The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 62

Word spread quickly: the mine had collapsed. Baron Romero heard the news and immediately called for Roman. He was told his oldest son was there.

Baron Romero: “Are you hurt?”

Roman: “No, Father, I’m fine.”

Baron Romero: “Roman! What were you thinking? Going into a collapsed mine! It’s incredibly dangerous. Even someone very strong with magic can’t survive a big collapse. We were lucky you’re safe. Your bravery was foolish this time. You scared me! And it’s not just because you’re my oldest son. If other miners had done what you did, I wouldn’t risk more lives to save just one.”

Baron Romero’s voice was shaking with worry and anger. He used to work in the mines myself. I know how dangerous it is.

Roman: “Father, I did what I had to do.”

Baron Romero: “Roman!” (said sharply)

Roman: “Even now, I wouldn’t change my mind. There was an accident in the mine, and I was there to help. Should the future leader of Dmitry ignore people in trouble? I don’t think life is about always being safe. As a Dmitry, I made the right choice.”

Baron Romero: (He sighed deeply.) “Hoo…” His heart was still heavy with worry, but he also felt a surge of pride. His son was brave and responsible. “So,” Baron Romero said, his voice softer now, “you still want to work in the mine?”

Roman: “Yes, Father.”

Baron Romero: “Why? I never asked you to work there. I don’t understand why you chose the mine. If you wanted to work in the smithy instead, I would understand.”

The mention of the iron mine and the smithy showed what Baron Romero was thinking. He cared for the miners, but as someone who used to be a blacksmith, he liked the smithy more. He secretly hoped Roman would be interested in it. He thought the leader of Dmitry should know about making steel, not just digging up iron.

Roman: “Father, I believe to truly understand Dmitry, I needed to work in the mine. Dmitry is famous for its smithy and how it makes metal, but most people here work in the iron mine to live. So, it made sense for me to go to the mine, not the smithy.”

Baron Romero: “So, what did you learn?”

Roman: “I saw firsthand the problems people face.”

Baron Romero: “Problems?” He was surprised. He didn’t know Roman was thinking about the miners’ problems. “Tell me more.”

Roman: “The miners respect you, Father. They get good pay compared to other places. You make sure they rest enough and try to keep them safe. Things seem good on the surface. But mining is always dangerous, even with safety rules. An earthquake can happen anytime, and the mine can collapse. Today’s collapse isn’t normal, but it does happen sometimes.”

Baron Romero: “I know that. But like you said, we can’t stop it from happening, no matter how much we prepare.” People call mine accidents ‘acts of God’ because they seem impossible to prevent. “I’ve done my best.”

But Roman thought they needed to do more.

Roman: “I have a solution.”

Baron Romero: “What is it?”

Roman had been thinking a lot while working in the mine. After the collapse, he knew what to do.

Roman: “We need to use magic items. That’s the only way to make the mine truly safe.”

Magic items. Baron Romero thought, He means magic items. He sighed. My son doesn’t understand how things really are.

Baron Romero: “Using magic items for safety sounds good. But do you know how much they cost? It’s not just a few coins. To protect the whole mine with magic, we’d need to spend a huge amount of money. We’re not rich people who throw money away.”

That was true. Mining was a business to make money. People were hired to work and earn, but you couldn’t spend more on safety than you made from the mine. It wasn’t about being generous or not. If you spend too much money on something that doesn’t make money back, even a rich family like Dmitry would go broke.

Roman: “I understand. To protect against collapses, we’d need magic items that create air shields when there’s danger. But they cost hundreds, maybe thousands of gold coins. And they don’t last forever. When their magic stops working, we’d have to buy new ones, even after spending so much money already.”

Baron Romero: “And you still think it’s worth it?”

Roman: “Yes. Let me explain.” This wasn’t just a nice idea about safety. Roman was very practical. He believed this would actually be good for business. “When I was working in the mine, an old miner told me something. He said Dmitry has the best iron ore in the whole land, but we can’t get as much as we could because of safety. If we didn’t care about safety, we could get much richer by making people work in dangerous conditions. But you didn’t do that, Father. You focused on safety, and now we have a problem: we’re not making as much iron ore as we used to.”

Baron Romero was a good leader, but maybe not a great one. If he was only focused on money, he might have found a better way to run things as a businessman.

Roman: “Putting in magic items isn’t just about safety. If the miners are safer because of the magic items, they’ll be able to mine more iron. Right now, we limit how many people work in the mine and how much we invest in it because it’s dangerous. But with magic items, we won’t need to do that anymore. This is a chance to make more money. Even if we spend a lot on the magic items, it won’t be a loss if we make even more money than before.”

Roman: “And there’s more. We also need to hire people just to focus on safety. We should pay them well to check the mine every day. And we can use some of the extra money we make to improve the lives of the miners. This will create a good cycle. We’ll spend money, Father, but Dmitry will benefit a lot from it.” (A ‘good cycle’ means that good things lead to more good things.)

Investing in the family – that was Roman’s real goal. Safety was important, but Roman also had another reason. He was hiding his true plan behind this good cause. Baron Romero didn’t realize what Roman was really thinking. Roman’s argument was so good, it was hard to argue against. Baron Romero thought for a long time, then looked at his son, a proud smile on his face.

Baron Romero: “Okay, Roman. How much money do you need?”

Earlier that day, Roman had spoken to Morcan.

Roman: “I’m going to ask my father for money for mine safety. And I’m going to suggest you, Morcan, to be in charge of safety. You’ve worked in the mine for so long. You know it better than anyone. I know you’ll do a great job.”

Roman’s plan was working perfectly. Morcan’s heart raced when he heard about the magic items. But Morcan knew Roman was smart and always had a reason for everything. He expected Roman to ask for something in return.

Morcan: “May I ask… what do you want in return?”

Roman: “It’s simple. As safety manager, you need to talk to the miners every day. Ask them how they are, what’s happening. Just small talk. Listen to their stories, remember what they say, and write down anything important. People will talk to you, especially if you use some of the money I get for their benefit. They’ll tell you everything. You can even give small rewards to people who give you good information. I want to use Dmitry money to keep the miners safe, but in return, I want you to get information for me.”

Information. That was Roman’s real goal. The mine was like the heart of Dmitry. Many people worked there, so all kinds of news and rumors about Dmitry would naturally come to the mine. This was just the start. If Morcan became the center of information, people would want to tell him things. First, they’d talk about themselves, then their families, then things they heard in town. They’d tell Morcan everything interesting. It wouldn’t look like anything bad. Like Roman told his father, he was just listening to people’s stories and helping them with welfare. Really, Roman was trying to create his own spy network, like a secret group called ‘Hao Moon’ from old stories. He was using his father’s money and a good reason to build it. (Hao Moon was a famous group known for gathering information.)

In the stories of fighters and heroes, there were two famous groups known for getting information. One was called the ‘Beggars’ Sect,’ and the other was ‘Hao Moon.’ Both groups had something similar. The Beggars’ Sect listened to beggars everywhere, because beggars hear a lot. Hao Moon listened to people who were often ignored, like workers in bars and taverns. The point was: powerful people often miss things because they only talk to other powerful people. But ordinary people, who are everywhere, see and hear everything. That’s why Roman chose the miners.

The miners were the heart of Dmitry. By listening to them, Roman could learn everything happening in the northeast. He had the workers for manpower, and his father’s money. It was a good deal for everyone. The miners got safety and better pay. His father would make more money. It was a win for everyone. That’s why his father and Morcan agreed to Roman’s idea.

But Roman wasn’t satisfied yet. It’s still not enough, he thought. He didn’t just want information from the northeast. He wanted information from everywhere. He wanted to build a bigger spy network, like Hao Moon, that covered the whole land. The mine would be the starting point, but he needed more money and people to expand. So, Roman had another plan.

Morcan is good, but he’s not an expert at information. I need someone else to organize everything Morcan finds. Someone who can also work with the Dmitry traders to get information from other places, not just the northeast. This person needs to be smart and practical, unlike Morcan. Someone tough, who’s seen a lot. Only someone like that can build the spy network I want. Roman knew just the person. He called for someone.

Lucas: “You called for me?”

It was Lucas, who had joined Dmitry as a soldier. He was a mercenary, a ‘B-grade’ one, which meant he was skilled but not top level.