The Price of Greed
Even if it's a bit shameless of me, I can't say they're completely wrong.
There were simply too many reasons for Lox to keep his distance and stay wary of me. One of them was that I was the Saint.
The odds of the Saint—who received everyone's respect and adoration—secretly meddling in the empire's crown prince examination were essentially zero. Not unless that saint was unbelievably simple-minded.
After all, the web of interests between nations was incredibly complex…
But what was I supposed to do about it?
I was the simple-minded type.
“Right! Do you know why the dungeon collapsed back then?”
“Who knows? Maybe the dungeon owner had a rotten personality and rigged it to be a death trap for anyone who entered.”
“This is something Lox told me too. He said it's 'heavenly punishment,' which is common in ancient dungeons.”
“Heavenly punishment?”
“The price of greed. The weight of greed. The established theory is that the dungeon collapses when you try to take more than you should. It's a pretty common trap, so the unwritten rule for treasure-vault dungeons is to never take more than half.”
I had to awkwardly turn my body to hide my guilty conscience.
Let's see… was that the continent over there? I deliberately scanned the distant mountains, pretending to admire the view.
Heidricke was mostly flat plains, so the gesture looked painfully unnatural.
“That's strange. Did we really take that much treasure? I dropped everything in the water and only fished out two gold coins…”
“Isn't it because we took the Cup of the Golden Star? That was the key item, and it's a legendary treasure.”
“So… does that mean we shouldn't have touched anything except the Cup of the Golden Star? That's incredibly strict… Still, it does raise the chances that the Cup of the Golden Star is the real thing. Should I be happy about that?
Ugh, it still gives me chills thinking about it. If I hadn't been there, you all would have been buried alive in that place.”
The looks of respect and gratitude that kept coming my way suddenly felt heavy. I used to think I deserved them, but if Lox was right, then the dungeon's collapse… might have been my fault.
......Master.
Shh.
That was probably because we took the ring…
Rai. We're taking that secret to the grave.
Huh? I'm a spirit. I don't go into graves.
I'll put you in mine with me. Ever heard of a live burial?
Rai suddenly looked delighted. Even though I'd just threatened to bury him alive.
To think you value me that much! Rai is deeply moved! Yes! I'm the precious spirit you want to take with you even to the grave!
......Ah, well. More importantly, you still have the ring, right?
Of course! Want me to spit it out?
Not now. First, let's go somewhere without anyone around.
With even Lox—the one watching me like a hawk—nowhere in sight, this was the perfect moment to examine the ring.
What kind of object had been buried alongside the Cup of the Golden Star? And just how valuable was it that taking it had caused the dungeon to collapse?
If Lox's words were true, it meant these two items together were worth more than every other treasure in that dungeon combined.
It must have some special function. The Cup of the Golden Star can cure any disease when paired with the Chalice of Dawn. Something on that level!
What kind of power would you like it to have, Master?
Well, I haven't really thought about it… but there is one ancient treasure I've always wanted.
Oh, what is it?
The Veiled Mirror. They say it has the power to show you the current appearance of the person you miss most. No matter how far away they are, as long as they're alive, it will reflect their image.
I wasn't sure if it would work on people from another world. Still, I wanted to get my hands on it at least once.
Just in case.
That mirror might show me the faces I'd forgotten.
***
The area around here was nothing but vast open plains dotted with abandoned houses, so there wasn't exactly a good spot to do anything suspicious.
I needed somewhere private to study the ring, so I led Rai to an empty house as far away as possible from the one the party was using as shelter.
I slipped inside while staying alert for any watchful eyes. Everyone was busy preparing dinner, so they probably hadn't noticed I was gone.
Master? Why are you moving so stealthily?
“What misunderstanding are you cooking up now? I'm not. I'm being perfectly upright, thank you.”
Then… why are you tiptoeing like that?
“It's the latest trend. You wouldn't know, since you're a spirit.”
The place I'd sneaked into to avoid the others' eyes was an abandoned house that had been left to rot for so long that more than half of it had collapsed.
Only two walls remained, so calling it a house was a stretch, but it was more than enough to protect my privacy.
This title would be good. 'Summoned After Ten Thousand Years, Only to Discover My Master Is a Swindler.'
“......Fuck. Shut up and hand over the ring. If you look at me with those hazy eyes one more time, I'll turn you into a men's groin protector.”
Eek…!
“Chad's was made of iron… It'd be perfect, right? Huh?”
So cruel! How can a person be this cruel!
“Ah, should I come up with a title too? How about 'Fuck It, I Walk My Own Path.' If you don't want to die, do as I say.”
Rai shivered violently before quickly spitting out the spirit stone Anelia had given me.
It was about seventy percent restored. Since I had no interest in forming a new contract for the time being, it had been pushed to the back of my mind.
After hitting my limits several times recently, I realized that while expanding my domain of power was important, properly taming the spirits I already had was far more urgent.
Depth felt more important than breadth right now.
That was because every single one of them—except the water spirits—took after someone in the worst ways and were incredibly difficult to handle. I felt like I'd been put in charge of a class full of problem children.
Three disobedient spirits were more than enough. I'd only contract a new one after I had much firmer control over the ones I already possessed.
“......Not that—the ring! Why did you spit out the spirit stone!”
Ah, wait a moment. Master keeps stuffing all sorts of things in here, so everything got mixed up inside.
To prepare against pickpockets, I'd stored most of my valuables inside Rai's stomach.
Lubao's Compass, Mermaid's Scales, the spirit stone, and the nameless ring we'd obtained from the dungeon.
When you literally had a walking safe, there was no reason not to use it.
Found it. Blegh!
Rai rolled his eyes and made his stomach gurgle for a while before spitting out the wooden box containing the ring.
I could clearly see it traveling up his bright red throat.
I'd been worried the box was too old, but it didn't appear damaged.
“Good job. You kept it safe through all that chaos.”
Ehem! Good thing you left it with me, right?
“Yeah. That's some ironclad security worthy of a metal spirit. I'll give you a compliment.”
If I'd been carrying it myself, I might have dropped it in the water or shattered it from the impact while escaping.
After thoroughly petting Rai's head, I opened the box.
Naturally, there was no saliva on it. Despite his appearance as a healthy living creature, Rai was actually closer in composition to a metal coin bank.
“Rai, is it okay to throw this wooden box away? What do you think? Could this be a treasure too?”
Since it's not metal, I'm not sure. It looks like an ordinary wooden box.
“If it's meant to seal some kind of power or…”
Staring at it with narrowed eyes wasn't going to give me any answers.
The box looked too old and flimsy, so I wanted to discard it. But since it might contain hidden power despite its appearance, I put it back into Rai's stomach for now.
“Don't forget to put the spirit stone back in too.”
Yep.
I examined the ring with great care.
With Lox gone and no one around who would notice even if I wore it, I slipped it onto my finger again.
Once more, it automatically adjusted to fit my finger size. But I felt nothing.
“What on earth does this ring even do?”
Whether it was good or evil, any object with power usually gave off an aura related to that power. This one gave me absolutely nothing.
As I tilted my head in confusion, Rai chimed in.
I saw something like this once, a long time ago. It was a ring with a spirit sealed inside! The one trapped in there seemed to have gone insane, though.
“It doesn't seem like that kind. If a spirit was sealed in it, I'd be able to sense it. This is… just, I don't feel any power at all. It might be an unknown type that I can't detect.”
I meticulously touched the transparent gem, concentrating hard to feel anything. It was as devoid of energy as a fake diamond.
It had about as much presence as a worthless trinket.
“Hmm, I don't get it. Maybe it needs some special condition to activate its power?”
Like a chant?
“Could be. Until I figure out what it's for, it's just a crude ring.”
What kinds of powers do rings from dungeons usually have? I'm not interested in anything I can't eat.
“They vary wildly. There are all sorts. This isn't really my area of expertise either… Still, I know a few famous treasures. One of them is a ring that grants superhuman strength when worn. They say it makes you strong enough to shatter rocks with your bare hands.”
Oh!
At my words, Rai's tail wagged furiously. He immediately ran off and brought back a tree branch lying nearby.
He couldn't possibly want me to throw it.
Try breaking this, Master!
“Wouldn't it be faster to just hit your head and break it?”
You never know!
At first I thought it was ridiculous. What changed my mind was the quiet temptation of believing the ring must possess some incredible power.
The branch Rai held in his mouth was completely dry and only as thick as two or three fingers. I could probably snap it without any super strength.
I felt an itch deep inside.
Suddenly, a strange confidence that I could do it rose up from within me.
What was this feeling…? Could the ring's power be guiding me?
There was no other way to explain it.
“......Should I… give it a try?”
I'll hold it really tight!
“Alright. Then let's try a knife-hand strike.”
I did practice some taekwondo in my previous life, after all.
I quit after earning just the yellow belt, then told my mom I wanted to attend art school instead. She had ground her teeth at me.
I focused power into my palm and nodded resolutely at Rai.
“I'm really doing it? You're going to do it? For some reason, I feel like I can!”
Bring it on!
“Yaap!”