Chapter 373 - Treasure Hunter (1)

Three days after the community closed, as I spent my days looking for a ship to sail on the sixth floor and a navigator to steer it, Amelia brought me good news.

“Schuitz, you no longer need to worry about the Guild.”

“What do you mean?”

“I found someone suitable and took care of it.”

“... What?”

When I asked for the details, I learned she'd handled things in typical Amelia fashion. Apparently, she'd found a Guild officer guilty of embezzlement, tax evasion, and other crimes that would ruin his life if exposed. By blackmailing him with the evidence, she'd managed to have the Guild's information on Rihen Schuitz destroyed.

“It would have been much safer to alter the records to suit our needs rather than destroy them, but he said that would be difficult.”

“What are the chances the destroyed records will cause trouble?”

“Under normal circumstances, none. Administrative records get lost or damaged more often than you might think.”

Hmm, so that was how it worked...

As I nodded quietly, Amelia added that she hadn't destroyed everything. The records identifying Rihen Schuitz as a rank-five explorer were still there. In short, I'd retain my rank-five status.

“You still look unconvinced.”

“No matter how common lost records are in this world, mine suddenly disappearing would look a little suspicious.”

“Still, it's far better than leaving the old records lying around, isn't it?”

Well, that was certainly true. Even if we couldn't eliminate their suspicions, we could at least keep hard evidence out of the hands of anyone pursuing me.

“Well done... No, thank you, Amelia.”

“... It's only natural for the person best suited to a task to do it.”

“Because that's more efficient, right?”

Amelia nodded, then changed the subject.

“So, how is your part coming along? Have you read all the documents I gave you?”

Ah, the ship listings. They were documents neatly compiling the specifications and prices of the ships on the market.

“If nothing caught your eye, I'd appreciate you telling me soon. I'll need to look again.”

“No, there's no need. I found just the thing, assuming the actual ship matches what's on paper.”

When I told her which ship I'd chosen, Amelia asked why, and I enthusiastically reeled off my reasons.

“It's the most expensive of the candidates, but considering its performance, it's actually a bargain.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Besides, as long as we avoid the special areas, it can sail all the way to the seventh floor in its current condition. Add a few optional upgrades later, and it'll handle the special areas too, so we won't need to buy another ship.”

“Is that so?”

Amelia's response was utterly flat. I wondered why she'd bothered asking if she was going to react so indifferently, but...

“Well, if you say so, I'm sure you're right. This is what you do best, after all.”

Her next words made me stammer despite myself.

“Uh... I-is it?”

“We're already in the same boat, and you're its captain.”

Anyone hearing that would have felt a little embarrassed. But another thought also occurred to me.

Was she saying this deliberately to boost my confidence?

Come to think of it, lately I'd done little besides hole up at home and ask the others for favors. Perhaps she was being considerate—

“Now that we've decided on a ship, I'll be off. If I hurry, I should be able to arrange a meeting before the trade market closes.”

I wanted to ask if she'd really said that for my sake, but Amelia put on her coat and went out before I had the chance.

Well, it wasn't important anyway.

'Anyway, that takes care of the ship... '

With a larger budget, we could have bought a better one, but I wasn't particularly disappointed. The ship we'd chosen was pretty decent.

'So the navigator is the problem... '

As always, the problem lay with people, not things.

* * *

KNOCK, KNOCK.

I was lying in bed reading the books I'd borrowed from the library when I heard a knock.

Hmm, was it mealtime already?

“Come in.”

The door opened the instant I gave permission, as though the visitor had been waiting for it. As expected, it was Erwin. Amelia would be in the middle of negotiating with the ship's seller right now.

“What is it?”

I closed my book and asked what she needed. Erwin murmured a brief reply, sounding somewhat disgruntled.

“You have a visitor.”

“A visitor?”

No sooner had I tilted my head and repeated the word than a woman appeared in the doorway, with swaying platinum-blond hair and blue eyes.

“It's me.”

It was Raven.

Unlike the last time I'd seen her, she was wearing everyday clothes rather than her Magic Corps uniform. Her hair was loose instead of tied up, too.

Whew, she suddenly had a completely different air about her.

“I'm coming in, all right?”

“Ah, uh...”

Before I could give her a proper answer, Raven entered the room and sat down. Erwin followed her in, picked up a chair, and sat some distance away.

“Why did you come in too?”

“Am I not allowed?”

No, I hadn't said she wasn't allowed... I'd just asked why...

Well, whatever. Sitting that far away, she probably wouldn't interrupt.

“It's been a while, Raven.”

“Yes. Have you been well?”

“So far. But is it safe for you to come here like this?”

“Don't worry. I made sure no one saw me.”

“Ah, is that why you let your hair down and dressed like that?”

“... What other reason would there be?”

Why was she being so prickly now? I'd only asked a question. Had something upset her?

'I'd better watch what I say today.'

As I was thinking that and preparing to ask what had brought her here, Raven spoke first.

“Books.”

“...?”

“I see you were reading. Did you buy them?”

“No, apparently you can borrow them now.”

“Ah... I heard about that a while ago. People whose identities are firmly established can take books out of the library now, right?”

“Officially, yes. In practice, anyone who isn't a noble or a high-ranking official has to leave a deposit.”

“But Mister didn't have to.”

Erwin suddenly interjected, but Raven simply nodded without any outward reaction.

“Well, with your status, Ms. Tersia, I suppose that makes sense.”

“So, why did you come all the way here in disguise? Has something happened?”

I hurried to ask her business before the conversation wandered off in a strange direction. Raven ended the preliminaries and got to the point.

“Mr. Jandel... No, I'm sorry. I keep trying to be careful, but I'm still not used to it.”

“It's fine.”

“Anyway, I came because there's something I need to tell you, Mr. Schuitz.”

Right, so she hadn't come just to see me after all. With such a long preamble, I'd started to wonder.

“What is it? Tell me.”

It didn't sound like a lighthearted matter, so I lowered my voice and focused on the conversation.

“The royal family has begun an unofficial investigation into you, Mr. Schuitz.”

“An unofficial investigation?”

“It's standard practice when someone new appears on the scene. Launching an official investigation without justification would look like an attempt to control and oppress explorers.”

Hmm, something like surveillance of private citizens? An odd place to worry about appearances, considering this was a dictatorship anyway.

“All right, and?”

“They questioned me too, so I disclosed some information, as we'd discussed. Only things we couldn't hide, like the abilities you displayed back then, Mr. Jandel.”

“If it's still unofficial, I take it they aren't suspicious of my actual identity.”

“No. If they were, you'd have been dragged away long ago. Even unofficial investigations can be handled gently... or quite the opposite.”

The rumors that the royal family secretly trained covert special forces weren't really rumors at all. That group called the Rose Knight Order, or whatever it was, was a prime example.

“So what happened to you? From your superiors' perspective, you left information out of your report.”

“That's fine. I explained it away by pointing out that the Third Army Corps commander's position was vacant at the time. I also told them I'd submitted a separate report to Commander Pevrosk, my immediate superior.”

“Won't they catch you lying?”

“It's not a lie. I really did report to the commander as soon as we returned to the city. Though, of course, parts of the story were fabricated.”

“I see...”

Her capable handling of the situation reassured me, but it also stirred a sense of guilt.

“I'm sorry for getting you mixed up in my troubles, Raven.”

“... Haven't we already settled that? I'm only repaying an old debt.”

“I'll make sure I repay this debt too.”

“Yes, you'd better. Otherwise, I think I'll come out at a loss.”

The mood could have grown somber, but Raven's joking response eased it somewhat. It was time to move on to the next subject.

“Raven, have you ever heard of the proposal for national integration?”

“National integration? What's that?”

“The idea of accepting evil spirits rather than defining them as enemies. Apparently, it was proposed once a hundred and fifty years ago, but fell through for various reasons.”

“Ah, I remember learning about that. Why?”

“I heard it came up at a royal council meeting.”

When I explained why I'd brought it up, Raven looked surprised.

“This is the first I've heard of it. You've barely left the house, Mr. Schuitz, so how did you... Ah, the fifteenth was just a little while ago!”

Not needing lengthy explanations was one of Raven's strengths. I continued without confirming or denying anything.

“Look into it for me. Find out who brought it up at the meeting, and...”

“And...?”

“Whether there's truly no chance at all of the royal family accepting it.”

This might just be the key.

* * *

The days after Raven's visit were quite busy. More precisely, they were busy for Amelia, not for me, still staying at home. We'd sunk almost every last coin we had into buying the chosen ship, but we still hadn't found a navigator to steer it.

It was as if navigators had simply vanished. With everyone taking warships straight to the Dark Continent, I'd expected a fair number to be available for hire.

“I guess finding one in a month was a bit too much to ask...”

“Be accurate. Finding someone who meets your standards is the difficult part.”

Hmm, that was true. Honestly, it wasn't that there were no navigators at all. The problem was that most of them were mediocre. To actually reach the waters around Underground Island, our destination for this expedition, sailing skill mattered more than anything.

“Either lower your standards or give up. Choose one. Anyone that skilled gets snapped up by another team the moment they're available. And they certainly won't join a team like ours that's looking to hire them on a short-term contract like a mercenary.”

“Really? Then I'll give up.”

“That easily...?”

“Well, what else can we do? The Labyrinth opens in two days. We'll keep looking next month.”

“Then are we dropping Underground Island from this expedition's plans?”

“No, I thought we'd try it on our own for now. I don't know if we can manage it, but it's not like we have much to do on the lower floors anyway, right?”

I hadn't properly collected EXP even in the early parts of the sixth floor yet, so failing to reach Underground Island wouldn't be much of a loss. Had that comment annoyed her, though?

“... You're not wrong, but that's irritating. If you'd told me earlier, I wouldn't have spent all this time running around.”

“I... am sorry about that.”

After offering Amelia my sincere apologies, I called Erwin into the room too, and we discussed our plans for the next expedition. It didn't take long, however. I'd already prepared a plan B in case we couldn't find a navigator.

“We're going into a rupture...?”

“Not for long, just a quick visit. It's not like arriving on the sixth floor a few days late will cause any problems. We're not joining the expeditionary force this time. From what I've heard, neither of you has picked up much EXP from ruptures, either.”

“Well, ruptures aren't places you can enter just because you want to...”

That was true. It was why I'd found it so hard to share my method for opening ruptures, both back in the Outcast Team and in the team I'd formed afterward.

'Things like this really are a lot easier now that I've come clean about being an evil spirit.'

“Anyway, that should settle our expedition plans.”

After I'd finished sharing the plan, we each spent some time making our own preparations. Two more days passed—

「You have entered the first floor: Crystal Cave.」

And it was time to enter the Labyrinth.

“Mister, why are you smiling?”

“I'm just a little excited. Let's hurry up to the second floor.”

For the first time in a while, this would actually feel like exploring.