“This is an incredible place,” Adriana remarked.
The entrance to the tunnel was roughly four meters wide and four meters high.
Harkiller explained that they had initially lived only within these tunnels to shield themselves from the winter snow and bitter cold. However, as their population grew, they were eventually forced to build houses outside as well, leading to the current state of the settlement.
“Come, this way.”
No one questioned Adriana’s two golems as they followed her inside. This was hardly surprising, as she saw many other golems within the caves performing a variety of tasks.
The sound of resource mining echoed from deep within the cavern, and in one room, she glimpsed what appeared to be some sort of vegetable cultivation.
Adriana was led to a room further back. It served as both a drawing room and a council chamber, featuring a rectangular table with rounded corners surrounded by about ten chairs.
“I have ordered a room to be prepared for you. In the meantime, might I ask you a few questions?”
“Oh, yes, of course.”
“First, please have something to drink.”
Steaming cups were placed before them. Harkiller, the chief, sat across from her and took a sip first. Bashako, seated beside Adriana, followed suit.
Taking her lead from them, Adriana tried a sip as well. It was a sweet, pleasant tea.
“It is called Te-e,” Harkiller explained. “We purchase it from a country to the south, though we are currently experimenting to see if we can grow it in this region.”
Once the introductions to the tea were finished, the chief finally broached the main topic.
“Now then, I shall begin with my own inquiries.”
“Yes, what would you like to know?”
“You are Lady Adriana, correct? These two golems you brought with you... did you construct them yourself?”
“Yes, I did.”
Harkiller seemed slightly taken aback by her answer.
“...I see. If that is true, you appear to be a highly skilled engineer. Tell me, what is it you hope to find by coming here?”
“I wish to satisfy my thirst for knowledge,” Adriana replied, looking Harkiller straight in the eye.
She sensed that with this man, a direct approach was better than using roundabout phrasing. It seemed her intuition was correct.
“Heh... Hahaha! Fascinating! Young lady—no, Lady Adriana. Let me see the skills that reportedly impressed the All-Creation clan.”
Harkiller clapped his hands twice.
Three golems arrived carrying trays laden with dinner.
“First, let us eat.”
The meal consisted of stewed tubers, a vegetable soup, and a loaf of hard bread. Since Harkiller was eating the same fare, this appeared to be their standard daily meal.
“I apologize if the food seems meager. However, due to the nature of the land here in Gospel, crops do not flourish.”
“In that case...”
When Adriana asked why they didn’t simply relocate, the chief gave a firm reply.
“We cannot abandon the land where our ancestors have lived for generations. Therefore, we are seeking various ways to innovate.”
The sight of the golems cultivating vegetables earlier was clearly part of those efforts.
“I see...”
“If you are indeed as as they say, I wonder if you could do something about this problem?” Harkiller proposed.
“Well, let me think...”
Adriana possessed virtually no knowledge of agriculture, making her ill-equipped to offer advice on the matter. However, a different solution occurred to her.
“In that case, wouldn’t it be simplest to buy what you need from elsewhere?” she suggested, offering what seemed to be the most logical solution.
She expected him to laugh it off, but his reaction was quite different.
“That is certainly an option. However, purchasing goods requires money. Our clan has no such thing as currency.”
“What...?”
Adriana couldn't fathom a lifestyle that didn't involve the use of money.
“Now that you mention it... is there no currency used on this continent at all?” she asked.
“Indeed, we do not use it. We manage perfectly well through bartering.”
Harkiller explained that within each clan, everyone had specific roles to ensure their society was self-sufficient.
“When we must procure something we lack from the outside, we trade goods for it.”
Adriana wondered for a moment how an economy could truly function that way, but she reminded herself that they had survived this way for a long time. It wasn't her place to interfere in their traditions. What Adriana didn't realize was that even in the lands she had already visited, commoners often relied on bartering rather than coin.
Since currency was out of the question, she tried to look at the problem from a different angle. A flash of inspiration hit her.
“In that case, why not prepare something ‘salable’ to acquire what you need?”
“Something salable?” Harkiller looked puzzled.
“Yes. From what I saw a moment ago, your golems are mining resources, aren't they?”
“They are. They dig up metals and magi-crystals.”
“Then you should sell those. Even a small portion would suffice.”
“Hmm, I see. But to whom?”
“To the southern continent.”
By “south,” she meant the continent located across the sea from their current location.
“Hmph...”
“The people living there call it the Lauren Continent. It is much warmer than here, and their crop yields are high. Why not buy from them?”
“...This continent is known as the Gondoa Continent,” Harkiller said after a long silence. “The Lauren Continent... To be honest, I have no love for those who dwell there.”
“Why is that?”
Adriana was from the Lauren Continent herself, so she couldn't help but ask.
“There is a legend that, long ago, those who fled from the Gondoa Continent settled on what you call the Lauren Continent.”
“Wait... what?”
“They are, in a sense, a branch house. More than that, they are the ones who abandoned the main house. We cannot bring ourselves to purchase the necessities of life from such people.”
“...”
Whether the legend was factually true or not was irrelevant. It was a matter of principle—and pride.
Adriana felt like burying her face in her hands.
She was an engineer at heart. She had come to the Gondoa Continent because she had deduced that people with ancient, unknown knowledge likely resided in the north. Her father, Shuuki, had told her of people living far to the west, in countries called Mitsuho and Fusou. Drawing from those fragments of information, she had gambled on heading north, and she had been proven exactly right.
However, she knew from experience that emotions related to "pride" were the most difficult to overcome. Even when she traveled with her father, she had met many people bound by old traditions who stubbornly refused to accept the benefits of Craft Magic.
(This really is a headache...)
Sighing inwardly, Adriana tried one more time to reframe the situation.
“Instead of thinking of it as buying necessities from them, think of it as selling them your surplus.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?” Harkiller asked, clearly intrigued by the shift in phrasing.
“The people on the other continent are lacking in many resources. You would be doing them a favor by selling them what they cannot get themselves. And, of course, you would demand fair compensation for your generosity.”
“Hmmmm...”
Harkiller fell into deep thought at her proposal. Adriana felt a glimmer of hope; she might just be getting through to him.