When My Younger Sister Enrolled in a Female Knight Academy, She Somehow Became a National Hero. Or R

Chapter 77 – The Whiter the Demon, the More It Likes Mithril (Touko’s POV)

“—So you came here today to talk about sushi?”

When asked, Touko put her head down, thinking she felt terribly dumb in character.

“Well, that’s important, but there’s one more thing I want to talk about. It’s about the mithril thing you mentioned.”

“Ho…”

The suspicion stemmed from the case of the abduction of the commanders of the Principality of Ventas, who had occupied Suzuha’s older brother’s territory.

It was then that they found out that the commander of the Principality of Ventas had been wearing a lot of mithril weapons and armor.

Suzuha’s older brother and the others were frankly impressed, saying, “As expected of a commander,” but it was Yuzuriha who twisted her head.

As a duchess with a long military career, Yuzuriha knows that Mithril-made armor is not cheap.

Even if it is small or medium-sized, or if it is an heirloom of a noble family with a long history…

It is not something that a mere front-line commander can wear with impunity.

So Yuzuriha reported it in a letter to Queen Toko, who started to investigate the source of the mithril.

Just the fact that mithril weapons are casually distributed in enemy countries is a threat. And Touko came to a conclusion.

“As it turns out, there is a hidden Mithril mine somewhere in our country. And a very large one at that.”

“…Is it recently found?”

“I don’t think so. As far as I’ve seen as a princess, there’s never been anything like that in this country.”

“So it’s been mined since long ago in hiding and then the mithril was sold to the Principality of Ventas?”

“You’re right about mining, but wasn’t it only recently that mithril was sold to Ventas on a large scale? Otherwise, no matter how powerful Yuzuriha is, there’s no way our country’s lousy army can keep winning against mithril-equipped opponents.”

“…I see…”

The Duke crossed his arms and thought for a while. Then he came to a conclusion.

“So, in other words, they sold a large quantity of mithril at extremely low prices, even to the point of disrupting the market, in order to obtain funds for the coup?”

“That’s right. I don’t even know which prince’s faction it is.”

“You don’t even know?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. How many nobles do you think were annihilated under the accusation of betraying me in the coup? There were too many suspects. Moreover, because Yuzuriha wanted to show her good side to Suzuha’s older brother, she went overboard in crushing them, not only the evidence but also the entire household was wiped out.”

“…Hmm…”

“Well, but if you think about it, in more ways than one, Suzuha’s older brother is a hero who saved our country in every sense! I don’t know which idiot aristocrat did it, but if they had smuggled so much mithril to the enemy country, even if their faction had won the civil war, our country would have been destroyed within a few years. They must be such idiots to not understand such a thing!”

“Absolutely. I’m very grateful to that man.”

—It was unmistakably their true feelings.

Born into the highest nobility and educated accordingly, they love their country more than anyone else. So much so that they are even willing to give their own lives for the sake of the nation’s survival.

So to the young man who is a hero for saving the country, as an individual, they are just genuinely and incomparably grateful.

“But I’d be a bit concerned if a lot of mithril is being mined.”

“What?”

“Have you ever heard of the saying, ‘The stronger a demon becomes, the more it likes mithril’?”

The Duke’s words were met with a look of sincere disapproval from Touko.

“Stop it, it’s a bad omen. That’s just a bunch of unsubstantiated folklore.”

“I suppose it is…”

“And don’t those mining sites have altars where people offer sacrifices to ward off evil?”

“I don’t think the idiots who sell mithril until the market is destroyed would have the wisdom or the time to do so.”

“…No way, right…”

“……”

“……”

Cold sweat broke out on Touko’s forehead.

Touko, who is also the president of the Strongest Royal Female Knight Academy, knows.

She knows that there is another variation to the lore.

The whiter the demon, the more it likes mithril—

The image of the powerful demon standing at the pinnacle of those two conditions came to her mind.

Touko shuddered, as if to say, “No way, right…”