Chapter 127: The Staff
A group of seven or eight rats was taken down by the children, while the ones that got away were dispatched by the Butler’s thrusting sword, Chris’s elegant strikes, and Shiva’s knife.
“Hey, Shiva? What’s that?” Dinoss asked with a teasing smile.
“It’s fine, I won’t use it for cooking,” Shiva replied with a bright smile.
Please stop looking at me like that, Dinoss. Save your judgment for when you can win against your wife.
Shiva’s main weapons are short twin swords, and the Spirit of Ice that accompanies her lends its power to her Spirit Weapon. It seems she can’t use them here because the space is cramped and the cold is too intense.
If she swung those swords, the temperature would drop, making it unbearable for anyone else. But she seems perfectly fine even in a blizzard.
“Hmm, the rats around here have a low amount of magic ore. The folks at the fortress said Amedeo’s entourage has been in and out a few times, so the upper layers might be young,” Retze said with a grim expression.
It takes a considerable amount of time for demon beasts to accumulate magic ore within their bodies. When did Retze gather this information?
“Let’s move. We’re going deeper,” Dinoss commanded.
“Okay!”
“Sure!”
The three children replied, their voices sparkling in response to Dean’s cheerful tone.
Chris was also more energetic than usual, but his usual flowery rhetoric had quieted down. It seems Dinoss is truly admired.
Retze’s demeanor remained unchanged, but he had mentioned something impressive earlier. Still, seeing Dean and Chris’s excitement made him feel a bit subdued. I can understand that.
We descended the vertical shaft of the mine, heading to an even lower level. The air grew damp, and water seeped through. To prevent collapses and falling rocks, the wooden supports for the ceiling and walls were rotting due to the humidity, and stones were crumbling.
Is this really safe?
“It looks like a piece has fallen off and shattered. I can’t guarantee it won’t collapse, but the bedrock here is hard, so I don’t think it’ll crumble all at once,” Retze explained while rummaging through his belongings, eyeing the fallen stones.
“At this layer, worms and larvae start to appear. Be careful, as the drier areas might collapse more easily than the wet ones,” Dinoss warned.
Worms and larvae create holes, allowing water to flow through.
“Let’s give it a try.”
A light flickered to life in the lantern.
“Whoa, what’s that?” Dean asked Retze.
The lantern had a conical reflector attached to its top, allowing the light to spread despite the small flame.
I was trying to move on from rapeseed oil and distilled wood vinegar to create methanol, but it failed. Methanol and ethanol are used for heating, not lighting… Well, it’s fine since I used it for the coffee siphon. I need kerosene.
“It’s definitely dimmer than a torch, but it’s easier to handle. This is great,” Retze said, swinging the lantern. Of course, it’s lighter and smaller compared to a torch.
“Oh? It’s not a candle inside, is it?” the Butler observed the lantern with interest.
“It’s beautiful!”
“Indeed,” Chris and Ash chimed in.
The children were also fascinated by something they had never seen before.
“It’s less likely to go out than a candle, so it’s good for outdoor use. But I can’t use it to burn demon beasts or intimidate them… that kind of usage is out of the question. Here, I’ll trade you for a torch,” Retze said, exchanging En’s torch for the lantern.
“Don’t drop it.”
“Okay.”
“Next, I’ll hold it!”
“No way, it’s my turn next!”
“Me next!”
The lantern is in [Storage], but it feels wrong to pull out enough for everyone here. I asked Retze earlier about other uses for the torch.
Dinoss seemed to be frowning slightly. Even though Retze hadn’t mentioned my name, he glanced at me and shook his head. Why?
The Butler was interested in cooking, Shiva in knives, and Retze in bags and tools. It was clear they had their sweet spots.
Now that the lantern had passed to the children, the staff’s role was reduced to tapping suspicious spots.
“Ah, it’s dry. There’s a hole.”
As I poked the stick into the hole, something white stuck to it when I pulled it back.
A squishy, orange-headed larva. It looked like a beetle larva, but it was about the size of a two-liter bottle. It had a single horn, and its jaws made a clicking sound sharp enough to be considered fangs.
“I see, a longer stick is more convenient,” Dinoss remarked, impressed.
“You really managed to break the skin!”
“It’s quite tough, and the insides move to absorb the shock, so it doesn’t tear easily.”
“It’s a matter of thinness and speed.”
Chris, Dean, and Ash were impressed, but it wasn’t intentional; I just happened to poke a hole where a demon beast was hiding.
The demon beasts lurking in the holes were dealt with by the thrusting sword group. However, the larger ones had big heads, making it hard to target anything but their tough skulls, giving the advantage to Dinoss and Dean with their great swords.
Since they’re demon beasts, they don’t just stay hidden; they attack. They wait for prey to approach, then pop their heads out and spit acid. So, my job was to tap around the hole from a distance with the stick to provoke them into spitting acid.
The children were throwing stones like their father taught them to provoke the beasts.
“…”
Is this how it works?
I tapped the stick, and when it poked its head out, I struck before it could spit acid.
“Impressive. It’s amazing, but it’s a hassle to dissect, so let it spit acid first. And don’t rely solely on the stick,” Retze said, impressed yet giving educational advice.
“Lord Jean’s new weapon is a stick… no, never mind.”
“A stick made from magic ore…”
The Butler and Dean’s conversation was terrible.