They were within one of the largest residences in all of the Revant Kingdom! But, that being said, the three adventurers had already seen the outrageously extravagant estates of both Jacob and the House of Evil, and so this house seemed to be relatively normal in size to them!
The interior of this house, however, was just as flashy as the exterior. Not only were there plenty of pottery pieces, but the halls were decorated with glittering pieces of jewelry and paintings everywhere.
The three of them silently followed Mira, and in short order arrived at a room deep inside the house on the second floor.
“Herein lies the room of Master Alibaba. Please, enter as you will.” Mira gave them a polite bow to them after saying this. Without further ado, she quickly departed, leaving them behind in front of the doors to the room.
“Huh...? Mira isn’t going to show us inside?” Aria seemed to find the whole situation a bit suspicious.
“Hmm, she seemed to be in a rush to leave us...” Résistance agreed. “Oh, well. Let’s go inside.” She looked up at the beautifully decorated doors in front of them and slowly knocked three times.
Knock. Knock knock.
There was a moment of silence, then: “Yes, come on in.” A man’s calm voice greeted them. The three of them opened the doors and entered the room.
They were in a luxurious drawing room. There were beautiful glass tables here and there, and thick books lining the bookshelves on the walls. In the center of the room, a man with a rather obvious physique was lounging on a sofa.
“Hello there, and welcome. I am Alibaba.”
The overflowing rolls of flesh on his belly bulged and jiggled this way and that under his clothes as he slowly stood up. The man’s body itself was, of course, a total disaster, but the black suit he wore was the very epitome of elegance, class, and cleanliness, and it was obvious to see it was a product of a pricey luxury brand. He looked to be around fifty years old, and had a friendly face, like that of a kindly neighborhood gentleman who’s gone to seed in his late middle age.
“Nice to meet you!! My name is Wataru!!” Wataru did a full ninety-degree bow and made his customary Nio face again as he greeted Alibaba.
The other two introduced themselves as well.
“I’m Aria.”
“Name’s Résistance.”
“Hello, welcome, welcome. I, Alibaba, work in the trading industry here in the Revant Kingdom. Please, let us sit down.” At Alibaba’s urging, the three of them sat down on the sofa opposite him.
“Now then, what sort of business brings you to see me here today?”
“The truth is, you’ve got an orb and we really really want you to just give it to us!”
Alibaba looked distinctly displeased when he heard Wataru say this. “What did you say...?”
“I know it’s rude of me to ask! But I really need that orb!” Wataru was taken over by his passionate desire as he begged for the orb.
“Oh, oh... Are the three of you treasure hunters, then?”
“No, it’s not that! We need the orb to defeat the dragon!”
“‘Dragon,’ you say... Are you referring to the one that’s been showing up in various places around the Sky Kingdom?”
“That’s the one!”
Wataru nodded along enthusiastically to everything Alibaba said, and Aria couldn’t help but laugh at Wataru’s excitement before joining in with her own pleading.
“If it’s money you want in return, we have come prepared to bargain! I do believe that we’ll be able to pay any price you might name, sir!”
This was entirely true! Wataru and Aria had been awarded a great deal of money by the King of the Sky Kingdom for having defeated the Demon Lord, just before he’d given them the mission to defeat the dragon! While the sum wasn’t quite large enough a fortune for them to live in luxury for the rest of their lives, it was definitely enough gold that they should have some left over even after buying the orb from Alibaba!!
“Then why didn’t you mention that before!?” I hear you ask! “If they’re loaded with money, couldn’t they have just bought all the other orbs!?” Dear Readers, I knew you would ask this very question! But the fact of the matter is that if the protagonists can go around purchasing whatever items they need on their quest without any difficulties whatsoever, there’s no story to be told! So kindly leave off with your criticisms!
“Hmm... Yes, I do believe I know what orb you speak of. I acquired it at an auction around five months ago...”Alibaba gestured towards one of the walls! There, within a glass case, carefully padded with small cushions, lay a sparkling purple gem! No doubt about it, it was the fourth orb!!
“It is, as I’m sure you know, an extremely rare item. No matter how much money you might offer me, I simply cannot give it to you.”
“Bu-But, sir, please!!!!!!” Wataru was completely taken over by his desperate and sincere desire to save the people from the threat of the dragon! But Alibaba appeared utterly unmoved by this display of emotion!
“Say what you will, I simply cannot...”
It was at that moment that Aria’s mouth popped open, as if she had just thought of a brilliant idea!
“Well, in that case, why don’t we make an exchange? I actually possess something that is about as rare as an orb! Why don’t we trade with that!”
Alibaba was highly intrigued by her proposal! “Oho, a trade, you say! Now that sounds like an interesting idea! What might you have to offer?”
“It’s a first edition copy of Volume One of the light novel ‘WATARU!!! The Hot-Blooded Fighting Teen & His Epic Adventures After Stopping a Truck with His Bare Hands!!’ What do you think? A first edition is rather rare, right?”
“Well, no. No further editions have even been printed yet—there’s only first editions available on the market. And they’re easy to find, at that.”
“You’re right............” Aria was completely overcome by the logic of Alibaba’s refusal and fell into a stunned silence!
Will these three adventurers ever get this trader to hand over his orb!? Even Wataru was about to give up at this point—but then!
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!”
From somewhere else inside the house, they heard a woman’s high-pitched scream!!
“What was that!?”
Wataru sprang into the air, and like an arrow loosed from a bow, zipped right out of the room! He sprinted toward the source of the scream, all the way down to the entranceway on the first floor!
“Y-Young lad! Halt!” Alibaba shouted! “Um... Ms. Aria, Ms. Résistance—please stay here!!” With this, he chased after Wataru, right out of the room!
✦ ✦ ✦
“Whew...!” Wataru, who’d dashed at a blistering 140 kilometers per hour to get to the entranceway, saw something completely terrifying waiting by the door!
“Th-This is—!”
Wataru’s jaw dropped in utter astonishment!
A bespectacled maid, a different girl than the maid who’d greeted them earlier, had collapsed face-down on the floor in the center of the hall!
“Hey you! Are you okay!?!”
He panicked as he ran in circles around the woman, placing one hand against her neck to check for a pulse! But then!!
“She’s—she’s dead...!!”
She had no pulse! None whatsoever! Undoubtedly dead!
“H-Hey! What in the world happened here!?”
Alibaba had taken his sweet time getting down to the entrance hall! Wataru jumped up in a flash, and calmly explained the situation!
“We’re in trouble, Mr. Alibaba! The maid is dead!”
Alibaba’s eyes went wide when he saw the corpse next to Wataru’s feet!
“Oh! The horror! Rio! Rio, it’s Rio!!” He was thrown into a complete panic! He began to cry and thrash about with anguish!
“Mr. Alibaba... We must gather everyone in the house, at once!”
Wataru’s face was completely serious as he made this order! Alibaba tried to calm himself down by placing one hand on his chest and taking a deep breath before nodding in response!
“R-Right! At once!”