Chapter 472: Treasure Hunt

The 『Root of the Steel Tree』 was the most difficult dungeon in Crocus, and the queen ant living in the deepest part was defeated and its subordinates were wiped out cleanly. This was all due to the coordinated play of Haru and Touko. It was wonderful. As a master, I am very proud of them for taking full advantage of their past training. Yes, I am, but――

「――Haru, if you let the black holes scrape everything, you won’t be able to obtain the materials even if you defeat them, right?」

「I’m sorry! I completely forgot about that!」

The only point of failure was that Haru’s black holes wiped out all the materials of the monsters that were supposed to be stripped after this. Yes, the black hole bullets generated by the application of Rosary Hole had settled the battle, and the materials were taken away with them. Unfortunately, at this stage, it is very difficult to retrieve what has been sucked in.

「Well, there are some dead bodies left, but can we make use of them?」

「The only remaining parts, huh? If it’s the body of the queen ant, which was the largest, well….」

However, there is a matter that troubles me a little.

「Danna, frankly speaking, it’s gross….」

「Touko, don’t say that. I’ve been doing my best to turn my eyes and heart away from it.」

「But~」

Certainly, when it comes to the materials from the queen ant, there are many remaining parts such as the sturdy shell and strong fangs. But in order to retrieve them, we’ll have to approach the queen ant that has gouged out grotesquely. I don’t want to put it into words, but if I had to say it, it’s like being shown the inside of a squashed insect, and it’s very difficult to get close to it.

…… Well, it was just to the extent of making pocket money, so it’s not that big of a failure. I will just let her learn from her mistake and make her do the best she can with the choices she has. How to recover from the mistakes of others is also an important part of life.

「It can’t be helped. Let’s just put the remaining parts in the storage bag and send them to the guild as is. The dismantling cost will reduce the reward, but it’s better than dismantling them ourselves.」

「Um, won’t the guild be angry with us?」

「It’s okay. Rather, they will be happy. If it was Nell, the materials would have been burned, but now they could obtain them even a little. Okay, let’s collect them~」

While apologizing to the dismantlers of Crocus in my heart, we collected the remaining parts that seem usable. Alright, we’re done.

「For now, this completes our first goal. Haru will receive a light punishment after we return home to make up for the mistake this time.」

「I will accept it!」

「Yeah, do so. Well then, let’s pull ourselves together and start working on the second goal.」

「We’re going to look for a big and amazing magic stone, right?」

「Yeah. You can find a good one around here even if you just digging around randomly. So, which do you guys prefer, a shovel or a pickaxe?」

I took out from my bag the tools (made of black magic stone) that I had prepared in advance and asked the two.

「A-Are we going to dig…?」

「Yeah. The world revolves around human power in the end.」

「Shishō, I prefer the shovel! I heard it’s also useful as a weapon!」

「Setting the purpose aside, okay. What about you, Touko?」

「…… If we’re going to do it, it’s better with the same conditions. I will choose a shovel too.」

Hm? Did Touko realize what I was going to do from now on? Setting that aside, I gave the shovels to the two.

「Then, to make it fair, I will use a shovel too.」

「Shishō, what do you mean by fair!? What are we going to do!?」

Haru asked so with a strangely excited expression. I’m sure she understood the meaning behind my question the moment she made that expression.

「It’s no fun just digging and searching, right? If we’re going to do it, let’s do it seriously while having fun. That’s why I’m going to mix a little game into the search for the magic stone. I name it―― 『Who Will Dig Up the Strongest Treasure!? Chitty Chitty Time-limited Magic Stone Hunting Game~!』」

「「Waaaaaa~!」」

I am lucky to have such an innocent disciple who applauded and smiled at my classic announcement. However, I am confident that if it was Chinatsu, she would have had a big question mark on her head. ‘What is Chiki Chiki?’, she might have asked so with a dubious look on her face. On the other hand, these two are the type of people who will get excited if I put the word ‘strongest’ in the title.

「What about the rules!?」

「Let’s give punishment to the loser! I won’t give up on this one!」

「You two, calm down a bit. I will explain it, and I’m open to your opinions.」

This old man was a bit overwhelmed by their motivation which was more than expected. I underestimated the youthfulness of teenagers.

「Just as the title says, we’re going to play a game. The three of us will be mining right here within the time limit, and we will compete on the quality and size of the magic stones we find. You may find as many as you like, but you must submit only one. We’ll let the Adventurer Guild be the fair judge when we report back on the accomplishment of the request. As for the time limit, let’s see… one hour should be enough. Do you have anything to say?」

「I’m fine with those terms. Ah, but I and Shishō have the 『Magic Power Detection』 skill, but Touko-chan doesn’t have it. Wouldn’t that put her at a disadvantage?」

「Hah! Don’t look down on me, Haruna. I have my ki, you know? If I do this and that to my ki and stretch it around, I can find the magic stone right away!」

「I-I see…!」

The important part is quite vague, isn’t it? Well, if Touko agrees, I’m not going to say anything.

「The rest is the punishment, huh? Heavy training is only a reward for Haru, and both of you are doing housework from the start, so these are not punishments…. Okay, the punishment would be a study session――」

「――Objection! I don’t think it would be a punishment for Shishō!」

「――Danna, cheating is not good in a game like this!」

They retorted at the same time. Kuh, it wasn’t that simple, huh? Okay, I got it, so put down that Doggan Staff and fist. I understand that you guys are serious about this!

「Then, how about this? If I or Haruna were in the last place, we’ll attend the study session. But if Danna were in the last place, you have to eat Lily-shishō’s cooking until you’re full! Shishō will be happy, and it would be valid as a punishment!」

「T-T-Touko, are you trying to send me to the hospital again…?」

I have thought of a similar punishment before, but it was to prevent unfairness. To really use it as a punishment is insane.

「Shishō, I think that’s the kind of thrill you need for punishment. Don’t worry, my medicinal cooking is growing!」

「I will at least keep an eye on the ingredients Lily-shishō will use for cooking. Danna, you can just eat it with peace of mind!」

「Hey, can you stop talking on the premise that my stomach will be destroyed?」

At this time, I decided to put aside my pride as a master and go all out in the game. Immature, you say? Haha, are you saying that even after knowing my personality?