By Zephyria 
Climbing stairs that had grown to human height, I ascended onto the giant sofa. In the center of the sofa, large enough to easily house several buildings, were the ones we were looking for.
The two figures laid out gently had a more intact appearance than expected. Even without approaching to check their pulse, the problem was clear. Marianne, who had rushed over and placed her hand on Vivian Grimbswein’s chest, also let out a sigh like a bird’s chirp, but her expression wasn’t worried.
“They’ve just had their Mana circuits tangled and fainted. This sofa is equipped with a natural Restoration Magic Circle, so if they were left here long enough, they would have woken up feeling a bit hungry.”
“I agree. Once the tangles are undone and they’ve had a good sleep, they’ll recover immediately. But since we’ve come this far, it’s fate, so let’s lend a hand.”
“Oh, thank you! Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The old man, who had barely managed to climb the stairs while panting, let out a groan and quickly prostrated himself in a bow. Benjamin, who had followed him up, guarding him lest he tumble down the steep stairs, chuckled and helped the old man to his feet, settling him properly.
“Do you intend to use True Energy healing?”
“I must.”
The people of the Empire primarily used Recovery Magic in such situations. However, it had been quite some time since they were injured, and Marianne didn’t have much talent for Restoration Magic, so I thought it would be better for the patients if I directly managed their Qi and blood.
I walked towards the unfamiliar man among the two lying side-by-side. It was a simple task of untangling the injured and twisted parts. It took a little over an hour per person to complete the treatment.
Marianne, who had waited without a peep while I performed True Energy healing, immediately asked in an eager voice.
“Are you done?”
“Yes. Now we just have to wait. They should wake up after a good sleep.”
“Then let’s go over there now, shall we? Over there.”
“…Over there? Where is ‘there’?”
“Ah, let’s go down first.”
Following Marianne, who was bustling about, I descended the stairs we had come up, listening to her explanations.
While I was attending to the two patients, the rest of the group had communicated with an unfamiliar Spirit through Benjamin’s Spirit via emotional transference.
The gnome here was a vassal of Karzentia. Karzentia was born a Dragon, but her Mana was not great, so she couldn’t command many Spirits. Therefore, the only Spirit guarding her Lair was this one gnome.
Karzentia was not a Spirit-friendly being. Because of this, the gnome here had not learned human language. It merely received the Dragon language that was pushed into its mind like a Divine Revelation, carried out the tasks it was ordered to do, and survived by consuming the Mana it was given like alms. After Karzentia’s death, it had nothing even of that and was simply bound to this Lair.
Then, it discovered something similar to itself, the grandfather of Sam Marcus, who liked precious metals and stone fragments, and began to grow attached to humans. Furthermore, as Rubel used Sierren as a conduit to drain the stagnant Mana from Floyd, the Mana that rushed through greatly empowered the Spirit.
With power came greed, and the gnome attempted to form a Spirit contract with Sam Marcus and Vivian Grimbswein. The two children fainted during the contract ritual, which was performed semi-forcibly without a proper contract circle. The startled gnome brought the children here, where the purest Mana it knew resided, and waited for them to wake up – everything unfolded exactly as predicted.
“Indeed, when the Empire’s Mana surged all at once last time, many dormant Spirits awoke, and even Spirits that weren’t very strong gained a lot of power. This little one probably gathered more Mana then and developed the desire for a contract.”
“So, will things like this happen often in the future?”
“Probably? Still, it’s difficult for a single Spirit to know the location of a Dragon’s Lair so well, so they probably wouldn’t be able to come this far. There was an awareness-inhibiting magic cast, wasn’t there? That’s like a ‘no trespassing’ sign for natural Spirits.”
Though it would have only taken two steps to descend alone, it took a long time to come down while looking after the group. In the brief moment I had closed my ears for True Energy healing, the group’s cheeks were all flushed red from whatever they had discussed.
“So, where is ‘there’?”
“The gnome said that this is Karzentia’s secret vault.”
“…What?”
“It claims to be the key and guardian of this vault. It agreed to open the door in exchange for drawing the Spirit contract circle for Sam Marcus, so we agreed. Now Michael just needs to open the door.”
“…”
Could my heart pound this much even if I had entered a tomb where the essence of the Sword Saint remained intact?
The words the First Goddess had spoken while admonishing me echoed in my ears. She had said that most Gods had no desire for material possessions, and that Spiritus, who had a habit of hoarding wealth from birth, was the wealthiest among the Gods.
Then, how full would the vault of a Dragon born and raised in this land be?
Without a word of argument, I pulled open the first door leading to the main hall.
Bright light poured out. I instinctively closed my eyes tightly, then opened them again.
Marianne muttered in a dazed voice.
“…Will they take taxes on this?”
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say one could die buried in gold.
A mountain made of gold coins formed ridges in an immense cavern, the end of which was invisible at a glance. Looking at the pictures on the gleaming coins, they were clearly old currency. Nevertheless, the patterns engraved on both sides and the outlines of the edges were so clear that they were not worn down at all.
Occasionally, scattered jewels between the gold coins flashed, scattering light. In every gap between the gold coins, there were jewel boxes that seemed to have been tossed in carelessly. When opened, they contained items like necklaces or brooches with delicate feather ornaments, things that would be damaged if kept among such piles of gold coins.
Everything from the items rolling around at the very bottom to those at the very top was filled with splendid and glittering valuables. It was a chaotic pile of gold and treasures, stacked without order or discipline, like a lump a Sandworm that only swallows jewels might have vomited after sweeping across the entire continent.
I opened and closed two or three jewel boxes to check their contents. Then I looked around.
Old Man Marcus, who had been trembling and picked up a gold coin at his feet, flinched as soon as our eyes met and threw the coin far away. What had I said?
Feeling awkward for no reason, I turned to Benjamin. Benjamin, who had been standing blankly, clapped his hands absently when our eyes met. That guy must be broken too.
Sienna was stiff, staring fixedly at a spot to her left. I looked in the same direction to see what she was looking at, but there were so many jewels that I couldn’t tell what she was seeing.
And Marianne? She ran off headlong.
Thump!
“Ouch!”
“…What, what is it?”
“My side! My side!”
“When you leap into things that are clearly harder than Marianne…”
“I know! But I just wanted to swim in gold coins for once!”
“You’ll get bruised, come out.”
“Ah, just a little longer. Look, I’m walking on gold coins right now! I’m stepping on them!”
Marianne’s jest brought smiles to the faces of those who had been stiffly frozen.
Marianne, who was struggling as if trying to swim through gold coins, suddenly collapsed halfway up the slope. How quick she was. I didn’t know when she had climbed that high, but she looked down at us from her seated position. The child’s purple eyes sparkled.
“I think I already know what’s in the next room.”
“Weapons, books, and?”
“Artifacts! And… ah, what could the fifth one be?”
“Let’s go open it.”
“Great!”
Marianne slid down the golden slope. A smile still spread across her face.
The first room was filled with gold coins and jewels. The second room had weapons and armor, all named after various ancient artisans, lined up like a maze.
The third room was like a library, filled with all sorts of books from romance novels to magic texts, and hundreds, thousands of artworks. The fourth room displayed all kinds of Artifacts and statues proudly.
And the fifth room…
“Dresses.”
“These and these seem to be almost the same color.”
“Look, the dress sizes are all one-size-fits-all.”
“Karzentia the Empress must have had four hundred bodies.”
“I heard Karzentia the Empress was quite frugal for a Dragon, though…”
Indeed, it was filled with clothes.
The dresses, displayed by color, seemed to embody a will to list every color in existence in a single line.
Beyond the endless mountain of dresses, men’s clothing was displayed in the same manner. These were also the same size, clearly worn by the same person. She must have been about my shoulder height, small for a man, and large for a woman. Beside the dresses, an accessory exhibition was similarly organized by color: earrings, necklaces, rings, brooches, watches, etc. Next to these accessories were various jewels of the same color, left alone. They were jewels that seemed ready for use without special craftsmanship, polished well.
Everything was so splendid that it left one speechless.
“They received treatment as commoners with all this? It’s unbelievable.”
“It’s too overwhelming… I don’t know what to say…”
“Will the money be enough to rebuild the Duke’s territory?”
“The Duke’s territory? We could establish another country. I had a feeling I really wanted to help Michael today. So, how much will you give me?”
“Excuse me?”
Marianne primly folded her hands, counted, and then crossed her arms.
“Fifty thousand? No, how about five hundred thousand gold after taxes? It would be perfect to buy a nice mansion in the capital and hire about a dozen servants. If you told me to go back empty-handed after seeing this, I honestly wouldn’t be able to help but resent you.”
“…Are you giving it to me?”
“If it were a Lair in the Yuil Mountains, perhaps. But this is right under the capital, and the Lair’s owner is Karzentia. All of this belongs to the state.”
“…Ah.”
“Still, it’s customary for the primary contributors to receive a share. Beg Michael before the Emperor’s authority over distribution is fully transferred. How much will you give me? I’m not just asking for myself right now.”
Only then did I tear my gaze away from the glittering objects and look back at the group.
Benjamin, who was close to me and had never lacked wealth, looked at the surrounding items with a calm, curious gaze. Sienna and Marcus, however, couldn’t hide their tension and were swallowing hard, looking as if they were about to faint.
Having never cherished treasures that came into my hands, I pondered for a moment and then looked back at Marianne.
“It would be best if Marianne decided that too. Marianne was the one who persuaded the Spirit to let us obtain these items, and you’re more knowledgeable about market prices than I am.”
“Yay! Then, fifty thousand gold per person, and we get to take one item each. That should be enough that even if His Majesty asks later, he’ll just think he was a little generous. If His Majesty complains, you have to tell him Michael said it was okay.”
“Yes. As you wish.”
“Alright, then.”
Clap, clap. Marianne clapped twice, like a trainer taming a beast.
“Each of you pick one item and bring it back! Let’s act with some conscience!”