Ch.43Gathering Materials (3)

Lilly’s anger finally subsided after the forge’s intense heat had completely cooled down.

I couldn’t help but wonder if that cooled heat hadn’t actually disappeared but rather been imprinted on my back in the shape of Lilly’s palm.

“Ouch… I think there might be a hand-shaped mark left on my back…”

“I thought you enjoyed pain, considering how often you willingly put yourself through trouble. Was I wrong?”

“I do it because I have to, not because I enjoy the pain.”

“Then take better care of yourself, if only for the sake of those who worry about you.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”

I gently stroked Lilly’s head, which had become completely puffy from all her worrying, trying to comfort her.

Once Lilly seemed to have calmed down somewhat, I shifted my gaze to Arges, who was drinking.

“So where’s the completed sword?”

“Right here.”

Before I could finish my question, Arges tossed me a sword that had been leaning beside him.

I watched the blade flying toward me. It looked so sharply honed that it seemed capable of cutting through rock no matter who wielded it.

I could have examined the sword after catching it, but something about it caught my eye. It felt like some kind of instinct I possessed as a swordsman.

Thunk.

The moment I grasped the sword, I could feel that this was truly a proper blade.

I imagined this must be how someone who had eaten nothing but instant food their entire life would feel upon visiting a high-class restaurant. Just holding the sword brought vitality to my tired body.

“This is an excellent sword.”

“Of course it is. Who do you think made it? By the way, it’s not free, so hurry up and get that Nectar.”

“I thought you didn’t believe me?”

I looked at Arges with a slightly surprised expression. I hadn’t expected him to react like this before seeing the actual item.

After all, Arges’s stubbornness was difficult to break, and changing his mind was even harder.

Receiving my gaze, Arges took a swig of his drink and spoke as if it were no big deal.

“Watching your crazy antics, I figured I might as well place one more bet on you.”

“Good thinking. I won’t betray that expectation.”

I would have brought it back even without his expectations, but now that I had them, fulfilling them properly would be my duty.

“I wonder what gives you the confidence to find something that hasn’t left a trace of its existence.”

“Well, there are always ways. Just make sure you’re properly prepared to create your life’s masterpiece by the time I return.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll make those preparations you mentioned, so get out of here now. If you’re late after making me prepare everything, you’ll die by my hands.”

“Understood.”

When Arges talked about being late, he wasn’t simply referring to arriving after preparations were complete.

If I had to put it into words, he was talking about a situation where I couldn’t return because I was dead. He really was a tsundere when it came to showing concern.

“I think the tsundere trait only works when it’s a pretty girl like Lilly doing it~”

I said this as I was leaving, hoping to avoid getting my head smashed with a hammer.

“What did you say?!”

Instead of Arges, it was Lilly who smashed my head.

Come to think of it, Lilly already had tsundere qualities.

Whack!

I got hit one more time.

* * *

After leaving Arges’s forge, Lilly and I moved to the underground district to buy necessary items.

We could have found these items in the surface district as well, but there were too many people there, so we came here instead.

“So where do you plan to find this Nectar? I’m worried you might suddenly claim it’s in lava and dive into a volcanic crater.”

“I won’t do that, so don’t worry. Well, that’s not entirely wrong…”

Gagap is a kingdom built on top of a volcano.

And since Gagap’s mine exists at its center, saying I’d jump into a crater wasn’t completely incorrect.

“Seriously… what did you do before coming here? Are you some kind of suicidal person?”

“No, I was just an ordinary person who couldn’t stand being taken advantage of.”

Given what I’ve done since coming here, even I have to admit my own words sound like lies. But what can I do? It’s the truth.

I put the last purchased item into my robe and headed toward the mine entrance.

As we got closer to the mine entrance, the occasional passersby disappeared completely, and only a few dwarves, presumably working inside, could be seen.

“I guess I just can’t see anything else until I properly pay back what was done to me.”

This part was slightly far from ordinary, but since most people seeking revenge have a similar mindset, I still thought it was normal.

“Let’s just try to behead the Evil God and be done with it. After that, I can do what Lilly suggested before, like becoming a farmer.”

“I’d like to send you off to farming right now if I could.”

“Cut me some slack on that~”

If I could return home instead of farming, that wouldn’t be so bad either.

I was unemployed right before coming here, so money might be tight, but I could always find a new job.

‘Though I’m not sure if I could find one after what I did before becoming unemployed.’

If all else fails, maybe I could try virtual broadcasting with Lilly.

‘I think becoming a VTuber after getting gender-swapped is the standard procedure these days…’

While thinking about this, we continued walking until we reached the mine entrance where some dwarves were looking at us with suspicious eyes.

“You look like adventurers who’ve lost their way. This is the mine entrance.”

“Ah, we’ve come to the right place. I’m planning to enter the mine. I’ve got a permit right here.”

I showed the permit I had received earlier to the dwarves who were trying to block our access.

The dwarves, who had been wearing expressions that said “as if you really have one,” looked at the permit I presented and then stared at me with disbelief.

“Do you have a death wish?”

“No, I’ve even dressed properly for this.”

I showed them the flame-resistant clothing I was wearing under my robe.

Since there were adventurers who operated in the outer lava zones even outside the mine, there was enough demand that these clothes weren’t difficult to obtain.

“You seem somewhat prepared… and you have a permit, so I can’t say anything more. Just don’t even think about heading to the deep level when you go in.”

After examining my state of preparation, the dwarf accepted my permit and cleared the way for us to enter.

Passing by the dwarves and going inside, there was no one else around, and Lilly, who finally emerged from my robe, satisfied her curiosity.

“What’s so special about the deep level that they warn about it like that?”

“First of all, the gravity is intense. The upper level is 1.5 to 2 times normal gravity, the middle level is 2 to 4 times, the lower level is 4 to 6 times, and the deep level is about 10 times normal gravity.”

We would probably have to struggle for a while to adapt to the gravity after going inside.

And gravity wasn’t the only issue.

Since the mine was built in a pre-existing massive hole, the interior was teeming with monsters that had lived there since ancient times.

“Naturally, these creatures have already adapted and evolved to the gravity, so their durability and strength are no joke.”

“Just hearing about those two factors is terrifying… do you really have to go in?”

“The Nectar is inside, so we have no choice. And the last headache is the extremely high temperature.”

There was a reason I had prepared for flame resistance. Both underground and above ground had mechanisms in place to maintain a suitable temperature, that’s all.

The minimum requirement just to move around in the upper level was level 3 flame resistance, which says it all.

“It’s not for nothing that this place is designated as a hell zone among the Apostles.”

Along with the Elven Forest where outsiders immediately become targets, and Solitude in the Demon Territory, this place was designated as a hell zone among users.

In particular, this place was rumored to offer nothing worthwhile, making it somewhere you should absolutely avoid unless your character was a dwarf.

‘Thinking about dwarf characteristics, they seem like a race born specifically to enter this place.’

High flame resistance and a small but dense body good for exerting strength—they could be described as a race born to endure the deep levels of the mine.

As I explained the information I knew to Lilly while going deeper inside, I could feel the surrounding heat rising.

Thanks to my flame resistance, I wasn’t taking damage, but the sensation of heat didn’t completely disappear.

The fortunate thing was that the temperature control attached to my robe was working, so there was no major problem at this level.

However, the robe only had temperature control; as we walked deeper along the pre-carved path, I could feel gravity pressing down on me more strongly.

“Phew… it’s getting serious now.”

1.5 times the weight I normally felt—we had just entered the beginning of the upper level.

And simultaneously…

“Kieeek–!!”

“Looks like they haven’t cleaned up yet.”

A monster that looked like a giant rat greeted me as if welcoming us.