“If we’re selling them as gemstones, the value changes greatly depending on the craftsman’s skill and the place of origin. If I arrange for craftsmen, profits will decrease, and considering Felmund’s bad reputation, even if we process them into gemstones, the bad reputation will limit potential buyers. In that case, it’s better to wholesale them as raw stones where profit calculations are easier.”
 
“Yes, I also think that’s the best plan if we prioritize the stability of territorial management.”… Read more

The moment she saw the closing sentence at the end, Artesia’s eyes widened greatly.
 
She immediately searched for paper and pen, copying down the published statement.
 
[Celcis] is the name of a shrub that grows only in certain areas of the northern regions where the four seasons are distinct.
 
In that region exists a legend called [Celcis Flowers].
 
A small northern country that existed in the distant, now-dead past.
 
The small country used Celcis flowers as their crest, but when a knight captain, instigated by another country and driven by personal greed, betrayed them, leading to the king’s execution and the country’s destruction, the knight captain, regretting his betrayal, hanged himself from a Celcis tree.… Read more

Chapter 4

Around the time when the imperial capital gradually begins to bustle with activity.
 
Artesia’s daily routine was to wake up a little before that time.
 
However, this wasn’t due to habit or lifestyle patterns.
 
“………………”
 
After rising from her bed, Artesia lightly checked her body’s condition.
 
There was no drowsiness, fatigue, or hunger whatsoever.
 
Most of Artesia’s physical body was halted by her unique magic.
 
While the human body deteriorates and declines as [time] passes, Artesia uses [time]-based unique magic to interfere with the part where “the body deteriorates and decays as [time] passes,” so her thinking and bodily functions aren’t restricted.… Read more

With an exasperated expression, Edel quietly tilted a drink cooled with cooling magic tools.
 
Considering that the banquet would continue for a long time, the building framework had expanded the makeshift pool for the current situation.
 
Without doing so, it would be difficult to stay long in the volcanic region, but those two, despite being half-naked, continuing to operate calmly were clearly abnormal.
 
“But using this heat in a different way wouldn’t be bad either.”
 
“Ho ho.… Read more

“Mount Fleet was a resting place and also a place for the [Dragon King] to safely raise children who would carry on the next generation. That’s why that land is a [Cradle], and your ancestors were appointed as [Guardians] to protect both the land and the children.”
 
It wasn’t as if they had never harbored any doubts about their mission.
 
Was this really a place worth protecting, even while being mocked and scorned by others?… Read more

“In imperial currency conversion, about ninety million gald. That’s this time’s reward, and if I roughly calculate future reward amounts based on the scale of the surveyed ore veins, I think it will easily exceed one billion.”
 
It was an amount beyond Falsen’s comprehension.
 
But there was something even more incomprehensible.
 
“…Why would Kurtz-dono give us such an amount?”
 
“I don’t know. From my perspective as a merchant, I’d say it’s an impossible contract, and anyone else would clearly see it as disproportionate and excessive.”… Read more

[–So you have come, visitor from beyond reason]
 

Those words were not sounds uttered from a throat.
 
They were more like thoughts transmitted through magic power, resonating directly within one’s mind.
 
“I have come in place of those who carry the blood of kings. The descendants of the guardians who lived in this land have grown weary from the effects of the eruption and are now resting in my territory.”
 
[I am aware.… Read more

---

 
“It’s a bit iffy whether you could call it an acquaintance. It’s just that when I stopped by a town to investigate Fleet Volcano, he told me about [the Dragon King’s graveyard]—that was the extent of our relationship.”
 
In terms of time, it was only a few hours of association.
 
He had happened to see him at a tavern, and by coincidence, he was a resident of Vechta Village, their investigation destination. Kurtz had simply listened to the legends he told in order to gather information.… Read more

“Even if he had abilities like prophecy or precognition, what he’d obtain through them would only be ‘information.’ To utilize or make use of that ‘information,’ you need either an appropriate position or the ability to look beyond what can be gained from the information.”
 
Even if Kurtz had somehow obtained information that [Fleet Volcano would erupt], as a child, he wouldn’t be able to utilize it. At best, he could only avoid danger in advance.… Read more

About two weeks had passed since the refugees arrived in Felmund.
 
By that time, the construction of temporary housing had been completely finished, and the dragonkin’s living foundation had been established.
 
And—
 
“—Good, it seems things are going quite well, which is excellent.”
 
Hearing the report from Falsen, Edel nodded with satisfaction.
 
“As expected of dragonkin, the progress of excavation work is much faster than what humans could accomplish. At this rate, we might be able to confirm the types and quality of minerals extracted today and even get to selecting buyers.”… Read more