One-way traffic

The mine was not large. The miners who had come here to work after receiving the king's order had long since finished their work, and the soldiers responsible for guarding them had been watching outside the mine.

This is the western forest, the nesting ground of monsters. You must leave here as soon as you finish your work and do not linger.

Even the king said the same thing when he gave the order, and everyone here understands this principle.

but.

Sometimes, reality doesn't follow the path people imagine or plan for.

"Why...why?!"

The ore mining work was completed in the shortest possible time and with the highest efficiency.

The miners and soldiers didn't intend to waste a single second. As soon as everything was over, they quickly left with all the ore that was to be transported back to Uruk.

They had just left the mine, about a minute later.

Then disaster struck.

It was a horde of magical beasts that completely surrounded everything without any reason, as if it were a natural disaster.

"Why would monsters suddenly appear at this time... We didn't see a single one until we finished mining!"

Regret or resentment, no matter which emotion it is, is meaningless now.

The roaring monsters bared their claws and pounced without mercy.

The soldiers who fought to protect the miners, even with their best efforts, could not survive the siege by the dozens of monsters.

Now it's the miners' turn to die.

Bang! !

Even though these frenzied attackers intended to run all the way down the hillside, several magical beasts suddenly appeared from the other side and blocked their way.

There was no way out, neither in front nor behind.

"What is the reason...? Why would the monsters be at a time like this...!"

"Damn it, there's no way out... I can't find a way to escape anymore!!"

The remaining soldiers had their weapons crushed by the monsters' claws, and their bodies fell to the jaws of those monsters in the distance.

The miners were gathered in one corner, while the monsters completely surrounded and attacked that spot.

A monster with drool dripping from the corner of its mouth.

Pairs of deadly, bloodshot eyes were fixed on them.

Then--

boom! ! !

Another calamity will fall from the sky.

"Uh—huh?!"

The miners couldn't figure out what was happening; they only knew that something was falling rapidly.

From hundreds of meters above the ground.

"—!!"

The immense force generated by the falling object blew almost all the magical beasts away in one breath.

Not only that, even the wind that was whipped up fell under their control.

The monsters' bloodshot eyes stared ahead, where they finally saw the true nature of the attacking creature.

No, it wasn't a meteorite or any other extraterrestrial object.

It was another "monster" standing there, far above these magical beasts.

The white-haired, red-eyed figure rose from the ground where he had fallen into the deep pit, and then casually raised his left hand.

A strong wind arose.

Dozens of gusts of wind were instantly transformed into sharp blades that pierced through the monster's body.

The monsters' final thoughts were completely lost in the silence of death.

"Ugh...! Ah!"

"There's no need to make a fuss; they're just some eyesores."

The person standing on these monster corpses spoke calmly.

This bizarre appearance, and those eyes that glowed with a blood-red light, just like those of a demonic beast.

This really frightened all the miners.

"These brainless beasts attacked you a minute ago, didn't they? How many of you are dead?"

"I...I don't know...they just suddenly appeared! The soldiers responsible for protecting us were all killed!!"

The miner was so frightened he couldn't even speak clearly, and Accelerator no longer expected to get confirmation from him.

He looked directly behind him, where the monsters that were still tearing at the soldiers were slaughtered by the aftershocks of his attack.

"Hatsune, go and treat those soldiers. They shouldn't be dead yet."

"Understood!"

Hatsune Miku, who arrived shortly after, immediately used a healing technique to heal the soldiers... and it was effective.

Just as Accelerator said, these soldiers still had their last breath left.

"Where is the mineral that the king ordered you to mine?"

"Ah...yes, it's over here..."

The miners, still trembling with fear, pointed to another opening on the other side. It wasn't very big, and it seemed there wasn't much mineral in it.

While Hatsune Miku was treating the soldiers, Accelerator also entered the mine.

And so he saw it.

The mining team in Uruk has recently discovered a completely new type of ore... no.

Is that really considered ore?

Even Accelerator showed a hint of surprise.

The ores laid out before us—

Accelerator is certain that this is definitely not ore.

A huge object with a white shell and a red core, its surface flowing like lines, occasionally shimmering with a faint light.

Within its golden grooves, the irregular shape presents an alien-like beauty.

'Are you kidding me...? This isn't some kind of ore, it's a piece of metal!'

A huge, white and red metallic mass.

It seemed to have been completely embedded in the inner wall of the ore, which is why the mining team mistook it for a type of ore.

But no matter how you look at it, this thing doesn't seem like something that could have been born from this world itself; it's more like... something pulled out of another world.

Accelerator had never seen metal like this before.

He gently touched the white surface with his hand.

There was no response.

But through that simple touch, in just a moment, Accelerator basically understood the properties of this metal.

First of all, its hardness... is probably even harder than diamond.

Based on the knowledge of this planet that is considered normal within the first mind of Academy City, there is probably nothing on this planet that can surpass the hardness of this metal.

How exactly did it come about? Was it man-made or naturally occurring? These are questions that cannot be calculated.

"That...that...the adult inside—!"

Hearing the calls from the miners outside, Accelerator snapped out of his reverie about the metal and ore combination.

He returned to the outside of the cave entrance.

"Thanks to this young lady's help, it seems that the soldiers' injuries have all been healed!"

"Take that thing from the mine and leave here. The two of us will be responsible for protecting it during this time. You just need to transport that thing."

"Yes, yes..."

The miners were still reeling from the terror of being attacked by monsters, but Accelerator wouldn't give them any extra time to think.

After the miners had completely loaded the huge piece of white and red metal onto the vehicle, the two men followed them, escorting them back to Uruk.

But during this period.

"What's wrong?"

Walking beside the carriage that was already fully loaded, Hatsune Miku saw Accelerator looking at the minerals on the carriage with a strange expression.

"…No."

The first person shook his head, dismissing the various thoughts in his mind.

Although he felt that the existence of this mineral was somewhat incongruous, based on the information he had repeatedly confirmed, it was indeed a simple combination of metal and mineral.

It should be fine to use it as a weapon, but given how hard it is, whether people in this era can actually process it into tools is unknown.

But none of this is something Accelerator needs to care about.

He only needed to confirm that these people had returned safely to Uruk without any casualties; confirming that was enough.

The wagon carrying the white and red metallic ore soon returned to Uruk with the group.

No one noticed what happened after that.

After everyone had returned to Uruk, near that mine.

An extra figure appeared.

A person wearing clothes that don't belong to this era and with purple hair.

He slightly raised his hand and looked down the road the carriage had taken.

In the center of his palm, a tiny, metallic-like object appeared.

"That thing seems to indeed have a significant impact on the god Tiamat."

————————————————————————————————————————

After they report the day's events to King Gilgamesh, the soldiers responsible for giving them the bounty will arrive near the clay house, at which point they will have enough funds to ensure their operations in this era.

As for now…

"cheers--!!"

Unsurprisingly, Accelerator remained on the rooftop.

The first floor was just like yesterday, with the Chaldea guys and the three Servants summoned by King Gilgamesh all having a party.

"Today is to celebrate the successful completion of our first job. Come on, everyone, please don't be shy and enjoy the wine and food to your heart's content!"

My first job went perfectly... Why celebrate something so trivial?

The thought of the celebratory banquets in the next few days, celebrating the successful completion of the second, third, and fourth missions, made Accelerator doubt that these guys would have a moment's peace.

Even someone with Hatsune Miku's personality wouldn't be able to leave, and after everyone has tasted her cooking, they've all been full of praise for it, making it even harder to escape.

"I have no time to waste on such childish tricks. What a joke."

Accelerator hasn't eaten anything for almost two days.

However, he did not feel any physical discomfort at all. He might feel thirsty occasionally, but a couple of sips of coffee would be fine.

Since we don't even need to eat, there's no need to stay here any longer.

If I go to this city to investigate information with Hatsune Miku during the day...

"Let me handle things by myself tonight."

He also knew that Hatsune Miku was currently entangled with the Chaldea group and would have a hard time getting away.

Therefore, he wouldn't take her with him.