How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives - Chapter 79

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 79】

“Ah, Corporal Kudo.”

“I was calling out loudly from outside, but it seems you didn’t hear me.”

“Yes, well. Something like that. I was a bit busy.”

“Ah, I thought Private Carlisle was pretending not to know and ignoring me.”

“Th, that couldn’t be.”

“May I sit down for a bit?”

Kudo grinned and squeezed his way into the carriage.

Thud, thud!

Feeling the carriage shake twice intermittently, it was clear that Marder and Wilson had also climbed aboard.

Since they were in the middle of the city center, the carriage had no choice but to go slowly, and the scout unit members like Kudo’s group had excellent stamina as well as very fast running speed, making this possible.

“Those crazy bastards! That’s House Sigmund’s carriage!”

“Are they really insane?”

The men recognized that the carriage Kudo’s group had boarded belonged to House Sigmund and stopped their pursuit.

Where do they think this is?

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there was absolutely no one who could dare stop or board House Sigmund’s carriage in the middle of Decaron.

Unless they were also Sigmunds.

And this was no exception even for the Security Knight Order that maintained public order in Decaron’s city center.

“St, stop right there!”

“Neigh!”

The knight order that had urgently dispatched after receiving a report of a brawl also turned their horses around upon discovering House Sigmund’s carriage.

“Everyone stop moving! Can’t you stand still there!”

“Argh!”

Thanks to this, only the men who had been brawling with Kudo’s group ended up being chased by the Security Knight Order.

“What on earth happened?”

“Just got into a bit of trouble. Haha.”

“Trouble…?”

“It seems there were family members of fallen soldiers among them. They picked a fight asking if we were happy that only we came back alive.”

“Ah?”

“It’s a common occurrence. Those who’ve lost family sometimes lose their reason.”

Kudo shrugged as if it was nothing special.

“It happens all the time.”

Maranello also smiled bitterly as if agreeing.

“Anyway.”

Carlisle shook his head as if he was sick of Northern life where there wasn’t a single peaceful day.

This wasn’t the only reason Northerners got into brawls.

It was an everyday occurrence for soldiers on leave to get drunk and cause trouble.

Since they were usually exposed to the fear of death and frequent stress, losing their reason and going wild with just a little alcohol was very common.

That’s why brawls between soldiers and men, or between soldiers and soldiers, would break out regularly in Northern taverns.

How could it be limited to just soldiers?

Even ordinary Territory Residents who weren’t soldiers had such belligerent temperaments that fistfights were very common in the Northern Region.

Since there was a culture of generally not interfering in matters that arose from fighting among themselves, the Security Knight Order wouldn’t make much of an issue as long as compensation for property damage and a small fine were paid.

“But where are you going, Private Carlisle?”

“To get some fresh air.”

“Pardon…?”

Kudo showed the exact same reaction as Maranello.

“How long has it been since you got leave that you already miss Kuberin?”

“That couldn’t be.”

“Then…?”

“Let’s just say it’s because I feel stuffy staying at the Main House.”

“Is it like the troubles of a rich family’s Young Master?”

“Yes, well. Something like that.”

“You must be quite stuffy indeed. Haha.”

Kudo laughed.

“But… aren’t you getting off?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t tell me you’re coming along?”

“Would that not be allowed?”

Kudo made a disappointed expression.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m really just going to get some fresh air.”

“May I really come along?”

“You can’t go back anyway because of the Security Knight Order. You’ll have to stay quiet as a mouse in your quarters for a few days.”

“You’re perceptive. Hehe.”

“…”

“Then, I’ll impose on you for a bit.”

Kudo settled into the car, crossed his legs, and took a comfortable position.

“You really have some nerve.”

“You flatter me.”

Kudo grinned and replied to Maranello’s words.

‘What’s this?’

Carlisle felt some kind of uncomfortable current flowing between Kudo and Maranello and tilted his head.

Like before, he strongly felt that the two seemed to be acquainted.

“Do you two know each other?”

“How could that be possible.”

“Not at all.”

Maranello and Kudo answered Carlisle’s question almost simultaneously.

And that made it even more suspicious.

‘Is it just my imagination that they seem to be gritting their teeth and pretending not to know each other?’

Carlisle narrowed his eyes and glared alternately at Maranello and Kudo, then soon gave up and turned his gaze to the window.

‘What do I care.’

Since it wasn’t really any of his business, Carlisle completely lost interest.

“But where exactly are we going?”

“First, we’re heading toward the Merel Mountain Range.”

“Isn’t that a place with nothing particular to see?”

Kudo spoke as if puzzled.

The Merel Mountain Range was a Highland Area located southeast of Decaron, and it was very barren and desolate even by Northern standards, mostly composed of rocks, making it not really a place to go for fresh air.

“There might be something to see.”

Carlisle answered while glancing at Evangeline.

* * *

As Kudo had worried, the Merel Mountain Range had no particular scenery to speak of.

Being a Highland Area, it was just high, and being a desolate, barren, and dry place, even from a distance it was just rocky mountains rising high at best.

“Did you come here because there’s something to see?”

“Well, there should be various things worth seeing.”

Carlisle answered Wilson’s question.

“Is there something you’re looking for? If so, tell me. I’ll help.”

Marder said with a grin.

On his shoulder sat Hugin, and offering to help likely meant he would provide aerial reconnaissance.

“I appreciate the offer, but there’s no need for that.”

“Really?”

“This friend will handle everything.”

Carlisle pointed to Evangeline.

“M-me?”

Evangeline was flustered.

She had followed without question when Carlisle asked for her time, but she couldn’t even guess what he intended to make her do.

“Yeah, your role is the most important.”

“What kind of role do you mean…?”

“I’ll tell you later. First, we need to get off the carriage and switch to something else. If the carriage rolls off, we’ll all have a nice group fall to our deaths.”

It was a sound judgment.

The path was too narrow for carriage travel, and it was already a precarious situation.

So Carlisle’s group stopped the carriage at a nearby village and switched to a new mode of transportation.

And that new mode of transportation was none other than donkeys.

“Hee-haw! Hee-haw!”

Though small, donkeys were strong with good endurance, making them livestock frequently used in mountain areas.

Carlisle’s group rode the donkeys deep into the Merel Mountain Range.

When night fell, they pitched tents, lit a fire, and spent the night.

The next morning.

“Ask the earth spirit. Where in this mountain range are minerals buried, and what’s buried there.”

“Pardon?”

“Just ask. It’ll tell you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

When Carlisle nodded, not only Evangeline but even Maranello was startled.

“Young Master, what do you mean? Is it possible to find mineral veins by commanding earth spirits?”

“You didn’t know that either, Maranello?”

“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Please study more. Don’t just train in swordsmanship.”

“…”

Maranello cursed Carlisle with his eyes.

Who was lecturing whom about studying when he’d lived his whole life avoiding books?

“Where exactly did you get such information?”

“It’s all written in old books. Earth Elementalists aren’t precious just because of wars.”

“…?”

“Humans live on the earth. Not just humans. The foundation of all living beings is ultimately the earth. Isn’t war ultimately about territorial conquest?”

“I suppose that could be true in a way.”

“If you can communicate well with earth spirits, you can do many things. The royal family didn’t pressure us to hand over Evangeline for nothing. They showed their discomfort so openly because she has that much value.”

“I see…”

“Did you hear that?”

Carlisle turned to look at Evangeline.

“It’s not difficult for you, so just casually ask the earth spirit.”

“Yes, Young Master. I’ll try.”

Evangeline summoned an earth spirit.

Rumble!

Soon a giant that seemed to be 3 meters tall appeared.

Titan.

It was an intermediate earth spirit.

“■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■?”

Evangeline asked Titan in Spirit Language.

Nod, Titan nodded and surveyed various parts of the mountain range, then pointed to specific regions with its finger.

“Write it down.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Evangeline drew circles on the map where Titan pointed and wrote brief notes beside them.

Soon Titan finished its role and disappeared, and Evangeline handed the map to Carlisle.

“Two magic coal mines and one gold mine?”

“Yes.”

Maranello’s eyes widened as he listened from the side.

“A-are you saying there’s a gold mine?!”

Not only Maranello but Kudo’s group also looked quite surprised.

“A gold mine?!”

“There’s gold buried over there?”

“This is crazy.”

The value of gold was very high in this world too, being equivalent to currency, so their surprise was natural.

But Carlisle wasn’t particularly interested in gold.

Gold wasn’t what was important.

‘If we have plenty of magic coal, the winter of doom will be nothing.’

[Magic Coal] was of even lower quality than the lowest-grade magic stones, practically having no value as magic stones.

However, since it was still a magic stone, when lit, its energy efficiency was incomparable to other fuels.

Compared to coal of the same size, its heat efficiency was nearly 5 times better, it produced no smoke, and was easy to mine, so if they mobilized some engineers, securing several years’ worth of reserves in just a few months would be no problem.

‘If I sell all the magic stones we have and replace fuel with magic coal, we could gain enormous profits.’

This was an investment only possible for the royal family.

Buy when cheap, sell when expensive.

It was the most basic principle of investment, but for magic stones, which were strategic resources of high value, one couldn’t buy and sell them carelessly.

Profiting from magic stone trading was only possible when you had reliable information in hand, like the royal family.

However, if they possessed a lot of magic coal, they could sell magic stones used for heating or use them for other purposes.

Especially in the Northern Region, famous for its harsh winters, magic coal would be utilized as a very precious resource.

The gold mine could be developed slowly.

“What’s this?”

Carlisle pointed to a part marked ‘Mine’ on the map.

“It says it’s a dwarf mine.”

“Dwarves… you mean Dwarfs?”

“Yes.”

“There were Dwarfs in the Northern Region?”

Carlisle turned to look at Maranello.

“I’ve heard that Dwarfs were occasionally seen hundreds of years ago, but officially there are none.”

“So it’s an abandoned mine?”

“That’s highly likely.”

“Why did it tell us about this place?”

Carlisle asked Evangeline.

“It says there are many resources buried there, including top-grade magic stones.”

“Even though it’s an abandoned mine?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Carlisle pondered for a moment.

‘A mine abandoned by Dwarfs but still rich in resources… there must be some reason for that.’

Dwarfs were excellent blacksmiths and miners, artists, and outstanding alchemists and mages.

Moreover, they were incredibly strong and skilled in combat, a warrior race.

There was no way those Dwarfs would abandon a perfectly good mine.

“So something must be dangerous about it…”

“How about we investigate it once?”

Maranello suggested to Carlisle.

“Should we?”

“This old man will protect you.”

“Alright, then.”

Carlisle nodded his head.

“The Dwarfs’ mine, let’s investigate it once.”

It was a decision he could make because with Maranello protecting him, there was nothing to fear.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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