Emperor Of Steel [EN]: Chapter 8

8. Mine Development

The mansion north of Lamer City. From this luxurious residence, belonging to Count Monark, a lewd sound echoed in the middle of the day.

“Oh, my~ You shouldn’t be doing this in broad daylight, Count,” a woman purred.

“Hehehe, what do you mean I shouldn’t! I’ll do as I please!” Count Monark chuckled.

In his office, Count Monark had abandoned his work and was cavorting with a concubine he had recently taken in. Just as he was enjoying himself, a knock came, followed by the voice of his retainer.

“Your Excellency, I have an important report. May I come in?”

‘Damn it, why now…’ The Count cursed inwardly. The person was Baron Goth, his right-hand man.

He quickly ushered the concubine out through a small side door, straightened his clothes, and composed his voice before answering, “Ahem! Come in.”

As soon as he gave permission, the office door opened, and a retainer with a goatee entered. This was Baron Goth, who currently held the position of chief steward of the Count’s household.

“An important report? Has the noble faction and the imperial faction clashed again in the capital?” he asked.

As the Empire grew into a new hegemon on the continent 300 years ago, the power and authority of the imperial family also became immense. Feeling a sense of crisis, the nobles gradually gathered their forces and grew into a faction that would later be called the noble faction.

The noble faction was still weaker than the imperial family or the imperial faction nobles. However, they were able to exert enough influence to often interfere with the affairs of the imperial family. As a result, the noble faction and the imperial faction were constantly at odds.

Count Monark, a distant relative of the imperial family, couldn’t help but be concerned about the political situation in the capital. The southern region of the Empire, where his territory was located, had a high proportion of noble faction lords. Moreover, he was at odds with Marquis Myers, one of the three leaders of the noble faction and a powerful figure in the south, so if things went wrong, he could be surrounded and defeated.

“It’s not that, but we have identified the black knight who interfered with your bet, Count,” Baron Goth stated.

“Hmph, the black knight!” The Count’s eyes turned fierce as he jumped up from his seat. He had put a lot of effort into the bet with Princess Reina. The amount of money he had spent to make the bet happen was in the hundreds of thousands of pesos [a currency unit]. But a mercenary rider had stepped in and ruined everything.

“Who is he? Did the noble faction send him to mess with me?” he demanded.

“No, actually…” Baron Goth laid out the information he had gathered over the past month. The Count’s face changed strangely as he listened to the story.

“The black knight is a subordinate of the Rakan young lord?” he asked, surprised.

“That’s right. He appeared in the arena with the young lord at the time.”

“…No, is Luke still alive?” The Count asked with a look of disbelief for a moment. As far as he knew, the Rakan young lord had fallen into a vegetative state due to a Gigant [a large, humanoid war machine] rampage and was as good as dead.

“W-Well…” When Baron Goth couldn’t answer, the Count frowned and pressed him. “Why can’t you answer! Didn’t you say he would die or become a vegetable!”

“We certainly made sure of it. It’s true that he almost died from the rampage,” Baron Goth replied.

But the guy had come back to life unscathed. It was infuriating enough that he had simply survived, but he had come to Lamer and interfered with his grand plan.

“Kuaaak! How did you handle the job! If you had taken care of him properly in the first place, things with the princess would have gone well!” the Count roared.

Two months ago, the Count had plotted to eliminate the young lord in order to take over the Rakan territory. He had bribed a blacksmith in the viscounty to subtly tamper with the core engine of the Gigant the young lord was to ride. But the plan had failed.

As the enraged Count raged, Baron Goth prostrated himself on the floor and begged, “I’m sorry, Count! Please kill this incompetent subordinate!” He didn’t actually mean he wanted to die. When the Count lost his temper, it was best to beg like this.

Crash! Thud! After throwing things around and venting his anger for a while, Count Monark barely calmed down and said, “Hoo! Hoo! You didn’t leave any clues or evidence, did you?”

Baron Goth, who was cautiously getting up, quickly bent over and answered, “We lured the blacksmith to another territory and dealt with him cleanly. No matter how much they investigate, they won’t be able to find out that we were involved.”

“Ugh, that’s a relief.” If it became known that he was involved, it could lead to unnecessary trouble. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the Rakan viscounty. It was because he could give Marquis Myers, who saw him as a thorn in his side, and the noble faction lords in the south an excuse to attack him.

No matter how great a noble he was, with the second-largest territory in the south, he could not wage war against the entire south.

“Kuh! I don’t understand why His Majesty the Emperor is leaving the noble faction alone. If it were me, I would have mobilized the central army and wiped them all out,” the Count fumed.

‘If you did that, the Volga Republic and the Holy Artenia Empire wouldn’t stand idly by,’ Baron Goth thought. There were many cases where trying to eliminate internal enemies led to attracting external enemies. Emperor Rudolf was unable to eliminate the noble faction for that reason. But Baron Goth did not say those words out loud. If he contradicted the agitated Count Monark, he would only suffer unnecessary losses.

In any case, one of the most important reasons why Count Monark coveted the Rakan viscounty was that it had recently emerged as a potential breakthrough to shake off the encirclement of the southern noble faction. As a new road was opened in the west of the Empire, with a little more effort, it would be possible to connect the Rakan viscounty in the southwest with the road. Of course, the country bumpkins of the Rakan territory, who were completely out of touch with the central political situation, were completely unaware of this.

“I must deal with Luke out of spite,” the Count declared.

“Even without that, we have moved the Shadow Knights, so we will bring his head within a few days,” Baron Goth assured him.

“The Shadow Knights?” the Count asked.

“Yes, it is my opinion that we must show the guy who challenged the Count’s authority what it means,” Baron Goth replied.

“Hehehe, you are indeed Baron Goth. Well done, well done,” the Count said, pleased.

The Shadow Knights were one of the forces that Count Monark had secretly cultivated, a military force made up of mercenaries and free knights who had been recruited through the Gigant Arena. They mainly handled the Count’s dirty work, and their skills and Gigant power surpassed those of most territorial knight orders.

Nodding with a satisfied expression, Count Monark asked as if something had just occurred to him, “By the way, how is Princess Reina doing these days?”

He was still obsessed with the princess. With the thought that he must make her his own, he put pressure on her in other ways. He doubled the taxes on the Volga Kingdom refugees in the county, and if they showed even the slightest sign of disrespect, the security forces would arrest them indiscriminately. Because of this, the old retainers who followed the princess had come to protest several times. But Count Monark was not one to meet them.

“She is meeting with and comforting the refugees here and there, but she will soon reach her limit,” Baron Goth reported.

“That’s right! She will eventually surrender and fall into my arms,” the Count said, a lewd grin spreading across his face.

Baron Goth gave a sly smile to the Count, who was making a lewd expression as he imagined the princess falling into his arms.

Two weeks later, Luke completed the production of the first golems [artificial beings]. After 20 golems were made, Luke took out a bracelet-like artifact from the vault in the underground laboratory. This artifact was discovered with Katarina in a magician’s dungeon in the past, and it had an ancient subspace magic circle that was no longer passed down.

‘Katarina…’ Looking at the antique silver bracelet in the shape of woven leaves, he thought of her, who had worn it during her lifetime. ‘Even if my body is shattered into dust, I will surely destroy the Baroque Imperial Family and the Veritas Magic Tower to avenge you! So please wait just a little longer!’

After losing his beloved lover, Luke had no great attachment to his own life. He thought that if he could just finish his revenge, he could go to her side in the afterlife at any time. But for some reason, the image of Katarina that had come to mind had subtly changed to Princess Reina. Perhaps it was because the princess looked so much like her…

‘Even if they look alike, the princess and she are completely different people.’ That’s what he thought, but he couldn’t help but feel his heart waver. Perhaps it was because he had recently read religious books from the southern continent about reincarnation in the study.

“…This is not the time to be lost in sentimentality,” Luke muttered to himself. Luke, who was wearing the subspace bracelet, returned to the underground golem production workshop. “Save In Dimension.”

Whoo-oong! As Luke chanted the spell and injected magic into the bracelet, the 20 golems disappeared without a trace with a bright light. ‘It’s still troublesome if they are seen by others.’ If they saw him using golems, the territory would be turned upside down. Golems themselves were not the exclusive property of Seymon, but there was no magician who had created and operated golems in such large quantities as Seymon. ‘They might even start saying that Seymon’s soul has possessed my body.’

Luke smiled and stroked the bracelet before leaving the fortress. He had somewhere to go. But before he went there, he ran into Philip. Philip, who had come to the fortress to find Luke, began to nag. “Young lord, why do you keep doing this? It’s fine to train secretly in the fortress, but how can you keep leaving your escort knights in the dark and moving alone?”

“Sorry, I won’t do it next time,” Luke replied casually and passed by. Philip followed him and grumbled, “Do you even know how much I get chewed out by the captain because of you, young lord? That old geezer keeps nagging me to write a report every time, and if you don’t keep your promise to buy me a Gigant and keep doing this, I’m really…”

“Oh, Captain Rogers. What brings you here?” Luke suddenly asked.

Philip, startled by Luke’s words, quickly turned around. But Rogers was not there. Instead, a stray cat that was passing by stopped and stared at him. ‘Ah!’ Philip, who realized it belatedly, turned his gaze back to Luke. But in the meantime, Luke had disappeared somewhere without a trace.

“Aish, young lord—!” Philip’s cry, facing another report, echoed loudly in the distance.

Having shaken off Philip, Luke headed towards Mount Lokia.

Mount Lokia was a rocky mountain located 10 kilometers west of the Giant Fortress. It was a rugged area with many hidden monsters, so even woodcutters and herb gatherers avoided it.

Luke came to this rocky mountain for a specific purpose.

‘Developing the territory requires a lot of money.’

He had earned 210,000 pesos from the Gigant Arena, but that was far from enough to develop the territory.

To increase the population and military strength of the territory, a steady and stable income was needed.

Fortunately, Luke had discovered something within the territory that could generate money.

‘There was a mine in Mount Lokia that the dwarves used.’

In the past, during Seymon’s time, various non-human races had gathered under his banner.

They had gathered one by one to escape human oppression, and a considerable number had come, including dwarves.

Dwarves were a race of the earth.

As excellent blacksmiths and builders, they developed mines and built structures even in this place of refuge. They also steadily produced weapons to support their protectors.

‘Among the mines they developed in Mount Lokia, there were gold and silver mines, weren’t there?’

However, when Seymon died, the dwarves disappeared, and the mines were closed.

The Rakan family had tried to find the dwarves’ mines several times, but they failed each time because they did not know the exact locations.

The 30,000 pesos they had borrowed from the Alon Merchant Guild last time were also wasted on such searches.

‘Now that I know the location and have created golems, I should be able to revive the mines.’

With that thought, Luke came to Mount Lokia.

He summoned the golems at the entrance of the mountain.

To enter the rugged mountain, where it was difficult to even find a foothold, it was necessary to clear a path first.

“My children, remove anything that blocks my path!”

As Luke channeled his mana and gave the order, a bright purple aura surrounded the 5-meter-tall stone and wood golems.

Thud! Thud!

Boom! Boom!

The golems slowly rose and began to clear a path, breaking rocks and uprooting the scattered trees as they ascended the mountain.

Kieeeek!

Chwik! Chwik!

Kikikik!

The monsters hiding in Mount Lokia, disturbed by the sudden intrusion of unfamiliar beings, cried out and revealed themselves.

They were mainly orcs, kobolds, and goblins.

As ferocious monsters, they immediately attacked the golems by throwing stone axes and spears.

However, the golems were not to be pushed back by small monsters, unlike large monsters like trolls or ogres.

“The five in the front, block their attacks, and the rest, aggressively push from the sides.”

Luke controlled the golems using the Marionette magic he had developed in the past.

It was a magic that moved the golems like puppets on strings, with the advantage of being able to control multiple entities at once.

Of course, there were also disadvantages, such as not being able to give detailed and varied commands.

However, this was enough against these low-level monsters.

The monsters screamed pitifully as they were killed or fled from the golems’ large fists and kicks.

‘They’ve been thoroughly beaten once, so they won’t dare to attack again.’

When Luke thought it was enough, he stopped the golems that had been fiercely driving back the monsters.

Kweeek, kweek.

Bbee bbee.

The surviving monsters trembled as they watched Luke controlling the golems.

Most of them were the leaders and males.

Knowing they were outnumbered, they had fought with the determination to die in order to buy time for the females and young ones to escape.

Luke, who knew the habits of these monsters well as a black magician, grinned and approached them.

“If you listen to me, I won’t drive you out of this mountain.”

With those words, Luke selected only the ornately decorated leader-level monsters and used black magic to brainwash them.

Obedience was a black magic that enslaved weak demons or monsters.

Since Luke was only at the 3rd Circle [a measure of magical power], he only brainwashed the leaders. There was no need to waste energy since controlling the leaders would make it easy to command the rest.

“From now on, you will only do what I tell you. If you listen well, I will give you food, but if you don’t, I will wipe you all out, so keep that in mind.”

Kkiik kki!

The leaders of the orcs, goblins, and kobolds bowed and nodded.

Luke led them to the place where the dwarves’ mines had been in the past.

“As expected, the entrance is blocked.”

There were a total of three mines in Mount Lokia.

However, whether the dwarves had deliberately blocked them when they left, the entrances to each mine were blocked by house-sized rocks and soil.

“It will take some time, but there’s no other way.”

He shrugged and had the golems and monsters clear the soil and rocks from the entrances.

Under his direction, the golems broke or lifted the rocks, and the monsters called in their underlings to dig up the soil.

After about two hours of work, the rocks and soil were completely cleared, and the tunnels that the dwarves had dug in the past were revealed.

Luke sent the golems back into the subspace and entered the tunnel.

Step! Step!

The tunnels made by the dwarves were like a maze.

This was to repel enemies in case of an invasion, and despite not having been maintained for a long time, they were in good condition.

“The dwarves’ skills are truly something to admire.”

They were probably the most skilled artisan race in the Rodisia continent when it came to making and building things.

After passing through the maze section, a fairly large space appeared.

It was an area where the dwarves’ temporary lodgings, warehouses, and blacksmiths were located.

Their tools and household goods remained there as they were.

“They even abandoned most of their precious tools; they must have been in a great hurry.”

After Seymon was killed by Rakan, this land, once called the Dark Land, was completely occupied by humans.

However, the whereabouts of the non-human races, who were nominally ‘liberated from the Demon King,’ were unknown.

Rakan and the leaders, feeling something was amiss, sent soldiers in all directions to find them, but they could not find out where they had gone.

“Finding them can wait; let’s mine the minerals first.”

Luke sent three golems to the mine face to mine the minerals and had the monsters assist in the work with tools.

Although they were not as efficient as the dwarves, the golems and monsters were doing a decent job.

While they were mining the ore, Luke examined the teleportation magic circle on one side of the mine.

This magic circle, which had been installed to transport minerals to the underground workshop of the Giant Fortress in the past, was quickly reactivated after replacing the new magic stone and adjusting a few points to match its vibrations.

‘Hehehe! Now all I have to do is refine it in the magic furnace of the workshop.’

After visiting the three mines and completing all the necessary tasks, Luke returned to the territory.

If he was away for too long, he could arouse the suspicion and sharp gazes of his retainers, including Hans.

The Rakan Knights’ headquarters was located west of the Lord’s Manor.

Several buildings were situated around a large parade ground, and the largest of these was the hangar where the Gigants were stored and maintained.

“Butler, have you arrived?”

As Hans approached the hangar, a knight guarding the entrance saluted him with precision.

He had once been a Gigant rider representing the family, and even after that, he had paid much attention to the knights and the territorial army, so all the knights respected him.

“You’ve worked hard. So, how is the Gigant repair situation?”

“Thanks to the funds that the young lord gave to Mute, it’s going well.”

Mute had taken some of the money he had received from Luke to prepare for building the magic tower and used it to purchase parts and materials needed for Gigant repairs through the Hades Merchant Guild.

Although the magic tower was important, he thought that restoring the Gigant force was more important for the territory.

Thanks to this, the performance of the three used Gigants, which had not been in good condition, had improved compared to before.

And the five broken Gigants that had been rusting away in the warehouse were now being pulled out and restored.

Thanks to this, the morale of the knights had recently increased greatly.

Previously, there were only three Gigants that could be ridden, so it was impossible for young knights to become Gigant riders.

Once the restored Gigants were deployed, new riders would surely be selected, so everyone was training with passion.

Hans, who had been secretly disappointed that Luke was going to invest in magic, realized that his thinking had been narrow due to the knights’ enthusiasm.

“But did you perhaps come to see the young lord?”

“What?! Did the young lord come here?”

“Didn’t you know? These days, he learns magic and magical engineering from Mute in the morning and also examines the Gigants.”

Hans, startled by those words, hurriedly rushed inside.

He was worried that the young lord might try to pilot a Gigant again.

However, fortunately, Luke was only talking with Mute, not touching the Gigants.

“Sir Mute. What is the principle behind the operation of this magic circle?”

“Ah, there are a total of three magic circles intertwined there. There’s the anti-gravity magic circle that activates when jumping, the balance magic circle that maintains the center of gravity, and the auxiliary magic circle that assists the two magic circles…”

Mute explained in detail as much as he knew.

Among the things he said, there were things that were more advanced than the knowledge Luke had in the past, and there were also magic circles based on theories he had never heard of before.

‘I expected it, but the magical engineering of this era has developed in a much more diverse and complex way than in the past.’

Listening to Mute’s explanation, Luke was inwardly amazed.

Before, he had simply thought that it had developed a lot, but after experiencing it directly, he could feel how much there was to learn and master.

For example, in the past, the hands of golems only needed to move for the purpose of picking up objects.

So the shape of the hands was not like a human’s, but rather like mittens.

However, the hands of the Gigants were almost identical in shape to human hands, and they could do much more delicate and diverse tasks, starting from holding a sword.

Therefore, a rider who was skilled in piloting could even pick up a small wine glass with the Gigant’s hand without breaking it.

Anyway, Luke, who had a basic understanding of golem magic, was able to learn magical engineering without much difficulty.

“The core engine is more complex than I thought.”

“Of course. If you include the safety devices and auxiliary devices that prevent mana surges, there are at least 20 and up to 50 large and small magic circles applied.”

“Then do the Iron Mages memorize and utilize all of that?”

“No, you need to have a magic and knowledge level of at least the 7th Circle to design and manufacture a Gigant on your own. Before that, everyone works together, with each person having their own area of expertise.”

“Then what if there is only one Iron Mage like in our territory? What if they are not even at the 7th Circle?”

“You have to replace the broken parts entirely. That has the advantage of reducing maintenance time, although it costs a lot.”

That is why the magic towers not only made Gigants but also generated considerable revenue by producing and selling parts that were heavily consumed.

“If we can’t make and repair parts ourselves, isn’t the territory becoming dependent on the magic tower?”

“Of course, there is such a problem. However, the power of the nobles cannot be ignored, and in the case of similar parts, they can be sufficiently produced at other magic towers, so I don’t think there is a case where they are completely dependent on a single magic tower.”

If it were possible to make them dependent, it would be the mages, not the nobles, who would be ruling this world.

However, it’s said that the magic towers keep the high-performance parts or core magic circles secret, never revealing them.

‘It seems mages have always liked keeping things hidden.’

Luke intended to build a powerful force for revenge.

Just as he created the golem army in the past, he would possess a powerful Gigant army.

To do so, he figured that making Gigants himself would be cheaper than buying them and better for the future.

Of course, as the one who designed and invented the core devices of the Gigants, he could create basic Gigants with a little research.

However, he couldn’t guarantee that the Gigants he made would be high-performing.

They would probably be inferior to the warrior-class Gigants produced by the famous magic towers.

‘Mute is at the 5th Circle, do I need to enter a magic tower to learn more? Or should I kidnap a high-ranking mage?’

With his current skills, he felt like he could kidnap someone at the 7th Circle. They say Iron Mages aren’t good at combat.

While he was seriously contemplating, Hans approached and spoke to him.

“How is it, young lord? Is studying magic engineering… Huh!”

The man who was speaking widened his eyes.

He couldn’t tell from afar due to his presbyopia [age-related farsightedness], but up close, Luke and Mute had completely stripped off the Gigant’s armor and even pulled out the internal parts.

It was practically on the verge of being disassembled!

“Y-Young lord, what are you doing right now?”

Luke glanced back and replied as if it were nothing.

“I was just curious about what the inside of a Gigant looks like.”

“So you took apart a perfectly fine one like this?”

Sometimes, there were riders who were curious about the structure or performance of their Gigants.

However, no one had ever disassembled one to the extent that Luke had.

Without considerable magical knowledge, disassembling and assembling could easily break the Gigant.

“Even so, to do it like this…”

“Hah, whether it’s a person or a machine, you have to look inside to know it properly.”

‘Ah, so that’s why…’

Hans, who had been frowning, soon wore an admiring expression.

He thought Luke was just disassembling the Gigant like a toy, like a naive child, but he had a deep purpose!

‘He’s definitely changed from before.’

Was it because he had faced such a great crisis like death?

If the young lord of the past was just an innocent country boy, now he felt like a sage who saw the world from afar.

“I see. How is it? Do you feel like you know more after seeing the inside?”

“Well, it’s not as easy as I thought.”

“I suppose so. Please don’t overdo it. Magic is a vast and profound field of study, and just because you encourage magic doesn’t mean you have to become an expert in that field.”

Hans understood the young lord’s intentions, but he wanted Luke to become a great knight, as befitting a descendant of a martial family. So he spoke indirectly.

However, not knowing his feelings, Mute broke the mood.

“Still, the young lord is very quick at acquiring magical theories and knowledge. He has a stronger foundation than those guys over there.”

Mute praised Luke while casting a cold gaze behind him.

There, the three Iron Mages, Todd, Gordon, and Humphrey, who had been dragged by Luke, were working on engraving new magic circles on the armor.

Having unintentionally endured physical hardship for a while, they were now working so hard that it was fair to say they were being worked to the bone.

“But I’m really curious, when did you study magic so much, young lord?”

Luke, who was inwardly startled by Mute’s question, made up an excuse.

“Well, I was interested, so I studied on my own in my spare time…”

“Self-taught? You used to say you didn’t want me to teach you magic?”

“Hahaha, well… after almost dying, I somehow became so curious about Gigants that I studied intensely.”

He made a rough excuse, but Mute looked convinced by his answer. It was because he had become a fervent follower of the young lord after the incident a few days ago.

“I will learn much from you in the future.”

“I will tell you everything I know.”

“Hahaha, thank you.”

Listening to the two, Hans slightly frowned.

He wondered if the young lord would end up becoming a mage instead of a knight.

As the young lord’s guardian and a former knight representing the Rakan barony, he wanted the young lord to become an outstanding knight.

‘Still, is it a good thing that he’s not afraid of Gigants?’

There were often knights who were afraid to even go near Gigants, let alone ride them, due to the aftereffects of a major accident.

But Luke didn’t seem to be like that at all.

He was still fiddling with the Gigant parts like that.

“Be careful not to damage the plated magic circles on those parts… Ahem! Don’t touch the magic stones carelessly! If there’s even a slight flaw, the mana waves will change completely!”

“Don’t worry. I know that much.”

Rather, Luke was trying to grasp everything about the Gigant, as if he were not afraid at all.

‘Still, I hope he doesn’t overdo it.’

He was glad that the young lord had the ambition to become a hero greater than the founder.

However, Hans was worried that his ambition might lead to another accident, so he turned away, hoping that the young lord would proceed cautiously.

“Young lord! Young loooord—! Ah, young loooord—!”

Luke, who was reading a 3rd Circle magic book he had borrowed from Mute, frowned at Philip’s annoying calls.

“What is it, Sir Philip? Why are you whining like a child?”

“Have I become someone who doesn’t whine? When are you going to keep your promise to buy me a Gigant!”

At the Gigant Arena, Luke had made a promise to Philip.

If he defeated Count Monarch’s Gigant, he would buy Philip his own Gigant.

Encouraged by that, Philip had won, but afterwards, Luke had been too busy with various things to keep his promise.

Eventually, Philip, tired of waiting, had started protesting like this.

“You can’t do this. What will people say if the descendant of the glorious hero Rakan doesn’t keep his promise? They’ll curse you, won’t they? They’ll point fingers at you, won’t they?”

‘Should I just turn this guy into a Death Knight?’

However, a living expert, even if he was loud-mouthed, was more useful than a stupid Death Knight.

On the other hand, Luke also wanted to scout how the Veritas Magic Tower had changed over the past 500 years, so he finally made a decision.

“Alright. Since I made a promise, let’s go buy a Gigant.”

“Yessss—!”

Philip, who had cheered, hurriedly prepared to go out with Luke.

However, Roger, the commander of the knights, came after hearing the news.

“Young lord, are you going to buy a Gigant?”

“Sir Philip has been nagging me too much.”

At those words, Roger glared fiercely at Philip.

His eyes looked like they were about to shoot out laser magic, and he turned his gaze back to Luke and said.

“Then I will go with you.”

“The commander himself?”

“Yes, these days, monsters are moving around a lot, so it’s not easy to dispatch escort troops. So, it would be better in many ways if I went myself.”

Roger, who said that, glared at Philip, who was making a dissatisfied face, and continued.

“And I know a lot about Gigants. If you only take that guy Philip, you’ll definitely end up buying a defective product that only looks good on the outside but has no performance.”

“Hey, how can you see me like that…”

Philip, who was grumbling with his mouth sticking out, immediately shut his mouth when Roger clenched his fist.

Seeing that, Luke decided to take Roger with him.

Knowing a lot about Gigants was a bonus.

It was the best way to shut up the noisy Philip.

Luke’s group, consisting of three people, set off on a journey to the north.

At first, they tried to take a boat from the port. However, due to the recent drought, the river had greatly decreased, and regular ship services were suspended, so they had no choice but to use the land route.

“Seriously, they don’t run the boats just because the river has shrunk a bit.”

Philip grumbled, bored from riding his horse. Then Roger immediately scolded him.

“That’s because the boat could run aground. What are you going to do if a knight hates riding a horse so much?”

“I’m a rider, you know. And young lord, when we go to buy a Gigant this time, why don’t you buy a mobile too? It’s trendy for nobles to ride mobiles these days.”

“No, I don’t want to waste money on something I don’t need.”

Mobiles, which run on magic steam engines, were not much different from carriages as a means of transportation.

Moreover, their speed was not significantly faster than carriages, so they were considered more of a luxury item than a means of transportation.

‘If I’m going to buy something, I should buy a trailer. It can carry heavy things like Gigants, and it can transport a lot of cargo at once.’

Even now, a trailer was approaching from the opposite side, emitting steam.

There were five of them, with large cargo wrapped in cloth in the cargo hold, and men dressed as merchants or workers were sitting huddled around them.

“Which merchant guild is that?”

“I don’t know, it’s a flag I haven’t seen before.”

The three of them moved their horses to the side of the road to let the trailers pass.

Even though they had yielded, the trailer procession stopped in front of the three of them. And a shaggy-haired man riding in the lead trailer greeted them.

“Greetings, sirs. Where are you traveling to?”

“…That’s right, and you?”

Roger answered as a representative.

“We are traveling merchants belonging to the Shade Merchant Guild. We travel around rural territories, selling goods or buying local specialties.”

“Shade Merchant Guild? I haven’t heard of it before?”

“Hahaha, we just opened recently.”

The shaggy-haired man said that and glanced at Luke before continuing.

“But where are you sirs from?”

“It’s not a very famous place. There aren’t many local specialties either.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Yes, we’re busy, so excuse us.”

At Roger’s signal, Luke and Philip hurriedly spurred their horses and left.