Yeah, we just barely made it! Now, let’s sit back and watch.
✦ ✦ ✦
These guys are pretty good. They keep picking out all the valuable stuff and cramming it into that leather bag.
“Wow, they sure are quick!”
They should really use that skill for something more useful. Grida, the moment they leave, could you please collect everything in the room and put it in the storage card?
“Okaaay!”
How convenient. Let’s just claim that these guys stole everything. Now, about that hidden safe Datil was talking about...
“Hey, look—a safe.”
“Wow, I’m surprised you saw that, boss!”
They’re amazing! Did they disengage the difficult traps underneath the floorboards?
“Wait, but Furutsu, shouldn’t we stop them?” Grida said.
Yeah. Worst case, we’ll get in trouble too. According to Datil, there’s even more traps on the safe itself.
“Interesting! What’s inside?” the lackey said as he reached for the safe.
Apparently, if someone tried to open it out of order, they’d trigger a shrill alarm alongside an expensive trap. Specifically, you’d activate a bunch of layers of a Restraint Barrier. Any thief would turn pale at this fancy-looking trap.
“I wonder if we’ll be okay?” Grida asked.
If those two try to force the safe open, we’ll get trapped in that barrier too. We can’t just sit back now. Grida, let’s hurry and find a way out of here...
“Whoa there! Wait! Don’t touch that,” the boss said as he placed his hand on the other thief’s shoulder. “Something smells fishy here.”
“Boss? What smells? It’s not me.”
“Idiot. No, I mean something’s a bit off here. This could be a trap.”
I’m surprised! He saw through Datil’s expensive trap!
“Look over here, and over there too. They’re small, but these are magic circles. That means...” he paused. “Look, this is bait, and there’s five other hidden traps! Magical traps are a bit of a pain, but they still shouldn’t be a problem for me.”
He proceeded to disarm the traces of traps he found. Way to go, boss.
“Okay, I think I’ve disengaged them all. There were even two different types! There must be something really important in this safe.”
The other thief chuckled. “I’m so excited!” He took the safe and slowly opened its doors.
The alarms didn’t sound and the barriers haven’t been activated. This boss is a first-rate thief.
“Whoaaa! Take a look at this!” the boss said. Inside were three gold bars and two bags filled with gold coins.
“Wow! Rank A adventurers are rich, boss!”
Whoa! I guess Rank A adventurers really do make a lot of money! It makes it even more impressive that Datil threw all this away to protect me. I’ll have to seriously thank him later. Now, will the boss catch on?
“This is suspicious,” he said.
Thought so. He really is first-rate.
“What’s wrong, boss?”
“This gold is a decoy.”
“Huh?! You mean it’s all fake? But it looks so real...”
No, that’s not it.
“Idiot, that’s legit real gold. It’ll fetch a good price since it’s so pure to boot. Hurry and put that in the bag. Anyway, that’s not what I’m trying to say. This gold was used to hide some kind of greater treasure.”
“Greater treasure?”
I didn’t think this guy was that astute. I should be careful or he might sniff out my sweet scent too.
“Look, there’s a trap in the back too.” He paused while he reached farther in, before shouting “Wh-What?!” as he took out a rock the size of an apple (or me). As Datil had said, there were two parts to this safe. The rock had come out of a small hidden compartment.
“What’s that rock, boss?”
“Hey, I just found something amazing!”
That must be the hidden treasure, the Dragon’s Tear, that Datil had risked his life to obtain in the past.
“Furutsu, is that Dragon-san’s tear?” Grida asked.
Yep, seems like it.
Every adventurer had a rank. Because Fresa and Datil received their guild cards today, they were Rank E. The Dragon’s Tear was one of seven items needed for a Rank A to get promoted to Rank S. Apparently, there were only four Rank S adventurers in the world.
“This is beyond rich. If we sell this, we have enough to buy ten, maybe twenty castles!” the boss said.
“Whaaat?!”
Each of the seven items was legendary. To get the Dragon’s Tear, one needed to fight the eponymous dragon—which was deemed to be “natural disaster class,” by the way.
“But why is this rock so expensive?” the underling asked.
“I’ll tell you why. Rank A adventurers risk their lives to get seven items: this Dragon’s Tear, Devil’s Wings, Angel’s Feather, Blood of the Phoenix, Fragments of the Red Moon and Blue Moon, and the World Tree’s Leaf. They’re invaluable treasures that are almost impossible to obtain.”
You’re very knowledgeable. Thanks, boss, you saved me from my explanations. Grida and I had some business with the World Tree, but we didn’t have a clue where to find it. That’s where the World Tree’s Leaf came in. The fact that it’s so valuable, and that it’s required to become a Rank S adventurer, implied that the World Tree existed and could be reached by humans. If Datil decided to aim for S Rank, then he’d surely try to obtain the leaf as well.
“Furutsu, do you think someone could just grab a lot of the World Tree’s leaves?” Grida said.
If you could get a leaf that easily, they wouldn’t be using them for Rank S promotions. This Dragon’s Tear could only be obtained by fighting a powerful dragon, and it apparently isn’t even a guaranteed drop. All seven items are probably extremely difficult to obtain, or can only be obtained one at a time. Wait, you’re made out of a young branch from the World Tree, right?
“Yep. What about it?”
Do you think each leaf also has its own personality too?
“Hmmm, I don’t know.”
Huh. Well, not like I care about the leaves. Datil told me to not force myself, but the Dragon’s Tear is an important item for us too. If we don’t bring that back, we’ve failed our errand.
“All right, we’ve gotten everything that looks valuable,” the boss said.
“Yessir, then let’s get outta here!”
The two slung the stuffed leather bags on their backs and left the room. They hadn’t taken everything valuable, but the remaining stuff was too heavy or big to move easily. The fact that they didn’t let their greed get to them also points to their first-rate skills.
All right then, Grida. Let’s collect everything else.
“Okaaay!” she said. The moment the two left the room, she collected everything into the storage card. “I’m done.”
In an instant, the room was empty. Great! Let’s go outside! If we’re late, our perfect crime might fail!
Grida giggled. “Furutsu, you just called it a ‘crime’ again, didn’t you?”