How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 266: ?????’ ????????? (3)

Chapter 266: ?????’ ????????? (3)

The mercenaries discovered a mine hidden deep in the mountains by chance.

One of the mercenaries who was exploring the area and making a map accidentally stumbled near a cave, revealing a hidden entrance.

The mercenaries, curious about the rather large space underground near the cave, went down with only a torch.

As a result, they confirmed that there was a vein of something, and the mercenaries did not try any harder and came up. There were surprisingly many monsters in such underground mines.

“It would be really good if it were silver or gold.”

“Please keep your dignity.”

Suetlg looked around for no reason. Johan’s boyish excitement felt quite embarrassing.

Everyone in the fiefdom, including the subordinates, thought of Johan as a dignified knight. It was rare even among knights to be able to capture and shake a person’s heart with just a glance.

However, when he thought about Johan’s age, he thought it was no wonder he would show that reaction. Compared to other feudal lords, Johan was young enough to say that he was young.

“I used to dream of finding a hidden mine in my fiefdom and making a fortune. I would gather workers and. . .”

“Save that joke for when other nobles are around. They’ll love it.”

Suetlg was sure that if he told that joke, the other nobles would laugh so hard they’d fall over.

“More than that, if it’s a mine, it will be a big job. We’ll need to call the dwarves, won’t we?”

“Yes, we will.”

These were not the dwarves who lived in the southern mountains, but the dwarven tribes who were nobles of the Empire and settled in the central or northern parts of the Empire.

Like the dwarves of the southern mountains, these dwarves were also closed and isolated, but they were more active than them. At least they could visit the fiefdom and introduce themselves and make a proposal.

They were among the best mining engineer experts in the Empire. It was essential to have their help to develop a mine properly.

“They’ll be tough to deal with.”

“I’ve dealt with a lot of dwarves.”

“That’s true. But the dwarven nobles I’m talking about are a little different.”

“How are they different?”

“You know the dwarves in the southern mountains. Combine their stubbornness with the arrogance of nobles and then add the greed of the wealthy.”

“. . . . . .”

Suetlg’s words made Johan pause. Suetlg’s words sounded rather exaggerated.

“Even so, they wouldn’t be able to make excessive demands, right?”

Johan was not a commoner or a lower noble, but a feudal lord with hundreds of soldiers behind him.

No one could openly rob in front of such a lord.

“Of course they can’t make excessive demands openly. But those dwarves have worked for so long that they are notorious among feudal lords. They are naturally used to such things.”

They are as tough as possible within the scope of the contract with the feudal lord. It was only natural that the feudal lords would be disgusted by such people who had developed this for generations.

However, even with that in mind, the dwarves’ skills were certain.

“The war hasn’t ended long ago, and a rebellion has even broken out. They won’t avoid coming because of that, will they?”

“Ah. Don’t worry about that. They’ll come running as soon as they receive a letter.”

Suetlg strongly guaranteed it. And his words were true. As soon as the letter was sent, the dwarves volunteered to go to the mine themselves to explore it and give an estimate.

??????

Rimpangel clan’s Schweibeck was an old dwarf who was respected even within the clan.

He had opened fourteen new mines in areas that had already been explored, and he had breathed new life into eight mines where the veins had dried up. This was an achievement that would make all dwarves tuck their beards in.

Helping Schweibeck was his nephew, Holgretz.

“I heard that the count is so brave.”

“Yes, I heard that too.”

Schweibeck said, stroking his beard. Even so, his eyes were sharply scanning the surroundings.

Although there would be no crazy b*stard who would dare to attack a well-armed dwarven procession, it is natural for people to become more cautious as they get older.

“Won’t it be difficult to work with him?”

“Heh heh. You’re still young. In fact, such a person is easy to deal with.”

Schweibeck burst into laughter.

Schweibeck had faced many lords while developing mines in various fiefdoms.

Although they were all nobles, their personalities were all different. There were bold ones, timid ones, brave ones, cowardly ones, and greedy ones. . .

He had even faced a brave knight who could easily defeat a dozen dwarves with a single sword, but it wasn’t too difficult.

“Most nobles don’t know how the mine works. They don’t even care to try. The only part they pay attention to is the amount of ore that comes out. If you just worry about that, you can prevent most complaints. And knights are not good at numbers and letters.”

Sometimes there were feudal lords who were well-educated. These were the ones who were difficult to deal with.

Those who could read the books and see how much the dwarves spent and how much they took.

If these people care about their face, it’s still good, but if they don’t care about their face, it’s going to be a dirty pain for the dwarves. They’ll be poking around and tripping them up one by one.

“That’s true!”

“Yes. A young and brave knight may seem frightening at first, but in the end, wisdom always overcomes courage.”

The young dwarf nodded with admiration at his uncle’s words. He also wanted to become such a fine dwarf by following his uncle’s seniority.

“It’s the centaurs!”

“Why are the centaurs here???”

“Calm down. Didn’t the count say he had the centaurs under his control?”

The dwarves who were startled and scared came to their senses at Schweibeck’s shout.

The centaurs of the east were still a source of fear, even after a long time. It was even more so for the dwarves who did not like mounts.

“You are from the north, are you not?”

“Yes.”

“We will guide you. Please follow us.”

The centaurs were polite, with no hint of savagery. Instead of the Empire dialect mixed with Eastern languages, they spoke with a clean accent that could be mistaken for that of nobles.

’???? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ? ???? ?????’

Schweibeck thought so as he stretched his legs. His body was heavy after sitting in the carriage for a long time.

’? ?????? ???? ? ???? ?? ??? ???????.’

Schweibeck took out a small piece of jewelry from his pocket and put on his glasses. The thick glass hanging in the rough wooden frame sparkled.

“?”

Schweibeck felt a gaze and raised his head. A centaur was looking at him curiously. Schweibeck smiled bitterly.

“Don’t be surprised. It’s not a strange thing.”

It was important to be careful when showing new cultures to barbarians like centaurs. Some people had died after being misunderstood as having been possessed by demons when they were shown a watch.

It was only natural to misunderstand glasses.

“I know. Isn’t it glasses?”

“. . . . . .”

Schweibeck was momentarily taken aback.

“Isn’t it? It looks like glasses.”

“. . .Yes, it is. How did you know?”

“How did I know? . . .I saw it, didn’t I? They use them a lot in the cities in the south.”

“Aha.”

Schweibeck finally realized what was going on. It was clear that the centaur was quite knowledgeable, having seen a lot of things while following the count.

“I’ve seen Your Excellency Count make it with the wizard.”

“. . .What did you say?!”

Schweibeck almost dropped his glasses at the centaur’s words.

The count made one?

It was less difficult than glassmaking, which only the most skilled artisans know the secrets of, but it was still hard to believe.

‘?? ?? ??????? ???’

He looked at the centaur’s side face, but the centaur seemed to have lost interest and was looking straight ahead.

“Hey. When are you going to finish reading the book Your Excellency Count gave you last time? I want to read it too.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been putting it off because I’ve been on guard duty. I’ll read it aloud if you want to listen.”

“Would you?”

“. . .????”

Schweibeck became more and more confused at the sound coming from outside the carriage.

Was it the count’s strategy?

The pride and vanity of nobles were so enormous that commoners could hardly imagine it. Once they set their minds to something, they would never easily back down.

It was not easy to afford such extravagance as burning down a forest to kill hundreds of deer to entertain a visiting guest, then serving only the most delicious-looking one.

Only the great lords among the feudal lords could do such things, and that in itself was a reputation that adorned the lord.

If the count had only selected the smartest centaurs to come to meet him. . .

’????’? ? ?????? ?????? ????????. ? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????.’

Schweibeck regained his composure. He seemed to be a fairly experienced count for a young man. After all, that’s how he could have won the fight against that emperor.

But Schweibeck was not worried. No matter how great a knight was, Schweibeck had persuaded him several times before.

??????

“It is an honour to meet you, Your Excellency the Count!”

The dwarves rose after the prescribed ritual. After Schweibeck had paid tribute to Johan’s deeds (minus the exaggerations that might have seemed a tad too far-fetched), he spoke up.

“We dwarves don’t waste time on trivialities. We’d be happy to head to the mines straight away, if you’ll allow it.”

The dwarves’ cheerful demeanour had the servants of the court looking at them quite favourably. Their honest and sturdy appearance was trustworthy.

Caenerna and Suetlg, however, exchanged glances and shook their heads disapprovingly.

To the wizards, who had seen and heard a lot, the dwarves from the north were loathsome.

“Be careful. They’re doing that to gain your trust.”

“Don’t be fooled by their honest act.”

Schweibeck ignored the two wizards whispering behind him and stood there calmly and humbly.

The wizards seemed to be giving advice, but speaking up now would be counter-productive. It was better to stay quiet.

Wizards had always been distrusted. Given the suspicious nature of the nobles, it wouldn’t take much for that distrust to shift direction.

“Alright, everyone. That’s enough worrying.”

Johan had the wizards sit down beside him and then asked the dwarf.

“So, I have a question for you.”?

“Yes, ask anything you like, Your Excellency. But allow me to see the mine firsthand, only then am I able to answer how much can be extracted and how much that would be in our favor.”

“No, that’s not what I asked.”

“. . .?”

Schweibeck was puzzled. What else could he ask?

????!

Johan pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it. It was a blueprint of some kind of contraption that looked like it was drawn by hand. Schweibeck was experienced enough to recognize it instantly.

‘?? ???? ? ??????????. . . ??? ???? ?? ??? ???????? ??????’

It was a drawing of a device that used the power of a waterwheel to drain water out of a mine shaft.

It was surprisingly plausible.

If it hadn’t been proposed by the count in front of him, he would have guessed that it was designed by a dwarf from another family.

“Who. . . drew this?”

“I did. I would like to have this built and used this time, is that possible?”

“Y-Your Excellency.”

Schweibeck tried to offer the best answers he could in the midst of his confusion.

“We can only do our work properly if we use the equipment and devices we use. . .”

“Then I’ll have them exclusively made for the workers I employ. Can you do that?”

“Well. . . I think it might be quite a complicated and difficult structure. . .”

“Oh dear. So you can’t do it.”

“No, it’s not that I can’t do it, but. . . this is. . .”

“Really? That’s good. As expected of dwarves. You will make them for me.”

“. . . . . .”

Schweibeck walked out of the room with a look of possession on his face. Holgretz, who had been waiting outside, curiously asked.

“What happened, Uncle? Did His Excellency the Count definitely fall for it?”

“. . .I think we’ll need a bit more time.”