Chapter 113
Muge-san, a Lef who goes beyond the Lef Magic Empire by caravan to do business, proposed:
"The dungeon the Expedition Department is exploring permits Lef people to enter. Would you like to go in with us?"
That was his proposal.
Muge-san might obtain the magic items the Expedition Department had missed, while we—or rather, I—might get to meet Lulusha-san. Our interests aligned.
In truth, exploring the labyrinth was extremely dangerous, and apparently no one knew whether Lulusha-san would make it back alive. If I let this chance slip away, I would regret it. Dantes-san and the others nodded as well, so
"By all means. We'd be happy to do it."
I offered.
Muge-san then submitted an application for us to enter the labyrinth, so we spent the day gathering information within the Empire. Even calling it a dungeon didn't tell us what it was like.
Muge-san said there was also an Adventurers Guild for Lef people, where we could gather information.
"See you tonight~"
Apparently, because people other than Lef rarely set foot in the Empire, there were almost no lodging facilities. So we would be staying in this warehouse tonight.
The Empire had to have more than a hundred thousand citizens... Yet it was possible to maintain this level of isolation.
We first headed to the Adventurers Guild. The first floor only had a reception desk; there was nothing like a quest board. Lef adventurers were few in number, and all requests from the citizens seemed to be submitted directly to the state, so the Guild appeared to exist solely to connect the outside Guilds with the one inside the Empire.
The labyrinths also weren't meant for adventurers to enter; they were owned by the state.
"Ah... Are you one of the people participating in this large-scale expedition?"
When we asked at the reception desk, the guild employee—whose long eyelashes and delicate features made me guess the person was a woman—nodded as if satisfied.
"Several trading companies have stepped forward. We notify the Guilds in various regions about the adventurers gathering 'outside,' and the trading companies hire them. Their entry into the country should be starting around now, I imagine."
"Don't you have any documents about the labyrinth?"
When Dantes-san asked, the employee tilted their head.
"We've already given the documents to the trading companies, but..."
"I'm afraid we were hired through a personal connection. That trading company is also submitting its expedition application today."
"Oh, the Rattletrap Trading Company—"
"What did you say?"
"...Ahem. Nothing at all. I have a copy here, so I'll give it to you."
Perhaps it was because Dantes-san put pressure on the employee after that slip of the tongue, but we obtained the documents without difficulty.
But what the hell was "Rattletrap Trading Company" supposed to mean?
It was true that Muge-san used a steam automobile as broken-down as Cat-chan, and you didn't see any cars like Cat-chan anywhere in this city, but it wasn't as if he'd caused anyone any trouble by using it... Dantes-san kept smiling, but he glared at the employee once while taking the documents. The employee recoiled with an "Eek!" too.
After leaving the Guild, we kept hearing about the Rattletrap Trading Company wherever we went.
Whenever we ate at a restaurant, we were asked, "Where are you from? Who are you staying with?" Even when we merely walked through the city, people already knew that Muge-san had hired us. The term that came up every time was "Rattletrap Trading Company." Wasn't that rumor spreading a little too fast?
Ah... This was one of those times when I thought 【Enhanced Hearing】 really wasn't necessary.
Incidentally, the food consisted of heavily seasoned mushrooms.
"Is this the magic-item shop?"
The others, who had visited the Empire once before, next took us to a shop whose street-facing display window held mannequin-like figures dressed in armor. There was a dull-gold suit covered in painfully sharp-looking spikes, along with rounded armor that gave the wearer an overall streamlined form. The shop carried all sorts of distinctive equipment I'd never seen in any of the cities we'd visited before.
Since Zelly-san and I had never been there before, we found ourselves looking around curiously.
"Welcome—..."
The heavily built shopkeeper had apparently been reading a newspaper and wore black-rimmed glasses. On seeing us enter, the shopkeeper set the newspaper and glasses aside and stood up.
(This country already has printing technology...)
That was true of the newspaper, as well as the documents about the labyrinth we'd been given earlier. Both were printed by machine. Were magic items like those also unearthed in labyrinths?
"You've been here before, haven't you?"
"You remembered us?"
"Hah. There are hardly any people around here who aren't Lef. Even I've got enough sense to remember that much."
"When a Lef talks about intelligence, it sounds sarcastic. You are the world's foremost magitech power, after all."
Judging by the way Dantes-san responded with a light joke, the shopkeeper seemed quite good-natured.
While they talked, I looked over the weapons displayed around the shop.
The shop, lavishly lit by magic lamps, was bright and clean. The weapons on the iron racks weren't things like swords and axes—they were almost all highly unusual.
There were claws attached to gauntlets. Springs had been built into them, allowing the claws to be launched.
There was a huge club with several holes in its tip. Apparently, it also had a magic item built into it and could breathe fire.
The armor had magic items built into it as well. Some had obvious features like heat and cold resistance, while others caused the metal to deform and spikes to emerge when the wearer slammed into someone.
And then there was... junk? Small metal parts of unknown purpose were piled high in a wooden crate.
"Is it unusual, kid?"
The shopkeeper spoke to me as I examined them intently.
"They're all things you won't find 'outside,' right? Around here, anything that falls into the gray area between 'weapons' and 'armor' isn't affected by Talents."
Talents grant people abilities, but they don't affect anything outside those abilities. Even if you have 【Spear Technique】, it won't help you swing a club.
"—I see. Since Lef people can't use Talent Jewels—"
"Exactly. We rely on magic items instead. Put another way, it means we have more freedom to be imaginative with weapons and armor."
The shopkeeper explained.
"This spring-loaded weapon is the simplest. Depending on the item, Talents apparently react to it, but I don't know much about that. This kind of thing is called 'Steel Gear.'"
Next, the shopkeeper picked up a shield that emitted a faint bluish-white glow.
"This one's packed full of magic. When it's attacked, a repulsive force comes into play. So as far as Talents are concerned, apparently it isn't recognized as a 'shield.' This is called 'Magic Gear.'"
The shopkeeper returned the shield to its place, then clapped both hands together with a smack.
"We don't have any here, but the weapons and armor found in the 'Labyrinths of the Nine Emotions' served as references for magic like this. A lot of them can't be analyzed, which is a pain, but they're seeds of invention for Magic Crafters like us. Those are called 'Heroic Gear.'"
"'Heroic Gear.'"
"If you found one of those, things would get serious. It could lead to a new invention, you know. His Imperial Majesty would buy it directly from you. If you wanted, you could even get a magic airship..."
The shopkeeper paused there, then gave us a sly grin.
"...But the 'Labyrinths of the Nine Emotions' aren't nearly so kind. The fools who dreamed of striking it rich came flooding into the labyrinth, and thousands, even tens of thousands, of corpses now lie sleeping there."
The smile was ferocious.
When we returned to Muge-san's trading company in the evening, he greeted us with a broad smile. It seemed his application had gone through without a problem as well, and we were set to enter the labyrinth tomorrow.
"Um, well, once we go inside, I expect there'll be a lot of my fellow merchants there. They might make things unpleasant for you..."
"That's all right. We're adventurers, and you're our client. So—"
"—'Rattletrap Trading Company.'"
When I muttered that, both Muge-san and Dantes-san looked startled.
"Reiji!"
"N-no, it's all right. It is true, after all..."
"No, Muge-san. That doesn't have to be true—let's make sure it isn't."
I tapped the documents we'd received from the Adventurers Guild repeatedly with my finger.
"Reiji? What is it? You're acting strange."
"Dantes-san, Mimino-san, Non-san—I owe Muge-san a debt. He looked after me even though we'd only met on the road, and he even went out of his way to gather information about Lulusha-san for me. So I want to repay him."
"—I see. So that's what this is about."
Dantes-san grinned, and Mimino-san and Non-san nodded.
"So let's make it our goal during this labyrinth expedition—to obtain loot for Muge-san that rivals Heroic Gear."
"What?! N-no, that's way too much!"
Only Muge-san objected, but
"I was already irritated that people were bad-mouthing Muge-san."
"That's right. We're adventurers, so our dreams ought to be big."
"If there's a reward, could you let us establish a church in the Empire?"
"Boss, what about me?!"
One person was a little flustered at not being mentioned by name, but everyone seemed to be in favor.
"Muge-san, that's settled, then... Since we're going to the labyrinth anyway, let's enjoy ourselves."
When I smiled at Muge-san, he wore a look that suggested he'd begun to regret hiring us—if only a little.
The loot would be split evenly: Muge-san, our employer and the person giving us access to the labyrinth, would receive 50 percent, and we, the Silver Balance, would receive the other 50 percent.