Chapter 71: Performance of the Pickaxe Part 2
Worried about me as I sat down, Chloe exclaimed, "Jin-kun!?" with a surprised expression and hurriedly approached in a flustered manner.
"It's okay, I just got a bit tired and my legs lost their strength," I said, leaning against the dungeon wall and taking out a candy to suck on.
My magical power hasn't decreased significantly, but my body was urging me to consume some sugar.
"Jin-kun, should we move to a safe zone? It's dangerous here."
"I think it's better not to move since moving could be riskier. If it's just a golem, even in this seated position, I can provide some support."
While I said that, Chloe seemed worried, hesitating with an uncertain expression.
Chloe could carry me since she's a member of the beastman tribe, but if monsters attacked, it would be difficult for her to protect me while fighting.
In this location, with the wall at my back and no need to worry about the rear, Chloe could focus on battling monsters.
"Well, I think I can walk for a few minutes, maybe even up to a dozen minutes at most. Let's rest while staying vigilant of our surroundings until then."
"Got it..."
Reluctantly, Chloe responded to my words, and with intense focus, she began to monitor the surroundings.
Some time passed, and my strength gradually returned. Once I was finally able to move, Chloe and I made our way back to the safety zone on the 20th floor.
"Thank you, Chloe."
"No problem, Jin-kun. You did the mining that I couldn't, so it's only natural."
Afterward, we discussed whether to continue mining. Given my current condition, it became apparent that it would be challenging, so we decided to conclude the exploration on the second day at noon.
Having exited the dungeon, Chloe and I coincidentally encountered a carriage driver who had come to send another adventurer into the dungeon. We ended up hitching a ride with them to the capital.
"We're really grateful. Thank you."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me. Transporting is part of my job. I'll be waiting next week as well."
Upon arriving in the capital, after expressing our gratitude to the driver, they left with a friendly smile. People who take their jobs responsibly are pretty cool...
Watching the departing carriage, I thought that as I entered the guild.
Once inside the building, we called for Fiene-san at the reception. She hurried over when she saw us.
"Jin-san, Chloe-san, what happened? You're back a day earlier than planned, right?"
"Well, there was a bit of a drain on our energy... Since we can't discuss it here, would you mind going to a room?"
Usually, Fiene-san would lead us to a room immediately, but this time, she seemed agitated by our sudden return and wanted to know the reason right there.
Recognizing something in my words, she quickly caught on, and we headed straight to the usual consultation room.
"... So, Jin-san, Chloe-san, what happened in the dungeon?"
"As a matter of fact..."
From there, I reported about finding Mithril, how I spent an hour mining it, depleting my energy, and that I decided to return early due to my health not being at its best for the next day.
"I thought I wouldn't be surprised by anything concerning you two anymore, since I talked to Ricola-san last time, but there's more to it, isn't there?"
"Phew, Fiene-san, Mithril... Is it that Mithril?"
"Please calm down, Ricola-san. What Jin-san and Chloe-san are talking about is undoubtedly the Mithril, the magical silver ore."
Fiene-san, who had been surprised on previous occasions, didn't seem flustered this time upon hearing "Mithril." However, Ricola-san still appeared slightly puzzled, as if she hadn't quite grasped the situation.
"Ricola-chan, take a deep breath and calm down."
Chloe attempted to soothe Ricola's nerves by doing deep breaths together with her.
While Chloe did that, Fiene-san asked, "Is it possible to see the real thing?"
"Of course."
I replied to Fiene-san, then took out the Mithril, placing it not directly on the table, but on a cushion underneath.
The shine of the Mithril, the faint magical energy emanating from it.
Having inspected these aspects, Fiene-san said with a serious expression, "It's genuine..."
"I've never seen Mithril mined so beautifully before. Have you both had experience with mining?"
"No, this was our first time mining. But we used good tools for it."
"Even though you're beginners, you managed to mine so skillfully? What kind of tool did you use?"
Surprised to hear we were inexperienced, Fiene-san displayed interest in the tool, so I decided to take out the pickaxe and show it to her.
"This is it!"
"Just as you guessed, it's from Gafka's workshop. It's a pickaxe made by Lisa Gafka. The performance of this pickaxe is exceptional, even amateurs like us could easily mine ordinary ores."
"Did you give her the gold ingot from the other day? I thought you might auction it off."
"We have enough other gold ingots, so we didn't need to worry about the money. After discussing it with Chloe, we decided it was okay to give it to Lisa."
Mentioning Chloe's name, I looked at her, and she turned her attention toward us while still comforting Ricola.
"Considering that Jin-kun was hunting a lot of golems and he hasn't been wrong in his judgments so far, I thought if Jin-kun decided, it would probably be a good use for it. Besides, I wasn't really in dire need of money either."
"Well, even if Chloe had said no, I was planning to give it to Lisa anyway. Ever since I saw her request letter, I had decided that once I got it, I would definitely take it to her."
After concluding the discussion, we sold the materials from the monsters to the guild.
As for the ores, we had already decided how to use them through discussions with Chloe, so there was no opposition from her, and we split the rewards from selling the monster materials and left the guild.
"Now then, Chloe. You seemed fine until just now, but are you feeling nervous again?"
"W-Well, yeah, of course I'm nervous. We're going to the blacksmith's place that I didn't even listen to the princess about. Are you sure it's okay for me to go and that everything will be fine?"
"It's okay. I told Lisa that we brought it back with the team, so I won't be turned away. Besides, I'm not hanging from a pillar this time, so let's go quickly!"
At the entrance of the guild, Chloe and I exchanged these words before heading to Lisa's shop, with Chloe, who was frightened, in tow.