Chapter 401

As soon as the blond professor announced the beach treasure hunt, Ethan and I joined the hero party.

With the exception of Prince Antonio, who wasn’t a participant in the class, the rules required a group size of at least three and no more than five. Given that the hero party was made up of ten members, they naturally split into two groups.

And, of course, the way they split up ended up like this.

“Alright, I’ll team up with Saintess Seraphina, Miss Sillena, and Luke, and we’ll go with the hero. Is everyone else alright with teaming up, excluding Antonio?”

“Yes, Princess Seraphina.”

One team consisted of the hero plus the hero’s harem, including Luke as Seraphina's bodyguard.

And then there was my group, with Ethan, Natalie, and Thomas, plus Antonio who joined us without regard for the headcount.

Since this arrangement seemed more or less inevitable, I had no objections. Although our group was mostly male, everyone was more or less paired off, so it wasn’t really an issue.

“We’ll check the east coast. I have a feeling there might be a lot of treasure there.”

Translation: ‘I’ll be searching the main points in the east, so don’t overlap with us and go somewhere else.’

“Understood, hero. In that case, we’ll search for treasure on the west coast.”

Translation: ‘I have no intention of going there, so don’t come to the western points either.’

With that exchange, which only the hero and I could fully understand, we split up. As soon as the hero’s party was out of sight, Ethan, as usual, sought my opinion first.

“Lilith, where do you think the treasure is hidden?”

“I have a few spots in mind, but perhaps we should ask for Prince Antonio’s opinion first?”

“…You mean me, Miss Rosewood?”

“Yes, Prince Antonio.”

If it were just Ethan, Agnes, and me, I could freely offer my opinion, but right now, Antonio was the highest-ranking person present.

Naturally, it made sense to hear Antonio’s suggestion first, followed by Ethan’s, then Agnes’s, and finally mine.

Besides, the real focus of this ‘treasure hunt’ was not just finding the treasure but also building camaraderie among the party members.

Rather than dragging everyone around to all the hidden points I knew, it would be better to listen to everyone’s ideas and enjoy the search together, fostering closeness.

Although Ethan and I weren’t members of the hero party, the other three were. Building rapport with them could prove useful for the future demon lord subjugation.

“Uh, in my opinion…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Antonio seemed a bit hesitant to share his thoughts, possibly feeling nervous with Agnes watching him.

Maybe he was afraid of giving a “wrong answer” in front of the person he liked. So, he cautiously suggested a fairly safe idea.

“Well, since it’s the ocean, perhaps the treasure could be hidden underwater…? Haha…”

“Underwater, you say?”

“Underwater…?”

“…Oh dear.”

Natalie and Thomas looked at him with a bit of skepticism, while Agnes let out a small, disappointed sigh.

Seeing Antonio’s face harden at their reactions made me feel somewhat sorry for him.

“Underwater? Really? If you hide treasure underwater, it’d obviously get swept away by the tide. Are you an idiot?”

“Is that so? But I think the ocean would be an easy place to hide treasure on such a large beach…”

“I actually think Prince Antonio’s idea has merit. Hiding treasure only on the beach would be too predictable. And considering the 200-meter radius the professor mentioned, it’s possible some are hidden in the ocean.”

“Yes, that’s what I was saying, Miss Rosewood!”

“…Hmph.”

Although it didn’t seem like he proposed it with any grand significance in mind, Antonio was quick to latch onto my support to restore his honor.

Agnes still regarded him with disapproval, but helping him was the only option here.

It wasn’t because I had any particular feelings for Antonio, but because he was probably the one who could make Agnes the happiest right now.

“Now that it’s come up, how about searching underwater? The orbs the professor showed us were magically treated, so they might be secured against being swept away.”

“I think searching underwater might be worth a try. We still have plenty of time before sunset.”

“Yes, understood!”

“…Alright then.”

Antonio looked flustered by Agnes’s cold attitude, but in the end, the group agreed to search the ocean.

I quietly checked several points where there had been orbs in the original game, and found one near a patch of seaweed.

“Prince Antonio.”

“Yes, Miss Rosewood?”

“Have you found any magical orbs yet?”

“I apologize. I feel terrible for leading you all to struggle because of my suggestion. I’m also sorry to have troubled you, Miss Rosewood…”

“Have you checked the area with a lot of seaweed over there?”

“Oh, not yet…”

“I apologize for asking, but would you mind searching there? I wasn’t confident about the deeper water and couldn’t check it myself.”

“Miss Rosewood?”

“If you find the treasure there, it will be considered as something Prince Antonio discovered. I’ll look in the shallower areas.”

“Miss Rosewood? What do you mean…?”

Even though he was somewhat oblivious, I thought he’d catch on to my hint. I quickly left, and soon enough, I heard his voice from the seaweed area.

“I found it!”

“Pardon?!”

“Did you really find it?”

“Oh my…?”

The others quickly gathered around Antonio as he held up a glowing magical orb.

“Impressive, Prince Antonio!”

“So, your hunch about the underwater treasure was correct, Your Highness.”

“Well done, Prince Antonio.”

“Since we’ve identified the treasure the professor hid, we should search for more orbs like this one.”

“Indeed… Thank you, Miss Rosewood…”

“I only agreed with your idea, Prince Antonio. Finding the orb was your achievement, so there’s no need to thank me.”

“Ah, yes… I suppose…”

Seeing him nervously carry the orb, it was clear that his conscience was bothering him about taking credit for something I’d found.

“Actually, about that orb I found…”

Before Antonio could confess, I cut him off.

“Prince Antonio.”

“Yes, Miss Rosewood? Is something the matter?”

“Are you hungry? It’s about time for dinner.”

“Oh, has it already gotten so late…?”@@novelbin@@

“I heard of a restaurant nearby. If everyone’s agreeable, perhaps we could go there for dinner?”

“Yes, that sounds good. We only had a light lunch because of the treasure hunt.”

“I also agree with Miss Rosewood!”

“I’m fine with any place that serves food.”

I managed to change the subject and breathed a sigh of relief.

…Helping others with their love lives is tougher than it seems.