Chapter 233: Chapter 217: Digging? (2)

Feeling satisfied after worshipping Allen and Elena, Morgan-san resumed mining, so we did too.

“Allen found red one~”

“Elena got purple~”

This time, Allen found a rubellite and Elena found amethyst. Both were the size of a thumb, beautiful and gave a sense of translucence.

“Oh, I got one too.”

I found black quartz.

“Oh, there’s also a light blue one.”

“”Clear~””

There must be lots of quartz around here as we found them often. In addition to the red quartz, amethyst, and black quartz, we also found a clear, whitish quartz, citrine, brown quartz, green, blue and even orange-colored one. Rather, their colors weren’t mixed whatsoever, all were magnificently single-colored. Wasn’t the color of quartz supposed to be influenced by the minerals or geothermy? I thought you shouldn’t be able to find such a different variety of quartz in one place, but that doesn’t seem to be the case on Aetherdia.

“This is iron ore.”

I also dug out a lot of iron ore, but unfortunately, I did not find any rare ores like Mithril or Platinum as Allen and Elena did~

“Alright-! There it is!”

Morgan-san, who has secured only iron ore so far, seemed to have finally found something.

“What is it?”

“Mithril! It’s the result of my worshipping!”

“Nonono, worshipping is unrelated, right! This is your own work, Morgan-san!”

I certainly did think that worshipping the children would be effective, you know? However, the children did not do anything special, okay!? They did not specify an excavation point or anything, so it’s Morgan-san’s own ability!

“I did not feel like I was digging the Mithril by myself! Rudolph! You did well proposing for Takumi and the kids to accompany us!”

“Old man, isn’t that just one lump of ore? Leave that for when you find the amount you need.”

“Right? I might be able to dig up more! Aight, let’s keep digging!”

I wonder why Rudolph-san wasn’t denying it!?

“Hey, Rudolph-san. Allen and Elena certainly have good luck, but it can’t be transferred on others.”

“It’s the frame of mind. Positive thinking makes success, negative thinking makes failure. Has that not been the result so far?”

“... It has.”

Certainly thinking “Not good, there’s no way I can do it.” would make you fail more than often. And vice versa.

“Well, I do think that it’s an extreme example in the Old man’s case. Nonetheless, Takumi. Can you be absolutely sure that it wasn’t the influence of your good luck?”

“......”

Sorry, I can’t.

I mean, I can’t deny nor affirm that? That kind of question is unfair.

“”Onii~chan.””

“We found.”

“Sparkly~”

As Rudolph-san and I talked, Allen and Elena who were mining brought over a fist-sized red stone.

“Whoah~”

“Uoh. Isn’t that ruby? Moreover, it’s huuuge.”

“Indeed.——Allen, Elena, that’s an amazing find.”

What the two found was a ruby crystal. They found something incredible~

“Mining is amusing!”

“Will find more interesting stuff!”

“I see, it’s amusing, huh~ But, haven’t you found enough already?”

“”No! Will find more!””

“Well, I won’t stop you from enjoying yourselves, so go and have fun. But, be careful not to get injured.”

“”Got it~””

The children seemed to be fully engaged in mining and were having lots of fun. Well, it’s a real treasure hunt, after all. And they found lots of treasure so far, so... of course they are having fun~

“Uha! That’s a lot!”

A short time later, Morgan-san returned with his arms full of Mithril.

His face was blushed and he seemed very joyous.

“Ohh, you found it.”

“Yeah! I was able to secure plenty of iron ore too. Geez~ I have never gotten so much stuff in a single mining trip!”

“What, are you finishing already? We still have some time, why not collect as much as possible?”

“No way! I am digging more for sure!”

Morgan-san found a place to put down the ores and returned to digging.

“”Nniyu?””

“What’s the matter, Allen, Elena?”

“”This is not a quartz~?””

There was a milky-white lump, just the right size for them to hold it, in the hands of Allen and Elena who were digging in silence. At first glance, it looked like white quartz, but it was no quartz.

When I appraised it, it came out as salt.

“Ah, that’s rock salt.”

“”Rock salt?””

“Yeah. It’s a lump of salt.”

“You have dug up something unusual again~”

Noticing that the children dug something strange again, Rudolph-san sounded exhausted.

“Is it rare?”

“Yeah, you don’t find it often. Moreover, the rock salt from here is delicious, so it’s quite popular.”

“”Delish!?””

Hearing the word “delicious”, Allen and Elena’s eyes started sparkling.

“Even if the same person cooks the same dish, using this salt will make the dish taste much better.”

“That’s amazing.”

I certainly heard before that food changes with salt. Also, there are salts that go well with the ingredients.

Does this rock salt go well with any ingredients too then? That’s why the food tastes better? Is this the rock salt Natally-san (LN character?) used? Yep, seems like it.

“Onii-chan!”

“Make food!”

“N? Speaking of which, it’s almost time for lunch, isn’t it? Rudolph-san, is it safe to cook within the mines?”

“Starting fire inside would certainly be bad, but you have magic tools, no? There wouldn’t be a problem using them. Let me enjoy your food by all means too.”

“I understand. But, I won’t be making anything exquisite.”

“I have no complaints as long as there’s a portion for me as well.”

Now then, what should I cook?

“Allen, Elena, may I use that salt?”

“”Yea! Use it!””

The children were still holding onto the rock salt, so I received it from them.

I would like to use this rock salt, after all. A sandwich with simple meat sprinkled with salt and vegetables?

“”Will help~?””

“It’s okay, I will be making something simple. You guys should take a rest.”

“”Then, will dig~!””

“Eh? You are not tired yet?”

“Is fine~!”

“Will find salt~”

The children wanted to help, but I was making only sandwiches, so when I suggested them to take a rest, the two rejected and resumed their search for more rock salt.

I don’t think it’s too late to look for it after verifying the taste, but... well, as long as they are in high spirits. They will have to take a break when they eat anyway.