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Because the Fire Phosphorite could melt in the water, it did not exist in places with rich vegetation. Because plants grew where water was.

As such, we had to climb quite high up on the mountain. That said, there was no such thing as a road in a place with a mineral as dangerous as Fire Phosphorite around.

“Ugh… So we have to go on foot huh.”
“I guess my horse can climb, but horses shake quite a bit.”
“Not very suited for transporting Fire Phosphorite. Besides, the horse could even step on it and cause an explosion.”
“These are some troublesome rocks.”
“That’s why they commissioned it like this. Anyway, let’s go already.”

We tied the horses and the carriage at the foot of the mountain and got ready for the climbing.

It was a volcano so magic items with Purify effect were essential. Since it rained the other day, there was a chance that the Fire Phosphorite had melted and the combustible gas filled the summit area.

We had to be extra careful due to that.

And the horses also need to be tied where they would have access to grass and water, or their hunger and thirst would deteriorate their condition. Fortunately, this foot area was abundant in greenery, so there were no problems on that part.

The biggest problem would be the monsters that could appear and aim for the horses.

“We have to quickly go up and come down or the horses might get attacked.”
“Ugh, anything but that!”
“I don’t want Reid and Cortina to die.”
“Michelle, can you stop calling the horses with those names?”
“Then you name them, Nicole.”
“Huh, uhhh…”

We’ve been calling them horses and haven’t settled on the names yet.

Normally, most Adventurers traveled mostly by foot. And there were many cases where horses could not reach like this time, so they seldom gave their horses nicknames so as to not get attached to them too much.

I had discarded many horses in my previous life too. As such, I was a little stumped when she asked me to name them. Both of them were beautiful chestnut horses. Both of them were mares to avoid them starting to breed during their travels.

“Oh right, what did you call yours, Cloud?”
“Oh, this one? She’s called Elizabeth.”
“What’s with that awfully aristocratic name?!”

Still, it was way better compared to Michelle who just gave one of them a male name.

I patted the horses’ faces while inspecting their patterns.

There was a white diamond pattern on their foreheads. Both of them shared that mark, so they might have been connected by blood.

“Let’s see… they have star-like patterns, so how about Stella and Spica?”
“Oh, those are lovely names.”
“Stella and Spica, huh. Yeah, that sounds pretty and nice! Then this one will be Stella and this one Spica.”
“Sounds fine.”

Michelle named one with a white pattern on its right forefoot, Stella, and one on the left forefoot, Spica.

I hadn’t thought which name to which, so she saved me there.

“Okay, time for us to go. Stella, Spica, be good girls and wait for us here!”

Michelle ran off while waving her hand. Hold up, there are dangerous rocks scattered ahead of us, you know?

It was dangerous to run off even if we were at the foot still.

“Ah, wait. It’s dangerous to run!”
“Oh, right!”

She hurriedly stopped in place as if she was frozen.

I guess anyone would have if they knew there were explosives under their feet… but well, it looked adorable so whatever.

We traveled the mountain road with Cloud leading the way. He had a rope around his waist, its other end tied to a largish board. And on that board were currently sitting the girls of our group.

“This is so easy!”
“I never thought of using the Levitate spell like this.”
“I had to carry luggage before so I learned it then. I wondered if it could carry us too.”

We girls sat on the board that floated due to the Levitate spell. Cloud meanwhile pulled it along so we moved with it. I realized we could do it after remembering that I transported fainted children similarly in the past.

When it came to climbing a mountain with no proper path, preserving one’s stamina was important.

I lacked stamina, so I tended to quickly get tired.

Moreover, Finia held the key skill required for this commission. We had to make sure she didn’t get tired as much as possible.

And finally, it would be painful to have Michelle walk while the two of us advanced comfortably. With everything combined, we ended up implementing this kind of weird means of transportation.

“But I can’t just ride on it forever.”
“Huh, that’s it?”
“Yeah, my work begins from here on.”

The trees around had already grown quite sparse. We should be reaching the place we can harvest the Fire Phosphorite from soon. If I let Cloud charge on, it was practically guaranteed that he’d step on one and blow us up.

Before that happened, I had to lead us and secure a safe route.

I got off the board while being careful of where I stepped, letting Cloud sit there in my place.

“Okay, I’ll be pulling next, so don’t get down, okay? It’s dangerous.”
“Roger that. I can relax that way, so I’ll do exactly as you say.”
“Maybe I should throw you off, Cloud…”
“I’m just joking!”

As long as they remained on the board there was no risk of stepping on the Fire Phosphorite since they were floating. That said, the board did not guarantee absolute safety, either.

“If something explodes in the proximity, make sure to protect us, Cloud.”
“Leave it to me. That’s why I have this greatshield.”

Cloud’s shield had become quite big in accordance with his growth. We troubled God Hastur every time it demanded a change, so I couldn’t thank him enough.

I carefully advanced while paying attention to where I was stepping.

Fire Phosphorite had a characteristic red color, so you could tell it apart with a glance. That said, we were at a volcano. Red stones were scattered all around. It was essential to advance while telling them apart.

They required quite a large amount of Fire Phosphorite with this commission. Rather than pick up a few of them here and there, it would be less dangerous to just find a vein somewhere.

I climbed for a few hours and finally discovered a worthy ore vein.

“Okay, now then, Finia. We’ll be gathering them around here, so cast an extinction spell on the Fire Phosphorite that we gather.”
“Understood.”

Michelle and Cloud started gathering at my signal.

They were protected by magic barriers, but they’d still suffer a big injury if the explosion happened near them. They understood that too so they were extremely careful. Meanwhile, I stayed vigilant of the surroundings.

There were almost no monsters here that you’d find everywhere else. Due to the oversensitive nature of Fire Phosphorite, it was not an environment where living beings could live on.

But the flying monsters were an exception. Vultures and other bird monsters considered this a hunting ground with an unobstructed view. With our movements limited, we would probably look like very delicious prey.

It was right at that moment that I spotted something shining in the corner of my view.