The exploration continues.
Our current goal is to find Rel and Hoss and get out.
Since there's no way back up, we can only press ever downward.
But right now, we have no choice but to keep going.
That aside, I'd been using the Relic [Silencer] over and over.
I'd even sneak-activate it outside of combat. That was how I'd become certain.
The Relic [Silencer] could read people's minds.
What a Relic.
*Wof hasn't noticed, I bet.*
Axe's inner voice. Huh? About what?
*Your eyes have turned blue again.*
This time it was Mineha's inner voice?
What did it mean for my eye color to turn blue?
*When he's using [Silencer], his eyes turn blue, you know.*
What!? So that's how it is. I definitely couldn't have noticed that on my own.
So that meant it was totally obvious I was using the Relic [Silencer]?
A sharp pang of guilt hit me.
Just because they knew I was using it didn't mean they'd ever figure out I was reading their minds.
Even so, knowing that sat heavy on my conscience.
I felt like I was casually telling a terrible lie. In fact, that's exactly what I was doing.
But that didn't mean I could just say so.
A Relic that could read people's minds was about as dangerous as it gets.
It wouldn't be strange if I got killed for it.
Still, blue eyes, huh.
They weren't exactly uncommon, but I couldn't help remembering that Black Knight's azure gaze.
Come to think of it, I'd heard a voice back then too.
A voice that echoed through my mind, just like now...
And Mineha had said something about my eyes being...
(Pretty blue glowing eyes. Like jewels.)
So that's what these blue eyes of mine were.
"Hey, that wall. Something's off about it."
Mineha whispered to me from her spot on my shoulder.
She was pointing at a wall of pure white stone.
"Something off about it?"
"You. Look closely."
"What's going on. You two."
Axe noticed us.
"Mineha says that wall is strange."
"...It's just a white wall."
"You don't know either? That wall. There's a hole in it."
"A hole?"
"At the very bottom."
"Oh, there really is. It's right at the base, huh."
"Ah… you're right."
There was a crack at the very bottom of the white wall with a hole in it.
Honestly, this would be hard to notice normally.
Maybe she caught it because she was down at ground level — close to the wall's height.
Mineha climbed down off me. She poked the crack with her spear.
"That's unnatural. I'm breaking through. Haaah—!"
A square hole opened up.
"What the heck is this? It broke open in a weird shape."
"About the size of one brick block?"
"This isn't a natural hole."
Breaking through and getting a perfect square? Way too unnatural.
Mineha approached the hole.
"I can fit through."
"Hey. That's dangerous."
"That's exactly why you're here, Wof."
I used the Relic, Danger Discernment.
"It's white. There's no danger."
"Then I'm going in."
Mineha jumped down and entered the hole.
Axe let out a dry laugh.
"She's got guts."
"That's what I thought too. Um, is this kind of thing common?"
"Yeah. You stumble across holes like this from time to time. But since it's just a hole like this, most people think it's weird and move on."
"Ah, I see. I guess it's surprising that you can actually pass through."
"I wouldn't say 'passing through' is exactly the right way to put it, but anyone who's that interested is a weirdo. Most delvers prioritize pushing forward. It's more profitable that way, outside of quests and all."
"Outside of quests?"
First time hearing about that. There was money to be made doing that?
"It's just small-change stuff, but for example, there's a bonus for clearing a new floor. Bonus for finding a new monster. Bonus for discovering a hidden room. Bonus for a rescue. And bonuses for recovering belongings or tags before heading to the Junkyard, things like that."
"There are quite a few, huh."
"Yep. Oh, and there's an OOPArt discovery bonus. A Legacy discovery bonus. A Legendary discovery bonus. They're rare, but they exist."
"If you hit all of them, that'd add up to a pretty hefty sum."
"Well, yeah... Oh right, there's also a dungeon-clear bonus."
"Clear bonus?"
Axe spoke as though it had just occurred to him.
"Yeah, like that forest from the other day."
"That forest... you mean that one?"
"It's just a rumor, but apparently it was cleared."
"That forest from before?"
"It's just a rumor. There's no official announcement from the guild."
"I see."
Still, knowing that information about it being cleared was circulating was reassuring.
They wouldn't figure it out, right? They haven't figured it out, right?
Then, with a grinding crack, a section of the wall split open and slid aside.
"A hidden door!"
"A secret room?"
While we stood there in shock, Mineha jumped out from inside.
She was grinning from ear to ear. What was up with that?
"You two, I found something amazing."
"Did something come up?"
"Wh-what is it?"
"You'll see when you look."
Drawn in by her invitation, we stepped inside.
There, a treasure chest sat atop a stone pedestal.
It was a red treasure chest.
Gold trim lined its sides, and the lid was adorned with silver edging.
Characters were carved into both its front and back faces.
Wavy characters. Square characters. Dotted characters. I can't read them.
But I've never seen a treasure chest this mysterious before.
"Just this one room?"
"I looked around too, and it seems like that's it."
There was nothing besides the stone pedestal and the treasure chest.
A small room enclosed by white walls, with a black floor. That was all.
Next, I check the treasure chest with [[Danger Discernment]].
Red. No, a darkish red. A mimic!?
"No."
"What?"
"What is it?"
Wrong. Something's wrong. I use the [[Wheel of Fortune]].
Seeing the color inside the treasure chest, I was stunned.
Blue. It's blue.
Blue.
"Blue!?"
Super ultra rare!?
"Blue? What does that mean?"
"What's going on, Wof? H-hey."
I approached the treasure chest. And touched it.
It isn't attacking me. It's not a mimic.
Then this black-and-red reading is... I see.
"So that's how it is."
"What's your deal since a little while ago?"
"Wof. That treasure chest — can your Relic tell you anything about it?"
"Yes. This treasure chest has a trap."
"Your Relic can figure out something like that?"
"And on top of that, this trap is a death trap."
My words made both of them frown.
"The worst."
"A death trap, huh. That's rough. Rel's the one who's good with this kind of thing."
"How about Mineha?"
"Wof. People have their strengths and weaknesses."
So she's no good at it.
"Um, I have something to discuss with you two."
"What?"
"What is it?"
"The treasure chest — if I open it, can I keep whatever's inside?"
"Sure."
"You're going to open it? I mean, if you do, the stuff inside is... well, whatever, I guess. But are you sure?"
"Thank you. I learned lockpicking from a witch."
"R-right. You're the witch's apprentice, after all."
That was a lie. I don't actually have any lockpicking skills.
I used [Stillness] on the treasure chest's keyhole, then pressed a small [Banish] into it.
[Banish] erased the entire keyhole mechanism along with every trap inside.
It became just a plain box, so it opened right up.
"It actually opened."
"That's amazing."
"Th-this is..."
What was inside the treasure chest — what even is this.
I picked up the contents.
"Huh? What is that?"
"What even is that?"
When I showed them, both of them tilted their heads.
Yeah, that's the kind of reaction you'd get.
So this is treasure, huh.