Tino was also getting left out, but she didn’t seem bothered that I hadn’t gotten anything for her. She seemed much more concerned by the way Liz was pressing her nose against my neck and persistently sniffing me.
“I’m having it brought to the lounge—”
“Woo! I can’t wait! Let’s go! Hey? C’mon!”
Almost like magic, Liz instantly moved in front of me and was tugging on my arm. Her bright smile tugged on my heartstrings.
You won’t cry if it’s empty, will you?
I had gone from feeling like a genius to a man crushed by uncertainty.
“The lounge,” Tino mumbled, “is still being repaired...”
Oh right. I forgot it was in ruins.
Just like Tino had said, the lounge was still in a rough state. The floor had a large crack in it, and tables were still scattered about. Unable to fulfill its role as a place to relax, the lounge had none of its usual inhabitants.
But at the moment, none of that seemed to matter to Liz. Her eyes sparkled, and she was grinning from ear to ear.
“Oh my god! It’s a treasure chest!” she cried.
“You’re right, Lizzy! And not only that, it’s from a treasure vault, isn’t it?”
“A genuine treasure vault chest,” Eva affirmed. “It’s got that distinct impression.”
Hearing that, Tino looked envious.
It wasn’t flashy. It was a basic but absolutely flawless treasure chest. The wooden body was framed by rusted metal and had a large padlock affixed. It was big enough that Liz or Tino could easily fit inside, and heavy enough that I couldn’t lift it. It was the spitting image of a treasure chest. I couldn’t imagine a single treasure hunter would be averse to the sight of this thing, all the more so if they were a Thief, a role that entailed lockpicking.
Of all the things you could find in a treasure vault, treasure chests were among the most exciting. A rare spawn in vaults, the chests themselves were Relics and sometimes contained several more Relics. This was probably a result of mana material re-creating concepts of chests filled with valuables.
There were theories that Relics from chests tended to be high level, and some people had indeed become incredibly wealthy by finding chests containing multiple rare, powerful Relics. It was fair to say that finding a chest in a treasure vault was every hunter’s dream (though, by the way, they were sometimes empty).
At the same time, however, treasure chests entailed a big risk. Most of them were set with sturdy locks and deadly traps. Relic chests were tough things, so breaking the chest and snatching its contents wasn’t possible. Hence why so many parties wanted a Thief who could pick locks and disarm traps. This also explained why unopened chests sometimes popped up on the market.
I couldn’t blame anyone for not wanting to attempt a disarmament when failure generally resulted in death. On several occasions, our very own party had nearly been wiped out that way.
The underground storage facility Ansem had brought me to had contained several chests, all of different materials and styles. I was told they were donations from faithful hunters, so they had to be handled properly, and they were dangerous, so they couldn’t be opened without excessive caution. Thus, the church didn’t know quite what to do with them.
They told me to take my pick (a funny choice of words), so I took the best of the best. There were a few other metal-framed wooden chests, but this one had the most aesthetic appeal and treasure chest-yness. Even if it turned out to be empty, I could use it to store all my odds and ends (emphasis on odd). Only problem was that this thing was super heavy.
“It’s really cool, isn’t it?” I said. “The moment I saw it, I knew this was the chest I wanted!”
“Woo! It’s been too long since I’ve opened a chest! Hey, T, get over here!”
“Huh?! Are you sure?”
Responding to Liz’s beckoning, Tino hurried over. It was cute the way she really seemed hesitant about joining in, but Liz was probably using this as a training opportunity. Picking locks was a very dangerous endeavor.
I lightly bumped Eva on the arm, and we moved to a safe distance. Most traps were single-use, meaning we should be fine so long as we had our Safety Rings, but it’s better to be careful.
“Krai, what’s in that chest?” Eva asked me in a quiet voice.
“What do you think?”
Eva seemed to thoroughly consider it.
The answer: I don’t know!
As far as I was aware, there was only one way to know what a treasure vault’s chest contained, and that was to use the magnifying glass Relic, Treasure Tracer. However, the hunter who discovered this desirable Relic was assassinated shortly after they made its discovery public, and the Relic itself was destroyed. A second Treasure Tracer hadn’t yet been found.
Brimming with excitement, Liz checked the lock, but something seemed to puzzle her. “Hmm? Krai Baby, this lock is a really simple one. And for traps... Hm?”
She knocked on the chest, then picked it up and checked the underside.
Liz, you’re super incredible. That chest is too heavy for me to even lift up. You sure are strong!
Opening Relic chests required not only knowledge but also skillful use of the senses. You could say that their use of all five senses and the sixth to challenge unknown mechanisms made people like Liz the best suited for treasure hunting.
Looking perplexed, she examined the chest from every angle. “Hmm. How about we just try opening it up?”
“Agreed,” Tino said. “It doesn’t seem like there are any explosive traps or anything.”
“I’ll let you do the honors, T. Chances to open chests are a rare thing, and you can use this as an excuse to show Krai Baby how much you’ve learned.”
“Really?! Are you sure?”
Tino’s eyes were wide open, and she sounded happy. Eva was surprised, but Liz just showed us a proud smile.
Yeah, uh-huh! You’re a great teacher! Even if you did just have her in a choke hold!
Tino crouched down before the lock dangling in front of the chest. She removed a pick from her hair and carefully inserted it into the keyhole. Just as Liz had said, it was a simple mechanism. After just a few seconds, there was a clicking sound, and the lock came off. It was such a deft movement that it reminded me of Liz.
But this was only the beginning. Picking locks was important, but even more important was disarming traps, as this was when lives were on the line. Relieved to have the lock undone, Tino smiled at Liz, then at me. Something about her boastful smile resembled Liz’s. I couldn’t help but wave at her.
Then it happened.
The motion was unbelievably silent, smooth, and comical.
The unlocked chest opened without a sound, hopped up, covered Tino, who still had her back to the chest, swallowed her whole, then returned to its original position. It was all over in less than a second. Liz had been unable to react, the same went for Eva, and I’m all but certain Tino herself had no idea what had happened.
“Ah...”
“Eh...”
Liz blinked. Eva’s expression was vague and unmoving. Nobody said anything.
Those movements were smooth as Tino’s— No, that’s not it! Good thing Eva and I kept our distance— That’s not it either! Should I be worried that she didn’t even scream?
So it wasn’t a chest? So was it a monster? Or was it a Relic? What was it? Then I remembered that when I got the chest, they said something about people occasionally going missing in the storage unit. And that was why they had called me over.
With her mouth over her hand, Eva whispered what nobody else was willing to say. “Tino. She’s been eaten.”
I always thought this might happen to— No, stop thinking like that!
What were the people of this land doing hiding so much dangerous shit?
“Huh? Whaaat? T?! Krai Baby, what is this thing?!” Liz cried frantically.
Then the treasure chest swallowed her up.
“Ah...”