48 – Safekeeping of Treasures (4)
Although it was clearly stated that no dungeon had appeared, now there was a black obelisk right in front of them. It meant that the dungeon of the Kingdom of Behend had just been generated.
“…I’m not sure if I should consider this fortunate.”
I am unable to fulfill that request.
The appearance of the black obelisk doesn’t guarantee the presence of the Wizard Legion leader~.
…Unless it’s the opposite.
The black obelisk is a weapon of invasion for the Wizard Legion leader. Once it appears in a land, the area becomes dungeonized, and monsters are quickly transported there, occupying the area based on the obelisk’s coordinates.
There are cases where the followers of the Wizard Legion leader install such an obelisk, but there are also cases where the leader personally does so.
So, it was a story of facing the army leader of the Demon Lord without sufficient preparation.
“It’s dangerous to just go.”
“Pfft, why are you worrying about me now~? How conceited~♡”
“What?”
Saying such things after being worried about it…
It’s alright anyway.
“Uh?”
“Because I’m different from the clumsy Allen~♡”
Erin said so and smiled wistfully. Then she called out to Ser-Aria and Frey who were inside the carriage.
“Aria, Frey. The two of you should go with me straight to Obelisk. The others should go directly into the capital.”
“Sure, got it!”
“Yes.”
I slightly objected to Erin’s decision to split the party.
“Do we really need to move separately? It would be better if we all moved together, at least…”
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It was a bad decision to divide our forces in a situation where we didn’t even know what enemies awaited us. So I brought up the topic, but Erin insisted on sticking to her judgement.
“Do we have to leave our money here?”
“…Is it really important to leave our money right now?”
“It’s important~ We’ve come all this way, so why not leave it and not have any problems moving forward?”
Erin spoke.
“So, make sure the merchant secures our belongings. And let the Beyond Kingdom know that we have arrived.”
“I can handle that alone, so we can all move together.”
“No, let’s do it this way.”
I don’t understand why they insist on attaching Leticia and Clara to me like this.
I understand that one or two of us should go into the capital and inform the Hero Party’s participation, but I can handle that alone. There’s no need to divide our forces.”
At that time, Letitia spoke.
“Erin, now that Allen also has Casius, it should be okay to stick with just one.”
“Trust this lizard~?”
Was it because I was weak that I wanted to attach someone? Surprisingly, it seemed like she was trying to take care of me.
“Don’t call me a lizard. And…”
Caius said.
“As long as there are orders, it’s no big deal for me to protect the safety of the contractor.”
It seemed fine to me, but for some reason, Erin couldn’t seem to erase her unease. I must have looked quite pitiable.
“…I understand that he’s a weak, feeble worker.” But now, I think I can hold my own. Especially with Cassius by my side.
At that moment, Clara stepped forward and said, “I’ll protect you, Erin.”
“Hmm,” Erin replied, glancing at me and then at Clara. “No need to be gentle.”
“…Okay,” I agreed, feeling like Clara had sided with me. With this arrangement, even if Letitia joined Erin’s side, there would be no problem with firepower, even with just the three of us.
Erin turned her head and spoke while looking at the black obelisk.
“If you get hurt, you die~♡”
“Me?”
“Then who else is there~?”
“hahahahaha, be careful and don’t get hurt!”
Erin said that and disappeared with light footsteps. Ciel followed soon after and Frey and Letizia turned back for a moment and said,
“Be careful.”
“After informing the royal court, stay there and don’t come here.”
“Uh…”
The two of them quickly followed Erin and Aria. After they left, I felt a little uneasy.
“Out of nowhere, she’s worrying about me…”
Especially Erin’s words. In the end, saying that if you get hurt you die, is just another way of saying “don’t get hurt.”
“…. is it not?”
Does it mean that if you get hurt, you’re just a burden, and before I get annoyed, I’ll kill you for sure?
“….Allen, let’s go.”
“Ah, okay.”
As I was about to enter the capital with Clara, I said to Cassius.
“Cassius, you have to keep me and Clara safe.”
“If it’s an order.”
“Okay.”
Given the bound relationship through a contract, it had to be stated clearly.
“It’s an order.”
The interior of Belphaste, the capital of the kingdom of Beihand, was truly a cauldron of chaos.
“We need to escape quickly!”
“Hurry, come this way!”
“People were hastily evacuating from the capital, pouring out in a disorderly fashion, while the capital defense forces were striving to restore order and calm the chaos.
“Please remain calm, citizens!”
“It’s more dangerous to go outside right now. Please stay indoors!”
“They said we shouldn’t go outside!”
During this process, there were also harsh responses. In an instant, peace and order crumbled, and I was overwhelmed by the sight filled with nothing but chaos.
With a sharp poke on my arm, Clara looked at me with a calm gaze and pointed somewhere.
“…The upper floor Allen mentioned, is it there?”
“……Yeah.”
The building Clara pointed at had a signboard of the upper floor establishment called ‘Black Frog,’ operated by the NPC who was both the vault keeper we were looking for and a merchant.
“Sir, let’s go over there.”
“Yes….”
As we approached in the carriage, that area seemed quite chaotic as well. It would be best to immediately relocate the outpost from the upper position, so they were hastily preparing to escape.
“Danju! Stop being stubborn and let’s run away! Don’t you know what the obelisk represents?”
A man was pulling someone’s arm, as if urging them to flee. However, the woman whose arm he grasped couldn’t overpower him, so she reluctantly followed along, quietly resenting his attitude.
“We should first move what our guests entrusted to us before attempting an escape. Are you willing to betray the trust of our guests?”
“You can rebuild trust again, but you cannot bring back a lost life!”
“No.”
The woman clenched her glasses and spoke.
“The trust that has once been broken cannot be restored. It would be quicker to obtain a new life.”
“So are you saying I should just die or something?”
“That’s not what I meant, Brad.”
“Lord Danju, please stop being stubborn!”
Their voices became more intense. As they did, I, along with Clara and Cassius, approached them, and I lent strength to the woman’s opinion as I spoke.
“It’s okay for you to stay here.”
“…And who might you be?”
“See, it’s fine.”
At that, the man spoke up bluntly.
“No, hey! Don’t mislead Lady Danju and go on your way! Can’t you see the situation here? Saying it’s okay to stay here, what nonsense…”
“The hero party has arrived. It’s much safer to be inside the capital than going outside.”
“…Excuse me?”
The man looked at me with a hint of confusion, then glanced at Clara beside him, and spoke with a slightly surprised tone.
“…The hero party from the Dern Empire?”
How did he know? Perhaps it’s because he’s someone who has access to a lot of information from the upper ranks.
“Look, Brad. I told you I’m fine, didn’t I?”
The woman, holding onto her own arm, lightly pushed away Brad’s arm next to her and said.
“So, is it true that the hero has come here now?”
“Yes.”
“Well then….”
She looked at me and asked,
“Why do you think those colleagues came to see me?”
It seemed like she already knew. Well, considering that this man who seemed like a secretary also recognized Clara, it’s unlikely that she wouldn’t recognize her.
I smiled slightly and greeted her politely,
“Nice to meet you, Lady Ophelia.”
This woman was the NPC I was looking for, Ophelia.
“From now on, we will protect your safety.”
He was the one who took care of our money.
Ophelia said slightly puzzled.
“Why is the hero party protecting me?”
“There is no grand or noble purpose.”
He pointed to the carriage that came with us.
“Because you have to look after the money.”
“…You came to entrust the money in such a situation?”
Ophelia asked, looking puzzled, and I nodded my head. And I added a word.
“Here, it’s a place where you can confidently entrust anything that happens.”
Upon hearing my words, Ophelia let out a light chuckle and said,
“You came exactly as expected.”
“Danny, this is not the time for business…”
“What are you talking about when we have a customer, Brad?”
Ophelia smirked.
“If you’re willing to guarantee my life along with it, you must be entrusting quite a sum. Let’s treat them properly, then.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Bring the car quickly. It may not suit the circumstances, but it’s necessary.”
Having said that, Ophelia went back into the building. Brad alternated his gaze between her back and me, wearing an uneasy expression, then sighed and entered the building again.
Clara whispered to me as she lightly nudged me, in response to Ophelia’s attitude.
“…You’re really quick on the uptake.”
That must be the intuition of a safekeeper who only deals with giants.
“Caesius, bring the gold coins.”
“Got it.”
“And Clara, it’s okay for now, so quickly go to the royal palace and let them know we’ve arrived. If you inform the citizens that the Hero’s Party has come, it will alleviate some of the confusion.”
“…Are you sure?”
I nodded my head at Clara’s question. Then, I pointed to Caesius who was gathering the gold coins.
“There’s that lizard over there.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll be here.”
“Okay.”
Clara quickly disappeared from her seat, and soon Cayus came back with a heavy bag of gold coins.
“Where did the dark elf go?”
“To the royal palace for a moment. And Clara.”
“…Clara, got it.”
“Let’s go inside.”
I entered the building, and Cayus followed right behind. Then the man who had been dragging Ophelia around just a moment ago, Brad, bowed his head and said,
“Allow me to properly introduce myself. Welcome to the Black Frog Inn. I am Bradley, the direct assistant to the innkeeper.”
Brad was a nickname.
“Here is Miss Ophelia, the owner of the black frog on top and the vault keeper you have been looking for.”
“Nice to meet you.”
I bowed my head in response to their greetings.
“I’m Allen, a member of Erin’s party, who is a knight of the Deren Empire.”
“Allen? Ah, so you’re the porter for Knight Erin’s party.”
Ophelia showed a reaction that she knew. She seems quite knowledgeable even about the lowly porter.
…Lowly?
“No, that’s not true.”
“Yes?”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing.”
As I tried to brush it off by talking to myself, Ophelia nodded slightly and spoke.
“Has anyone else arrived?”
“The other party members went to inform the royal palace that we have arrived. The party members, including the warrior, are engaged in battle.”
“I see.”
Ophelia glanced at me and asked.
“But if only the porter is here to protect me, even if you assure me… I know it might sound rude, but honestly, I don’t trust you. I thought at least the thief who was here earlier would be protecting me. How can you, a porter, protect my safety?”
“It’s not about me protecting…”
I turned to look at Caius, who was holding the gold coin.
“She will protect you.”
“…Come to think of it, I’ve never heard of anyone like that in the hero party.”
“A few people can be well protected, and there will still be enough power left. So rest assured.”
“Is that so.”
Ophelia nodded slightly and said.
“It seems like such a person who will protect you has an indispensable role. I believe it. Shall we get into the main point then?”
From her statement implying that matters involving money are more important than matters involving her own life, it seemed clear how much this woman valued money-related affairs.
“You wish to entrust me with money?”
“Kaisius, show her.”
“Understood.”
Caius had placed a bulky bag on the table. Ophelia looked at it as if questioning if that was all there was, and I lowered my head.
“Everything.”
Taking out only one bag from the ones on the floor, Caius placed all the others on the table.
“…Are these all gold coins?”
“There are 400 gold coins in each bag, a total of 7600.”
Bradley, who was beside Ophelia, widened his eyes in surprise. Ophelia let out a hollow laugh and said,
“You want to entrust me with this much fortune?”
“Yes.”
“What mindset led you to do this? Do you not realize the value of 7600 gold coins? Or is this money somehow involved in criminal activities?”
“That can’t be true. We are a group of heroes. Don’t we have the responsibility to touch money involved in crimes?”
“Well then…”
“I also understand the value of this much gold. So I want to entrust it to you.”
I said.
“Aren’t there people on this land who value credit more than you?”
“I’m not sure if you really know. Although I indeed value credit immensely, with this much money, I can destroy the upper echelons that I currently operate and create new ones elsewhere without any problems.”
Ophelia asked.
“What would happen if I were to do that? You would just hand over all this gold without sharing it?”
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“You mean destroying the upper echelons I operated?”
She burst into laughter for a moment. As if that would happen.
“How can you afford to hit the ceiling with even 7,600 gold coins?” Ophelia’s words stopped. Bradley’s gaze at me changed slightly. I smiled at the two of them and said, “Did you pass the test?” “I don’t know how you could tell. Is this place too strange?” “The top of a black frog? No, it’s not particularly strange.” I said, “I just knew and came here from the beginning.” “hahahaha.”
Ophelia lightly chuckled. Then, she got up from her seat and began to open the bags that Caius had brought.
“7,600 gold coins. They’re all genuine gold coins.”
“Is that so?”
“Great. With a benefactor as generous as you, I consider myself fortunate to have you as a client.”
Ophelia took off her glasses with a thud. She loosely tied up her slightly messy hair and took out a small business card from her pocket.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly.”
On the business card she handed over, there was not a black frog but a roaring golden griffin depicted.
“I am Ophelia, the Chief Executive Officer of Aurum Aquila.”
