Chapter 209 - Thermal Insulation Stone Mining
Chapter 209 – Thermal Insulation Stone Mining
Gran Maria carries me as we go to the hot spring.
She carried me a number of times already….
The altitude of the sun castle is really high.
I think it is about 2000 meters.
Isn’t this similar to skydiving?
…….hnn?
Ah, how about I ask her to let me go and enjoy the sky….wait.
Safety first.
That right.
I’ll explain to her the details later.
We safely arrived at the hot spring area.
Three ghost knights greeted me.
You don’t need to get on your knees, you can greet me while standing.
First of all, I explained to them about the sun castle.
When I explained to them what happened and informed them that it is now under my control, I was surprised with what happened next.
The three of them perform a victory dance.
That, did you practice it?
Their rhythm is good.
Were they influenced by the matches during the last martial arts tournament?
I see.
I know how you feel.
However, is it really necessary to dance around me?
And you usually use swords, why do you have spears?
Don’t tell me this is some sort of ritual and I’m going to be the sacrifice?
Let’s just don’t mind them.
They’ve become somewhat noisy so I told them that we’re here to mine some thermal insulation stones.
I thought that there would be no problem but the ghost knights were upset to the point that even I can clearly notice it.
What’s wrong?
I and Gran Maria head to the site where we can mine thermal insulation stone by being led by the first ghost knight.
I have been to that place a number of times.
Even though we have a guide, we don’t really need him since we know where it is.
And the ghost knight seems to have been lost twice already.
It looks like it has no sense of direction.
It is really suitable for area defense.
By the way, he’s currently using the shield I gave him.
It is quite durable and is easy to use.
Because of that, the other two are jealous. I’ll make the two of them too once I had some free time.
Are they alright with the same gimmick?
After all, a different one might be good.
Even though we are chatting along the way, we are not letting our guard down.
It is common for monsters and demon beasts to appear in this place.
Well, ever since the ghost knights stayed in the hot spring area, it is hard to encounter one anymore….
In short, we safely arrived at the mining site.
……
I said mining site but thermal insulation stones are exposed in the open so we can just peel them from the ground.
This place is warm even though it is winter.
Though not as great as the sun castle, you’ll forget that it’s winter if you’re here.
In the mining site, there are parents and children of a certain species of monster.
Big lion?
When they stand on their four legs…..the height is about 3 meters.
They are about the size of the kuros when they bulk up during combat.
This parent must be a father since it has a mane.
Then it means that the one without mane is the mother.
There are three little lionets behind the mother.
Some might mistook the mother lion as the father because it’s so big. By the way, the lionets are big too.
However, you can conclude that they are only lionets with the length of their hind and fore legs.
Were they just born recently?
They are vigilant of me and Gran Maria but it is strange that they are not hostile.
A ghost knight approaches the lion and it seems like it manages to calm it down.
And so, the ghost knights stand between us and the lions.
Don’t worry, I do not object on taking them as pets.
I really don’t mind.
I think they will be useful in guarding the hot spring area.
In addition, I found the lionets to be so cute so it would be great if I can mofumofu….
Ah, no, it’s embarrassing if you face me like you’re prepared to die like that….
I only want to pat….
Oohh
You’re okay with it?
Do you want to try petting them too Gran Maria?
……
Gran Maria played with the two remaining lionets.
It’s not like I’m jealous or anything.
「These lions, do you know what they are called?」
「My apologies, I don’t. But….aren’t they normal big lions?」
「Looks like it. Maa, I want to know….Let’s ask Loo and Frau about them. If they are monsters, won’t Ria and Ya be familiar with them?」
The lion family’s food seems to be the things the ghost knights defeated.
It’s so unpleasant to see a mountain of corpses of monsters and demon beasts.
Can these lions even eat them all?
Or is it because they are fed like that that they became so big…..probably not.
Well, they look healthy so I guess there’s no problem.
However, won’t you obstruct mining if you stay here?
Father lion and mother lion are big.
Can they move to the hot spring area?
But I feel like I’m driving them out.
I think it will be easier for them to obtain food if they are in the hot spring area.
I’ll move you to the hot spring area.
My apologies for the inconvenience.
When the three lionets rode the father lion, I thought that he would run but large bat wings suddenly grew on its back.
Eh?
I was astonished as I watch their family fly towards the hot spring area.
….
Yup, they are not normal lions.
After calming my heart, I checked the mining site as originally planned.
The thermal insulation stone deposit should be around here……
I really don’t know where.
However, I think that the exposed one should weight around 1 ton.
It is more than enough to what the sun castle hopes to obtain.
I should mine them now.
And I did it using the usual method.
I dig a lot using the AFT while the others will remove the unnecessary parts.
The usual method is really effective.
Now, the problem is transporting them to the sun castle.
It is a castle in the sky and not a moving airship.
Remembering Gou’s story, the owner sold the fuels because of financial difficulties.
There is no choice but to have someone who can fly to carry these manually.
If Rasuti is here, she can carry them all in a dash.
Both Hakuren and Rasuti has been useful in various ways ever since the sun castle appeared.
Let cook the food they want this time.
Now, let’s do this quickly.
I already called for help to get off the sun castle but this time, I asked Rasuti to go here and bring some people who can help with mining.
「By the way, Gran Maria, when you come here…..how did you get assigned?」
「Of course, by draw lots. It is all thanks to one’s own luck.」
Is that so?
I am indebted to Gran Maria.
Next time, I’ll cook the food you want….I’ll make dessert too.
Wait for it.
I mine while Gran Maria guards me.
I worked hard until Rasuti brought some people to mine.
Seeing the thermal insulation stone we brought, Bell comments.
「If this castle was built with that amount…we could have conquered the world.」
Bell’s tension sure is high.
Is it similar to the sense of satisfaction you have when you fuel up with a full tank?
No, it still needs to be refined.
They were carried to a designated area and Gou will be the one responsible for refining them.
Once the fuel is enough, Gou can take his human form like Bell.
I’m looking forward to it.
As for other things, it seems like Kuzuden’s help is needed.
Bell.
Can you stop thinking about armaments?
It is dangerous.
If you have spare time, why don’t you help with farming?
Don’t you want the field to be transferred outside the castle?
It is not good to smash the field before the new field is ready.