Practically Nonexistent
Rainia, leader of the White Wolf party, looked over the companions gathered before her and spoke.
"Our objective is to explore the dungeon discovered deep within the forest."
It was a Grand Mage's dungeon, vouched for by Nau, their Upper Class mage. No one knew exactly what waited inside, but it was safe to assume it wouldn't be anything ordinary.
Every dungeon they had cleared so far had been the same. Costly treasures, artifacts from ancient eras, secret manuals left behind by powerhouses who never found a successor — something of real value always remained.
"Which is why — before we head in, I want to settle the most important matter."
"The most important matter?"
"Yes. The split."
Rainia said it with a wry smile, and every pair of eyes in the room shifted at once.
The split — meaning the precise ratio by which they would divide whatever came out of the dungeon.
In her heart of hearts, she would have preferred a simple even split by headcount, but…
"Can't we just divide it by the number of people?"
"…No."
"Why not?"
"Because of Evan."
Hearing his name called, Evan tilted his head as if he had no idea what she meant. Rainia took one look at him and let out a long, heavy sigh — still a complete beginner who understood nothing.
"Evan. Anes told me you were promoted to Special Class adventurer. Is that true?"
"Yes. Want to see?"
"No, it's fine. What matters is that you're the highest rank in this room."
Special Class. A rank that had never existed before, so no one could say for certain how to measure its market value — but by the simplest calculation, that value was a hundred times Rainia's or any other Upper Class adventurer's.
Highest Class adventurers earned, on average, ten times what Upper Class ones did. By that logic, a Special Class adventurer would be worth ten times a Highest Class one.
Of course, it wasn't a calculation you could make that cleanly… but treating Evan's worth as equal to theirs and splitting by headcount was still out of the question.
"I don't really mind either way."
"Well, we mind. If word gets out that we took the same cut as you, we're the ones who end up in trouble."
"Why?"
"You really don't know a thing, do you…"
Rainia sighed again and explained why they couldn't accept equal shares. It was common sense among adventurers — do something like that, and the next time they joined another job, they might not receive fair compensation themselves.
The real reason, if she was honest, was a quieter anxiety: if the Guild found out they had taken the same cut as a Special Class adventurer — a Swordmaster, no less — they might slap the party with pointless penalties just to curry favor with Evan. But Rainia didn't go into those finer details.
"I can't give you your full worth, and I'm sorry for that… but fifty percent. How does that sound?"
"I'm fine with it."
"Good. Next is Rogue. That leaves her with ten percent naturally — no objections?"
"Eh, I'm happy just getting one person's share."
Rogue, a Middle Class adventurer, grinned as she said it. She didn't look thrilled about having half the haul essentially seized by Evan, but she was on board with the remaining five splitting the rest evenly among themselves.
With the most important conversation of the expedition — the distribution of rewards — settled, Rainia rose as if ready to leave at once.
"We depart in two hours. If you've got gear to pack, pack it fast."
"Ehh — do we really need to rush that hard?"
"It's been sealed, but Upper Class adventurers and above pass through that area all the time. If someone else clears it first, this whole trip is for nothing."
The White Wolf party had prioritized safety and returned to the village first — but there was no guarantee other adventurers would do the same.
A dungeon was a chance at overnight riches. Believing that people who gambled their lives for a living every day wouldn't risk everything for one was pure naivety.
"—Don't be late. Dismissed."
Deep in the forest, where Upper Class adventurers typically carried out their missions and commissions, a single adventuring party raced forward through terrain so thick with dangerous monsters that not even a carriage could enter.
Twitch—!
"Monsters up ahead."
From a distance too far for ordinary eyes, Anes picked up the monsters with an elf's keen hearing and veered the party off course to avoid them.
Ordinarily they would have hunted the creatures and moved on, but they were heading for a dungeon now, and leaving unnecessary traces was something they preferred to avoid.
If anyone entered the dungeon before they finished clearing it, a fight over ownership was all but guaranteed.
With combat off the table and a fast arrival as their only goal, Evan — who had only just joined the party — and Rogue, who was next to useless outside a dungeon, were bored out of their minds.
"Hey, you — no girlfriend, right?"
So what happened next was, in a way, inevitable.
"Huh? Where did that come from… No, I don't."
"Knew it! So you're a virgin, then?"
"…Why would you ask me that?"
"Because this big sister has a soft spot for taking virgin boys — ah, was that a little too much for you?"
Rogue tugged her clothes down just enough to bare the line of her cleavage, and Evan whipped his head away at once.
This non-virgin was actively trying to take him out of commission.
Watching him turn away, Rogue laughed under her breath like she was having the time of her life. She even draped herself against him and rubbed her chest into his side.
"So? Wanna go for a round once we're back?"
"N-No, thank you…"
"Aww — a man has to do it at least once to become a real man. Big sister will teach you things you've never experienced."
"—Rogue. Don't get too comfortable."
"Aww, you're no fun."
Her antics continued until Rainia issued a warning. Watching Rogue finally back off at their leader's word, Evan turned to Rainia with gratitude.
"Thank you, Miss Rainia…"
"Don't get too fond of me either."
"Huh? I wasn't particularly fond of her…"
"So you were a little fond of her, is that it?"
Something about Rainia's grumbling made Evan wonder if he had done something wrong. He turned it over carefully in his mind as the party continued its cycle of rest and advance.
In the fights they couldn't avoid, Evan stepped forward and slaughtered the monsters as quickly as possible, stowing the byproducts neatly into his subspace as they went.
"You — yooou — is that a subspace key…?"
"Oh, you recognize it."
"…Where did you get that?"
"In the Royal Capital."
"The Royal Capital… I suppose that's a Swordmaster for you…"
Nau the mage gaped as Evan opened the subspace. Rogue's eyes glittered with a thin, unmistakable greed.
"Evan, dear — can anyone use that?"
"No, only I can."
"Aww, come on — just tell me how it works～."
"You just hold it and turn it. But it's magically inscribed so only I can use it, okay?"
Of course, no such inscription existed on the key. A key already engraved with subspace magic wouldn't have room left for another spell.
But Evan calmly lied that magic prevented anyone else from using it, and even lent the key to Rogue for a moment so she could test it herself — she still wouldn't drop her suspicion otherwise.
"Huh. You're right. It won't open."
After turning the key in the air a few times the way Evan had, Rogue finally let the greed drain from her eyes.
Watching her, Evan roughly understood the shape of the unease he had been feeling.
This person…
A thief was a thief, after all. He began to worry she might pocket something during the dungeon run.
Just as the thief-aversion he had absorbed from books and experience started to rear its head, Anes and Nau spoke at the same time.
"We're here!"
"This is it."
The party had arrived at the dungeon.
After one final equipment check, they opened the dungeon's seal, and the Grand Mage's dungeon revealed itself.
Evan lightly brushed the hilt of his sword as he looked at the structure that had appeared before him.
So this is…
A dungeon built by a Grand Mage. A space where no one knew what waited inside. A place of overnight riches where even a Highest Class adventurer could lose their life if they let their guard down.
Rainia watched him carefully, confirmed there was nothing wrong, and took the lead.
"We're going in."
The inside of the dungeon was cleaner than expected. Clean enough, at a glance, that you might wonder if someone had already cleaned it out.
That wasn't the case.
"Trap here."
"Ah — this one's a trap too."
"—Hmm… this one looks better just to trigger and block."
Rogue, who had spent the entire journey hanging back and lobbing sexual harassment at him, finally put her skills to work once they were inside the dungeon.
Not a single trap escaped her eyes, and thanks to her, the White Wolf party advanced without springing a single one.
I had been thinking of her as little more than a glorified pickpocket. Watching her work, I couldn't help a silent note of admiration.
I thought she was a petty thief… turns out she's a professional.
As if she had read the thought, Rogue finished dismantling a trap, slipped up beside me, and threw another line of harassment my way.
"Evan, dear. You were thinking something dirty just now, weren't you?"
"…Thinking what."
"Oh, I don't know. That the curve of my ass looked sexy while I was crouching?"
"…If you know that, cover it up."
"Why would I? I like it when men sneak a look."
With that, Rogue found another trap and moved ahead. Once she had cleared it and we pressed deeper, a door came into view — a massive one painted with a skull motif that seemed to scream do not open.
"This is…"
"I can't hear a thing from inside."
"No magical response either."
In moments, the White Wolf party members confirmed there was nothing obviously wrong with the door. Then they signaled Rogue.
She approached, ran her hands over the surface, found the lock, and set to work picking it with almost casual speed.
As if this were her true specialty, Rogue finished the lock and spoke with open pride, showing off.
"Heh heh — the traps and locks around here are practically nonexistent."
"That just makes me more nervous."
"Why? Worried there's nothing inside? Relax! No signs anyone's looted it!"
She told me not to worry, but for some reason my unease only kept growing.
Having successfully unlocked it, Rogue opened the door and stepped lightly back. And in the next instant, the reactive armor on my gear activated.
"…What?"
I stared in confusion at the scales that had suddenly bloomed across my entire body, then glanced into the room beyond.
Nothing was visible. No attack had come flying out. All we had done was open a door — and the reactive armor had still triggered.
"Ooh — Evan, what's that? Combat mode?"
"Impressive scales, but… no enemies in sight yet, so there's no need to worry that much."
"Yeah, aren't you overreacting? Scared? Want big sister's boobs?"
"…No. I didn't activate this myself."
I stepped forward slightly and spoke to the group.
"Something attacked me — the moment that door opened."
"Attacked? I didn't feel a thing… Nau."
"Mm… — Impact Search."
At those words, Nau cast her spell. A barrier bloomed in front of her eyes and sealed the doorway — and within seconds, it shattered to pieces.
Watching her own magic break apart, Nau frowned and spoke.
"Mana radiation…"
Every member of the party went pale.