episode_0405

Ethan and I walk to a secret place for just the two of us, out of sight of others.

Since it was a coastal cave, it was adjacent to the sea and not a sandy beach, so I had to use water walking to get close, and when I went inside the cave, there was a fairly wide space inside.

“There was a place like this, Pliana Beach. You found a place like this, Lilith.”

“This is the place I had my eye on while searching for treasure on the second day. I thought I wouldn’t have time to visit here to find treasure because of various things, so I just kept it in my mind.”

“In a place like this, it wouldn’t be strange if there was a real treasure, not a treasure hidden by the professor.”

… That feels good. Or maybe you were just joking.

In reality, this coastal cave was a mini-dungeon where you could obtain secret items. The reason it was intentionally built in a coastal cave that was difficult for people to approach was to prevent other characters besides the main character from entering.

The dungeon’s difficulty level itself isn’t that hard, but the rewards compared to the time invested are somewhat ambiguous, so it wasn’t an essential element of the strategy.

During the summer vacation, the warrior who had to collect experience points and karma by participating in as many events as possible did not have the luxury of staying on the Pliana Coast for two more days to gather these resources.

There was a way to obtain it during class, such as searching the west point during the treasure hunt on the second day… .

‘We’ll take a look around the east coast. I have a feeling there’ll be a lot of them there.’

The fact that he said something like that in front of me meant that he was openly willing to give me this opportunity.

Perhaps I thought so because the items that come out here are luck-related items. Right now, I’ve put in all my effort to somehow raise my luck level to average, but Lilith was a character with a fundamentally low luck level.

“Why not search for it, there might really be treasure there?”

“… I want to do that too, but it’s dark so wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

‘Sally, could you make me a little lantern that I can carry around?’

‘Yeah, I got it!’

-Whoosh.

A small fireball blooms in my left hand at the same time as Sally’s answer.

It was a lantern that burned with a soft light in a round shape like a ball of flame, and its size was more than enough to brighten the vision of both me and Ethan.

‘Thank you, Sally. Would you like some magic?’

‘Yeah. If you’re going to give, give a lot. I’ll share it with Seirang.’

‘Okay. Anyway, I got a good rest yesterday so I have a lot of magic left.’

Ethan and Sally exchanged my magic and flame lantern while having a conversation with the spirits that he couldn’t understand.

Then he turned his gaze back to Ethan and smiled, showing the fireball in his hand.

“Wouldn’t this level of brightness be enough, Master Ethan?”

“Yeah, I think that’s enough.”

Ethan and I walked into the cave, exploring, holding a flame lantern in one hand.

-Food duck!

‘Squeak, squeak!’

Although monsters appeared in the middle, they were not that big of a threat. Most of them were weak enough to be cut even with my dagger, which did not have a sharp blade.

Considering the experience needed to level up, it was a disappointingly weak monster, but the reason I brought Ethan here today wasn’t specifically to level up.

-Crunch!

‘Blue…!’

It took about 10 minutes to advance inside, killing all the visible bat monsters and cave slimes.

The treasure of the mini dungeon that Ethan and I found after going deep into the cave was a giant clam, which was considerably larger than a normal clam.

“… Is it a monster?”

“It doesn’t seem to be a monster, but it could still be a trap or a mimic, so it’s better to be careful.”

Well, I know best that it’s not really a trap, but it doesn’t hurt to keep a sense of tension like this.

By firing a vision arrow to check for life reactions or throwing a small piece of spark from Sally’s flame lantern at it, I was able to confirm to Ethan that it was a normal clam and not a monster by checking if it was a trap or not.

“This clam has probably been here for quite some time, Master Ethan. Judging by the salt bands, the water level seems to rise to the point where this clam can survive during fresh water.”

“… Yeah, I guess so.”

“Would you like to open it once?”

“Wouldn’t it be better for Lilith to open it rather than me? Since it’s a cave that Lilith told us to go to.”

“Then let’s open it together, Master Ethan. I’ll open the mouth by inserting the dagger into the left gap, and Master Ethan, insert the sword into the right gap and push it up.”

“Okay, I got it. One, two… .”

The shell of a giant clam slowly opens with a sound of the scallop inside the shell being torn apart.

Ethan and I pushed hard from both sides to open the shell, and what emerged was a shellfish that was probably alive until just now, and a large pearl resting on its flesh.

“… Pearl?”

“Just as Master Ethan said, there really was a treasure.”

Mini dungeon reward item: ‘Shining Pearl’.

It was a support item that greatly increased the owner’s charm and slightly increased luck.

It was a meaningless item for me, whose charm was already over 400, but it would be useful for Ethan in many ways. I don’t know about Ethan in this world, but in the original game, Ethan was a character with a low charm stat.

‘Even so, it won’t be as attractive as the original game, and it seems to be quite popular with girls to begin with… .’

Still, it was an item that could have been lost, so I immediately gave the pearl I had separated from the king oyster to Ethan.

“I think it would be best for Lord Ethan to receive this pearl. Looking at it like this, it goes well with Lord Ethan’s nobility.”

“… I think it would be better for Lilith to have it rather than me. In the first place, jewels are more suitable for women than men.”

“But it would suit a noble better than a commoner, so it would be better for Lord Ethan to have it.”

“Well, then Lilith is also a noble, right? Of course, he is still a fake noble in name only, but in a few years, he will probably be able to become a real noble.”

“She is still just a baroness, isn’t she? On the other hand, Lord Ethan is the eldest son of the Blackwood Duke’s family… .”

“No, the reason I came to this cave in the first place was because Lilith asked me to come, so the reward I got here is for Lilith to keep… .”

… If you just want to take it, then take it. Why are you talking so much?

Ethan and I briefly argued over who would receive the rewards from the mini dungeon, but our discussion was soon interrupted by other factors.

-Suddenly.

“Huh?”

…due to the high tide waters that had begun to rush into the coastal caves.

“Oops, let’s get out quickly, Lilith. The water hasn’t risen yet, so we can get out if we just dive a little at the entrance… .”

“… No, Master Ethan.”

“Huh?”

“Pearls change color and lose value when they touch seawater. It is not a good idea to expose such a good gem to seawater and let its value drop.”

Of course, if you give up the pearl, it won’t be impossible to escape now, but then there would be no point in entering this mini-dungeon at all.

I didn’t want to give up the reward from the mini dungeon that I cleared after extending my vacation like this.

“There seems to be a slightly higher elevation inside the cave, so I think it would be better to rest there until the water recedes and then leave. The water level won’t rise above the salt band drawn here anyway.”

“… Okay, release. Then let’s do that.”

Ethan also followed my words and walked inside the cave, seemingly regretful that the value of the jewel was being damaged.

As we went a little further inside from where the giant clam was, a small room, neither too wide nor too narrow, appeared.

“The ceiling is low. Be careful, Master Ethan.”

“Yeah, be careful with the release too.”

The ceiling was a little low to move around while standing, so Ethan and I had no choice but to crawl in with our backs bent.

Fortunately, the height at which the sea water came in was lower than this room, so I didn’t think I would suddenly get wet in the sea while resting.

“… How long will it take for the water to drain again?”

“If you mean when the tide will be low enough for us to get out, two hours should be enough. Since it’s already up to the salt flats, it’s probably high tide now.”

“Two hours isn’t that long. I’m not particularly lonely since I’m with Lilith.”

Ethan, who was sitting awkwardly in the cave while saying those words, smiled at me.

Feeling his face burning at the sight of his smile illuminated by the red flames, he first took the pearl he was holding in his hand to the innermost part of the cave.

‘If I just put this on the floor, it’ll probably get scratched.’

It would be nice to have something like a soft cloth underneath, but the problem is that the only thing that can act like cloth right now is the swimsuit I’m wearing.

It might have been better if I just took off my swimsuit and became naked, but there was a big reason why I couldn’t take off my swimsuit in front of Ethan.

‘If I take off the swimsuit I’m wearing now, I’ll have to show you what I’m wearing inside… .’

I thought I might have a chance to use it, so I wore it as a bonus today under my usual swimsuit.

It was a crossroads moment where I had to choose whether to show Ethan this swimsuit, which was more embarrassing than my naked body, or not.