07-07 Yada Village
Next day, before leaving the town of Delead, Reinhardt told Jin he had something he wanted to discuss.
He began to talk. Jin also had an interest in the ruins from the time of the great war.
Reinhardt said, and Jin also agreed.
Reinhardt asked Elsa, and sure enough,
She replied. Reinhardt clapped his hands together and,
He said and got off his seat.
The carriages left Delead Town, and headed along the highway to a provincial city called Uremlin.
After spending a night there they headed off the highway to the north. After half a day they arrived at the town of Coorz. As there was still time, they headed farther north , and by evening, they had arrived at Yada Village.
“This is Yada Village.”
“I heard it while inside the carriage, but there’s a mine here, huh.”
“If I remember right, they say that many kinds of gemstones are mined here.”
Jin looked at his surroundings to survey the state of the village. Then he voiced his opinion,
There were enough buildings to call it a town, and there was a lot of people too.
“That’s because there’s no agriculture here, this town only has the mine and tourism. The people related to the mines are mostly from Uremlin, and tourists aren’t residents. The original inhabitants seem to make their living by managing inns or small stores.”
“From here, just short of 20 kilometers following the mountain road northeast is Keune Village. I hear that the ruins of Keuwan are there.”
“Apparently Keune Village is a really small village, so they say it’s better to stay the nights here and make round trips there.”
“Well, we can take it easy today.”
“Claude, thanks for your trouble.”
“Reinhardt-sama, let me guide you to the inn.”
Then the group once more got on the carriages, and headed to tonight’s inn guided by Claude.
The inn was in a silent place on the outskirts of the village. It was a solidly-built 4-storey stone building. The guest rooms all faced towards the mountainside, so the view was good.
“Oh, I wonder if you can see the mine from the window.”
Incidentally, the evening sun had just then sunk precisely behind the mountain with the mine.
The dinner was soup with bread, roasted freshwater fish, roasted something that resembled chicken, edible wild plants made into a salad and some such.
“Elsa, are you feeling ill?”
“I dislike Cockalisk meat.”
“If you don’t like like it you don’t have to force yourself to eat it. Because if you just ask, I can eat your portion too.”
“…Thanks.”
Elsa thanked him, looking a bit ashamed.
“Now then, about tommorrow.”
“I asked the people in the inn, and they say that it looks like tomorrow’s weather isn’t going to be very good. And, that the day after tomorrow it’ll clear up. Therefore tomorrow we can both take a break and enjoy ourselves in this village, I think.”
“It appears there’s also a mine tunnel for tourists. It seems if luck is with you you can also find gems there. I think going there or the factory where the stones are processed would be good. Apparently you can also buy jewels for cheaper than usual from there.”
As Elsa also consented, it was decided that tomorrow they would see the sights of this village.
It must be remembered that was only for ‘normal’ carriages, and so,
Jin suggested. Neither Reinhardt nor Elsa had any objections.
They considered that depending on the situation they could stay overnight in Keune Village.
“Alright, let’s sightsee the village tomorrow then.”
That was the decision they came to.
Yada Village was a town built on tourism and the mine. The mountain where the mine was was gigantic and out of granite. The granite was rock that had been formed by deep underground magma solidifying. During the solidifying process various minerals segregated and crystallized.
Because geodes contain many kinds of crystallized minerals, pegmatite deposits near the surface make for good mining locations.
Back to the topic at hand, Jin’s group went out to see the mine.
However, it was still possible to discover raw gemstone if you were lucky, and on top of that walking down a long tunnel stretching underground was an experience you could seldom have.
Consequently, it had become good amusement for rich people and nobles.
On the entrance of the tunnel used for sightseeing.
There were four people: a middle-aged woman who seemed like the mother, a boy who looked younger than Elsa, a girl who must’ve been his little sister, and an aging man who appeared to be a butler.
“Thank you for your courteous greetings. We’re the group of Shouro Empire’s diplomat Reinhardt-sama.”
Two people guided the two groups of four tourists. One of them was a muscular and gigantic young man, who had been carrying luggage for a while now. The other was a middle-aged small man who seemed to be the actual guide.
The middle-aged man had a strange style of speaking, or more accurately used some brusque words, and he entered the tunnel in front of the groups to start the tour.
On such a path the guide casually walked on. While occasionally looking behind him to confirm that eight people were still following.
The large man was at the back of the line. His task probably was to ensure there were no people falling behind or getting out of sight.
A short distance in from the entrance Magi Tools producing light had been put up here and there on the walls. Because of that they could somehow see where they were going.
Looking closely, next to the light arrows pointing towards the entrance had been drawn. If there were such arrows written on every one of them, even if you got lost you could at least find your way out.
Thinking about things like that, Jin was walking in the middle of the line of eight people.
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