Chapter 38

Shirahama Dungeon, Eighth Floor.

As I walked, I suddenly found a wooden treasure chest.

However, I didn't open this treasure chest.

It was actually a monster.

What appeared here was a Mimic.

To be precise, it was a Treasure Cube, a subspecies of the Cube we defeated in the Tenshiba Dungeon, which rarely appears from the tenth floor onward and becomes stronger the deeper the floor.

However, in the Shirahama Dungeon, it appears as a regular monster on the eighth floor.

The Cube would just run away, but the Treasure Cube mimics a treasure chest and attacks when you get close, which is why it's called a Mimic.

Its attack value is high for the eighth floor, so you either have to defeat it with ranged attacks from a distance or be prepared to be bitten and fight it.

The downside of ranged attacks is that if you accidentally hit a normal treasure chest, the contents will be destroyed.

When that happens, the contents of the treasure chest turn into junk. It's not that a bottle breaks or something gets damaged, but the items inside become meaningless junk.

However, I have the ability to detect presence, so I don't have to worry about mistaking a Mimic for a treasure chest.

"Release: Fire Arrow"

As the Mimic burned, the box with fangs started to move.

Can't I defeat it in one hit?

Well, it's a low-level magic spell, so it can't be helped.

Hmm, it's burning.

It's dangerous to get close in this state.

I was thinking of waiting for it to burn out, but the Mimic came closer.

Since there was no choice, I fought back with my dull sword.

It's not that fast, so even a big swing should hit.

Basic Sword Technique, Fourth Form—

"Front Slash"

A downward strike from above.

Perhaps because it was weakened by the fire, or because of my super strength, or because the Mimic wasn't that strong, the lid of the Mimic shattered, and it died.

D Coin and... good, it dropped a Treasure Box T.

The Treasure Box T is an enhanced version of the Treasure Box dropped by the Cube.

The minimum luck value is 150, and if you meet that, there's a 50% chance it will drop. If you don't meet it, there's only a 0.5% chance.

And the contents are quite good.

While it doesn't drop legendary items like the Hero's Elixir or the Saintess's Elixir, it's still full of useful items.

Some of them are so convenient that you can't even buy them with money.

The princess's order is to collect these Treasure Box Ts.

I gathered 12 in 30 minutes.

Wow, Mimics don't run away, so they're easier to collect than Cubes.

There are other monsters besides Mimics, but it's easy to find them because I just need to look for the ones that don't move.

I found another Mimic.

Using fire magic is getting tedious, so now I just use my sword.

I've been bitten a few times, but so far, my clothes haven't been damaged.

I was thinking of collecting more at this rate when I sensed someone. Four people, I think.

They seemed to be exploring as a party.

The four of them came over.

"Oh!"

I recognized two of them.

The blonde girl with pigtails and Ako-san.

Those two were explorers.

And since they're here, they must be hotel guests.

The other two were tall men in terminator-like suits with sunglasses.

They were probably the girl's bodyguards.

Ako-san was wearing the same suit as this morning, but the girl was wearing some expensive-looking armor, with necklaces, head decorations, and rings.

According to the detailed appraisal, all of them were equipment to increase defense.

And they were all of the highest rank.

For now, I turned off the automatic storage function in my inventory. It would be troublesome to explain if others saw it.

When I bowed and said "Hello," and after defeating the Mimic, I tried to pick up the D Coin and Treasure Box it dropped—

"Wait a moment!"

The blonde girl with pigtails stopped me.

"Please grant me the honor of giving me that Treasure Box!"

"Huh?"

What are you talking about?

"That's not clear. I apologize on behalf of the young lady. Good morning. You're an explorer, right?"

"Yes. Ako-san... right?"

"I'm honored that you remember me. We are collecting Treasure Boxes dropped by Treasure Cubes on this floor, but we're having trouble gathering them. If it's not too much trouble, could you sell us that Treasure Box?"

"Isn't the personal sale of dungeon drops prohibited?"

"The young lady has a license to deal in ancient dungeon items, so it doesn't apply."

Isn't that a license that the sales office holds?

Can an individual get such a license?

Is it possible because she's the young lady?

"I'll buy it for one million yen."

The sales office's buyback price is 100,000 yen.

The average auction price is 800,000 yen.

Considering that, it's not a bad deal.

But—

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

"What!?"

The young lady glared and shouted.

"If you keep quiet, no one will know that you dropped the Treasure Box."

"I can't betray my important friends."

What is this young lady thinking?

This is unreasonable.

When I tried to ignore her and leave—

"If you absolutely refuse, we have other options."

She said something threatening.

At the same time, the two men behind her stepped forward.

I couldn't tell how strong they were.

Thinking about whether to use the hellfire or run away—

"Miss, please stop. What he's saying is reasonable. If you cause trouble, I'll tell your mother everything."

Ako-san warned the young lady.

"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Ako Ako. May I ask for your name?"

"...It's Ichino."

"I see. Then, Ichino, could you tell me the time and place where you will meet your party? I'll come at that time and discuss the purchase again."

"That's fine."

Since I have a mountain of Treasure Box Ts, if the princess approves, I can spare one.

Besides, while I don't like the young lady, I can trust Ako-san.

Maybe this is a skillful negotiation using both carrot and stick, but if so, I'll applaud the other party for being one step ahead.

"Then, I'll be on my way."

I went back the way I came.

I'll try to avoid getting close if I sense anyone.

When I returned to the floor at the agreed time, I met the princess, Ayame, and Milk, and we returned to the surface.

During the journey, I told the princess about the negotiation with the blonde girl with pigtails.

"That's what happened."

"Again, Taiga met a woman..."

"Is that his destiny?"

Don't make me sound like a womanizer.

There were two men in the other party, right?

If we count the number of people I met for the first time today, including the unknown college students, there were more men.

"One million yen. Well, if you think about it, it's a reasonable price."

Ayame, who is a commoner, was surprised and said, "One million!?"

I understand her feeling because I used to think the same way.

"So, how many Treasure Boxes did you get?"

"I got 183 in total."

They didn't all fit in my inventory, so my backpack was stuffed to the brim.

I opened my backpack and threw one of the Treasure Box Ts to the princess.

"Your luck value is still ridiculous. Don't tell anyone how many you got. If you sell, only sell this one."

"I was planning to do that anyway."

I caught the one she threw back and nodded.

So, Ayame, please don't calculate 180 million.

After changing, I went out of the changing room and found Ako-san waiting in front of the dungeon.

"Mr. Ichino, thank you for coming to the negotiation."

"No problem. I talked to my party members, and they are willing to negotiate."

"That's good. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any, so we won't have to return empty-handed."

Ako-san is really polite.

The young lady isn't here.

It seems she went back to the hotel first.

It's better this way for the negotiation.

As I thought, Milk and Ayame came back from changing.

"Taiga, sorry to keep you waiting."

"Mr. Ichino, is this the person you're negotiating with?"

"Yes, it's Ako-san. Where's the princess?"

"She was talking to someone at the reception, but she'll be here soon."

Ayame said.

Maybe because she's the daughter of the president, she has a lot to do.

Thinking that, Ako-san's eyes widened.

"Mr. Ichino, you said the princess... Could it be—"

"Taiga, sorry to keep you waiting."

Just as Ako-san was about to say something, the princess arrived.

The princess and Ako-san looked at each other and froze.

"Ako Ako—so you're the one Taiga was talking about."

"Long time no see, Princess."

"So, the one who wants the Treasure Box is—"

"Yes. It's Hime-sama."

Huh? Do these two know each other?

Hime-sama?

It sounds like the princess's name.

"Hey, princess, do you know her?"

"More like Hime. I didn't expect her to be here..."

"Are you on bad terms with her?"

"Yeah, we're on the worst terms."

Well, it's that young lady.

She might say something rude to the princess.

Since the princess didn't say anything more, I was wondering what to do when Ako-san provided more information.

"Mr. Ichino. The Hime-sama I serve is the real older sister of the Hime-sama you know."

Ah, I see.

That's why their names are similar.

……………………………………………………………………Huh?

Thank you.