The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Buys an Enemy General
Vol. 1 - Ch. 14 - The Monster in the Northern Mountains and the Non-Magic User Julius - 3

The Mourning Siena was designated as an upper-middle-class vengeful spirit-type, so naturally, it was strong. 

However, Julius was even stronger. I ran towards Julius and patted him on the back in a comforting manner. Julius made a somewhat annoyed face, but I ignored it.

"Amazing! That was really impressive! You're very strong, Julius-san."

"The first strike was shallow. I should be able to kill it more easily next time."

"Isn't it enough? I think Julius-san is strong enough."

"A single strike is necessary to stop their breath. Keeping them alive could lead to unforeseen circumstances."

Is that how it is?

Julius swatted away my hand from his back, looking annoyed. After that, he started walking towards the guiding light orb.

I picked up the dark soul, the clump of lamenting blood, and the eyes of anguish that Mourning Sierna had dropped, and stored them in my bag before following Julius. Not a bad harvest. If I had faced it alone, I probably would have been injured and exhausted my magic powers, using several alchemical attack items in the process.

"Julius-san, you managed to earn 200,000 gold coins."

Quickly running the calculations in my head, I felt satisfied and couldn't help but smile at the result. 

If I had used alchemical items to attack, after deducting the costs, the profit would be around fifty thousand gold coins. Julius made a significant contribution. He was strong, and the subjugation was done in an instant. How wonderful.

"...Stop grinning, it's creepy."

Julius said while looking down at me with displeasure.

Despite that, I looked up at Julius with a smile on my face, feeling cheerful. He clicked his tongue in response.

On the way to the summit, we encountered several monsters.

Although each of them was an upper-middle-class monster that I wouldn't have been able to handle alone, Julius easily took care of them, making the journey smooth. The northern demonic mountain became increasingly infested with powerful monsters as we ascended towards the summit. Up until now, my exploration had primarily been a solo endeavor, leading to instances where I exhausted my strength and had to retreat before meeting the Insightful Mithra. There were also occasions when it became too dangerous at night, forcing me to abandon my quest due to time constraints.

Compared to that, having just Julius with me made things much more efficient. The initial costs were incurred, but Julius proved to be incredibly useful.

"Julius-san, you're amazing. With just you around, we've already obtained more than enough materials, even without defeating the Mithra. If we had only you, we might be able to conquer an entire country, don't you think?"

"Not just 'might be able to,' but 'can."

In a good mood, I chatted with Julius.

He corrected me politely, seeming quite confident.

I checked the hand-winding watch on my arm. We were probably somewhere halfway up the mountain.  The miasma felt thick, and the air seemed stagnant. It wasn't just the low temperature; I also felt a bone-chilling cold that gave me goosebumps.

Does Julius-san not feel anything? He advanced further into the depths of the cave with a calm expression. There were several dead-end paths in the midst of the excavation that seemed to be a relay point as we emerged into an open area.

Stone-filled carts were left unattended.

The reason the mine at the northern demon mountain was closed was due to its inherent danger. 

It was said that gates to a different world suddenly appeared all over the mine as it was being dug. To close these gates, one needed to defeat monsters or gatekeepers that were essentially harmless as long as they stayed near the gates.

However, as long as the gates remained open, monsters that preyed on humans would continue to emerge. 

Naturally, the kingdom's guards and mercenaries wanted to defeat them, but there were few individuals with the necessary strength. Even in the mercenary guild in the capital, there were reportedly only one or two capable of such feats. Those individuals would visit alchemy shops to create special weapons, so the rumors went.

"Why did someone as strong as Julius-san become a slave swordsman? I've heard rumors that you were betrayed by the Dystiana Empire and were sold off to the Astoria Kingdom."

"...It's a common story. The Dystiana Empire overstretched its hand in aggression, and it was only natural that the other nations would incur resentment by invading other lands. They got wind of information that several small nations were forming an alliance to attack the empire, and one of them happened to be the Astoria Kingdom."

Julius frowned as he spoke, then stopped in a seemingly empty space.

He stared at the walls and ceiling as if sensing something. Next to Julius, I followed his gaze, but all I could see was a plain rock wall. It felt uncomfortable, but since this had been the case since we reached the middle of the northern demon mountain, there didn't seem to be any significant change.

"The empire found forming an alliance troublesome. Before that, they wanted a ceasefire. As the main general against the Astoria Kingdom, I had earned the resentment of the kingdom's people, making me a seemingly perfect sacrifice for the ceasefire. Rather than executing me, they decided to use me as an exhibit and let the kingdom's people torment me for a long time."

Even as he spoke about his own story, Julius's tone seemed somewhat detached, as if it were someone else's matter.

It was truly despicable for someone who had worked for the country since the age of fifteen, fighting on the battlefield, to end up being sold to an enemy nation. The Dystiana Empire was truly wicked and heartless. As for the Astoria Kingdom, I wasn't quite sure.

Three years ago, the Seigrit family was disbanded and my father was executed.

During the same period, Julius was also sold off by his own country and became a slave swordsman.

Perhaps Julius's situation had been a topic of discussion, but I wasn't well aware of it since I had my own concerns at that time. While our situations coincided in terms of timing, it felt like two different worlds, and I couldn't see any connection between them.

"But Julius-san, it was truly fortunate that you became an exhibit. Thank you for surviving. Thanks to you, I'm in a much better situation now."

"I didn't survive for your sake."

"Even so, I'm grateful. So please continue to take care of me in the future."

I made a good purchase. Even if I didn't encounter Mitra with the discerning eye this time, it might still turn out well. 

Julius had worked enough, and it was about time to head back. And it was getting colder anyway.

"...Huh?"

Suddenly, I felt a tremor beneath my feet. 

I looked around nervously, but nothing seemed to be shaking. The piled rocks and the cart remained still. 

This sensation, it felt like---

"Julius-san, it's coming from below, be careful!"

The scenery in front of me warped. I tried to jump backward to avoid whatever was happening, but before I could, Julius grabbed me by the collar and threw me toward the rock wall again.

Once again, I made a "Gah" sound as I tumbled. How many times did Julius-san throw me today? 

It seemed like he considered me completely useless. Perhaps he thought I couldn't fight. I landed on the ground.

While I hadn't been directly harmed by the monsters, the cumulative effect of Julius's tosses left me with some scratches. My lower back started to ache.

"Don't move, Chloe. You're in the way."

"It's the Mithra, Julius-san! Meeting it in a place like this, what luck!"

"Shut up, you idiot. You're noisy."

Julius unsheathed his sword.

From the ground, seemingly cut through the previously unremarkable rocks, something slimy and resembling a cluster of giant eyeballs, each about the size of a child's head, emerged.

It had a shape as if several giant eyeballs were haphazardly put together, and below the connected eyeballs were several yellow optic nerves. The Mithra, about the size of three Juliuses combined, floated in the air, observing us with its multitude of eyes.

It was a disturbing sight. The forms of monsters were always grotesque and unpleasant, which might be expected since they were said to be manifestations of the grudges and hatred of the dead who fell into another world.

My whole body shuddered. The miasma became even denser. It seemed like a dim magic energy was overflowing from the entire body of the Mithra. It was unpleasant. It wasn't just visually disturbing this time, but truly unsettling.

This was the main reason why subjugating the discerning eye Mithra was troublesome.

Due to having some magic power, encountering monsters like the Mithra triggered a rejection reaction in my body, making it nearly impossible to move properly. Of course, I would still force myself to fight, but not being able to move freely significantly lowered the success rate of subjugation.

Julius seemed unfazed. Perhaps due to the slave mark suppressing magic power, he appeared insensitive to the faint cold magic energy emanating from the entire body of the Mithra.

Julius rushed towards the Mithra. He kicked off the ground, floated gracefully, and swung his sword down to the topmost eyeball.

Finally visible to the naked eye, the attack was both fast and heavy. The Mithra split into two along the path of the sword.

The split Mithra exposed its insides, resembling the red and slimy interior of a ripe fruit. In the center of the split Mithra, there was something akin to a goddess statue offering prayers.

The goddess statue opened her previously closed eyes, revealing large, delicate lips.

An unpleasant and nerve-wracking scream echoed, shaking my eardrums. The outer eyes of the Mithra glowed. Rays of light shot in all directions. I rolled on the ground to avoid the light beams.

For some reason, Julius didn't seem to be avoiding the heat rays of light. He headed straight for the Mithra and stabbed his sword into the central goddess-like statue.

The heat rays of light burned Julius's skin. Thanks to the Ariadne's coat, his body suffered only minor burns, but his exposed cheeks and hair emitted an unpleasant burnt smell.

From the impaled goddess statue, something like dripping fresh blood began to fall.

The Mithra's body, split in half, was trying to revert to its original form.

By the time Julius withdrew his sword, the Mithra had returned to its original state, floating in the air as if nothing had happened.