Sweet Loot Collection (1)
A breathless silence hung in the air.
The Slaughter Demon, who mere moments ago had looked ready to tear the Princess herself limb from limb, had knelt like a knight — and that alone was astonishing enough.
A special inspector? Enthusiastic? Gifts?
The nobles stifled even their breathing and racked their brains with desperate, feverish intensity. They could not, for the life of them, make sense of anything that had just been said.
Yet even in that wretched confusion, there were those whose hands moved faster than their understanding.
Click! Click!
It was the journalist with her magic camera. Shaking like a leaf, she nonetheless had the gut instinct that whatever this was, it was an exclusive scoop.
I have to get this shot! Even if that blood-soaked barbarian beats me to death for it!
Caric, of course, had no intention of stopping her. Instead, he picked up the demon's severed head he'd set down on the floor earlier.
Good thing I remembered my props.
He offered the head up to Annette, the way one might present the neck of an enemy commander.
Eeek! C-Caric?
Annette swallowed a scream. She'd grown fairly used to grisly scenes by now, but this particular head was in a state all its own. Terror, despair, and regret had mingled with the agony of death, twisting the face into something horrific.
Fortunately, she didn't have to keep looking at it. With a dignified expression, Annette reached out her hand.
Fwooooosh!
Radiance reduced the cultist's head to fine white ash in an instant.
Click! Click!
And that scene, too, was captured in full by the magic camera.
Caric was satisfied. A saint, a barbarian, a demon. That's all the source material they need.
He dusted off his hands and rose to his feet — and right on cue, the people they'd been waiting for appeared to have arrived.
"Everyone, step back! This is the Imperial Guard!"
The guard captain pushed his way through the crowd. He froze solid at the sight of Caric, then barely managed to tear his gaze away and bow to Annette.
"Your Highness, forgive our delay. We will secure the scene from here."
"No."
Annette held out the Special Inspector's badge. "The interior scene falls to the Special Inspectorate. The Guard will handle crowd control outside and the cleanup afterward."
"But the Inspectorate hasn't yet mustered its full personnel—"
The guard captain's protest died the moment his eyes met Caric's.
To be honest, Caric had looked over without a single thought in his head. But the captain auto-persuaded himself anyway.
"…It does not appear you are short-staffed at all. We will follow your orders."
He bowed his head at once and withdrew. And so, with control formally handed over, Caric and Annette made their way into the antique shop. It was time for the sweet loot collection.
*
After the lingering curse-mist had been thoroughly cleansed through Radiance, the two of them headed into the back of the secret passage, toward the one corridor that was relatively intact.
With the crowd's eyes gone, Annette's speech loosened right up.
"Haaahhh, I thought my legs were going to give out." She slid down against the stone wall like she was melting. "So much happened today."
"Tell me about it. Sounds like things got pretty serious up top too."
"They really did! I honestly thought it was going to be a disaster this time. When I got there, it was a full-blown catastrophe…"
"Well, you held the line, didn't you? Didn't look like a single civilian died."
"Hehe, that's my job, after all!" Annette declared, sounding rather pleased with herself. Even by her own measure, her 'saintly debut' had gone rather well.
"You worked hard too, Caric. One look at the entrance tells me there must have been a ton of cultists."
"Wasn't much of a struggle. They all had excellent attitudes. Made the inspecting worthwhile."
Caric fiddled with the hilt of 'Wisdom' at his hip, looking genuinely proud. "And Celis helped a lot too."
"Don't mention it."
Annette flinched. Somewhere along the way, an unfamiliar woman had appeared at Caric's back. Short black hair, purple eyes, a small, pale face — with blood spattered across it in a way that somehow lent her a decadent sort of beauty.
Wh-whooa, she's gorgeous…?
"Is… is that her? The shadow mage?"
"That's her."
"Celis Labrume."
Celis bowed her head to Annette. It was a perfectly courteous gesture.
Ahhhhh…!
Annette screamed internally for some reason. She couldn't have said exactly why. Just — something about that moment felt very, very strange.
She's clearly capable, so why is she also that pretty? And more than that… where on earth had she been hiding all this time? Unless Annette was mistaken, hadn't she been inside Caric's shadow just now?
"I've been hired as Your Highness's bodyguard and aide. A pleasure to work with you."
"Y-yes! Likewise, the pleasure is mine."
"Don't be so nervous. Celis is a good one. She doesn't scratch."
"Am I a cat?"
Celis shot Caric a flat, deadpan glance — and from that single brief look, Annette sensed a great deal. The two of them stood side by side far too naturally, somehow. And looking again, she was the only one of the three whose clothes were still clean, spared from the blood and dust.
"B-but, both of you! Aren't you uncomfortable? You must feel awful, staying like that…"
"Ah, right. Annette. Purify us, please. Celis too."
"I'm fine. I can hardly impose on Her Highness."
"No, no! It's no imposition at all. I'll have you both, um, fresh as new in a jiffy."
Annette cleansed the two of them thoroughly with Radiance. Caric let out a low, satisfied rumble.
"Mmm. There it is. That refreshment."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Celis gave a crisp bow as well. She seemed to bear Annette no resentment whatsoever — if anything, she regarded her with faint curiosity. Whether it was Radiance she was curious about, or the person she'd be working alongside, who could say. Either way, Annette felt an oddly hollow pang she couldn't quite name.
"Well, that's enough introductions. Time to get to work." Caric cut through the atmosphere with brisk efficiency. "First, we separate the prisoners from the bodies and gather them up. Though aside from the two upstairs, they're mostly dead by now…"
"Anyone still alive, I'll patch back up completely." Annette spoke with real determination. She knew exactly who these cultists were by now. "They have to pay for what they've done."
"Good. Celis, you handle the collection. Gather up the rest of the loot scattered around in the shadows while you're at it."
"Got it. And you?"
"Annette and I are heading to the storeroom in the back. Looked like there's plenty of good stuff in there."
"Then I'll join you once I'm done collecting."
Celis departed for the ground floor without another word. Once the two of them were alone, Annette let out another long breath.
"Huaaahhh…"
Caric was unsurprised. "So you were nervous."
"D-did you notice? Was it that obvious?"
"Very. Celis probably noticed too. Well, nothing to be done about it. I'm an INFP myself, so I understand."
"I-INFP…"
Annette decided to seize this opportunity. "I've heard that term now and then — what does it actually mean? Something like 'a broad-minded warrior-chief'?"
"Ah, 'INFP.' That refers, quite precisely, to people like me." Caric led the way deeper into the passage as he spoke. "Thoughtful, kind, and sincere. Timid, yet idealistic. The sort of personality that wants to make the world a better place."
"Hmmmm. Now that you mention it…" Annette nodded along. "That's exactly you, Caric!"
"Exactly! I knew you'd say that!" Caric beamed. "Look around you, too! If I weren't an INFP, a scene like this would never have come to be!"
He gestured as he stepped into the trap-laden corridor. To put it simply: the place was utterly wrecked. Craters from Caric's sprint lined the floor like a decorative pattern, and the passage was shattered, scorched, and melted in every direction thanks to the traps. Where the cultists had brought part of it down, the rubble still lay heaped in place.
"Wh— wha…?"
Annette was struck speechless by the devastation. "Here, um, how did it come to be like—"
"I broke through by taking every single trap head-on!"
"What?!"
Annette couldn't for the life of her see how that connected to this 'INFP' business. But she chose not to press the question. Surely there was a logic that belonged to Caric alone… and surely she would never understand it…
He went on to show her a few more sights besides — the place where he'd crushed the shield-bearers and put down the priestess, and the spots where he'd chased down the cleaners and torn their armor to shreds. By the time they reached the storeroom door, Annette was certain of one thing. Being an INFP… is genuinely terrifying.
And then another thought struck her. The Guard would come in later to handle the cleanup. What on earth would they think, seeing this scene? And the people who heard the Guard's report, or caught wind of the rumors afterward? Annette found herself curious about their reactions — and afraid of them.
"Heh heh heh. It seems I've been talking too much."
Caric looked a touch sheepish.
"N-no, not at all. It was, um, educational, learning about this 'INFP' thing."
"Glad to hear it. Now then — shall we see what's in the storeroom?"
The two pushed open the door and stepped inside. The place was crammed with precious magical artifacts the cultists had stockpiled. Since this safehouse had served as bait for investigators, its inventory was actually better quality than most.
After all, a cultist hideout has to look believable, doesn't it?
"Caric, I — I've never seen a room this sparkly before…" Gold coins and jewels filled every corner, which was only the baseline. Both arcane and economic value in one haul.
"Don't look so awed. You'll get dismissed as a nobody."
"Dismissed by — by whom, exactly?"
"Doesn't matter. Come over here instead. We're in luck."
Caric pointed at something that resembled a giant beehive. "These fools apparently had no idea what it was and left it sitting here."
"What is it?"
"A sealed vault. Radiance should open it, I think."
"H-how would you know that?"
Because you farmed it in the original story. It was a relic left behind by the founding-era emperors, back when they could still wield Radiance.
"A hunter's instinct."
"Instinct…"
Whatever the case, Annette released a burst of Radiance — and sure enough, the sealed vault opened.
"Oh! It's those white keystone things!"
Out came several of the very stones that had been used to awaken Annette's own power.
"Absorb the power in those, and you'll handle Radiance even more strongly. And — here we go."
Caric pulled a book from where it had been buried among the stones. "A secret manual. This one is… the 'Eye of Truth.'"
"The Eye of Truth?"
"See for yourself."
Annette took the manual and leafed through it. "Ah, this book is like a personal memoir left by the Fourth Emperor! Aside from the technique, there's also his thoughts on how he ruled—"
"Spare me the history lesson. I trust you'll study it all properly on your own. The technique?"
"Hmm… here it is. Through Radiance, one can discern another person's lies."
"Useful for interrogations, but even better for politics and social occasions."
It was a technique tailor-made for Annette, who would soon be dealing with heavyweight politicians.
"And… it says that once you grow skilled enough, you can create something called a Domain of Truth."
"A Domain of Truth? Now what's that supposed to be?"
"Inside it, apparently, no one can tell a lie at all."
Annette somehow found herself saying this while looking directly at Caric.
"Why are you looking at me? I am an honest barbarian at all times."
"Ah — it meant nothing, really."
"Fine. We can always play a game of truth some other time, I suppose."
Though they'd only known each other a short while — would it even be any fun yet?
"A-anyway, moving on — uh, there's a safe over here."
Annette smoothly changed the subject. It was painfully obvious, but Caric decided to let it slide.
"Hmm, is that so. I'd like to know what's inside."
"I'll look for the key."
"Isn't the key right in front of your eyes?"
"Huh?"
Caric drew 'Wisdom' and swept it from above to below — a fluid, delicate motion, like a conjurer twirling a wand. With a soft flourish of sound effects, the safe door swung open as if by magic.
"Just as they say. For one possessed of wisdom, the whole world becomes an open door."