Ch.3939. Why Is Sir Jawill Wilson So Smart?

“I showed you the map out of desperation, but this is unexpected. I thought you’d refuse.”

“The map’s leather is high quality.”

“That’s… that’s your reason?”

Of course, there’s another reason.

If I’m not mistaken, this woman’s identity is Sairine Silonia, the second imperial princess of the Silonian Empire.

She was a character who provided strong support to the protagonist, Serion Breaker.

“Yes, a map made of premium leather couldn’t possibly be fake.”

“Wow… do you realize how capitalistic you sound right now?”

“We’re both the same, aren’t we? Let’s not be like this when we’re both treasure hunting partners.”

“I’m relieved though. I was wondering whether to go alone or just give up.”

“You don’t need to worry about monsters anymore.”

Perhaps it’s because this isn’t the time she appeared in the novel yet?

Despite a princess leaving the imperial palace being a major event, I can’t remember anything about it.

It’s also before she met the protagonist, Serion Breaker.

And.

A map with the imperial crest prominently stamped on it.

The probability of it containing treasure was quite high.

If I had to guess, the person who made this map was the previous king, Curios Silonia.

He was a curious man who pursued fun, and during his lifetime, he hid treasures and created maps.

Serion Lykus also found a similar treasure map and obtained what he called his predecessor, the “Flame Sword.”

By the way.

Did Curios Silonia ever anticipate that his granddaughter would sneak out of the palace after seeing a treasure map?

If he had, he would have burned the map immediately.

Kwueeeek-!

As I slowly moved while checking the map and defeating monsters, Sairine tilted her head in confusion.

“Something seems off. The path looks quite different from what’s drawn on the map.”

“It probably changed over time.”

“Is this map so old that the terrain has changed?”

It seems Sairine doesn’t know her grandfather made the map.

This place has the highest concentration of monsters in the Eastern Continent, so the terrain changes due to countless battles, and landmarks shift constantly.

Curios died in Imperial Year 301.

So at least 20 years have passed, meaning significant changes were inevitable.

“Even if the terrain has changed, we should be able to find it.”

“You’re not leading me somewhere strange, are you…?”

“Should we just go back then?”

“N-no, I’m joking!!”

Her tone revealed both worry and excitement.

In the original story, after an unwanted power struggle with her older sister Etherian Silonia, she’s portrayed as having a mature personality, but originally Sairine was a princess who pursued curiosity and fun like her grandfather Curios.

Given her position, I never thought I’d meet her, yet here we are.

Perhaps I’m connected to the people here by invisible threads, just like the protagonist Serion Breaker.

There’s no other way to explain this improbable encounter.

“By the way, you seem to have some connection to the Silonian Imperial family?”

“What!?”

“There’s an imperial crest on your scabbard.”

“Ah… my father was a knight, so I brought it when I left home.”

She clearly wears a decorative sword she can’t even wield to look like a hunter, but her current behavior is essentially advertising “I’m from the imperial family.”

It’s fortunate that I discovered it first; if one of her sister Etherian’s associates had noticed, it could have been life-threatening.

According to the original flow of events, she wouldn’t die before meeting Serion Breaker, but I don’t know how far the butterfly effect of my appearance extends in this world.

Even a small deviation could lead to unpredictable outcomes, which is why I shouldn’t have accepted the princess’s proposal.

However, I’m a selfish person.

With the monster wave also being unpredictable, my mindset was to save myself first.

Who knows?

The treasure we’re seeking might grant me an incredible power like the protagonist’s “Flame Sword.”

Pretending to know nothing, I casually remarked to Sairine.

“By the way, carrying that sword could be dangerous.”

“Why?”

“There are people who look for trouble everywhere. Some people don’t think highly of the imperial family.”

“Wow, there are people who dislike the imperial family?”

Has she grown up like a flower in a greenhouse?

Sairine seems completely unaware of the outside world.

Since not addressing this could put me in danger too, I continued bluntly.

“No matter how much good the imperial family does, there’s always someone with complaints, isn’t there?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“I can handle the monsters alone anyway, so it might be better to put the sword in your bag.”

Sairine puts the sword in her bag with a pouty face.

Though she seems displeased, she follows my suggestion without argument, apparently recognizing the logic in my words.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves. Nice to meet you. I’m Philia.”

“I-I’m… J-Will Wilson.”

“Oh, nice to meet you! Mr. J-Will Wilson.”

“Likewise, Miss Philia.”

Shit.

I made up a name in a hurry, but why did J-Will Wilson come to mind first…

I wonder if that guy’s leg is better now?

Kwueeeek!!

Since this wasn’t a high-grade monster area, our journey toward the treasure was lighter than expected.

Sairine seemed fascinated by my monster-slaying skills and kept hovering nearby despite my warnings to stay back.

What if she gets hurt?

I’d instantly become a treasonous criminal for injuring an imperial princess while living my best life.

Knowing she was a princess, I narrowed my eyes in irritation, anxious about becoming a traitor.

“Hey, I told you to stay back!?”

“S-sorry.”

“Are you worried I’ll take the treasure and run?”

“No, it’s just that I’ve never seen that kind of monster before…”

Sairine was now openly showing she wasn’t a hunter.

Seeing how careless she was, if she had approached a con artist instead of me, she would likely have lost not only the treasure map but everything she owned.

But how did a woman like this manage to escape the imperial knights’ watchful eyes?

With no escort knights in sight, she must have run away from home.

Kwueeeek!

After dealing with the remaining monsters and walking along a precarious cliff edge, I spotted a cave in the distance.

No sane person would cross such a dangerous cliff without reason.

Meeting monsters here would mean certain death.

Of course, I had already confirmed through my Eye Skill that there were no monsters nearby.

“I can see a cave over there.”

“Yes! There should be a cave. Kyaah!”

“B-be careful! You’ll fall if you don’t concentrate!”

“Sorry… I’ll focus.”

After much struggle, we entered the cave.

Whether from crossing the cliff or the cave’s humid atmosphere, sweat poured down my body like rain.

Sairine also wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand while looking around.

“It’s too dark. What if there are monsters in here?”

“Fireball.”

Too lazy to explain that I’d checked with my Eye Skill, I spread my palm and shot a fireball deep into the space, which traveled and then burst with a “poof” at a certain point.

Roughly calculating the distance, I sensed the cave wasn’t as deep as I thought and smiled with satisfaction.

“There are no monsters, so you can relax.”

“How do you know that?”

“Most monsters fear fire. Especially those living in dark places like this—they would have screamed just seeing the fire.”

“Wow… you’re amazing. I thought you only used a sword, but you can use magic too!! I really made the right choice!!”

“Let’s go.”

As expected, we didn’t encounter any monsters during our walk.

The musty smell of mold made my nose twitch, but the anticipation of finding treasure at the end of this path made me forget everything else.

“Huff… wait a moment. Let’s go slowly.”

“Yes, I’m already walking slowly.”

“Why am I so out of breath when we haven’t walked that far? Strange…”

“The floor is muddy, so it’s naturally several times more tiring than normal walking. It’s normal, so don’t be surprised.”

“Wow!! Why are you so smart, Mr. J-Will Wilson?”

Does the combination of “J-Will Wilson” and “smart” feel incongruous, or is it just me?

I cleared my throat in embarrassment.

“It’s basic knowledge that any hunter would know.”

“Ah… hehe, I haven’t been a hunter for long, so I didn’t know.”

“By the way, why are you looking for treasure?”

I was suddenly curious.

The imperial palace must be filled with dazzling treasures she’d never see in her lifetime, so why go through this trouble?

Sairine scratched her head and blushed.

“Because it’s fun.”

Fun…

She really did inherit her grandfather’s blood.

I shook my head with a faint smile, and at that moment, Sairine’s voice echoed loudly.

“L-look, there’s the treasure!!”