Seventeen: If you want something, just go take it.

Sorry it took so long. (´Д｀)

About half a year had passed since the settlement began.

"About time... getting close, huh?"

Raidock’s adventurer party, along with around ten to twenty others, had become a permanent presence now.

The flow of magic stones was going smoothly.

The Adventurer’s Guild bought them at a set price, then sold them to the production guilds at the agreed-upon rate.

From the Goldendown village’s pool fund, we used the magic stone money to cover costs, then turned them into finished goods ourselves—me and Leifan.

Right now, we’re keeping the amount of potions flowing outside the village pretty low.

Rumor has it they’re already fetching a premium.

Generally, we’re giving priority to village residents or adventurers active in the village.

Thanks to adventurers bringing back all kinds of monster materials, we’ve managed to complete the new items we’d planned.

“Leifan. Got a sec?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“You’ve been saying you wanted to go survey and mine the ore deposits, right? I think it’s about time.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Iron ore prices are going up too…”

“Most of the merchants hauling stuff into the village are just greedy bastards.”

“Can’t really blame them. There aren’t many traders who make it out to the frontier settlement.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll talk to the Commercial Guild soon enough.”

“Yeah.”

“Anyway—minerals. Not just iron and copper. If we can, I’d like to get our hands on mithril and adamantite too.”

“Who wouldn’t want that?”

“Here—this is the resource map we’re holding for the Production Guild.”

“Yeah.”

“This spot here.”

He points to a single location on the map spread across the table.

At the base of the mountains beyond the forest.

Leifan frowns at it.

"The place with the highest chance of rare metals."

"You don’t need me to explain why no one’s touched that spot, right?"

"First, you gotta get through that forest crawling with monsters. The local geology’s super hard—mining’ll take forever."

"Yeah....Ah, so that’s why we’re dealing with the Adventurer’s Guild."

"That’s right. We’ll hire them for protection. Just pull the fee from the village’s pool fund."

"Yeah. No problem!"

"And since it’s about ore, I need you there, Leifan."

"Of course... but there’s another issue... Ah, right! Hardforging Oil and Sharpness Oil!!"

"That’s it. Make all the picks out of hardforged iron. And coat them well with sharpness oil, how’s that?"

"Yeah! I think we can pull it off!"

"And that’s not all—there’s one more thing I’ve prepared."

"...Craft? No secrets, got it?"

"Yeah, I know. Just haven't tested it yet. Let me show it off on-site, test it as I go."

"Something tells me this isn't gonna end well."

"Aw, come on."

Alchemy was a real pain to make, you know.

◆

"Thanks for the call, Craft."

"Just picked the best one from the current roster."

"Pay's low, but if you're offering Healing Potions, Cure Potions, and Sharpness Oil as rewards, I'd drop anything else to take it."

"Haha. You're barely doing fixed jobs these days—just hunting monsters and selling gems, right?"

"Totally obvious."

"Of course it is."

Punch to punch, me and Raidock.

"So, who’s the one we’re guarding?"

"Me, Leifan, and Jitarou."

Don’t know why, but he was all eager to come, so I ended up bringing him along.

……Bandits?

You said it.

Eh!? Brother adventurer, that’s not possible!

Sorry, Jitarou. I thought you were doing it on purpose.

Eh?!?

You didn’t even realize?

Haha, kidding. I’ve seen you using a bow at the village training grounds before. You’ll be fine.

Don’t scare me like that. That’s my one and only trump card.

Let me introduce myself quick. I’m Raidock. I’m the party leader. Swordbearer with the mark. And that scowling lady there—

You want to die or something? Leader?

Yeah, that’s exactly how tough she is. Ranger with the mark. Solar.

Nice to meet you.

Long time no see, Solar. I’ve seen you around the village now and then.

Busy, so we never got much chance to talk. Good to see you.

You’re the one I can count on. I’m counting on you.

Yeah.

Solar, who used to be in my party.

Truth is, I had a bit of a crush on her once. But I saw she liked Raidock, so it stayed a secret.

That skinny guy over there’s a priest with the mark—Bep.

Long time no see, Craft.

Yeah, good to see you’re doing well.

A lean man in pale priestly armor bows his head.

Bep, another member from our old party.

He’s a rare one—priest with the mark—but he left home for family reasons and became an adventurer. Kind-hearted, like any proper priest.

And that dark-skinned one’s Bardack, the mage. No mark, but he’s solid. Our brains, too.

Nice to meet you.

Yeah.

This one’s new since I left the party. First time seeing him. Dark-skinned, slim, but solid muscle.

Can he even use magic without a mark?

Can’t even imagine the hell he must’ve gone through.

Still, I guess it’s easier than having a mismatched mark carved into you.

“Then there’s the big guy in back—Morda, the warrior. No mark, but his strength’s off the charts. Real tough. Quiet type, hardly talks. That’s his only flaw, I guess.”

“……”

“Uh, hey, nice to meet ya.”

He just reached out without a word. I gripped his massive hand back.

Huh. No mark means you can’t rely on fancy tricks, but he’s just brute force. Pure power fighter.

This one was new to me too.

“If you’ve got gear, don’t hesitate to say so. I can stash anything, no problem.”

"Really, you've changed, Craft."

"Yeah. Just because there's a crest carved on it doesn't mean you can relax."

"Should I get my compatibility checked next time?"

"Raidock’s perfect for it, I’d say."

"Haha. I agree. Well then, time to head out. Navigation’s—"

"I’ll handle it!"

"Leifan, you’re on. Alright! Let’s go!"

"“““Ooo!!”””"

And so we stepped into the forest.

◆

We moved through the deep, sunless woods.

Along the way, goblins, orcs, even giant spiders—every one of them was dealt with by Raidock’s party.

Flawless coordination.

"Magical stones and materials—we’ll take them as usual, right?"

"Yeah. No problem."

The monster’s spoils go to the adventurer who killed it. Take those from a low-paid adventurer, and you’ll start a war.

Still, merchants with rough edges often claim rights, so this is probably just a precaution.

You can sell the magic stones bought by the adventurer guild here. That’s enough for magic stones and materials.

“Huh. Unlimited stamina potions? That’s seriously easy.”

“Yeah. Nothing beats being able to fire skills without limit.”

“Would be even better if we could blast magic nonstop. Could cover more.”

Hearing Bardack mutter that, I pull out a small bottle.

“Then I’ll give this to Bep and Bardack.”

“What’s that?”

“Mana potion. The kind that boosts magic power.”

“What!?”

Bardack’s shock is understandable.

Mana potions are pretty expensive.

“I can’t give you a whole lot, but keep it for emergencies.”

“You sure? I mean… I’m taking this.”

“Yeah. Just earn it with your actions.”

“I promise.”

Priests and mages live by their magic. Saving some for emergencies isn’t a bad idea.

It takes a ton of magic stones to make, so we don’t produce much. That’s why it’s not on the market.

Still, the quality’s always been “legendary.” The effects? Guaranteed.

“With this, I could take down a cyclops-level monster.”

Quit setting off weird flags, will you?