Chapter 49

It's a bit short. I'm sorry.

According to what she said, Ravia's condition didn't seem to be too serious.

Hikaru and she held hands and hurried forward.

She could feel the giant approaching. How far away was it? But from the giant's perspective, it must have sensed that "someone is in the castle." If they could use "Group Displacement" to move away from the castle, they should be safe for the time being. There was no need to worry about "Group Displacement" being detected. If it could be detected, they would have been caught when they entered the castle.

In other words, if they prioritized safety, they should run away as quickly as possible.

(But I can't just run away in front of the treasure room and the key!)

They could wait for the giant to pass and then return, but there was no guarantee that the giant wouldn't destroy the treasure room. After all, it was a giant. Hikaru, who had seen it from the archive, was at the same eye level. It must have been at least ten meters tall.

By the time they reached the treasure room, they were both out of breath. The undead who had the key to the treasure room was still lying there, defeated.

"Alright, let's try it..."

Hikaru inserted the ring he had taken from the king's undead into the keyhole. It fit perfectly. It glowed softly.

"Of course, this is it."

"Right!"

They looked at each other, almost involuntarily.

Hikaru inserted the key into the keyhole.

"..."

"..."

"...Huh? It won't move."

"What!? Is something missing!?"

Hikaru thought for a moment, then let go of Ravia's hand.

Immediately, the surroundings were filled with light. The lights were designed to turn on when they detected living beings.

He immediately took Ravia's hand and used "Group Displacement."

In front of them, changes were already taking place.

"Oh..."

The key, still inserted, emitted a ripple of light from the keyhole.

It shook the door of the treasure room. The surface of the stone door seemed to ripple.

"So, that's how it works."

This castle must go into a "power-off" state when there are no humans. It was like electricity. It was surprising that it still worked after 600 years, but perhaps this "electricity" had remained precisely because no one had used it for 600 years.

The door slowly opened.

At the same time, the rumbling sound grew closer.

"H-Hikaru..."

"The light must have triggered it. The giant is quick—let's go in."

They slipped into the treasure room as soon as the door opened wide enough for one person.

The inside was well-lit.

The size—honestly, it wasn't very large.

It was a long, narrow room, like an eel's nest. Shelves lined both sides, filled with items.

The central aisle was wide enough, but it felt cramped due to the displayed items in the center.

"Let's take whatever looks good."

"...It feels like we're stealing."

"The difference between adventurers and thieves is whether the target is a monster or not. —But still..."

Hikaru's eyes scanned the room.

"Amazing..."

"Yes..."

The light was blinding after being in the dark, but even without that, this place was incredible.

Boxes made of gold were filled to the brim with gems.

Pearls on necklaces were as big as thumbs.

Full armor made from carved crystal.

A spear, casually leaned against the wall, emitted a bluish light.

Books lined up with gemstone decorations.

Five crowns were casually displayed.

A mantle with diamonds attached.

It was like the king's "special walk-in closet."

It was dazzling.

The phrase "blinding" fit perfectly.

"Ravia, let's each take what we like. Be careful of the weight."

"Is it okay...? Can we really take it?"

"I thought about getting permission, but the undead couldn't speak, so there was no choice. —And there don't seem to be any other undead around, so let's let go for a moment."

They split up and started taking the treasures they could carry.

Hikaru walked to the back of the treasure room. In RPGs, the best items are usually at the back.

"Three, huh."

At the back, there were three display stands.

He checked the one in the center first.

On a table about 50 centimeters in diameter, covered in velvet, was a slightly smaller-than-baseball-sized, transparent blue object. It looked like crystal, but there were sparks of light constantly running through it.

A metal plate in front read:

"Holy Magic Sphere"

It seemed safe to touch with a fingertip. Hikaru wrapped it in velvet and put it in his bag.

Next, the left display stand—Hikaru paused for a moment.

"No way."

He never thought he would see something like this here.

A grip made from something like ivory.

A block of metal that shone silver enough to reflect Hikaru.

A barrel-shaped object with six slots.

A hammer.

A trigger, linked to it.

A genuine pistol.

A revolver sat there.

Hikaru reached out and picked it up. It was heavy. He knew about it in theory, but this was the first time he had held one.

It was intricately made. It wasn't a toy gun. He confirmed there were no bullets, then pulled the trigger, which clicked.

Six shiny silver bullets were lined up next to it. He picked them up and loaded them into the cylinder.

(Can it fire...? It should make a loud noise. I shouldn't test it here. But why is something like this... This is over-technology.)

He thought back.

(The "Eastern Four Stars" clearly had Japanese people. Reincarnated people existed in the past... over 600 years ago. Did this person, or this woman, make it...? But there are no guns in this world. Perhaps it was made by an individual, and the method of making and using it was lost? Is that possible? Once you see the real thing, it should be easy to copy.)

At that moment, Hikaru realized something.

(Are the bullets special?)

He took out the cylinder. When he looked closely at the bullets, he felt a trace of magic.

If these bullets were "impossible to recreate," the pistol would be an extremely valuable weapon, capable of only six shots.

There was also a metal plate there.

"What? I can't read this? 'Magic'... 'Made by Lugants'... 'One of four kinds'... Hmm?"

Up until this point, he had no trouble reading the ancient language. The fact that he couldn't read it now suggested it might be from an even older era, or perhaps a different language.

"!"

At that moment, Hikaru's "intuition" warned him of danger.

"Ravia, get down!!"

Hikaru was already running.

He tackled Ravia, who looked confused, to the ground—just in time.

BOOM.

The wall of the treasure room was blown away.

There, a purple, ominous arm, filled with magic, appeared.

It was the giant.