The Returned Sword King Decided to Become a Tyrant Episode 32
Lotus Blooming in Regret (2)
The body of the palace treasurer was lifted out of the air by someone running out of the hallway.
puck!
“Ugh!”
“Eww!”
The documents the manager was holding flew into the air.
Just looking at the documents that can be seen with the naked eye, there are at least several hundred pages.
A look of despair appeared on his face as he clutched his shoulder at the sudden collision.
“Eww! The documents I finally sorted out are gone!”
How many Treasury talents went to sorting through all this material?
Were the documents that had been piled up over several nights destined to be blown away by a single unexpected collision?
The financial manager, who had been flipping through a pile of documents with his hands absentmindedly, raised his head and glared at the cause of the conflict.
“Who on earth is running around the palace hallways… … .”
Suddenly, his body, which was about to shoot, froze.
The reason for the collision was because it was an all too familiar face.
“Huh, Your Majesty?!”
“Cahem!”
Esteban’s finance minister and the head of the long-standing Marquis Walter family was wiping away sweat with an embarrassed face.
… … For a moment, it felt like time had stopped.
Only after such an awkward silence did Marquis Walter open his mouth hesitantly.
“… … Were you taking the documents I instructed to the accounting office?”
“That, that’s true, but… … .”
“Ah! This is it.”
The Marquis, realizing the meaning of the empty look, noticed the documents under his shoes and stepped back.
The documents with clear footprints were crumpled and dirty, and the writing was illegible.
The financial manager’s eyes were wide open, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
“I’m really sorry, I had some urgent work to do and couldn’t check in front of you.”
“This is… … You don’t have to worry about it. It’s something we can sort out again.”
“… … You’ve had a hard time.”
Yeah… …what.
Her eyes were forcing a smile, but she didn’t look happy at all.
If there was one silver lining, it was that most of the accounting work for this quarter was done, so there was some leeway in the finance department.
This means that even though sorting through the documents again is a tedious task, it is a situation that can be overcome somehow.
But Margrave Walter, the Minister of Finance, would not allow even a shred of such vain hope.
“I’m sorry to have to give you the cause, but I might be busy soon, so please finish this paperwork as quickly as possible.”
“Huh? Isn’t this the time when accounting work is unscheduled?”
“They say a mine has been discovered. And it’s a mine of such value that it will be recorded in the history of the continent… … .”
That moment.
Marquis Walter remembered again why he had been running so quickly through the palace corridors.
“T, tsk… …! I guess I’ll be going now.”
“dismissal!”
“I’m really sorry! And please organize those documents and send them back to me within two days!”
There was no time to explain.
Marquis Walter ran down the palace halls, oblivious to the fact that many eyes were watching him.
A small tear fell from the eyes of the remaining financial manager.
* * *
“… … And this is what the dwarves mined in the Galder Plains.”
The investigator, with trembling hands, put down the small gemstone that had been hidden in the bundle.
Although it had a crude appearance because it had not been processed yet, the subtle blue-green ore visible within was enough to steal the souls of those inside the office.
The king stood up from his seat, forgetting all respect, and touched the gemstone.
Maybe it was because I was nervous without realizing it, but sweat started to pour out of my palms.
“This is it… … .”
“Yes. It is a mithril ore.”
“……oh my god!”
Did that really happen?
It’s not that I didn’t believe the prince’s words, but the story about the Mithril mine was so absurd that deep down I was still half-believing it.
To be exact, I could say that I desperately hoped that what he said was true.
One. Seeing it in person like this, it felt like all my worries were finally being resolved.
“We will report back with more detailed information as it becomes available.”
“Okay.”
Just confirming the existence of Mithril was enough, so the king was able to sit down with a satisfied expression.
However, it was not the Minister of Finance, Marquis Walter, who had been persistently examining the ore.
“What are the estimated reserves of Mithril?”
It was a sharp question.
Ore reserves are considered the most important factor in developing a mine.
Especially if it’s Mithril, whose value cannot be compared to any other mineral?
Regardless of the scale, development will continue just in case. If we could know the reserves, even roughly, it could be an indicator of how much money to invest before starting development.
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Gulp-
As everyone’s eyes turned to the investigator, the investigator answered with wet lips.
“According to the dwarves, it would weigh at least three hundred tons. In pure, refined mithril, it would weigh about twenty-five tons.”
“her!”
“Is that really true?”
“I have only told you what has been ‘estimated’ so far.”
25 tons of Mithril? You might think that was only a small amount, but in monetary terms, it was more than 40 times Esteban’s annual budget.
It was such a large sum of money that it didn’t even feel real.
Of course, this calculation is based on the assumption that the price will remain constant even after all that amount of Mithril is mined, but the fact remains that it is an absurd amount.
The king felt dizzy and rose from his seat again.
“If the Federal Empire had known this fact first, it would have been a disaster!”
If that were the case, they would have had no choice but to watch with their eyes wide open as they literally pulled out bundles of gold from their old territory.
Marquis Walter nodded reflexively, reminded of the unexpected harvest.
“I was truly lucky. Who would have thought that the land given to His Highness the First Prince would create such a miracle… … .”
“A miracle… … they say.”
A miracle is a situation that produces results that are inexplicable by common sense.
… … So was this incident really a miracle?
-Send the dwarves to the Galder Plains to find mithril.
The king remembered clearly what his son had said.
Let’s make it look like the discovery of mithril in the Galder Plains was a coincidence.
– This will alleviate the suspicions of the Federation Empire that they knew of the existence of the Mithril mine and received the land. At least on the surface.
The whole situation was woven into his head.
Just like when I uncovered Asus’s betrayal. Just like when I discovered the dwarf…
The King, who had been lowering his head as if thinking about something, heard Marquis Walter’s voice again.
“On the one hand, I am worried about what kind of moves the Federal Empire will make after missing out on such great benefits.”
“Hmm… … Ah, I see.”
“Your Majesty the King?”
“Ahem! It’s nothing.”
Yes. Now was the time to think about how to utilize the Mithril mine.
It was foolish to question the cause of something that had already turned out well.
“Then, before we discuss development, I will state my thoughts.”
The king straightened his posture and focused the attention of those around him with a solemn expression.
This was the beginning of a meeting that would perhaps determine Esteban’s fate.
* * *
The news that the magic ball delivered was quite satisfactory.
“Are we really allowed to start developing this on our own?”
“hmm.”
Dwarf Captain Surtr was delighted to hear that the development permit had been issued, but was shocked when he realized the true meaning of the words.
“So then, the condition of 3% of the amount mined is… … .”
“Do I have to explain it twice for you to understand?”
“… … No, I understand. It was just a story that was hard to believe.”
Esteban will be in charge of overall management of the Galder Plains, but will leave the development of the Mithril Mine to the dwarves.
This was a decision made by my father at the State Council meeting just now.
It was the right decision.
“I thought about it well. In this field, no one can match the abilities of our dwarves, so you can rest assured.”
As I beat my chest in triumph, the hem of my clothes, covered in dust as I secured the entrance to the mine, fluttered wildly.
His arms were covered in light scratches and no healthy spots, but he was smiling brightly as if something was so good about them.
“Then I will go now. Since my clan is happy, I feel like doing something too.”
“as you please.”
Their attitude had already changed 180 degrees.
The unexpected existence of Mithril, in contrast to its previous treatment, may have created a more favorable public opinion.
Of course, it may also be because their clan ended up with a larger share of Mithril than expected.
So the guy left and Roder came looking for him.
“I found what you said.”
The Knights of the Sun were instructed to search for any elements that threaten the Galder Plains.
And what Vice-Chief Roder is talking about now is, among the things I directly mentioned,
“Go now.”
We passed the makeshift shelter the dwarves had hastily built and arrived at a clearing overgrown with bushes.
Oddly enough, there were traces of the bushes being crushed here and there, and the fierce gaze of the Sun Knights was scanning the surrounding area.
I pushed through the bushes into the center of the clearing, running my fingers along what seemed to be the most recent traces.
“It’s big.”
Footprints of enormous size.
The marks of claws revealed between the blunt marks had dug up the ground, and the plants that had been broken where something had passed had lost their life and turned black and faded.
Roder, who was watching from behind, let out a sigh, as he could guess the danger just from that trace.
“It’s a monster. A large monster, like an ogre or a minotaur.”
“hmm.”
I nodded and got up from my seat.
The reason ‘Sil Tap Grande’ was called a natural mountain range was because of its rugged and high terrain, but the influence of the monsters sleeping there could not be ignored.
And some of those monsters would occasionally come down the mountain range and roam the plains like this, which was one of the major headaches that the Federation Empire had when it was developing mithril mines before the return.
“Indeed, there was a reason His Majesty ordered the construction of the defensive wall as a top priority.”
In the direction Roder was looking, the dwarves were divided into two groups, each carrying out different tasks.
The group that carries stones from the mine to build the defensive wall. And the group that is steadily building the wall.
Needless to say, it was a task of incredible speed.
“At this rate, a simple firewall could probably be completed within a week… … .”
Roder’s expression, which had been clouded by the end of his words, changed to a thoughtful one.
“If we leave it like this, monsters might hear the noise and come looking for us.”
“I guess so.”
If you ask if that was a problem… … it wasn’t.
Even if they were large monsters that came down from the naturally gifted mountain range, all of the Sun Knights here were skilled enough to use Aura.
The level of monster attacks can be blocked somehow.
But what happened after the Sun Knights returned?
Even if the defensive wall is completed, will it be able to withstand their attacks at the temporary level?
Even if the dwarves develop this land differently than in the past, it will be no different from before the return until a proper means of defense is completed.
Besides, with Esteban’s current national defense power, it is not possible to station a standing army like the Federal Empire.
“It’s a large monster… … .”
That’s a good thing.
I stood up from my seat and pulled up the corners of my mouth.
It was a good opportunity to proceed with what I had been planning.
