Chapter 63

"This..." The Baron stood there, stunned, staring at the small stone Richard tossed to him. He seemed to refuse to believe it. "This can't be, it looks just like a gemstone. I've seen real gemstones before..."

Richard shrugged indifferently. "Believe it or not. If you doubt it, you could always take it to a real jeweler. Or, if you prefer, you can mine it secretly, then take it to Myron or another country to see if you can sell it for a good price."

The Baron remained silent, staring at the pinkish stone in his hand for a long while, before he angrily tossed it onto the ground. Looking at Richard with a hint of desperation, he asked, "Surely this stuff must have some use, right? Even if it's not a ruby, or whatever you called it, lithium mica, it must be useful to someone, right?"

"Theoretically, yes," Richard replied, "but in practice, it might be a bit tricky."

"What do you mean?" The Baron asked, confused.

"It's simple," Richard said, spreading his hands. "Lithium mica, as the name suggests, is an ore containing the metal lithium. Its primary composition is KLi1.5Al1.5(AlSi3O10), which is a basic aluminum silicate of potassium and lithium. It's used as a mineral resource for extracting lithium, and it often contains rubidium and cesium, which can also be utilized."

Richard paused for a moment before continuing, "But generally, lithium's most significant use is in nuclear energy and aerospace. It's used for hydrogen bombs, rockets, nuclear submarines, and new jet fuel, and also as control rods in nuclear reactors."

He looked at the Baron, who was now frowning in confusion, and added, "In other words, while lithium mica does have some value, the technologies that use it, like hydrogen bombs, rockets, and nuclear submarines, are centuries away from being a reality. So, to actually mine and sell it? You'd have to wait that long for the technology to catch up."

The Baron blinked, clearly not following everything Richard had just said, but then his eyes narrowed with a flicker of realization. "So, you're saying that this mine is, essentially, useless right now?"

"Pretty much," Richard replied.

"Damn it!" The Baron's face darkened with anger. He muttered to himself, "I killed over thirty people for this? For a worthless mine?"

Richard glanced at the Baron's rising frustration and added, "Actually, it's not entirely useless."

"Huh? What do you mean?" The Baron's eyes flashed with a new glimmer of hope as he quickly turned toward Richard.

Richard nodded toward the crack in the ground. "Lithium mica is rare; it doesn't cover the whole vein. My guess is that this vein likely contains other types of mica, such as iron lithium mica."

"Iron lithium mica? What's that?" the Baron asked, intrigued.

"It's similar to lithium mica, but with iron in the mix. It can be extracted and used as well," Richard explained.

"Iron!" The Baron's eyes brightened. While iron ore wasn't as valuable as a gemstone mine, it was still a crucial resource. And more importantly, as long as the supply wasn't too large, it wouldn't attract much outside attention or competition. It seemed much safer than secretly mining gemstones.

The Baron quickly asked, "So, with the best-case scenario, how much iron can we mine from this vein in a year?"

"Assuming everything goes smoothly, the initial investment will take about three months. After that, another three months will be spent building infrastructure and smelting furnaces. After six months, the first batch of iron will be refined," Richard said, his tone serious. "If nothing disrupts the process, the total amount of iron produced and sold in a year could earn you about a thousand silver coins."

"A thousand silver coins?" The Baron frowned. Although this was a significant sum—considering the territory's annual income was only around two thousand silver coins—it still wasn't enough to fully satisfy him. "Can't we make more than that?"

"More?" Richard shook his head firmly. "Impossible. This isn't a rich mine, it's a poor one. A thousand silver coins in a year would be the best-case scenario. Realistically, there are bound to be setbacks. When you factor in the initial investments and labor costs, breaking even in the first year would be a success. There's a high chance we'll end up losing money."

"That..." The Baron's once-hopeful eyes slowly dimmed as Richard's words sank in. He sighed, utterly defeated. "So, you're saying this mine really isn't worth much at all?"

"Exactly," Richard confirmed.

"Damn!" The Baron muttered angrily, turning on his heel. He stalked off toward his horse, barking orders at his men to leave.

Richard trailed behind, falling a little behind as the Baron furiously urged his horse to move away from the site. He turned to Tuku and the others in the First Guard, gesturing toward the crack in the earth. "You guys, take your weapons and dig out a few pieces of ore from over there. Bring them back to the castle."

"Huh?" Tuku and the others blinked, confused.

"Don't ask questions. I have my reasons. Just do it for some research," Richard said.

"Yes, sir," Tuku responded, nodding. Without further protest, they pulled out their weapons and headed toward the crack in the earth.

About ten minutes later, the First Guard returned with several hefty pieces of ore. The group turned back and began their journey toward the castle.

The long journey back...

By the time they returned to the Baron's castle, it was already late afternoon. The group was exhausted and thirsty.

Richard dismounted and instructed Tuku and the others to take the ore to the laboratory in the side fortress. He then turned and headed for his little maid, Lucy.

"Master, where have you been? You're filthy and smell terrible!" Lucy called out as she noticed Richard's disheveled appearance. She exaggeratedly pinched her nose, making a face of disdain.

Without missing a beat, Richard raised his hand and gave her a light slap on the head.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

"You should know better than to complain," Richard said nonchalantly. "Now go prepare the bathwater, and get dinner ready too."

"Ah, yes, of course," Lucy replied, rubbing her head as she hurried off to carry out the tasks.

Soon, Richard was soaking in a warm bath in a wooden tub, feeling refreshed and comfortable. He changed into some loose-fitting clothes and then enjoyed a modest, yet satisfying, dinner in the side fortress's ground-level hall.

After the meal, Richard headed to the laboratory to begin processing the ore Tuku and the others had brought back. He finished the basic processing, then began to rest.

The plans for the next day had already been made...

As dawn broke the following morning...

In the side fortress's attic laboratory, Richard sat at his desk, carefully finishing up his notes for the past two months. After drying the ink, he set the parchment aside on the shelf, stood up, and walked to the corner of the laboratory, where the ore he had processed the previous night lay.

It was, of course, the lithium mica. However, Richard wasn't interested in the lithium it contained. Instead, his focus was on the metal cesium within.

Cesium, known as the most reactive alkali metal on Earth, had a fascinating and dangerous nature. Normally golden-white in color, it could easily be mistaken for a low-quality gold nugget. But its melting point was a mere 28.44°C, meaning it would melt into liquid form in the palm of your hand, as the human body temperature was higher than that.

Its chemical properties were terrifyingly reactive—it could spontaneously combust in air, and explode violently upon contact with water. Even when in contact with ice at -116°C, it would still react.

Because of this, cesium had to be stored in vacuum-sealed glass ampoules made from borosilicate glass or, if larger quantities were involved, in stainless steel containers to prevent accidents.

At this moment, Richard was preparing to extract a portion of cesium. Though he hadn't yet decided exactly how to use it, he knew it would be useful sooner or later.

It would be. It would be…