s a joke, it must be the latter.”

“…You’re right, but that stung.”

Fernan frowned.

Even though it was a meaningless joke, to someone who had seen in the book of prophecies how this boy ruined him, nothing was trivial.

“…Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.”

“…Excuse me?”

— What’s with this guy? Does he have a stomachache?

The sudden apology baffled both Aint and Gardner.

“Ah, no! Just kidding, I was only joking.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“S-So… yes, I have something I want to sell. And you’re the only trustworthy person I can think of right now.”

“What is it?”

Aint reached into his subspace pouch.

When he pulled out the mineral, Fernan’s eyes widened.

“…Is that what I think it is?”

“You recognized it right away. That’s right. Adamantite.”

“…Adamantite.”

But soon, he composed his expression.

Gardner was impressed by how quickly he regained his composure.

— Cold-blooded. Not even flinching at the sight of adamantite?

“You want to sell it to me?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you get it?”

“That’s confidential. But it’s not stolen, I assure you it was obtained legally. Are you interested?”

Fernan hesitated a bit.

In negotiations, hiding your true intentions was key. If they were discovered, you lost all leverage and that meant unnecessary expenses.

But this was adamantite.

He had already laid out a great plan after obtaining the mithril, and this mineral was essential to it.

Even if he had to lose a little, it was worth it.

‘Besides, it’s Aint.’

He already intended to support him long-term. If he got adamantite and used that as an excuse to help him openly, even better.

“Alright. I’ll buy it.”

“Then…”

“This time, I’ll be the one asking the question.”

Without realizing it, his merchant instincts took over.

“How much are you expecting to get?”

***

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

After the sea dragon incident, nothing else of note occurred, and Fernan returned to his office and spread out some papers.

“Adamantite…”

When Aint first mentioned that word, Fernan lost his composure for an instant.

It was inevitable when dealing with such a mineral.

The value of adamantite was already enormous, but he never would’ve imagined that Aint, who had lost the mithril, would show up with adamantite instead.

“It’s unlikely he had it from the start. If he did, he would’ve already used or sold it.”

It was clear he had obtained it recently.

They had stolen the mithril, and yet he came back with adamantite.

Was that the luck of the hero destined to stop the demon, as the book of prophecies claimed?

Fernan let out an incredulous laugh, but the situation didn’t seem unfavorable at all.

“If I can get an adamantite-mithril alloy, I might be able to make my ideal a reality.”

His hand, as it picked up the pen, began to move more quickly.

The stroke that shaped his ideas — something he had imagined for a long time — showed no hesitation.

“Was it my intervention that changed things this time, too?”

Despite being as cautious as possible, it seemed something had slipped through.

That was probably why Aint obtained the adamantite and the sea dragon emerged from the lake.

Even though it gave him a scare, everything had turned out well.

In fact, not only had he obtained the mithril, but also the adamantite.

Wasn’t that an even greater gain?

“What was that place again? An underwater cave with mithril and adamantite?”

There might be more minerals hidden there.

He decided he would check it out himself later.

At that moment, Fernan looked at the sea dragon, which let out a roar of pain.

As expected of the academy’s professors, they were strong enough to stand out anywhere.

Even a spiritual beast was helpless against their combined assault.

It was only still alive due to the resilience of its massive body, but it wouldn’t last much longer.

‘Wouldn’t be a bad idea to use the dragon’s mana core as the central core. In fact, it’s the best option.’

A spiritual beast capable of moving with that size and using ‘Breath’ as a skill must have had an exceptional manahole.

It wouldn’t reach the level of a dragon’s heart — the most coveted core by mages — but it would definitely outperform even the finest magic gem.

‘In that case, I must buy it. Within the academy, prey captured by professors is used for personal benefit. It usually ends up as funding for their labs.’

The professors were probably already looking for buyers using their connections.

‘I’ll need a lot of money. I can’t handle this alone.’

It wasn’t just a matter of money. To work with mithril and adamantite, he’d need his family’s backing.

With his current setup, he couldn’t smelt both minerals.

‘I’ll need to visit the family soon.’

He wasn’t worried about convincing the duke.

He already had the mithril, and the adamantite would arrive shortly.

“I’ve returned, young master.”

Fernan came out of his thoughts.

He stopped his pen and looked forward, where Hyde stood with a somewhat tired expression.

“Hyde? When did you get here?”

“An hour ago.”

“An hour?”

He looked out the window. Night had already fallen outside.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You looked very focused, so I waited. But after glancing at what you were writing, I figured you wouldn’t sleep tonight, so I decided to speak.”

“You did well.”

Indeed, he had been so absorbed in his thoughts that his body felt stiff.

‘I even forgot the passage of time…’

He was probably more excited than he realized about acquiring mithril and adamantite.

“Did you finish what I asked?”

“Yes, everything’s done. But… if you don’t mind, may I ask something? Is it what I think it is?”

“Yes.”

“…The materials listed aren’t exactly realistic.”

Hyde’s reaction was understandable, and Fernan let out a small laugh.

“Not realistic?”

“Using mithril and adamantite to construct a physical body? It’s impossible.”

Given how rare and expensive those minerals were, he was absolutely right.

“The Golden Pillar doesn’t have that kind of money. Not even the duke would approve such an expense. And I doubt we could obtain that much of both minerals.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes.”

“What if I already obtained them?”

“…Excuse me?”

Fernan opened his subspace bag. Dozens of boxes were perfectly stacked inside his spacious office.

“Open them.”

“…Are they what I think they are? This makes no sense… That many?”

“Open them and judge for yourself.”

Hyde swallowed hard and carefully opened a box.

When he saw the softly glowing turquoise hue, his jaw dropped.

“This too…?”

Every box, without exception, was filled with mithril.

“T-This is impossible! Where the hell did you get all this?”

“I extracted it myself.”

“…What?”

“This is all mithril. And I’ll also be acquiring adamantite in similar quantities.”

He was technically buying it, but given the price, it was almost a gift.

“B-But I don’t understand… What do you mean by all this?”

“Even seeing it, you don’t believe it? Hyde, that’s not like you.”

“…No, that’s not…”

Hyde could only repeat himself.

“…Fine. I’ll accept that you mined the mithril with your own hands. But buying adamantite? Who would sell that much?”

“It’s not exactly a direct purchase. It’s more like an investment…”

Explaining would take too long, so Fernan changed the topic.

“That’s not what matters, Hyde. This is.”

He handed over the blueprint he had been drawing so passionately.

“As you know, one thing has always intrigued me.”

Knights had their steeds.

Elves, their spirits. Companions they could always rely on, to fight side by side.

“Then why doesn’t a merchant have something like that?”

Hyde was about to say that the strange thing would be if they did, but stopped.

He still hadn’t recovered from the shock of the mithril and adamantite, and besides—

Fernan radiated an overwhelming enthusiasm.

“…So, you really intend to build this? Using that enormous amount of mithril and adamantite?”

“Of course. If I’m going to do it, it’ll be perfect and durable.”

Especially since a war against demons was approaching.

“This will require a monstrous amount of money and the sum of all magical engineering knowledge.”

That’s why it was something only a truly wealthy merchant could build.

And that’s why it was the ideal partner for a merchant.

“It will be my dream companion.”

A powerful bodyguard to protect him in the dark era ahead. The ultimate solution to every problem he faced.

“A colossal, autonomous, self-aware Ego Golem.”

“…It’s an overwhelming amount of money… no, does it really have to be that huge?”

“Because it looks cooler that way.”

Hyde nodded, unable to help himself.