Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Searching for Fire Vein Ore
"Ah! That's right! Father is always so thoughtful," Tuck exclaimed as realization dawned on him. His eyes brightened, and he chuckled, deciding to ask his question at a later time.
A few minutes later, Rhett casually said, "I'm done eating," and then began heading outside the castle.
Reilly quickly put down his fork and knife, gulped down the remaining half glass of milk, and hurriedly followed his father.
"Father, what exactly is the 'unique gift' you mentioned?" Reilly asked as they reached the knight training grounds, a vast empty space devoid of people, where Rhett finally stopped walking.
Rhett stroked his chin and slowly replied, "Well, the reason I said it's a 'unique gift' is that only you have the ability to create it. Even I wouldn't be able to do it."
Reilly's curiosity deepened, and he prepared himself to listen intently.
"As a water mage, you should have the ability to create ice..."
"Father, are you suggesting that I make a beautiful ice sculpture and give it to Kelina?" Reilly interrupted, guessing instinctively before his father could finish.
Rhett smiled and shook his head. "Creating an ice sculpture isn't creative enough. What I'm going to teach you to make is something I call 'snow cake,' or you could call it 'ice cream.'"
"Snow cake? Ice cream?" These were unfamiliar terms to Reilly. His face lit up with curiosity as he continued listening.
After a few minutes of explanation from his father, Reilly finally understood what snow cake was—a type of frozen dessert. The idea clicked, and he was excited. The combination of an ice sculpture and a dessert was indeed creative.
With his water magic abilities, Reilly could easily shape the ice into a sculpture. He believed that if he nailed the appearance and flavor, the novelty would definitely capture Kelina's attention.
Reilly mentally rehearsed the simple process, pondering for a few minutes before saying seriously, "Father, I'm ready to try this now. But first, I'll need to visit the cellar to gather some fruit preserves for practice."
"Best of luck."
After Reilly left, Rhett looked around the training grounds. He realized that he wouldn't have time for magic training today, as he had other important matters to attend to.
He recalled the diary he had read last night, which mentioned a specific location where a mineral vein was suspected to be hidden.
With that in mind, Rhett quickly left the training grounds, headed to the stables, and took Gray out for a ride, galloping south at full speed.
Before long, he was far from Deep Rock Castle, having traveled twenty kilometers. He slowed his pace, guiding his horse through a stretch of barren land dotted with sparse grass and shrubs.
"This should be the place," Rhett murmured to himself.
The previous night, after finishing the diary, he had learned that the Enger family's escapees encountered internal conflict upon reaching Falcon Town. The conflict was between the head of the Enger family at the time, Mulun, and the captain of the family's knight regiment, Parks.
The conflict arose because Parks felt that his share of the resources was unfair. As one of only two level-four knights in the group, he believed he deserved nearly half of the family's assets, rather than the meager amount allocated to him according to their old system.
Naturally, Mulun refused, offering only to double Parks' previous benefits and promising to marry his daughter to him. According to the diary, Parks pretended to accept this offer but later attempted to assassinate Mulun during the night while the others slept. Although he didn't kill Mulun, he seriously injured him.
Mulun, clearly stronger than Parks, retaliated despite the surprise attack, severely injuring Parks and forcing him to flee.
Rhett remembered that the crucial turning point occurred here. Mulun pursued Parks relentlessly and finally caught up with him in this general area. During the chase, Parks accidentally collapsed a piece of land, falling into a sealed mine, which trapped him and limited his escape options. This allowed Mulun to jump in and finish him off.
Rhett's eyes gleamed with excitement as he recalled this.
"If the diary is accurate and there's a mine beneath us, it couldn't have just disappeared over time. In fact, its reserves might have even grown richer with age!" he thought.
He recalled that after defeating Parks, Mulun spent half a day recovering in the mine, where he identified the mineral vein as Fire Vein Ore.
Mulun became so excited that he revised the Enger family's future plans. Instead of continuing their escape to the eastern coast, he decided to stay in a location that was both safe from border wars and close enough to monitor the orc invasion.
If another kingdom intervened and the orc offensive was halted, this place would serve as the foundation for the Enger family's resurgence. Thus, they left part of their assets here as a contingency plan.
"Unfortunately, the assets were never retrieved. They must have met with some misfortune," Rhett mused.
"If this place contains Fire Vein Ore, I remember that refined Fire Vein Ore has excellent fire-attribute energy conductivity and is often used to craft weapons for knights. Even without refinement, raw ore with impurities can serve as an excellent fuel. Tossing a piece into a fireplace in winter could keep it burning for three days and nights."
Rhett was determined to find the Fire Vein Ore. Securing this mineral deposit was his primary goal today. The location was only about twenty kilometers from Falcon Town, and he planned to include the Fire Vein Ore in his territory when he was promoted to Viscount, ensuring no surprises.
...
Meanwhile, northeast of Falcon Town, Kelina gazed down the gradually brightening stone road that led to the cluster of wooden buildings in the distance, her mood lifting.
"Miss, we're approaching Falcon Town," Kusen said to Kelina from the center of the group.
"I see it. Let's keep moving," Kelina replied, glancing at the road signs on the side. She recalled how Reilly had promised to give her a gift this time.
"I wonder what it will be?" Kelina smiled, her heart filling with curiosity.
At the entrance to Falcon Town, Lawrence spotted the approaching group and asked, "Are you Miss Kelina from Dam Town?"
"Yes, that's us."
"Master Reilly is waiting for you at Deep Rock Castle," Lawrence said with a smile, wondering what the relationship was between the spirited female knight before him and Reilly.
Kelina brushed her wind-blown hair aside and gazed into the distance, where Deep Rock Castle's silhouette loomed.
As she remembered Reilly's charming profile in the sunset that day, her heart fluttered, and her cheeks warmed.
After confirming her identity, Kelina and her group were allowed to pass.
Her party was composed of six first-level knights and twelve apprentice knights. They escorted Kelina through the town and finally arrived at Deep Rock Castle.
"It's been a while, Miss Kelina. You're as beautiful as ever," Reilly said with a smile, his blue hat perched on his head as he walked along the stone path of the estate toward the entrance.
Kelina beamed as she saw Reilly approaching, delighted, and opened her arms to greet him.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
iqnauza12
iqnauza12 You can read advance chapters of this novel and other novels in my patreon
patreon.com/NO_NAME1412
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone