Chapter 11: The Strongest Onmyoji Picks Up Souvenirs

　We followed a passageway that extended to the back of the boss’s room and arrived at a small room.

“This is……”

“I’m not sure, but maybe that’s the room for…?”

　In the center of the room was what looked like an altar.

　And on top of it, a sword was propped up.

　It was a …… magnificent sword, although it was dusty and looked very old.

　The hilt is modestly decorated and there is a subtle flow of power.

　There is not a trace of rust on the beautiful silver blade of the sword.

　What is the material? It doesn’t look like steel or bronze. ……

“I wonder if this is …… the Holy Silver Mithril.”

“Mithril?”

　If I’m not mistaken, it was a rare metal that allows magic power to pass through.

“I’ve only seen a Mithril weapon once, but maybe.”

“Maybe it’s a pretty good one?”

“It’s the perfect material for a cane sword. It’s rare and expensive, so I’m sure it would fetch a pretty penny on the market…..even so, I don’t think I want to pull it out and take it home with me.”

　Amiyu looks at the altar in a creepy way.

　What the mithril sword was stuck to on the altar was a gigantic hand.

　It has five fingers, but they are not human.

　Its rugged skin is almost reptilian.

“It’s a seal……right? Here.”

“I guess so.”

I wonder what happened to everything but its hand.”

“I’m sure they’ve been torn apart and sealed in separate lands.”

　There was an instance in a previous life where a powerful demon was sealed in such a way.

　It is a different kind of sealing than sending them to a phase.

“Is that how It was?”

“Maybe. But…”

　I grasped the hilt of the sword and pulled it out casually.

“Wait! Hold on!”

“It’s okay.This hand has long lost its power.”

　The huge hand had cracked and crumbled when the sword was drawn.

　It must be quite old. There was not the slightest hint of power flowing through it.

“But why would they seal it so deep in the dungeon?”

“…I think it wasn’t a dungeon yet …… when it was sealed. Naga was called in when the hand still had power, and it eventually became the nucleus, and the dungeon spread over a long period of time……. This place looks like it was originally the remains of something.”

“Hmm. I see.”

　Well, whatever.

“Yes, Amiyu.”

　I hold out the sword to Amu.

“Eh?”

“This is a good sword, isn’t it? Why don’t you use it?”

“…… is it okay? Even though you earned it.”

“I don’t use swords. You can sell it, but it’s a rare item, and if you can use it, you should.”

“Is it really okay? My current staff sword was damaged by acid, so I’d really appreciate it, but ……”

　Amiyu said, took the hilt and raised the blade.

　At that moment, something fell from the handle and rolled on the floor

　I picked it up.

“Eh, did the decoration come off?”

“No… this is a ring.”

　Apparently it was hooked to the handle head. I didn’t notice it because I thought it was part of the decoration.

　It’s covered in dust, but it’s a beautiful ring.

　The ring is made of the same mithril as the sword itself, and is fitted with a small magic stone of intricate coloring.

　There are no letters or magic circles, but I feel a flow of power.

　This is perhaps …….

“Amiyu, can I have this one?”

“There’s no reason to say no… yeah, this looks like a good sword after all. I need to fix it.”

　Amiyu, swinging the mithril sword, says with satisfaction.

“I never thought I’d find something like this.”

“Yeah. We’re lucky..”

　Really… Really, I’m lucky.

　At first I didn’t think I could fall into such a boring trap, but thanks to it I learned about Amiyu’s curse and even got an interesting souvenir.

　It was a good decision on my part, because if I had let Ifa go normally, it could have been a disaster.

　Amiyu says.

“If I had to ask, I would have wanted a dungeon drop too.”

“Dungeon drop?”

“Depending on the dungeon, there are items that can be found inside. Weapons, jewels,  and so on. They are produced by the dungeon as well as the monsters, so they are called “dungeon drops,” the blessings of the labyrinth.

“Huh”

　Come to think of it, even in a lost house in my previous life, I remember being able to bestow a curse that would bring wealth to its owner.

“That sounds like a fun thing to look for.”

“That’s right.”

　Amiyu laughs and says.

“Being an adventurer is a terrible profession, but it’s interesting. It’s not a world that the great nobility would be involved in.”

“Haha, no…….an adventurer. Not bad.””

“Eh, are you serious?”

“I may be a nobleman, but I’m the son of a concubine, and I can’t take over the family. I have to work.”

“If you graduate from the academy with good grades, why don’t you just become a government official? You could even become a court magician, couldn’t you?”

“A government official…..”

　To be honest, I was fed up with the life of an official during my time in the Onmyōji dormitory (Bureau of Divination).

　It’s busy, full of miscellaneous affairs, my colleagues are incompetent, and socializing is annoying… I don’t want to do that even if I’m reborn.

“Officials are a bit ……. Besides, adventurers make a lot of money, don’t they?”

“The successful ones, yes. But it’s not without its risks.”

“I don’t mind that. It’s better to be free than anything else.”

　As long as you have the power, you can make a lot of money quickly and without any strings attached.

　It’s the perfect job for me.

　Money is important no matter where you are.

　I smile at Amiyu.

“It was fun to fight beside Amiyu this time. It’s still a long way off, but I’ll think about it.”

“I-Is that so…? Well, think about it. Um, if you become an adventurer……”

“Let’s go on an adventure together again. We’ll prepare properly this time. With Amiyu, I feel like I can go anywhere.”

“Ummm…yeah………I promise.”

　Slightly embarrassed, Amiyu looked away.

　If I become an adventurer, I can stay by Amiyu’s side.

　That is more important than anything else.

　As an adventurer who basically acts as a party unit, I would not stand out, no matter how strong I am.

　I will be quietly happy behind Amiyu’s spectacular success.

　This time around, I gained a lot of trust.

　Life is going really well.

　Starting over is such an easy thing to do.

“Well, let’s move on then. If this is a man-made underground ruin, the exit must be closeby. ……”

“Wait”

　I stopped Amiyu as she started walking away.

“There’s another door ahead. I’ll take a look.”

　A short passageway extended from the altar room.

　Even from here, I could see the bronze door at the end of it.

　Amiyu said quizzically.

“We defeated the boss, so there’s nothing left.”

“Just in case. Wait a minute.”

　With that said, I walk to the door.

“Se,Seika-sama…”

“I know.”

　I had noticed it from the moment I entered the altar room.

　The great flow of power beyond here.

　The dungeon has not yet lost its power.

　The core is still alive.

　A lighted hitogata flies through a gap in the bronze door and I gently peek inside.

　A vast room.

　There were three Nagas there.

　To the right, a Naga with golden scales.

　On the left, Naga with silver scales.

　And in the center, a Naga in rainbow colors, with its arms folded and its body wrapped in a coil, sat solemnly.

　The magnitude of the force is different from the Naga we saw earlier.

　It’s clearly not good.

　My face involuntarily tightens up.

　No, read the atmosphere…

　It was about to end, just now. Why do you keep folding it in? I don’t need this kind of thing right now…!

　I glance at Amiyu.

　No matter what kind of hero she is, I don’t think she can deal with those three right now. ……

　It can’t be helped.

　From the gap in the door, three new hitogata fly through.

　They were silently attached to the three Nagas, which remained motionless with their eyes closed.

　I make a seal with one hand.

《Yin Phase――――Ice Tree Jutsu》

　The Yin Qi quickly took away the heat and —- all three Nagas were reduced to mere ice statues.

　The power fades from the entire dungeon as if a light had gone out.

　It looks like that was the real nucleus after all.

“What? Right now.”

“Ah …… the dungeon has lost its power, hasn’t it?”

“Eh, but the boss is already…”

“Perhaps that Naga was alive until just now. You know, snakes have a powerful life force.”

　While saying a few random words, I flew a hitogata through the door and dumped the Naga corpses into the phase.

　All right, the evidence has been destroyed.

　I open the door.

“There seems to be nothing in this room after all. If the dungeon was alive, monsters might have sprung up.”

“Hmm… is that so? It’s strange…”

To Amiyu, who seemed to be unsatisfied, I pointed to the back of the room as if to deceive her.

“It looks like there’s a passage in the back. It might be an exit.”

　In fact, I had already sent a shikigami, and I knew that there was a staircase leading to the top.

　The exit, a trapdoor, is covered with dirt and does not seem to open easily,… but there are many ways to do it.

　In the grounds of the temple ruins, there were figures of the school teachers.

　I guess they came looking for me. I could see that they were in a great hurry. I am the son of a nobleman, after all.

　I suddenly caught one of them in my honeybee vision and —- unintentionally chuckled inwardly.

　I see, I see.

　After all, I’m lucky.

※Hyoju (Ice Tree) no Jutsu

The art of freezing a target by depriving it of heat with yin chi.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter