“That’s how the traps work. You think you can do it, Apple-san?” Datil asked. We were in the middle of strategizing how I’d get to Holmer’s room and collect his belongings, so he was showing me a few schematics.
This might not be the smoothest method, but I’ll use my wind magic to carve a hole in the door and enter from there. I should be able to deactivate the traps in the room even without any of my limbs. I’ll just roll and bump into them.
“There’s a safe under the floorboards, but it might be tough to get at. You don’t have to collect this one if you can’t.”
The hidden safe does seem to be the trickiest, given how heavy it is. But it doesn’t seem to be nailed or glued down to anything, so I’ll just collect it, traps and all. I can have Datil take his time and deactivate those traps once I bring it back. Okay, let’s review the plan once more. I rolled around the diagrams that Datil drew for me, checking the areas where valuable items might be located. Hm? Speaking of, what’s in this safe, anyway? I rolled over the picture of the safe and slowly wavered from side to side.
Datil looked at me and cocked his head to one side. “Oh, do you want to know what’s inside?”
You get me. I rolled around the area as if to say “yes.”
“Inside that safe is a rock known as the Dragon’s Tear.”
Whoa! Just from the name, I can tell that it’s super important!
“Huh? But Datil-san said it was just a rock,” Grida chimed in.
No, he’s purposely saying that to hide its true value. When the time comes to reveal what the item truly is, it’ll blow us away! It’s a common technique!
“Wow! What an amazing technique!”
Be prepared, Grida, or you really will get blown away!
“Apple-san, you sure you’re not playing around with my words?” Datil asked.
No, of course not!
“Eh heh, of course not!” Grida added.
“Hmmm. All right, then. I’ll continue, shall I?” he said.
P-Please do. Phew, I feel like Datil’s catching on to our private conversations.
“Yeah, he reminds me of Fresa-san a little,” Grida replied.
Datil looked at us quizzically, but continued his explanation. “Adventurers have a rank. I’m sure you’re aware of this.”
Yep. Holmer was a Rank A. You and Fresa are Rank E.
“From Rank E to Rank A, completing requests and dealing with monsters will raise your rank. But it’s not easy to go above that—to become Rank S. Currently, there’s only four Rank S adventurers in the world.”
So few! But how does that relate to the Dragon’s Tear?
“To become Rank S, seven items must be gathered. They’re like trials.”
Oh, that makes sense.
“What do you mean, Furutsu?” said Grida.
The Dragon’s Tear is probably one of the seven items needed to reach Rank S.
“Seems like you’ve realized it already. Some of these are the Dragon’s Tear, the Devil’s Wings, the World Tree’s Leaf, and the Blood of the Phoenix. They’re all extremely difficult to obtain,” said Datil.
Whoa there! I don’t really get it, but they all sound like they’d be super rare in fantasy games. You’d probably get in trouble for throwing these away. Hm? Hmmm? WAAAAAAIIIIIT!!!
“Ack?! What is it?” Grida said.
Grida, there was something amazing in that list!
“Huh?”
I didn’t think we’d have a lead this quickly!
“So, er, anyways, that safe just contains a carefully stored rock from the time that Holmer dreamed of becoming a Rank S adventurer. That’s all. Um, let me just say this again: that safe isn’t really the priority here, so you can leave it if you need to.”
Yep, roger that. I’ll take everything from that room, including Holmer’s old dream. This will be for your sake too, Grida.
“For my sake?”
Yeah. If Datil aims to reach Rank S, we might be able to claim our dream too.
✦ ✦ ✦
In front of me was a huge building—the guild’s male dormitory.
It’s a lot more grand than I expected! How luxurious!
“Huh? Haven’t you been here before?” Grida asked.
Yeah. The day Fresa came back to this city, she went to Holmer’s room.
“Right? This building looks familiar to me.”
But she kept me in her pouch until we reached his room. I’ve never seen this building with my own “eyes” before.
“Oh, right! I was the only one that could see!”
So, Grida, do you remember the way to Holmer’s room?
She giggled. “I do!”
Great! I was a little worried with just Datil’s diagram.
“But why is taking the Dragon’s Tear for my sake too?”
Oh, I guess I didn’t explain that. Remember when Datil was talking about the seven items needed to become a Rank S adventurer?
“Yeah. That thing was one of them.”
Yeah, and he listed a few other items. Among those, he said something about the “World Tree’s Leaf.”
“Ah!”
Heh, so if Datil aims to become a Rank S adventurer and we tag along to help gather the items, there’s a good chance we’d be able to meet the World Tree, right?
“Yeah! You’re right!”
But Datil is a Rank E adventurer now. If he loses the Dragon’s Tear too, he might give up on his dream entirely. It must’ve been pretty hard for him to get this.
“I see! That’s why we should bring that Tear back! You’re amazing! A genius!”
Ha ha, I know, right? All right then, let’s sneak our way in! Heh, I’ll steal everything I can.
As a male adventurer opened the door to the dorms, I rolled in.
Wait a sec. You know, I always imagined that at the end of a volume, I’d be on top of a hill with the blue sky above me, the sun beating down, as I said, “All right! Let’s start our journey!” or something.
“Furutsu?”
Yet here I am, sneaking around in the middle of night to steal items?! That’s wrong! I’ve never heard of anyone doing this!
“What’s wrong? Let’s sneak in and start stealing!”
See?! A heroine should never be like, “Let’s start stealing!” Wait, are we out of pages?! You can do it in the afterword or even in an ad! Just place me on a hill under the sunny blue skyyyyyyy!