“Hmm. So you guys made that town?” Liz asked.
“N-No,” one of them answered. “That was there before us. You see, down there, you don’t get hungry or thirsty...”
That was really something. Some treasure vaults operated on different rules from those of our world, and this chest might be something similar. I could see all sorts of uses for this, like draining an ocean or something.
Oh. Maybe I could use it to keep ingredients fresh?
Potential uses aside, this was undoubtedly one hell of a Relic. If the empire found out about it, they might take it from me. All sorts of terrible possibilities began to occur to me.
I clapped my hands and turned to the priests who had recently returned to the surface world. “For now, why not just say you were spirited away and return to your families? We’ll take care of this chest, so please keep what happened here between us.”
Thanking us profusely, the priests departed from the clan house. I didn’t know how much they planned to tell Father Edgar, but, well, I guess I was willing to return this thing if they asked me to. This super-capable chest was more than I could handle, and I couldn’t see how I’d put it to use. I could save space in my room by storing my Relics in this thing, but being unable to leave without outside help was a huge deal-breaker.
Man, I never expected I’d end up saving anyone. Life is full of strange experiences.
These past few days had been a whirlwind of strange troubles, but if some people got saved as a result, then maybe it wasn’t all for nothing?
I was ready to wrap things up, but then Liz looked at me with uncharacteristic severity.
“Krai Baby, something tells me those guys come from different periods. Not all of them had the same uniform.”
“Huh?”
“I bet that without the sun, their sense of time got all screwed up. You think it’s possible people don’t get older in there?”
I fell silent as a chill ran down my back. Tino covered her ears as if she were having a bad premonition. I could relate. I didn’t want to be involved in any more crazy stuff.
They really were spirited away, weren’t they? I think I’ll hold off on having this thing fight the Carpet. This isn’t something to play around with.
I took a deep breath and tried to put it all out of my mind. Sure, our friend the treasure chest was a little freaky, but that would be fine as long as I didn’t use it. Luckily, it looked very nice, so it could just be some interior furnishing.
“Well, for now, I’m just glad I got to see how much you two have grown,” I said, holding out my hand and looking at my new Relic ring.
Tino looked incredibly surprised to hear that.
“And what sort of growth is that?” Liz asked through pursed lips.
If I had to say, I guess that she had prioritized Tino over the ring. On the other hand, that Tino went for the Relic instead of the exit proved that she had become a real hunter.
I don’t think I can take any more trouble. I’ll have to take this ring to Matthis later.
Humming to myself, I took the ring off. Or I tried to. Then it hit me.
“Master, um, what do you think of the ring?” Tino asked with a restless smile.
“I feel like I’ve been shown up by T. Well, I’m not gonna argue with Krai Baby about it,” Liz said, being more agreeable than usual.
I cleared my throat and shoved my hand into my pocket. “It’s n-not too shabby. I’m gonna go get it appraised by Matthis!”
I, uh, can’t get this thing off. Could it be that thing’s cursed? Wh-What am I gonna do?
I had a cursed ring. As far as Relic shortcomings went, being unremovable was a fairly common one. Sort of like Luke’s Devil Sword that couldn’t be dropped while in use, anything that couldn’t be physically removed or would return on its own if discarded was considered to be cursed by hunters.
Some Relics ended up like this due to what was supposed to be a precaution against them getting lost, but most of them were nettlesome items that had some sort of negative effect. Of course, they were still Relics; if their charge ran out, then so would their adhesion. Except that the majority of these items had high capacities and the ability to drain mana from their wearer.
Relics of this variety were very likely manifestations of cursed items from the distant past. This theory was heavily supported by the fact that, like cursed items, the best way to get rid of an unremovable Relic was to have it purified by a priest.
Before this could turn into an ordeal, we quickly headed over to Matthis’s shop. He wasted no time taking a look at the item, and with the Tino Effect improving his mood, we began to discuss this ring that wouldn’t come off despite not feeling particularly tight.
The moment he heard what had happened, his cheeks began twitching. “Krai, don’t tell me you really put this thing on without thinking?!”
“N-No, not at all...”
“You dunce! You’ve been collecting Relics for how many years?! Or did you just start yesterday?!”
Many Relics were largely unknown, and plenty of them were dangerous. That’s why Relic appraisers were so valuable.
Tino grew pale at the sight of Matthis’s stern expression, but Liz was more than willing to fight back.
“Did I hear that right? Matthis, does his high level mean nothing to you? No way in hell he put that on without thinking!”
With a grunt, Matthis scrutinized me. Liz’s objection brought out a sigh of relief from Tino.
Yeah, let’s chalk this up to preterhuman artifice.
I folded my arms and put on a hard-boiled smile, a skill that was very convenient at times like these.
“Don’t worry about that, just get on with the appraisal. I want to see if I’m on the right track.”
“Comparing results, is it? Give me a minute. I’ve seen this ring before.”
What a reliable guy. I was right to make this my go-to shop.
Matthis retrieved a thick, handmade book from the back of the shop. The product of decades of experience, this was an encyclopedia packed with information, much of it known only to him. With a thump, he set the book down and thumbed through it until he stopped at a certain page.
“This is it. Hmph. Who else but Noble Spirits would make a ring out of wood? Hm. Not every day you get something so vexing on your finger. Where’d you find it?”
This was definitely it. The ring in the picture looked exactly like the one on my finger. Next to it was a name.
“Hermit’s Ring? It’s a ring used for training?”
“That’s what the Noble Spirits told me. Only a handful of appraisers know of it. They, the Noble Spirits that is, can’t stand that one of their items is loose in the world. They shared this information with us, hoping it would help them recover their Relic.”
I see. Ah, damn. I can’t picture it at all, not after Kris and Eliza have defined my image of Noble Spirits.
Matthis continued his explanation in a grave voice. I had shown him a fair amount of dangerous items in the past, but it had been some time since I had last seen him like this. His heart would probably stop if I showed him the treasure chest.
“Among the ancient Noble Spirits, there were a select few with exceptional power and blood. They were the Higher Nobles, and one of their oracles made this ring to obtain the powers of the higher dimensions. Just goes to show, it’s not only humans that get up to no good.”
Huh? Am I gonna get powers from higher dimensions?
That didn’t sound too great. Did this mean I would have to start adventuring with my friends?
“So are there any noteworthy effects?” I asked, a bit excited.
Matthis took a deep breath, paused, then said gravely, “Krai, listen closely. This ring attracts curses.”
It attracts curses?!
“That’s a ring made by a Higher Noble oracle, in other words, a Shaman, so they could handle greater malign energies. There’s a similar technique known as kodoku, and this is an extension of that. The ring was set aside when it proved too effective, as it had led to the deaths of several Higher Nobles. But because it’s still talked about, it’s manifested as a Relic. Those long lifespans of theirs aren’t always a good thing. Krai, that ring is much more of a hazard than you realize. You’ll need a capable Noble Shaman just to take it off. Even if you are a Level 8.”
I felt like I had just taken a blow to the head. Tino looked at me with concern. The wooden ring didn’t look as dangerous as Matthis had said it was, but I guess that’s just how some items were.
I spent a moment staring at the ring, then stuck my hands out and said, “Hey, Matthis. I know this is sudden, but I’m not wearing any other Relics that attract curses, am I?”
“What are you talking about?”
It was just that I had been bombarded with curses since before I put this thing on. I couldn’t imagine what having to deal with even more would be like! Maybe there wouldn’t be enough room. They’d have to form a line!
I have a feeling the two negatives will form a positive. Thank goodness this doesn’t seem like anything serious.