Volume 2 - CH 2.04

Part 4

This was the information Moffle and Macaron had:

The cave was located inside the slope of a valley in the remote jungle at the 2nd park. Supposedly, it used to be an air-raid shelter built during the Pacific War.

One fine summer night, Dornel and his friends happened to be chatting about the cave. They had also heard the rumors about it being an air-raid shelter, but they found it difficult to believe—why would there be a need to build one when there’s no one to evacuate within close proximity? Perhaps it wasn’t a bomb shelter, but the remains of something far greater?

Dornel and friends then went on an expedition to discover the truth behind the cave.

“All the intel gathered thus far is true, fumo. Macaron and I were with him then, after all. I opted not to go because I had a rehearsal for a parade the following day. Looking back, I really should have stopped them back then…” Moffle said.

“And what happened after that?”

“Dornel never came back, ron.” Macaron answered.

It was said that Dornel’s two companions were found in a corner of the 2nd park two days later, half-dead and covered in wounds and dirt from head to toe. They were so worn out they couldn’t even speak a word.

After the two recovered, they both claimed that there was a labyrinth inside that cave. The three initially entered in a semi-drunken state and ended up being lost and assaulted by monsters and traps.

After frantically searching for the exit in an attempt to escape while drinking puddle water for survival, they ended up in the deepest part of the labyrinth. They saw a treasure chest guarded by a huge dragon who looked at them with eyes that flared as brightly as its breath—

“A dragon, you say?”

“Yeah, a bona fide dragon.”

“Not another one of those fantasy stories…”

Seeing Seiya’s expression of disbelief, Moffle frowned.

“I personally find it hard to believe too, fumo. But anyway, that was their claim.”

“And then?”

“Dornel ended up being caught by the dragon, and possibly could have been eaten, fumo. The other two managed to escape in one piece and found their way to the surface.”

The cast members of Amaburi organized a search and rescue team who ventured into the cave in question, but met a dead end several meters into the cave.

“It was a really old cave, yet there were no traces of anything abnormal, fumo. We searched everywhere, but couldn’t find the entrance to this labyrinth.”

“And so we had no choice but to give up the search… Dornel remains missing to this day.”

—And that was all the information they had.

“…Okay, so you wasted all that time just to tell me about the claims of a treasure chest by some drunken fools?” Seiya’s head began to hurt.

“Mofu. I guess you can put it that way…but more importantly—”

“Mi. I’ve brought it!”

Tiramie entered the meeting room, still panting. He had left the room momentarily after Macaron whispered something into his ear.

Tiramie was holding on to a small and rustic old wooden box.

“What’s that?”

“It’s one of the items kept in our commemorative storage, fumo. The storage contains all sorts of things, from photos to trophies, that Amaburi has obtained throughout its 30 years of history. The memorabilia generally doesn’t hold any monetary value, but this one is different; it pertains to Dornel’s cave…”

Moffle took the box and opened it.

“One of the two mascots who escaped the labyrinth held this coin in his hand, fumo.”

There was a big golden coin in the wooden box. It had a strange design that they’d never seen before, and its size was slightly bigger than a typical 500 yen coin.

“It’s a coin used in the magical realm Schubert, ron. I’d say its value might be about 100,000 yen now, given its 100-year-history.”

“Huh…” Seiya used a handkerchief to pick up the coin, glaring at it.

On the other hand, Tiramie got the shock of his life and shouted, “100,000, mi? Why didn’t you say that earlier!? I would’ve run off with it!”

“That’s precisely why I didn’t tell you, fumo! And hey, Seiya, give it back.”

“Tch…”

Moffle took the coin from Seiya, carefully placed it back into the box and covered the lid.

“It is said that there are heaps of coins like this in the labyrinth. If the rumors turned out to be true, our bank account would leap several digits, effectively wiping away any trace of financial problems, ron.”

“If it were true, fumo. We’ll never know unless we find out for ourselves.”

The “Dornel’s cave” conversation ended there. In the end, the meeting concluded without any solid ideas that could tackle the financial problem.