✠
I swept all the pearl necklaces the mermaids were wearing and handed over the junk in exchange.
With this, all intended purposes for coming to the dungeon were accomplished.
I turned around and went to look for my group.
Thesilid and Ash were off in the distance, nearby the Kraken’s corpse. As we approached, Thesilid spoke as if he had been waiting.
“Eli, loot.”
“Yeah. Got it.”
The loot from the Kraken’s corpse was a skill book and one item.
[<Skill> ‘Sacred Darkness’
Blocks light from the target area, creating a zone of complete darkness].
Based on the description, I thought it was an Erebomancer spellbook, but it was surprisingly a Holy skill.
For some reason, I thought the name was somewhat holy-like.
‘Hmm, it might be surprisingly useful?’
I asked Thesilid for his intentions first because I didn’t want to monopolize it.
“Terry, do you want to learn?”
Since we were on the same team, it didn’t matter which one of us learned it.
But Terry, who has a strong aversion to the dark, shook his head with a bitter smile.
“Not me. I don’t like it.”
“Hmm, okay.”
I learned it without reservations.
What was more important right now was the item rather than the skill book.
In my hand was a brown bottle of rum. It felt light like it was empty. It looked like an ordinary bottle of rum, so it was easy to pass it off as garbage the Kraken had swallowed from the ocean.
In fact, Thesilid made the same mistake in the original.
I also wouldn’t have realized it if it weren’t for the narrative about an alcoholic extra who had gotten hold of the bottle and fixed her life.
I waved the bottle of rum in front of Thesilid’s eyes.
“Would you like a drink, Terry?”
“I will decline.”
Such a good-natured paladin.
“Then I have to drink alone.”
I said playfully, then popped the cork and shook out the contents. A curled parchment map and a crude key emerged.
[<Item> ‘Treasure Map’
Many treasures are hidden in the mysterious sea.
Now that the tide has receded and the land has been exposed, you, as a creature on the land, have a chance to obtain the treasure.
This map will lead you to one of the ‘Sunken Treasure Ship’, ‘Sacred Artifact Ruin’, or ‘Well of Eternal Life’.]
[<Item> ‘Treasure Room Key’
A key that must be used to obtain the treasure found through the treasure map. It’s a one-time use, so you have to choose carefully what treasure to use it for.]
‘Treasure of the sea! Jackpot!’
[‘The Creative Business Manager’ agrees that this time, it’s a legitimate use of an expansion pack.]
My choice was, of course, the treasure ship. I was thinking of raking together gold ingots and jewels that would give me a breath of fresh air in this life of a poor Transmigrator.
However, there was something to be done before going on a treasure hunt adventure.
I walked over to Ash, noticing that an exit gate had spawned beside him.
“Ash.”
“Yes, sister.”
“You go to the Castle first. If you tell me my name, they will let you in.”
“What? What, oh no, wait… !”
I shoved Ash’s back through the gate and kicked him out of the dungeon.
There is no need to involve a third party in high-profit activities where only me and Thesilid are sufficient.
If I dragged him around with no intention of sharing in the profits, even the most savvy Ash would be dissatisfied. It was convenient to just exclude him in the first place.
I kicked him out for a very reasonable reason, and the reaction around me was good.
<Phew, now I can talk to you with peace of mind.>
“I was going to send him out, but you beat me to it.”
Agnes and Thesilid looked very relieved.
Well, anyway.
It was time to go earn some salty side income. I turned to Agnes and Thesilid with excitement.
“Okay, attention. Look what came out of the Kraken’s belly, folks.”
<What is it?>
“Voila! It is a treasure map showing the location of the sunken treasure ship.”
<Ohh, then can we actually do treasure hunting?>
“That’s right! It’s not a children’s game, but a real treasure hunt! Come on, let’s go.”
But before then, Thesilid suddenly overlapped his hand on mine, which was holding the map.
“Eli.”
“Yes?”
“I want to go somewhere else, is that okay?”
What? Leave the treasure ship alone and go somewhere else?
I must have heard it wrong.
“Terry, can you say that again?”
“I want to go somewhere else.”
“……”
My eyes trembled violently.
Even though he must have seen the look of refusal in my eyes, Thesilid took the map from my hand intent on pushing his will this time.
“Here, I want to go to the Well of Eternal Life.”
It was a soft but firm tone.
“D-do we have to go?”
“Yes. The Well of Eternal Life is more attractive than a treasure ship.”
“Think carefully. A treasure ship, a ship full of treasures. There must be stacks of gold coins with skulls embossed on them, diamonds as big as your fist, and tons of fine silverware.”
“Eli.”
“Yes.”
“Please, do me this favor. You may seize my paladin’s salary equal to the value of the treasure ship.”
That’s a lot of money.
How much is a paladin’s salary?
“……Sigh.”
I couldn’t bear to say no to a man who wanted to enslave himself for life without hesitation.
“Okay……”
[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ cheers at this golden opportunity to capture the protagonist with money].
Agnes asked curiously.
<What does the Well of Eternal Life do?>
“I don’t know either.”
It is not mentioned in the original story.
Judging by the name, I would like to think that this was a place where something like water that increases lifespan springs out.
I don’t know why Thesilid is so fixed in this kind of place.
Are you interested in extending your lifespan? A regressor who has already lived over a hundred years of age after going back seventeen times?
If I had to pick a person who had the least to no attachment to life in the world, it would be Thesilid Argent in all episodes.
And it’s not like there was anything wrong with his natural lifespan. In the 14th round, he decided to raise the level of Aura and his divine power while devoting himself to training all his life.
Thanks to that he was well aware that his natural lifespan was more generous than average.
But does he dare to be greedy for life?
‘It’s not like Thesilid.’
While I was struggling with my unanswered questions, Thesilid was on his way to the mermaids with the treasure map.
[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ urges you to follow him, saying that he is definitely going to be seduced by the mermaids.]
‘It can’t be.’
……But my feet quickly followed Thesilid.
We can’t rule out the possibility that the mermaids will suddenly turn their eyes upside down and drown Thesilid in the spring.
If the paladin gets kidnapped, I’m the one who suffers.
Under my supervision, Thesilid spoke with the mermaids.
“Excuse me, I want to go to this well here. Do you know the way?”
The mermaid sisters looked at the map and each said something.
<Oh, here? Of course we know.>
<It’s a place I go to sometimes. It’s a good place to play with land beasts.>
<But it’s in the cave under the sea, so it’s hard for land animals to get there, right?>
<Do you want me to take you?>
We just got rid of the Kraken, who was a pain in their necks, thanks to that, we got a good offer on the back of the favor we did.
“I would appreciate it if you would.”
Thesilid politely replied with a smile on his face.
The mermaids stretched their upper bodies out of the water and lunged themselves against him.
Their submerged tailfins flicked.
<There is a problem.>
<It’s a place that takes more than 10 minutes to go even if we swim at full speed.>
<You have to be able to breathe underwater.>
<I can’t help it. I’ll put the protection of a mermaid on your lips.>
<Come here. Let’s kiss.>
“You guys are playing tricks again, aren’t you?”
When I stepped out, the mermaids squeaked and dived into the water as if running away.
“Come out and cast a breathing spell before I pop you girls with a thunderbolt.”
<Tsk. Ok.>
After confirming that the spell was applied properly, I went into the spring.
It was called a spring, but the inside was as deep as the sea. The depth of the water spreading under our feet was far away.
Soon the mermaids clung to our sides and began to swim with Thesilid.
Once we adjusted to the pressure, they cut through the water as fast as a Marlin.
It was deep, but our view was not dimmed.
It was thanks to the self-luminous turquoise crystals that acted as torches.
<Looks like some kind of luminous stones.>
I have to dig and sell……! Oh no. Calm down, let’s hold on.
Coral reefs were also growing around those fairly large crystals. It was like the deep sea, the water is warm, there was light, and it was habitable. Maybe that’s why the mermaids wanted to go home.
Before we knew it, we entered a long cave.
After the dark natural passage ended, the surroundings widened again, and the illumination in this place was quite high.
Light was seeping in from a crack that ran across the ceiling, the mermaids swerved and swam up towards the place.
Soon the underwater exploration was over.
“Puha!”
<Arrived. Here it is.>
✠
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