The Former Child Prodigy Ends Up Finding A “Mysterious Jewel” In The Depths Of The Ariscit Ruins

The blinding flash shining at our feet came to an end—

And we regained our vision.

There was no mistaking that we were still inside a room, but it was clearly different from the one from before. Also, the large magic circle that had been at our feet had vanished completely without a trace.

Fiona opened her mouth.

“Um, what exactly happened…?”

“Let me see, I think we were probably ‘sent somewhere.’”

“Sent somewhere?”

“I think that magic circle from before was a teleportation circle. It sends the people who step inside it to a specific place.”

“Eh, is that so…? S-sorry…! It is all because I carelessly stepped into it…!”

“No, I am your escort, so I should have warned you. I am sorry for not thinking of it.”

…In any case, what happened happened.

We had to escape from here.

“Which way are we supposed to go?”

Looking troubled, Fiona turned her head from side to side. Paths extended from all four sides of the room.

“…Let me see…”

After thinking for a moment, I pointed to one of the paths.

“That way.”

“Why?”

“I do not really understand it myself, but I can feel a strong aura from that direction.”

“…I do not really understand it myself either, but normally, if you feel a strong aura, shouldn’t you avoid it?”

“That is true, but—”

After thinking for a moment, I answered.

“We do not have any other clues. For now, let us go that way. If it gets dangerous, all we have to do is run away.”

And so, Fiona and I started walking in “the direction where I felt a strong aura.”

Partway through, we entered a large hall.

“Bumoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

The moment it saw us, the monster in the hall let out an excited roar.

It was a half-naked humanoid monster with a muscular body as black as if it had been painted with ink. It had the head of a bull and held a large axe in both hands.

“I-I-Ilvis-san!? Something that looks really strong just showed up!?”

“It is fine, please stand back.”

The bull-headed creature charged fiercely at us. Putting all its strength into the blow, it brought the axe in both hands down at me.

I easily knocked it aside with the dagger I had drawn.

Taking advantage of the moment the bull-headed creature lost its balance, I unleashed a barrage of slashes with my dagger all at once. Um… about ten strikes, I guess?

“Guoooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Spraying fresh blood all over from across its body, the bull-headed creature let out a scream, then collapsed backward and stopped moving.

I turned to Fiona.

“See? It was fine, right?”

“…Il-Ilvis-san, you are strong…”

“Hmm, I wonder. It feels more like the enemy was just weak…”

And so, we started moving again.

Various monsters appeared along the way, but nothing was a problem. I drove them back one after another.

They were no challenge at all—I was fortunate they were weak monsters. I did not really know where we had been sent, but this was probably the same shallow layer as before. If this had been the deep layers, it definitely would have been dangerous.

“Fiona-san, the ‘strong aura’ is getting close now.”

“Eh, is it really!?”

“Yes. It is that room there.”

We entered the room.

The atmosphere in that room was different from the places we had walked through so far. It was decorated with red tapestries and carpets, giving it a solemn impression.

And in the center of the room was a large altar—

And on it sat a deep crimson jewel.

…Hmm, I do not know what it is, but I can feel a “strong aura” from that jewel.

“That is an amazing jewel, Ilvis-san.”

Fiona stared fixedly at the jewel.

“…Yes, it is.”

“Is it okay if we take this back with us?”

“As I said when we found the treasure chest, things found in dungeons—and in ruins as well—belong to the person who discovered them. So if you want to take it back with you, Fiona-san, that is fine, but…”

“I feel like we should take it back. I do not feel anything from it myself, but you can sense a strong aura from it, right, Ilvis-san?”

“Yes, well…”

“A mysterious power that someone as remarkable as you can sense, Ilvis-san! You know! It feels like some kind of academic discovery of the century!”

She turned back to me and insisted passionately.

Eh, was she not placing way too much value on my vague intuition?

…Still, well, if there had been gold marks shining in Fiona’s eyes, I might have felt inclined to stop her, but apparently she genuinely thought so. In that case, it would be beside the point for me to complain. Fulfilling the client’s request was also part of the job.

“Understood. Then, Fiona-san, please collect it.”

“Yes!”

Carefully, Fiona picked up the crimson jewel and placed it inside her shoulder bag.

“I did it!”

“Shall we move on?”

“…The problem is how we are supposed to get back.”

“For now, shall we try going over there?”

On the far side of the altar, where I pointed at the back of the room, there was a magic circle. At a glance, it seemed to be built with the same formula as the one from before, so it was probably—

“A teleportation circle.”

“Where will it send us?”

“I do not know.”

“Eeeeh!? N-no way! Is it really okay to just teleport somewhere at random!? We are going to get lost!?”

“Fiona-san, you seem to have forgotten, but—”

I paused for a beat before continuing.

“We are already… lost.”

“Ah!?”

So trying teleporting again was probably fine. There had been a teleportation circle that sent us here from the previous place. It would not be strange if there were a teleportation circle that sent people back in the opposite direction.

Leading his subordinates along, Travas was walking through the Ariscit Ruins in an excellent mood.

(…Heh heh heh, almost there. I will soon have the Eye of the Netherworld!)

Just imagining the creation of a magic tool incorporating that extraordinary power made Travas feel good.

Very soon now. Very soon, those dreamlike days would be within his reach.

Walking at his side, Yuri, the beloved daughter of Orfred, opened her mouth.

“…You seem happy.”

“Heh heh heh, given the nature of my work, I cannot help but feel excited. It reminds me of how I felt as a child when I got a new toy.”

Travas was not someone who normally showed much emotion, but he was in such high spirits that even he himself was aware of it. Without thinking, he began speaking in an unusually talkative tone.

“Very soon now, Yuri. There is a hidden room in that room over there. From there, we can use a teleportation circle that leads directly to the innermost depths.”

Travas and the others entered “that room.”

At the same moment, a foolish sound escaped Travas’s mouth.

“Huh?”

The entrance to the hidden room, which should have been tightly sealed, was open.

(…Eh, no way, that is impossible. Did someone notice it?)

Feeling a chill run down his spine, Travas nevertheless shook his head.

Yuri then asked him,

“…Did something happen, Travas-sama?”

Travas did not answer immediately, instead calming himself down.

(Nothing is wrong—nothing could possibly be wrong. It was just someone lucky. I prepared double and triple layers of guards before the teleportation circle. There is no way anyone could have reached it.)

Having regained his composure, Travas turned a pleasant smile toward Yuri and said,

“There is no problem at all. Let us proceed.”