Humanity achieved tremendous growth whenever a cradle was opened.
There was a lot to gain from the Great Mezaiya Forest alone, with the foremost priority being the magic stone mines.
Magic stones. They were fundamental materials used in every aspect of modern humanity and could be obtained by defeating monsters in dungeons. However, this accounted for only 20 percent of the supply, while the remaining 80 percent was mined from magic stone mines.
Despite this, the supply was still not enough. This forced mages to dedicate themselves to research on increasing the efficiency of magic stones.
With the opening of the Great Mezaiya Forest, various national organizations, including the merchant guilds, were frantically trying to determine the quantity of magic stones buried in the forest.
This might seem laughable to an outsider.
Though the Mezaiya Forest was open, it wasn’t human territory.
The elves were the rightful owners of the cradle, yet others were the ones salivating over its resources.
However, at least Shane had a legitimate claim.
The elves who were already few in number had no reason to leave the abundant magic stone mines idle, and some of the mining rights had been granted to him by Priscilla.
“How much can we take….”
“It must be at a level that won’t cause us any trouble.”
“Yes. It must be.”
Lowell couldn’t understand why Shane was making such arrogant claim, but he judged that his son wouldn’t speak empty words.
Although Shane had been often deemed lacking compared to Klein up until last year, that reputation issue was merely in comparison to Klein and not because Shane himself was inferior.
In fact, when it came to using his brain, Shane had a remarkable talent. Much like Lowell.
Lowell thought about it for a moment.
Pushing the recent chaotic events to the back of his mind, he started to make calculations based on the information Shane had just shared with him.
I don’t know how this kid knows such details, but…
What Lowell had just heard from Shane was about the total quantity and quality of the magic stones buried in the Mezaiya Forest.
This wasn’t information that could be known simply by being part of the expedition team.
How could anyone know how many magic stone mines were in the vast Mezaiya Forest?
This clearly meant that he had been in close communication with the elves.
“We should be able to secure at least two first-grade magic stone mines without much trouble.”
“If we push ourselves, we could secure three mines, but I don’t think it’s necessary. It’s better to balance justification and practicality and secure two first-grade mines.”
“Agreed.”
Although the magic stone mines were owned by the elves, and most of the rights could be obtained from their queen Priscilla, if Shane tried to take everything, it would surely cause them trouble.
On a large scale, there could be opposition from the imperial family or the nobles. The opposition could even come from the coalition.
In such cases, sharing appropriately was the better strategy.
Of course, choosing merchant guilds that were obedient would be important in this process.
“But even that feels like a lot. How do you plan to handle it?”
Despite everything that has been said, securing two first-grade magic stone mines was a huge gain.
To manage it, the Clayton family would need to mobilize all their manpower.
Moreover, the imperial family only possessed about eight first-grade magic stone mines, so it was somehow ambitious for a mere count’s family to claim two of them. They lacked the justification for such thing.
“It’s not completely without justification.”
Unlike others, Shane was the author of the paper that started the exploration of the Great Mezaiya Forest.
Naturally, they didn’t lack justification in that regard.
Nevertheless, Shane didn’t need to go out of his way to fill in the lacking justification.
“The necessary justification will be provided by the elves.”
“Hmm, are you sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“I see…”
“Besides that, we also need to consider establishing a branch in the Great Mezaiya Forest.”
“Hmm.”
The Great Mezaiya Forest which was connected to the Kingdom of Haiel was an excellent location from a geographical perspective.
Beyond the great mountain range to the north of the forest lay another cradle, with the vast sea to the west and rocky terrain to the east.
Further into the rocky terrain lay another cradle. This made it an ideal strategic point for adventurers.
And so, the potential for commercial development was limitless, and preparations for this needed to start now.
Lowell felt his mind becoming complicated again at those words, but he was a person who preferred working over resting.
If things continue like this…
If he could properly conclude this Great Forest matter, the Clayton Merchant Guild would gain absolute status within the Empire and the Coalition.
It still puzzled him how Shane, who was once known as the scion of the noble family, had brought about this opportunity.
However, it wasn’t a bad thing.
“I will proceed as you suggested.”
“Yes.”
“Alright, and…”
“……?”
“Hmm.”
How should he put this?
Lowell had always maintained an attitude of indifference towards his family, but it seemed that wasn’t how he truly felt.
Aside from the opportunity Shane and Klein had brought, the fact that his two sons had survived the dangerous cradle brought considerable relief to Lowell.
He hadn’t felt much when he first heard the news, but seeing them return alive and well moved him.
…How amusing.
However, wouldn’t it seem hypocritical to only now show concern for Shane, whom he had raised so neglectfully?
Lowell felt that his emotions were not something to be expressed at this point. He found it hard to find the right words.
But.
The weight of being a father compelled him to finally speak.
“I’m glad you returned safely.”
“…Yes. Thank you, Patriarch.”
“Alright. Go and rest.”
Both Shane and Lowell.
Closing the distance between them was still not easy.
Perhaps it would never be bridged.
But, still, as time passed.
As they continued to see each other, who could say that there wouldn’t come a day when this distance would finally close?
At least, as long as neither of them gave up, that possibility would always remain.
The city of mages, Magical Wisp, has recently started to come alive.
The reason was not only the opening of the Great Mezaiya Forest but also because news had spread that interested the mages.
Elven magic!
Mages usually had little interest in magic outside their own specialization.
However, magic from another race was a different story.
Who could say how the structure of another race’s magic might affect their own?
And so, the usually quiet city where the only disturbances were explosions from experiments was abuzz with mages gathering to discuss elven magic whenever they could.
Amidst this excitement, the city decided to hold a long-awaited conference and sent invitations to the heads of all the Magic Towers.
“Finally!”
“Yahoo!!”
Mages who normally disliked such conferences flocked to Magical Wisp.
They usually paid little attention to such invitations, but this time, the name they had been eagerly awaiting was on the guest list.
Because of this, mages who usually dragged their feet while walking rushed into the conference building to reserve their seats.
“Oh, Maverick. It’s been a while.”
“Merlin, it’s been a long time. Almost ten years, right?”
“Who knew time would pass so quickly.”
“Indeed.”
Maybe it was because of their heightened anticipation.
The mages who hadn’t seen each other for a long time caught up on personal matters. Their chatter heated up the conference building.
But soon, their conversation shifted to another topic.
“By the way, what do you think about the discovered elven magic?”
“Well, we’ll have to wait and see. There’s no immediate answer from the council.”
“At least, we might hear something about it from today’s invitation…”
“Not expecting too much, though.”
“Ahem.”
Even as they said this, the two mages were visibly excited. Their ears were turning red.
In reality, just like the two mages said, there wasn’t much to expect.
Since it was the magic of the elves, the only way to understand it was to either learn it directly from the elves or study it by dissecting it over a long period of time.
In the former case, it was out of the question because there was no way the elves could teach outsiders about their magic in such detail, and in the latter case, wouldn’t it only be possible for a mage of a high level to understand it?
At least two students from the Coalition’s Academy had been sent in… but they were just students after all.
Moreover, neither of them was affiliated with a Magic Tower, so it was natural that it would be difficult to have high expectations.
“That’s why we should push even harder to propose this to the council.”
“Absolutely. I’ve heard that the elves’ teleportation magic is incredibly secretive.”
“It seems to be due to their unique magical adaptability. Still, if we could understand its overall structure, it could be used for exploration.”
“I don’t know how long that would take.”
Most people, like the two mages, had high hopes but didn’t want to get ahead of themselves.
Except for one person. There was one who didn’t think that way.
They have no idea. That guy is a once-in-a-lifetime genius!
He was Caden, an elder of the Kabeer Magic Tower. He had a distinguished mustache and an air of experience about him.
He was the only one present who had met and conducted research with the person invited to this conference, and unlike the others, he couldn’t stop his heart from pounding.
At the time, he had been quite annoyed because the request had come from his sponsor, but how long did that attitude last!
Since meeting that person, Caden had started seeing all his disciples as mere squids and had been eagerly anticipating the chance to meet him again.
In the meantime, he had caught a big fish in the Great Mezaiya Forest, and his hips were shaking in anticipation of how he would surprise him this time.
Eventually, the room darkened and the host appeared.
The host’s voice filled the hall through a voice amplification magic tool.
“Ah, ah. Hello, everyone. My name is Miles, and I will be your host today. Without further ado, as you all know, we are gathered here to discuss the elven magic of the Great Mezaiya Forest. Please remember that the invited guest is not affiliated with any magic tower, so limit your questions to today’s topic only.”
After the host’s brief introduction, a person appeared from the central staircase of the hall.
Black hair and roseberry-colored eyes.
The person who appeared holding a short staff was a boy who was too young to appear as the main speaker of this conference.
Eventually, the boy stepped onto the platform and quietly opened his mouth.
“Hello.”
The voice coming from the voice amplification magic tool prepared by the conference was as thin and youthful as his appearance, but no one present thought so.
The captivating voice that unknowingly drew everyone’s attention echoed through the hall once more.
“I am Clayton R. Shane. I was invited to this conference to discuss elven magic. It is an honor for me to stand before such esteemed senior mages.”
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