The Former Child Prodigy Pushes Deeper Into The Hidden Room

Standing before the treasure chest, I spoke to Fiona, whose eyes had turned into gold marks.

“I think it is fine. Things found in dungeons or ruins belong to the finder. So I think the rights belong to you, Fiona-san, as the client.”

I placed my hand on the treasure chest.

“Detect Magic—no magical reaction. The lock is… closed, huh. Unlock.”

At the same time, there was a sharp clink as the lock came undone.

“Go ahead.”

“W-w-w-what did you do!?”

“I checked whether there were any magic traps and opened the lock that was shut. With my magic. Ah, right. One more spell—Stop Gimmick. Even if there is a physical trap, this will handle it.”

“Ooh, oooooooh! You can do anything, Ilvis-san!?”

“This much is normal.”

“Is it really normal?”

Saying that, Fiona opened the treasure chest.

Inside the chest were several pieces of jewelry.

“Ooooh, ooooh, ooooooh! I am so poor that I do not really know what things are worth, but! These look valuable! …Hm, what is this black thing next to them?”

“…Ah, it is a bomb. So there really was a trap.”

“Eeeeeeh!? If you had not stopped it, Ilvis-san…”

“Boom! By now, Fiona-san might have gone to the next world.”

“U-uu-uuwooooooooah…!”

Fiona was trembling all over.

That aside—I was thinking about something else.

This was far too obvious.

Anyone who came in here would have their attention drawn to the treasure chest, just like Fiona. And if they successfully disarmed the trap and got the treasure, they would be thrilled and feel satisfied that they had found this hidden room.

…It was too well arranged…

If I were the one setting the trap, I would make the treasure itself the trap. To guide attention away from what I really did not want discovered—

And there was also something else bothering me a little.

The flow of the air was different.

Aside from the entrance we had opened, the room was enclosed by walls. But that did not explain the feeling of the air lingering in the room.

As though there were another entrance somewhere.

I approached the suspicious wall and used magic.

“Detect Magic.”

There was a reaction from the wall. In other words, some kind of magic had been placed on it.

When I reached out my hand toward the wall, my hand passed right through it.

“Oh?”

I turned around and spoke to Fiona.

“It seems there is something beyond this wall as well.”

“Eh, really!?”

Fiona came over beside me and touched the wall—and her hand was swallowed into it.

“Ooh!?”

“It seems to be an illusion. Then shall we head deeper inside?—Dispel Magic.”

When I used the spell that dispersed magical power, the illusory wall vanished.

With two gold marks now layered in her eyes, Fiona said,

“Treasure! Do you think there is treasure!?”

“W-well, who knows…”

Where had the investigation for research gone?

We moved into the next room.

It was a larger room than the last one. Not just in width and length, but it was also quite tall.

At the back of the room was a large double door made of metal.

On either side of the door stood full-plate armor as decoration. Both of their hands rested on the pommels of greatswords planted into the floor.

“I wonder if there is something beyond that door…”

Fiona said that from behind me as she peered into the room.

“But with this kind of setup, it feels like when you get close to that door, the armor on both sides starts moving, right? What do you think, Ilvis-san?”

“Shall we get closer?”

When I had advanced halfway into the room—

With dull grinding noises, gigi, gigigigi, the suits of armor began to move. Gripping their two-handed swords with both hands, they took stances to meet me in battle.

“I-I-I-I-Ilvis-san!? What are you going to do!?”

“Let us see—”

I pointed my right hand at the armor on the right.

…It was probably not human. No flesh-and-blood person could have stood around in a place like this for so long.

So there was no need to hold back.

“Magic Arrow.”

Then I pointed my right hand toward the armor on the left.

“Magic Arrow.”

Doooooooom!

Doooooooom!

Two huge blasts rang out in succession. Struck directly by flashes of white light, the armored warriors were blown to pieces. The remains of the armor scattered across the ground with a clatter.

“It is over.”

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! Th-th-th-that was amazing, Ilvis-san!?”

“Hahahaha, well, maybe the armor had just gotten old and worn down?”

Saying that, I pushed open the door at the back.

We arrived at the third room.

There, we found—

“A magic circle?”

On the floor of the room were multiple concentric circles, and each circle was inscribed with complex runes. As the name suggested, magic circles were related to magic, but there were several patterns.

Now then, what was this?

…If I examined it in detail, I could figure out what kind of magic it was—but for now, I should inspect the walls.

Just like the treasure chest earlier, this could also be a feint to distract attention.

And so, while I was inspecting the wall,

“W-waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”

A sudden scream rang out.

When I turned around, Fiona was standing right in the middle of the magic circle. And with an unpleasant sound, the letters forming the magic circle were glowing white.

—What!?

“I-I-I-Ilvis-san!? Th-th-th-this suddenly started glowing!? Hahaha, was I not supposed to step into it!?”

An ordinary adventurer would not step on something like this even without being told.

But she was an ordinary researcher—

And not warning her about it was entirely my fault!

“Get out of there, quickly!”

“Y-yes, um, ah, my legs are shaking—I cannot move!”

Her body began to grow faint.

I made my decision in an instant. I had to fulfill my duty as her escort!

I kicked off the floor and jumped into the magic circle—

And was swallowed by the flash-like radiance spreading from the magic circle.