Chapter 39

"Hime, were you with your sister?"

"Of course, I was. Didn't I tell you, Taira and Ayame?"

Eh? Did I hear that?

"Hime is the daughter of my mom's sister."

"That makes her your cousin."

"And we have the same dad."

So that's how it is!

I did hear that!

King has a hundred mistresses and even more children.

It was such a shock that I didn't connect the dots about her having a sister.

So, they are half-sisters.

Milk still seems confused, as if she hasn't grasped the meaning yet.

By the way, Hime's mother is the president of Oshino Resort Group, and Hime's mother is the president of Oshino Hotels & Resorts.

Akaishi Kumi is a person who has served the Oshino family for generations, and because of this relationship, Hime has met her a few times.

"Hime, you don't have any guards, do you?"

"We have guards at home, but Mom is the one who protects me. We don't need them in the dungeon, right?"

"The other young lady was protected by three guards."

"That sounds like Hime. She mistakes her family's power for her own, which is really annoying."

Are you saying that when you use your family connections?

Well, I'm also being helped by that.

"Taiga, you don't need to sell the Treasure Box to someone like her, do you?"

"Is it okay? She is your sister, after all."

"It's fine. I can guess why she wants the Treasure Box, and I don't need it. I can buy it if you want."

When I thought about whether it was really okay, Akaishi-san seemed to have given up.

It seems like she will be the one suffering the most from being caught in the sisters' argument.

"Akaishi-san, I'm sorry—"

"No, if you are Hime-sama's companion, there's nothing I can do. I will inform Hime-sama of this."

Akaishi-san bowed and left.

I'm worried she won't be reprimanded.

Outside the dungeon, my father and mother were waiting.

Kuro dashed to my mother, wagging his tail.

"Kuro, I missed you."

Is the pet more important than the son?

"Oh, there's another cute girl. Is she from abroad?"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Hime Oshino, and I'm in the same party as Taiga, serving as the front-line fighter. I'm half, but my nationality is Japanese."

"Oh, how polite. I'm Taiga's mother."

"I'm Taiga's father. Oshino Hime, could it be—"

"Yes, I'm from the Oshino Group. Thank you for transporting my party members to Shirahama yesterday. Here, this is a meal voucher for our hotel. If you'd like, you can use it for your anniversary next month."

"Oh, thank you so much. Taiga, you've found a reliable young lady. Take good care of her."

My mother, who is easily swayed by gifts, said with a smile.

Hime, did you even know about my parents' anniversary?

This is starting to feel a bit scary.

After leaving Kuro, we moved directly to the conference room.

I would like to take a bath and freshen up, but we decided to discuss today's achievements first.

Let's start with Milk.

"I leveled up to level 13. Also, I learned a new fire magic, Fire Shield. It creates a wall of fire that can hide the entire body, and it's a defensive spell, not a support spell."

Milk said, sounding a bit disappointed.

I don't think she expected to learn it so easily, but she must be frustrated.

"Ayame and I didn't level up, but since we had it easy this time, we plan to go to the eighth floor tomorrow. Also, Ayame learned a new spell."

"I learned the Wind Beacon spell. It spreads magical wind around to grasp the surrounding terrain. We don't need it now because we have a map, but it will be useful in deeper levels without a map."

Both of you have improved your spell proficiency.

"I'm the only one. I didn't level up, and I didn't learn any new spells."

"But you have 180 Treasure Boxes T, right?"

"Yeah. Still, each one is worth a million."

I said, fiddling with the Treasure Box T.

"I wonder what Hime wanted?"

Milk said.

Indeed, it's a bit concerning.

Most of the equipment was top-tier, so I don't think she needed anything.

"Probably a Substitute Bracelet."

"Like in games, where it shatters instead of you dying and you come back to life?"

"It's a bit different. It takes the damage for you. While it's taking the damage, you don't feel any pain."

"That's amazing. It makes you invincible while you're wearing it."

Ayame said.

I also

The BGM from when a certain plumber got a star started playing in my head.

It's sparkling.

"It's not that convenient. If it only takes 100 HP for you, it's impressive, but for a level 100 explorer, someone with over 2000 HP is not uncommon. In other words, it doesn't cover even 10%. It would be more convenient to wear a bracelet that increases defense or has an auto-heal effect."

Even though it's called a substitute, if your maximum HP is 2000 and it becomes 2100, and once it's reduced, it doesn't recover.

Considering this, a bracelet that increases defense or has an auto-heal effect would be more useful.

"Still, it's rare and disposable, so it's hard to get. The government usually buys it if it's sold at the store, so it's not something you can get with money. It's also banned from auctions."

"The government? Do police officers or soldiers use it when exploring the dungeon?"

"No, it's used by high-ranking officials in various countries. The Substitute Bracelet works outside the dungeon as well, so it can prevent assassinations."

...Ah, that's how it's used.

I remember hearing about it in the news.

So, you can't get it with money.

Personal transactions might be allowed, but you can't find someone to sell it openly.

"That's why she was trying to buy this Treasure Box, whose contents are unknown."

"That's right. But it's also rare to find one at an auction."

I thought it might be because the Oshino Group monopolizes the Shirahama Dungeon, so fewer Mimics are hunted, and fewer Treasure Boxes T are found. But apparently, people who can defeat Mimics come to the Shirahama Dungeon for the Pink Pearls dropped by Pink Shells, so no one hunts Mimics anyway.

"Then, let's open them together. It's a hassle to open them individually."

"Right. If we open them here, we can sell the ones we don't need right away."

"I'm looking forward to what's inside."

With that, the four of us opened the first Treasure Box T simultaneously.

When we took out the contents, everyone's face froze.

Because all four of them contained Substitute Bracelets.

I identified them, so there's no mistake.

"Taiga, didn't I tell you that Substitute Bracelets are rare? What's going on here?"

"Wait, it's not my fault! This can't be my fault! Look, the second one has a regular potion inside. A Hi-Potion!"

I hurriedly opened the second Treasure Box T and took out a Hi-Potion.

"Um, Oshino-san, how much can we sell this for?"

"It's only for the store to buy, so it's cheap. 15 million yen."

"That's not cheap! It's a huge amount!"

"If you take it directly to Hime, she'll probably buy it for twenty times the price. But I'm not selling it."

"We should sell it."

Ayame pleaded, but Hime firmly refused.

In the midst of this—

"Another Substitute Bracelet came out."

Milk hesitantly took out another Substitute Bracelet.

It's not my fault.

After opening all of them, 12 out of 183 were Substitute Bracelets.