Lured by the "rainbow crystals," Rest agreed to carry out road construction in Andrew's domain as well.
Fortunately, this was work he was already accustomed to.
He would obtain a wonderful gift for his fiancée, and on top of that, earn a favor from the Second Prince and future duke. Troublesome as it was, he didn't think it was such a bad deal.
However... once the road construction was finished and the time came to receive the "rainbow crystals," he would come to painfully realize that he had been schemed against.
"This is the mine shaft where the rainbow crystals were discovered. Take as many as you like."
"A mine shaft... wait, there are monsters in there?"
What Andrew led him to was a hole roughly five meters wide.
Apparently, they had originally been digging a hole to make a well and happened to discover rainbow crystals... but when Rest peered down into the hole, he saw them writhing and squirming below.
"Centipedes... right?"
What was below the hole were large centipede monsters.
They were about three meters long. Dozens of centipedes the size of crocodiles could be seen writhing at the bottom of the hole.
The sight of monsters larger than humans packed together in such density was not just repulsive—it made him feel his life was in danger.
(If someone fell into this hole... just thinking about it was terrifying...)
"What's going on? Can you explain?"
When Rest glared at him narrowed-eyed, Andrew spread both hands with an apologetic smile.
"As I explained beforehand, the rainbow crystals were discovered in a hole dug for a well, right? So I had them dig deeper... but it seems they dug into a monster nest. A massive number of centipede monsters have been pouring out, and it's been a real problem."
"............"
"Fortunately, they seem to be averse to light. They don't actively come outside. Some workers doing the excavation were attacked and injured, but nobody died. As long as you put a metal lid on it during the dark of night, it's fine."
"I don't suppose... you're going to ask me to defeat them too, are you?"
"Of course, I'm not saying anything of the sort. I'll hire adventurers to deal with them."
Andrew said this with an unwavering smile.
"However... we don't know how many centipedes there are, and if they keep thrashing around for too long, the rainbow crystals might shatter. That would diminish their value, and it would be quite the predicament."
"............"
"Well, it would really help if some talented magician could deal with this promptly... I wonder if there's a talented and kind magician somewhere?"
What he wanted to say came through loud and clear.
Rest was tempted to punch him right then and there, status and rank be damned.
"If you could somehow take care of this, the rainbow crystals mined from here are yours for the taking. Take as many as you want."
"Hmm..."
Rest bit back the complaint that had been about to leave his lips.
It was true that he was irritated, but the offer of unlimited rainbow crystals was tempting.
Rainbow crystals had limited mining output, and even with enough money, they weren't easy to obtain.
(He knew he was being used, but when he thought about it in total, he was still coming out ahead...)
Road construction and monster subjugation... honestly, neither was particularly onerous for Rest. They took time and effort, but weren't such a heavy burden.
(His sense of balance was uncannily good... If the demands were unreasonable, Rest could refuse, but Andrew always pushed right to the edge of what was acceptable...)
Perhaps this was the talent of a ruler.
It was hard to believe he was Rodele's brother, given how skilled he was at using people.
"...Fine. I understand."
Rest let out a long sigh before giving his agreement.
"But if I don't get a sufficient amount of rainbow crystals, I'll be truly angry, you know?"
"In that case, I swear I'll procure rainbow crystals from another source. No matter how much it costs me personally. I'll even swear on the royal family's name if you like."
"...If you're willing to go that far, I suppose it'll be fine."
Rest furrowed his brow, feeling oddly dissatisfied, yet he accepted the task of exterminating the centipedes.