Chapter 270: Crystals Shall Listen!
Martin glanced over his shoulder. "What about them?"
"The blue crystals from the buried mine. Night Espresso has better access to them than anyone outside Forest Hidden, doesn’t it?"
"We reported the mine. The academy started organizing excavation with the guild."
"Then why are we treating them like beginner materials?"
"They came from a Level One Hidden Dungeon."
"The players were restricted to Level One. The mountain wasn’t."
Elisebeth rose and began pacing around the table. Her steps quickened as one connection led to another.
"Those crystals restored mana. They helped Angel evolve. Robert used them to make a weapon that broke the Goblin Boss’s armor, and Forest Hidden wanted access to the mine the moment we reported it."
She stopped beside Martin and leaned one hand against the counter.
"My new quest keeps telling me to make magic listen. Maybe that is the problem here. Forest Hidden knows how to dig those crystals up, but nobody has taught the mana inside them to do anything more complicated."
Alexandra’s eyes narrowed with interest. "We can excavate them and shape them into weapons, but we have no method for refining the mana itself."
"Exactly. We crush them when we need mana or hammer them into something sharp. That is barely using them."
Elisebeth began counting possibilities on her fingers, speaking faster as the idea expanded.
"They could become catalysts, liquid mana, spell-storage devices, equipment infusions, or evolution mixtures. We don’t know because Forest Hidden doesn’t have the right facility, and nobody here has the training to test any of it properly."
Martin dried his hands. "Mountain Risen does."
Elisebeth smiled. "An entire alchemy facility."
"Their alchemists may know how to process high-density mana materials," Alexandra said. "If their methods work on our crystals, the mine could remain valuable far beyond the Level One bracket."
"That could make the crystals useful for endgame content," Elisebeth added. "Level 60 equipment, stronger mana recovery, materials for original spells, maybe even something that protects bonded beasts."
Martin turned the idea over. "If Forest Hidden learns the process, we stop depending on Mountain Risen to make everything for us."
Elisebeth planted both hands on the table. "Now you understand. We don’t need to buy their potions. We need to steal their alchemy."
Martin stared at her. "You want to steal it?"
"We can learn it, copy it, or win access through a quest. Call it a trade when you report it to Cassandra."
Alexandra chuckled, but Martin kept his attention on Elisebeth.
"The guild controlling the facility won’t give away valuable methods because we ask nicely."
"Obviously. They’ll smile, offer cooperation, and ask for exclusive access to the mine. Once we agree to that, they’ll want ownership of anything we refine and a share of every future sale."
Elisebeth paused, picturing the kind of contract Rias regularly complained about, then added, "They might leave us enough to name our firstborn children ourselves."
"That seems excessive."
"Then you haven’t seen the contracts people send Rias."
Martin thought of Cassandra and decided that arguing over the exact degree of exaggeration would not help.
Elisebeth folded her arms. "That is why you shouldn’t handle the negotiation alone."
"Alex needs equipment, you need equipment, and this was your idea. Why would I go alone?"
"I didn’t say you should. Alex and I can deal with the auction house and start replacing this outdated garbage. You should take Rias to Mountain Risen."
Martin paused.
Alexandra’s smile appeared immediately, but Elisebeth kept talking before she could interrupt.
"Rias spent years surviving professional gaming teams, sponsors, contracts, and men who thought pressure counted as leadership. Now she manages my career. She knows when someone is being friendly because they want something, and she will not let an alchemy guild turn one useful recipe into a leash around Night Espresso’s neck."
"You think I’d agree to a bad deal?"
Elisebeth studied him before answering.
"I think you would notice the trap. I also think you might keep talking because you would convince yourself there had to be a version where both sides walked away happy."
Martin did not answer immediately.
"You do it with people," she continued, quieter now. "You keep trying to find the angle that lets everyone stay. That is not always possible in a contract."
Martin looked toward the rinsed bowls instead of arguing.
Elisebeth’s voice softened further. "Rias will know what they are not saying. If she tells you an agreement is bad, walk away. Don’t keep negotiating because you think one more conversation will fix it."
That was not the playful trust Elisebeth had shown while recommending a friend. She was offering Martin the person she relied on when charm, talent, and effort could not solve something.
If Mountain Risen’s methods worked on Forest Hidden’s crystals, Night Espresso could gain a resource valuable at higher levels. It could also give Forest Hidden a reason to develop an alchemy facility of its own rather than searching blindly for another dungeon route.
The plan still had more holes than answers, but at least it did not involve sending another team to search for the same locked door.
"You trust Rias that much?"
Elisebeth answered before he finished asking. "Yes."
Alexandra looked from her to Martin and chuckled.
"Oh, preparing the fifth harem member already."
Elisebeth’s head snapped toward her.
"Shut up, bitch! I trust Rias!"
Martin looked between them, then down at Kumoe. The curious head had finished licking every trace from her plate and was now staring at his empty hands in expectation. The right head, apparently more interested in the conversation, watched Elisebeth instead.
"That trip still needs approval," Martin said. "Cassandra may prefer to send someone else."
Elisebeth shook her head. "Then explain why this matters before anyone turns it into another officers’ debate. Forest Hidden has a resource, Mountain Risen has the knowledge, and Night Espresso needs a facility. That is enough to investigate."
Alexandra rested her chin on one hand. "You sound surprisingly sensible when you stop defending Diva’s Rejection."
Elisebeth looked at her for several seconds, then chose not to take the bait.
"I can do both. Martin, send the proposal."
He closed the cabinet after returning the clean bowls. "I’ll contact Cassandra tonight. If she agrees, Rias and I can leave after you two finish at the auction house."
"You should speak to Rias before then," Alexandra said.
Elisebeth glanced at her. "About the mission?"
Alexandra’s smile returned. "Among other things."
Elisebeth’s eyes narrowed, but Martin was already turning toward Kumoe as the curious head pawed at his knee.
He crouched and scratched beneath her jaw. For the first time since the Beastslayer Zone had fallen, the next problem in front of them felt like one they had chosen for themselves.