Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 99

As the sun rose, Ian, along with Romandro and his men, hurried to the Monne mine. As ordered the previous day, the entrance was half-closed, and the mine manager was in a heated discussion with the soldiers.

“No, I’m telling you! I left the ledger inside!”

“Seriously, I told you it’s not allowed, but you keep doing this.”

“Just a moment, okay? Just a quick peek inside. Okay?”

“Lord Ian. You’ve arrived?”

“H-huh! Ah, good morning.”

As Ian appeared, the soldiers snapped to attention and saluted. The mine manager also bowed deeply to greet Ian.

“Without further ado, follow me. I have something to ask.”

“Ah, yes, yes. Just say the word.”

The manager swallowed hard and followed him. He felt like he had been struck by lightning that morning. One moment they were closing the mine for the night, and the next, the lord himself was entering the mine shaft. It was clear that something extraordinary had happened.

“Were there any unusual occurrences in the mine?”

“If you mean unusual occurrences, I’m not sure what you mean… There was nothing special to report.”

“I found a new vein about 200 meters inside. You didn’t know about it?”

“A, a vein?”

The manager stopped dead in his tracks. His reaction made it clear that he had no idea. Ian smiled brightly and turned around, and the manager, aghast, prostrated himself and shouted.

“I’m sorry!”

“…That’s not what I wanted to hear.”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Ian was sincere, but the manager couldn’t take it that way. He had found a new vein and hadn’t reported it? He would be suspected of secretly taking it, or if he didn’t know, it would be proof of his incompetence as a manager.

“E-excuse me, but I had no idea about the new vein. If it’s the spot you mentioned, it’s near the fork in the tunnel, and miners pass by there five or six times a day. But since no one said anything, it seems no one in the mine noticed it.”

Either way, Ian’s direct visit meant that this was not something to be taken lightly.

As the manager banged his head on the floor, Ian sighed and looked back at Beric. Beric subtly nudged his foot, stopping the man from harming himself.

Thud!

“I told you not to. You’ll make a hole in your forehead.”

“…Yes?”

The manager’s forehead was already black with coal dust. Ian continued walking ahead and spoke.

“I’m not trying to hold you responsible, I just need information. If no one in the mine knew about it, it must not have been there for long.”

“D-do you know what kind of vein it is?”

Could it be gold? There was no way such a thing could exist in a dark, dusty pit where only coal was found. But the manager, without realizing it, started to imagine the possibilities and watched Ian’s expression.

“Yes. I know. It’s something very significant.”

“Gasp!”

The manager gasped involuntarily. So this is how life-changing moments happen! If Ian didn’t hold him responsible for not finding the vein, he would continue to be the manager here. If a new resource was discovered, it meant that a huge amount of profit would also fall to him.

“You must know that I will be leaving the estate soon.”

“Yes. You’re going up for the investiture [a formal ceremony conferring rank or office], it’s a joyous occasion. I will manage the mine without any issues while you are away, Lord Ian.”

“That’s good to hear. So, I’ll have to close the mine for the time being. I plan to pay you your salary as usual. Instead, give the miners half a year’s pay and let them go.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“It means an indefinite temporary closure.”

Even though it was morning, there was not a single ray of sunlight inside the mine. There was no light except for the lanterns in their hands, but the further they walked, the more they seemed to see a faint purple glow in the distance.

“What you are about to see is something that must be kept absolutely secret. Are you sure you can do that? If you want, you can go back now.”

At Ian’s suggestion, the manager paused for a moment. Everything was very favorable for him. If the mine was closed, there would be less to manage, and he would still receive his salary!

Tap.

As water dripped from the ceiling, the manager snapped back to his senses and bowed his head. A clear answer echoed through the mine.

“I-I will keep my mouth shut no matter what!”

“I appreciate you saying that.”

Besides, if he went back now, he didn’t know how Ian would deal with him. Would he just send him home, or would he cut off his tongue for even hearing this proposal?

“Have you ever heard of magic stones?”

“Magic stones? Ah, no.”

“That’s surprising. I thought you’d know if you worked in a mine.”

“News travels slowly here. Is it a newly discovered mineral?”

“Something like that. It’s probably more valuable than gold.”

Ian gestured for him to look, and the manager reflexively turned his gaze.

“Oh, no. What on earth is that…”

His eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Good heavens! What on earth was that? He had never seen anything like it in his life. A purple ore that glowed faintly.

“No, is that, is that really an ore? And what’s that corpse?”

“There are a lot of air bubbles inside, but it’s definitely hardened. Ignore the corpse. In a way, we found it thanks to him.”

The lower half of the corpse was crushed, and its face was pale. The manager was momentarily flustered. Soon, he lay down on the floor and carefully examined the cracks in the rock to find the starting point of the vein.

“Please, hold the lantern here.”

“Beric.”

“Yes, yes, at your service.”

The manager traced the starting point with his fingertips. And soon, as if he had confirmed something, he pulled out a small chisel from his shirt.

Ting! Tang!

“That won’t work. I tried everything with my sword, and it didn’t even leave a scratch. I think you’d have to blow it up to break it.”

“You’re making it sound like we’re going to blow up the mine.”

“Is that possible? Anyway, it won’t work. It’s just a waste of energy.”

Despite Beric’s warning, the manager continued to strike with the chisel. But rather than putting his full strength into it, it was more like he was tapping it with a flick of his wrist.

“I’m not trying to break the magic stone, but the surrounding rock. It seems to be connected around here, and there’s more moisture rising than in other places.”

Ting!

At that moment, a piece of broken rock flew up with a sharp sound. The manager prostrated himself on the floor, and Beric also rushed over to stick his face in.

“Huh?”

“What is it? What is it?”

But the manager only frowned, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have. Beric hovered around him, being annoying, but he didn’t budge.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s, it’s definitely coming from down here. There was a lot of liquid of the same color as this. But as soon as you came near, Lord Beric…”

“As soon as I came near?”

“It hardened. It seems difficult to dig further inside because there are no surrounding rocks. Unless we break this itself.”

As Ian and Romandro looked at Beric at the same time, he raised both hands, looking wronged. It was as if the magic stone had hardened because of him.

“I didn’t do anything?”

“Beric.”

“It’s true. Really. I swear.”

“Come back over here.”

As soon as Ian finished speaking, Beric moved away from the manager again.

“Is it still the same?”

“Yes. It’s the same.”

“Ian, do you know something about this?”

Romandro turned to Ian, looking completely clueless. Unless it was a special case, it was almost unheard of for an ordinary person to have knowledge of this.

Even Derga, who had the magic stone brooch, probably only knew how to use it, and not the detailed names, effects, or operating methods of magic stones.

Ian seemed to have a hunch.

“Magic stones basically work on the principle of magic sensitivity.”

“Magic sensitivity?”

“Literally, it means that the basic operating method is to react to external magic.”

Derga’s brooch was the same.

To replay the voice, a special solution was essential, and the grade of the product was determined by how much magic was put into the solution during manufacturing.

“It seems that…”

“That?”

“It seems to solidify when external magic gets close. Beric. When you chased the knight yesterday, you said it turned like this when you got close, right?”

“Yeah. At first, I thought he had fallen into a mud puddle. It got worse and worse as he struggled.”

Beric, the magic swordsman. He was someone who had magic in his body, however faint it may be. So, it was possible that a slow solidification reaction occurred when he approached.

A vague memory turned into a certainty.

‘It’s highly likely to be Rulon.’

Probably a high-grade magic stone. What was it used for?

It was a different kind of knowledge, so much so that there was a separate department in the Magic Department that dealt only with magic stones. Ian frowned and waved his hand, signaling them to move aside.

“Move back.”

“Why? What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to try to break it.”

“With your bare hands? Are you crazy?”

Beric was startled and grabbed Ian’s arm. He handed him a sword and nodded proudly.

“A person should use tools. Yes, yes.”

“That’s enough. You hold it.”

“Huh? You’ll regret it? Do you want to eat with your toes?”

Ian lightly ignored him and placed his hand on the magic stone. The eyes of the corpse, bent in half, were staring into the air.

Zzzzz.

Whoosh!

As he slowly gathered his magic, the purple light of the magic stone became even more intense. It looked as if it was heating up and the air bubbles inside were drying out.

Beric and Romandro were terrified and backed away, and the manager prostrated himself, protecting his head.

“Ian, Ian! Isn’t it going to explode? Be careful!”

“Yaaah! If it explodes here, we’re all dead!”

“Please save me, please save me! Lord Ian!”

“Ian, it’s dangerous, I tell you! Oh my, I’m a newlywed!”

“Uwaaah! Please, can’t you do it after I leave?”

The three of them were talking at the same time, making his head spin. But Ian didn’t back down and slowly poured his magic…

“Huh?”

“…Huh?”

“Ian, did you just say ‘huh’?”

Only silence descended at Ian’s small exclamation. It was surely an illusion that a blink of an eye felt like an eternity.

Crack!

Boom! Shatter!

“Uwaaah!”

“Crazy!”

In an instant, the magic stone split and exploded. Large and small pieces flew in all directions, and Romandro and the manager screamed while crouching down.

Beric immediately drew his sword and deflected the pieces that were flying towards his face, and looked at Ian.

“Ian! Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, yeah. I’m okay.”

Ian’s hair was slightly ruffled. Whether it was because of the magic stone explosion or the power of magic, he didn’t know.

“It exploded right in your face, and you’re saying you’re okay?”

“I think I unconsciously put up a shield.”

“Well, good for you.”

Ian brushed off the dust and powder on his clothes and just smiled. It was strange. He had only intended to test it, so he had released his magic very slowly and faintly, but it had reacted very strongly and exploded.

Swoosh.

The knight’s corpse fell to the floor as the mineral split in half. Ian looked down at his hand and tilted his head.

‘That’s strange.’

Has his magic become more sensitive? Ian had no idea.

Beric, who had come closer, picked up a magic stone the size of his fist and tried to bite it.

“It didn’t budge no matter what I did, but you broke it. Magic is good, isn’t it?”

Romandro looked around. There were magic stone fragments scattered everywhere. He forgot his dignity and started sweeping the floor with his sleeve.

“Let’s pick this up quickly, Beric.”

“Isn’t it too much trouble? Can’t we just take the big ones?”

“Think of each piece the size of a bean as a gold coin.”

“…Was there a broom outside?”

Beric quickly ran outside and called for people. Ian placed his hand on the part that was not yet broken and muttered.

“Everyone, please move back.”

“Ah, Ian! Wait, wait!”

Zzzzz. Zzzzz!

Boom!

“Aigo!”

The soldiers waiting outside simultaneously turned their heads towards the mine entrance. They were curious about what was happening inside.