Under the moonlight, Rei flew through the sky with Set.
The summer night sky lifted his spirits slightly, even as he thought about what he was about to do.
(People often say the summer sky is high, but looking at it now, the summer night sky seems high too. And it's full of stars.)
Back in Japan, Rei had lived in the countryside—right near the mountains, in fact.
Naturally, the air there was far clearer than in the city, and whenever he looked up, the stars were vivid and plentiful.
...Of course, having grown up in the countryside his entire life, a sky full of stars was nothing unusual for Rei.
He first realized how beautiful the night sky from his home really was either when he heard stories from relatives working in Tokyo, or when he saw the night scenery during a school trip.
At any rate, the night sky before him now was overwhelmingly superior to anything he had seen back in Japan.
"Gruu?"
Set purred at Rei as he gazed up at the night sky, as if asking what was on his mind.
"No, it's nothing. Just thinking about what comes next."
In exchange for twenty spears, Rei had gathered a wealth of information from the Rebel Army, including the location of the mine.
He had handed over more spears than originally planned, but they were weapons seized from Bandits to begin with—he hadn't spent a single coin on them.
Their quality was neither poor nor particularly good.
They were perfectly ordinary spears.
Even so, they must have been an invaluable asset to the Rebel Army.
"Oh, there it is," Rei muttered, catching sight of the mountain ahead.
Illuminated by moonlight, the mountain was deliberately structured so that even Rei would have struggled to identify it as a mine from a distance.
Count Relduct clearly understood the mine's importance to his territory, which was no doubt why he had gone to such lengths to disguise it.
Mines typically featured well-built roads for transporting excavated ore, but from what Rei could see from above, nothing of the sort was visible in the moonlight.
An ordinary path existed, certainly, but whether it was sufficient for hauling ore was questionable at best.
For Rei, soaring through the sky on Set's back, such concealment was virtually meaningless.
Naturally, Count Relduct understood that aerial threats existed.
But those capable of flight were exceedingly rare—Dragon Knights and the like, or those wielding Summoning Magic.
Given that, he likely hadn't considered aerial defense worth the investment.
"Well, thanks to that oversight, I found the place in no time. Can't complain."
With a faint smile, Rei gave Set a gentle pat.
"Alright, let's go, Set."
"Grurou!"
At Rei's word, Set let out a sharp cry and dove toward the ground.
It was already past midnight.
Naturally, the mine was deserted.
Rei had expected to find slaves or Relduct's subordinates inside, so the emptiness caught him slightly off guard.
"Well, at least there are guards."
More accurately, they were lookouts or sentries rather than proper guards.
Rather than being posted near the mine itself, they were stationed near the road leading up to it. Calling it a checkpoint would be generous, but it served a similar purpose.
"Even if they tried to stop someone there, we're in the middle of the mountains. Anyone determined enough could just walk right in. Unless... there are traps set up in the forest."
If someone triggered a trap and cried out, the intruder would be discovered and caught.
That was likely the reasoning—but spotting Rei and Set flying through the night sky rather than during the day was, unfortunately, impossible for those guards.
As a result, Rei touched down at the mine without incident, still mounted on Set.
"Alright. Now I just need to put this mine out of commission... but how?"
Rei muttered, sliding off Set's back and surveying the timber-reinforced entrance.
"Gruu?"
Set gave a small purr, tilting its head as if asking what was wrong.
"Just trying to decide how to destroy the place. Hey, Set—mind checking inside the mine to make sure no one's there?"
"Grurururu!"
Set cried happily and bounded into the mine.
It wasn't the prospect of exploring the mine that pleased Set so much as the simple joy of being given a task by Rei.
Fortunately, the entrance and passages had been carved wide enough to accommodate large ore shipments, so even Set could move through them without difficulty.
After watching Set disappear cheerfully into the mine, Rei turned his thoughts to how best to render it unusable.
The quickest method would be Flame Magic.
But with trees thickly surrounding the area, a forest fire was a very real risk.
What's more, there was no guarantee the entrance before him was the only one. If other passages connected to the surface elsewhere, a fire could spread far beyond control.
"In that case... it'll have to be another approach. And for destroying a mine, the safest option would be—"
Rei trailed off, drawing the Death Scythe from his Misty Ring and studying its form.
It was a scythe capable of wielding various skills—a partner to Rei in a different sense than Set.
By cutting a monster's Magic Stone, it could absorb and learn that creature's skills.
One such skill he had acquired was Terrain Manipulation.
It had been unwieldy when first learned, but at Level 3, he could now raise or lower the ground within a fifty-meter radius by up to one meter.
That would be more than enough to deal with a mine of this scale.
Rei was certain of it.
"There are probably other options, but... Terrain Manipulation it is."
As he spoke, Set emerged from the mine.
"Set, was anyone inside?"
"Gruu."
Set shook its head slightly.
"Good. Then let's finish this mine off quickly. The longer we linger, the more likely someone notices we're here."
No one was in the immediate vicinity, but enough commotion would eventually alert the distant guards.
Set purred in agreement.
Rei gave it a brief pat, then focused his concentration on the Death Scythe gripped in his hands.
"Alright, here we go. Once the mine collapses, we retreat to the sky. We'll watch from above to make sure nothing unexpected happens before we leave."
"Gruu!"
Set let out an energetic cry.
As luck would have it, no villages or towns dotted the area surrounding the mountain.
The mine workers were housed in a town a considerable distance from the mountain itself.
(From what the Rebel Army told me, the workers stay at regular inns, and the meals aren't bad either. At least he's got that part figured out.)
Rei revised his assessment of Count Relduct slightly, though he understood full well that the man's decent treatment of workers wasn't born of compassion.
Given that the mine's very existence was a secret, constantly cycling in new workers carried too much risk.
There was also the matter of lost time spent training replacements.
Mining might appear to be simple labor—digging up ore and hauling it out.
But precisely because the work seemed straightforward, it carried hidden depth, and individual skill played a significant role.
Treating experienced miners as disposable would mean discarding hard-won expertise along with them, ultimately cutting into Relduct's profits.
That was the likely calculus behind the arrangement.
As far as Rei was concerned, none of that mattered.
So long as destroying the mine didn't cause collateral damage to the surrounding area, he was satisfied.
(Though with the mine gone, the workers here will lose their jobs. So it's not like there won't be any casualties at all.)
With that thought, he drove the butt of the Death Scythe into the ground and activated the skill.
"Terrain Manipulation!"
The ground near the mine entrance surged upward by roughly one meter.
Described in words, it sounded simple enough. But the timber-reinforced entrance stood no chance against the violent tremor that followed.
Support beams splintered, and the entrance caved in on itself.
The shockwave rippled deep into the mine, shattering the timber supports lining the passageways and sending them crashing to the ground.
As one support after another gave way, a chain collapse tore through the entire mine.
Amid the deafening roar—loud enough to wake the dead—Rei swung onto Set's back and retreated into the sky.
Even if the collapse triggered a landslide, they would be perfectly safe in the air.
At lower altitudes, there was a risk of being struck by falling treetops or hit by bouncing rocks tumbling down the slope.
But at a hundred meters—or even thirty—they were more than safe enough for this particular operation.
"...Alright."
Several minutes after the collapse, once the trembling had subsided, Rei scanned the ground below.
Fortunately, the mountain itself had barely shifted. The guards stationed at its base, tasked with watching for unauthorized intruders, appeared unharmed.
The sudden collapse of the mine, however, had clearly thrown them into a panic—even from above, their frantic movements were visible.
As far as Rei was concerned, the only thought that crossed his mind was that at least no one had been killed, so it was fine enough.
The mine had caved in right under the guards' watch.
As things stood, it would inevitably become a question of accountability.
"Give it a while, and that won't be their problem anymore."
"Gruu?"
Set purred, as if asking whether they were still sticking around.
The sight of a mine collapsing and triggering a chain reaction through the mountainside was a rare spectacle even for Set.
But staring at the aftermath would lose its novelty before long.
Stroking Set, Rei spoke up.
"Right. Let's handle the next order of business before word of this reaches Relduct. They're waiting for us, after all."
"Grurou!"
Set cried happily and began beating its wings, lifting away from their perch.
"That takes care of Viscount Gail's request. Which means it's finally time for the main event. I'd like to wrap things up within a few days if possible. Think you've still got the energy?"
"Grurururu!"
Set made its feelings clear—it was still raring to go.
Smiling at the display, Rei scratched the back of Set's neck.
"Alright. Let's move while we've still got steam."
At Rei's words, Set turned its back on the ruined mine and launched into the sky.
Some time after leaving the mine, they arrived at the place where Rei had clashed with the Rebel Army—or more accurately, the place where Rei and Set had routed them.
"That was fast. Wait—does this mean you've already destroyed the mine?"
The Rebel Army members stared in shock at the sight of Rei and Set. Their leader—the man who had been the first blown off his feet during their encounter—asked the question with wide eyes.
Several members had been drilling with the spears Rei had provided, but they too froze mid-swing when they saw him return.
"Yeah. It wasn't that large a mine, all things considered. Relduct probably kept it small to prevent information from leaking into Viscount Gail's Territory."
"I have to ask—were there any casualties among the workers?"
"Of course not. No one was working at this hour. The guards weren't near the mine either, so no one should have been caught in the collapse. Though if someone happened to be wandering the mountainside, I can't guarantee anything."
At the confirmation that no lives had been lost, everyone within earshot let out a collective sigh of relief.
"So—what about the assault on Count Relduct's mansion?"
Rei posed the question to the relieved Rebels.