Chapter 69

Chapter 69: The Gem Mining Showdown Begins!

Arriving at the Guild Hall, I searched for Murasaki.

Since she wasn't on the first floor, I inquired at the reception desk.

"Is Murasaki here?"

It seemed like she was in the Guild Master's room upstairs, so I decided to have her called down.

A few minutes later, Murasaki descended the stairs.

"What's up, Tacto?"

She seemed to be in a good mood.

Well, she's a newlywed after all.

"Do you have time tomorrow?"

"Yeah, there are no urgent requests, and I don't have any plans until the next regular meeting."

"I see. Can you accompany me tomorrow?"

"Sure, is it something troublesome?"

"No, it'll be an extension of our play, but I want to have a match."

With the word "match," Murasaki would definitely be interested.

"Got it. So, when?"

"After Murasaki finishes breakfast, works for me. Is it okay if we meet at my lodgings?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Come secretly, without telling anyone."

"Understood. Looking forward to it!"

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The next morning, Murasaki arrived at the inn in her combat gear.

Considering it an extension of our play, connecting "match" to combat is proof of her obsession with fighting...

First, we moved to an uninhabited area, confirmed no one was around, and used "Teleport" to travel near the Dwarf settlement.

Murasaki was momentarily bewildered by what had happened.

"So, this is 'Teleport,' it's amazing!"

Knowing that Murasaki could use "Teleport" from reviewing her stats, there was no need to hide it.

She removed her equipment and stowed it in my "Item Box."

As we walked to the settlement, I explained in detail to the Dwarves who came early in the morning what we were going to do.

We wanted to let the Oni people do as much gem mining as possible, so I asked for their support.

Rattis and Stay had already agreed, but I had kept the fact that we were going to bring back gems a secret from Murasaki.

Isn't that just free labor? She seemed unconvinced, but when I said it could also double as training and that I would treat her to drinks later, her doubts seemed to vanish.

Before meeting up with Murasaki, I had given the Dwarves a detailed supplementary explanation.

Since we wanted the Oni people to mine the largest gems possible, they needed to support us as much as possible.

The Dwarves, including Rattis, agreed to this.

When we reached the settlement, some Dwarves were already waiting, ready for action.

"Counting on you today."

Once again, we exchanged greetings and headed to the mining site.

Arriving at the mining site, we decided on a three-hour time limit and split into two teams.

Murasaki was accompanied by a veteran miner.

While Murasaki mined, I engaged in casual mining while chatting about random topics.

Using the "Mining" skill, I could dig in a certain range.

However, there was a chance of damaging the gems, so I carefully dug to stay on track with our goal.

I found talking to the Dwarves more interesting than the mining itself, so most of the time was spent in conversation.

There was a Dwarf named "Tobre" who apparently always tried to create new things but ended up failing.

Although he had the best skills in the village, he was fixated on trying to create new items, making him a bit of an oddball.

Then there was "Zarbo," who was dedicated to glasswork, constantly making and breaking his creations in dissatisfaction.

Once, he accidentally made a hat resembling waves out of glass, saying he got the idea for strange items like that.

I was intrigued by these two Dwarves, so I asked to be introduced to them when we returned to the village.