Chapter 180: The Eyes of a Dreamer Always Burn
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 180: The Eyes of a Dreamer Always Burn
Krais crossed his arms, his eyes gleaming as he continued.
"The time when Dolph, the owner of the treasure map, built this dungeon was in the past."
Wondering what kind of nonsense he was spouting now, Encrid stared at him, but Krais only offered a confident smile. It was somewhat annoying, but since Encrid had nothing to say in response, he just kept watching.
"Which means a method like this didn't exist back then."
As times changed and years passed, treasure hunters had grown cunning. Instead of risking their lives to disarm traps just to venture deep inside a dungeon and reap the rewards, they skipped the tedious process altogether and focused solely on the result.
Wasn't the culmination of that philosophy called Christrown's Dungeon Solution?
"It's a technique called Bypassing."
A shortcut, but if it worked, it was an excellent method—one that Encrid himself had recently experienced. If defeating the Gnoll Leader was a wall, he hadn't waited for the creature, nor had he sacrificed the village to them, nor had he chosen an unfavorable battlefield. He had simply found a way to bypass the obstacle and move forward.
"This is it."
Krais located a boulder about the size of an adult man and spoke.
"If you please, Luagarne."
At his request, the Frog Kin stepped forward obediently. As she pushed the boulder, it fell to the side with a heavy thud. Beneath it, a worn, hole-like opening was revealed.
Krais pulled a shovel from his backpack, dug around a few times, and said, "This is the entrance. So, roughly..."
He then took long strides forward. After pacing around the area for about the time it would take a candle the length of a finger joint to burn down, Krais smiled broadly once more.
"It should be right around here."
Krais raised his shovel and began to dig. It was hard labor. Of course, doing it alone was out of the question.
"Move aside."
This time, it was Encrid. He took the shovel and began to dig. From what he understood, Krais's plan was to bypass all the traps entirely, dig a hole directly into where the treasure was hidden, and slip inside.
It was hard to call it a groundbreaking idea, but in the past—specifically, when Dolph was constructing this dungeon—it might have been a completely unthinkable method. Though it was a shortcut, it was far more efficient than risking one's life to disarm traps.
Encrid agreed and helped. When Esther paced around them and bared her claws, Encrid shook his head.
"Get some rest."
The panther looked visibly exhausted.
"Kyarrr."
As if highly pleased by his words, the panther let out a soft purr, found a spot nearby, and lay down. She curled up and closed her eyes. Seeing her like this, she really did look exhausted. Except during their sparring sessions on the way here, Encrid had carried her in his arms. She was utterly worn out from fatigue.
In any case, Krais was right.
"We're just picking up a few treasures on our way. Why leave them behind? Ah, of course, there might be nothing. Someone else might have plundered it without a map, but the chances of that are low."
Was this the third time he had insisted it was no big deal?
As they dug, the dirt crumbled and fell inward, revealing a man-made passageway.
"See?" Krais said.
This was the result of him and Encrid taking turns with the shovel. Inside the hole, a few gold coins rolled around, catching the light. It was too dark to see further inside, but surely a few gold coins weren't all there was. Just as Krais had said, it was easy.
"Whoa."
Finn's eyes gleamed as well. Krais had promised her a share of the Krona. This meant Finn could walk away with a few pouches of Krona herself. Luagarne and Esther showed no interest, but Encrid thought having some Krona would be nice, given his ruined swords.
Go down, pick up the treasure, and come back up. It was still a simple task.
It should have been. It was supposed to be easy.
The sun had set, and the moon had already risen. Krais glanced up at the moon and spoke.
"Let's all go down together. It doesn't seem like a bad place to spend the night. Besides, we might have a lot of things to carry back."
There shouldn't be any danger, after all. There were no demonic beasts nearby, and they weren't planning to stay inside for more than a day. Since they had to camp anyway, if there was no particular danger inside, spending the night down there would be ideal.
Everyone agreed with his suggestion to spend the night below rather than suffer from annoying insects outside, and then move out tomorrow.
"That sounds good," Encrid agreed. As he did, he wondered if there would be anything else besides a few gold coins. I wonder if there's anything decent.
He wasn't short on Krona, but his swords had sustained far too much damage in the recent battle. In particular, the sword made of Valerian Steel and Noir Wrought Iron was severely chipped. Aside from needing a new edge, its core had been compromised.
I can't use this anymore.
To a mercenary, their weapon is their life. A swordsman who failed to recognize the value of that life was flawed from the very beginning. Naturally, Encrid knew how to assess the condition of his own weapons. He had cut down hundreds of demonic beasts and monsters; it would be stranger if his swords were still intact.
This meant the cores of both his swords were ruined. His armor was also torn in various places. The leather parts were ripped, and several holes had opened in the chainmail underneath.
As he thought about this, he glanced to the side and saw Luagarne moving nonchalantly.
"This is going to delay your return, isn't it?"
When Encrid spoke, Luagarne puffed out her cheeks with a soft pfft and replied, "It is fine. I am only enjoying myself."
The atmosphere was warm and friendly. Encrid fed Esther some seasoned jerky while Finn tied a rope to a sturdy tree. Her ranger-style knotting technique shone.
"It won't come undone unless someone cuts it. And it's not so steep that we can't climb back up."
It was a precaution just in case—truly fitting for a ranger.
After lowering the prepared rope down the hole, Encrid went down first, followed by Finn, then Krais. Esther leaped down, digging her claws into the wall as she descended. Finally, Luagarne wrapped her feet around the rope and slid down with light, rhythmic taps.
Once everyone had descended, the moon was already high in the sky.
Is it around midnight? Encrid estimated the time in his head.
"Camping down here and heading back up tomorrow is the perfect plan," Krais spoke from behind.
Encrid nodded. Since there might still be lingering dangers, he lit a torch and surveyed the surroundings. Behind them, toward the dungeon entrance Krais had found, a long passageway was visible, but it was so narrow that one would have to bend double just to squeeze through.
If we try to go out that way, our backs will be ruined.
Of course, they wouldn't actually do that, but it was just that narrow. Fighting in a place like that would make it difficult to react properly.
A terrible place to use a sword, Encrid concluded.
There were no other apparent dangers. Everyone shared the same thought. It wasn't as dusty as they had expected, and there were no pressure-plate traps to step on.
Esther let out a soft purr and yawned lazily. Since she still seemed exhausted, Encrid gathered her into his arms and handed the torch to Krais.
Luagarne murmured as she examined the surroundings. "These are ancient traces."
What was she like as a scholar? Encrid fell into idle thought. She knows ancient languages, and she's a talent reader belonging to the kingdom.
A multi-talented Frog Kin, quite apart from her combat ability—her value was certainly not low.
Finn couldn't find any danger in the passageway stretching ahead and behind. While Ranger Finn wasn't on the level of a professional treasure hunter, she knew how to spot traps.
It's clean.
If there was a trap she couldn't see, it would have to be related to spells or be a highly sophisticated mechanism. Not something basic like a tripwire or a pressure plate that fired arrows, but the kind of trap that triggered at the slightest brush—the sort of thing that was difficult to notice unless one was a professional.
Though it would be excessive for a mere wealthy man to build.
Such traps were the kind you would only find in ancient tombs. They would fundamentally require spells to be woven into them.
Finn watched Krais walking beside her. Having picked up three or four gold coins from the floor, Krais was examining the area by the light of his torch. Until then, nothing had happened. No danger, no unusual occurrences.
The passageway was short, soon opening into a circular cavern. There was an altar fitting for the end of a dungeon, along with a single old, worn chest. An old, dust-covered sword was thrust into the altar. To put it nicely, it was antique; to put it bluntly, it was hopelessly worn out.
"We've come to the right place."
Krais couldn't hide his excitement. They had dug in the right spot and found the correct path. At this rate, couldn't he call himself a treasure hunter? He was glad he had read Christrown's Dungeon Solution.
Ever since he was a child—specifically, since he had learned to read—Krais had sought out and read all kinds of books. He had believed they would be the hand that pulled him out of the swamp of childhood poverty. He had been right. Hadn't he found treasure just like this?
"Does it really take that much Krona to open a salon?" It was a trivial question from Encrid.
"Yes, of course," Krais answered without missing a beat.
Really? Encrid asked with his eyes. Krais spoke of his dream for the first time in a long while.
"I'll establish the most luxurious and splendid facility in the capital, one that everyone will be dying to enter, and I'll introduce memberships. And that's not all. I'll open branches. All over the continent."
The eyes of a dreamer always burn.
Encrid had no right to mock another's dream, and besides, he liked the look of Krais's shining eyes, so he simply offered his support.
"Sure. Go for it."
Aside from the old sword thrust into the center of the altar, the room contained only two chests that looked entirely ordinary. Since gold coins had been dropped in the passageway, there had to be something here as well. Krais examined the chests with anticipation. It might be designed to shoot poison arrows upon opening, so Krais stepped forward cautiously.
Behind Krais, Luagarne offered Encrid advice more valuable than gold.
"Learning only the basics won't be enough. You must learn a proper swordsmanship style and master it. Only then can you go further."
"For example?"
"Northern-style swordsmanship. You learned it from that guy, didn't you?"
The Frog Kin's perception was sharp. She had looked at Ragna, then at Encrid, and traced the origin.
When Encrid nodded, the Frog Kin spoke again. "It would be best if you could properly learn Northern-style swordsmanship from that blonde, red-eyed friend of yours."
"And you can't teach me?"
"I am bound by a covenant. Even this was an exceptional leave. I must return."
Luagarne spoke with genuine regret.
A covenant. Frog Kin were easily swayed by desires and cravings. Because of this, they made what was called an Oath of the Heart. Since they disliked repeatedly uttering the word 'heart,' they substituted it with the word 'covenant.'
Thus, a Frog Kin's covenant was never light. It was a rule that had to be kept unconditionally, taking precedence over their own desires and cravings. Frog Kin who lived without keeping it were extremely rare. One could practically say they didn't exist.
It was for this reason that the phrase 'the naive Frog Kin's swordplay' had come to be. It meant that an ignorant Frog Kin could be deceived by humans or other races into selling their covenant, leading them to commit massacres with unwanted swordplay.
That is quite...
Encrid felt once again that Luagarne's words about falling for him were by no means light. Was there really a need to go that far? To fall for him even at the cost of making an Oath of the Heart? Why? Why go out of her way?
Encrid couldn't even tell her to cancel it. No fool was ignorant of how heavy a Frog Kin's oath was. And he knew all too well that Frog Kin took pleasure in cleanly snapping off the heads of those who insulted their oaths.
Since not losing a fight and insulting an opponent were two entirely different matters, Encrid kept his mouth shut.
It was then.
"Kyah!"
Esther, who had been curled up in a corner exhausted, suddenly let out a fierce, savage roar.