Chapter 55

Hikaru and Ravia arrived at the capital of the Forestia Union, Forestiard, yesterday.

Today, Hikaru went out for a bit to run some errands for Gafurasti. This means that the purpose of their stay in the Union has been fulfilled.

Hikaru has some thoughts about the queen and the prime minister.

Is it really appropriate for just the two of them to have a secret meeting? He wondered if it was due to a lack of personnel, but there were quite a few people working inside the government building. If that's the case, could it be that they don't trust their other ministers so much? Even the person hiding in the attic is a concern. It's not easy to sneak into such a place, which is evidence of a traitor in the heart of the government.

Since arriving in the Forestia Union, the expressions of the residents have been bright.

The capital, Forestiard, where various races mix, seemed to be thriving.

However, this could also be called "peace blindness." The residents of this country seemed to have no sense of crisis, even though the neighboring country, Ponsonia, was at war with Quinbrand.

(Well... it's none of my business.)

Hikaru pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind.

"Still... is it really okay?"

Ravia suddenly said.

"What is?"

"Being so extravagant..."

Though it was uncharacteristic of a former noble lady, it was understandable why she would say that.

They were staying in one of the top five hotels in Forestiard.

All their meals were delivered to their suite.

"Well, it's fine, right? It's something we can only do while we have the money."

Hikaru had become a small fortune overnight.

Gafurasti confirmed that the "Puelnsia Dynasty Genealogy" Hikaru handed over was genuine and transferred 11 million Gilan to his guild card.

Of that, "1 million Gilan" was supposed to be for Zephirah, but it seemed to have been prepaid. It was a bit unsettling to be trusted so much.

Including the platinum coins received in front of the dungeon, Hikaru had become a "rich person" to some extent.

Remaining: 9,190,100 Gilan (+11,200,000 Gilan)

"Well—now that we've settled, we need to think about various things."

Hikaru sipped his coffee.

The coffee in this region was quite strong. It was customary to drink it black or with distilled liquor.

Ravia stopped drinking it early and was now sipping something like herbal tea.

They had been in a hurry to leave Routehabard as soon as possible.

The road was crowded with merchants trying to leave the country due to the war with the Quinbrand Empire. There were many eyes watching them.

So even checking the loot from the dungeon was postponed.

Entering the Forestia Union had made them feel much more at ease psychologically.

The coat made by Dodrono, which was supposed to be delivered to the Routehabard Adventurers' Guild, was to be transferred to the Forestiard Adventurers' Guild for a fee, so they planned to stay in Forestiard for about 10 more days.

During their stay, they decided to live extravagantly.

"Then, let's check the loot."

Hikaru placed the revolver on the table, which was too large for two people.

There was one bullet left, probably containing the "Evil" magic.

"This is all I could bring out."

"That's a magic wand, right?"

"A wand... I see, that's how it looks to you."

To Hikaru, it was clearly a pistol, but Ravia had no knowledge of guns.

"What kind of structure does it have?"

"There are bullets, each containing a pre-embedded magic. The bullets are disposable."

When he removed the magazine, six bullets fell out. They all looked the same, but "Magic Detection" clearly showed that the five used ones had no magical reaction.

(...There's no magical reaction, but the appearance of the used bullets hasn't changed. Maybe they can be recycled?)

Hikaru handed one of the empty casings to Ravia.

"Can you put magic into this?"

"Put magic... how?"

"..."

When asked how, he didn't know.

"Try casting a spell...?"

"If you can't put magic into it, you can't cancel the spell, which is dangerous."

"Hmm... I'll experiment with this somewhere. Or, I'll have someone investigate it. Someone knowledgeable about magical devices."

Hikaru suddenly thought of the boss of the Thieves' Guild he met in Ponds, but he had no intention of returning to the Kingdom of Ponsonia.

"By 'investigate,' do you mean... give this wand away? You can't be serious?"

"It won't be investigated unless I give it away. It's a revolver, not a wand."

"Such a valuable item!? I've never seen a magic item with that much power!"

"That's true. Well, it might be valuable."

"Can't you trust me? I really think it's valuable."

"I do trust you. Besides, even if it's stolen by the person I ask to investigate it, it won't be a significant loss. Your magic is more powerful."

"...Mmm. That's a cheap way to get out of it."

Ravia pouted.

Even when pouting, she looked cute, and Hikaru smiled, which made her even more pouty.

"Ravia. When our luggage arrives at the Adventurers' Guild, I want to go to the academic city of Scalazard. We might be able to get the revolver analyzed there."

"Scalazard... the city where the prime minister has been focusing on reforms, with educational institutions, right?"

"Educational institutions? Not research institutions?"

"Both, apparently. A place for discovering new talent and developing cutting-edge technology... and it accepts adventurers. Of course, I've only heard a little about it."

"An educational institution for adventurers... that sounds good."

At that moment, Hikaru was thinking about a plan to improve his "Stealth" skill.

If there was a "Stealth" professional, he wanted to train with them. His "Stealth" could be further refined. Right now, he was relying on the power of his Soul Board and Guild Card "Occupation."

Of course, brute force was sufficient, but...

(If I can also learn how to pick locks, that would be even better.)

One of his weaknesses was that he couldn't enter locked rooms, even if he sneaked in using "Stealth." He could break the lock, but...

"Hey... Hikaru. You're already set on going, aren't you?"

"Uh, sorry. Hearing you talk made me even more eager to go. Are you against it, Ravia?"

"It's not about me..."

"That's not how it works. We've left Ponsonia. You're free now."

"The places I go are the places you go. I'll always follow you."

"Always?"

"Always, always, always."

"That's... great."

Hikaru smiled wryly.

"You said it, didn't you? You're a tremendous burden."

Hikaru nodded in agreement.

"You're not that heavy. After all, we're—rich."

"Yes, but... that treasure room was a shame. If everything in there had become yours, it would have been a fortune."

Ravia sighed and placed her hand on her cheek.

"No, no, Ravia? You said it was a shame, but you—managed to take a lot in that short time, didn't you?"

"..."

"Didn't you say it felt like stealing and made you uncomfortable?"

"..."

"Was that it?"

On the table was Ravia's bag.

While Hikaru was getting the revolver from the treasure room, Ravia had been looking at other items.

From the bag, she took out a leather pouch. It was full of gems, more than she could hold in both hands.

Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, cat's eyes, garnets, rose quartz—each one was large.

Honestly, they seemed to be worth more than the cash Hikaru had. They would need to find a buyer.

And the pièce de résistance was,

"I just wanted this book."

It was the size of a B4 sheet.

About 6 centimeters thick—a hefty book.

The leather binding was meticulous, and the embedded gems were dazzling.

It was locked, and she hadn't seen the contents yet. She could read it by tearing the leather, but that would be a waste.

"To say it's just a book, it's quite a lot. Ravia is also quite rich now."

"What? These are all yours."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"No, no... what?"

"Ah! But the book! Let me read the contents, okay!?"

"...Of course, that's fine, but the gems and the book are yours. I said that before, didn't I? We're out of the kingdom now, so we're equals—"

"We're not equals."

Leaning forward, Ravia placed her hand on top of Hikaru's on the table.

"We don't have to be equals. I... I don't want to be equal. I want to stay under your protection, if possible, for as long as I can."

"Ravia..."

Her resolve seemed firm.

Hikaru sighed softly.

"Alright. But let's divide the money we can use freely. Okay?"

"That's—yes, that's fine. I have to make some concessions."

"And one more thing."

Hikaru raised his index finger and pointed at Ravia.

"Let's go shopping for clothes tomorrow. You don't have to dress like a boy anymore."

They should end the male disguise they had been maintaining for a long time.

Ravia should also get a new guild card. The Soul Card issued by the temple doesn't have a money storage function.

"Oh, is that an order?"

"No, Ravia. I'm sorry for being clumsy, but—"

Blushing slightly, Hikaru scratched his cheek.

"...It's an invitation to a date."

"..."

Ravia stared at Hikaru.

She got off her chair and came to his side.

Then she clung to his arm tightly.

"Hehehe~. Hehehehehe~"

"Hey, what's this?"

"Hehehehehe~"

"Are you going? Or not?"

"I'm going! I'm going!"

For a while, Ravia wouldn't let go of Hikaru's arm.

Ravia was sleeping with a happy expression.

Hikaru was sitting alone in a chair in the hotel room.

"Well... I have to think about a few things too."

Hikaru opened his Soul Board.

Next time, he would consider the new skills and "Occupations" he had acquired.