We walked along the damaged road through the massive forest and decided to detour. Froilan told me that since the villagers evacuated long ago, the road was now destroyed due to Bruno the fire Dragon's rampage. Some men decided to continue mining despite the calamity. He told me they were almost living there, which was why Froilan was set to go and check the passage in hopes of them still being alive.
Froilan told me that he personally went there and checked on them, and he was surprised to see them well.
"I noticed no sightings of the dragon for the past few days." One of Froilan's tribemates said as we continued walking.
"You're right. I could even hear the insects' noise, and some birds were actually returning to the forest," said the other.
It was because I killed it with my golems.
"Are you talking about Bruno?"
"Bruno, who?"
"The Dragon?"
"The Dragon has a name?"
"Uhh, dragon shouldn't have a name?"
"Uhm, Boss," Froilan interfered. "Dragons were considered monsters here, plus it doesn't talk. So-
"What do you mean it doesn't talk? It does talk, and his name is Bruno."
The mixed-race villagers looked at me with confusion.
"Boss, a beast with a name is possible, but can the beast talk? I don't think so."
"The Dragon has eaten humans for as long as I know and has mimicry skills. I believe Bruno the Fire Dragon mimics how humans can speak. I had confirmed it myself when we battled to death, even in his last breath before my golem beheaded him," I said, putting my index and thumb fingers under my chin. "And also he has the most exquisite meat that I have ever tasted despite the absence of salt and-
I was interrupted when I noticed they were staring at me.
"Uhh?"
Do these villagers know anything about Bruno? How come?
"Boss, did you just mention you killed the dragon and ate its meat?" Froilan asked, making sure he heard me right.
"Well, yeah?"
"Did you eat it all?"
"No."
Suddenly, I noticed some saliva leaking from their mouth.
"We heard Dragon's meat is the best."
I furrowed.
"Do you eat dragons?"
"We want to know how it tastes because it's a high-priced meat. But the meat knew how to bite asses, so no one has even dared to hunt one. It's always the other way around."
"You mean you never tasted one before?"
Everyone nodded.
"Well, I'll tell Leland to cook some remaining meat. How does it sound?"
Everyone seemed to be excited when I told them I'd let them taste, and they walked faster than before.
When we reached a clearing, we decided to take a break.
I sat on the grass at the opposite seat where Fenrir was sitting. He crossed his arms and stared at me.
"I'm not implying it's bad, but aren't you too attached to these races? I have no problem with it; you can do whatever you want, but I'm afraid it would cause you huge problems in the long run. This world has no fair battle; everyone will exploit everything to gain victory. Before you know it, they're already being used as your weakness." He turned his gaze on his side. "I just meant to say that you should be careful when showing your emotions to everyone around you. Genuine kindness is never a weapon; it's a fatal flaw."
I shrugged. "Said the person with Hel on his side and willingly helped me."
Fenrir didn't respond and just kept his silence. During our whole journey to the search for the passage, he remained silent and just watched the road, and I, on the other hand, just watched him watch the road because I was thinking about what he said.
It's not a bad warning, so I would take it. He has a point. Isn't that the reason why I left Refaela?
We finally reached our first destination; I wandered my eyes as I walked in front of a huge cave in the middle of the forest. There were a lot of tall trees around the area, and I could feel the humidity in the air due to the sun being blocked by the shade of trees.
"This is the place, Froi?"
"Yes, Boss," Froilan.
"Let's go."
They nodded.
We walked towards the huge cave. I saw several people coming out from it. They were the extra ten experienced miners sent yesterday, and some were coming out from the tents outside the cave.
The one who saw me immediately ran towards me; there were about ten of them. Some of them were pulling wheelbarrows and carrying their pickaxes. They removed their miner helmets and bowed to me. Some of them were demons and beastskins, but I noticed that there were also some humans.
Uhh, what were they doing?
They're blending in really well.
"Welcome back, Sir Froilan and Boss Troy. Thank you for saving our Leader and also defeating the Dragon."
"You saw me?"
"Yes, Boss. We were watching from afar."
I nodded at them, though I was clueless.
"Cid, would you guide us inside? Boss wants to see the condition of our mining cave."
One of the young human miners walked towards us while still bowing his head and putting his white helmet on. "I understand, Sir." He shifted his gaze on me. "Please follow me, Boss Troy."
We followed him as he walked ahead.
The cave's interior was properly lit up due to the scattered lamps. We walked down a long staircase leading us to the inner bottom of the cave system, where we encountered ten miners greeting us while hitting the cave walls.
I also saw some minecarts they were using to transport the stones through the railroad leading to the entrance.
Suppose minecarts and railroads are also a thing in this world. Does that mean trains do, too? It would be great if we had those vehicles in this town for trading purposes in the future.
As we walked, I heard some of the miners' laughter, but upon seeing us, they immediately stood up and bowed to us while still maintaining their smiles.
A bald demon immediately approached us. He's the noisiest one of the bunch laughing earlier.
"Greetings, Sir Froilan and Boss Troy."
"Oh, it seems you have finally returned after being sick, Hanjo. I was about to replace you, but you are already here, so it can't be helped," Froilan said.
But despite Froilan's words, Hanjo laughed, not a forced laugh. A genuinely delighted laugh.
Froilam proceeded to walk away, but Hanjo stopped him by standing in her way.
"Is there a problem?"
Hanjo repeatedly bowed his head before saying anything. "I just want to say my deepest gratitude for aiding my daughter, Sir Froilan. I don't know what could possibly happen to my daughter if you didn't come to help my wife yesterday."
"It's fine, Hanjo. Don't mention it," Froilan smiled.
Froilan showed me around the mine system and explained the products that were produced in these cave systems during Caelum's time. She also said that only one cave exists in Zephyrus.
To my surprise, the mine system was much larger than I expected it to be. The mining system was divided by multiple smaller mineshaft lines about three meters high and wide enough to fit at least five to ten miners inside. We could hear the loud smashing sounds inside as they extracted the mineral resources dispersed throughout the place.
According to Froilan, the cave system was the main place where they could get basic needs for building like iron, gravel, limestones, and even clay could be produced; based on what Froilan said, this place was also where the entire Zephyrud could get the supply of salt which was a necessity for cooking, and similarly, gemstones that could be traded to the other kingdoms which were more important for this town than I expected, those trades were the main sources of currently circulating before the invasion years ago.
Froilan and I started to discuss the cave and the possibility of starting to mine again. He warned me that if the cave started to operate again, someone higher up might take it away from them. I promised him protection. All they had to do was keep on mining.
"You know, it's quite unpleasant when you're just keeping your silence while looking at me like that," I said when I noticed Fenrir's stare. "Do you want to say something?"
"It's my first time seeing Summon helping others instead of destroying anything," he said, which made me roll my eyes.
"I'm a Summon, but I don't have the thirst for destruction."
"I see."
After a few minutes, we finally reached the last floor of the cave. What greeted us was a huge golden wall spreading from wall to wall as far as my eyes could see.
We saw two more miners waving their hands at us upon our arrival.
One of the miners ran towards us and bowed his head. An old man with a wolf's ears.
Now, I'm fairly certain that wolf variants of beastkin are one of the most common types; they're everywhere.
"Greetings, Sir Froilan and Boss Troy, it's my pleasure to finally meet you."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"I can't believe that I have finally met you. All these years that passed, the only thing I heard about you was your kindness and arrival from my master, but now you are finally here in the flesh."
All these years? My arrival?