Chapter 214 – Taken Away!?

“So Sheorl is beyond this.”

Theodosia gulped as she looked up at the teleportation gate. Then she and her daughter, Beruna, looked at each other and nodded before stepping through the gate.

The rest of us also walked through the gate and returned to Sheorl.

Obviously, Theodosia and Beruna did not look surprised. After all, we were still in the tunnels.

Rienna, who was walking ahead, turned to look at them.

“It is this way. As there are a lot of things scattered over the ground, please be careful when you walk.”

She was talking about the weapon storage room we had discovered before finding the teleportation gate. Of course, there had not actually been any weapons there that we could use, and the floor was covered in broken wooden boxes.

When we arrived at the weapon storage room, the slimes jumped up excitedly as they greeted us. All of the wood fragments and dust had been cleaned up. It seemed like the slimes had all gathered them into one place.

As we walked through it, Baris opened his mouth before I could ask the question.

“Lady Theodosia. By the way, do you know anything about a metal known as mithril?”
“I have heard stories. That it is much stronger than iron and is filled with magic energy. It was supposed to have been used in ancient Sheorl.”

As Theodosia answered, Beruna muttered with a conflicted expression.

“Mithiril…for magic weapons and armor. Incredibly rare.”

So not only did she know about mithril, but she also knew that it was used for weapons and armor.

Rienna tilted her head to the side and asked.

“Huh? It sounds like you have seen armor and weapons made of mithril before?”

Beruna nodded deeply.

“Yes… But for us, it brings back memories of terror. The Vader people use weapons made of metal and unleash fire… And some of their royals and nobles also have mithril weapons.”
“The Vader people have mithril weapons?”

Rienna asked. And then she suddenly looked as if she had realized something.

Baris and I also turned to each other.

It was possible that it was the Vader people who had taken the mithril weapons from this place.

And then Theodosia told us an old story.

“There is a Vader myth about the founding of their country. While it is hard to believe now, they used to be seen as prey for humans. The Vader people were hunted for their fangs and skin, and were nearly driven to extinction. They could not live near the water out of fear, and had to stay on the move in the forest or underground.”

And then Rienna asked,

“By humans? I mean no insult to you, Lord Heal, but the Vader people are not only much larger, but can transform into humans. Surely humans could not have been winning against them in such a way…”
“Indeed. To the Vader people, humans are weak beings. But it was not like that at that time. While they had strong arms, they could not fly in the air. Obviously, they could not make or use tools either. Large lizards… That is how our ancestors saw them.
“Then what changed suddenly…”

Rienna asked. But then her eyes went down to her body.

Transformation. It was possible with the Ascending Stone.

But where had they acquired Ascending Stones… And then a certain possibility entered my mind.

And that turned into conviction when I heard Theodosia’s following words.

“Apparently, it was because the king, who founded the Vader country, had discovered a treasure room in a cave they were hiding in to escape from humans. This treasure room’s walls and floor were all made of gold. And there, they found mithril equipment, as well as a strange stone that gave the Vader people wings and the ability to transform into humans.”

I looked around the storage room.

There had been mithril equipment here. Perhaps there had also been an Ascending Stone.
And if it was the Vader people who had taken them away, it would explain why they were so strong now.

“And so they acquired the strength of mithril, the dexterity of humans, and the power of dragons. In the blink of an eye, they defeated most of the human territories on the continent, and their population grew more than it ever had before.
“That’s how they became the supreme rulers of this continent.”

Baris said, and Theodosia nodded.

“It is a myth. However, they have been blessed too much in terms of their physique for one to dismiss it as just a myth.”

To those words, I answered,

“There is one possibility… That the treasure room from the myth is this very place.”
“This place… Indeed, the walls and floor are golden. And the ancestors of the Sylphion tribes did allow the Vader people to stay in and pass through the forests. The first Vader king went through the forest we live in, and went down the same roads. It is very possible.”
“Aye. Of course, there is no evidence.”

To be precise, the walls and floor were not gold, but orichalcum. But I avoided telling them that. And I didn’t tell them about the mithril either.

If they knew that we had such things, Theodosia and the Sylphions might want them. And with them, they would…

Theodosia looked around her and nodded.

“That might be. It would make sense if it was the Sheorl underground. They were also desperate to survive. And if this was a place that they discovered at such a time…they must have been very happy.”
“But now, they are using that power to do anything they want! I will never forgive them!”

Beruna said as she bit her lip.

Theodosia closed her eyes and then shook her head.

“They must have become drunk on that excessive power. We would probably do the same if we were in their position. I do believe that they weren’t originally so fond of fighting.”

Beruna let out a sigh.

“You are always like this, mother… Don’t you understand that they are the enemy?”
“If we are always enemies, we must continue to fight until one side goes extinct. If there is a way out of that fate, then we should search for it.”

During the meeting with the elders, there had been people who furiously insisted that a ceasefire with Vader was impossible. But Theodosia was different. She seemed to believe that it was possible for them to understand each other.

The Vader people who had come to Sheorl had been very arrogant, like some humans. However, surely they were not all like that.

Both sides understand each other… It was definitely ideal, but not something that could be done simply.

She must have understood this well, as Beruna had an exasperated expression.

And then Theodosia asked as if remembering something,

“So, Sir Baris. Why were you talking about mithril?”
“Oh, it was just that we had also suspected that it was mithril that was being stored here.”
“I see.”

After a brief moment of silence, Theodosia nodded. And she did not ask anything after that.

…Perhaps she saw through it all. She might suspect that we possessed mithril.

Rienna answered.

“In any case, let us head to the surface. There is so much up there that I want to show you. But first, we have something called a railroad. I will guide you to it.”

Theodosia and Beruna nodded and followed after Rienna.

Baris stared at their backs as he muttered quietly to me.

“Drown in power… We must be careful as well.”
“Indeed. However, to think that the Vader peoples had acquired the Ascending Stones and mithril too…”

We would have to take that into consideration when discussing any future action. While the people we had fought did not have any mithril weapons, that didn’t mean the next people to attack would not have them.

“I would like to avoid any fighting, but… Hmm?”

I noticed that there was something sad about Shiel.

She did not move much. And since we spent so much time together, I could somehow read her expressions.

Shiel must be sad that their weapons and tools were being used for warfare.

“Don’t worry about it, Shiel. When it comes to mithril and iron, it’s all about how you use it.”
“Indeed, Shiel. However, there is one thing I would like to ask you.”

I nodded at Baris’s words.

“The Ascending Stone… Shiel, what is it?”

Was it something that Shiel had made? Or did they always just exist?

After a short silence, Shiel bent her body vertically.

Next Chapter

The Cave King will live a Paradise Life -Becoming the strongest with the mining skill?-