Treasure Hunt (2)
A whooshing sound drifted from inside the cave—or at least, that was the feeling Patrick got.
“Nah. The kids are just playing around.”
He glanced around. The once-romantic field of white flowers now felt oddly eerie.
“······Should I call the kids over?”
He didn’t want to share the treasure, but he hated being scared even more. What if something strange popped out? A parade of every monster he could imagine flashed through his mind.
Tap—
Patrick, who had been hesitating, made up his mind. He pressed his lips together and plucked a single flower blooming at his feet.
“Go, don’t go······. Go, don’t go, go······. Whew— Okay, if it turns out like this, it must be fate, right?”
When he lacked confidence in his own decision, a little help from the heavens was welcome. Some might call it superstition, others might say it was just a game of probability, but right now, petal divination was the perfect tool to fill the gaps in Patrick’s resolve.
“Let’s go!”
With the sky’s approval secured, Patrick stepped into the cave without hesitation.
“Oh?”
The inside looked a little different from the outside. It wasn’t deep, but there was enough space for children to run around.
“There’s even light coming in?”
A hole in the ceiling let sunlight pour through, filling the space with a mysterious atmosphere.
With this kind of vibe, treasure could definitely be here. Yeah.
But the empty hollow showed no sign of any place where treasure might be hidden.
“Do I have to dig? ······Dig!”
Thud—
He tried casting the spell just in case, but quickly decided it wasn’t the way to go.
“I don’t even know how deep I’d have to dig. Is there another way?”
Patrick plopped down in the middle of the cave and pulled out the treasure map again, staring at it intently before flopping onto his back.
“Staring at it won’t make anything appear······. Ugh.”
Flash!
Huh?
Something sparkled in the hole in the cave ceiling where the light came through. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
Flash—!
It was definite. There was something up there.
As if entranced, Patrick dashed out of the cave and began climbing the hill behind it.
“It’s here!”
His guess had been right. The top of the hill was the cave’s ceiling. Crawling on his stomach toward the hole, he soon discovered what was sparkling.
“A box?”
Near the hole was a pile of rocks that looked like something children had played with. Peeking out from between them was a metallic box. He quickly cleared the rocks and pulled it out, but—
Clatter.
“Huh?”
The lid of the metal box opened with a weak click. It hadn’t been locked in the first place. Inside, of course, was completely empty.
“So someone found it first?”
Instead of disappointment, a wave of exhilaration washed over him.
It was real!
Even if someone had already taken whatever had been inside this cave, there were still four more marks left on the map. Anticipation began to frost Patrick’s face.
“You kids aren’t going to the teacher’s house today either?”
“No. Teacher said he’s busy.”
“Really?”
The village women tilted their heads as they watched the children playing in the Village Hall. Normally, the kids would have already gathered at the teacher’s house by this time, yet yesterday and today they showed no sign of heading that way. It was puzzling.
“Come to think of it, I saw the teacher heading toward the beach early this morning with a shovel. What could he be up to?”
“You should’ve offered to help.”
“I did ask, but he said not to worry about it.”
“Really?”
The fact that the usually welcoming teacher had turned down help only deepened their curiosity.
“Must be something for his research.”
“Or maybe he’s gathering medicinal herbs.”
“That could be. In that case, having other people around would’ve been a hindrance instead.”
The villagers were quick to come up with their own explanations. Meanwhile, at that very moment, Patrick was trapped in a hell of digging.
Thud, thud, thud!
The sight of him plunging his shovel into the sandy beach—the children’s old hideout—again and again carried a hint of madness. The second mark on the treasure map was right here on this shore. He had searched near the rocks first, but there was no treasure chest to be found.
—That means it’s under the sand!
Since it wouldn’t be hidden underwater, there had to be a box buried somewhere beneath this fine white sand.
The kids said it before. Adults don’t come here.
That meant the treasure here was less likely to have been discovered by chance.
“Aargh! This damn digging!”
Still, hope was hope, and pain was pain. Shoveling with his scrawny, muscle-less arms under the scorching sun, pushing through hot sand, felt less like labor and more like torture to Patrick.
Of course, he had tried using magic at first. But he soon had no choice but to give up.
Mana depletion is one problem, but I can’t tell what’s under the sand.
When plowing fields, all he had to do was dig up the soil, so there was no issue. The goal was simply to turn the earth, whether there were rocks or roots underneath. But treasure hunting was different. He wasn’t just moving sand—he had to find something buried beneath it! So he had no choice but to keep plunging the shovel in, hoping to feel the touch of a metal box at his fingertips.
“Maybe I should’ve brought a pitchfork instead of a shovel?”
After digging for a while, Patrick began seriously reconsidering. Even though it was a small beach, he had no idea how much longer it would take to dig through the entire area with just a shovel.
I’ve already been digging for two days······.
His patience, already a single handful, had run out in two days. When greed outstripped stamina and mental fortitude, giving up came quickly and easily. He tossed the shovel aside and fell into thought. He unfolded the treasure map again.
“Should I check somewhere else first? But where is this place, anyway?”
I wish it was somewhere easier.
“A map?”
“Waaah!”
A small head suddenly popped over his shoulder, nearly stopping Patrick’s heart.
“Whoa, damn. You scared me! Seriously!”
“I was calling you from over there. Didn’t you hear me?”
The owner of the head was Ben. Unable to visit the teacher’s house, he had summoned a spirit to wander around and, upon learning Patrick was here, had come to find him.
“Where’d you get that map?”
“I’m not telling you.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s mine.”
“You mean it’s the teacher’s?”
From his expression, Ben clearly didn’t believe him at all.
“I found it, so it’s mine.”
Still, Patrick stood his ground. Time for the kid to taste an adult’s shamelessness.
“Well, let’s say that’s true. But why are you hiding it?”
“······Because it’s mine?”
“Why do you keep saying the same thing?”
Ben shot Patrick a suspicious look as the teacher repeated himself like something was broken.
“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
“N-no, I’m not!”
“So you are.”
“I said I’m not!”
Even as he protested, he furtively tucked the map into his robe—an awkward sight if there ever was one.
“Want some help?”
“W-with what!”
“You said you didn’t know where it was, right? I know.”
Ben grinned, pointing at Patrick’s chest where the map was hidden.
“······You saw it?”
“Of course.”
“You’ve got good eyes.”
“It’s because my memory’s good. I remember everything after seeing it once and never forget.”
“Must be nice to be so talented.”
After a few more childish exchanges, Patrick let out a sigh and gestured for Ben to sit beside him.
“You have to keep this a secret from the others.”
“Why?”
“If you don’t, I won’t show you.”
“Got it. I’ll keep it secret.”
“Really?”
“Have you only ever been lied to?”
After getting the ten-year-old’s confirmation several times, Patrick finally pulled out the map. He didn’t forget to put on a generous air.
“You’ve never seen anything like this in your ten years of life. Do you know what this is?”
Rustle, rustle.
With careful hands, Patrick unfolded the map and looked at Ben with eager eyes.
“This is a treasure map. See these X marks? That’s where the treasure is. I already checked the cave over there.”
“Treasure? There’s treasure here? No way.”
“I’m telling you it’s real! Where I found this treasure map······.”
Patrick thought to himself, This kid sometimes doesn’t act his age at all. At times like this, he should be shouting and sparkling with excitement. That way, sharing the secret would actually feel worthwhile.
“Tommy drew this last year or so, didn’t he? And you’re saying there’s treasure here?”
“Yeah, the treasure’s at these X marks······. Wait, what?”
“Tommy drew this last year, right?”
“Huh?”
“These X marks are our hideouts. Oh, right. Back then there were only five. There are more now. Eight of them, our hideouts.”
“······?”
Patrick froze on the spot while Ben lifted the map, lost in nostalgia. Even if a ten-year-old’s memories seemed trivial, they clearly meant something to him.
“When we made this, we wandered all over the place together and got scolded by the adults a lot. They kept asking what we’d do if we got lost.”
“······.”
“Tommy was keeping it and said he lost it somewhere. I should show the other kids! I’ll show them and give it back to you, teacher. That’s fine, right?”
Ben’s voice seemed to grow fainter. Only then did Patrick realize something was off. Of the five marks, the cave and the beach he had personally visited—both were the children’s hideouts. The drawing on the so-called treasure map was rather crude. There were no letters or numbers, only pictures marking the spots.
If it was drawn last year, none of the kids would’ve known how to read or write yet.
Patrick’s shoulders slumped.
“So what have I even been doing all this time?”
“You were digging, weren’t you?”
“Can you be quiet?”
If only he had shared the map with the kids instead of sneaking off to look at it alone when he first found it, he wouldn’t have wasted all this effort. This was why people shouldn’t be too greedy.
“Hoho! So that’s what happened?”
“I got completely fooled by that map and spent days digging and wandering around.”
“Bwahahaha!”
Once the villagers learned the full story, they couldn’t hold back their laughter. Eventually, hearing the tale turned into a drinking party at the Village Hall.
“Now that you mention it, it does look that way at a glance. Hoho.”
“And to make it worse, you found an empty box near that cave, so of course you’d think that. What do you suppose that box was, anyway?”
“A box?”
“Yeah. It was a black metal box. I spotted it sparkling in the sunlight.”
“Wasn’t that something the kids were playing with? Ben! Come here for a moment.”
“Yes?”
The Village Chief called over Ben, who was busy building a sandcastle in the sandbox, popped a piece of cheese into his mouth, and asked,
“Did you kids play with a box near that cave you call your hideout?”
“A box? What kind of box?”
“A black, shiny box.”
“I don’t think that was one of ours.”
“It was found on the hill above the cave. In the pile of rocks near the hole in the ceiling.”
“Nah. We don’t go near that hole. It’s dangerous. What if we fell?”
“Huh? So it really wasn’t yours?”
“I’m telling you it wasn’t. Can I take more cheese to share with my friends?”
“Of course.”
The Village Chief figured Ben simply didn’t remember the other kids bringing it, but Patrick thought differently.
He doesn’t remember that?
It seemed he needed to check that box again.