episode_0044

Crunch crunch.

Today, as always, Grace chews on grass.

This time, it’s a specialty product from the 2nd floor, the Witch’s Forest, no less.

Grass with very dark blue leaves.

“It’s incredibly sweet. Next time we go to the 2nd floor, I definitely have to gather this.”

Ever since getting the Elf-Transformation Curse Card, Grace has found the fun in searching for various kinds of grass.

Now, there’s even a place in one of the clan buildings solely for storing grass.

“So, did you sell it?”

“Yes!”

Grace smiled brightly and picked up my spatial storage bag that she had set down on the floor.

Everything earned from this exploration had been turned into money and put into the spatial storage bag.

If I hadn’t had the spatial storage bag, my head would already be spinning thinking about what to do with that much money.

“Anyway, you didn’t overdo it, did you? You only woke up yesterday.”

“I’m okay. Actually, running around a bit helps you recover faster.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then I suppose.”

If the person concerned says they’re fine, there’s no reason to object.

“Anyway, a sky-blue card? You mean that card that’s the rarest among cards. When I sold it, a ridiculous amount of money came out! It was enough to make me feel the urge to run away with it.”

“Actually, I thought you’d take the sky-blue card for yourself this time too.”

“I wanted to. But even if I did, I still have some decency, and with the debt still remaining, I couldn’t do that. I think I can fulfill my role sufficiently with just the cards I have now.”

Grace scratched her head and giggled.

It was a feeling so different from how she looked yesterday, shivering from hypothermia and struggling at death’s door.

Still, as long as she’s recovered, it doesn’t really matter.

The anomaly that occurred on the 4th floor. I didn’t report it to the Guild. Not only would it do no good to mention it, but the status window I saw at the end was too bothersome.

Was it [Ariel’s Cult is watching you]?

It was the moment Ariel’s Cult’s involvement, which I had only suspected based on circumstantial evidence, became certain.

It’s also certain that they were waiting right in front of me when I escaped from the 4th floor at the end.

What was their goal? I don’t even want to think about it.

No doubt they might have been planning to get rid of my party members once their usefulness ran out.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing. More importantly, did you see the others?”

“Ah, shouldn’t they be coming soon?”

Just then, the door of the clan building opened and the trio appeared.

In their arms were numerous foods and drinks.

The point was that they brought different food according to their personality and taste.

Kailak brought alcohol, Luca meat, and Hans small snacks.

“Today we die!! Ivan!!”

“No, your body hasn’t even recovered yet, is it right to drink like that?”

“This much doesn’t matter!!”

Seeing them stack drinks one by one while saying that, I couldn’t help but be impressed.

Still, considering the hardships they went through, it was natural for them to have a good time.

I couldn’t refuse either and immediately prepared for the drinking session.

After a while, just as we finished preparing and were about to eat.

Knock knock.

Hearing a knock on the clan building door, I went out and saw Rain was there.

“They said it was a big deal this time?”

Rain was carrying food, like a get-well gift.

“Come in!!!”

“…Yes?”

Immediately grabbed by Kailak, I naturally ended up joining the party.

After that, nothing much happened. Just drinking or something, talking about that day, and also talking about how much Grace had earned this time, and such ordinary conversations.

“With that money this time, I should buy a few cards and get stronger!”

Hans decided to invest to get stronger.

“With this much money, I could even remove the curse card, but… I’m not sure if it’s really necessary. I think it would be better to just get a few purple cards or some equipment.”

Not just Grace, but everyone had the same thought.

Now that we had to head to the 5th floor, the first goal was to prepare the appropriate gear/abilities for it.

Of course, since I couldn’t get stronger in that way, I was wondering if there was a place selling some special equipment or items.

Grace said as if there was a good place,

“Want me to tell you about a good place?”

“Where is it?”

“It’s there. I bought the 4th floor map there too.”

No matter how much I asked, Grace said she couldn’t tell me until we went there ourselves.

Since she spoke so resolutely, I stopped asking, thinking there might be a reason.

“Then guide me next time.”

“Yes!”

After making a promise with Grace, I spent the long night drinking with my companions and relieving the remaining fatigue from the journey.

*

“So, where is this?”

“It’s a large market.”

“Seems so.”

The next day, I came to District 2 with Grace.

The core area of District 2 was the market.

When I first heard about it, I thought there might be something like a traditional market.

But seeing it in person, it was quite large.

Almost half the district was made up of shops. There were many street stalls too.

“All merchants from outside the Labyrinth City can freely open street stalls here. Of course, they do need permission, though.”

“I see quite a few more knights than in other places?”

“Because it’s a place where that much money and people come and go. It’s probably the next most crowded place after the workshops?”

“So, you probably didn’t find such a precious thing at just these street stalls. Is there something like a hidden VIP room?”

“There’s nothing like that. Although the quality is a bit better, there’s nothing like a black market where they filter people. Of course, you do need a minimum amount of money to enter the auction house, though.”

“Is that so?”

“For a wizard, it’s best to get good magic tools at the Magic Tower, but you don’t really need them, do you?”

“…That’s right.”

Originally, it was common for wizards to buy all their equipment at the Magic Tower.

Unfortunately, although I am a wizard, since using magic tools is practically meaningless for me, places like this are more effective.

Grace also roughly knows my abilities now, which is why she came to District 2 instead of the Magic Tower.

“Then have you thought of anything?”

“Hmm…”

Actually, with a sturdy robe and a spatial storage bag, there wasn’t much I really needed.

“I was just planning to look around and pick up anything useful.”

“I thought so. Then, this way.”

Following Grace, we moved, and soon the number of people increased. Our bodies were pressed tightly by the huge crowd.

“Argh, let’s just run!”

Suddenly, Grace grabbed and held me. She immediately leaped high and started running on the rooftops.

“I-Is this okay?”

Even though there were many eyes watching, I wondered if it was alright to pull off such a sudden action.

Looking around, I saw people running across roofs and between buildings, as if they had similar thoughts to us.

“Ah, this is everyday life.”

Even knights and soldiers didn’t really care about this.

Running on the rooftops, we soon arrived in front of a building.

We entered the three-story building, which had various shops gathered together, like a department store.

The place Grace guided me to was an accessory shop on the 2nd floor, selling all sorts of accessories.

Grace entered as if used to it. I followed behind.

“Manager, are you inside?”

Leaving Grace, who was walking ahead, I looked around.

The interior was ordinary. The interior design that looked a bit old was noticeable, but the accessories inside were quite well-managed.

However, they were clearly not luxury items just by looking. There were accessories and equipment of decent quality.

What I liked most was the variety of types.

Following Grace inside, I saw a man.

A man trimming his gray beard this way and that.

He looked at Grace and laughed heartily.

“Oh oh, Grace. It’s been a while!”

“It’s been a while, Manager!”

“Yes, but who is this person?”

“Ah, you might have heard of him, he’s the Witch Slayer, Mr. Ivan.”

“Hmm… Ah! I’ve heard of him!! The Witch Slayer, Ivan!!”

The manager extended his hand as if to shake hands, so I also responded.

After a brief greeting, the manager looked at Grace and said.

“Speaking of which, I haven’t seen you around lately. Not planning to come to the gathering?”

“Haha, I’ve been busy lately. I’m desperate every day?”

“Well, that’s fine. I’ll be waiting anytime!!!”

Listening quietly to their conversation, it seemed he was a member of that card game gathering Grace used to attend before.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Ah, Mr. Ivan wanted to see if there were any useful accessories.”

“Oh! Then our shop is perfect. Take a look around. Since Grace used to work here before, she’ll guide you well.”

Immediately, I started looking around at the accessories with Grace.

“You used to work here?”

“Yes. After running away from Mother, I got a job here and lived for a while.”

“I see.”

It wasn’t a bad feeling to learn something new about Grace.

She immediately started responding as if she was used to it.

“This is an accessory that checks if there is mana felt nearby. This would be useless, right?”

“That’s right.”

“This is an accessory that creates a small shield, and this is an accessory imbued with ice-element magic. Next is…”

I looked at the accessories with Grace’s guidance, but there was nothing that particularly caught my eye. There were only things that could be handled within my party.

I wished for something that could fill what was lacking in the party.

“Even I can see there’s not much useful here. Isn’t business good lately? Come this way.”

Immediately, we looked at the other side.

There was nothing particularly interesting there either. Only to the extent that I or our party members could cover.

Is there anything with a special power?

When I mentioned that, Grace approached the manager.

“Well, do you have anything interesting? Those eccentric items you always collect.”

“Of course I do!! I picked up something strange this time. Want to see that instead?”

“Yes.”

The manager immediately went inside and brought out three accessories.

There was a bracelet, a wrist guard, and a ring.

The first one he took out was an iron ring.

“This is no less than a ring that makes mice dance.”

“…Yes? It’s definitely useless, but peculiar. Where did you get equipment like this?”

“If you go to the workshops, there’s a lot of experimental equipment. Since they won’t sell anyway, it’s my job to pick up strange things cheaply.”

A ring that makes mice dance. Just hearing about it makes it sound like a completely useless ring.

A feeling of, “Why does something like this even exist?”

However, it piqued my interest instead.

“What is this?”

“Ah, Wizard! This, well…”

The manager took out the wrist guard and put it on.

Then, a small rhythm started playing.

“If you wear this, a song comes out. They say if you listen to this song at night, you’ll fall asleep.”

A wrist guard containing a lullaby, no less.

Still, it seems more useful than a ring that makes mice dance.

“Then what’s the effect of this one?”

“Haha! Don’t be surprised! No less than this is…”

The manager held the bracelet up high and shouted.

“It’s a spatial storage bracelet!!”

Hearing those words, Grace and I were surprised at the same time. Just my spatial storage bag alone is quite expensive.

Spatial storage is an item with that much impact.

Why is that appearing here?

“Yes? You have something that ridiculously expensive?”

“Well, of course…”

The manager put the bracelet down.

“B-Because it’s a failure, that’s why.”

Grace’s visibly surprised expression soured. When I asked for the reason,

“Artifacts, accessories, and equipment with spatial storage are tricky to craft. So failures also spring up like mushrooms. This seems to be one of them.”

“That’s right. Surprisingly, this spatial storage bracelet is a one-way street. It’s impossible to put things in, you can only take things out.”

“Then isn’t it completely useless?”

That’s right. If you can’t put anything into your personal spatial storage, there’s nothing to take out, so isn’t it just like a bracelet?

“Surprisingly, whatever problem there is with the spatial storage inside this, a monster appears inside every certain amount of time.”

“…Yes?”

A spatial storage that creates a monster every certain amount of time. Just hearing about it makes it sound like a completely useless item.

“Of course, it’s not a strong monster. They say monsters from the 1st or 2nd floor appear. However, since they say that even if you defeat monsters that come out from here, it doesn’t even give magic stones, let alone cards. It was immediately processed as defective and thrown away, so I quickly bought it.”

“Why on earth did you buy something like this?”

“Planning to take out even a goblin if someone attacks me.”

“If you take out a monster in the Labyrinth City, no matter how you look at it, it seems like the death penalty. You should get rid of it quickly. Where on earth did you get something like this?”

“A-Ah, no, this is my collection?!”

Grace started scolding the manager severely.

Although it was supposedly a manager and employee relationship, no matter how you looked at it, it felt like a veteran employee cleaning up the messes of a manager who caused a lot of trouble.

It felt like I could see a glimpse of her life.

While the two of them were bickering, I looked at the spatial storage bracelet this way and that.

‘As they say, the world is wide and there are many strange things. There are also such ridiculous useless items.’

Out of curiosity, I picked up the bracelet and examined it this way and that.

Like when I used the spatial storage bag, I felt a small spatial storage was created to my left.

What was in the spatial storage was a Scavenger.

Of course, it wasn’t awake, should I say it was in a dormant state?

It doesn’t feel like it can fight immediately just because it’s taken out from here either.

No matter how you look at it, it’s a useless item.

The moment I was about to put it down again.

I accidentally summoned the Scavenger inside.

“……?”

As soon as our eyes met, the status window popped up.

*Ding!*

『Battle Start. Draw 3 cards.』

『Energy 4/4』

[Telekinesis(1)] [Growth(2)] [Crush(4)]

Since I couldn’t destroy the shop with a 4-cost attack card, I used [Telekinesis] immediately.

Snap!!

I grabbed the Scavenger’s head and rotated it 360 degrees.

*Squeak!*

The Scavenger died without even being able to let out a dying scream.

It’s cruel, but I couldn’t find a way to cause instant death without shedding blood other than this.

*Ding!!*

『Check card rewards.』

As soon as the battle ended, I roughly dismissed the status window that appeared like a ghost and apologized to the startled Grace and the manager.

“Umm. Sorry. For this mistake.”

“I-It’s okay. More importantly, is that a Scavenger? It’s dreadful, it was really a good thing I didn’t become an explorer.”

Grace started comforting the frightened manager.

Hearing what he was saying roughly, he seemed to be a person who had never entered the Labyrinth even once.

Therefore, I think it’s perfectly understandable that he was surprised as soon as he saw the Scavenger.

Didn’t I also doubt if it was really a 1st floor monster as soon as I saw the Scavenger when I entered the 1st floor?

Watching Grace calm down the manager, I opened the status window.

『Check card rewards.』

Since I defeated a Scavenger, it must be useless rewards.

Still, I should check.

[Wind Blade(0)] [Fireball(1)] [Ice Arrow(1)]

As expected, only useless cards.

Immediately skipping the rewards, the moment I was about to close the status window.

One piece of content caught my eye.

—————————-

『[Butcher’s Gauntlets] consumes blood.』

『Energy increases by 1, and draw 1 card.』

『Check card rewards.』

『Rewards were skipped.』

—————————–

The [Butcher’s Gauntlets]’ trigger activated by defeating the Scavenger just now.

That means, if I use this bracelet, I can get 1 draw and 1 energy whenever I want, can’t I?

Even a useless item can be a light for someone.

This bracelet is exactly the accessory I need.

“Manager, I’ll buy this bracelet.”