Chapter 65: The Silent One⑤

The search continues.

Our current goal is to find Rel and Hoss and escape. Since there’s no way up, we can only move further down. For now, we have no choice but to continue.

That aside, I’ve used the relic [The Silent One] multiple times. Not just in combat, but also secretly when needed. That’s when I was able to confirm something.

[The Silent One] can read people’s minds.

What a relic this is.

(Wof probably hasn’t noticed.)

I heard Axe’s inner voice. What? What’s going on?

(His eyes have turned blue again.)

Now Mina’s inner voice? What does it mean that his eyes turned blue?

(When [The Silent One] is in use, his eyes turn blue.)

What?! So that’s what’s happening. I could never have figured that out on my own. If that’s the case, then it’s obvious that using [The Silent One] is giving me away.

A wave of guilt washed over me. While it’s clear that using the relic doesn’t mean they know I’m reading their minds, still, the fact that I know feels heavy on my heart.

It’s like I’m telling cruel lies without a second thought. Actually, I am.

Even so, I couldn’t say anything. A relic that can read people’s hearts is far too dangerous. I could be killed for it.

And yet, the blue eyes… They’re not exactly rare, but they make me think of the blue eyes of that black knight.

Come to think of it, I heard a voice back then. The kind of voice that echoed in the mind, just like now…

And I think Mina had mentioned something about my eyes.

(What a beautiful, blue, glowing eye. Like a jewel.)

So, that’s what the blue eyes meant.

“Hey, that wall… doesn’t it seem strange?”

Mina, riding on my shoulder, whispered to me. She was pointing at a completely white stone wall.

“Strange?” 

I asked.

“Look closely.” 

She said.

“What’s up with you two?”

Axe noticed.

“Mina said that wall looks strange.”

“…It’s a white wall.”

“Can’t you tell? That wall’s got a hole in it.”

“A hole?”

“Right at the very bottom.”

“Oh, you’re right. There’s a hole right below.”

“Ah… sure enough.”

At the bottom of the white wall, there was a crack with a hole in it. Normally, it would be hard to notice. Maybe it’s because Mina’s closer to the ground that she spotted it.

Mina jumped down from my shoulder and prodded the crack with her spear.

“This is unnatural. I’ll break it open. Haaa!!”

The hole turned square.

“What’s this? The hole looks oddly square.”

“About the size of a brick block?”

“This isn’t a natural hole.”

It was strange how it broke into a perfect square. Mina approached the hole.

“I can get through.”

“Hey, that’s dangerous.”

“That’s why you’re here, Wof.”

I used the relic [Crises Detection].

“It’s safe. No danger.”

“Then I’m going.”

Mina jumped down and entered the hole. Axe smiled wryly.

“You’ve got guts.”

“I see. Is this kind of thing common?”

“Well, sometimes we come across holes like this, but with ones like this, we usually ignore them. It’s not often you find something worth investigating like this.”

“Really? The fact it’s passable makes it unusual.”

“Yeah. Normally, it’s not like it’s the right thing to go through. But people like us, we prioritize moving forward because, honestly, there’s better money to be made that way.”

“Extra earnings, outside of the job?”

I had never heard of such a thing.

“Yeah, it’s just pocket change, but for example, there’s bonuses for updating floors, finding new monsters, discovering secret rooms, rescues, or collecting relics or tags before they get sent to a junkyard.”

“There are a lot of ways to make extra money, huh.”

“Yeah, and then there’s the bonus for discovering OOParts, legacies, or legendary items. That’s rare, though.”

“If you manage all of that, it sounds like a nice sum.”

“Yeah… there’s also the dungeon conquest bonus.”

“Dungeon conquest?”

Axe spoke as if he had remembered something.

“Yeah, there’s that forest recently.”

“…That forest, the one everyone’s been talking about?”

“It’s just a rumor, but they say it’s been conquered.”

“That forest? Really?”

“Well, it’s just a rumor. The guild hasn’t made an official announcement yet.”

Good to know, even if it’s just a rumor that the forest’s been conquered. 

I wonder if they’ll notice… They didn’t, right?

Just then, a part of the wall cracked open.

“A hidden door!”

“A secret room?”

As we were shocked, Mina flew out from inside. She was grinning widely, looking mischievous. What’s going on?

“I found something incredible, you two.”

“What’s that?”

“What is it?”

“You’ll see once you look.”

We followed her in, and inside was a stone pedestal with a treasure chest placed on top.

It was a red treasure chest.

The sides were adorned with golden edges, and the lid was decorated with silver edges.

There were markings on both the front and back, swirling letters, square-shaped characters, and dot-like inscriptions. They were unreadable.

But this was the most mystical treasure chest I’d ever seen.

“This room is just this?”

“I searched, and that seems to be it.”

The Stone Pedestal and the Treasure Chest

There was nothing except for the stone pedestal and the treasure chest.

It was a small room surrounded by white walls with a black floor. That’s it.

I decided to check the treasure chest next using [Danger Detection].

It was red. No, it was a dark red, almost black. A mimic!?

“No, it’s not.”

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s going on?”

It wasn’t a mimic. But something felt off. I used [Fortune’s Wheel].

When I saw the color inside the chest, I was shaken.

Blue. It was blue.

Blue, huh.

“Blue!?”

Super ultra rare!?

“Blue? What do you mean?”

“What’s going on, Wof? Hey, hey!”

I approached the chest and touched it.

Nothing attacked me. It wasn’t a mimic.

So, the reaction of this dark red… I get it now.

“So that’s what it is.”

“What’s going on with you, all of a sudden?”

“Wof, do you know something about that treasure chest with your relic?”

“Yes. There’s a trap on this chest.”

“Your relic can tell you that much?”

“This trap… it’s a deadly one.”

The expressions on both of their faces darkened.

“Great.”

“A death trap, huh? This is bad. This is exactly the kind of thing Rel is good at.”

“What about Mina?”

“Wof, people have their strengths and weaknesses.”

In other words, she’s not good at this.

“Um, I have a request for you two.”

“What is it?”

“What’s going on?”

“I was wondering… if I open the chest, would it be okay if I take the contents?”

“Go ahead.”

“You’re going to open it? Well, if you do, I don’t mind what’s inside, but… are you sure?”

“Thank you. I learned lock-picking from the witch.”

“I see… Because you’re the witch’s apprentice.”

I lied. I didn’t have any lock-picking skills.

I used [The Silent One] and approached the chest’s lock. I pressed a small [Vanish] onto it.

With [Vanish], I erased the entire mechanism of the lock and the trap.

It simply became a box, and I opened it.

“It really opened.”

“Wow.”

“Wh-what is this?”

Inside the chest, I found something strange.

I picked it up.

“What? What’s that?”

“What is that?”

When I showed it to them, they both tilted their heads in confusion.

I guess that’s the kind of reaction I’d expect.

So, this is the treasure?

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