Chapter 345: 345 Suspicious Mercenary Group

After clearing the golem’s remains to one side, the exploration team entered the storehouse.

Once they confirmed there were no more traps, the team lit up the interior. As mana lights were hung here and there, the vast storehouse was revealed.

Ian and the members entered the storehouse under Ellen’s guidance after the exploration team’s final check was completed.

’Is it alright for us to enter?’

’Yes. You have provided a significant amount of help.’

The role of the Ian Mercenary Group was strictly as escorts.

Starting from locating the dungeon to paying for the exploration costs and conducting the internal investigation, it was all Ellen’s exploration team, so Ian had no stake in the excavated goods.

Under normal circumstances, the escort contract would have ended there and the Ian Mercenary Group would have returned, but at Ellen’s suggestion, they were able to see the inside of the storehouse.

’Wow.... There are so many things.’

Mika muttered as she looked around the storehouse.

The lit-up interior was divided into several sections.

A library where magic books and research materials seemed to be gathered, shelves stocked with ingredients, and a warehouse for various items....

Since it was their first time seeing the interior of a proper dungeon, everyone looked around with fascination.

Watching the incredible scale of items, Rin spoke to Ian with eyes sparkling.

’Captain! Let’s go dungeon exploring too!’

’...Even if we sold all of this, there’d be almost nothing left over.’

’Huh? But there’s so much here?’

When Rin looked confused by Ian’s answer, Ellen, who was walking alongside them, gave a bitter smile and spoke in his stead.

’It’s not quite that bad. Each person usually takes home about 20 gold coins.’

’Hmm....’

Compared to the time and effort, it’s way less than I thought. Everyone thought that to themselves.

Ellen, as if understanding those thoughts, explained further to the members.

’Finding and preparing for a dungeon takes a long time, so it’s definitely not a lucrative business.... We do it for relic research. Since we don’t sell the most expensive artifacts, we almost always end up in the red.’

’Ah....’

Everyone belatedly remembered that this team weren’t grave robbers but relic researchers, and they looked a bit sheepish.

Ellen, who had been guiding them through the storehouse, stopped at one side. It was a shelf where magic items were stored.

Stopping there, Ellen spoke to Airi, who was hiding in the back.

’Miss Airi. Please pick one.’

’Eh? M-m-me?’

’Because you helped with the exploration.’

While it was a standard escort contract with no stake in the dungeon, Airi, who had signed a separate additional contract, was an exception.

Since Airi had directly participated in opening the door at the end, she had a bit of a stake, so to speak.

Of course, since she hadn’t invested any capital, her share would be minimal, but as Ellen said, she was qualified to take at least one item as a reward.

’M-me? I just used magic.... Is that enough?’

’It’s more than enough.’

If they had stopped the exploration halfway, gone out to find a black mage, and come back, it would have taken at least another month. Considering the costs saved because of her, she played a sufficient role.

Flustered by the sudden offer of a reward, Airi examined the shelves in front of her.

Numerous items were scattered about. They all looked like amazing items, but upon closer inspection, they also looked like mere junk.

For Airi, who had never seen such expensive magic items, it was a very difficult offer.

After agonizing over the choice for a long time, Airi finally turned her gaze toward Ian.

’I, I don’t really know... so I’ll give the choice to the Captain....’

The right to choose the reward eventually passed to Ian.

Ian asked Ellen.

’Does it matter which one I pick?’

’Yes. I’ve already set aside the items to be used for research. What’s left here are the items intended for sale.’

Ian, who had been casually looking over the items on the shelf for a while, picked one without much hesitation.

A necklace.

Since it was a black mage’s dungeon, it was naturally equipment related to black magic.

Ian, who had memorized a few notable things while browsing the items, chose an accessory that reduced the mana consumption of black magic.

Ian immediately held the necklace out to Airi.

’Here.’

’Yes?’

Airi flinched and reflexively took the necklace.

’A-am I the one taking this? To move it safely, shouldn’t Tanya keep it...’

’No, you use it, Airi.’

’...Yes?’

Th... this necklace?

Airi took another step back with an expression as if she had heard something shocking.

In the sudden situation, Airi’s mind began racing at incredible speeds.

There are other members who have been here much longer.

Besides, with some people, it already seems like they have... th-that kind of relationship.

And yet, to leave those members aside and give her a gift.

If it came from a dungeon, it must be something expensive, and he gave it to her. It was even a piece of jewelry.

Whether because it was a magic item or not, the necklace looked incredibly expensive.

Airi’s face turned beet red at being gifted jewelry for the first time in her life.

In contrast, the other members... didn’t think much of it.

Having stayed with Ian for a long time, everyone understood his personality.

They all knew that giving the necklace to Airi didn’t carry some grand meaning; it was simply the best item for Airi to use.

Only Airi, who didn’t know that yet, was in a state of great panic.

Airi looked down at the necklace in her hand and became lost in thought.

Could this be. That kind of meaning...?

So, does this mean he’s interested?

As expected, the reason he bought her from the slave shop was....

Airi felt a slight chill but also a heart-pounding sensation as her body trembled.

＊ ＊ ＊

The mercenary group’s escort contract lasted until the end of the dungeon exploration.

The storehouse door had been opened, and everything inside had been checked to confirm there were no more threats in the dungeon.

From then on, it was the work of relic researchers, not dungeon explorers. According to the contract terms, the exploration could be considered finished.

There was nothing left to do even if they stayed, and since the members seemed to want to go back quickly, Ian agreed with Ellen to terminate the request and decided to return first.

Ian and the members headed out along the dungeon passage.

Since lighting and guide lines had already been installed from the storehouse to the entrance by the support team, finding the way out wasn’t difficult.

Before long, the entrance appeared, and everyone met the cold outside air for the first time in a while.

Cold, fresh air. A cool breeze.

And pitch-black darkness.

’...Huh.’

There was no bright sunlight as expected; it was already the middle of the night.

Because they had spent so much time inside the dungeon, everyone’s sense of time was off, so they had naturally assumed it would be daytime outside.

’It’s night, so let’s rest here and head back when the sun rises.’

’Ehh.... A tent again?’

The members, who thought they could finally sleep in a bed, lost their energy in an instant.

Even if it was close to Labyrinth, there was no urgent matter that required them to trek through the forest paths at night to get back.

In the end, everyone ended up spending another night at the exploration team camp set up at the dungeon entrance.

Airi lay blankly in the tent assigned to her.

Since most of the exploration team was inside the dungeon, there was plenty of space in the camp set up at the entrance.

There was no need to save space like they did inside the dungeon, and since there were plenty of empty tents, the Ian Mercenary Group was generously assigned three tents.

Lia, who shared the same tent, was already asleep, perhaps because she was tired.

Airi lay in her sleeping bag staring blankly at the ceiling before taking out and examining the accessory Ian had given her earlier.

Airi herself was aware that her communication skills were lacking.

But even to someone like her, gifting a necklace like this was definitely a sign of deep favor.

Her heart had been racing ever since then, so even though it had been a long time since she lay down, she couldn’t sleep at all.

Airi recalled the memory of when she had accidentally kissed Ian.

The heart-pounding sensation. Every time that sensation, which remained as vivid as if it were etched in her memory, surfaced, her body continued to heat up.

...Can we do it again?

The Captain was drunk with sleep and probably won’t even remember what happened then.

As Airi was thinking that, a stroke of genius suddenly occurred to her.

Then, conversely, if I aim for when the Captain is sleeping... couldn’t I do it again secretly?

Airi suddenly bolted up from her sleeping bag.

＊ ＊ ＊

Airi secretly left her tent and quietly approached Ian’s tent.

Since Ian, the captain, was using a large tent all to himself, there was no worry of being caught by anyone.

As Airi cautiously checked the presence inside and entered the tent, she saw Ian asleep.

Looking down at the sleeping Ian, Airi, her face flushed bright red, swallowed hard.

Just... once.

One minute. No, three minutes.

...Maybe about five minutes.

While whispering that and approaching Ian while suppressing her presence, a rustling sound reached Airi’s ears.

’...!’

It was a sound coming from outside the tent.

Airi quickly ducked into a corner.

Since it was a tent used by several members of the exploration team, it was quite spacious, and with supply crates stacked in the corner, Airi was able to hide behind them.

The one who entered the tent was Tanya.

Tanya very naturally approached Ian and lay down beside him.

’...Tanya? We’re going back tomorrow.’

’I felt like there wouldn’t be any time once we got back.’

Tanya chuckled and slipped into Ian’s sleeping bag.

’....’

No matter how I think about it, this mercenary group... definitely seems like it was formed for suspicious purposes.

Airi, hidden among the luggage in the corner of the tent, whispered to herself.