There was a huge boulder right smack-dab in the middle of the road. It was about five meters tall and large enough to block the way. Where did this thing come from anyhow?
“Looks like one of those Vivalde sprites showed up.”
“Sprites did this?” I asked.
“Yeah, Vivalde sprites love to make mischief for humans, and they’re infamous for placing boulders in inconvenient places.”
“Sounds like they’re some troublesome little sprites.”
“That’s not true,” she said with a dry laugh. “The rocks Vivalde sprites leave vary in size. If they’re small, they may be the size of a pebble, while the big ones are usually like the one we’re seeing now.” It seemed that the boulder we saw before us was as big as they got.
“No, no matter how you look at it, this is clearly a pain.”
“Even so, those sprites always hide treasure under the boulders they leave. For example, say that someone trips on one of their rocks and skins their knee. In exchange, they’d find a gold or silver coin beneath the rock.”
I couldn’t tell if these sprites were a nuisance or benevolent.
“Apparently it’s just in their nature to enjoy seeing humans frown in confusion. They are a nuisance sometimes, but humans don’t hate them that much because they leave behind treasure.”
Still, this was a problem. It’d be difficult to walk to town from here.
“If this boulder is this big, then maybe it’s hiding some crazy treasure underneath it,” I suggested.
“Sorry, but size has nothing to do with the treasure’s value. No matter how big it is, it’ll always be hiding a single gold coin at most.”
One hundred thousand rims was a lot of money, but if you took the cost of removing the boulder into account, you’d probably wind up in the red. The road was between a slope and a ditch, so it was possible to go around on foot. However, it’d probably be impossible for a carriage.
“Don’t worry, I’ll destroy it,” she assured me. “Once it’s in small pieces, you all can move them out of the way.”
“That’s our Shinigami Minerva.”
“Don’t call me a shinigami. Though, you know, the treasure will disappear if I do this.”
This boulder wasn’t just any regular old boulder. The treasure beneath it would disappear if it was hit with a magical attack. That kinda felt like a bit of a waste. Oh, that’s it!
“Minerva, let me try something,” I said, taking out one of my snacks.
Product name: Jumbo Cutlet
Description: While it appears to be a cutlet, it’s made of fish paste. Just as its name suggests, it is a large snack. If you shout, “Power Boost!” after consumption, you’ll receive a superhuman boost in physical strength for three seconds.
Price: Thirty rims
It was a rather filling snack, and thanks to the sauce it used it was delicious to boot. I had just started feeling a bit peckish, so I took the Jumbo Cutlet from the bag and sank my teeth into its crispy flesh. I chewed and gulped it down until I had finished it.
“All right, I’m prepared now.”
Back in the dungeon, there was a huge door that had been rusted shut for ages, but Garmr had told me he’d easily opened it after eating this. There was a possibility that I could make this big boulder move too.
I placed both hands on the boulder and loudly declared, “Power boost!” The moment I did, I glowed with a golden light, and my whole body began overflowing with power. Now’s my chance. When I flexed both of my arms, the boulder began to move slightly, rumbling as I strained against it. Just a little more...
“Grrr!”
Before my three seconds were up, I managed to push the large boulder off the path and to the side of the road, making enough space for a single carriage to pass through.
“Whoa! That’s amazing, mister!” Cheers erupted from all around me. I waved at them all shyly.
“Yusuke, this was underneath the boulder,” Michelle said, approaching me and handing over a small box. Engraved on the cover was a face resembling a fat cat sticking out its tongue. So, this was the Vivalde sprite. The face pissed me off somewhat, but it had a charm that made it hard to hate.
After returning to the carriage, I opened the box and found a small bracelet inside. It consisted of a golden chain of medium thickness with three small gems attached to it. I thought the red one in the middle was a ruby and the blue ones on each end were sapphires. They also might have just been glass beads, but the bracelet looked rather pretty.
“Give me your arm.” Taking Michelle’s hand, I put the bracelet on her wrist. It suited her way more than it would have suited me. “Yep, it looks good on you.”
“Yusuke...”
“If you don’t like it, we can get you something else—”
“No! I like it!” She had apparently taken a shine to it. She giggled to herself. “A present from Yusuke... I’ll cast a curse on it so no one will steal it... I’ll make it so anyone else who touches it will be cursed with bad dreams, along with an electric shock. A curse that makes all your body hair fall off might be good too.”
She’s changing some regular old jewelry into a cursed item?! Well, she seemed happy enough, so I’d leave her to it...