90 Episode 90 Mining Right
Allen has gone AWOL to defeat a nest of armor ants. I tried to explain to the baron, but he didn't seem to understand.
I brought this on myself, so I'll explain it carefully again. When I explain, the baron, who can't see any expressions, summarizes the story.
"Is this the story of how you defeated the queen armor ant to get the nest of armor ants?
(Oh! (Now you get the message)
"Yes, it is.
The baron looks at the butler.
"Get the knight master now. Tell him to come soon, he's tired after returning last night.
"Ha!
(Hmm? Calling the Knight Commander. (I told the Knight Commander about the capture of the ant nest of armor ants.
When we defeated the orc village, the leader asked me to let him know about our future defeats. Since then, I'll keep you posted on the progress of the defeat of Allen. The leader is also often absent, but since the orc village is gone, I said once a little over two months ago that I'll attack the armor ant's nest from now on.
"So you brought back the queen's armor at the yard.
"Yes.
Then I will look at the armor until the Knight Commander arrives.
(Oh, you feel forgiven already? (That's the Rikker-style apology method.
No mention of the unauthorized overnight stay. Allen heads to the front yard with the rest of the barons.
At the end of the yard sits the queen's armor, gleaming pink gold. The normal armor of the ant is silver.
The baron is gumming up the queen's armor. Thomas joins in and touches it.
"They are coming soon.
The butler who went to call for the Knight Commander has returned.
"Well, Sebas, by the way. This is what Allen says is the Queen's armor, the armor of the ants.
"I'm sorry, I'm not that familiar with hexenbiest. I don't know that much about hexenbiests.
(Hmm? Well, it's a B-ranked, and it's a pretty rare hexenbiest in the den. So I guess we really don't know if it's the Queen Armor of Ants. Is that why you called the Knight Commander?
The butler replied that he didn't understand, and as he was touching the armor of the ant, the knight commander came running into the yard of the house.
"You want me to hurry up and get here, sir?
I was taking it easy in the afternoon when I was called in suddenly, Allen thinks you are well dressed and have a good haircut.
I'm sorry, I was resting. I just wanted to check with you, Zenov. Is this the Queen's armor, Ari's armor?
"Are you a queen armor ant?
With a look of wonderment on his face, the Knight Commander steps forward and looks at the armor of the queen armor ant.
"I'm sorry. I've never seen the Queen Armor Ant.
Apparently the Knight Commander has never seen it either.
"Allen calls this armor the Queen's ant armor. So do I. I heard a story once that I can't remember for sure... but weren't these armor ants' nests impossible to destroy?
(Huh? Unbreakable? (Not hard, not hard to defeat?
It's impossible, sir. Even if we sent a squad of knights, it would be impossible. Not even the Silver Fang of Gale would do.
The knight commander says that it is impossible to dispatch the knights or the A-ranked adventurer party Gale of Silver Fang. While looking at the armor of the queen armor ant in front of you, I assure you that it is impossible to do so.
''Huh? Isn't the armor ant itself a C-rated magical beast?
Looking at the Queen Armor Ant's armor, Allen asks why it's impossible to defeat a nest of armor ants, as he asserts that it's absolutely impossible. The armor ants are C-ranked monsters. Is it impossible for a group of Knights or an A-rated adventuring party?
"Hmm, that's-
The Knight Commander will explain to you. If you want to kill the ants' nest, you'll have to kill more than a thousand ants, and they'll spring up from the nest as you kill them. And as you kill them, more and more will come out of the nest. The number of ants killed could be as high as 1,000 or as high as 2,000.
Yeah, that's what it was like. I've killed 5,000 of them.
The Knight Commander goes on.
Sending a group of knights to kill thousands of armor ants will cost you a lot of money. There are over a thousand C-ranked monsters. The deaths keep coming.
And what's even more difficult to capture is to defeat the queen-armored ants deep in their lair. There are many branches and labyrinths until you reach the queen-armored ant. The armor ants then use their armor as a wall to trap intruders in the maze of small rooms and dead ends. Defeating the trapped ants will not break the confinement and will result in death.
(Admittedly, I've been trapped many times.)
Each time I was trapped, I returned the summoner to the card and re-summoned it again and again.
So the nest is impossible to kill. Well, if you're going to capture it, it's a matter of how much you have to sacrifice. At least I've never heard of conquering a nest of armor ants.
Many knights and adventurers' lives are sacrificed in order to capture the nest of ants in armor. No one will sacrifice themselves to enter the armor ant nest.
The target of this Knights' expedition was the goblin and orc villages, not the ants' nest of armor.
''Huh? But I've heard that some of the mithril mining sites that exist today were armor ant holes.
It just so happens to be a disused burrow where the queen armor ant died or something.
Hearing this far, I understand why the baron and the butler are expressionless. There's no one to capture. I've never heard of a conquest. It was too new for me to understand. I'm a little confused about what you're saying.
"So that's what happened. Oh, and there's not only the queen's armor, but this as well.
Pull out a burlap bag that has been slung over your shoulder and has yet to report.
What's this?
"These are rocks I found at the site of the queen armor ant. I thought it might be mithril ore.
""This is!
"That's it, Baron!
Everyone reacts to the rock that Allen pulled out of the burlap bag. It's considerably more responsive than the queen's armor ants' armor. This looks like the rock looks familiar. This one seems much more realistic.
The baron and the knight commander step over to look at the rock that Allen brought back.
It's Allen. We'll discuss the rest in the conference room.
Accompanied by the Baron, the Butler and the Knight Commander, Allen goes to the third floor conference room.
"So put everything in the burlap sack on the desk.
"Yes.
I apologize for placing a pebble on the aged table that may have been splattered with the bodily fluids of the queen armor ants, but I place it as instructed.
The baron looks at it and walks out of the conference room. You can feel the presence in the next room, so it seems that he had to go to the next room for something.
"Here's the mithril ore.
(Oh! That's right, a lord of an old and prosperous territory in Mithril. (You have a real one?)
Next to the pebble Allen had placed, the baron placed the mithril ore.
It had the same luster and texture as the one Allen had brought back.
"It seems to be the same.
Yes. Sebas, take the map with you.
Sebas brings a map from another room. A map of the territory is placed on the table. You will be asked where the armor ants' nest is located.
The map is not the first time for Allen to see the map, as he was instructed by the knight commander to explain the territory when he was defeating the orc village.
The armor ant nest located between the first and second of the four tunnels from the top. "Right here," you reply, pointing with your finger.
"Well, this is close to the frontier village.
The baron's words are answered by the butler and the head of the order.
"I thought we should send the Order to them before any other hexenbiest takes up residence.
The Knight Commander returns to the city and heads for the nest of armor ants early.
Oh, later.
Remind me what Allen has yet to report.
"Is there anything more?
"Yes, if you have a piece of parchment, you can write a simple but complete picture of a nest of armor ants.
It's just a copy of the map I recorded in the grimoire. It's a simple one, but it's a labyrinth that can be up to five kilometers long. It will be managed differently with or without them.
That's true! Let's get the parchment ready now.
"My Lord, you might want to explain about the mining rights.
Nuh-uh, I know.
The baron replies that he knows what he needs to say to the butler.
"You've been very good at this, Allen. The AWOL question is, of course, upheld.
"Thank you.
And of course, the first discoverer of the Mithril vein would be Allen.
"Yes.
(I feel like I've got it.)
The kingdom's standards give 30 percent of the rights to anyone who discovers a resource site, not just in Mithril.
"I can have that much?
"Mm, 30% of the mining rights are Allen's. It's yours.
(Seriously, I'm going to be a rich man in another world. What's the mining rights?
Further details.
Thirty percent is actually a lot less than that.
From the profit from the sale of mithril, all expenses are deducted to pay for the maintenance of the mine, the construction of the furnaces, and the labor of the knights and miners. From the profits after expenses are subtracted, another 60% will be taken to levy taxes on the royal family.
The right to receive the remaining net profit after taxes to the crown are deducted is called mining rights.
Since Allen obtained the ant nest in armor, 30% of the mining rights belong to Allen. Seventy percent will belong to the lord who governs the territory.
At the age of 11, Allen received 30% of the mining rights for the mine that he had obtained by defeating the ant nest.