Let this grieving soul r.., p.25
Let This Grieving Soul Retire! Volume 8, page 25
At the same time, however, treasure chests entailed a big risk. Most of them were set with sturdy locks and deadly traps. Relic chests were tough things, so breaking the chest and snatching its contents wasn’t possible. Hence why so many parties wanted a Thief who could pick locks and disarm traps. This also explained why unopened chests sometimes popped up on the market.
I couldn’t blame anyone for not wanting to attempt a disarmament when failure generally resulted in death. On several occasions, our very own party had nearly been wiped out that way.
The underground storage facility Ansem had brought me to had contained several chests, all of different materials and styles. I was told they were donations from faithful hunters, so they had to be handled properly, and they were dangerous, so they couldn’t be opened without excessive caution. Thus, the church didn’t know quite what to do with them.
They told me to take my pick (a funny choice of words), so I took the best of the best. There were a few other metal-framed wooden chests, but this one had the most aesthetic appeal and treasure chest-yness. Even if it turned out to be empty, I could use it to store all my odds and ends (emphasis on odd). Only problem was that this thing was super heavy.
“It’s really cool, isn’t it?” I said. “The moment I saw it, I knew this was the chest I wanted!”
“Woo! It’s been too long since I’ve opened a chest! Hey, T, get over here!”
“Huh?! Are you sure?”
Responding to Liz’s beckoning, Tino hurried over. It was cute the way she really seemed hesitant about joining in, but Liz was probably using this as a training opportunity. Picking locks was a very dangerous endeavor.
I lightly bumped Eva on the arm, and we moved to a safe distance. Most traps were single-use, meaning we should be fine so long as we had our Safety Rings, but it’s better to be careful.
“Krai, what’s in that chest?” Eva asked me in a quiet voice.
“What do you think?”
Eva seemed to thoroughly consider it.
The answer: I don’t know!
As far as I was aware, there was only one way to know what a treasure vault’s chest contained, and that was to use the magnifying glass Relic, Treasure Tracer. However, the hunter who discovered this desirable Relic was assassinated shortly after they made its discovery public, and the Relic itself was destroyed. A second Treasure Tracer hadn’t yet been found.
Brimming with excitement, Liz checked the lock, but something seemed to puzzle her. “Hmm? Krai Baby, this lock is a really simple one. And for traps... Hm?”
She knocked on the chest, then picked it up and checked the underside.
Liz, you’re super incredible. That chest is too heavy for me to even lift up. You sure are strong!
Opening Relic chests required not only knowledge but also skillful use of the senses. You could say that their use of all five senses and the sixth to challenge unknown mechanisms made people like Liz the best suited for treasure hunting.
Looking perplexed, she examined the chest from every angle. “Hmm. How about we just try opening it up?”
“Agreed,” Tino said. “It doesn’t seem like there are any explosive traps or anything.”
“I’ll let you do the honors, T. Chances to open chests are a rare thing, and you can use this as an excuse to show Krai Baby how much you’ve learned.”
“Really?! Are you sure?”
Tino’s eyes were wide open, and she sounded happy. Eva was surprised, but Liz just showed us a proud smile.
Yeah, uh-huh! You’re a great teacher! Even if you did just have her in a choke hold!
Tino crouched down before the lock dangling in front of the chest. She removed a pick from her hair and carefully inserted it into the keyhole. Just as Liz had said, it was a simple mechanism. After just a few seconds, there was a clicking sound, and the lock came off. It was such a deft movement that it reminded me of Liz.
But this was only the beginning. Picking locks was important, but even more important was disarming traps, as this was when lives were on the line. Relieved to have the lock undone, Tino smiled at Liz, then at me. Something about her boastful smile resembled Liz’s. I couldn’t help but wave at her.
Then it happened.
The motion was unbelievably silent, smooth, and comical.
The unlocked chest opened without a sound, hopped up, covered Tino, who still had her back to the chest, swallowed her whole, then returned to its original position. It was all over in less than a second. Liz had been unable to react, the same went for Eva, and I’m all but certain Tino herself had no idea what had happened.
“Ah...”
“Eh...”
Liz blinked. Eva’s expression was vague and unmoving. Nobody said anything.
Those movements were smooth as Tino’s— No, that’s not it! Good thing Eva and I kept our distance— That’s not it either! Should I be worried that she didn’t even scream?
So it wasn’t a chest? So was it a monster? Or was it a Relic? What was it? Then I remembered that when I got the chest, they said something about people occasionally going missing in the storage unit. And that was why they had called me over.
With her mouth over her hand, Eva whispered what nobody else was willing to say. “Tino. She’s been eaten.”
I always thought this might happen to— No, stop thinking like that!
What were the people of this land doing hiding so much dangerous shit?
“Huh? Whaaat? T?! Krai Baby, what is this thing?!” Liz cried frantically.
Then the treasure chest swallowed her up.
“Ah...”
My perfect chest closed its lid and returned to its original position. Eva looked at me vacantly. Silence reigned over the lounge. Perhaps satisfied with a meal of two, the chest stayed completely still. Or maybe it would move the moment one of us turned our backs on it? Liz had definitely been trusting my judgment back there. Makes sense, since I was the one who brought it over and all.
To think someone as acclimated to crises as Liz would be eaten so easily. She could’ve tried to fight it! She could’ve been her usual violent self!
“K-Krai, what in the world is this?”
Eva looked at me with unconcealed fear, something I rarely saw from her. I wanted to tell her to calm down, but I was too uncalm to get the words out of my throat. But this was fine. I was sure of it. Liz had survived being swallowed by dragons, so I was sure she could shake off being eaten by a treasure chest. As for Tino, she would just have to do her best!
So what is this thing?
I looked at the man-eating treasure chest that was pretending to be a very normal treasure chest. I was aware of monsters that could disguise themselves as treasure chests, but I didn’t think that someone like Liz, who had been through many gauntlets and developed quite a nose for danger, would be so easily fooled.
Calm down. Get a hold of yourself.
Not even my best would do us much good here, and there was a good chance Liz was still trying to break out.
“I-I’ll call someone. Someone who can destroy that thing. I’ll call Ark!”
“Oh!”
That was a good idea. But how was Eva calmer than I when I was supposed to be the one accustomed to crises? While keeping an eye fixed on the treasure chest, Eva moved towards the exit. Then, the moment she made a break for it, the chest closed the distance in an instant and ate her up. I felt like I might vomit.
“Shit. Am I dreaming? Wh-What a gluttonous treasure chest. How much does it hold?”
The treasure chest resumed its state of disguise.
You’re not fooling me. Not one bit! I have no idea what I’m going to do if Ark ends up getting devoured. Heck, how is this thing’s capacity clearly greater than its size?
That was when Lyle’s party entered the lounge.
“Agh, when did Krai get here? What’s that chest over there? Augh!”
Before I could say anything, the chest flew at them and swallowed the whole lot of them in one bite. What incredible capacity!
Why? They weren’t even running. Oh man, is it trying to erase any witnesses?
It was all my fault. All because I had been drawn in by the allure of wanting to look cool.
“Oh my, Krai, what are you doing here all by—”
“What’s this treasu— Ack!”
Marietta and Sven were both eaten upon arrival. I no longer knew what was what. This was a terrifying thing if it could eat a Level 6 hunter like it was nothing. When I thought about it, I realized that everyone was getting eaten while their attention was on me. If they had the state of mind they took when raiding treasure vaults, I was sure this wouldn’t be happening.
Maybe I should just let myself get eaten right off the bat?
Of course this happened after I had returned the Sounding Stone. Since I was planning to spend the day shut in my room, I didn’t have any Relics on me. Though I’m not sure I could’ve handled this even if I had any Relic of my choosing!
“If you’re so voracious, you should just have a chocolate bar...” I whispered, unsure what else I could do.
I can’t imagine humans taste very good.
The next moment, the treasure chest leaped forward, landing right in front of me. Startled, I took a step back. And the chest did nothing. I had stopped moving out of sheer resignation, but after a few moments, the chest still hadn’t done anything. After gobbling up Liz and everyone else, was this thing really not going to eat me? Was it a gourmet?
God, to think this thing too heavy for me to lift, yet could move like a snake and hit the ground without making a sound. That sort of stealth horrified me.
Wait, hold on.
My eyes opened wide. I took a deep breath and made up my mind. I gently touched the lid of the chest, opened it just slightly, slipped a chocolate bar through the gap, then closed it again. For something so heavy, its lid was pretty light. Even I could lift it.
“I could hardly ask for a better treasure chest. Large capacity, silent, automated functions. I suppose it’s also perfectly secure?”
The treasure chest didn’t respond. How could it? It was a treasure chest after all. It couldn’t talk for the same reasons the Carpet couldn’t.
One of the most famous Relics was the Magic Bag, a bag that held much more than its appearance suggested. I had just one, and it was only capable of holding specific items, but these bags were rare, coveted, and very useful. Magic Bags were the sort of Relics where, even though one that could store anything would sell for upwards of a hundred million, they rarely made their way onto the market.
Thinking about that, I came to understand how this chest so easily got the jump on Liz. It was because this wasn’t a monster or a phantom. It wasn’t a monster or a phantom, so she deferred to my judgment.
Are there Magic Bags that can hold living creatures?
Once again, I opened the lid. Inside was impenetrable darkness. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been much research into what went on inside Magic Bags. This was in part because they usually couldn’t hold life-forms.
I thrust my hand into the darkness and retrieved the chocolate bar I had put in moments earlier. There were some junk items that didn’t let you remove what you had put in, but it appeared this chest wasn’t one of those. My Carpet, who spent his days indulging in debauchery with his girlfriend carpets, could learn a thing or two from this chest.
“I can add and remove as I please. Perfect.”
With a slight snap, I bit off a bit of the chocolate bar and savored the sweet sensation. I started craving some tea when I came to my senses. I didn’t need a chest that could swallow thieves and assailants!
I threw my arm into the chest.
“Eva. I want Eva. I want Eva...”
My fingertips came in contact with something soft and warm. I tightened my grip and pulled with all my might. Exiting the darkness, Eva popped into sight. Confused, she just sat on the floor until she eventually came to understand the situation and let out a deep sigh. Eva with her glasses crooked was a very rare sight.
“I-I thought I was going to die. It was pitch black, and I had no clue which direction was which.”
Thank goodness she’s alive.
It seemed her memories were also intact. It was probably some function of the chest that allowed me to fish her out all by myself. What a quality item.
Eva must’ve been scared, as I noticed tears at the corners of her eyes.
“It’s a Magic Bag, so there’s no way you would’ve died.”
“This is a Magic Bag?! Really?!” She ran up to me. “Y-You should have said so! I was incredibly scared!”
I guess she had regained her strength. I let out an internal sigh of relief as I apologized to her. I had also been incredibly scared. Liz and the others were hunters, but Eva was just a clan employee. With so much less mana material (among other things), that must’ve been a nightmare. Even the Safety Ring I gave her probably wouldn’t have been much use!
Did the chest not eat me because it saw the church give it to me? Or is it because I complimented it? A real opportunist, this one.
I took a deep breath and muttered a certain name as I stuck my arm in the chest.
“I want Liz. I want Liz...”
After learning what had happened, Sven let out a groan. “I get it now. J-Just more of your antics...”
Lyle and his party reacted similarly. They didn’t look angry; rather, they were shocked that they had been caught off guard by a treasure chest. Hunters didn’t just battle in treasure vaults, though that didn’t necessarily include ambushes inside one’s own clan house.
Despite being surrounded by those it had just eaten, the chest remained perfectly still. As for Sven and co., they might have been a bloodthirsty bunch, but they weren’t going to seek revenge on a mere object.
“But damn, a Magic Bag that can hold living creatures. If we sold it, we could build a second clan house.”
“Has one hell of a capacity too. It fit all of us inside.”
The hunters all looked at the chest with evident disgust. They had a point, but was I the only one who considered it a fatal flaw that the chest liked to gulp people down? Especially since it looked like they couldn’t get out on their own? Putting aside a certain Carpet that didn’t allow riders, too much dedication to one’s role wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“Krai Baby, I could’ve gotten out, y’know?” Liz said. Unlike everyone else, she wasn’t showing any signs of damaged pride and seemed her usual self. “It’s just that when I saw T, I tried to grab her, but then the exit closed.”
I turned towards Tino, but she had her back to us and was quivering silently. I guess that’s what happens when you suddenly get swallowed from behind. The chest probably mistook her for a robber since she was the one who had broken the lock.
“But this thing is huge, no doubt about it,” Sven said. “There was a town in there. We didn’t get a chance to explore it though.”
“A town?! There was a town?!”
What’s this chest doing eating a town? Just how much can it hold?
Just about every Magic Bag sold for a hefty sum, so how much would this one sell for? I began to wonder if maybe knowledge of this chest hadn’t become common because it ate anyone who knew of it? I had made the discovery of the century, and it was a terrible one.
Eva adjusted her glasses as I patted the perfect treasure chest.
“Krai, are you planning to sell that to a trading company?”
“Nah, I’m not gonna sell it. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that it might disrupt the balance.”
Even a normal Magic Bag could affect the market, so something with this sort of capacity would be cataclysmic. I could think of a number of potential uses for it. Like, maybe you could drain a pond or something.
What an insane thing I’ve gotten my hands on. Maybe I’ll make it fight the Carpet.
“Hm?” Liz said like something had just occurred to her. “Does this mean my turn is over?! Why? Where’s the curse? Krai Baby, am I getting shortchanged?”
“Wha?”
What was that about a curse? Why did she want something like that? Was I talking to Luke? Who else would insist that they should go through hell because everyone else got to? I guess she sort of was Luke, mentally speaking.
As Liz started making a scene, the others got ready to leave.
“You can leave us out of this mess,” Sven said. “Give me a break. C’mon, Marietta, we’re off to the training ground!”
“I guess we could use some training as well.” Never one to enjoy standing out, Lyle sighed and stood up. “Who’d expect to get eaten by a treasure chest in their own clan house. What if this leaves lasting trauma?”
You’re not the only one traumatized...
“Likewise, I’m going to rest.”
Even Eva was abandoning me. I was being left with Tino, a noisy Liz, and the chest that had caused all this trouble. It was fine. They could rest. I was used to things like this.
“One more time, Krai Baby!” Liz pestered me, leaning against my back. “Let me have a do-over! I definitely won’t fail this time! C’mon!”
This isn’t over because you failed or anything. And what do you mean by failing?
I hadn’t planned for this to happen when I gave her the treasure chest! How could I convince her of that? Would she feel better if I let her have her fun? I gave in and let her hug my back. But then she suddenly stopped and looked at Tino. Under her harsh gaze, Tino twitched and glanced to the side.
Come to think of it, you’ve been awfully quiet since coming out of that chest.
“You hiding something, T?”
“Uh. Ummm. What are you talking about, Lizzy?”
Her eyes were darting around. Thieves were generally good liars, but I suppose the mentor-student hierarchy disrupted that. Liz pressed her lips to my neck, then moved off me. Clenching her fist, she grinned as she walked up to Tino. Looking cornered, Tino looked around before making up her mind and darting towards me.
“Maaaster! Master, here!”
Caught off guard, Liz still managed to snag her leg. Tino held out her arm, but fell, hitting the ground face-first just before she could reach me. Yet she didn’t seem hurt as she raised her head and opened her hand in front of my eyes. An old ring rolled from her palm. It was made of wood and had a strange pattern cleanly engraved on its surface. It also had the distinct atmosphere of a Relic.
