Chapter 105
Chapter 105
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Loot Stolen
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Loot Stolen"
“What’s all this?”
What else? It’s a dead end.
“Starlight Mountain summit, hidden cave, Star Cloud… shipwreck dungeon… Siren’s Song? And these marked coordinates… don’t tell me these are church branches?”
“……”
“How the hell did you find all this? There’s stuff here even the Imperial Intelligence Bureau doesn’t know about.”
Even back at the base, Adelin would pop in and out of my barracks all the time.
Male soldiers didn’t care if they were changing clothes—she’d barge right in, and the complaints were endless.
But could I tell her off?
She was the commander and the Empire’s Greatest Sword.
Still, I never imagined she’d pick the lock on my house too.
If I call this my carelessness, I’d feel wronged.
As Adelin approached me, I backed away just as much.
“I’m just going to ask our cute disciple one thing. Answer honestly.”
She placed the schedule in my hand.
Along with those golden eyes staring at me like they’d melt me down.
“Are you with the church?”
“Absolutely not.”
I answered without a moment’s hesitation.
Because it’s true.
Adelin stared at me for a long while even after my answer.
And then.
“…Good.”
“…Pardon?”
With a faint sigh, she sank into the sofa.
Relief washed over her face.
‘…That’s it?’
I’d expected a barrage of questions.
“I’ve actually suspected you for a while. Wondered if you were a church spy.”
“No way…”
“Yeah. I even investigated your background. Nothing came up, which made me even more suspicious.”
She’d already been digging into me.
No matter how close Adelin and I were, her loyalties lay with the Empire.
She couldn’t afford to be all ‘Sis trusts you! So no suspicions!’ or some naive crap like that.
That’s why things had been so quiet. Probably ever since that day we ran into each other while rescuing Mine.
But.
“So I was worried.”
Adelin’s voice cracked slightly.
“That every moment we spent together… might all have been a lie… I kept thinking that.”
“……”
“But hearing it straight from you makes it okay. You’re no good at lying, after all.”
Adelin always maintained at least a bit of the Empire’s Greatest Sword dignity.
That’s why I couldn’t treat her too casually.
But in the original story, she was more of an outwardly tough, inwardly soft type.
She took the instructor role because of her comrades’ deaths, and what she valued most was trust and bonds.
I could tell from her face right now.
At this moment, standing before me wasn’t the Empire’s Greatest Sword, but a woman genuinely relieved that her cherished disciple hadn’t gone astray.
Her blind faith pricked my conscience.
I wasn’t with the church, but I was hiding a ton from her.
So all I could do for her now was make her feel safe trusting me.
“Instructor. Let me say this clearly right here.”
“…What?”
“I’m hiding a lot. Some of it could shake the entire Empire if it came out.”
“……”
“I can’t tell you everything now. Not yet. But I can swear one thing. I won’t make a choice that disappoints you. And if a moment comes where I can’t decide alone…”
I handed the schedule back to Adelin.
“Then I’ll come consult you. Like before.”
Adelin glanced back and forth between the schedule and my face as I held it out.
“…You won’t disappoint me. Even if you did, it wouldn’t compare to the hope you gave me when I found you in that dungeon.”
“Thank you.”
“So… you’ll tell me later?”
“When the time comes, of course.”
I could instinctively feel it. Even the tiniest speck of doubt in her eyes was melting away.
“…But seriously, aren’t you an idiot? Who leaves something this important out in plain sight?”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect someone sneaky enough to evade my senses and break in.”
Like, say, the Empire’s Greatest Sword.
“…Sorry about that.”
Adelin’s face flushed with embarrassment.
Who knew she could apologize.
“Anyway.”
She quickly changed the subject.
The schedule was already in her hand somehow.
“According to this, our disciple won’t have a wink of sleep during break? Raiding church branches and hunting treasures?”
“Yeah. I’m already sleeping in too much, so time’s tight.”
“Well… can’t be helped then. I was thinking of a cozy field training trip with you over break.”
Field training and cozy in the same sentence?
As expected, Adelin had come because of Climude.
She must’ve found out I’d told Alicia about that info.
With her suspicions already brewing, adding bishop intel on top would’ve piled it on.
So she’d come to invite me on a training-slash-trip to probe.
And spotted the schedule on my desk in the process.
If she hadn’t seen it, she’d have asked casually during the trip. The same question she’d just thrown at me.
“Guess we’ll have to postpone to next time.”
But watching Adelin grumble, a thought struck me.
‘Do I really need to do this alone?’
The plan was busted anyway, and even if it’s a weak branch, it’s still church turf—anything could happen.
Plus, shipwreck dungeons were notoriously bullshit difficulty from the start.
And here she was, alive and breathing before me, not just some NPC from the original.
With me around, I could open any dungeon door.
So wouldn’t tagging along with Adelin be way more efficient?
‘Let’s test the waters.’
“Let’s go on that field training.”
“Huh? Aren’t you busy?”
“I’ve only mastered up to the transplant of the Belhart Style you taught me. Perfect timing. I was going to ask for more guidance soon anyway.”
I pointed at the schedule in her hand and added.
“But exactly according to what’s written here.”
“…What?”
A line from Adelin in the original came to mind.
‘Blind trust is nothing but illusion.’
I totally agreed.
No matter how much I appealed to her trust, or she said she trusted me, people aren’t that simple.
There’d still be a seed of doubt lingering somewhere.
Better to go through everything on this list together, show her plainly, and clear it all out.
“Your guidance so far has all been sparring format. But real combat and sparring are worlds apart, right? I’ve hit a wall lately and feel stuck. Seeing your real skills in action might spark some inspiration.”
Of course, it wasn’t just emotional reasoning.
I knew her power better than anyone.
I’d rolled hard for a whole semester.
Training without a single day off, honing my swordsmanship, farming without slacking.
I’d even died myself and watched comrades die.
So right now, I was mentally and physically drained.
I needed a break.
Yeah. Time to hop on the Adelin bus.
“Pfft!”
Adelin, who’d been staring blankly, burst out laughing.
“So you’re asking me to do your break homework for you?”
Busted right away.
“…Can’t I?”
“Well, I can’t do your homework for you, but if my cute little bro asks for a ‘consultation,’ I can do that anytime.”
She was giving permission.
Perfect.
“Of course… this consultation might get a bit rough.”
Or not?
Anyway, as thanks, I gave her some fanservice.
“Thanks, Sis.”
“You only call me Sis when you want something!”
Her eyes went wide at the surprise ‘Sis,’ and she smacked my back. Still hurt like hell.
By the time I grabbed my pre-packed bags, Adelin was waiting by the front door.
“What’re you doing? Time’s tight, right?”
And so I boarded the Adelin bus.
⁎⁎⁎
We arrived in Berhart just past one in the afternoon.
Berhart was a new region for me too. As soon as we stepped off the train, I spotted Renee waving near the vending machines.
Great. Now I could come here anytime I wanted.
Unlike Ronwood Plains, Berhart was more of a mid-sized town. Streets were packed with people.
We grabbed a quick meal at a nearby restaurant, then headed straight for Starlight Mountain.
Compared to Ronwood Mountain, Starlight Mountain wasn’t particularly steep or tall.
If you stuck to the proper hiking trail, that is.
“…You sure this is the right path?”
Near the summit, as I veered into a thickly overgrown side path, Adelin asked skeptically.
“You promised to trust me.”
“Even so, how am I supposed to believe a rare shard is in some bushy thicket?”
“See for yourself.”
Starlight Mountain lived up to its name—a mountain shining with starlight.
Legend said a meteor crashed into the summit long ago, and the starlight scattering around it guided hikers to the top.
It unlocked out of nowhere if you followed the main scenario.
Players, thinking something epic awaited in the new area, rushed to the summit.
But all that waited was a scenic achievement point for admiring the view.
They wasted time hiking for nothing and called it a troll map, but that was for nighttime visits.
Daytime was different.
Ignore the main route from the nearest summit signpost, turn right into the woods, push through vines for a good while, and you’d find a cave.
Right there was a treasure chest holding [Star Cloud], the ultimate magic shard that never dropped no matter how much you grinded dungeons.
Opening it revealed the backstory: the meteor was actually a dormant magic beast flung off during a battle between the evil god and the main god. It died without waking, dropping the chest outside a dungeon.
‘Should be around here.’
After hacking through vines for about an hour, a cave mouth hidden by foliage appeared.
Adelin’s eyes went wide.
“See? Told you.”
“…How do you even know about a place like this?”
We lit torches and headed inside.
The interior wasn’t as deep as expected. Following walls slick with damp moss, we soon hit a dead end.
There sat a single weathered treasure chest, caked in centuries of dust.
“…It’s really here.”
“Told you.”
As I lifted the core to unlock it.
‘Wait…’
For some reason, only the entrance had no dust. And these handprints.
‘…It’s not locked?’
I flung open the lid in a panic.
Sure enough.
The chest held only dust.
“…?”
…Why’s it gone?
It’s supposed to be here?
Adelin narrowed her eyes at me.
“Yeah. Good eye.”
I wish you wouldn’t look at me like that.
I’m pretty shocked myself.
‘What the hell? It’s definitely supposed to be here…’
That’s when it happened.
“Who’s there?”
Adelin shouted.
Her sharp voice echoed through the cave, and I finally sensed someone’s presence.
Turning the torch into the darkness, what I saw was.
Pink hair swaying slightly behind a pillar in the cave’s breeze.
From the trembling silhouette’s hand, like aspen leaves, leaked a blinding pure white glow.
[Star Cloud]
Loot stolen.