Chapter 45

As the chestnut-haired girl stood at the entrance of the dungeon, the treasure chest inside the inner room began to open due to the defeat of the Hobgoblin.

Stepping inside, she found a treasure chest lying in wait.

"It's treasure. But this dungeon was small, so I doubt there's anything really good in here."

"Yes, but Lord Lloyd's goal is a high-quality monster core. It's right here."

With that, Silfa glared sharply at the treasure chest.

Suddenly, the treasure chest's demeanor changed.

It seemed to have a will of its own and started to show signs of trying to escape.

"Hmph!"

Silfa exhaled sharply, flipped her skirt, and threw a hidden dagger.

The treasure chest, moving at high speed, dodged the dagger.

Silfa threw dagger after dagger, but the chest dodged each one.

"What!? The treasure chest is jumping around!?"

"Please defeat it."

"O-Okay—ah!"

Tao delivered a roundhouse kick to the rapidly moving treasure chest.

Although it hit the chest and slammed it against the wall, it didn't seem to have any effect.

The chest got back up and started jumping around energetically again.

"What is this thing!?"

"The treasure chest at the end of the dungeon is actually a monster core. It's very high-quality, but it's extremely hard and fast. It's not easy to defeat."

Indeed, if you know about it, you can easily get a high-quality monster core in a low-level dungeon.

Even A-rank adventurers like Silfa and Tao are struggling, so it's quite a troublesome opponent.

However, I need the core too, so I can't let it escape.

I cast a magical barrier in front of the treasure chest as it tried to escape through the entrance behind me.

Immediately, there was a dull thud as the treasure chest hit the barrier.

It fell to the ground with a thud.

Seizing the opportunity, Silfa's dagger pierced the chest, and it stopped moving.

"Lord Lloyd, what did you do just now?"

"Nothing, it just hit the wall on its own."

"…Hmm, that's true. The treasure chest has very high magic resistance. Even for Lord Lloyd, it would be difficult to damage it."

Is that so? The last time I did this, I took it down with a single wind spell.

It was probably a good idea to let them handle it.

I almost got suspicious.

"Hey, it stopped moving."

"Then, can I take it?"

"Sure, go ahead. …But in return, Silfa, take good care of you-know-who. Hehehe."

"Sure, sure."

Silfa coldly replied to Tao's sly whisper.

As they exited the dungeon, they sensed someone's presence from a large tree in front of them.

Tao also seemed to sense it and called out.

"Who's there!?"

A man emerged, muttering.

Hmm, I feel like I've seen this guy somewhere before.

"You must be… Galapagos, right? What are you doing here?"

"It's Galahad! …I came to see if that brat was cheating."

What does he mean by cheating? As I tilted my head, Tao added more information.

"I remember now. That guy is Galahad, the one who crushes newbies. He always picks on promising new adventurers and tries to ruin them."

"How idle… He should be improving his own skills during that time…"

"If he could do that, he wouldn't be doing this. This guy has already given up on getting stronger. That's why he can only try to hold others back."

"That's… a sad thing…"

Tao and Silfa looked at the man with pity.

"Shut up! Shut up!"

The man became agitated, his face turning red as he raised his voice.

"A weak brat getting stronger by having strong women do all the fighting and taking all the credit affects the quality of all adventurers! That's why I came to check for cheating! …But you just came out of the dungeon, and you're still so clean. You clearly didn't fight at all! I'll report this to the guild—"

"Oof!"

Before he could finish, Shiro bit his leg.

"Aaaaah!? I, it hurts!?"

Ah, I forgot to cancel the order to attack on sight. Biting someone right away is dangerous. I'll cancel it later.

The man tried to shake Shiro off, but Shiro wouldn't let go.

"Hey, Shiro, let go."

"Grumble… grumble…"

Shiro growled and released the man.

Tao and Silfa approached the cowering man.

"Let me tell you, we barely interfered with the dungeon. Lloyd and Shiro defeated all the enemies."

"Let me make this clear. This Shiro, who is scaring you, is Lord Lloyd's familiar. The power of a familiar is, of course, far below that of its master, Lord Lloyd. I suggest you leave before you embarrass yourself further."

"Ah, ah!?"

After muttering something, the man ran away as fast as he could.

"By the way, Tao, can you report the completion of the quest for me? I need to get back quickly."

I only came here for the monster core.

I don't care about the report; I just want to get back to the castle and resume the magic sword's creation.

"Sure, but what about the reward?"

"I'll give it to you. Thanks for your help."

"Hmm, that's right. Lloyd is a prince, so he doesn't lack money. Okay, I'll report Lloyd's excellent performance to the guild. Don't worry."

Tao gave a thumbs-up.

"…Just make sure it's accurate."

"Of course! Leave it to me!"

…He might exaggerate things a bit, but I don't really care since I only go on adventures occasionally.

It's not a big deal.

I said goodbye to Tao and returned to the castle.