Chapter 26: Trade City Heizen (4) — Going to Meet Them

There was one more Gold Eater lurking in the junkyard.

Just like before, I destroyed its Reflect tentacle.

It gave a scream like metal scraping—guess it does feel pain.

Then Hoss cut off the tentacle with his halberd.

I equipped Mokusen and used Rave Move.
With Blue-Sky Piercing Style, I pierced the Gold Eater’s single eye.

Meanwhile, the girls kept their distance without trying to fight.
Especially Shaldina and Bid—they kept staring at the monster with an icy, disgusted look.
Well… yeah. It’s just an erotic-trap monster, after all.

I checked the whole junkyard with Crisis Sense to make sure nothing else was hiding.
There were a few suspicious spots, and I tried luring things out, but no response.

So in the end, there were only the two Gold Eaters.
Honestly, good enough. The girls were already on edge.

The witch took part of the creature as a sample, and I erased the rest with Vanish.
Once cleanup was done, we talked with Mineha.

“Right. So the blue light really didn’t show up.”
“No. But there were tons of green lights. And a pretty big number of yellow ones too.”

Heizen’s junkyard is about the same size as Hydrangea’s.
We checked everywhere, but there wasn’t a single blue glow.

Even in Hydrangea’s junkyard, there had only been one blue light—
the Holy Egg that became an Elixir.

“Even just the green lights were that many?”

Bid joined the conversation.

“Yes. At a glance, there must be over a thousand.”

At first the brightness was overwhelming—almost hurt my eyes.
No surprise, since the place had been untouched for years.
It was a whole sea of green lights.

“If we gathered them all and sold them, we’d be rich!”

Honestly, imagining the total value of all those greens and yellows…
Probably worth hundreds of millions.

“Well… maybe. But some areas are dangerous—deadly, even. So collecting everything would be hard.”

Definitely difficult.
Crisis Sense showed lots of red and black warnings in the junk piles.
The Gold Eaters were gone, but other dangers remained.

Hoss nodded.

“A place like this is full of danger.”

“If you get greedy, it won’t end with just an injury.”

Bid puffed her cheeks in frustration.

“I know that much. I’m not stupid.”
“But there really are hundreds of yellow glows. It’s a real treasure trove.”
“All hidden away until now—your uncle’s doing, after all.”
“Haha…”

I could only give a strained smile.

“Well now, I’m looking forward to what comes next… but for now, let’s head back. Shaldina. Stop. We’re leaving.”

“Desu?”

“….”

The witch gently stopped Shaldina, who had started climbing a garbage mound.
Anna Kreutzen sighed at her.
Somehow, the scene felt warm and peaceful.

“We’ll need to think about how to keep this junkyard hidden.”
“And if we sell things, we need to stay calm—it’s still someone’s belongings.”
“But doing nothing is not an option.”
“I agree. I wouldn’t approve of that either.”

Yeah.
With a treasure pile like this, doing nothing would be wrong.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go back for now.”

So we returned to the surface.
Back at the hideout living area, we continued our discussion—
though it was mostly a recap of what we’d talked about in the cafeteria.

We decided to take our time later to discuss future plans thoroughly.
For now, everyone went to handle their own tasks for the day.

Mineha, Bid, and I headed to meet Torquetum, guided by Hoss.
We needed to tell them about the blue-green crystal.

After dropping us off, Hoss went to visit acquaintances.
The witch also went to visit an old friend. Both of them sought greetings and information.

Shaldina and Anna Kreutzen stayed behind to clean the hideout.
It hadn’t been used in years, so it was pretty dirty.
They were excited, though—lots of cleaning to do.
They even brought cleaning tools made in Haiyaan’s lab, so the place should shine afterward.

Honestly, if it were just Shaldina, I’d be terrified.
But with Anna Kreutzen there, it’s fine.

That incredible sense of security—plus her soft-looking body—doesn’t lie.
I trust her with the hideout.

We walked through the streets of Heisen.
Lots of slopes and narrow paths, probably due to the terrain.

“As the letter said, Torquetum lives in a house.”
“Not an inn?”
“Uh… Torquetum can afford a whole house?”
“That is odd.”

Mineha and Bid tilted their heads.
Hoss looked confused for a different reason.

To be honest, I always imagined Torquetum constantly scrambling for money.

“What’s odd? A third-rank explorer earns good money. Same for you, Mineha, right?”
“I… spend all mine on food…”

Mineha muttered, embarrassed.

“Ah. That makes sense.”
“Yeah, true.”
“Right.”

We all nodded.
It made sense—no wonder her breakfasts for us always looked like they weren’t enough.

“Torquetum is aiming for first-rank. Apparently becoming second-rank costs a lot…
They’re working hard on requests but… Ah! I get it!”

“What is it?”
“It’s Tasan! They must’ve rented part of their hideout as a villa and got support. That house too—probably from Tasan’s support funds.”

Ah, that explains it.

In Heizen, inns range from cheap to extremely expensive depending on security.
Renting a house is more cost-effective for them.

“Oh, the female explorer support system. I’ve heard of that.”
“There’s such a thing?”
“I’ve heard of it too.”
“And Torquetum got approved for it.”
“Wow.”
“Mineha, why don’t you use it?”
“I’m not hurting for money right now, and… that kind of system just doesn’t feel right for me.”

True. She doesn’t seem like the type to use it.

“Same for me.”
“Bid, why don’t you just join Torquetum already? They’re recruiting you, and you live with them.”
“I stayed because it was my old party’s hideout. And I’m not against joining anymore, but… I still can’t quite make up my mind. There are lingering feelings… so I’m waiting until I can sort out my heart.”

Her former party, Zan Brave, disbanding—
The wound still seems fresh.

“How about you, Mineha?”
“Me?”
“Planning to join a party?”
“Hm… I’d like to stay mostly solo and occasionally team up. Same for you, right, Wof?”
“Eh? Oh—uh, yes. Something like that…”

She suddenly dragged me into it, surprising me.
Hoss chuckled.

“I’m the only one in a proper party.”
“That suits you, Hoss.”
“Yes, Hoss, that’s best for you.”
“Agreed.”

I like Lightning Fang the way it is—Axe, Rell, and Hoss together.
Same with Torquetum.

“Then why don’t Wof, Mineha, and Bid form a party?”
“Eh? Me, Wof, and Bid?”
“With these two?”
“…that feels like…”

The three of us exchanged blank looks.
Three solo explorers forming a leftover-feeling group…

Then we arrived.

Neat rows of houses, with a white two-story one at the left end.
Looks like something women would love.

“That white one.”
“Hm. Stylish.”
“I like it.”

Yep—definitely female appeal.

We stood at the door.
Mineha knocked the round golden door knocker several times.

No response.

“Hey! Pakira! Liv! Lupinas!”

No answer.

“They’re not home?”
“Seems so.”
“Come on…”
“Well, can’t be helped. Let’s go to the guild.”

So we headed to the Heisen Explorers Guild—
Or rather, the Slayers Guild here.

I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like.

Trade City Heizen — Central Administrative District

Zensera Family Estate — Front Gate

Two strong gatekeepers stood guard, eyes sharp.

“Halt.”
“State your business. Do not approach further.”

They pointed their spears.

“My my, how dramatic.”

The witch pulled out something from her cleavage, showing it to them.
Their eyes widened.

“Our apologies!”
“Please, enter!”

Their attitude completely changed as they opened the gate in a rush.
The witch walked in gracefully.

She was going to meet an old friend.