Chapter 41 - Transporting Iron Ore
I was driving my camper van across the desolate wasteland west of Nirouette.
The endless expanse of cracked, barren earth stretched out before me.
There was hardly any vegetation—only the occasional withered shrub standing alone in solitude.
The camper van cut through the bleak landscape like a blade.
“Tohru, where are we headed?”
“A mine up ahead. We’re transporting iron ore from there back to Nirouette.”
The quest I’d taken at the Adventurer Guild was an E-rank request to transport iron ore.
The mine, about an hour west of Nirouette, apparently produced a lot of iron ore, but transporting it to the town was time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Normally, they’d mobilize a large team of workers and adventurers as escorts to transport the ore at the end of the season, but this time, they ran out of ore before the season’s end.
So, they urgently needed adventurers to transport even a small amount.
“Hmph. Just a delivery job, huh...”
“But there are supposed to be monsters along the way—oh, speak of the devil, something’s coming.”
As Haku and I chatted in the passenger seat, I noticed something kicking up dust as it approached through the windshield.
[Desert Runner]
Level 16
HP: 85
MP: 38
Attack: 61
Defense: 48
Speed: 66
Intelligence: 28
Luck: 29
Using my Appraisal skill, I identified them as Desert Runners.
Giant ostriches draped in black feathers.
Their faces bore a fierce expression as about five of them charged forward side by side.
Their long, muscular legs ended in sharp, curved claws.
If I kept going, we’d definitely collide.
I turned the steering wheel to the left, but the Desert Runners adjusted their course to match.
“Why are they following us?!”
Now it was clear.
The Desert Runners were targeting us and intended to crash into the camper van.
Part of me wanted to reinforce the vehicle and plow through them, but even if they were monsters, I didn’t want to hit anything with the camper van on purpose.
“I’ll handle this. I was just thinking I needed to stretch my legs.”
“Alright, go for it.”
I could’ve outrun them if I tried, but I didn’t want to race across this bumpy wasteland.
Haku slipped out of the passenger window and landed silently on the ground before sprinting forward.
“Kweeeeee!”
The moment the Desert Runners saw Haku, they spread their black wings wide and let out a threatening cry. But such a feeble display had no effect on Haku.
The Desert Runners lashed out with high kicks using their sharp claws. Haku dodged with minimal movement, slipping past them effortlessly.
“Kwee? ...Gweeeeh?!”
The Desert Runners tilted their long necks, confused as if nothing had happened, but the next moment, they collapsed, blood gushing from their bodies.
I stopped the camper van and got out to see that the Desert Runners had been sliced apart by something sharp.
“Hmm, looks like lunch will be poultry.”
Haku returned, looking pleased.
The tails behind him were stained red.
He must’ve sliced through the Desert Runners with his prized tails as he passed them.
With a light flick, the red liquid splattered onto the ground, and Haku’s tails regained their pure white glow.
What strange material.
If I could make clothes out of Haku’s fur, maybe a light tap would clean off dirt and stains. It seemed so convenient that I couldn’t help but entertain the thought.
●
After the encounter with the Desert Runners, we didn’t run into any more monsters, and we arrived at the mining site west of Nirouette about ten minutes later.
The area was rugged, with exposed rock faces and intricate patterns carved into the cliffs. Countless holes from mining dotted the landscape, and entrances to tunnels of various sizes were visible.
The faint sound of pickaxes striking rock echoed from the tunnels, and I could see workers transporting mined iron ore to a warehouse.
I stored the camper van to avoid startling anyone and continued on foot.
Inside the warehouse, piles of iron ore were stacked high, and human workers and dwarves were discussing something.
“Excuse me! I’m here to transport iron ore for the guild!”
I called out to them, and a helmeted dwarf approached.
“Show me the quest form and your guild card.”
“Here you go.”
When I handed over the officially processed request documents and my guild card, the dwarf gave me a skeptical look.
“Just registered as an F-rank, huh...”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Normally, we’d load the ore onto carts and transport it to the town, but do you think you can handle that with that scrawny body of yours?”
The dwarf scrutinized me without hesitation.
I’d been doing some basic exercise and strength training for outdoor activities, but I was no match for professional adventurers in terms of physique or presence.
The dwarf’s concern was understandable.
“Don’t worry. I have an Item Box.”
“You’ve got an Item Box?”
“It’s a bit special, but yes.”
“Really?! Then take as much as you can carry!”
“Got it!”
The dwarf’s attitude softened the moment he realized I had an Item Box.
With an Item Box, I could transport a significant amount of ore safely, so his expectations must’ve skyrocketed.
I approached the pile of iron ore and opened a subspace, sucking the ore into it.
“...Hey, hey, just how much can you store?”
Each time I opened a subspace, a large chunk of the iron ore pile vanished.
The dwarf stared in shock, his mouth hanging open.
I’d stored about a thousand kilograms, but my Item Box still had plenty of space.
I kept going, loading more and more ore.
“How much is that now?”
“It’s probably a little over three tons, I’d say.”
“That’s enough!”
“Huh? I can still carry more.”
“No, any more than that, and we’ll be the ones in trouble! We won’t be able to pay you!”
“Oh, I see.”
When the total exceeded five tons, the dwarf finally called for a stop, leaving me no choice but to halt storing the iron ore.
“Hold on. Let me recalculate the payment. We didn’t expect you to transport this much in one go.”
According to the dwarf, they usually transported 200 to 400 kilograms of ore over several days. Transporting over ten times that amount in a single trip had thrown their budget into disarray.
The dwarf and the workers huddled together to discuss.
“What do we do? We’re way over budget.”
“Think of it this way. Normally, we’d spend a fortune mobilizing workers and adventurers at the end of the season. If we pay a bit more now and have him transport a lot, it’ll still be much cheaper in the long run.”
“You’re right! Let’s not be stingy and have him transport as much as he can!”
Their conversation was loud enough for me to hear, as if they weren’t trying to hide it.
From the looks of it, they’d reached a decision.
“Is this amount acceptable? The calculations are detailed in this paper.”
The dwarf handed me a sheet of paper with a breakdown of the market value of the ore per kilogram, transportation fees based on weight, distance, hazard pay, and other factors.
The final amount came to 58 gold coins.
For an E-rank delivery quest, that was an exceptionally high reward.
But considering the capabilities of my camper van, there was still room for negotiation.
“If I use my camper van, I can transport the ore much faster. Could we adjust the payment accordingly?”
“Camper van?”
“It’s like a self-propelled carriage.”
I summoned the camper van outside the warehouse, and the dwarves reacted with surprise.
“With this camper van, I can reach Nirouette in under twenty minutes.”
“Just twenty minutes?! Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. If it turns out to be a lie, you can deduct the payment later.”
“If it only takes half a day, we can make up for the delays at the smelting plant. Alright, I’ll add three more gold coins. In return, can you deliver the ore to three different locations in the town?”
I couldn’t drive the camper van in the city, so it’d be a hassle, but with my expanded Item Box, I could make the deliveries on foot.
“Sure, I can do that.”
“Great. I’ll let the guild know to pay you based on this calculation.”
With the negotiation settled, the dwarf and I shook hands, and I received a payment slip stamped with his seal.
“Alright, I’ll get to it!”
I climbed into the camper van, started the engine, and drove off.
Checking the side mirror, I could see the dwarves’ astonished faces as they watched the camper van speed away.
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