NOVEL NEXT Chapter 358: Inside the Mine?
"You see that shed back there? Just look inside there and try on uniforms that fit you. On one of the shelves, you should find helmets like these." He tapped the mining helmet on his head, "Surely, you both know this will be a dirty job, right? I heard that your academy only accepts nobles."
Millis waved her hand dismissively with a casual snort, "I'm not a noble, I've been through worse throughout mah life." She then patted Lillian's shoulder, looking at her for an answer.
Lillian smiled wryly before sighing.
Shrugging off Millis's hand, she said, "I've also been through worse, unfortunately. So, a little bit of dust and stone won't bother me too much."
"Ohoho! A little? There definitely won't be just a little." He gestured towards his clean overalls, "This one was just pulled out of the washer. Clean and nice-smelling. But before that, it was completely filthy!"
After that exchange, both Millis and Lillian moved towards the shed and put on what was required.
Once that was done, they were soon given entry permits, so they wouldn't be kicked out when found.
As they stepped into the mine, they were met with torches hanging on the walls. And not only that, but as they ventured deeper, they were met with more and more miners.
While they were thrown curious glances, some of them ignored them as they continued to dig up whatever minerals they could find.
The miners who worked inside the Blackridge mines were on a weekly quota. The more they could get out, the more each of them was paid.
"It sure is musky down here, huh?" Lillian muttered, her nose twitching at the pungent smell of coal and the hint of sweat.
Millis, who had her arms around the back of her head, gave a low hum as she said, "It's a bit, but ya can't say it wasn't expected. So, why did ya want to come down here anyway?"
Hearing the question, Lillian gave a casual reply:
"I just wanted to see what working as a miner was like. And honestly, from what I've seen, these guys are really organised."
Not once did they get lost inside the mine despite there being tunnels in every direction, but they didn't trip over anything at all.
Although the former could be a show of Lillian's excellent skill as a guide, even she had expected to trip over at least once.
Soon enough, in their path, they were stopped by a gruff, sweaty man wielding a mining drill.
"Stop. You two are not allowed to be here."
At the confrontation, both Lillian and Millis showed their entry permits, which got a nod from the gruff miner.
"Hm... So you girls are the ones we were told about by the boss?"
Millis dramatically dropped her arms to her sides, while giving the gruff miner an odd look, "So, ya knew we were coming here, but ya still said we weren't allowed?"
The gruff miner shrugged, "Can't be absolutely sure of every person that comes through here. I still can't fathom why some noble girls want to take part in this work."
"Because we can?" Millis folded her arms.
The gruff miner shook his head slowly before pointing back with his glove-covered thumb.
"Anyway, past this part of the mine is way too deep for both of you."
Lillian and Millis tilted their bodies, looking past the man and finding a mining elevator that led straight down.
Lillian narrowed her eyes before glancing at Millis. She didn't know about the Heroine, but she needed to get into the elevator to further check for signs of monsters.
She then tilted her body back and gave the gruff miner an innocent smile.
"Sure! Is it okay that we help you all here, then?" Lillian wrapped an arm around Millis's shoulder and said, "My friend here is well-versed in earth magic. I'm sure she can help you guys pinpoint some ore deposits around here."
Millis tilted her head at the girl before shrugging and going along with Lillian's words, "Yeah! I'm pretty good at that sort of stuff."
The gruff miner raised an eyebrow before stroking his chin. He then asked:
"Then, can you tell if there's any around here? The boss said there's some minerals around this part but we haven't even found any despite starting so early."
Millis went off with the gruff miner and guided the other miners towards a direction. And while this was happening, Lillian went around and gave the workers water.
At first, they were hesitant about opening their mouths to allow the floating water to fly into their mouths, but eventually, they all came to find it was fine.
Although they still found it a strange way to get water into their system.
After half an hour, they all eased up around each other.
And after an hour, they had mined out a large chunk in the tunnel they were in and managed to get a large haul that gave them a proud laugh.
And soon enough, a large bell attached to one of the walls rang loudly, drawing every miner's attention as their eyes lit up.
Dropping their equipment, they began to leave one by one as they went on break. They glanced back at their haul with joy in their hearts.
Walking past Millis and Lillian, they thanked them for their contribution.
The gruff miner who had stopped the two girls previously gazed at them, equally as happy as his colleagues.
"Good work, you two. It has only been a couple of hours, but you both have shown a great work ethic. Are you girls going to stay here during your break?"
Millis and Lillian glanced at each other.
Lillian, who was sitting on the ground off to the side, saw the Heroine giving her an option. She smiled and decided to answer for both of them:
"We'll just be staying here and looking around. We won't be doing anything illegal, don't worry."
The gruff miner nodded, "Alright then, I'll trust you two, but remember not to go any deeper than this point, alright?" He then left.
Lillian, seeing that she and Millis were finally alone, pushed herself off the ground before walking over to the Heroine and pulling her towards the elevator.
Millis, subtly startled by this, gave a teasing grin.
"We going deeper? Isn't trespassing illegal~"
Lillian glanced at her with a smirk, "Well, it..."