21. Salt Is God and Invincible
21. Salt Is God and Invincible
The justification for washing our hands of the rock salt mine was flawless.
Normally, since the Chairwoman had personally dug the vertical shaft, reconstruction would have been fast, and we could have squeezed out extra compensation on top of damages.
"So, the mine's considerable reserves..."
"...most likely originated from the fragment of the Sacred Relic. After all, its power just created a tidal wave of salt large enough for that."
"Which means, now that the Sacred Relic's fragment has vanished into my heart..."
"There may still be salt left, but whether it still qualifies as a mine..."
The pure salt the fragment of the Sacred Relic "created" was still sitting in the tunnels. But that alone was nowhere near enough.
Why is a mine called a mine? You have to keep extracting from it year after year, decade after decade. If you just grab what's there and call it a day, it's a salt warehouse, not a mine. The salt that had surged in like a wave had been staggering in volume, but even so, they could haul all of it out in under a month.
In that sense, the remaining reserves weren't terrible.
"In the end, the reserve estimates were based on the quantity mined so far and the rock salt veins. If the fragment of the Sacred Relic had been continuously producing rock salt at the end of those veins..."
The reserve numbers had been wildly inflated.
Enough remained to function as a rock salt mine, true. But never enough to return ten times the investment and singlehandedly resurrect a dying count's house.
Was it my fault? What nonsense.
'I nearly died. They should be grateful I'm not squeezing them dry on damages.'
If I showed up with the Chairwoman at my back and made a polite "request," I could probably strip them of everything except the mine's ownership. But I didn't.
Not out of guilt for unintentionally taking the fragment. Not out of mercy. If I bled them now, they'd push reconstruction and extraction even faster to cover the losses—and that would expose the mine's disappointing reserves all the sooner.
For the sake of the perfect crime, taking nothing right now was the smarter move. Besides, I'd already walked away with an absurd windfall.
'Honestly, after all the hints I dropped, they'll send something to the academy anyway.'
I'd said we'd decline, but that didn't mean I actually intended to refuse. Any noble with half a brain would know how the game worked. I didn't know how much, but a significant quantity of salt was coming.
And if it didn't? Hey, Count—you want a taste of the Chairwoman?
In any case, I'd cut off the mine investment on ironclad grounds. Later, when the mine ran dry, they'd chalk it up to bad luck, not suspicion.
Leaving the lord's castle felt remarkably light.
Though climbing out of the mine had required help from the Chairwoman and Rus, and I'd headed straight for the castle the moment things were settled.
"F-Finance Director! Are you alright?!"
"Ah, Finance Officer Marcus. As you can see, I'm fine."
"...Finance Director."
"Chloe... student? Uh, have you been crying?"
"............"
"Student?"
When I got back to the inn, Finance Officer Marcus, who'd been sitting there consumed with worry, nearly fell over in shock, and Chloe approached without a word and silently hugged me.
I explained the situation, leaving out only the matter of the Sacred Relic, and then went upstairs to my room.
I had someone to talk to.
"Self-proclaimed Goddess. You there?"
⟨............⟩
"I called you again and again inside the mine and you never answered. But we're near Student Chloe now, so shouldn't it be fine?"
⟨...You made it back.⟩
"Obviously."
If I'd been down there alone, it would've been instant death. But the protagonist-nim-nim-nim—no, she's 7th Rank now, so should I call her protagonist-nim-nim-nim-nim?—anyway, I was with Rus. Of course I was safe.
The title "Protagonist of Dark Kingdom" carried that much reassurance. Somehow, she'd gotten hold of the Dark Sword this time too, and she'd climbed all the way to 7th Rank.
At any rate, I didn't need to agonize over whether to tell this Self-proclaimed Goddess about the Sacred Relic and the scabbard.
⟨And you're carrying a light inside your heart, too.⟩
"Knew you'd notice."
The identity of this Self-proclaimed Goddess was still a mystery—maybe a spell the Archmage had placed to monitor and protect Chloe, maybe a separate mental entity, maybe, on the slimmest of chances, an actual goddess.
At least 6th Rank, possibly 7th. I'd spent enough time beside the Chairwoman to know exactly what an 8th Rank felt like, so my estimate was fairly precise. Though as a 1st Rank peon, my guess could be wrong.
Still, I'd figured a being like that would sense that I'd absorbed the fragment. And that guess had been right on the mark.
'Better to share it than let them be the only one in the know.'
The Self-proclaimed Goddess's objective was protecting Chloe Pisti, and that wasn't bad for me either. Staying on close terms was perfectly fine.
And when someone can figure out your secret on their own, isn't it better to come clean first? If you can't hide it, share it.
"Do you know what kind of light?"
⟨...No, it can't be. This is...?⟩
"Honestly, I wouldn't believe it either. But yeah."
⟨A Sacred Relic...? Why would something like that be in this mine? I didn't know last time?⟩
Last time?
Better to pretend I didn't hear that than to poke at it. I filed it firmly in memory and kept talking.
"I don't know why, but a fragment of the Sacred Relic was underneath the rock salt mine. And I absorbed it."
⟨How?⟩
"How should I know? What does a 1st Rank understand? I'm telling you because I figured you should know."
Should I mention the Dark Sword's scabbard, too?
The fact that she didn't seem aware of it made me hesitate. The Sacred Relic alone was walking a tightrope—adding the scabbard was dangerous.
But coming clean first would also earn trust. Which was the right call...?
⟨...No. No.⟩
"Hm?"
⟨Right now, just the fact that you're unharmed is a relief. That's... enough.⟩
"............"
What was this. Why was her voice so wistful?
Was she actually a goddess who'd transmigrated me? The way she'd asked me to stay close to Chloe, the way she inexplicably seemed to know me—it all fit.
This Self-proclaimed Goddess's identity was suspicious beyond belief... beyond belief, but.
"...The Dark Sword's scabbard is inside my heart. That's why."
⟨What?⟩
"I get the sense we'll be seeing a lot of each other, so I'm telling you."
Why, though? Normally, I'd never do this. But with this Self-proclaimed Goddess, I felt like I could tell her.
A sensation like something tickling the inside of my chest. It felt like something inside me had changed—like that strange slip of the tongue I'd had before.
From the time the Chairwoman left for the Dwarf City, to me touching the scabbard, to me passing out—had something happened in between?
Rationally, it was a moronic thought. But I had a vague certainty that this being could be trusted.
'I've lost my mind.'
How would the Self-proclaimed Goddess react? Demand to know if it was true? Press me to confirm I wasn't lying?
In that case, what would be the best—
⟨More importantly.⟩
"Hm?"
⟨You remember what you told me last time, right?⟩
Last time?
Huh? What had I said?
⟨I'm fairly sure you mentioned you'd received a confession.⟩
".........Ah."
⟨Could I hear more about it? Since we'll be "seeing a lot of each other" and all.⟩
Right.
Come to think of it, what was I supposed to say to the Chairwoman...?
*
While Adam Caines sank into deep deliberation in his room, the rest of the party—Rus Spero, Chloe Pisti, and the Chairwoman—gathered around a table on the inn's first floor.
Finance Officer Marcus, showing wisdom, had long since fled, claiming business at the lord's castle.
The other investors, including Gartua Merchant Chief, had finished their collusion and already left the inn. Only the three women remained.
"...Congratulations on reaching 7th Rank."
"Thank you, Chairwoman."
"This makes you the youngest 7th Rank in history. As the head of Grandis Academy, I couldn't be happier."
The Chairwoman was the first to speak. Chloe kept glancing up at the second floor for some reason, and Rus's face remained as unreadable as ever, but the Chairwoman, as the senior figure present, naturally took the lead.
Rus Spero had reached 7th Rank. At that impossible fact, Chloe's eyes flew wide in shock.
Rus smiled faintly.
"I'm still far short of you, Chairwoman, as an 8th Rank. But with enough years of experience like yours, I'm sure I can reach beyond that someday."
"...I'm sure."
Was it just my imagination, or had the word "years" carried a particularly pointed emphasis? The Chairwoman's hand, hidden under the table, gripped a table leg and cracked it.
An exquisitely subtle touch, befitting an 8th Rank. But perhaps experience was experience—Rus wasn't taking it passively.
"Now that Student Rus has become 7th Rank, I think we need to have a serious discussion."
"Discussion...?"
"Up to 6th Rank, it's acceptable. Student Kassandra is 6th Rank, after all. But 7th Rank is unprecedented."
At the mention of Kassandra, Rus flinched for a moment.
The Chairwoman tilted her head slightly and continued.
With words that Rus absolutely could not let slide.
"I'm considering early graduation."
"...Excuse me?"
"It's only natural. At 7th Rank, you outrank many of the Martial Arts Field's professors, making academic coursework meaningless. Moreover, you've reached a level that Student Risha Claudia and Student Kaern Deste could never hope to match by graduation, so competition is meaningless as well."
"............"
"For Student Rus's future, I'll arrange early graduation as a special exception among special exceptions and submit letters of recommendation to the Royal Family and the Empire. The Empire especially has my endorsement."
"...So you can send me far away?"
"I am a member of the Kingdom myself, but the Empire is the hegemonic power. I'm only thinking of my student's future."
Rus's eyes narrowed into slits. It was only a look, but having ascended to 7th Rank, her entire presence had shifted—even the Chairwoman could not easily dismiss the chill in that gaze.
The gap of one Rank between Rus and the Chairwoman was still nearly the span between heaven and earth, but even so, a 7th Rank was a powerhouse who could not be taken lightly.
Right now, Rus was stronger than the Holy Knight Commander of the Wish Order whom the Chairwoman had crushed into a basin not long ago.
While the two of them locked eyes in a killing stare, Chloe asked in a trembling voice.
"Rus Spero, you really—"
"I've reached 7th Rank. Want me to show you my Sword Aura?"
"...No, forget it. I can already tell."
The difference between 6th and 7th Rank was simply greater freedom in wielding Sword Aura or Rigid Energy. But that alone created an enormous gap.
Chloe, still only 5th Rank, could only grind her teeth at the fact that she hadn't even reached the starting line.
Objectively, Rus was the aberration. Reaching 5th Rank at Chloe's age was already astoundingly rare. But this wasn't about continental averages.
It was like being at the top of the school-wide rankings but only average once you moved into the advanced class.
Competing against the Chairwoman, Rus Spero, and Beatrice—Chloe couldn't afford not to be impatient.
'I'm the only one falling behind.'
She was growing fast with Adult Chloe's help, but what good was that?
Even the [Jade Shackles] she'd honed so fiercely hadn't been able to save Adam. At the very least, she hadn't been able to throw herself in harm's way to save him like Rus had. The distance had been considerable; from Chloe's perspective, she'd made the best choice possible. But the result was the result.
'I need a plan.'
The future was assured. With Adult Chloe's continued help, Chloe would eventually reach the peak of 7th Rank.
But sometimes the present mattered far more than the future.
Rus had thrown her body to save Adam, had reached 7th Rank, and from the look of it, something had clearly happened between her and Adam inside that mine.
A decisive move was required.
"...I also believe early graduation is the correct course."
"You?"
"Honestly, I'm not especially close to Rus Spero, but I have no choice but to acknowledge 7th Rank. As the Chairwoman said, the Empire seems best."
"We're in agreement, then. Student Chloe."
".........Yes."
Even if it meant joining hands with an enemy she absolutely had to overcome someday.
That was how dangerous Rus Spero was right now. The fact that a strange allure still leaked through despite her return to male attire only made it more irritating.
But the Chairwoman was also an enemy who had to be excluded—she was the prime suspect for the "confession" Adam was agonizing over. They could never hold hands for long.
"............"
"............"
".................."
As the three women checked each other and clasped hands with enemies for their own purposes, a heavy, suffocating silence filled the inn's first floor.
Bang!
"Chairwoman! I heard you'd arrived and came straight away! I, Alon, brushed off Finance Officer Marcus when he tried to stop me at the door and rushed in to greet— ...?"
Behind Professor Alon, who'd thrown open the inn's door, Finance Officer Marcus, who'd been lingering anxiously outside, turned and fled at full speed once more.
Truly remarkable instincts.