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“There’s one more souvenir,” Ekaterina said, handing Isaac a glass pen. He was just as delighted with this one as well.
It was not the vividly colored glass like the one she had given Aleksei, but a colorless prototype. Since Isaac often traveled over poor footing for fieldwork, Aaron had advised that something acceptable to break would be more appropriate, and this was the result of following that advice.

“This is amazing. It’s far better than a quill pen. To think of something like this is genius—Ekaterina, you’re an incredible child.”

No, the genius is you, Great-Uncle. And I didn’t come up with this. To the true inventor of the glass pen is the wind-chime craftsman from the Meiji era in my previous life, I am truly sorry.

“Making something long and thin like this out of glass must make strength a difficult problem.”
“So you noticed that point as well! The craftsman increased its strength with some ingenuity.”
“Oh? Ingenuity, you say?”

With interest, Isaac stared at the glass pen and made his guess.

“Hmm, temperature, perhaps. To make strong glass, very high heat should be necessary. There may be other methods too.”
“Ah, that’s right. I remember now. There were special modifications to the furnace. They said it was impossible to achieve this strength without the furnace that contained the former master’s innovations.”
“That’s fascinating. I’d like to see it someday.”
“Please do, when you come to the capital. With your intellect, Great-Uncle, if you were to advise the craftsmen, something even more wonderful would surely be born. I would also like you to meet the craftsman who made the microscope.”

If he could advise them and further improve the workshop’s equipment, and if Lev could create works surpassing those of the late master of Murano, that would be wonderful. He’s a genius too, so it’s not an impossible dream.
Or rather, as a faddist myself, I want to see these two geniuses work together!

Isaac watched the enthusiastic Ekaterina with a smile.

“So you’re interested in minerals too. That makes me happy.”

A misunderstanding!
Well, I don’t dislike them, but I don’t really think of glass as a mineral… And I only became involved with the glass workshop by circumstance.
But there was no way to say that to such a purely happy-looking Great-Uncle.

So, as Ekaterina vaguely laughed it off with a “ho ho ho,” Isaac said this:

“I’d like to give you a small token of thanks as well. Would you come with me to the old mine?”

.

With that, Ekaterina ended up accompanying her great-uncle.
She had started to say that there was no need for thanks, but behind Isaac, Aaron was enthusiastically gesturing “Please!” with exaggerated motions, so she accepted.

“Is Aleksei well?”
“Yes, he is. But he’s busy every day, and I worry about him…”

Ekaterina was secretly hoping to recruit her great-uncle into the faction that would break Aleksei’s overwork-to-death flag.

“Would you also tell my brother to take care of himself and not work too hard, Great-Uncle?”
“Is he really that busy?”

Isaac’s eyes widened in shock.

“Was Nii-sama like that too, I wonder. As for me, I only ever end up increasing his workload, and I can’t be of any help…”

Ah—landmine!
No, Great-Uncle, the work you increase leads to the future of the Jurnova house—
Wait, I’m affirming that you increase work! I didn’t say it out loud, so it’s fine. That was close.

As they chatted as such, they left the Mining Operations Headquarters and climbed the gentle slope toward the old mine.
For a ducal young lady, even walking such a short distance outside the grounds of her residence or academy on her own feet was rare. Moreover, this road was filled with sturdy miners coming and going, pushing carts loaded with mined prismites.

If Aleksei had been here, he might have arranged for a carriage or palanquin, declaring it unthinkable for Ekaterina to walk while being exposed to the gazes of such lowly men. But Aleksei was absent, and Isaac—who should be her guardian by position—was casually returning greetings like “You look well, Professor” with “Thank you, I am,” waving his hand as he did so.

“You’re with quite the beauty,”

One miner said with a grin. But when Ekaterina smiled and replied, “You flatter me. Good day to you,” he stared blankly in admiration, then flinched when Aaron and Mina glared at him with eyes that looked ready to kill. A pheasant that doesn’t cry won’t get shot, indeed¹.

.

The entrance of the mine, gaping open in a gray rocky mountain, came into view.
And the bluish-gray mountain still pressed down with an uncanny sense of power, almost like a physical pressure.

“Milady, is the slope hard on you? Shall I carry you?”

Noticing at once that Ekaterina had slowed while staring at the mountain, Mina said this. Ekaterina shook her head vigorously. Mina was a combat maid who could princess-carry her and walk briskly without trouble, so she might really do it—but that would be far too embarrassing.

“No, I’m not tired. It’s just…”

Unable to find the words, Ekaterina frowned. She felt as though she had experienced this sensation before, but couldn’t recall it.
Seeing her like that, Isaac made a small sound of realization.

“Ekaterina, have you ever met any of the gods?”
“Huh?!”

Ekaterina cried out at the unexpected words.

“It seems about three mountain gods have descended upon this mountain right now. The priests must have reported that the ducal house would be paying a visit.”

Isaac said something incredible as casually as if it were nothing.

“Great-Uncle, you can tell such a thing?”
“Yes. I meet the mountain gods quite often.”

He said something even more outrageous just as casually.

Who exactly are you, Great-Uncle?!
In addition to being a genius scholar remembered in history, what kind of attributes do you even have?

But with that, Ekaterina’s doubt finally cleared.
So that’s it. This is divine authority—the same feeling she had when facing the god of death.

The mountain god enshrined in the Mountain Temple is not just one. The shrine’s role is to enshrine the gods of all the mountains in the Jurnova territory. Its greatest duty is to beg forgiveness from the gods of the mined mountains for the sin of injuring their slopes to extract minerals, and to soothe their anger.
However, even if the gods are enshrined, it does not mean they will necessarily descend. It is forbidden to summon them rudely; one can only hope they descend on a whim. That said, for the past several decades—since her grandfather Sergei began visiting, and later Aleksei inherited the role—at least one mountain god has descended whenever the ducal house makes its pilgrimage.

“I didn’t know the mountain god would dwell on this mountain when they descend.”
“The god of this mountain is of particularly high rank among the mountain gods. The others apparently stop by to pay their respects here before descending to the temple. He is gentle by nature, and Lady Kristina, the lawful wife of Duke Sergei the founder, served as a shrine maiden at this temple. He was very fond of her. Even now, he treats both the Mountain Temple and the House of Jurnova kindly.”

So that’s how it was… Thank you, Kristina.
Come to think of it, the reason the Jurnova knightly oath involved lightly tapping a knight’s shoulder, rather than a full-force “fighting spirit” punch, was also because Kristina, the first duchess, had a gentle personality. A gentle god and a kind shrine maiden—perhaps they suited each other well.

While they were talking, the group arrived at the entrance of the old mine.

.

Besides the main tunnel where miners descended, there was another tunnel blocked by iron bars with a “No Entry” sign attached. Aaron explained that it dated from the time when iron ore had been mined there and was no longer in use. The barred entrance had a door chained with a padlock. Aaron opened it with a key he had brought, then took out a prismite lantern he had also prepared, and led them down the narrow tunnel.

“Is there something here?”
“No. The main tunnel would do as well, but this one just has fewer people, so it’s easier.”

With that, Isaac suddenly stopped.

“Ah… it’s scary, isn’t it? I’m sorry for bringing a young lady to such a dark place. I was careless again…”
“Please don’t worry, Great-Uncle. I’m with everyone, so I’m not afraid.”

I’m an over-thirty adult inside, after all. I’ve lived a life where saying “It’s dark and scary, eek!” has no demand. Night releases were normal in my SE days, and getting home late at night was standard for a corporate slave. Amazing—there’s nothing but reasons I should be fine.

Still, what did he mean by “easier”?

“Ekaterina is kind and dependable. I’ll do my best to get something good.”

Muttering another mysterious line, Isaac dropped to one knee.

(Ah…)

Magic power tensed.
She felt Isaac’s magic power flow into the bedrock beneath his feet—swift as lightning, deep, deep into the depths of the earth.

It didn’t seem to be earth-attribute magic. Ekaterina’s earth magic did not flow into rock like this. Did Isaac possess a special attribute? Something close to earth, but not earth itself—perhaps “rock” magic?

The destination of that flowing magic was far beyond what Ekaterina could follow.
Then Isaac murmured:

“Got it.”

The magic reversed.
Something was being pulled up from unfathomable depths.

“This is a big one!”

Almost at the same time as Aaron—who must also have sensed Isaac’s magic with his own earth-attribute magic—cried out excitedly, the tunnel filled with a brilliance far more dazzling than the lantern he held.

“Yeah, I managed to bring back a good one.”

Isaac said calmly, though with a trace of fatigue in his voice.
In his arms was a prismite large enough to hold, emitting a blindingly strong light.