By Zephyria 
Marianne headed to the third room filled with books as if it were natural, Benjamin went to the second room with weapons. Old Man Marcus went to the fourth room with artifacts and statues.
And I followed Sienna Bicov to the first room.
Normally, I would have stuck with Benjamin, but I wasn’t really in the mood. Perhaps it was because he was a groom-to-be. I thought it would be great if I could grab some accessories fitting for Rubel, or some jewels to win over my mother-in-law.
As soon as Sienna Bicov entered the first room, she headed in one direction without hesitation.
Seeing the transparent jewel box in her hand, a chuckle escaped me. Brown topaz wasn’t a particularly rare gem, but I had never seen one so closely resembling Ivan’s eye color before.
Looking at the platinum watch, adorned with a gem in the center, I asked, “Was that what you coveted?”
“…It’s a precious item, obtained from a special place… It doesn’t look particularly expensive, being topaz…”
“Baron Bicov and I are not strangers, so you could have chosen something more valuable, and he wouldn’t have complained.”
“No. Lately, I’ve realized that one must know their place.”
If I had brought Ivan here, he would have picked the most precious and expensive item. Spouses are so different. Regardless, it was a great advantage for me that Sienna chose what she wanted without much deliberation.
“Then please help me. I don’t know how to judge jewels.”
“…Yes. Should I find you a pink diamond?”
“No, that’s not it…”
It would be better to purchase something for Ruben with careful consideration, rather than obtaining it for free. Since Karzentia’s Lair would be inspected by him first, it would be good if we could find something he wanted together. Then, Ruben would help me pick out gifts for my family separately.
So, what I needed to find now was something else.
“What would be suitable for the Empress Dowager?”
“…The Empress Dowager?”
“Yes. I’ll be visiting her soon to chat about various things, and I didn’t want to go empty-handed, so this is perfect. I’d like something with history and origin, something good for conversation.”
The Eldos Merchant Guild had been a guild passed down for generations in the capital. Even if they couldn’t inherit a title, they had seen and handled all sorts of rare items, so I figured they would know better than I did.
Indeed, Sienna Bicov proved her worth.
“Then… wouldn’t a tiara be best?”
“A tiara?”
“Yes. The Empress of Karzentia is a symbol of noble love and happiness. Wouldn’t the Empress Dowager be pleased with a Karzentian tiara…?”
“How can I find one with her name among all these jewels?”
“I’ve seen her portraits many times and know of items she frequently wore that have never been put up for sale.”
“Hmm. What about the accessories that were with the dresses earlier?”
“Since they are likely a set, they would have to be sent with the dresses… Wouldn’t they be a bit too large for the Empress Dowager? Though I haven’t seen her up close…”
“Indeed, giving my mother-in-law clothes that need alteration would be awkward.”
After that, we spent a long time sifting through mountains of jewels to find a suitable tiara.
About a third of the jewel boxes were transparent, making it easy to see what was inside, but most of the jewels were in lacquered wooden boxes. When I opened a box of appropriate size, it often contained a brooch or pendant instead of a tiara. Occasionally, when I found a tiara and presented it, Sienna would shake her head.
There are so many nameless jewels in the world.
After some time had passed, I heard a yelp from afar and snapped my head up. Without a moment’s pause, I hoisted Sienna onto my shoulder and ran towards the sound. The one I had lifted in haste cried out, but I couldn’t leave her alone in an unknown place.
The one who screamed was Old Man Marcus.
As I set down Sienna, who was still flustered and unsure what to do, and helped the old man who had fallen on his backside to his feet, the other two children soon entered the fourth room, the artifact exhibition hall.
We all knew that the older one gets, the more serious the consequences of a fall could be. Marianne didn’t hesitate to use healing magic on the old man. The old man, who had been gasping in shock, trembled as if he had done something wrong, so I patted his back to comfort him.
And everyone present saw that the gap between the floorboards had opened.
A staircase, seemingly for descending to the bottom, stretched down into the dark opening.
“What happened?”
“Ah, I, I just liked this statue here and tried to see if I could lift it, and suddenly the floor split open, from there to here!”
“A mechanical trap…?”
The statue the old man pointed to was made of pure white jade. It was about three feet tall, shaped like a person, and dressed in priestly robes, suggesting it was a sculpture of one of the saints.
It looked like an object far too heavy for the old man to lift alone. If something like this existed, why didn’t he ask for help?
In any case, the sudden opening of the floor was a very suspicious event.
Hadn’t we entered with the gnome’s permission? If there were dangerous things in this Lair, they should have been warned beforehand. If it were a dangerous place, would they have left a frail old man like this to wander alone? I had sensed no malice from the gnome I saw earlier, so I was only bewildered.
The gnomes of Karzentia were still with Sam Marcus and Vivian Grimbswein.
But was there any need to question him? After a moment of thought, I turned to the children.
“Benjamin, you stay here and watch these two. I’ll go down with Marianne.”
“Me? Oh, is it because there might be a magic circle?”
“Yes. Karzentia is also home to dragons, isn’t it? I’ll try not to break anything Marianne tells me not to.”
“That’s an excellent attitude. That’s why I like Michael.”
Anyone would act like me if they knew how much Mage Boulder had screamed when we unsealed the Oasis. There was almost nothing dangerous to me in this land anymore, so I had to investigate thoroughly.
Instead of speaking ill of those not present, I made a lighthearted joke.
“I’m already taken, you know.”
“…Did His Majesty tell you to say that? Michael, you haven’t been brainwashed, have you?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“How could that be?”
“Mmm…”
I didn’t get the reaction I expected, but I wasn’t too embarrassed. My heart was set on looking at more jewels. I stepped onto the first step of the stairs leading down.
“I’ll go first, so follow me.”
“Yes! I’ll be back!”
“Yes, please be safe.”
Benjamin, with a more sullen expression than usual, took care of the two civilians. He was curious about what was below, too. However, Benjamin, a Sword Master with an earth spirit and considerable personal strength, was perfectly suited for guarding the rear. Leaving the troublesome ones behind, I headed down without hesitation.
In the underground of the Dragon’s Lair, there were Golems.
About four or five of them attacked, and I simultaneously pushed them back, immobilizing them. Unable to resist my energy, the Golems pressed tightly against the wall, their heads twitching a few times before freezing.
The stone Golems were divided into head, torso, and limbs, with each Golem composed of ten stone pieces. It was unclear how they were made, as the joints were suspended, with gaps between the connected parts, making the articulation invisible.
I scanned the cooler, drier air and the abundant mana in the atmosphere with my eyes.
“Do you see anything noteworthy?”
“It’s more ordinary than I expected…? Or is it? I don’t know if I should call this ordinary, but the Golems here have a simple structure. They subdue intruders, and stop when an intruder leaves a certain area.”
“Subdue only? Or…”
“If they were easy, they would have killed them, right? Though they are now in this pathetic, clanking state.”
After passing through three small rooms, I encountered about twenty Golems, each about a head taller than me.
Beyond the three rooms, there was a door.
And beyond it stood a single, smaller Golem with a more refined appearance. Unlike the previous Golems, its features were clearly carved, it held a long spear in one hand, and it even wore flowing robes.
As soon as it saw Ikyun, Marianne let out a gasp.
“…Wow…”
“Huh?”
“I want to take this instead of that book. Michael, please catch it.”
“Hmm, alright. Let’s do that. But what is that?”
Still, it was a Golem at the Hwagyeong level, unlike the ones before. As it lunged towards us, I naturally reached for my sword, but seeing Marianne’s face, I put it back. No one wants to play with a broken toy.
First, I grabbed the Golem’s wrists and stepped on its struggling feet to hold it still. Marianne, standing far away, peered around, examining the Golem.
“I don’t know either. But doesn’t it look like it has something special about it?”
“It does seem so… But. How do you plan to handle this, Marianne?”
“Are there any Mana Stones in there? Just take out the Mana Stones and give them to me separately.”
“Ah, the one embedded in its neck. Can I just pull it out?”
“First, we need to remove the power source to stop it.”
As I casually pulled out the Golem’s Mana Stones as instructed, I felt a bit strange. No matter how reckless Marianne usually was, this seemed a bit extreme. Holding five Mana Stones in my left hand like marbles, I turned to Marianne.
Marianne, who had been bustling around at a distance, quickly approached.
“Is it done?”
“Yes. But aren’t you scared?”
“Michael doesn’t lie.”
“…Yes? Yes.”
“In front of someone who has killed gods, what’s a Golem?”
Is that so? Come to think of it, it is.
Marianne, who had passed by me, stopped walking. I gently placed the Golem I was holding down and moved forward. There was only one source of light in this vast cavern.
The light poured down from above, converging in one spot.
Naturally, my gaze followed the light to its destination. There, a low, white altar stood. The surface of the altar, surrounded by intricate relief carvings, shone like a mirror under the light, scattering a gentle, divine radiance in all directions as if blessing the offering placed there.
However, the altar was, as if by a lie, empty.