The Archmage’s Restaurant

# 41

Chapter.11 Northern Forest and Chestnut

“Sit down!”

What kind of dog is a bear?

However, there is no beast that can reject the words of Lurin, who has begun to emit dragon fear. The bear, which was trying to struggle and growl on its own, was pressed against the pier and stood there, then sat down.

“Wake up!”

Obey the next command as well.

I left Lurin, who had started playing with the bear, and focused on the roasted chestnuts again.

As the chestnut skin ripened black, yellow and brown ripe roasted chestnuts appeared. I quickly extinguished the fireball and looked at the roasted chestnuts.

It was cooked just right.

I opened the chestnut shell wide enough to take out a roasted chestnut and brought it to my mouth. Well, the sweetness is just right, and the unique texture spreads in your mouth every time you chew.

Should I say it’s sweet with a umami flavor? Should I say that it is a taste that makes me want to keep eating it?

“iced coffee-!”

I peeled some roasted chestnuts and put them in the mouth of the dragon who was staring at me from the side.

“oh! it’s good!”

Then Rurin also lets out an exclamation.

“yes?”

If Rurin, a meat lover, is satisfied, there is no need to say anything else.

“Hi, my clothes got dirty because of that guy, but it’s okay since you bought me a lot.”

Lulin patted the bear and laid it down, then sat down next to me and started to eat the night away.

After snack time, I cleaned up the tree branches and thought about it for a while. How can this crater be restored? Should I hide it with fallen leaves?

“you!”

At that time, Lurin called out to me, looking at the dog or bear that was running wild in the center of the crater, exactly where I had made the fire.

“It’s strange here. “Something shines!”

“huh?”

“It shines?”

When I got closer, there was definitely something shining. It wasn’t gold or silver. It sparkles like a jewel. Is it a vein of ore?

There was already an iron mine on Mount Gray.

The last mining accident occurred at the Gray Mountain iron mine.

Of course, these northern forests are completely opposite to the iron mines. To be clear, the iron mine is located on the southern side facing Gray City, and the northern forest is on the opposite side. If you pass through the northern forest and go down Gray Mountain, you will leave Gray City.

So, it is not surprising that there are other mineral veins. First, I lightly dug into the shiny part. Then, a buried shining being reveals itself. Its identity was a deep red ruby.

A red gem with a round shape. In modern times, it is considered one of the two major gems along with diamonds.

Naturally, its value as a gem is very high in this world. It is one of the luxuries that nobles cannot afford.

However, because of this ruby, one thing became clear that the area below this crater could never be a gem mine.

From what vein do perfectly crafted gems come from? This cannot happen.

But the ruby in my hand was perfectly crafted. It is also a gem that has undergone considerable craftsmanship.

So it is far from a mineral vein.

So why are gems buried in places like this?

How did someone spill a jewel and end up buried for so many years? Or someone’s treasure trove?

The word treasure stimulates my curiosity. Lurin is also a dragon who is obsessed with treasure. Her eyes lit up when she saw the sparkling ruby in my hand.

“That’s pretty!”

“yes? The workmanship is unusual. No matter how you look at it, it’s the work of a dwarven craftsman.”

“Jarimongttang’s? “Why is something like that buried in the ground?”

“I know.”

I looked again at the crater Lurin had made with fresh eyes. I started digging a little more into the center of the area I had just dug. Then something caught on my fingertips.

They keep coming out the way they sell. It feels like half dirt and half gem?

Moreover, the thing hanging on my fingertips was a diamond.

Diamond.

i.e. diamonds.

It’s not just a diamond either. It was a diamond ring. Transparent diamonds emit an enchanting shine. A fascinating light that seems to absorb the viewer.

The dragon, who was obsessed with rubies, secretly held a diamond ring in his hand.

It seemed like there was something secret in this northern forest.

You can tell just by looking at the control of access. If so, it must be a secret related to an ancestor of the Gray family.

However, if the treasure was simply hidden, the question remains as to why it was not passed on to future generations. Moreover, if treasure is hidden, it is not usually excavated from the dirt like this, but buried in a treasure chest or at least a coffin.

It is a rare sight to see something just buried in the dirt. It also becomes very difficult to find.

That made me very curious. Secrets must be solved.

I have magic for that.

I got out of the hollow crater and retreated to the back. Then Lurin, who had chased away the bear, moves after me.

“you?”

“Would you like to stay still? “There’s something I’d like to check.”

“Is that so? i get it!”

Rurin squats in the back, rests her chin on both hands, and looks at me. She basically doesn’t question anything I do. Just look at it. Then, when you ask for help, they complain and say it’s a hassle.

But in the end, this dragon is the one who follows my words. Moreover, the grumbling has decreased a bit recently.

Anyway, I left Lurin behind and started using Mana. The magic to be used is called Earthquake Blaine, which corresponds to class 9.

As I chanted the incantation, the earth began to shake.

Coooooo!

Kwazijijik!

A powerful magic earthquake occurred centered around the crater created by Lurin. The land around the crater splits in all directions, making a loud sound.

The inside of the crater splits in half and a cross-section of the stratum is revealed underneath.

When an earthquake of 8 or higher on the Richter scale occurs, the land mass is split and strata are exposed. Earthquake Blaine can be used to detect earthquakes greater than 7 on the Richter scale at the desired range and intensity. It’s not a 9th class magic for nothing. Moreover, there is no damage at all except to the targeted area.

Even now, the land has split in front of my eyes, but only to the extent I wanted. The rest of the area was calm, as if nothing had happened.

“Why are you suddenly splitting the ground?”

Basically, I don’t send questions, but when curiosity arises, questions naturally come first. That’s Lulin. Lurin, who was staring at me, tilted her head and grabbed my arm.

“It’s nothing special, but I thought there was some secret under this land, so I looked into it.”

“secret?”

“huh.”

I went down to the cracked ground.

The depth between cracked ground is at an appropriate level. Since it is an earthquake created by magic, there are bound to be differences from cracks created by a real earthquake.

In other words, there was a floor.

When I landed on the floor using Lurin’s mana and raised it, I found that the rubies, diamonds, and gold and silver nuggets I had discovered earlier were buried throughout the stratum. The amount was significant. It’s like a situation where countless treasures are buried like fossils in the ground.

Lulin also let out an exclamation as he looked at the treasure layer. But what I’m curious about is why the treasure was buried in this stratum.

This is clearly a phenomenon caused by some other force. It was never a naturally occurring situation. If so, causality clearly applies. In other words, there must have been a reason why the treasure was buried here.

“you! “I knew what this was!”

At that time, Lurin approached, pointing further down than the stratum where the treasure was buried. There was a bone where she pointed. Because the ground was split, part of the bone was exposed and trembled.

“Do you know what it is? What?”

“This is the dragon’s grave!”

“Dragon’s Tomb?”

“Yes. It is certain that people of this race lived in Great City. It seems like he’s been dead for quite a while. and… .”

Lurin quietly stared at the bone. Then, mana began to erupt. Due to the dragon’s magic, a round bead buried around the bone pops out and floats in front of Lurin.

It looked like a pearl, but of course it was not a pearl. A bead shining red. The red was not ruby red or shiny. It shines like a modern neon sign.

“The Dragon’s Grave refers to a series of actions in which a dragon without an heir returns to the ground with its rare at the end of its life. The path I tried to take after my mother died. So I know it well! “Because without you, I was alone.”

“okay?”

Come to think of it, Gray City and its surroundings were not the territory of other dragons. It was an empty area.

Just as humans also have territories, ordinary dragons declare the area where their rares are located as their territory.

However, there were no dragons whose territory was Gray City and the surrounding areas. Therefore, the Black Dragon elder also said that once the rare was created, he would declare this Gray City and its vicinity to the dragon world as Lurin’s territory.

There used to be an owner, but it was empty.

Well, looking at the bones, they are quite rotten, but their size is no joke. There is no doubt that it is a large creature the size of a dragon.

What Lurin said is probably correct. So, of course, what is buried on top of the bones is the dragon’s treasure buried along with the rare?

“Then what are those red beads?”

“This is… . “I don’t like it.”

“What don’t you like?”

“This is a condensed mass of dragon mana.”

“Dragon’s mana?”

“Yes, I heard it from my mom. Our lifespan is usually between 3,000 and 4,000 years. 4,000 years is an incredibly long life. However, I heard that from time to time, ancient dragons that live longer than 5,000 years rarely appear. “This is a condensed mass of the dragon’s mana that flows out after the dragon that lived for 5,000 years dies naturally!”

A lump of mana from a dragon that lived 5,000 years?

Is it like a relic from the body of a monk?

Of course, the concept seems completely different from the original, but if it is an ancient dragon that has lived for 5,000 years, I don’t think it will be strange no matter what happens.

“He said it was probably Ancient Mabel. Because my mom also had an ancient dragon bead that she got by chance. But he died because of it. bad guys! “They are bad guys.”

“So, this is something that even dragons covet?”

“right. “This amplifies mana.”

There were a total of five mana beads in Lurin’s hand. There are five beads that people covet just by having one.

“You know, this is something that only works on dragons. Because other beings can’t handle the orb’s mana anyway. But you are okay! So, take it all for yourself.”

Rurin came up to me, opened my palm, and placed all five red beads on it.

“I heard you’re going through such a secret struggle just to get this one thing?”

“So I don’t like that. Because it is the bead that killed my mother and left me alone! But it doesn’t matter what you write. When you become stronger, I am happy too. “Because you said you would protect me for the rest of my life!”