“B-bribing?”
Grandfather stammered, which was unlike him, but I put a lie into words in a calm tone.
“Today. I heard a spirit's voice. It told me to come to a place with lots of salt.”
“…I see. Well. Let us set that aside for now. But what is this about bribing?”
“When you think of places with lots of salt, it's the salt mine or the salt warehouse. But I can't go to either of them with my status.”
The room was steeped in silence.
Both Grandfather and Father wore deeply thoughtful expressions.
The first to break the silence was Father.
He blinked and asked Grandfather a question.
“Father. Do spirits usually live in places with lots of salt?”
“…I do not know either. Spirit summoners are beings even more mysterious than mages. That is why so little is known about them.”
“Hmm….”
Father bobbed his head, and Grandfather looked at me with calm eyes.
I didn't avoid that gaze.
[Command A]
[Archery A]
[Strength B]
Grandfather's talents surfaced.
Truly, he struck me as a talent capable of leading an entire house.
If Repaire hadn't been wiped out, he would have become an excellent head of the house.
“Lark.”
Grandfather began in a composed tone.
“If what you say is certain, there is no need to bother with a bribe. A spirit summoner emerging from the territory is a great blessing. Surely the lord would be pleased as well.”
Of course, that was true.
I knew that too.
Even so, the reason I wanted to offer a bribe so I could secretly leave the manor and come back was….
“Lark. You are not certain right now either. Whether you can truly contract with a spirit or not.”
Grandfather was right.
I wasn't certain right now.
Even if I went to places like the salt mine or the salt warehouse, there might not be a spirit there.
Given the situation, I couldn't go around loudly boasting that I could contract with a spirit.
What if I got the lord's approval and left the manor, and then, far from merely failing to make a contract, I couldn't even find a spirit?
That would be an outright insult.
In medieval times like these, if a serf pulled something like that, he'd have nothing to say even if his head rolled.
“You're right, Grandfather. I might have heard things that weren't there. That's why I want to use a bribe and go quietly.”
When I readily admitted it, Grandfather's expression turned resolute.
“Lark. You are badly mistaken about something right now. What is in your head right now is a far more dangerous idea.”
Taking a bribe to sneak a serf out of the manor.
That was an act one had to stake one's neck on.
Possibly an even more dangerous move than openly raising the possibility of a spirit contract.
It made perfect sense for Grandfather to shake his head.
But.
The premise was wrong.
“What we'd ask for with the bribe isn't to sneak me out of the manor.”
“Then what is it?”
“A ‘lie’ that the place is swarming with rats.”
Father still tilted his head, but a strange light glinted in Grandfather's eyes.
Good.
I'll press him while there's an opening.
“There are only two things we'll ask the manager for.”
“Speak.”
“First, to lie that rats are swarming in his jurisdiction.”
This was a request that carried no risk.
In this era, rats were everywhere, but they were always hidden.
So unless you frequented a place, you wouldn't know how many rats lived there.
If a manager lied that the rats had increased, no one would notice the lie.
Even his fellow managers would have no choice but to think, Is that so? and let it go.
Because rats aren't always visible.
“Second, to request that Rat Captain Lark be dispatched for rat hunting.”
This, too, was an extremely easy request.
At present, rumors about the youngest Rat Captain, Lark, were rampant throughout the manor.
Even if there weren't actually that many rats, it was a situation where someone might request a dispatch just thinking, Shall I take a look at the new Rat Captain's hunting skills?
“Since the request carries little risk, it shouldn't cost much either.”
Firing off a pleading look at Grandfather, I delivered the final blow.
“It's a gamble with little to lose and much to gain, Grandfather. Maybe we could even try for the revival of the house….”
The revival of the house.
Was that the critical hit?
Grandfather's expression melted in an instant, and
“Hahahaha! You truly are the grandson of Hepatikan the Strongman! Very bright! I knew it already, but you truly possess intellect beyond your years! Hahahaha!”
When Grandfather laughed heartily, Father, beside him, asked with a dumb expression,
“Huh? Father? Is it all settled, then?”
“Of course! If we do as Lark says, a few copper coins pressed into his hand will settle it. Hahaha!”
“Hm? Is that so, Father? I see! Hahahaha!”
Hmm….
It's certain.
Father didn't keep up with our conversation.
Grandfather seemed to have noticed that too; he shot Father an exasperated glare, then turned back to me and said with a satisfied face,
“As it happens, I have a connection, through a friend of a friend, to the work overseer of the salt mine. I shall ask him once. If I am being fooled, so be it.”
The moment he finished speaking, Grandfather sprang to his feet.
Father also got up from his seat along with him and,
“Father! Where are you going?”
“Where do you think? To deliver a bribe, you dolt.”
“But it's late at night, isn't it?”
“Then, you dolt, should I hand over a bribe in broad daylight?!”
That's my grandfather, all right.
He takes action right away, no holding back.
“Yes, Father! Have a safe trip!”
“Thank you, Grandfather!”
Seen off by the two of us, father and son, Grandfather left the house.
Father and I were left alone in Grandfather's room.
I asked about the thing that had been bothering me for a while.
“Father. By the way, what's that?”
I pointed at the pile of parchment as I asked.
Even with nothing written on it, parchment was valuable in and of itself.
It wasn't the kind of thing you'd find in a serf's house.
“Ah… this?”
As if it were nothing special, Father unrolled the parchments one by one and showed them to me.
“This is House Repaire's genealogy. And this is the deed to the land that was unjustly taken from us. And this… is a map leading to ‘Titanis,’ the capital of the dwarven kingdom.”
The genealogy and the land deed.
They were still useless items.
If those had any legal force, Grandfather wouldn't be living as a serf.
But someday, when I held power, they'd likely serve as justification for a territorial war, at least.
The map to Titanis, the dwarven kingdom, on the other hand.
That was definitely the real deal.
The thing that would play a decisive role in proving the existence of dwarves and washing away our house's disgrace.
However, I cared more about the offering rice than the ancestral rite itself.
By my isekai common sense, getting tangled up with dwarves in any way always comes with a considerable reward.
Whether by punishing them and taking the spoils, or by clearing up the misunderstanding and becoming partners.
“But, Father.”
The most important thing is missing.
I need to point this out.
“Where's the method for making Steel Longbows?”
At my question, Father answered as if it were nothing.
“Ah, that? According to your grandfather, it's safely stored in a secret underground space beneath Repaire Ducal Castle! Hahaha.”
“Repaire Ducal Castle is still standing?”
“It's become Remian Ducal Castle now, apparently? Hahaha.”
The Remian ducal house.
I knew about it because the grown-ups had explained it in unusual detail.
Once a bannerman house of Repaire, but in the moment of crisis, a house of usurpers who betrayed their liege.
In other words, our house's sworn enemy.
“Hahaha! Why the serious face?”
Of course I'm serious.
Is this something to laugh about?
The moment that question crossed my mind, Father's hand came flying in like a bolt of lightning.
Father pounded my back again and said,
“It's fine! It's fine! Your grandfather's the only one who knows about that secret space!”
Well, if Duke Remian had uncovered the method for making Steel Longbows, the whole continent should have been in an uproar already.
That was how powerful a weapon the Steel Longbow was.
“Ah!”
Father, who'd been thumping my back, suddenly stopped.
Then he stuck his head out the window and looked up at the night sky, and
“Lark! It's bedtime! You have to hurry to sleep if you want to become like Jade the Giant.”
I obediently did as Father said.
My eyelids were already starting to get heavy anyway.
Until a moment ago, dopamine had been surging through me, but once the situation was settled and the tension released, I rapidly grew drowsy.
My body clock was blaring its alarm, telling me to hurry up and pass out already.
“Yes, Father. Good night.”
After bidding him good night, I trudged off to my room.
“What a… long day.”
A lot had happened.
I'd had a one-on-one with Thomas, become Rat Captain, learned the house's secret, and I'd even ended up with one of my own.
A sworn enemy of the house!
“Duke Remian, huh….”
I murmured the name, but it still didn't feel real.
I didn't feel any blind rage either.
But I did want it.
The legendary weapon said to be sleeping beneath Remian Ducal Castle.
“Steel Longbow….”
With that sleep-talk-like mumble as the last thing, my consciousness gradually sank, and I fell asleep.
***
The next day.
Thanks to Grandfather successfully completing his request, I was able to head to the salt mine.
“Ugh. I don't get what's so great about that filthy, stinking mine that you'd want to see it. Urgh… my stomach's burning.”
Beside me, the overseer voiced his complaints, reeking of liquor.
It seemed he'd been given a hard time by Grandfather at last night's bribery meeting.
Grandfather was the manor's biggest booze whale.
A vicious booze whale who forced drinks on others, at that.
“We're almost there. Urgh….”
At the overseer's words, I craned my neck.
Sure enough, in the distance, a cave that looked like the mine entrance came into view.
Steadying my trembling heart, I moved my feet.
A little later, I finally arrived at the mine entrance.
For some reason, I felt like I could smell salt in the air.
“I'll stay here, so whether it's sightseeing or a picnic, finish up quick and come out, kid.”
“…Huh? I'm going alone? It's my first time here, so I don't know the way.”
At my question, the overseer frowned and asked,
“How old did you say you were? Eleven? Twelve?”
“Eight.”
“All grown up! Go alone!”
Jeez.
I feel this every time, but medieval people raise their kids way too tough.
I've been in this world for quite a while now, but I just can't keep up with their common sense.
“Here. Take this. Let's meet back here around sundown.”
The overseer put a torch in my hand and went off into the shade of some nearby bushes.
His hangover was bad, so he seemed to be going for a nap.
“Sheesh… You've got to hope for things worth hoping for.”
Tromp— Tromp—
Echoing my footsteps, I entered the mine.
Wind gusted at the entrance.
As the torch's flame flickered violently, I felt a strange sensation.
“Hm?”
Something hard to put into words… how should I put it.
Something inside my chest tickles and bothers me, and I can sense the location of the being that could relieve this itch, I guess?
A sensation I'd never once felt in my past life or this one.
Maybe this is what they call a sixth sense.
“All right…!”
I muttered, exhaling an excited breath.
Because amid the foreign sensation, I felt certain.
“It's definitely here!”
My heart raced with anticipation.
My chest was already itchy, and now it was pounding too.
Ah, I'm going to lose my mind.
I need to hurry.
I quickened my pace.
The mine's tunnels were quite wide, and the walls and ceiling glittered subtly.
Salt crystals that hadn't been fully mined were reflecting the torchlight.
It was a beautiful enough sight, but
“Ah, I get that it's pretty. But where the heck is it?”
My mind wasn't in a state to enjoy the scenery right now.
As if I were a foreman who came in and out of this salt mine every day, I strode forward.
The mine entrance had been quiet, but there were quite a few laborers further inside.
Casually holding up my pass, I headed in the direction my sixth sense led.
And then, at a certain point,
“Ugh.”
The itch got worse.
If at the entrance it had felt like a finger lightly poking at me, now, well, it felt like someone had sprinkled fleas all over my heart.
“Ugh, where are you…!”
This wicked little spirit.
Aren't you coming out already?
Clutching my chest, I ran.
Along the way, I heard the laborers yelling at me.
Probably telling me not to run because it's dangerous.
I breezily ignored them.
Because that wasn't what mattered right now.
How long had I run like that?
“Huff… huff… this is…!”
I came face-to-face with an enormous darkness.
The tunnels before had torches placed here and there, so visibility had been no problem at all.
But the path before my eyes didn't have a single speck of light.
It seemed to be an undeveloped section.
First, let me catch my breath.
“Phew….”
It was while catching my breath that I noticed there was no one around.
Since when had I been alone?
I'd come running so frantically that I had no idea.
“Ah, screw it. Whatever. Go!”
Normally, I might have hesitated.
An already eerie tunnel, and an undeveloped space at the end of it.
Go there alone? Relying on a single torch?
No way would I go.
But.
“Rise in status! Rise in status!”
I had a powerful driving force.
That was why I pressed on into the pitch-black darkness.
Step— Step—
All I could hear was my own footsteps.
Darkness where I couldn't see an inch ahead.
Not daring to run like before, I slowly focused on the itch in my chest.
How long had I walked like that?
Around the time my eyes began adjusting to the darkness,
“Huh? That's….”
A small crack at the far end of the salt vein.
A faint light was leaking out from it.
My instinct told me that I had to pass through that crack.
“But can I even get in…?”
The crack was very small.
Adults could never get through, and even for me, it looked very tight.
“Ah, screw it. Getting so big for nothing!”
A normal eight-year-old could have easily gotten through, but I was abnormally large.
For the first time, I resented that fact.
“Whatever! Cram it in!”
Tossing the torch aside, I curled myself up tight and squeezed into the crack.
It felt like I was even sprouting a claustrophobia I'd never had.
It felt like I could get stuck between the rocks and crushed to death at any moment.
And that wasn't all.
I couldn't see what was beneath my feet.
Even if there was a cliff an inch ahead, I wouldn't be able to see it.
BA-DUMP—! BA-DUMP—! BA-DUMP—!
My heart, smeared with both fear and anticipation, ran wild.
At the same time, the itch went off the charts.
Now it felt as if someone were pounding my heart hard with a fist.
“Raaaagh!”
Blowing away my tangled feelings and the pain with a battle cry, I pushed forward and forward again.
And then, finally,
FWOOSH—
My vision suddenly brightened.
I closed my eyes and waited until I'd adjusted to the brightness piercing through my eyelids.
A moment later.
I carefully opened my eyes.
“Whoaaa….”
I saw the Milky Way.
A feast of starlight, and I was standing right in the middle of it.
Wondering if this could be real, I rubbed my eyes.
“Ah.”
Looking again, I was in a wide cavern.
The things shining like stars were salt crystals.
But why was there light in this space?
Following the flow of the Milky Way with my gaze, I found the light source that had created this shining spectacle.
White, blue, red, black, gray, pink.
In the center of the cavern, between the stalactites and stalagmites, was an orb shooting out mysterious rays of light.
It was the moment I approached as if bewitched and was about to touch it.
- Human?
A voice echoed inside my head.