Chapter 99

After arriving at the abandoned mine, I took Emma with me and left the others outside before entering the mine.

Since the long-abandoned mine had no light source at all, I produced a burning paper doll to use as a torch.

"Should we follow this rail?"

"That's what we were told."

I walked with Emma along the rail that extended into the depths of the tunnel.

The rail, unused for a long time, was completely rusted and broken in places.

"――! Cyril!"

"Uh-huh."

Almost simultaneously with Emma's shout, I dashed out.

At the same time, I heard the flapping of something's wings—pasa pasa pasa.

Something was flying towards us, and Emma sensed it and pounced.

I stopped and watched Emma.

A dragon species skilled in combat.

Since she was the first to charge, I decided to hold back and observe the situation.

Instead, I increased the number of flame dolls to light up the surroundings.

"Bats."

When the area became sufficiently bright, I saw a large number of bats flying in from the depths of the tunnel.

They were quite large, about half the size of an adult man.

Dozens of them flew in at once.

Emma, equipped with the dragon tool I made, charged forward, swinging her sharp claws.

The bats, which were only large in size, and the dragon, a seasoned veteran from the Dragon Knight Guild.

The battle was as clear as fire; Emma quickly defeated and annihilated the dozens of bats.

"Phew..."

"Good work. Are you hurt?"

As I approached, Emma turned around, her face brightening.

"I'm fine! I won't lose to something like this!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes! As Cyril's dragon, if I lost to something like this, it would tarnish Cyril's name. I absolutely won't let that happen."

"Understood. I'm glad to hear that, but don't overdo it."

"Yes!"

After clearing the bats, we started walking again.

As we went deeper and deeper, bats would appear and attack us.

Each time, Emma would pounce and defeat them on her own.

"You've gotten much stronger since you came to me."

"Thanks to you, Cyril. Not only the dragon tools, but also because you take such good care of me, my health is always good and my body feels light."

"Good to hear."

In fact, I thought that was the best thing.

For dragons in general, and especially for a Smei like Emma, it's crucial.

For a Smei who goes to battle, health is directly linked to life and death.

Feeling a bit proud, I thought that always being in good health was the best compliment to what I had done.

While walking with Emma, we suddenly came to a spacious room from a narrow path.

The room was as large as a ballroom in a noble's mansion, with pointed, pillar-like rocks jutting up from the ground.

"Is this...?"

"It's a bamboo mine."

"Bamboo mine..."

"Sometimes called rock plants. They contain concentrated minerals that the earth has absorbed."

"Really?"

"A bamboo mine is a type of regenerative ore. The earth regenerates minerals over time, so you can be sure to get them if you wait, but it's hard to control the amount with human hands."

"You know so much, Cyril!"

"I learned it from Chris."

I shrugged playfully and approached one of the bamboo mines, punching it to break it open.

The stone bamboo split, and a mineral rolled out.

I picked it up and examined it closely.

"It's Tutan."

"Can I break one too?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Yes!"

Emma nodded and, with her claws, tore open the bamboo mine.

With a clean cut, the stone bamboo split, and something rolled out.

A mineral, but when Emma saw it, she tilted her head in confusion.

"Huh? It's dirtier than the last one."

"It's slag ore."

"Slag ore?"

"A bamboo mine absorbs and concentrates one type of mineral from the earth, but if it's not something useful like Tutan or Naga, it ends up as slag ore."

"That's too bad. The earth should do a better job."

"Well, slag ore is a human concept. The earth is just collecting the same things."

"I see."

"Let's split up and break them one by one. Can you tell the difference between Tutan and Naga?"

"Yes! I remember."

"Then break them and collect Tutan and Naga in one place. Thanks."

"Yes!!"

With renewed enthusiasm, Emma and I split up and started breaking the bamboo mines one by one.

It was a bit fun, like a lottery, as different minerals would come out when we broke or tore them.

From my experience, it felt like Tutan and Naga made up about 10% each, and the rest was slag ore.

As we continued, the work became a bit routine.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, I noticed something artificial in the depths of the room.

It was a fairly large, circular object in a place not well-lit.

It looked like a U-shaped track.

I stared at it for a while.

"Cyril? Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, I was looking at this."

"What is it?"

"Let me see."

I nodded and walked around the track to observe it closely.

Emma followed me and also observed the track.

Suddenly, I noticed a device on the track.

I stopped in front of the device and stared at it.

"What is this..."

"I don't know..."

Suddenly, a mineral fell from Emma's mouth.

She must have been holding it after mining.

Dragons can use their front legs like arms, but they usually use their mouths to hold things.

The mineral she was holding in her mouth fell onto the track.

Then... the mineral started rolling.

A few minerals rolled to the left and right.

"Sorry, Cyril, I'll pick them up right away."

"No, wait a moment."

I stopped Emma and watched the minerals roll.

Only then did I realize.

The track was sloped, designed to increase the speed of spherical objects as they rolled.

In that sense, it was similar to a water channel, I thought as I increased my pace to catch up.

The minerals, which had gained speed on the sloped track, met and collided on the opposite side of the circular track.

The minerals, accelerated on the sloped track, collided with enough force to chip each other.

"I see."

"What? Did you figure something out, Cyril?"

"Yeah, let me try something. Stay here and watch."

"Okay!"

Leaving Emma there, I picked up the two minerals that had collided and returned to the opposite side of the circular track, where the device was.

I stood in front of the device. I didn't know how to use it, but I had a good idea of what it did.

"Transform."

Transforming into a dragon person, I didn't roll the two minerals but used the dragon person's power to propel them.

The two minerals shot off to the left and right at incredible speed and eventually collided in front of Emma.

Thanks to the track's acceleration, they collided at a much faster speed than if I had just thrown them.

I slowly returned to Emma.

"How was that?"

"Amazing, Cyril! This must be a device to fuse minerals!"

"That seems to be the case."

I nodded and looked at the track.

I see, this was a track for processing minerals right after they were mined.