"My lord, there are no other problems for the time being. Oh, by the way, I found this stone on the table in the valley. I thought it was a bit unusual, so I brought it back."
After Eric finished speaking, he handed a black stone to Ed. He had previously heard the lord warn against unusual stones, and this time, in the valley, he had just spotted this rather peculiar black stone. He hoped Ed hadn't misjudged it; he had high hopes for this stone.
Actually, Ed had already recognized the black stone as coal when Eric first took it out. However, he was also puzzled, as the valley's environment, as they had described before, shouldn't have this kind of coal there.
"My lord, is this stone useless?" Eric looked at the lord, who remained silent and expressionless. He assumed the lord had brought back something pointless.
Ed put down the stone in his hand, looked at Eric across from him, and asked, " Eric, are there many of these stones in the valley?" He didn't answer Eric's question about whether the stone was useful, but instead asked about the quantity of this particular stone.
"My lord, I don't know if there are many of these stones in the valley, but since it appeared there, I think there are some in the valley. Even if there aren't, there must be some elsewhere. But does it matter? We don't even know if this stone is useful."
"Hehe, Eric, if you can find a lot of these stones, then of course they will be very useful, they will be very good treasures, even better than the Silver Ore. But if you can only find this one, then it will be of little use."
Ed still felt there was no coal in that valley. This was probably brought by someone who went to that valley. It seems that the lord who was mining there had a very rich territory.
Such a good thing is very important to Ed's territory, and coal is a great treasure for the current long and cold winter.
But how can one obtain this coal? First, one needs to know who brought it there, so that the location of the coal mine can be determined.
"My lord, I'll go back to the valley and look again." Hearing from the lord that these black stones were even more precious than silver ore, Eric wanted to return to the valley immediately.
"Don't rush. Based on my guess, there shouldn't be any such stone in that valley. The stone was probably brought there by someone else. We need to know who brought it to know what to do next."
Ed needs to confirm whether they accidentally left the coat there or if they know how to use it. This way, he can gain the upper hand in future transactions or purchases.
"My lord, should we send someone to guard that place?" Eric couldn't think of any other way.
" Eric, no need. I will write a letter. You just need to put the letter and this stone back in the valley."
Ed felt somewhat helpless. Why did all the good things belong to others and never to him? He had nothing but the Iron Mine; it was truly a barren place.
It seems we need to find a solution quickly for long-distance shipping and for food that can be stored for longer periods and in greater quantities. For our territory to continue to develop, we must go to more distant places to obtain resources.
" Eric, you should go back and rest first! I'll bring you the letter later."
"Yes, my lord."