1-Second Invincible Player in the Game

14. The Mine (1)

The carriage began to move away from the residential area.

Hursel, lying back in the rear seat, was dressed in an old robe, as if he were a monk.

If one is punished, they must dress the part. Such was the tradition of the Tenest family.

As Hursel’s eyelids fluttered shut, Selly, sitting opposite him, half-opened her eyes and asked,

“But why are you taking me with you?”

“Hm?”

“You usually only bring a couple of guards.”

Selly was puzzled.

Hursel usually visited the mine with only the bare minimum of guards, insisting on going alone despite the servants’ protests, which sparked suspicious whispers around the mansion.

At Selly’s question, Hursel seemed to ponder for a moment before responding indifferently.

“If you don’t like it, get off.”

“…No. I’d rather not be left alone there, so I’ll come along.”

After a brief exchange, a silence ensued. Hursel, in a drowsy voice, murmured,

“I’m a bit sleepy…”

“…”

With those words, Hershel fell into a deep sleep, and Selly shook her head in disbelief.

She felt pitifully alone, realizing that this man was the only one she could trust.

Even though Hershel had become somewhat lax after returning from the armory, a place where one needed to be on high alert.

Still, there was no particular element of danger. The road to the mine was well-maintained and safe, with rare appearances of monsters.

After all, they were accompanied by guards.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

Jack, who had been scouting ahead, appeared from the front, kicking up a light cloud of dust. He walked his horse alongside the carriage and let out a hearty laugh.

“Ahahaha, there were bandits hiding up ahead. They saw the armor and ran away in fear!”

Jack slapped the chest of his armor, emblazoned with the crest of Tenest. It made sense. The Tenest family was one of the most renowned in the empire, and this territory was directly under their control.

Rodel, who was riding at the back of the carriage, giggled.

“Such fools. How many were there?”

“About a dozen or so? It’s a shame they weren’t clueless enough. It would have been quite a spectacle.”

“Indeed. I wanted to see the young master’s skills.”

“Yeah, it’s a pity. Not just the spectacle, but if he handled it himself, the rumors would spread, and the people’s morale would surely rise.”

“Then, when the young master becomes the head of the family, the complaints will lessen, right?”

“Yep~ We’ll have our place too, and the more the townspeople like us, the better.”

Although Hershel had personally selected these ‘trustworthy guards,’ Selly was dumbfounded by their conversation.

Hershel, who couldn’t even catch a single spider, showing off his skills against a dozen bandits? She could only imagine his pretty face getting mashed.

No doubt he had chosen these charlatans who were good at empty flattery. Not wanting to be part of their sham faith contest, Selly looked for someone else to talk to and moved towards the coachman’s seat.

“Um… So, your name was Rendal, right? It’s our first time working together.”

Selly, who had barely squeezed into the coachman’s seat, spoke to the middle-aged coachman holding the reins, but he remained silent.

She found this silence quite uncomfortable. Although they had only seen each other a few times, she knew well enough that Rendal was a man of few words.

However, Hershel had insisted on bringing the most experienced coachman from the estate for this journey.

“Here, take this.”

Selly took some snacks out of her bag and offered them to the coachman, trying to break the silence.

But the coachman didn’t even turn his head, only glancing sideways at the jerky Selly offered. It was at that moment she wondered if he too was avoiding her because of that incident.

“Thank you.”

One of the hands holding the reins reached out for the jerky. Just as Selly’s face was about to brighten.

“Can we go a bit slower, please? The shaking is making it hard to sleep…”

Hershel suddenly popped his face towards the coachman’s seat.

With his appearance, the coachman’s hand awkwardly paused in mid-air, and Hershel’s eyes intently watched the scene.

After a moment of awkward silence, Hershel spoke up.

“…Got nothing to say? Bring that over here.”

At Hershel’s arrogant demeanor, Selly snorted through her nose and handed the rest of the jerky to Rendal before crossing back to her seat.

As she rummaged through her bag to check for any damage, Hershel asked,

“That coachman, he’s an old servant, isn’t he?”

“Huh? Oh yes. He’s been here since I first came to the mansion. Back then, I heard he had been with Tenest for over 20 years…”

From then on, Hershel never once tried to sleep.

And so, the carriage slowly made its way towards the mine.

* * *

While there were buildings like dormitories or annexes for the workers outside, this place was not the type where work was done on the outskirts of a stone quarry.

One had to enter the cave like a mole.

Thud, thud─

The sensation of uneven stones pressing against the soles of one’s feet.

The fragments of ore were jagged, as if one would bleed if barefoot.

As the group entered the mine, a choking dust rose up.

Why was the temperature so high, and the unpleasant humidity immediately clung to the skin?

Holding one’s breath against the stuffy air, and looking around, several smaller caves branched off within the cave.

What am I supposed to do in a place like this?

I’ve never done manual labor before.

Just as the temples of my head began to throb, Jack grinned mischievously.

“Well, we’ll just stay clueless as usual and leave when it’s time. Rodel, the young master is busy. Let’s go.”

“Ha, looks like I’ll get to drink my fill after a long time.”

Huh?

What does he mean by staying clueless? And what’s this about drinking his fill?

Selly, standing beside me, looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“What are those men talking about?”

“…I have no idea.”

I was anxious to ask Jack, but my words were cut off by a middle-aged man rushing towards us. He forced a strained smile.

“Heh heh… Young master, I’ve been waiting for you. Have you been well?”

I responded with a simple bow and nudged Selly, who was standing beside me, prodding her shoulder as I whispered.

“Who is that?”

“Judging by the attire, seems like the person in charge here.”

Even compared to the workers, the neat clothing made it seem so.

It looked like he was about to give me some work, and just as I was about to ask for something easy, he blurted out something unexpected.

“We’ve prepared plenty of alcohol at the lodging for the guards. Drink until you forget everything, so don’t worry.”

As expected…

I had doubted it, but those two guards really had left to go on a drinking spree.

“Young master, this way, please. I was considering bringing someone to pour your drinks again, but it’s been quite difficult to find anyone willing to come this far…”

And, a drink pourer?

My mind went blank for a moment as I stared at him. The person in charge fidgeted as if he had made some mistake, gauging my reaction.

“I’m… I’m sorry, young master. But we’ve prepared some exquisite alcohol, so please don’t be angry.”

That damn Hassel, he came here to be punished but instead of showing any remorse, he seemed to have enjoyed himself with entertainment.

The person in charge was flattering me, even going as far as to keep silent about the entertainment.

Selly, who had been listening, looked at me as if I were something disgusting.

“No wonder there were strange rumors going around. Was this the reason you’ve been going alone all this time?”

Truly, the more you dig, the more scandals come out. With no room for excuses, I decided to change the subject and said to the person in charge.

“Enough with the alcohol. If I’m here to be punished, I should accept it gracefully. Don’t waste time, tell me what I need to do now.”

“Do you wish to start with the work?”

The person in charge’s face brightened up for a moment as if surprised.

“You arrived early and have been waiting. The lady also said she wanted to finish the work quickly, so this is perfect.”

What is he talking about? The lady?

Selly let out a disgusted sigh.

“Hmm~ The lady, huh… Hmm.”

Hey, should we just leave her here after the work is done?

* * *

The place the person in charge led me to was an annex outside the mine I had seen before entering.

“Please, this way.”

As we entered the annex and walked down the creaking corridor, I saw a man leaning casually against the wall in front of a door.

A man with distinctive long black hair that fell to his waist…

“Hmm?”

No, it must be someone who just looks similar.

What are the chances that he would be here?

Though I doubted it internally, the more I walked, the clearer his figure became, and my certainty that I hadn’t seen wrong only grew stronger.

He looked at me with dull eyes. As he turned his head, his hair fluttered, revealing his pale face.

“It’s been a while, young master. The lady is inside.”

The man’s lazy-looking face shattered my denial, sending a slight shiver down my spine.

The long hair that reached his waist was not for style. It was simply the result of neglect, left uncut out of sheer laziness.

This man, marked by extreme indolence, was undoubtedly a playable character.

The ashen Delerger.

A character of the fourth difficulty level out of five, with a narrative of ‘Very Hard.’

He was strong enough to always maintain a high ranking on the character performance tier list created by users in the Asares community.

But, did he just say it’s been a while?

Did he have a connection with Hershel…

Although the starting times for the playable characters’ scenarios varied,

Hershel was already dead before all scenarios, so it’s not surprising I didn’t know.

Anyway, if Delerger is here, then the ‘lady’ inside must be certain.

Creak──

As I opened the door and entered, a woman was sitting in a chair across the table.

Her light-colored blonde hair tied behind her back shimmered.

“What a curious day? I thought you’d come after having a few drinks.”

Looking at her rather refined appearance and jade-colored eyes, I realized she was the person I had guessed earlier.

One of the main NPCs of Asares and the daughter of the target, ‘Aria del Orvella.’

Since Delerger was supposed to serve her, I had guessed as much even before opening the door.

Yet, the feeling of astonishment didn’t fade.

Why was this woman waiting for Hershel as if they had an appointment?

Ah, now that I think about it…

Hershel’s name did come up at least once in the conversation logs between Delerger and Aria.

It must have been when Aria bought Delerger a sword.

-You’ve prepared all this. You must be quite wealthy, miss.

-Just bought it with the money I made from hoarding before the announcement, that’s all.

-All thanks to that young master.

-Right. Hershel, we did beat that fool quite a bit.

Is it commendable to remember even now?

It was strange to take interest in that name, which held no significance as a user.

“Mr. Hershel, is there a problem?”

Aria asked, noticing I hadn’t said a word while organizing my thoughts.

How should I answer this?

Despite being a merchant looked down upon in this era, Orvella is a noble family.

They became nobles after providing substantial funds to the emperor when the nation’s finances were in dire straits long ago.

Thanks to marrying into the imperial family later on, their descendants now carry the crazy lineage of the imperial blood.

Their status is comparable to mine, and it’s a world deeply rooted in the ‘ladies first’ ideology.

To follow proper etiquette, I too should speak formally.

But I’m a mess.

“There’s nothing in particular.”

“Well, that’s good then. The work will end quickly too.”

Her casual response seemed to suggest that was the right answer.

Aria replied with a smile in her eyes, handing over a document.

“The terms remain the same.”

It turned out to be a contract.

The content was simple. Orvella Trading Company would purchase the by-products mined from the quarry.

“Hmm…”

Considering Hershel’s kind of exile, his involvement in such a contract was one thing.

It wasn’t anything important, just a contract for handling by-products.

Since the contract stated that the payment to Orvella Trading Company was not to Hershel but to the Tenest residence, it wasn’t a unilateral decision.

But something felt suspicious.

I, unaware of the market price or value of the by-products, had no way to tell if this deal was fair.

The Aria I know wouldn’t engage in such a junk dealer-like transaction.

And it didn’t seem like Hershel, the good-for-nothing, would make a legitimate deal.

“Right. Hershel, that fool has been hit hard.”

And the recalled dialogue log turned that into certainty.

I decided to probe Aria to grasp the truth of this contract.

“The content is lacking.”

I pushed away the contract. Aria, slightly flustered, said,

“What do you mean? The contents of the contract should be no different from last month, right?”

“The contract itself is fine. It’s the ‘between the lines’ I want to talk about.”

The blank spaces between the lines of the paragraph.

In the game, Aria referred to the covert deals hidden behind the contract, not meant for public knowledge, as ‘between the lines.’

Aria flinched for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

“It’s an extension of our previous conversation. As I’ve said before, due to the end of the war between Antore and Sidiril, the value of iron ore is dropping. Recently, there’s been a view that a new mineral found in the Southern Continent will completely replace iron ore. I can’t offer you more than this.”

Iron ore, out of nowhere, while discussing by-products. Okay, noted one thing.

Now, what should I talk about? Maybe just blurt out whatever comes to mind.

“Still, this deal, how should I put it… seems like a losing business, doesn’t it?”

“If you need money, increasing the transaction volume is the only way. But that would be risky for you too, wouldn’t it, Hershel?”

The contract listed all by-products. ‘Transaction’ volume doesn’t seem fitting.

And ‘risk’? What risk could there be in trading by-products?

Things were becoming clearer.

Hershel and Aria had been trading ‘iron ore,’ not by-products.

But Hershel had no authority to sell the ore, and Aria’s contract mentioned nothing about buying ore.

A truly clandestine deal beneath the surface. That’s where the ‘risk’ comes in.

Should I delve deeper into what kind of deal they had?

“What. Scared of a little risk in doing business? Let’s increase the transaction volume.”

“Then we’ll need additional personnel to transport the ore, besides the manager.”

“So what? Just hire more people.”

“The more ears around, the more mouths you have to shut.”

…So that was it.

That’s how I came to understand the true nature of the contract between Hershel and Aria.

Hershel colluded with the manager to siphon off a certain portion of the ore as by-products.

And Aria bought the iron ore disguised as by-products at a bargain price.

Afterward, Hershel must have taken a rebate from Aria.

It felt like my head was going numb. To think that I had been embezzling the family’s wealth in the place I was exiled to for my crimes.

Ah, really… Hershel…

“This damn dog…”

“Excuse me? Dog?”

“This calculation is rather poor.”

I let out a long sigh and said,

“I’m going to stop playing around. About the deal, I’ve changed my mind. Let’s pretend this deal never happened.”

“What? Oh, no, what do you mean…”

Continuing such a deal would eventually get exposed, and even after the assassination attempts end, my life would be in danger. It would give a good reason to the forces trying to ostracize me.

Aria, who had been squinting her eyes to gauge my intentions, reluctantly opened her mouth.

“Fine. I can’t agree to increase the volume of the deal, but instead, I’ll increase your share, Hershel. However…”

“You seem to be under some misconception, but as I just said, this deal is as if it never happened. And it will stay that way.”

Realizing my determination, Aria’s face turned blank. Then, suddenly, she changed her expression and wore a meaningful smile.

“Hmm, it seems you’re trying to back out now. But you’re not the one in control of this deal. It’s me.”

As if trying to appear nonchalant, Aria continued while looking at her nails.

“Ah… What should I do about this? The Duke will be furious if he finds out, and it will sour the mood of the lord’s subjects, maybe even push back the succession rights?”

The sudden threat felt somewhat amusing.

If I don’t do it, I don’t do it, it’s laughable to be treated like a fool to the very end.

I twisted the corner of my mouth.

“Let’s see you try.”

Let’s see what happens when you mess with someone who knows too much.