87. Preparations for the Northern Mountain Range

「Some people impress spirits through effort alone.」

‘Ah, sure! He never misses a chance to compare me to someone else in these situations!’

「Do I look like I’m not doing my part? This guy worked so hard to keep the forge fire burning that a spirit came on its own to take residence! And he doesn’t even have a speck of spirit power, so he doesn’t even know the Salamander is there!」

Sylphid, who always turned someone else’s praiseworthy efforts into material to lament about me, didn’t miss the opportunity to lecture me this time either.

“Um, my lady? Is something wrong?”

“No, well……”

In truth, there was no need to tell Boyer, who wasn’t even a spirit mage, that a Salamander had appeared in his blacksmith shop.

“……Actually, a Salamander has appeared in your forge. A Salamander is a fire spirit that seems to like hot places. It must really appreciate your skill in melting iron. It’s settled there right now. You can’t see it with your eyes, of course.”

I told him anyway because I thought Boyer deserved to feel that satisfaction.

“A Salamander? The legendary one?”

“Yes. I know it sounds like a joke.”

“My goodness, there’s a Salamander in my forge right now? Really? Ah, so that’s why my production volume has been so high lately!”

Surprisingly, Boyer was genuinely delighted. A boyish smile spread across his face, always reddened from standing in front of the fire.

“It’s every blacksmith’s dream. To create a forge where a god resides.”

“Since a Salamander is a fire spirit, you could say a god is dwelling there.”

“What offerings should I make? Um, could you possibly convey a message to the fire god for me?”

“No, offerings aren’t necessary. The Salamander will be happy just with you continuing to work diligently.”

Boyer spoke enthusiastically. Meanwhile, the Salamander rolling around in the molten iron, being a low-level spirit, had no idea what was happening and was just making small “kyuu?” noises.

“Thank you for coming to see me. I will continue to work diligently at my job, just as I did from the beginning. Without any deception, I will handle fire and iron. So please allow me to work with mithril.”

Mithril. God’s silver that destroys evil. I had encouraged the blacksmith who had lost his purpose in life to refine mithril if he wanted revenge against demons, as it could deal critical damage to them.

“……The god will know your heart even without you saying it. And I believe that he will open a path for you as well.”

Boyer quickly wiped beneath his eyes.

“Actually, I have something to tell you about that……”

* * *

〈I’ve tried various methods to refine mithril, but they’ve all failed. To create a forge that can refine mithril, I’m still missing one ingredient. And that ingredient comes from the northern mountain range.〉

〈I heard that the Grand Duke’s household is going up the northern mountain range this time. I’m not sure if that stone can be found even at the foothills, but please, I beg you. Please find it.〉

“Darius!”

I called out desperately to Darius, who was commanding the army at the training ground.

‘Sad thoughts, sad thoughts.’

Preparing to squeeze out tiny tears like chicken droppings, I appealed to him since I needed his permission for something important.

“I want to join the army too! How can a wife stay comfortably alone in the castle while her lord leads from the front!”

‘Darius, I’m too worried to bear it. I can’t stand you being out of my sight! I need to see everything with my own eyes. So let’s go together!’

Since my unreasonable request was sure to be rejected by Darius, I planned to plead with tears. But then…

“Yes, let’s go together.”

“Of course, I understand it might be confusing for me to suddenly join, but… What? What did you just say?”

“Anette said she wanted to go, and I gave permission.”

I was preparing to shed tears.

If needed, I was even going to ask Sylphid to blow some wind to help the tears flow better.

But there was no need for any of that. Darius permitted my participation without a moment’s hesitation.

“Um, well, if I suddenly join, won’t there be inconveniences like setting up a tent for me?”

“There are such issues, but it doesn’t matter since you can share with me. We’re married anyway.”

As if he had been waiting for this…

“Ha, I’ve noticed for a while, but the couple is very intimate. A woman on the battlefield? Is deployment some kind of child’s play?”

Instead, opposition came from elsewhere. It was Count Alexei’s voice.

“So you need someone to warm your bed, is that it? Oh, Count Spinel. I wasn’t referring to you as a woman. I respect people with excellent martial skills.”

“Count Alexei.”

“My wife is a spirit mage.”

As Count Spinel and Darius stepped forward at his sneering, a fierce storm swept through the training ground.

“Urgh!”

It was the storm of Sylraphe that I had summoned.

“Although I can’t wield a sword, this level of wind seems sufficient to shut the Count’s mouth.”

When Darius introduced Count Spinel, I had a feeling.

If someone obsesses over your gender, just silence them with your skills.

Let them try to speak against my storm if they have something to say. If they can’t, their mouth is useless.

Even in Sylraphe’s raging storm, Darius’s and my legs stood firm. The same was true for Count Spinel.

Sylraphe’s wind, honoring my will, attacked only those hostile to me.

As Count Alexei staggered about, Darius naturally extended his arm to me, and I elegantly placed my arm on his.

“My wife is an outstanding spirit mage who will be a great help to us in dealing with monsters.”

Count Alexei’s clothing, torn to shreds by the wind, was in a miserable state.

“What is this all of a sudden!”

“Count, I appreciate your resources for the greater cause. But I have no need for knights who disobey the commander’s orders.”

Darius’s eyes were cold. Not just his, but the eyes of almost everyone standing in the training ground.

It was natural. Count Alexei had insulted me, the lady of the North.

“I simply cannot tolerate this. Your Highness, I’m ashamed to say that I seem to have misjudged someone. Count Alexei’s participation in this mountain range defense operation was made possible by my recommendation. When I wrote the recommendation letter, I believed Count Alexei to be an excellent knight, but now I see that I should withdraw my recommendation.”

Count Spinel also stepped forward to add his words.

“I’ll admit my mistake and withdraw my recommendation, so please don’t accept Count Alexei’s support. He’s just a man who fights with his mouth anyway.”

Grrrr.

Count Alexei’s face turned red with shame.

“……I misspoke. At this time when the entire army needs to be united for the advance, I have lowered the morale of the troops.”

Where had his earlier casualness gone? Count Alexei formally acknowledged his mistake.

Though it was said out of frustration, the statement itself was flawless.

“From now on, I will not oppose the commander’s decisions. I promise on my name.”

After briefly assessing the situation, Darius smiled arrogantly.

“Since the Count has gone so far, I will show mercy just once more.”

“……I am grateful for the Grand Duke’s generosity.”

With the troublemaker Count Alexei’s oath, my participation was finalized.

Count Alexei continued to throw tantrums afterward and then disappeared from sight. Seeing how he ignored the servant who brought him clothes without even a word of thanks, I couldn’t help but shake my head.

“By the way, ‘resources for the greater cause’? I suddenly wonder why someone like him, who doesn’t care about others even a nail’s worth, is really participating in this defense operation.”

“Have you already forgotten how Alexander described his godfather? He said he’s a person who values honor and can’t stand losing. When he contacted Count Spinel before arriving at Inkheart and said he would participate in this defense operation, he probably did have a ‘greater cause’ in mind.”

A greater cause in the sense of establishing a heroic tale about sweeping away all the demonic beasts in the northern mountain range with his martial prowess, Darius added.

“Even before his departure, Count Alexei was already spreading rumors about how many demonic beasts he would catch. How confident he was.”

“Then he won’t hold back. He’ll have to catch at least one more than you, Darius.”

But isn’t that dangerous in its own way? That type tends to bring armies to ruin by running wild trying to achieve merit.

“Besides, despite his sneering, he’s probably burning inside with worry that he won’t be able to join this demonic beast defense operation.”

“Why?”

“The ‘ma’ in ‘magical marksman’ is the ‘ma’ from magic. Though he doesn’t advertise it due to the temple’s scrutiny, I’ve heard rumors that Count Alexei is deeply versed in magic. It’s almost a publicly acknowledged rumor. Based on that premise, he might want to go to the northern mountain range to find something necessary for his magical research.”

Boyer from the blacksmith shop also asked for a special material when he heard rumors that the Grand Duke’s household was climbing the mountain.

“Are there many rare materials in the northern mountain range? For use in magic?”

“Even without specifically searching, just the parts obtained from catching monsters would have mages running with fire in their eyes.”

“Then he’s an even more foolish person. For something he absolutely needs to do, instead of making a good impression, he just keeps complaining.”

“That’s.”

Darius, who was about to add something, vaguely trailed off.

“Indeed. He’s a foolish man. Anette is right.”