Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 111: A Conversation About Dungeons
“Oh… This inn is more impressive than I expected. Was it built recently?”
Sharga entered the Resting Pavilion as he spoke.
Tauro and his companions didn’t follow. Instead, they told his female assistant, “We’ll return to collect you tomorrow morning,” and started to leave.
“Ah, you’re Tauro, correct? Please, all of you, come inside so we can talk.”
Sharga poked his head out through the entrance and beckoned them in.
“It’s spacious inside as well. Please take a seat, everyone. I have a few questions.”
At his invitation, Tauro’s party sat around a table in the dining room.
“I possess [Appraisal], but it fails on the three of you other than Tauro. Meanwhile, the only status I can read—Tauro’s—looks unnaturally ordinary and childlike for a team leader. That makes me wonder whether you possess an exceptionally powerful appraisal-blocking effect or perhaps an item unknown to me.”
Tauro now understood why Sharga had reacted with such surprise when they first met at the village entrance.
The woman who had been directing the unloading of the party’s luggage entered and sat beside the scholar.
“Professor, please include me in any ‘important’ discussions.”
She bowed lightly.
“I’m Joshna, Professor Sharga’s assistant. Please continue.”
“Joshna has an excellent nose for any important matter connected to research. Apparently, she sensed that my question concerns our dungeon investigation.”
Eyes shining, Sharga waited for Tauro’s answer.
Tauro exchanged looks with Aeris and the others. After hesitating over how much to reveal, he produced a dungeon-core fragment from [Magic Storage].
“What’s that?”
Sharga and Joshna stared intently at the fragment.
“It’s a piece of the dungeon core that your researchers hypothesize lies in a dungeon’s deepest level.”
“Th-this is it?!”
The pair bent even closer over the fragment on the table.
“I can’t appraise it!”
“We fashioned pendants from the fragments and wear them for their appraisal-blocking effect.”
Aeris drew her pendant from beneath her clothes and showed it to them.
“Amazing! How did you manage to work the material? No, that can wait. Would you sell me a few fragments? I don’t expect them for free. I’ve cut every possible expense from my regular budget to prepare for discoveries like this!”
Joshna nodded emphatically beside Sharga and bowed as well.
“Please!”
“Then I’ll give you some at no charge. If I sold them to you, the other adventurers might resent me for secretly hoarding and monopolizing them.”
Tauro took several more fragments from [Magic Storage] and handed them to Sharga.
“Are you certain? Between us, these fragments provide the first proof of a dungeon core in the entire history of dungeon research. Their value is incalculable!”
Sharga launched into an impassioned explanation of their rarity and importance.
“Yes, I’m certain. In exchange, please ensure that this doesn’t cause trouble for us. Do you understand?”
Tauro spoke calmly but firmly.
“We’ll keep the source absolutely confidential!”
Sharga nodded vigorously.
Tauro also shared what he knew, including the fact that the dungeon-core fragments carried [Recovery Regeneration].
“I see… And this bow is what you received? The dungeon core dropped a weapon that compensates for the offensive power you currently lack. That overturns nearly every hypothesis about a dungeon’s deepest level. Fascinating!”
Sharga grinned, his eyes sparkling with genuine delight.
Joshna’s eyes shone just as brightly as she examined the Bow of Artemis.
“There’s no known example of a dungeon dropping an item like this—one made from an unknown material that also blocks appraisal. There are valuable drops such as holy swords forged from orichalcum, but because their material can at least be identified, they may be less rare than this bow.”
Joshna’s assessment startled Tauro.
Orichalcum was a legendary metal said to have been created by the gods.
He had never imagined the Bow of Artemis might be valued even more highly.
Despite coming from a newborn dungeon, the reward for destroying its core had been extraordinary.
Tauro found himself appreciating the Bow of Artemis’s value all over again.