Ch. 193
I’d grown up hearing it countless times.
Stories of the ancient era—of how glorious the age of heroes once was.
A time when humans were so powerful that even dragons feared them. When mankind stood tall as true rulers of the continent, if only for a fleeting, shining moment.
I’d always thought those tales were just myths, exaggerated beyond belief.
At least, until I opened that door.
Now, I had to admit I’d been a fool for doubting it.
“How could anyone come up with such a way to use spirit magic?”
Using [Endairon] as a kind of living fingerprint lock—this went far beyond a simple spell.
All those modern studies claiming that ancient spirit arts were merely ‘advanced’—they were wrong. This wasn’t advanced. It was transcendent.
Feeling the legacy of that era, when spirit magic outclassed even sorcery, filled me with both pride and shame.
Why were we so pitiful now?
We could barely use a fraction of what they could, so it was no wonder the other professions looked down on us.
Fine. I’d just have to show them how terrifying a spirit mage could be.
‘Crunch.’
“Mm. I’ll have to start hitting back harder from now on.”
[Master! You’re going to get indigestion if you eat lying down again!]
“I’m fine, I’m fine.”
Sure, I was exhausted—but I was also starving. So while sprawled on the floor, I took my time chewing through my apple to satisfy my hunger.
And while doing that, I thought seriously about how to make the world fear spirit mages again.
Didn’t take long to realize that what I’d been doing was already perfect.
I was doing just fine.
“Hm? Why are those guys so quiet?”
I must’ve been lying around in energy-saving mode for a while. When I finally started feeling better, worry crept in for those little ducklings of mine.
They used to be annoying when they followed me everywhere… but now that they weren’t in sight, it felt strangely empty.
I tossed the apple core over my shoulder and got up in one motion.
Brushing dirt from my clothes, I stood in front of the door and peered down the long corridor. But the far end was too bright to make out anything clearly.
I squinted, hoping to spot a shadow, then finally shouted toward the other side.
“How’s it looking? Anything there? Ash! Chad!”
Only my own voice echoed back at me. No reply. Maybe they were too far to hear?
The silence settled in, heavy and wrong. A bad feeling crawled up my spine.
“…It’s too quiet.”
[Think they’re dead already?]
“No! If they die, who’s going to cook my meals!?”
I’d assumed, judging from the dungeon’s design, that there’d be no traps. Maybe I was wrong.
Could there be monsters inside? Ancient weapons? Maybe even poison mist—it’s a classic.
“This is bad. Not because I’m attached or anything… but I can’t cook! Do you know how annoying it is to make my own food?”
[Should we check it out?]
“Let’s go. If they died after I brought them all this way and opened the door for them, I’m not letting that slide!”
[And what will you do?]
“Give them a nice burial, what else?”
If Ash dies, who’ll braid my hair?!
Sure, I’ve got hands, but I don’t ‘want’ to!
Grumbling, I walked down the corridor with Rai. Even taking it easy, it took several minutes to pass through—and I was reminded once again how much I hated places like this.
It felt suffocating.
Tunnels always gave me a crawling discomfort.
Something about them brought back unpleasant memories that quietly gnawed at me.
[Master, you always act strange in caves. Did something bad happen before?]
Rai could sense my mood perfectly, but there was one thing he didn’t know—
I’d died in a place like this once.
Even with a clear mind, walking through these kinds of passages pressed heavily on me. I had to keep repeating to myself that everything would be fine, that nothing would happen.
Didn’t make it any easier, though.
I actually preferred being under a lake. At least then I ‘knew’ it was water surrounding me.
“What the— They’re fine?”
When I reached the end of the corridor, I sensed five familiar presences.
“Hey! If you’re alive, answer me! Damn it, making me walk all the way here!”
The space beyond was dazzling—so bright I had to close my eyes for a moment. After adjusting, I finally saw why they’d gone silent.
The light came from ‘mountains’ of glittering gemstones.
At first I thought there were pillars of light—but no, those pillars were made entirely of jewels.
Even the chandeliers were covered in gemstones, and fist-sized gems lay scattered across the floor like pebbles.
I kicked a sapphire aside and stopped beside Lox.
“What? Looks pretty ordinary to me.”
[Slurp.]
Having seen more treasure in Magi’s lair, I wasn’t impressed.
To me, a single [Spirit Stone] was far more valuable.
“Ordinary? You don’t see it? That ‘mountain’ of jewels!”
Lox, overwhelmed by the sight, bristled at my indifference.
“I’ve seen it before.”
“Liar! Not even the royal palace—wait… oh.”
“Question: if it’s not in the royal palace, where might it be?”
He trailed off instantly, lips pressed tight, clearly unwilling to say it aloud.
He knew exactly who I was. The woman once abducted—along with a mountain of treasure—by a dragon: ‘Geenie Crowell.’
Whether he was pretending ignorance for my sake or just to avoid the political mess, I didn’t care to guess.
After all, a prince and a saintess together were the kind of combination that made people nervous.
Politics bored me.
“Hey! Snap out of it. Enk, Gale, Chad! Ash, you too!”
I hummed cheerfully as I tapped each of them on the shoulder, bringing them back to their senses.
“We’re rich!”
“Hurrah!”
“Thank you, God! I’ll live a righteous life from now on!”
Three commoners dropped to their knees in tears of joy, while the lone nobleman smiled faintly at me, still dazed.
I naturally drifted toward Ash’s side, nudging him playfully with my elbow.
“So, what now?”
“Finding the [Goblet of the Golden Star] in here will be like searching for sand in a desert.”
“True. But… everyone’s happy, at least.”
“Ever the optimist.”
Well, if Ash was smiling, I didn’t mind. We exchanged small grins, quietly enjoying the moment.
“Ugh!”
“Seriously!”
“Ahhh! How are we supposed to find anything in this!?”
Apparently, reality had just hit the others.
They’d finally realized that mountains of treasure didn’t make their job easier.
Even so, as they muttered complaints, I noticed them still stuffing pockets with jewels. Hope and greed—what a lovely mix.
Chad already had ten necklaces around his neck, and Enk’s sleeves were bulging with gems.
“Come to think of it, who cares if we don’t find the goblet? There’s more than enough treasure!”
“Yeah! It’s all ours anyway!”
“Ha-ha-ha! I could open a skewer shop with this!”
That last part would definitely annoy Lox. Chad’s dreams were surprisingly small for someone who looked like he’d want to conquer the world.
“Stop! Don’t let greed blind you! Enough collecting—spread out and search for the goblet! The jewels aren’t going anywhere!”
But his pleas fell on deaf ears.
No matter how much Lox yelled and begged, the three of them were too busy stuffing gems into every available space.
Ash, meanwhile, just smiled kindly, letting them do as they pleased. Poor Lox looked ready to burst a vein.
“Can’t you hear me? Our goal is the [Goblet of the Golden Star]!”
“We know, we know! But we can take our time! The goblet’s not going anywhere either!”
“With this much treasure, I could give away skewers for free! Wait, does that still count as selling?”
“…The goblet could be right in front of us and you’d still be picking up rocks. Enough already—let’s divide the area and search! Please!”
The room was chaos. Lox was frantic, the others too busy looting to care.
Still, it could’ve been worse—they weren’t killing each other over it. Most people would’ve lost their minds seeing this much treasure.
“Yawn.”
Only Ash and I seemed uninterested in the pile of riches.
It would probably take days for the three of them to calm down—and just as long to find the goblet.
If I didn’t help, this search could drag on for months.
‘Wait… that means if I don’t want to be stuck here for months, I’ll have to help, doesn’t it?’
My sleepy eyes snapped open as my laziness sensors went on high alert.
I started calculating.
To enter this place, they needed me. If we ran out of supplies before finding the goblet, we’d have to leave—and that would mean ‘more work’ for me.
No thanks.
Comparing the options—doing some work now versus being dragged into more later—the decision was obvious.
Pretending to admire the treasure, I quietly slipped behind a pillar with Rai.
“Rai.”
[Yes, Master!]
“It’s your time to shine. The [Goblet of the Golden Star] has to be somewhere here. Find it.”
I wanted dinner on solid ground tonight.
[If I find it, can I eat everything else left here?]
“No.”
[Why not! There’s so much of it!]
“Stop eating! Haven’t you had enough?”
[You say that, but you keep eating meat over and over again too, Master!]
“Ugh… you’ve gotten mouthier lately… Fine, find the goblet first. Then you can eat a ‘little’—just enough not to be noticed.”
As a key member of this expedition, I had every right to claim my share of the treasure.
There were six of us—so one-sixth sounded fair to me.
Lox would probably disagree, but that wasn’t my problem.
[The Goblet of the Golden Star…!]
Rai perked up his ears, his large golden eyes gleaming like twin moons.
The [Goblet of the Golden Star] wasn’t made of ordinary metal. It was said to be infused with divine power—a relic of the gods themselves.
If it truly existed here, its energy would stand out like a beacon. Rai would find it easily.
If it was here at all…
[Oh?]