Chapter 297: Reward for the Centipede Extermination

Here’s what happened afterward.

While casually taking care of the remaining centipedes, Rest and his group made their way back to the surface.

With the queen gone, the centipedes were in disarray, making them easy to defeat.

The centipede carcasses were collected by subordinates sent by Andrew.

Apparently, the centipede carapaces were ideal for use as armor. They were sold to the Adventurer’s Guild, and even after splitting the profit three ways, the sum was enough to buy a mansion in the noble district of the royal capital.

But more valuable than that… was, of course, the Rainbow Gemstones.

Andrew gave Rest a generous quantity of these stones as a reward.

It was enough to craft not just six, but twenty rings.

The profits from selling the centipede parts were a separate bonus and went directly into their pockets, making it a highly profitable venture—well beyond the effort they expended.

“You really saved us. No amount of thanks is enough for Lord Clover.” 

Andrew said with a beaming smile after hearing the report.

“Please, accept it freely. There’s plenty in the mines, so don’t worry.”

“Well, I will then… But are things okay with the remaining centipedes?”

“Yeah. Without a queen, they’ve lost all coordination. We’re letting adventurers hunt them down while mining continues. What we’re really worried about is whether the adventurers will try to smuggle out any rainbow stones. We’re enforcing strict body checks when they enter and exit the tunnels.”

“Sounds tough… But rainbow gemstones really are beautiful, aren’t they?”

Rest narrowed his eyes as he held up a large rainbow gemstone to the light.

As the name implied, the stone shimmered in seven colors, its hues shifting endlessly depending on the angle of the light.

There were color-changing gems on Earth too, like alexandrite, but this was clearly something else—likely due to the large amount of magic power it contained.

(Magic has a profound effect on the natural world. It brings forth spells, transforms living beings into monsters, and even causes mysterious changes in minerals.)

“Did you know? Rainbow gemstones are also used as protective charms. There’s a legend that they repel evil.”

“…Well, considering a nest of monsters had made their home right next to the gemstone vein, that legend doesn’t seem too trustworthy.”

“Haha, fair enough… But thanks to this, we can now give our special someone a wonderful gift.”

“Special someone… Don’t tell me, Prince Andrew, are you giving a present to someone?”

Andrew was not engaged.

At one point, there had been rumors about a possible engagement with Celestine, but that had since fallen through.

There were also persistent whispers that he was involved in a forbidden romance across social classes… but the truth remained unclear.

“I’ll leave that to your imagination… but I won’t deny that I do have someone special. Which is why I’m all the more grateful. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to bring them joy.”

“That’s good to hear…”

“Now, what should the gift be? A ring might break when they throw a punch, so maybe a pendant? I think the rainbow gem would look stunning against all that muscle.”

“……”

Throwing punches… Looks good against muscles.

Those were some curious and oddly intriguing remarks, but—Rest’s instincts screamed at him not to dig deeper.

This wasn’t a snake in the grass situation—it was more like a sleeping dragon you didn’t want to wake.

(Well… you know, there are women who are into martial arts, right? And muscles aren’t exclusively a guy thing. Some guys like muscular women. Totally normal.)

“I’ll ask an accessory craftsman I know to process the stones. If you like, I can have yours made at the same time?”

“…Yes, please. Let’s go with six rings for now.”

Though a strange chill ran down his spine, Rest nodded to Andrew’s offer.

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