WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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◈ The Wizard's Memoir ◈
Chapter 9: Mine
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Guild requests took top priority, but they weren't compulsory missions that adventurers had to drop everything to complete.
Even if they had been compulsory, no one was watching. You could just pretend to make an effort and do something else.
“It's 100,000 dena just for finding the holy relic and reporting its location.”
“A hundred thousand?!”
That was why the rewards tended to be good, but this one was especially generous. Dahlia snorted with excitement. Olivia, however, remained levelheaded as the party leader.
“That means it's just as dangerous. We need to think about this.”
Olivia's party had two choices. They could accept the Guild request and track down the holy relic, or explore the recently discovered mine dungeon. Neither was an opportunity they wanted to pass up. As the group considered their options, Etran fiddled with a dagger and spoke.
“Let's go to Star Valley.”
“Hm?”
“We don't have any clues about the thief who stole the holy relic... the demon, I mean. We should focus on what we do have first. Besides, they said the thief fled north. We can ask around along the way.”
It was the sort of clear reasoning one expected from a wizard. Rolf stroked their beard and murmured in agreement.
“A rabbit before your eyes comes before a deer you've only heard about. I agree.”
“Then I'm in too!”
Every party member agreed. Relieved of the burden, Olivia felt much lighter.
“All right. The Star Valley mine dungeon it is. Still, keep your ears pricked up, just in case.”
“Hah! Leave that to me! Pricking up those short ears of yours won't do any good!”
“...Let's avoid racist remarks.”
“Humans discriminating against halflings is a problem, but the other way around is fine, you know? Don't like it? Should've been born half-sized, a Half-ling!”
Perhaps everyone was in a good mood, because even the insults drew laughter. Olivia's party had chosen a new destination: the starry valley of the Northern Highlands.
@
Preparing for a journey was simpler than preparing for an expedition.
They weren't crossing the Arctic or some remote desert. In most places, a village or farm lay within half a day's travel. Even if they lost their way and had to camp, it was May, with summer approaching. There was no need to worry about starving or freezing to death. They packed just two days' worth of food and drinking water and shouldered their light backpacks.
“We've got some dena now. Should we buy a packhorse? Or at least a mule?”
“We earn a little money and you want to start splurging?”
They needed to keep some funds in reserve in case Star Valley turned out to be a bust. With their leader thinking things through so carefully, the others could leave the travel arrangements in Olivia's hands without worry.
“Let's get going.”
There was no long speech like the kind given before an army marched to war. Olivia led the way, followed by Rolf and Dahlia. Etran looked up at the sun at the third hour, nine in the morning, and set off a little later.
It was the right season, the right time, and the right weather.
The sky was clear of clouds, and the cool breeze felt refreshing. The road was dry rather than muddy, while the plants around it grew lush and green. It wasn't cold enough to chill bare skin or hot enough to make extra layers uncomfortable. In short, it was a perfect time to travel.
A ripening barley field lay not far away. They could also see flocks of sheep and sheepdogs watching to make sure the animals didn't damage the crops. A relaxed farmer lifted a straw hat in greeting, and a shepherd boy laughed and waved. It was a scene perfectly suited to the word “pastoral.”
“Is the whole north like this?”
“Oh, of course not. This area's peaceful because people can make a decent living here. Is this your first time up north?”
“My first time in the Northern Highlands.”
“Oh, right. You went to Storm-Seed University, didn't you? Are you from the Triangle Peninsula?”
“I'm from Kingsland, the royal capital. But I did grow up at the tip of the Triangle Peninsula.”
Etran talked briefly about home and university. Even adventurers who traveled all over the world found the king's city and a school for wizards interesting. Unable to hold back, Olivia slipped in a question.
“Do the wizards really summon typhoons?”
“It's only called Storm-Seed because it's at the southern tip, where the typhoons come in. Well, they also say it means a cradle for talented people who'll turn the world upside down like a typhoon, but it's too embarrassing to say out loud.”
“You just said it.”
“I've already graduated.”
Quiet laughter came from both ahead and behind.
In a world where one-on-one apprenticeships were the norm, a specialized school sounded quite mysterious. And the students didn't simply finish once they had learned everything. They had to discuss, debate, and propose new answers before they could graduate.
“And you graduated from a place like that at sixteen?”
“I'm the youngest graduate.”
“Wow. So you do know how to show off.”
“That's worth showing off about. We're talking about a genius wizard.”
Etran made a show of turning up their nose, keeping a straight face. Another round of laughter followed. But Etran's true feelings were a little darker.
“I was the youngest, but I didn't graduate the fastest.”
“Hm?”
“Someone enrolled at seventeen and graduated at nineteen. That means they became a Mage in just two years.”
Etran was a genuine genius who had earned the title of Mage in four years, yet there was an even more gifted wizard out there. That explained the strange modesty despite such talent. Olivia scratched their cheek and offered something that was not quite comfort.
“You could've done it too if you'd enrolled at seventeen.”
“I'm not so sure...”
Etran's reply lacked confidence. It was the sort of anguish that would drive an ordinary person to distraction, so the subject soon changed.
In any case, this wasn't the salt-scented tip of the Triangle Peninsula. They were at the edge of the Northern Highlands, where dry winds blew. A new adventure waited not far away.
@
Etran and the others walked ten hours a day for three full days. It was a hard march even by adventurers' standards, but the journey itself wasn't difficult.
On the first day, they stayed at a farmhouse and ate their fill of eggs. On the second, they stayed in a shepherd's hut and drank their fill of sheep's milk. Unlike in a city market, a few pieces of silver were enough for a deal that left everyone satisfied.
On the evening of the third day, they reached the mining village at the entrance to the valley. Outsiders called it the Star Valley mining village.
“This isn't the atmosphere I expected.”
“You too? Same here!”
It lacked the lively bustle they associated with a mining village.
Miners didn't have to be laughing and talking all the time, but the place lacked the energy of somewhere with work to do all year round. It felt like a farming village at the start of winter, or a fishing village struck by a storm.
“Let's go to a pub.”
“A Guild pub? Would there be one here?”
“An ordinary pub will do.”
Once a village was large enough for its administration to use the word “population,” it was bound to have a pub. The name was short for “public house,” after all, and it served as a place for all kinds of community events. Naturally, every rumor in the village could be heard there too.
“...Adventurers?”
As Olivia's party entered, rough-looking men all turned to stare. Their attention was rather intimidating, but Olivia and the others ignored it without flinching. Adventurers were as used to hostility toward outsiders as they were to breathing.
“Hmm.”
Etran looked over the customers. Their ages varied, from young men whose beards had only just begun to grow to middle-aged men with a light dusting of gray hair. Even those who weren't particularly large had a solid look to them. They had to be miners.
“We've come to the right place.”
“Huh?”
It wasn't strange for them to be drinking after the workday had ended, but they were far too clean from head to toe. This wasn't a scene of men easing their exhaustion with a drink after hard labor. Sure enough, people crowded around Olivia.
“Please, we're begging you! Get rid of the monsters in the mine!”
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down.”
When had adventurers ever received such a warm welcome? It was a strange and pleasant experience. But once they learned the circumstances, they couldn't enjoy it.
“It's been a month already. We haven't been able to work for a whole month. At this rate, we'll all starve.”
Monsters had emerged in the mine tunnels, bringing all work to a halt.
The mine's owner wasn't some wicked noble running a business, but wasn't a priest doing charity work either, so wages had stopped. The miners weren't quite living from one day's earnings to the next... but in a village whose livelihood depended on the mine, this was serious.
“Are we the first adventuring party to arrive?”
“Huh? That can't be right. Didn't you say it's been a month?”
The miners hadn't simply sat around doing nothing. First, they had asked the local lords for help. But all they received were refusals, on the grounds that the mine wasn't their property, so they had no reason to get involved.
“They said the mine's owner should deal with it. Those damned bastards. They never miss a chance to collect land taxes, business taxes, tolls...”
They could have examined royal law, church law, customary law, and every other kind of law to hold someone responsible, but that would have been a waste of time and dena. Instead, they had focused those efforts on solving the problem and eventually sent word to the Guild. That had been sixteen days ago. From the Guild's point of view, this was a “fresh” dungeon, not even a month old.
“So we're the first exploration party?”
“Oh...?”
In fact, another party had shown interest first, but they had left on a Guild request. Few other parties were likely to come afterward, either. For Olivia's party, that was both welcome and worrying.
The chance of a big haul also meant the chance of great danger. There would be no other group to rescue them in a crisis, as Olivia had done at the Shadow Castle Ruins. In a profession that put their lives on the line, that was a very, very heavy concern.
“Still, we have a few things in our favor.”
Every gaze in the pub turned toward the crossbow wielder. Etran would have shrunk back, but Rolf remained calm.
“Since it was discovered inside a mine, we can learn the terrain and layout in advance.”
“Y-yes, of course! We can tell you anything you need to know, in as much detail as you like!”
Rolf nodded in thanks. Though it went unspoken, the second advantage was the locals' cooperation. They were the ones in greater need, so they would provide material support. Rolf left the decision to the leader.
Olivia worked hard at the calculations, sliding imaginary abacus beads inside that small head. But the heart moved before the numbers did. The miners' desperate gazes tipped the scales.
“Let's start investigating tomorrow.”
“Ohhh!”
It was a little hasty, but no one complained. Etran, who had gained a rough understanding of their leader's character, nodded too. Adventurers needed at least that much romantic spirit. If you had neither compassion nor mercy, why become an adventurer instead of a mercenary for hire?
@
Olivia's party gathered detailed information while being treated to food and drink.
The first monster had been spotted in Shaft 13. A miner in charge, whom the others called the foreman, brought out a map of the tunnels and explained the location. They appreciated it, but the map was hard to understand.
“...Why are you looking at me?”
“Because you're a halfling?”
“Do you think halflings are dwarves? Why would I know how to read a mine map?”
Still, Dahlia had a knack for finding the way. Once they were inside, they would probably manage somehow. For now, Etran made a copy of the map.
“It was a monster I'd never seen before.”
“How often would a miner see monsters? Describe it in detail.”
“It was very small at first. About this big... No, about this big. I nearly split its head with my pickaxe.”
“Did it walk on two legs?”
“It looked bizarre, but yes, it walked on two legs. Its skin was wrinkled, and its back was slightly bent.”
“Goblin? Or a kobold?” Dahlia murmured. But then the account took a strange turn.
“I got a fright and backed away, and it kept growing. By my third step, it was bigger than me and started throwing rocks. I very nearly never saw the sun again.”
“It... grew bigger?”
Olivia was confused. Dismissing the man as a mere miner now felt like a mistake. Even adventurers had never heard of a monster like that.
The experienced Dahlia shook their head, and Rolf, who had traveled with several different parties, gave a troubled hum. Unexpectedly, the complete novice proved useful. Having read the entire monster-hunting guide at Storm-Seed University, Etran identified it.
“It's a spriggan. An underground fairy that guards treasure.”
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