Leaving the mansion, I was glad to find Lord Reign didn’t impede my movements. Part of the reason I had acted so bold was to put him off balance. He didn’t know what I knew, so now he was being cautious. Actually, if he knew the truth about what I knew, it’d be troublesome, because I really didn’t know anything. As I said, politics was confusing.
I preferred the dungeon, where I could trust in myself and my girls. I long since accepted that perhaps I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie. If not for the danger of the dungeon, then definitely for the rewards. Wait, wouldn’t that mean I was exactly the type this dungeon was best at defeating? Let’s not think about it too much.
“Master was so cool!” Shao said happily, grabbing my arm.
“Mm… Master is always cool.” Lydia grabbed the other.
Somehow, Lydia was starting to become a big sister to Shao. I had thought Shao would act antagonistically to the rest of the girls, but it turned out I was worrying over nothing. Once they had accepted her as a slave by my side, she slipped into the role without question. I wish I could be as easy as the rest of them. When I got one of the girls, Terra, aside and asked her about Shao…
“If she becomes a problem, Master will handle her.”
I was given that answer. It made me want to cry just a little bit. Sometimes I wondered if the girl’s faith in me was perhaps just a bit too much? Well, as long as Shao was happy, we wouldn’t have to face any more demon lord shenanigans. Doesn’t that mean I’m responsible for always making her happy? Agh, whatever, thinking about this was headache-inducing as well.
Rather, I decided to think about Widow’s Dungeon instead. As we left the town, it was about a two-hour walk to the dungeon. Two-thirds of the way there, we came into a small village, centered around a giant cave. That must be the mine.
“Is the mine part of the temptation?” I suddenly found myself asking.
“I would think so because Orichalcum doesn’t otherwise exist.” The voice didn’t come from any of my girls, but a small girl sitting on a barrel on the side of the road.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
She was small, with freckles, and fiery red hair that that spiraled out of her head in a haphazard way. She was young, likely only thirteen, with a thin, dirty pair of overalls. It didn’t appear like she had a bra or a shirt under it, making it appear somewhat erotic. If she had more of a chest, it’d definitely be criminal! She was chewing on a piece of straw, and when we glanced at her, she gave a toothy smile.
Surprisingly, she was very cute and gave a mischievous appearance to herself.
“Ah? Orichalcum is fake? Isn’t this an orichalcum mine?” I asked.
She gave a shrug. “Orichalcum doesn’t exist in nature. Neither do Orichalcum mines. They’re actually created… by dungeons!”
My eyes widened. “Seriously.”
She nodded. “Mmm… the cave links to the main dungeon. The orichalcum was created by the dungeon to lure people to their doom. That’s why orichalcum is so rare.”
In other words, orichalcum is a treasure drop that a dungeon can possibly make. This one made a vein of it.
“Then… wouldn’t destroying the dungeon cause the orichalcum mine to dry up?” I asked.
“Well, as is, the metal is kept in an area too difficult to reach for most miners.” The girl shrugged. “Naturally, the dungeon doesn’t want to part with the mana without inflicting a proper cost. That’s the nature of curses, right? The quickest way to harvest is to kill the dungeon. Then, all the orichalcum it has produced can be harvested without the fear of monsters or miasma.”
“So… it’s like that…” I pondered while the girl grinned. “Ah… thank you, that was useful, little girl.”
“Little!”, She gave a devilish look. “Useful info costs a gold coin!”
“Here!”
Without hesitating, I flicked one in the air. She caught it, and when she saw the genuine gold, her eyes widened in surprise. She took a bite of it, then nodded to herself.
“You’re not bad, mister.” She said, giving me another grin. “I’ll tell you what. If your tackling the dungeon, come spend your nights at the inn in town. It’s half the price of the one in the city, and the alcohol is good!”
“Ah… thanks?”
I didn’t expect a thirteen-year-old girl to comment on the alcohol, but I already felt like something was off about this girl. She stood up off of her barrel and grabbed a nearby hammer. It was as tall as she was and looked twice as heavy, but she hefted it over her shoulder with ease. As she walked away, I realized that she was also completely barefoot.
“Is that girl… a miner?” I asked.
“So… Master is interested in minors after all…” Lydia spoke sadly.
When I glanced back, the girls were all giving me strange looks. I meant was she one of the diggers! What? I don’t like loli girls, okay? I’d prefer my women of the appropriate age! I explained it to the girls, but I wasn’t sure they were convinced.