With a loud rumbling, the wall rose up into the ceiling.
There was a small chamber on the other side.
And there, piled high, was a mountain of riches. There were jewels, paintings, and even vases. I didn’t know much about the subject, but I figured they were valuable works of art.
“Amazing…” April was spellbound by the treasure before her. “Is this the hidden fortune?”
“Seems to be,” I said, running my hands through the gold coins. “But this is your fortune.”
“Huh?”
I pointed out the painting on the wall to April. It looked an awful lot like her, only older. That was probably a portrait of her mother.
“This is different from the one that came from the Devil’s Alliance. This is the old man’s hidden fortune.”
It only made sense. If he was going to tell his beloved granddaughter about something, it would be his own fortune. And Heather had passed away just recently. This was too grand and time-consuming to have been built in response to that. He had been saving this up for his granddaughter for years.
Ralph was awestruck by the sight of so much treasure.
“How much of it is there…?”
“Dunno. Probably at least as much as that hidden fortune everyone’s after.”
A guildmaster wielded great power, and the old man had used that power to enrich himself for years and years. It wasn’t shocking in the least that he’d be able to amass at least this much.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. April looked upset. “This will all be yours one day. Then you’ll be either the richest or second-richest person in this city. You’ll be able to build a school or anything else you want.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want this money.”
“I understand how you feel.”
Money was why evil men were after her and why the snotty brats at the orphanage had betrayed her. Unlike the old man, she couldn’t protect herself. Instead, she was being exposed to danger after hideous danger. Money was nothing but a plague on April’s life. Though it was still a plague I’d prefer over being sold into slavery due to poverty.
“But you’ve still got time. You can think about what to do with it.”
April could use that money to do something meaningful by donating it to charity, if she wanted to do that. It was all up to her.
“We’re not taking any with us?”
“If this were the old man’s money, I’d be stuffing it down my shirt until I had the biggest, goldenest titties in the world. But this is your money. I can’t just take it for myself, and it’d be a waste to give it away to evil men.”
She looked exasperated. “You’re so upright about the strangest things.”
“It just depends on who I’m dealing with.”
I would pick and choose who I was upright with. Simple as that.
This fortune had been left for April. I looked around the piles for something like a message to her and found a letter sticking out of a jewelry box. It was quite old and discolored—it had clearly been written years and years ago.
“A letter.”
“Hey, you shouldn’t—”
I held up a hand to stop Ralph from protesting, then opened it up.
“……”
“What does it say?”
Instead of answering, I crumpled up the paper.
“The old man wrote a love letter. Bizarre thing to leave behind,” I said. Ralph screwed up his face in disappointment. “Anyway, let’s close this door. It was easier to open it up than you’d think. If it gets popped loose, it’ll probably lift all the way up again. And we’re just tempting ourselves leaving it open.”
Ralph grumbled with disappointment but lifted his hand to the door. Then a voice I never expected to hear spoke up.
“Stop.”
I recognized that high-pitched voice. But I couldn’t fathom why it was here. Before I even had time to prepare, a figure emerged from the darkness.
“Hand over that treasure.”
The hairless monkey-like figure loomed eerily in the gloom, lit only by dim candlelight. It was the preacher Donald had called “Sam.”
“You!”
Ralph quickly drew his sword and stepped in front of April. His unleashed blade glowed with a magical light. He had recognized in an instant not to charge in, whom to protect, and this was a foe he could not attack without a plan. The boy was growing.
The basement was small enough that if he got to fighting, the squirt would be in danger. I could handle myself.
“Hey, good to see you again. How’ve you been? Remember me? John Smith!” I said, trying to buy us some time.
Sam cocked his head. “I believe…your name was Matthew.”
“Was it? Well, I’m often not entirely sure what my name is. Too much drinking.” Plus, changing my name all the time sometimes delayed other people’s reactions. “So what’s your name? What do I call you?”
“…Randy.”
I wasn’t expecting him to actually respond, even if it was just another alias.
“It’s not Sam?”
“I am not Sam.”
“I see.”
Based on Donald’s reaction, that had been the first time he’d seen the preacher. So he’d guessed the identity of the monster, but he’d been wrong, apparently. Rest in peace.
“So what do you want? Surely you’re not saying your god desires to steal the inheritance of this sweet little girl, are you?” I asked.
Sam—or Randy—did not disguise his irritation as he asked, “Where are the Scissors of Lombardi?”
That was a new one to me. I sent a sidelong glance to April and Ralph, but neither of them had any reaction.
“What’s that? You need them to cut your hair?”
I had to guess they were either another one of the dimwitted sun god’s relics or perhaps some bloodstained bit of junk like the Shroud of Bereni.
“That’s not for the likes of you to know.”
So I was getting nowhere. If I’d known this was going to happen, I would have forced Dez to come with us, trouble be damned. I lifted my hands.
“Do as you like. Search for your scissors or sewing needle or whatever else you need.”
Behind my head, I pointed to send a signal. Though I couldn’t see it, I sensed Ralph got my drift. To Randy, I knelt and said, “The treasure’s over there. Take as much as you want. Just spare our lives…”
Randy’s eyes darted toward the treasure room. I shouted, “Run!”
Then I hurled the temporary sun in my palm. Ralph picked up April and dashed for the passageway. The crystal struck the bald monkey’s head and bounced off. I snatched it back out of the air and cried, “Irradiation!”
The crystal emitted a piercing light. Strength flooded into my body. The brilliance before his eyes caused Randy to turn away, hunching his back. I took the opportunity to close the gap and punch him in the head. I felt quite an impact. His head shot backward and smacked against the wall.
“……”
Although he didn’t say anything, I could tell it hurt him. But I didn’t want him to call that crayfish monster again. I needed to wrap this up, so I stuck him to the wall, punching his stomach and face again and again. The impact pushed Randy’s feet off the floor. He wasn’t going to get the chance to fight back or use any secret attacks.
He slumped over. I took the time to draw a dagger. I easily had enough strength to cut off his head.
“So long.”
I swung it down as hard as I could but instantly felt the strength go from my limbs.
The edge struck his neck and made a hard, rough sound. It didn’t even break the skin; the tip had chipped loose.
I turned around to see the temporary sun rolling helplessly on the ground. I had given it plenty of sunlight the day before. I should have had lots more time. But the translucent orb was flickering and blinking, like it was having difficulty breathing. The crack had also grown deeper, perhaps from the impact of falling to the ground.