Chapter 19 - Episode 19: Rough Gems and Pipe Dreams
"I see. Well, I guess mineral veins aren't found that easily."
'Yeah, sorry about that.'
"No. I'm not rushing the results, so just don't overdo it."
'Understood. I'll send another report tonight.'
"Okay."
For the first two days after the investigation of the Lestio Mountains began, there were no results.
Then on the third day, a report came in from Yuri stating, "No particular discoveries this morning either."
"Noein-sama, is the investigation of the mountains not going well after all?"
"It seems so. Well, we're investigating a vast mountain range that has been an unknown location until now. It can't be helped if results don't appear in a few days."
It was exactly lunchtime. Noein answered Matilda, who had asked while offering tea for after the meal.
He intended to continue the investigation of the mountains by sending survey teams many times in the future. The probability of finding something convenient in the first few days was likely lower.
While he was thinking that, shortly before evening, he heard Yuri's voice earlier than the scheduled contact.
'Noein-sama, do you have a moment?'
"Yuri? You're earlier than usual. Did something happen?"
'Yeah, I found something that caught my interest. On the rock face... how should I put it, there was a blue part.'
"Blue? Not like there are crystals, but the rock itself is blue?"
'That's right. Within the visible range, it's several meters wide. The height is taller than I am. It doesn't seem to be a precious metal or a gemstone, but it looks like some kind of mineral vein.'
"I see... can you bring some back?"
'Yeah, I'll carve out a chunk and bring it. I plan to wrap up the investigation and depart from here tomorrow morning.'
"Yeah. That sounds good. I'm counting on you."
After finishing the 'Far-talk' with Yuri, Noein thought about the "blue rock" he had mentioned.
Hearing the characteristics, one thing came to mind, but if that were the case...
"I'll make a fortune. Hehe."
Facing the forest alone and performing logging work with golems, Noein muttered this and resumed work with a smirk.
.....
The next day at noon. Noein welcomed the survey team, including Yuri, who had returned safely. Dant, the largest member of the survey team, was carrying the "blue rock" from the report in a back-basket.
While the residents grew excited as the survey team returned carrying an unfamiliar lump of rock, Noein immediately received the report. People other than the survey team also gathered with interest.
"This is the blue rock I reported. It was exposed on the mountain's rock face."
"I see. There's still plenty of it, right?"
"Yeah. I carved out this chunk and tried digging a bit further in, but it seemed the blue part continued. I felt that digging it out by hand wouldn't be that difficult."
"Which means, it wasn't very hard..."
"That's right. Do you know what this is?"
"Probably. Let me examine it for a bit."
Noein struck the lump of rock repeatedly with a knife. Then, the edge easily split into a piece the size of a fist.
When he rubbed the piece as if scraping it, blue powder spilled out.
Next, he struck the surface of that piece with the handle of the knife. He brought it close to Yuri's face.
"Try smelling it?"
"O-oh..."
Smelling the piece as told, Yuri snorted slightly uncomfortably and grimaced.
"What did it smell like?"
"It smells like rotten eggs. Sulfur?"
"Ahaha, I thought so... yeah, it certainly is the smell of sulfur."
Having confirmed Yuri's reaction, Noein brought his own nose close to the piece to verify.
"Hey, did you do that on purpose? Besides, if you were going to check it yourself, why go out of your way to make me smell it?"
"It was just a little prank. Laugh, laugh?"
While giggling in high spirits, Noein placed the knife and the rock fragment on the ground.
"Do you know what it is?"
"Let's see, this is... pfft. Uhuhu."
Noein tried to give the answer, but as if unable to contain his joy, he began to laugh "uhuhu."
Seeing this, Yuri's face became slightly repulsed, and the others gave wry smiles. Only Matilda, standing behind Noein, maintained her usual expressionless face.
"Hey, stop laughing and just say it already."
"Ufu... sorry, sorry. But I can't help laughing. Because this is a raw lapis lazuli. It's an amazing discovery."
Noein, whose laughter finally subsided, said so with a face that still hadn't stopped smirking.
.....
Lapis lazuli is a stone characterized by its deep blue appearance.
It doesn't emit a strong brilliance like a diamond, nor does it have a transparent luster like a ruby or sapphire, but it has been known since ancient times as a distinct type of gemstone.
Even in the northern part of the Lordberg Kingdom, where mine excavation is active due to the presence of the Lestio Mountains, examples of its mineral veins being discovered are few. It can be called one of the particularly rare minerals.
"...Hoh. Is this thing really that rare?"
Yuri muttered that it didn't look like a gemstone. The other members of the survey team and the other residents who had gathered with interest also seemed not to quite grasp it.
"Well, it's not like it glows flashily in an easy-to-understand way. If you polish it, it becomes a beautiful blue gemstone with a luster that seems to pull you in... but its true value lies elsewhere."
"Elsewhere, sir?"
Since Bart asked, Noein nodded and continued.
"Yes, if you process the powder, it becomes a pigment for coloring paintings and ceramics. It's called 'Blue of the Mother Sea'."
"Now that you mention it, I've heard of that."
Edgar, who had been listening to the survey team's report from the side, spoke as if suddenly remembering.
"If I recall, it is an extremely rare and expensive pigment. The powder is more expensive than the same weight in gold, and even famous painters can hardly afford it."
"Exactly. You're well-informed, aren't you?"
"My grandmother was from a noble family and was fond of painting in her youth, so I had heard the story."
Upon asking, it seemed Edgar's grandmother was a former noble who had married into the home of his grandfather, who was the village head at the time, from a Baronet family that ruled the area of his hometown.
"Even so, why does Noein-sama know about raw lapis lazuli?"
When asked that by Yuri, Noein remembered his deceased mother.
His mother, who had climbed from the daughter of a pauper to the concubine of a great noble through schemes, showed absolutely no affection for her son, but she sometimes dragged the young Noein around as a conversation partner to brag about the luxury goods she had collected.
Since she would immediately become moody and hit him if he didn't show the reaction she wanted, he would give vague responses like "That's amazing, Mother," but the raw lapis lazuli, ornaments, and paintings using 'Blue of the Mother Sea' pigment that he was frequently shown in those stories had remained in Noein's memory as particularly rare items.
Additionally, knowledge such as how to distinguish raw lapis lazuli from other blue minerals was something he had learned from books while he was under house arrest in an annex at the Earl's estate.
"It's because of my background."
"Ah..."
Noein had only told his detailed background to the former mercenaries like Yuri and to Edgar, who was the coordinator for the new residents. Since other residents were present, when Noein hinted at it, Yuri also blurred his words.
"Anyway, if this can be mined in large quantities, we won't have to worry about money for a while."
"Noein-sama, how much money will this lump become?"
Radley asked with a look of intense curiosity.
"Let's see. Yuri, about how much does this weigh?"
"Isn't it around whether it exceeds 50kg or not?"
"I see, in that case... if it's the retail price, I think it'll easily exceed 100,000 Rebro, but I wonder how much the wholesale price for raw ore would be. Even if it's a fraction of that, I think it would still go for several tens of thousands of Rebro?"
Hearing "several tens of thousands of Rebro," a stir occurred among those capable of calculation, such as the former mercenaries and Edgar. Even Matilda, who usually lacked changes in expression, widened her eyes.
The other residents, who didn't know how much the number "several tens of thousands" meant, were blank, but when Noein explained, "In other words, this single lump of rock will become several gold coins," they too widened their eyes in surprise, as they could understand the value of gold coins.
If one had a single 10,000 Rebro gold coin, a commoner family in a farming village could live modestly for one year. The fact that this lump dug out from the mountain's rock face turned into enough money to live for several years, and that there was still more of it in the Lestio Mountains, meant they couldn't even accurately imagine the amount of wealth.
"So, if we keep digging that mineral vein from now on, we won't have to worry about the development funds for the residential area for the time being. We can build houses for every household, set up various facilities, and also... hehe, uhuhu."
When Noein began to start his pipe dreams and laugh again, Yuri and the others wore exasperated faces.