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Throughout history, salt has always been a highly valuable commodity.
It was even more precious because it was a necessity for survival, comparable to gold and jewels, especially in this world where they couldn't obtain salt from the sea.
The sea was a cradle of monsters, and the coastal areas, where countless monsters emerged from the water and were impossible to subjugate, were the most dangerous zones on the continent. There were a few safe areas, but the salt produced there couldn't possibly meet the demand of the entire continent.
Naturally, the demand for salt was met with rock salt. It was no surprise that the Empire, which had consumed the northern regions abundant with rock salt mines while the Holy Kingdom was declining due to the Mountain King, rose to become the hegemonic power.
What did all this mean?
This wave of salt crystals that Ruth and I were desperately escaping from…
"Viva!"
"W-what? Finance Director!?"
"How much is all that worth…!!"
It was practically a mountain of gold!
You might think it's ridiculous for me to be shouting like that while being half-carried by a female student, even though I'm older and a staff member, but it would be even more surprising if I could remain calm after seeing that sight.
Whether it was a life-or-death situation or a chance to strike it rich.
More importantly, my struggles as a mere Rank 1 wouldn't affect Ruth at all. The scenery was changing so rapidly that it felt surreal, and I could even observe the salt crystals in detail.
"Student Ruth! Are those salts created by magic or artifacts!?"
"Why are you asking that all of a sudden!?"
"It's a very important matter! Quickly!"
"N-no! I can sense mana, but they're real!"
Good, I had confirmation just in case.
You might ask, "If salt is so precious, why not just create it with magic?" But then they could create gold and jewels with magic as well.
Salt created with magic could replicate its characteristics, but it would disappear quickly since it was ultimately just mana. And it was incredibly inefficient.
But all those salts were confirmed to be real by a Rank 6.
It was truly a happy scream.
"Finance Director! You're not thinking of taking those salts with us, are you!? No matter how much you love money, it can't be more important than your life—"
"What are you talking about? Of course we have to run away!"
"Then why…?"
"At least we know this mine is a jackpot!"
Although I didn't know the exact principle behind it, if this rock salt mine could produce salt like this, I had to invest, even if it meant selling my soul.
Rock salt wasn't simply mined and done. Since it was a massive salt rock, it had to be transported and crushed, washed if necessary, and if there were too many impurities, it had to be completely dissolved in water and then dried and refined.
But for some reason, the salt waves currently rushing towards us were all perfect salt grains.
Frankly, this wasn't a mine, but a vault. Just by scooping it up and selling it, I could not only recover the investment cost but even aim for the wealthiest person on the continent.
It was agonizing to think that something like this belonged to someone else.
'But I might be able to get some of it as compensation for damages.'
The Finance Director and a student of Grandis Academy had fallen into the rock salt mine. And the reason was clearly the Beryl family's negligence in management.
You might ask, "Wasn't it because of the earthquake? The unnatural pulling force? What's that?" But anyway, it was the Count's fault. That's it.
It was literally a life-or-death situation, and if things went wrong, a walking nuclear bomb would descend, so Count Anton would be terrified. In this era, ending things with compensation for damages was considered lenient.
'Let's increase the tenfold return on investment to thirtyfold and halve the payment period.'
I was being very generous because I was kind. Since the rock salt mine and its reconstruction were successful, it would be mutually beneficial, wouldn't it?
Anyway, as I was relentlessly calculating, Ruth's urgent voice reached me.
"Finance Director! Please help me!"
"What? But what can I do…?"
What could I really do? Was there anything a mere Rank 1 could do?
It seemed like the right thing to do was to believe that Ruth would save us and think about what to do afterward.
"There's a fork in the road! Please choose the safer path!"
"But I don't remember the blueprint!"
"It's okay! It's fine!"
It's… fine? I had to trust the Rank 6 who was outrunning that crazy salt wave with pure speed.
A fork in the road.
"…Left."
"Yes!"
Why? I just had a feeling that the left would be safer. Usually, according to clichés, the opposite direction was the real safe path.
Ruth, without a moment's hesitation, ran to the left. I could see that much because the salt was faintly glowing for some reason.
…What was this?
"Right at the next one, then the hole above, and then straight ahead!"
"Yes!"
It was a strange sensation.
I could barely see anything in the darkness, and I couldn't even tell if there was a fork in the road, yet I was naturally spouting directions.
It wasn't something I said without thinking. I had a vague, ambiguous sense of certainty. An intuition that if we ran that way, we would be fine.
'Ruth was being evasive earlier, but…'
I did have memories of this mine. Otherwise, I couldn't explain how I found that rock earlier or this current situation.
But this was my first time in the Beryl territory, let alone the rock salt mine.
I was missing something crucial. And that…
'
Ruth Spero knew.
Was it simply because she was the protagonist of
It was ironic that I had to be suspicious of Ruth even though she saved me, but hadn't the rock salt mine always shaken whenever Ruth approached?
It was a far-fetched thought, but was there really no connection between Ruth and the rock salt mine?
However, my suspicion didn't last long.
The present was more important.
"We'll soon reach the hole above! If we can get there…!!"
"Hold on tight!"
"Hold on tight and… Student Ruth, your grip hurts—"
Dash!
Ruth, easily ignoring my small complaint, leaped.
It was a tunnel over 10 meters high, but with the physical abilities of a Rank 6, she reached the ceiling in an instant and…
…accurately entered the hole, which I didn't even know existed, but had somehow mentioned. The hole was quite wide, enough for two people to fit through.
And right after that,
Whoosh!
A terrifying wave of salt swept through the space below.
The salt wave, which widened the tunnel with its momentum, surged up to the hole. If we had been even a little late or mistimed our jump, we would have been swept away by that mountain of gold.
I did love money, but I didn't want to die buried in it.
I couldn't help the cold sweat dripping down my back.
"Huff… huff… Thank you, Finance Director."
"It was all thanks to you, Student Ruth. But it seems like the salt is gradually subsiding."
It was probably falling into the hole of Tunnel 3 ahead. The salt wouldn't surge endlessly, so all we had to do was wait for it to subside.
…But how did I know that there was a hole in Tunnel 3 ahead?
Even now, I felt a sense of dissonance. If I could, I would question Ruth, who was catching her breath next to me, but…
'Not now.'
In the end, if it weren't for Ruth, I would have died. It was ridiculous to question her instead of thanking her, my lifesaver.
I could talk to her later, but not now. I immediately bowed my head to Ruth.
"Thank you so much, Student Ruth. You saved my life. I'll repay this debt somehow."
"…You don't have to worry about it. I've already been repaid enough."
"I haven't done much for you, Student Ruth."
Didn't I only receive help from her, like the rent, breakfast, and the audit incident?
Although our first meeting at the entrance ceremony didn't start well, I now had a very favorable opinion of Ruth. I truly thought she was worthy of being the protagonist.
"Those eyes."
"Huh?"
"Those eyes… I missed them."
"Student Ruth? What do you…"
Just as I was about to ask again, unable to ignore those words,
Ruth's expression hardened as she was about to rest after the relief of surviving.
She gripped her old sword and looked down at the salt wave, which was starting to slow down but was still flowing rapidly.
"Don't tell me."
"Student Ruth?"
"…Stay here. Wait here no matter what!"
And then she jumped down into the hole. Perhaps because she wasn't carrying me, she was standing on the fast-flowing salt wave without any problems.
Well, then…
'It would be a bit much to ask her to collect the salt while she's down there, wouldn't it…?'
But look how much there was.
Should I just close my eyes and ask?
***
Something was coming.
Ruth, who had barely survived thanks to Adam's help, sharpened her senses once again and made a small cut on her fingertip.
A few salt crystals landed on the wound, causing pain, but she was prepared to apply her blood to Dark Sword and awaken it at any moment.
'Adam will be fine.'
This rock salt mine was originally one of the hideouts used by the 'previous Adam.'
This abandoned mine, after Count Anton's rock salt mine reconstruction failed, was a good place for Adam and Chloe to stay while on the run.
She had asked Adam to guide her as part of that. For some reason, Adam was regaining his past memories, albeit faintly.
Why did she suddenly regain her memories at the entrance ceremony?
Before she could even speculate on the reason, Ruth drew her old sword and slashed at the salt wave.
Slash!!
She didn't awaken Dark Sword by applying her blood. It was dangerous to unleash Dark Sword in front of Adam, and Cassandra's words were also on her mind.
'She said something underground would react if I unleashed Dark Sword.'
She could roughly guess what was underground, but she was still prepared to use Dark Sword if necessary.
Because whatever was approaching was that dangerous.
Thump.
She heard a heartbeat. At first, she thought it was her own heart pounding from nervousness.
But the heartbeat was clearly coming from outside.
And from within that salt wave.
'I'm sure of it.'
The being that caused the tremor throughout the rock salt mine in response to Ruth's Dark Sword.
The one that dragged Ruth and Adam into this mine.
The one that tried to bury them with the salt wave.
The 'unpleasant thing' that Cassandra mentioned.
"The sacred relic…"
Thump! Thump!
Something resembling a heart slowly rose into the air from within the salt wave, which had stopped flowing.
Cassandra's words were correct, annoyingly so. It was beating like a heart, but that artifact wasn't actually alive.
There weren't many things that could react to Dark Sword in the first place.
And as far as Ruth knew, the sacred relic was something that would definitely react to Dark Sword.
'Why is the sacred relic here?'
That was the problem. The sacred relic was an artifact kept by the Holy Kingdom, even if it had fallen. It was something that the god who created this world made using their own heart.
Its power was comparable to the wish-granting Dark Sword, and it was an artifact that existed on a conceptual level. In other words, it was impossible to destroy.
And yet, the sacred relic wasn't in its complete form, but rather, it was about a third of its original size, as if it had been split into three pieces.
'I went to the Holy Kingdom after Circe caused that incident. Does that mean a fragment of the sacred relic was already slumbering in this mine at that time?'
But the previous Adam had used this place as a hideout. Why was the fragment of the sacred relic, which had been quietly dormant then, reacting to the current Adam?
And what could have fragmented the sacred relic, an artifact on a conceptual level, in the first place?
'…Cassandra.'
She now had many questions for that damn self-proclaimed prophet.
Even if it was fragmented, it was still the sacred relic, emitting a faint divine light as it floated in the air. And along with the fragment…
…the salt beneath Ruth's feet vibrated gently.
'Was the first tremor also like this?'
Did it extract pure salt from the rock salt mine and use it to forcefully cause an earthquake in this area?
Did an artifact without sentience do this on its own?
As her doubts grew, Ruth smeared her blood on the old sword without hesitation.
The fragment of the sacred relic had awakened on its own without her even awakening Dark Sword, so there was no need to hesitate now.
'I should be able to cut that fragment with Dark Sword.'
Since they were both relics on the same conceptual level, it should be possible to interfere with it.
She had never seen the sacred relic before, not even in her previous life, but it was trying to kill her and Adam, so she had to use all her power…
Woooong!!!
"…?"
However, the reaction between Dark Sword and the sacred relic was beyond Ruth's imagination.
Dark Sword, awakened by the blood and starting to emit its characteristic ominous aura, suddenly shook violently, escaping Ruth's control.
And the fragment of the sacred relic, seeing the awakened Dark Sword, also rotated fiercely, manipulating the salt wave.
Ruth immediately tried to swing Dark Sword as usual, but…
"Ugh!?"
Woooong!!
Dark Sword suddenly vibrated violently, refusing to obey her. It moved on its own, as if craving more blood, and cut Ruth's arm, sucking up the blood.
That sudden pain and the momentary loss of her weapon…
…were enough time for the fragment of the sacred relic to activate and control the salt.
'This…!!'
Thud!
Her only weapon, Dark Sword, was injuring her, and the fragment of the sacred relic created a spear of salt and shot it towards her.
The salt, hardened by divine power, became a sharp spearhead and pierced Ruth's abdomen.
Even then, thanks to her countless experiences and instinctive reaction, she managed to avoid a direct hit to her heart by throwing her body.
"Cough!!"
Blood rose from her throat. Excruciating pain. The salt from the spearhead scattered and clung to her wound.
Literally everything around her was targeting her.
And the still-rampaging fragment of the sacred relic created another salt spear. Dark Sword was still craving blood, turning Ruth's arm into a rag.
Just as the salt spear aimed for Ruth's heart this time,
"Student Ruth!!!"
Someone jumped down from the hole above, and…
With a thud,
"Huh…?"
Drip, drip.
Adam's warm blood, having been pierced through the heart instead,
Splatted onto Ruth.