Lyle and his party reacted similarly. They didn’t look angry; rather, they were shocked that they had been caught off guard by a treasure chest. Hunters didn’t just battle in treasure vaults, though that didn’t necessarily include ambushes inside one’s own clan house.
Despite being surrounded by those it had just eaten, the chest remained perfectly still. As for Sven and co., they might have been a bloodthirsty bunch, but they weren’t going to seek revenge on a mere object.
“But damn, a Magic Bag that can hold living creatures. If we sold it, we could build a second clan house.”
“Has one hell of a capacity too. It fit all of us inside.”
The hunters all looked at the chest with evident disgust. They had a point, but was I the only one who considered it a fatal flaw that the chest liked to gulp people down? Especially since it looked like they couldn’t get out on their own? Putting aside a certain Carpet that didn’t allow riders, too much dedication to one’s role wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“Krai Baby, I could’ve gotten out, y’know?” Liz said. Unlike everyone else, she wasn’t showing any signs of damaged pride and seemed her usual self. “It’s just that when I saw T, I tried to grab her, but then the exit closed.”
I turned towards Tino, but she had her back to us and was quivering silently. I guess that’s what happens when you suddenly get swallowed from behind. The chest probably mistook her for a robber since she was the one who had broken the lock.
“But this thing is huge, no doubt about it,” Sven said. “There was a town in there. We didn’t get a chance to explore it though.”
“A town?! There was a town?!”
What’s this chest doing eating a town? Just how much can it hold?
Just about every Magic Bag sold for a hefty sum, so how much would this one sell for? I began to wonder if maybe knowledge of this chest hadn’t become common because it ate anyone who knew of it? I had made the discovery of the century, and it was a terrible one.
Eva adjusted her glasses as I patted the perfect treasure chest.
“Krai, are you planning to sell that to a trading company?”
“Nah, I’m not gonna sell it. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that it might disrupt the balance.”
Even a normal Magic Bag could affect the market, so something with this sort of capacity would be cataclysmic. I could think of a number of potential uses for it. Like, maybe you could drain a pond or something.
What an insane thing I’ve gotten my hands on. Maybe I’ll make it fight the Carpet.
“Hm?” Liz said like something had just occurred to her. “Does this mean my turn is over?! Why? Where’s the curse? Krai Baby, am I getting shortchanged?”
“Wha?”
What was that about a curse? Why did she want something like that? Was I talking to Luke? Who else would insist that they should go through hell because everyone else got to? I guess she sort of was Luke, mentally speaking.
As Liz started making a scene, the others got ready to leave.
“You can leave us out of this mess,” Sven said. “Give me a break. C’mon, Marietta, we’re off to the training ground!”
“I guess we could use some training as well.” Never one to enjoy standing out, Lyle sighed and stood up. “Who’d expect to get eaten by a treasure chest in their own clan house. What if this leaves lasting trauma?”
You’re not the only one traumatized...
“Likewise, I’m going to rest.”
Even Eva was abandoning me. I was being left with Tino, a noisy Liz, and the chest that had caused all this trouble. It was fine. They could rest. I was used to things like this.
“One more time, Krai Baby!” Liz pestered me, leaning against my back. “Let me have a do-over! I definitely won’t fail this time! C’mon!”
This isn’t over because you failed or anything. And what do you mean by failing?
I hadn’t planned for this to happen when I gave her the treasure chest! How could I convince her of that? Would she feel better if I let her have her fun? I gave in and let her hug my back. But then she suddenly stopped and looked at Tino. Under her harsh gaze, Tino twitched and glanced to the side.
Come to think of it, you’ve been awfully quiet since coming out of that chest.
“You hiding something, T?”
“Uh. Ummm. What are you talking about, Lizzy?”
Her eyes were darting around. Thieves were generally good liars, but I suppose the mentor-student hierarchy disrupted that. Liz pressed her lips to my neck, then moved off me. Clenching her fist, she grinned as she walked up to Tino. Looking cornered, Tino looked around before making up her mind and darting towards me.
“Maaaster! Master, here!”
Caught off guard, Liz still managed to snag her leg. Tino held out her arm, but fell, hitting the ground face-first just before she could reach me. Yet she didn’t seem hurt as she raised her head and opened her hand in front of my eyes. An old ring rolled from her palm. It was made of wood and had a strange pattern cleanly engraved on its surface. It also had the distinct atmosphere of a Relic.
“Th-That was on the ground,” Tino said, eyes darting about wildly, “so I just sort of went for it. Then the exit closed.”
“Huuuh?! T, are you saying you took my role?!”
“N-No, Lizzy! I-I didn’t know what I was doing!”
Young Tino had entirely taken after Liz. Honestly, I was amazed that she had chosen the ring over the exit. She had become a real Thief. Liz was stunned, so much so that she had apparently forgotten to be angry. I got the feeling that if I didn’t say something, Tino would be in more trouble than she realized.
I picked up the ring and put it on. Then, before Liz could regain her sanity, I said, “It’s all according t-to plan. So you can calm down.”
“Huh? You planned this? So I don’t have to kill T after all?”
“Yeah, uh-huh.”
Tino was growing increasingly pale. Her ability to stand up for herself despite Liz’s thorough discipline was genuinely incredible. But this wasn’t the time to be applauding her growth; I needed to keep Liz distracted.
“Come on, calm down, Liz. Here, I’ve got it. Why not explore the town? I don’t know who made it, but it’s a town inside a chest. I’m sure there’s something interesting.”
I turned and looked at the chest.
A town inside a chest. Any idea who made it?
Liz blinked. Tino was sweating bullets, though maybe it was a bit late for that. Without saying anything, I went up to the chest, opened the lid, and stuck my arm in—no points for guessing what I said.
“Come out, everyone who went missing at the church. Come out, everyone who went missing at the church...”
Over ten priests emerged from the treasure chest. Not even Liz could hide her surprise as more and more of them popped out. They displayed varied reactions upon emerging. There were some who seemed to doubt their very eyes, while some were moved to tears.
Liz and the others hadn’t been in there too long, so they hadn’t been affected much, but since some of these people from the church had been in there for years, I couldn’t blame them for crying. Look at Eva; she had grown teary after being in there for just a few minutes.
“I-I gan’t dank you enough! You really sabed us!”
“Yeah, I’m just glad you’re okay.”
All’s well that ends well.
Talking to them, it sounded like they had all been swallowed up when they had accidentally undone the lock while cleaning the storage room. I don’t know how you accidentally undo a lock, but I took it as a sign that these weren’t the most diligent priests. By the sound of it, there hadn’t been much alarm when any of them went missing.
But wouldn’t someone find it suspicious if they found a lock undone when that wasn’t supposed to be the case? I furrowed my brow and examined the chest. And at that very moment, the chest picked up the lock and secured it.
I see. So it has an automated lock? One that sprouts arms. Is that a thing?