Chapter 11: Mithril

“Mithril’s famous as a magical ore in this world, right? But you hardly ever see any mithril products in Cylindarl.”

“Yeah. Actually, it’s kind of the same here too. Even in games, mithril’s mostly just used as a material for magical weapons and gear. Hey, Miki—have you ever seen raw mithril ore before?”

“Of course I have. It’s a magical ore, after all. They even use it to reinforce the cores at the tips of magic staves. Not this one I’m carrying, though. But back in the village, there were all kinds of magical tools made with mithril.”

“Huh… I’ve only ever seen the stuff on display in shops. And not even regular shops—just the fancy ones.”

Mithril was relatively rare. Sure, it was abundant in the elf village, but that place had over three thousand years of history and was steeped in magic, so that made sense.

We’d accepted the dwarf’s terms and were now climbing a mountain to gather mithril ore for Kazuya’s new sword.

There was just one part of the deal I wasn’t thrilled about.

“Well, yeah, mithril’s rare these days. Used to be more common. If those greedy elves hadn’t hoarded it all, it’d be easier to get now.”

That guy.

As part of the deal, the dwarf insisted on coming with us.

I knew we probably wouldn’t be able to mine mithril properly on our own, but I didn’t expect him to actually tag along.

He had a bunch of mining tools strapped to his back and not even a weapon on him. He was practically screaming “escort mission.”

Since he’d be forging Kazuya’s new weapon, we couldn’t exactly be rude to him, but still—what a pain.

We’d already run into monsters a few times along the way, and every time, he’d silently watch Kazuya fight, stroking his beard like he was appraising him.

“Zack, are we still on the right path?”

“Yeah. Just keep going straight.”

Kazuya seemed to be getting along well with the dwarf—not that I was surprised.

As for me? I hadn’t even bothered remembering the guy’s name. Zack? Zaco? Something like that.

Elves and dwarves have never gotten along. And after how we met? I wasn’t about to start pretending we were friends.

Maybe I overreacted or jumped to conclusions—but seriously, Kazuya had to push him that hard just to get him to explain anything? The dwarf was clearly in the wrong.

Kazuya must’ve picked up on the tension, because he leaned in and spoke to me in a low voice.

“So it’s true—elves and dwarves really don’t get along, huh?”

“Obviously. And the way we met didn’t exactly help.”

“I’m not asking you to be best friends with Zack or anything, but… can’t you just try to act normal around him?”

“That’s asking a lot.”

“Oh, come on. What, you want me to go without a mithril weapon?”

“…Ugh. That’d be a problem. But still—”

“Then just be civil. That’s all I’m asking. Please, Miki?”

“…Fine. Since it’s for you, Kazuya. But I’m only being civil, got it? Don’t expect friendly.”

“That’s more than enough.”

It’s for Kazuya. Can’t be helped. Without a proper weapon, he’s basically useless.

I turned to the dwarf—Zack—and called out to him.

“Hey, Zack. That gear you’re carrying looks pretty heavy. Want me to store it in this magic pouch? Might be easier than lugging it around.”

Zack shook his head.

“No need. I always keep my tools on me. That’s how I work. Don’t worry about it.”

…Damn dwarf. Wait. Calm down. He didn’t say anything weird. He’s just a typical stubborn craftsman. That’s all. Don’t let it get to you.

This is for Kazuya. For Kazuya.
I repeated it like a mantra and forced a smile.

“Alright. Well, if you need anything, just say so. I’m happy to help.”

I turned my face away and stared straight ahead.

Yeah, I was still pissed.

Next to me, Kazuya made a calming gesture—and somehow, somehow, I managed to settle down.

When we arrived at the mithril mining site, several Mithril Giants were wandering around.

"The truth is, this mining site near Cylindarl has seen a drastic drop in output because of them. We can’t mine properly with those things around. All we can do is sneak in and extract tiny amounts without being noticed. Naturally, the yield is negligible and the market value has gone haywire."

"I see. So we just need to take out the Mithril Giants, right? But wait, isn’t mithril supposed to be really hard to cut through?"

That’s it—Kazuya voiced exactly what I was wondering. If those giants are made of mithril, wouldn’t regular blades be useless?

"Don’t worry. Despite the name, those giants are full of impurities. Over half their bodies are made from other materials. Your sword should be fine—as long as you’re not some rookie."

I see. So with the craftsmanship of Zack’s blade and Kazuya’s swordsmanship, we should be able to take them down. Not bad—Zack has a good eye. I’m honestly impressed.

Kazuya and I set our sights on the closest one, aiming to gauge its strength first. I cast an enhancement spell on him and sent him off.

I held back on using any attack magic. If I made too much noise, the other giants might come swarming over.

The Mithril Giant stood about five meters tall, but its movements were sluggish. One-on-one, there was no way Kazuya would get caught.

He charged in and, with that momentum, sliced clean through the giant’s knee.

His sword stroke was sharp and forceful, severing the leg below the knee in one swift motion.

Toppled by the loss of balance, the giant fell backward. Just as Kazuya was about to sever its neck, the creature let out a deafening roar.

Kazuya didn’t flinch. He swung without hesitation, cleaving the head clean off. The giant died instantly.

But that final roar drew the attention of the others, and now they were all converging on Kazuya.

No longer needing to worry about noise, I began chanting a grand spell. Since mithril resists magic, I opted for a straightforward mass-based attack—a spell that hurls a giant boulder.

No matter how hard or magic-resistant they are, a biological being will still feel the force of sheer mass.

I compressed the boulder to increase its density and weight, sharpened the tip to a hardened point, and dropped it from overhead.

This was still grand magic, but I’d narrowed the area of effect—one target at a time, to make each hit count.

Just as I’d hoped, the boulder crushed the giant completely, shattering it to pieces.

It took more time than expected—the fine-tuning was tricky—but it worked out in the end.

By the time I’d taken down a few of them, Kazuya had already dispatched the rest without a scratch on him.

Each one had been neatly brought down—knees severed to topple them, then a single stroke to the neck. Unlike my own mess of crushed remains, his kills were precise and clean.

"Nice job, Miki."

"You too, Kazuya. That was a clean takedown."

We gave each other a high five in celebration.

Then Kazuya opened his arms, clearly about to go in for a hug.

"No. Not happening."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Why do you think? Don’t assume you can get away with it every time. And… Zack’s watching, you know."

"If he wasn’t watching, would it be okay?"

"That’s not the point."

I shoved Kazuya aside and turned around—Zack was trembling with excitement.

"Amazing!!"

He shouted so loud it was annoying.

"Kazuya! You’ve exceeded my expectations! That level of swordsmanship is a rare sight! Look at the cut on this Mithril Giant’s knee and neck—so clean, so precise! Absolutely superb! Just being here was worth it—I like you even more now!"

He was absolutely gushing over Kazuya. He must’ve been really impressed. I couldn’t help but feel proud myself. See? That’s our Kazuya. I stuck my chest out with pride.

Then Zack pointed at the remains of the one I’d defeated.

"And this is what the elf did? It’s completely wrecked! Just look at this mess—it’s not even comparable to Kazuya’s work! There’s no beauty in it at all! You could learn a thing or two from him."

Ugh. This is why I don’t like dwarves.

Sure, it’s not as neat as Kazuya’s, but I still took them down properly.

As I sulked, Kazuya stepped in to defend me.

"I think Miki was amazing. Mithril Giants are supposed to resist magic, right? And she took them down in a single blow with spells. That’s no small feat. Don’t you agree, Zack?"

Zack folded his arms and gave it some thought.

"Hmm… When you put it that way, yeah, defeating a Mithril Giant with magic in one hit is pretty impressive. Elf—no, sorry. I may have spoken too harshly without thinking."

What the heck? Is this because his favorite, Kazuya, spoke up for me? Is that why he’s suddenly rethinking things?

It still didn’t sit right with me, but Kazuya had smoothed things over, and Zack had apologized. If I lashed out now, it’d just ruin what Kazuya did.

"I’m not ‘elf.’ It’s Miki. …As long as you get that, it’s fine."

"Understood. Miki it is."

Kazuya smiled brightly, looking back and forth between us.

So this is the charm of Kazuya—the reason he’s so popular at the guild. It really shows.

It’s hard to believe he’s come this far in just seventeen years… Incredible.

Later on, I realized I should’ve introduced myself as Claire, not Miki. But then again, Kazuya introduced himself as Marsh at first, and now everyone calls him Kazuya. Probably my fault. Oh well.

After that, Zack started mining mithril and packed the ore into my magic pouch.

We returned to the town of Cylindarl, and Zack reported to the guild that the Mithril Giants had been cleared out and that mining could resume. Then, the three of us headed to the blacksmith.

Incidentally, by this point, both names were accepted—Kazuya and Marsh, Miki and Clair. Thanks to that, Zack calling him Kazuya didn’t cause any issues.

"I heard back at the guild—Kazuya’s a B-rank hero, and Miki’s a B-rank adventurer. No wonder you’re strong. Still, each of those Mithril Giants is considered a B-rank threat on its own. To take them down so easily… your true strength must be even higher, no?"

Zack said this.

We had no reason to hide it, so we told him: even back when we were C-rank, we’d taken on B-rank missions, and once we reached B-rank, we completed A-rank quests too—like slaying a group of Lesser Dragons. We also mentioned how Kazuya’s sword had broken during that dragon fight.

"I see… against dragons, huh? Honestly, the fact that your sword held out that long is a miracle in itself."

Zack was deeply impressed.

When we reached Zack’s top-tier forge, Kazuya took out the sword he’d entrusted, and I brought out the mithril ore.

Zack held up the sword, examined it, and let out a breath of awe.

"No warping, hardly a nick on the blade… To maintain this condition after fighting such monsters—your swordsmanship must be meticulous, and your combat ability exceptional. I’m speechless."

He sheathed the sword and handed it back to Kazuya.

"I’ll start forging right away. Any requests? I’ll do my best to meet them. And use this in the meantime—it’ll be happier seeing action than gathering dust in storage."

"Thanks. In that case, for the grip, I’d like it to—"

Kazuya gave Zack his specifications, and Zack readily agreed.

With that, we’d soon have a custom mithril weapon tailored to Kazuya’s style.

"Kazuya… Come back in, let’s say, four days. I’ll have it ready by then. Miki, take care of Kazuya."

"Yeah, see you then."

"You don’t need to tell me—we’re already close, Kazuya and I. See you."

And with that, we parted ways with Zack and finally—finally—returned to the inn for the first time in five days.