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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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With every swing of Regret’s blade, combat puppets were dismembered.
Akasha’s greatsword left cracks in the walls.
Chase’s arrows pierced through multiple puppets with a single shot.
Chrom, having realized the crossbow was ineffective, switched to a sturdy, blunt wooden sword, bludgeoning his way through the enemy ranks.
Finally reaching the chamber where the puppets were emerging, Chase shouted, “Can’t we just block that damn entrance!?”
Regret, glancing back up the stairs, replied, “I doubt it. We’d just be delaying the inevitable.”
She was right.
More guardians were rushing down the stairs, eager to greet the departing “guests.”
A pack of wolves with sharp, menacing fur.
A swarm of fist-sized hornets buzzing ominously.
A pair of curved blades, floating in the air as if wielded by invisible hands.
Even a shapeless, black, oozing slime was creeping down the stairs.
“Wow, I’ve never seen so many different kinds of monsters in one place.”
Akasha said, impressed.
“Now’s not the time for sightseeing! We’ll be surrounded!”
Chase yelled frantically.
Chrom pulled an arrow from his Bag of Holding and handed it to Chase.
“Can you hit that flying sword? The one right in the middle of the passage?”
“What?”
Chase examined the arrow, his eyes widening in recognition.
“You only have one of these?”
“Three, actually. I could only get Ice Arrows in this quantity.”
“Smart. Starting a fire in this place would be suicide.”
A faint smile touched Chase’s lips.
He’d been wanting to try one of these ever since he’d seen them during the group project.
He nocked the arrow, drew the string, aimed, and released.
The living sword, the floating blade, effortlessly sliced the arrow in half.
But then, the Crystalline Shard embedded in the arrowhead activated.
A wave of freezing air erupted, sending the hornets plummeting to the ground and freezing the slime in its tracks.
The wolves tried to escape the cold, but the group was faster.
“Run! Back to the entrance!”
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With the same heavy groan as before, the dungeon door slammed shut.
The group collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
Akasha, her long hair spilling across the floor, laughed like a carefree boy.
“Hahaha! That was amazing! Fiore was right. It’s never boring with her Oppa.”
“One more adventure like that, and I’ll have to sell my limbs to pay for the hospital bills.”
Chase muttered, his exhaustion evident.
He was still feeling the effects of the giant hornet sting, despite the potion and Akasha’s healing spell.
He gingerly touched the bandaged wound.
Chrom clapped his hands, drawing their attention. “Alright, good work everyone. Let’s divide the spoils. We got seven types of items, but the Cubes are mine, as agreed. We’ll split the gold and jewels four ways. What do you want from the remaining five?”
Akasha raised her hand. “I’d like the books. The Church will be happy to have them.”
“Okay. Chase?”
“I’ll take the medicinal ingredients. Are you sure about this? You won’t have much left after splitting the gold and giving away the other items.”
With Akasha taking the books and Chase taking the ingredients, Chrom would only have the weapon set, the mysterious vial, and the diary.
“On second thought, I’m fine with just the books,” Akasha offered.
“I can’t go that far, but I’m willing to take a smaller share…” Chase added.
Chrom waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine. We wouldn’t have made it through the dungeon without you. Just take it. If you feel bad, you can give me priority on future jobs.”
“Wow, that’s generous of you.”
“…Alright. I’ll remember that.”
‘He’s a better guy than I thought.’
‘A merchant who keeps his word. A trustworthy business partner.’
Their opinion of Chrom improved significantly.
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They returned to the academy in the waiting carriage, agreeing to spend the remaining two days of their leave as they pleased.
Akasha went straight to the temple, and Chase went to see an old acquaintance to assess the medicinal ingredients.
And in a luxurious inn near the academy—
“Hehehe.”
“You look like you’re about to burst. Don’t you have a conscience? Scamming those poor kids?”
“Two things wrong with that statement. First, they’re older than us. Second, I kept my end of the bargain. I didn’t scam anyone.”
“Sure, sure.”
Regret knew it was pointless to argue with Chrom, who had already justified his actions.
She pointed to the pile of Cubes in the corner of the room.
Thirty white, ten gray, and three black.
“So, how big is the jackpot this time? You seem more excited than usual.”
“Huge. Dangerously so.”
While Chrom knew the general layout and backstory of the dungeon, the rewards were always random in ‘Planetarium’.
The fixed rewards, like the diary and books, were always the same, but the contents of the Cubes varied with each playthrough.
‘Compared to the stuff the Midas Company sorted through, almost every Cube is a winner.’
Most of the Cubes were enveloped in a faint golden mist.
Two of the black Cubes were practically glowing.
Chrom had only seen that level of brilliance once before, when he’d acquired Dantalion’s Monocle.
Which means I have two items of comparable value.
‘This is why I love the Greedy Prodigal,’ Chrom thought, barely containing his excitement.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
“Young Master Chrom, it’s me.”
“Come in.”
Dorf Brahms entered the room.
“It’s been a while. Two months, right?”
“A little less than that, but close enough. It’s good to see you’re well, Lady Regret.”
“Stop calling me ‘Lady,’ damn it.”
“Young Master’s orders.”
Dorf avoided Regret’s glare.
“Did you bring what I asked for?”
Chrom asked.
“Right here.”
Dorf presented three bundles.
After checking the contents, Chrom let out a low whistle.
“Ten High-Grade Mana Stones? You actually managed to get them?”
“Master Theo Midas was very helpful. He also asked me to give his best regards to his little sister.”
“He pretends to be indifferent, but he’s a total siscon.”
“Well, there are a lot of disturbing rumors about the academy. Students dueling with real swords, professors beating students half to death…mostly nonsense, of course…”
‘No, that’s actually true,’ Chrom and Regret thought.
“Anyway, I’m going to open these now. I’ll need your help transporting and selling the contents. I can’t carry everything myself.”
“The building’s lease is up, and I have discreet workers waiting downstairs. Don’t worry.”
“Good. Let’s begin.”
As Chrom touched each Cube with a Mana Stone, the stone was absorbed, and the Cube’s contents materialized.
Gold and jewels piled up in the room.
‘It’s always a ridiculous sight,’ Dorf thought.
‘The company workers all tried to replicate this after seeing Young Master at work, buying Cubes and Mana Stones with their own money. They all went broke.’
The Star God of Heavenly Governance bestowed incredible luck upon its chosen.
Perhaps Chrom was its embodiment.
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Yes, yes, yes!
The overflowing gold and jewels with each opened Cube made me want to hum a happy tune.
A gold and jeweled necklace, a silver tiara, a seal crafted from various types of jade.
The rewards were exceeding my expectations.
I had only opened half of the white Cubes, and I’d already recouped the cost of the equipment and consumables I’d used against Lyla.
While the white Cubes mostly contained jewels and precious metals, the gray Cubes yielded spell scrolls and books containing inscription techniques.
“Wow, a High-Rank Spell Scroll.”
“Is that good? That princess was throwing them around like they were nothing.”
‘One of these can turn the tide of a battle. She’s the abnormal one, not the scroll.’
Only the three black Cubes remained.
My heart pounded with anticipation as I reached for the first one.
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Thanks chaos!
Thanks Chaos