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Chapter 26: Sniff, sniffle.
Since dungeon difficulty levels were categorized, the reward chests followed a similar tier system.
F-rank gave wooden chests, E-rank gave bronze, and D-rank gave iron.
They were usually visually distinct.
[You have obtained a treasure chest.]
Since we had cleared a D-rank dungeon, we should have gotten an iron chest, but the treasure chest in front of us looked like it had more silver than iron in it.
That meant we got a chest you’d normally only see in a C-rank dungeon—one level higher.
A small but satisfying achievement.
Hopefully, it's not just silver paint on an iron box.
“Anyone want to open the chest?”
Having opened more than enough treasure chests during my time with the Hero’s Party, I wasn’t too attached to the idea, so I just asked casually.
“M-Me! I’ve got really good luck!”
It seemed she had quite a strong interest in treasure.
As soon as I asked, Maho shot her hand up and stepped forward.
I shook my head a little at the sight.
You’d think she’d been waiting all day just to open a treasure chest.
Wait… maybe she really was?
Well, considering some people enter dungeons just for the loot, maybe it wasn’t such a weird thing.
“Yes! Come on, let’s get something good—drumroll, please!”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone get so hyped about this.
I took a step back and watched Maho approach the chest, her shoulders bouncing with excitement, while making sure she wasn’t trying to pull any sleight of hand.
—There’s always danger pay involved, after all.
Back when I was in the Hero’s Party, there were plenty of treasure chests that turned out to be traps or monsters.
Whenever things felt suspicious, the King of Thieves himself—Do-Hwang—would disarm the chest.
In those cases, he’d usually claim the treasure inside for himself, but this kid was a different story.
Then again, the loot probably isn’t that special, so maybe it doesn’t matter.
I mean, this is kind of like a college club activity, so there’s no need to be too uptight.
Though maybe it’s better to set a good example for the newbies early on…
Honestly, even if I’m not taking anything for myself, it felt like someone else worked harder than Maho.
“...Uh, wh-what is it?”
Sephine stuttered as soon as I glanced her way.
She seemed confident at first, but has become noticeably more timid over time.
Still, today she quickly cast spells and controlled the steel golem effectively.
It wasn’t obvious since I was up front, but the golem helped a lot defensively, and her sword skills weren’t bad either.
If she just had that ingot, I bet she could even hunt trolls on her own.
She might be able to have a decent match against an ogre, too.
Anyway, watching a hardworking newbie grow is a good feeling.
In time, she’ll keep getting stronger and might even take down a dragon someday.
[The goddess frowns and corrects you: that’s not something just anyone can do.]
Our Hero’s Party did it, though?
[She reiterates: not everyone can become one of those “anyones.”]
Is that so?
Among the academy’s faculty, there were a few strong enough to take on dragons.
Then again, they were all veterans, so becoming that strong must be no easy feat.
As I was nodding along with those thoughts, Maho was murmuring something under her breath—maybe some kind of good luck chant.
Her eyes lit up as she threw open the lid of the treasure chest.
KA-BANG!
FWOOOOOSH—
And from within the silver-iron chest, a golden radiance burst forth.
“...Huh?”
“Told you I was lucky!”
Not just a glow—the treasure was actually made of real gold.
Wait, why’s this showing up here?
Assuming it’s not just gold-plated, even someone unfamiliar with dungeons could tell this was way too much loot.
It was a D-rank dungeon, but the treasure felt like it came from a hidden stash belonging to some cave-dwelling orc chieftain.
The absurdity of the moment hit me, along with a strange sense of joy.
Even if I’m already wealthy enough to not worry about money, winning the lottery out of nowhere still feels good.
And aside from the golden treasures, there were also some gathered herbs.
Bright yellow leaves, green stalks, and a human-like face near the roots.
It was a plant known as a Mandrake.
Famous for being extremely hard to cultivate and only growing in dark, shaded areas.
For some reason, you’d find them in about two or three out of every ten orc cave habitats.
Still, I didn’t expect to find one so quickly.
Getting the very herb I’d been looking for right away was surprising, but also felt pretty great.
I felt one side of my mouth curl into a grin as I raised my fist in triumph.
Since it was one of those creepy herbs with faces on the roots, it started to open its mouth—about to scream and cause an AoE stun.
—Kreee…!
I quickly covered its mouth and punched the root-face with my fist.
—Gwek.
And it instantly fell asleep.
[The goddess nervously asks: Are you sure it’s asleep and not dead?]
Plants always die when you uproot them, anyway.
Either way, I got the loot.
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After that, our party left the dungeon and fairly split the golden treasure.
At this point, even the person who picked the dungeon probably deserves some credit.
Maho opened the treasure chest and took a massive golden helmet and some earrings, Sephine grabbed a gold ring and bracelet, and even Emir—who kept declining, saying he hadn’t done much—ended up taking a piece of jewelry.
I was content with the mandrake, but the others kept pushing, and it felt nice to have a memento from the expedition, so I took a golden belt.
‘Just the gold value of this belt alone would be tens of millions of won… Considering it’s a dungeon treasure, it could easily be worth hundreds of millions.’
If all D-rank dungeon rewards were like this, everyone would go crazy trying to become a hunter.
This must’ve been a beginner’s luck jackpot.
I was honestly excited, but I tried to keep it in check with that thought.
[The goddess strokes her chin and asks if you’re really a beginner.]
Well, I’m a veteran so old I might as well be a fossil, but at least here, I’m a rookie.
A fresh-faced college freshman.
A true newbie.
‘Ahem. And if you keep nitpicking, I might just not give you a present, you know?’
[The goddess gasps and asks if you had a gift prepared.]
That golden belt I just got, remember?
When I got home and looked more closely, it clearly wasn’t just gold-plated.
I could sell it and get a good price, but I already have a big apartment and don’t really lack anything.
Since I got such a beautifully crafted treasure, I thought it might be nice to offer it as a tribute.
‘No one here could really pull off this belt, but the goddess… she’s a different story.’
It wasn’t just dumping something from a dungeon—this actually seemed fitting for her.
When I got home, I quickly set up a simple altar and placed the golden belt on it.
With hands clasped, I offered the tribute in prayer.
“May divine blessings continue to be with me.”
Some people complained that there wasn’t a harem party in the other world, but honestly, putting together a party as solid as a full team of muscle-bound uncles isn’t easy.
The strongest barbarian from the north, a master dwarf craftsman, a well-built elven prince with strong forearms and a sharp bow, a cardinal-level priest, and even the underworld’s top thief—known as the god of stealth and assassination, the King of Shadows.
Though, if that elven prince had been a princess instead…
Or if the old cardinal had been replaced by a silver-haired saintess…
Well, just a thought.
‘Still, I’m genuinely grateful.’
As I gave thanks from the heart and offered the tribute, the belt was soon enveloped in divine radiance and vanished.
It had gone to the heavens, to where the goddess resides.
Even if it’s another dimension and there’s some unavoidable lag, no dimensional wall can fully separate a goddess and her champion.
It should’ve arrived by now, so I quietly waited to hear the goddess’s reaction.
But for some reason, she wasn’t saying anything.
I listened more carefully—
[…Sniff, sniffle.]
I could hear her sniffling and wiping her nose, so I decided not to say anything at all.
If she didn’t like it, she would’ve said something right away.
No need to ruin the mood.
I’m not that clueless.
* * *
Tap, tap—
A boy with deep blue hair passed through a back alley, dropping a piece of paper as he walked away.
Must’ve been urgent.
The wall he tapped cracked open with an inky black fissure, and it took the report.
—If it looks like a threat to the church, erase it.
He recalled the order he’d received earlier.
The one pretending to be a boy ran his fingers along his jaw, exhaling with an expressionless face.
No matter how he looked at it, “that one” didn’t seem like someone you could just erase so easily.
“At that level, it’s impossible to keep their power hidden.”
He’d written everything in the report, so maybe next time he’d get a better answer.
Thinking that, Emir finally began tending to his body after a full day without meditation.
Once he stirred his qi, which had gone stagnant like an ordinary person’s, a hazy mist of energy spread around him like clouds and fog.
“…Haah.”
He looked like a sage, or perhaps even an immortal.
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