Clang! Clang clang!
The steel shovel moved.
Each swing reflected the stinging spring sunlight.
It smashed down on the signpost amid the grating sound of metal shavings.
Kaclang!
Finally, the signpost plunged deep into the ground.
Only then did Lloyd stop shoveling and wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"Whew."
A gentle breeze swept away the sweat droplets.
The sunlight felt so good just basking in it.
And right before his eyes stood the firmly planted signpost.
A satisfied smile crept across Lloyd's lips.
"Hey, what do you think?"
His head turned.
He directed his gaze toward the silver-haired knight standing behind him.
The silver-haired knight, Haviel, responded to his question with a disinterested look.
"What do you mean, what do I think?"
"What else? This."
Lloyd's hand pointed to the signpost.
Haviel's eyes shifted to it.
Bold letters were etched on the signpost:
[Bituminous Coal Mine Construction Site: Unauthorized Farming Prohibited - Young Lord Lloyd]
"You have to plant these in advance. Otherwise, things get messy later."
"How messy?"
"People plant peppers, cabbages, and whatnot."
A wry smile formed on Lloyd's lips.
"The local grannies and aunties? They spot any decent empty plot and meticulously fill it with lettuce, peppers, cabbage, chives, you name it. But what if you need to start construction on that land?"
It happened all the time back in Korea.
Usually, in those cases, vegetable patches got bulldozed by excavators.
Fines were sometimes slapped on the grannies or aunties tending them.
Truly regrettable.
Of course, Lloyd had no intention of handling things that way here.
"If you bulldoze their gardens for construction? You'd get slammed for trampling the farmers' precious fields. Perfect recipe for tyrant accusations. My image, which I've been building up nicely lately? It'd fly straight to Good Morning Hellgate on a Seven-Star Eel Ascension Dance."
"...In summary, you'd face backlash."
"Yeah. Exactly."
Lloyd grinned.
He'd only just started earning the territory folk's trust.
He didn't want to lose it over petty disputes.
"Anyway, construction starts soon. We'll dig here, make tunnels, and mine the bituminous coal."
"Bituminous coal? You mean coal?"
"Yeah. You know it?"
"A little."
Haviel nodded.
"I know it as black rocks from underground. They crumble easily but make far better fuel than firewood."
"Right. That's what we're mining here."
"There's bituminous coal buried here?"
"Yep."
Lloyd smirked.
"I checked the records. During the previous lord's time, they tried building a mine here twice and failed both times. The tunnels collapsed due to soft ground."
It was mentioned in the novel *Iron-Blooded Knight*.
The novel's details suddenly came to mind.
Lloyd's father, Baron Arkos Frontera.
In the novel, he ended up hanging himself after hounded by debt collectors.
Right before that, he muttered in lament.
If only his predecessor, Matias Frontera, had succeeded in developing the mine, this tragedy wouldn't have happened today.
Of course, Lloyd remembered that detail perfectly.
That's why.
From the early days of deciding to develop the territory.
He'd secretly slotted this mountain's vein development as a must-do on his plan.
Of course, he'd verified it too.
His recently upgraded Intermediate Surveying skill had helped confirm the vein.
Activating the Surveying skill let him scan everything from the surface down to five meters underground.
Rock layers, groundwater, veins—all of it.
'If only it scanned deeper.'
For now, investigations showed this was the prime spot.
So he'd paved the road.
To transport the mined coal smoothly.
"That coal will be our territory's lifeline for a while. Plus, it's the most efficient way to avert the fuel shortage crisis coming this winter."
"Fuel shortage crisis?"
"Firewood will run short. Big time. Thanks to the ondol rooms I've been installing. This isn't prophecy—it's inevitable. Certain."
Lloyd shrugged.
He continued.
"Ondol heating guzzles fuel. It's toasty, sure, but it heats the whole floor, not just the kitchen like a fireplace. So forests get depleted fast. In simple terms, this area'll be bald mountains in a few years."
"From chopping too much wood for fuel?"
"Yeah."
"Then...."
"Worried about the fallout? Of course I foresaw it."
Lloyd's smile turned slightly wicked.
"Who am I? The ondol designer. I planned for this. By mid-winter, everyone'll realize their fall-prepared firewood won't cut it."
"So you deceived them all?"
"Me?"
"Yes."
Haviel's voice cooled.
"The territory folk trusted you, Lloyd. Tore out their fireplaces for ondol. But if firewood runs out, they'll shiver through half the winter."
"Yeah, true."
"Then you scammed them."
"Hmm, not quite."
"Then...."
"I'll sell them coal."
"To the territory folk?"
"Yeah. Coal's the best fuel if you can mine it. They won't be able to resist buying."
That was Lloyd's plan.
Spread ondol heating across the territory.
As adoption rises, firewood shortages hit.
Ondol's fuel-guzzling flaw gets exposed.
Then sell the stockpiled coal to the folk.
First profit from ondol installs.
Second from coal sales.
'Expand ondol to neighboring territories? Export coal too.'
Ondol and coal.
Twin engines to solve the territory's debts.
Lloyd's smile grew even more smugly pleased.
Haviel's expression, watching him, hardened further.
"You planned all this from the start, Lloyd?"
"Yeah."
"Since when?"
"From the beginning. When we went to apologize to the tavern owner and signed the first ondol contract."
"...."
"Spit it out. Don't glare curses."
"May I?"
"Yeah."
Lloyd nodded.
Haviel spoke as if he'd been waiting.
"You're a cunning human."
"Better than naive."
"That's why I dislike you."
"Me?"
"Yes."
"But what can you do."
"What do you mean?"
"That guy you hate gives you sweet dreams every night."
"...."
"So, the lullaby service? Hate it?"
"...."
"Tch. Look at you pondering. Eyes rolling."
"...."
"Mister, staring after hearing that screams it."
"...."
"Eyes open, man. Won't tease."
"...."
"Adorable, though."
"I'm...."
"Fine. Lullaby service stays. No whining like a puppy needing to poop."
...I'm not a puppy!
Haviel nearly yelped.
But Lloyd's words cut him off.
"Yeah, I get why you're pissed. You think I'm slyly deceiving and using everyone. My attitude feels underhanded. I know. Won't deny it. But what can we do? Save the territory first."
Lloyd's wicked smile turned a touch bitter.
"You know? As a kid, I thought money wasn't everything. Grew up, realized I was wrong. Nothing beats money. It's way better than I vaguely thought as a kid."
"But Lloyd...."
"Sure. Money can't buy happiness. But it sure helps. So let's get dirty, make some cash. Pay off the territory's debts first. Yeah?"
"...."
Haviel shut his mouth.
The disgust that surged upon grasping Lloyd's plan had quietly subsided.
Lloyd Frontera, smiling self-mockingly at him.
His eyes seemed to say:
'I'll take the hate. Blame? Finger-pointing? Mine.'
So just close your eyes and follow.
That's what they conveyed.
"...."
This man before him.
Once thought a hopeless wastrel.
Now often left him flustered.
Even now.
And it wasn't entirely unpleasant.
'The methods are sleazy and grating.'
But in hindsight, his actions often turned out right.
Helped complete the Asrahan Heart Method.
Exposed Sir Neumann's betrayal.
So now?
Maybe laying groundwork for the territory's great leap.
"Understood."
Haviel chuckled unwittingly.
He spoke frankly to Lloyd.
"I'll acknowledge it."
Lloyd, his charge.
He gazed at him sincerely.
Lloyd met his eyes straight on.
Tilted his head.
"Acknowledge? My plan?"
"Yes, of course."
"Hey, what delusion is this?"
"Pardon?"
"I never asked for your approval."
"...."
"Right? I'm the lord's son. Why need your okay to dig a mine?"
"...."
"So stow the misconceptions. Move aside? Need to survey."
Haviel's refined face crumpled spectacularly.
Lloyd grinned mischievously.
Teasing Haviel was endlessly fun.
♣
That day onward.
Lloyd stuck to the mine site like glue.
Surveying surroundings, analyzing conditions.
The past two failed mine attempts.
Tailoring plans to those failures.
'Traditional wedging won't work. Too slow, and way too dangerous.'
The manor library had records of those failures.
Both used traditional wedging.
'They heated rocks with fire, cooled them to split.'
That was the old rock-breaking method.
Hit a big rock digging?
Workers lit it up.
Heated it red-hot.
Doused with cold water.
Sudden temp change cracked it along seams.
Easier to smash.
'They advanced that way at first. But collapsed before 30 meters. Both times.'
Unlucky workers buried, of course.
Thus Lloyd's grandfather, Baron Matias Frontera, abandoned the mine.
'Simple reason. Soft ground.'
Fail to grasp soft ground traits, accidents inevitable.
This mountain: mix of rock and crumbly soil. Soft ground type.
Custom methods essential.
"So I'll try the shield method."
"Shield method?"
It was during dinner.
Lloyd slid a paper across to the baron opposite.
"Something I thought up. This is a simple diagram of the shield method."
"A diagram."
The baron's eyes went to it.
Lloyd explained.
"In short: steel cylindrical frame called a shield. Workers enter it. Dig soil and rock. Meanwhile, shield bears tunnel pressure, prevents collapse."
"Hmm. Like a shield and support?"
"Yes. Ever heard of shipworms?"
"Ship...worms?"
"Yes."
"Explain."
"Roughly distant cousins of squid or snails. Nasty buggers that bore holes in wooden ship bottoms."
"What do they have to do with this construction?"
"They inspired the shield method."
Lloyd smiled.
True story.
Mid-1800s, London's Thames Tunnel used it.
Designer Marc Brunel got the idea from shipworms.
Developed the shield method.
"Shipworms bore with shield-like shells. Wood swells with water, shrinking holes. Worms get stuck and die. To prevent, they line tunnel walls with secretions while digging. Hardens, stops shrinking. Shield method's the same."
Lloyd pointed to the diagram.
"Shield acts like the shell. Protects workers. Leads the dig. Inside, workers in teams. Some dig, others install real-time collapse-proofing."
"Like the worm's secretions preventing ruin?"
"Yes."
"So dig and reinforce simultaneously, advancing bit by bit?"
"Spot on summary."
Lloyd detailed the plan further.
The baron listened intently.
He felt great interest.
Coal: prime fuel.
Mineable, it meant money.
Debt-burdened baron couldn't resist.
Lloyd's new method seemed plausible too.
Finally, he approved.
"Good. But one condition."
"What?"
"While construction's on, stay out of the tunnels."
"Worried it's dangerous?"
"Obviously."
Baron's reply firm.
"New method doesn't guarantee perfect safety."
"But that's a problem."
"Why?"
"Who'll trust and work the new method if I don't go in?"
"...."
"Plus, must monitor site changes constantly. Prevents accidents."
"But...."
"I promise. It'll be safe."
"Ha ha."
Debate continued.
But Lloyd was stubborner.
Baron surrendered.
Mine construction approved.
But Lloyd didn't start immediately.
Prep needed first.
Waited for night.
Put Haviel to deep sleep.
Headed to midnight backyard training ground.
Called system window.
Opened 'Fantasy Beast Gacha' menu.
'Ppodong's no good for this. Too big for tunnels—risky. Human labor alone? Too slow.'
Longer construction meant higher costs.
Shield method: safe.
Not faster.
To shorten time, save costs: skilled labor needed.
'Ideal: tunnel-digging specialist.'
Lloyd thought so, activated 'Random Draw'.
Leftover RP from last time: plenty.
[Random Draw Cost (2nd Draw) = 70 RP]
[Current RP: 119]
[Execute Random Draw?]
[YES / NO]
Selected 'YES'.
[Executing Fantasy Beast Random Draw.]
Fwaaah...!
Pale light flooded space.
Complex magic circle etched, space warped.
From warping emerged unfamiliar silhouette.
Finally, new fantasy beast revealed.
Lloyd's eyes went wide facing it.
(End of Chapter 22)
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