Exiled Young Girl’s Territory Development Record: The Result of the Villainous Young Lady Who Was Exiled Before the Scenario Began and Did Whatever She Wanted for the People.

A few days later, the goblin skeleton returned together with the wild boar skeleton. On the wild boar skeleton’s back was a rock larger than my head.

Wait, what’s this? I don’t remember giving such an order… Ah! Oh no! Could it be?

I hurriedly ran out of the house.

“To the workshop! We’re going to Walter’s workshop! D-8!”

*Clang clang.*

I mounted the forest deer skeleton, which had recently become my personal ride, and rushed to Walter’s workshop.

“Walter!”

I barged into the workshop, but it seemed that Walter was in the middle of work, swinging his hammer with full concentration.

*Clang clang clang*, accompanied by the sharp sounds, the red-hot iron gradually changed shape.

Oops, I shouldn’t disturb him.

I decided to wait for a while, and soon it seemed he had finished his work. Walter, who appeared to be working on the blade of a scythe, gazed into the void with a satisfied expression.

“All done?”

“Huh? Oh no! Baroness! I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t even notice…”

“It’s fine. I came without an appointment, and you couldn’t just stop your work, right?”

“Well…”

“Anyway, there’s something I’d like you to take a look at.”

“Something to look at?”

“Yeah. Come with me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I led Walter outside.

“This! Do you think this rock might be gold ore?”

“This rock?”

Walter approached the rock and carefully examined its surface.

“Hmm… this… is it gold?”

“Isn’t it? Could you check it properly?”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

With that, Walter went back into the workshop and quickly returned with a small hammer.

“What are you going to do with that?”

“I’ll break it. If it’s gold, small gold particles should come out.”

“Really? How do you know all this?”

“My late father taught me. He said that the reason we find gold dust in rivers is that rocks break as they flow down the river, leaving only the gold behind.”

“Oh, so that’s how it works.”

“Yes. Now, I’ll get started. Please step back a little.”

“Alright.”

Walter started striking the rock repeatedly with the hammer. After a few strikes, the rock finally shattered.

Walter then sifted through the crushed fragments and continued breaking down the remaining pieces. After a while, he found something among the large amount of sand.

“Ah, there it is. I believe this is gold.”

Walter showed me small golden grains.

“Wow, it really is. Wait, but considering how big the rock was, is this all that came out?”

“If we search more, there might be a little more, but I think this is about it.”

“I see. So that’s why gold is so valuable.”

“Yes.”

“Got it. Thanks. Could you take out the gold from the rest of the rocks if there’s any?”

“Understood.”

“Alright, I’m counting on you. I’ll go check where this rock came from… Ah! By the way, Walter.”

“Yes?”

“Do you think it’d be better if the wild boar skeleton crushed the rocks instead of you?”

“Well… yes, that does seem better.”

“Do you think we could turn it into something like a millstone to grind the rocks down?”

“A millstone, you say.”

“Yeah, something that could grind the rocks into powder.”

“…I see. I’ll give it some thought.”

“Great! You might want to consult Harold about it. He’s fixed a millstone before.”

“Understood.”

And with that, I left Walter’s workshop.

I then took Will with me to a spot about five kilometers upstream from the reservoir.

Even though we had cleared out a fair amount of monsters, this area still wasn’t fully under our control. To be cautious, I had ten crescent bear skeletons accompany us.

It seemed there had been a large-scale landslide here. About thirty meters of the southern slope of the river had collapsed, exposing a rough rock face.

The goblin skeletons I had sent to investigate were gathering around the exposed rock.

“Hey, looks like Goblin-kun and his pals are gathering over there,” Will commented.

They’ve probably found a gold vein, but…

“Yeah. But first, we need to take care of that over there.”

I pointed upstream along the river.

There, soil and rocks—likely from the landslide—were blocking a small stream. Water was leaking through the gaps in the debris.

“What do you mean?” Will asked.

“If we leave that as it is, it could be dangerous.”

“Huh?”

“What if there’s another heavy rain? Water’s probably building up behind there, and if we’re unlucky, it could cause a mudslide that might hit Scarletford.”

“Whaaat?!”

“So, Will, can you arrange for someone in construction? Probably Patrick, right?”

“Yeah, he’s the only one with experience in this sort of thing, but he’s currently working on the water system, or something like that.”

“I see. Can’t you do it, Will?”

“I’ve dug ditches before.”

“I see… Well, I’ll consult with Patrick, but I’ll handle it directly. One wrong move, and Scarletford could be wiped out, and there could be monsters too.”

“Understood.”

We climbed onto the debris to check the other side.

Yup. The area isn’t too large, so there’s no immediate danger, but a decent-sized pool has formed.

“Alright, next. Let’s go over there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

We moved to where the goblin skeletons had gathered.

“What did you find?”

*Clatter clatter.*

The goblin skeletons all pointed to the rocks scattered along the cliff and ground.

“So it’s here. No doubt about it, we’ve found a vein.”

“Huh. These rocks have gold in them?”

“Yeah. There’s only a tiny grain of gold in each large rock, though.”

“Only a tiny bit?!”

“Yeah. That’s why gold is so valuable.”

“Wow…”

Will picked up a rock at his feet and stared at it intensely.

Meanwhile, back at the royal palace of Rudingham, the king had summoned his chancellor to his office. Both men were in their late thirties, exuding a sense of vitality.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, I heard an interesting story from Alexia at last night’s dinner.”

“From the second princess?”

“Yes. Apparently, there’s a rumor circulating that Marquis Southbury has been possessed by a demon, assaulted and killed his young daughter, and discarded her body in the cursed forest.”

“What? Where did such a ridiculous rumor come from?”

“They say the daughter is still alive, and that Marquis Southbury has dispatched an army to the cursed forest to finish her off.”

“What a preposterous rumor. I wonder where it originated.”

The chancellor sighed quietly, then immediately smiled slyly.

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, I’m counting on you.”

With that, the king also flashed a sly grin.