Is there something wrong with the Castel Silver Mine
Charlotte's heart moved slightly.
Silver mines are the Earl's money bag, and precious mithril is almost priceless.
Although the income from trade has accounted for an increasingly larger proportion in the Territory of Castel in recent years, before the mithril mines were exhausted, the bulk of the territory's income still came from silver mines, especially mithril mines.
The time when the Castel family's associated mithril vein dried up coincided with the time when the old witch sent away all the nobles around her. Charlotte felt something was wrong when she found out. Now it seems... maybe there really is something fishy going on.
With this thought, Charlotte perked up almost instantly, and asked seriously:
"What is the problem?"
"Lord Charlotte, there is a high possibility that some terrible monster is hiding under the Castel Mine!"
Luf said solemnly.
"monster?"
Charlotte was stunned.
She frowned and said:
"Speak more carefully."
Luf nodded, thinking and recalling:
"It all started when we first arrived at Castel Territory..."
"About twenty days ago, after our Blood Wolf tribe arrived in Castel Territory, we headed straight to the famous Castel Silver Mine."
"I picked a few strong tribesmen and hired them to work in the mine as hired miners. After working for about a week, I gained the trust of the noble who supervised the mine and was able to work deeper into the silver mine. My salary also increased fourfold."
"However, after going deeper into the mine, I discovered several strange phenomena."
"Strange phenomenon?"
Charlotte's curiosity was instantly piqued.
Luf nodded:
"Yes, it's a strange phenomenon."
"For example, although it is a silver mine that values efficiency the most, there are very few miners as strong as me and my people. Most of the miners... Excuse me, they look rather thin."
"That's why my people and I were quickly noticed by the mine supervisor. But this is very strange. We have already seen the main vein of the silver mine inside. Even though the associated mithril mine has dried up, the silver mine has not. I don't believe that the mine can't even recruit strong miners..."
"Not only that, after joining the ranks of miners, I noticed that the old miners looked at us strangely, so I had an idea and invited an old miner to have a few drinks in the pub and asked him my questions."
"At first, he was reluctant to tell me, but after drinking my wine several times, he couldn't help but persuade me to leave and stop working in the mine. After I asked him repeatedly, he finally told me the secret of the mine..."
“There are monsters in the Castel Silver Mine! Those strong miners will eventually be eaten by the monsters!”
A monster that eats miners
Charlotte's frown deepened.
"Did the mine have any comment on this?"
She asked.
"I asked about it indirectly, but the mine denied it and said it was just a rumor among the miners..."
"But among the miners, this is an open secret. Not only do strong miners who go deep into the mine disappear, but it is also said that some people have heard terrifying animal calls and strange noises coming from deep in the mine..."
"It is said that the beast's roar is deep and heavy, just like the legendary dragon's roar!"
"That's why there are even more shocking rumors among the miners. That is, in the deepest part of the mine, there lives a giant dragon that feeds on the ore veins and miners!"
Luf looked solemn and said something shocking.
Dragon
Charlotte was completely stunned.
She felt it was becoming more and more outrageous. She just felt that there was something wrong with the depletion of the mithril mines, but how come during her investigation she discovered a giant dragon
"You mean... the mithril mines were also eaten up by this... dragon-like monster?"
Charlotte asked.
This time, Luf shook his head:
"No, I haven't seen the mithril vein. The mithril vein has been sealed. The reason given by the mine is that the vein is exhausted and there is a risk of landslide, so it is forbidden to approach."
"However, I asked the old miners, and they told me that there must be some secrets hidden in the mithril mine. In the past, a miner sneaked in when everyone was away, hoping to get some mithril slag..."
"You know, mithril is precious, even slag is priceless, but that person escaped not long after entering, and he went crazy after escaping..."
"Afterwards... he disappeared, and the mine never mentioned the incident again. As for the miners... no one dared to approach the sealed silver vein anymore."
"However, the old miner has a guess that the monster is hiding in the mithril vein. He said that he had heard a legend in his early years. The legend said that there was a kind of dragon that liked to live in caves and feed on various precious metals..."
"He said that there's a good chance that there's a dragon like this hidden deep in Castel's mines!"
Luffy's answer surprised and confused Charlotte.
Surprisingly, she could hear rumors of dragons in her own territory.
Charlotte, who had read all kinds of fantasy novels in her previous life, was no stranger to the legendary creature called dragon. In various novels, the protagonists often had an indissoluble bond with dragons. Many Chinese novels even had dragons as companions or mounts.
After traveling through time, Charlotte had curiously searched for relevant information and learned that there were also dragons in the world of Miriah, and that they were extremely powerful. When they grew up, they had at least the strength of a blazing sun, and some old guys even dared to challenge legends.
However, dragons live in places where there are few humans. In the civilized world, there are mostly only legends about them. Occasionally, you can hear rumors of mercenaries slaying dragons, but what they kill are actually sub-dragons with a certain amount of dragon blood.
But Charlotte was also confused.
What puzzled her was that if there really was a giant dragon feeding on mithril under the Castel Mine as Luf said, then the mine would definitely not suppress the news.
On the contrary, they will publicize it and recruit mercenaries to slay the dragon to avoid causing greater damage to the mine.
But the fact is that the nobles who supervised the mine simply announced that the vein was exhausted and closed the mine.
What is even more surprising is that even the other nobles of Castel had no objection to this.
If there was, it would have been a year since Charlotte reestablished contact with the territory, and someone would have tipped off.
After all, even if she had no prestige, she was still the earl of the territory, the lord of the territory, and the nominal owner of the Castel silver mine. She was an object that could be won over and support sought.
Charlotte even asked Baron Angus, the taciturn and socially phobic knight who had traveled with her two days ago, about the mithril mines. His answer was that the mithril mines were indeed exhausted, and his son had even gone to see them in person as a member of the noble delegation.
Unless Angus was lying to her.
But she really didn't want to believe that the only loyal noble who came to pick her up and even personally escorted her to North Port was also a traitor...
Or maybe... Angus's son was lying to him
Charlotte's intuition told her that there were secrets in the Castel Silver Mine, especially in the Mithril Mine, there might be a big secret!
"What do you think?"
After thinking for a while, Charlotte looked at Sebastian and Nice.
One of them is an elf with a long life, and the other is a supernatural creature with a mysterious origin. They must know more than her and may be able to infer something from Luf's investigation.
"A dragon that feeds on minerals? I have heard of such a dragon, but I also know that a dragon that feeds on precious metals will never eat meat."
Sebastian thought for a moment and said.
Charlotte looked at Nice again.
Nice put down his greasy cat paws that were reaching for the plate, swallowed the food in his bulging cheeks with difficulty, and then muttered:
"I'm just curious about one thing. If there really is a dragon in the Castel Silver Mine, even if it's just a groundless rumor, those mercenaries in the East Yunete Black Land would flock here."
"There have always been many people who want to become famous by slaying dragons. The queue can stretch from the Crescent Kingdom to Kolia!"
Luf nodded:
"Indeed, I heard from some miners that in the past, there was indeed a period of time when a mercenary group came here on their own initiative because of the rumors, but... there was no follow-up afterwards."
"No follow-up? What does that mean?"
Charlotte asked.
Luf replied:
"There is literally no follow-up. There is no follow-up news about the dragon slayer, nor about the mercenaries involved. There are rumors that the mercenaries left after discovering that there was no dragon. Others say that... the mercenaries disappeared just like the other strong miners."
After listening to Luf's words, Charlotte fell into deep thought.
It was clear that there was a big problem beneath the Castell Silver Mine, and not just any big problem.
Any mercenary group that has the confidence to pursue the goal of slaying a dragon must be strong. It is intriguing that such a mercenary group disappeared silently without a follow-up.
"I know what happened, Lord Luf. Thank you for your hard work this time. For safety reasons, please stay away from the mining area with your tribesmen."
Charlotte said.
Lu Fu's heart moved slightly:
"Lord Charlotte, you came here in person. Do you want to investigate this matter yourself?"
Charlotte did not hide it, but nodded:
"I do think so."
Lu Fu hesitated for a moment and said sincerely:
"Lord Charlotte, although only the strong miners are missing, it is still too dangerous there..."
"Hey, Luv, don't worry. It may be dangerous for others, but for the master... Danger? There is no such thing."
Sebastian smiled confidently.
Even Nice, who was eating noisily, nodded, as if he didn't care about Charlotte's safety at all.
Looking at the indifferent expressions of the few people, Luffy really couldn't help but want to persuade them a few more times, but before he could say anything, he suddenly had an idea and looked at Sebastian's wrist.
He discovered that since some point, the ghost face curse on his wrist had shrunk to the point where it was almost invisible, as if it had been completely suppressed.
Lu Fu suddenly had some guesses in his mind.
Could it be... that Master Sebastian has recovered his strength
“Don’t look at me. It’s not that my strength has recovered, but don’t worry, there is no safety problem. Even if there is, it can only be Nice.”
As if he saw through Lufe's thoughts, Sebastian smiled.
Nice stared instantly:
"What do you mean by 'I'? Look at me! If anything really happens, I will be the first one to escape successfully because I have many ways to escape! In this respect, I am much better than a nameless loser who was chased by Chiyang all the way and finally had to rely on his master to kill him!"
Nice proudly showed off his ability to escape, and at the same time rubbed salt into Sebastian's wounds.
Sebastian: …
"Really? Would a guy who is good at running become a slave who chases carriages every day to lose weight?"
He sneered.
"you!"
The fried egg on Nice's paw suddenly lost its fragrance, and the cat's fur stood on end.
The cat and the dog soon started quarreling again.
Charlotte ignored the two guys who were arguing again, looked at the stunned Luf, and said with a smile:
"Mr. Luf, do you have any questions?"
Lu Fu was stunned for a moment and replied:
"If Master Sebastian has confidence, there should be no problem."
However, after he finished speaking, his expression became a little hesitant.
Charlotte's heart moved slightly:
"Anything else you want to say?"
Luv sighed:
"To be honest, there are some things that need to be dealt with. Actually... my tribesmen and I are not planning to leave the mine for the time being."
"You're not going to leave? Why?"
Charlotte frowned, curious.
These werewolves are all her believers. Although they themselves don't know that they are her believers and can't provide Charlotte with any divine help, Charlotte doesn't want to see a few more of her already pitifully few believers die.
Luf scratched his head embarrassedly:
"The main thing is... the income from the mine is pretty good, and we like it there. Not only that, I've also become friends with a lot of miners, and I'd feel bad for them if I left like this."
"If possible, I hope to wait until everything is settled before leaving, and I also hope that the miners can be safe."
"Don't worry, as long as you stay outside and don't go deep into the mine, it's still safe if you're careful. And... if possible, I'd like to go down with you. I'm familiar with the mine and can help lead the way."
Luv said.
Although Charlotte didn't really want the other party to take risks, looking at the werewolf's persistent expression, she could only sigh slightly and said:
"I see."
…
After talking with Luf, Charlotte decided to go to the mine to find out for herself.
Of course, she won't be alone, but will bring Sebastian and Nice with her.
Not only that, she also had to put on some disguise and couldn't just walk in openly.
After Luf finished his meal, he took his leave and agreed with Charlotte on the time and place to meet.
I'm not picky, just do it tonight, the sooner the better rather than later, and it's easier to hide when it's dark and windy.
It’s good for Charlotte too, after all, she is at her strongest at night.
After leaving Metasequoia Hotel, Sebastian saw Luffy off.
After walking side by side for a few steps, Sebastian suddenly said:
"The last words you said to your master during dinner just now... weren't actually the real reason why you insisted on staying in the mine, right?"
Lu Fu was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head in a simple manner:
"Master Sebastian, what are you talking about? I don't quite understand what you mean."
Sebastian didn't answer, but looked at him meaningfully.
Stared at by those scarlet eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts, Luf barely held on for more than ten seconds, but was ultimately defeated.
He sighed deeply and said:
"As expected, Master Sebastian, nothing can be hidden from your eyes."
"Yes, I did hide some things. There are some things... I don't want Lady Charlotte to know."
Sebastian's expression suddenly turned cold:
"Luffy, do you know what you are talking about? You are hiding something from the master?"
"Don't forget who saved your life. Eight years ago, it was me. One year ago, it was Lady Charlotte. And Lady Charlotte... is also my master!"
Luf's expression suddenly became complicated:
"Of course I know, Master Sebastian. A werewolf will never forget a favor. I will remember your kindness and Master Charlotte's kindness for the rest of my life."
"But... there are some things that we werewolves cannot go against our consciences. I will not betray you, nor will I betray Lady Charlotte, but after all, we are not the same kind of people, and many things cannot be completely discussed..."
Sebastian was confused by Luffy and was instantly bewildered:
"Wait... not the same kind of people? What did you say? You and the master?"
Luf sighed softly:
"Yes, although we arrived in Castel a month earlier than you, we still heard some rumors from Bold. Even the gods appeared at Lady Charlotte's coming-of-age ceremony. She is a descendant of the god Harald, a saint walking on earth..."
"The people of Castel are saying that she came to Castel to spread the faith of the Holy Royal Court."
"But you know, we believe in the great Blood Progenitor, and the Holy Royal Court... was once one of the driving forces behind the decline of the Blood Descendants."
"I did hide something because I met many subhumans in the mining area. Some of them were slaves, and some were hired workers. They didn't live well and even suffered discrimination from all sides."
"The power of the demihumans comes from the blood totem. After regaining the recognition of my Lord, I can feel that my strength, which had long been stagnant, is steadily improving."
"I think... they do, too."
"They were once part of us... but now, they are lost in their faith. I hope to bring them hope and faith in our Lord. I hope to contribute my own strength to our Lord who is recovering."
"You told me how to get a response from the True Ancestor, which means that you are at least not standing against my Lord, so... I will tell you all this."
"But Lady Charlotte... She is the Saint of the Holy Royal Court!"
Luf let out a long sigh with a complicated expression.
Sebastian: …
He didn't know what to say for a moment.
However, looking at the painful expression of the werewolf Luf who was struggling between faith and gratitude, he couldn't help but say:
"Is there a possibility... Master, you, and I are all from the same group?"
Luf was stunned for a moment:
"What?"