16
A simple change in perspective was all they needed.
The fortune was hidden amid the boulders in the cave. Not by the giant iron wall, nor by a giant pyramid assembled from massive stones. The only real obstacle before them was the magic door blocking their path.
“All we need to do is carve a hole into the side and go around it. And since the bedrock isn’t too hard here, a pickax can smash through that, no problem.”
“And here I thought nobody’s stupid enough to bury his life’s fortune in a cave that flimsy,” the bearded man murmured tiredly as Subaru folded his arms and examined the excavation before them. As the bearded man’s dust-blackened forehead beaded with sweat, he thoughtfully turned to face Subaru and said, “Still…why didn’t we even consider such a simple idea?”
“Well, if you have tunnel vision, it’s easy to forget the rest of your options. I, on the other hand, live my life nitpicking everything everybody says and does. That’s the difference.”
“That’s not exactly something to brag about…” Smirking cynically over Subaru’s humblebrag, the bearded man stood up straight and got back to work. The other men in white took turns using the tools they’d brought to deepen the tunnel.
The treasure was now within reach, and this had given a huge boost to their motivation. In not much time, their tunnel around the metia would be finished.
“In the end, you’ll have your glowing retirement you always wanted. And I just got caught up in the cross fire.”
“Um…chore boy?”
As Subaru sat on a boulder, already drifting into epilogue mode, Liliana timidly spoke up to him. Both of their limbs were untied now, and they were both free. They could have left the cave if they wanted to, but feeling strange about not staying until the fortune was unearthed, they’d decided to stick around.
Besides, even though their captors had released them in one piece, they weren’t exactly blameless.
“Why so meek? That’s really not like you. There’s a sharp rock there—why don’t ya have a seat?”
“Okay…then if you’ll pardon me, I’ll— Eeep?! Ouch! Ow! That rock! That rock was sharp! The tip p-poked my butt! Oww, my butt…!”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, okay?! It’s not my fault, okay?!”
As Liliana clutched her bottom and hopped around in circles, Subaru desperately covered his own ass. After a while, Liliana returned with tears in her eyes, sat on an unsharp rock, and glared at Subaru.
“It hurts. Take responsibility and gimme lots of money.”
“Take responsibility for what? Besides, didn’t you say something about things that will eventually disappear having no true value?”
“But I need money to live my life now,” came her snobby retort. “A tummy can’t get full on dreams alone, you know!”
Subaru sighed tiredly. “Dude, what happened to that noble woman who was here a minute ago? You should bring her back.”
Then Liliana cast her gaze downward and said, “Chore boy…um…why did you come to my defense earlier?”
“Because I’m a man and you’re a woman, of course? Sure, I could easily fantasize using you as a shield and curling up and pretending like I didn’t know what was going on—but it turns out I didn’t wanna do that.”
“Th-that’s not what I meant! I mean, the protecting-me part aside…you said it was okay for me not to sing… I’m just wondering why.”
Her whispered voice was meek, like it might disappear any second. The hint of vulnerability in Liliana’s barely audible voice made Subaru hum thoughtfully for a moment before he answered, “If you wanna know why, then all you gotta do is remember what I said. You didn’t want to sing, so I didn’t want to force you to. I’d come up with an alternative plan anyway.”
“……”
“But without an alternative plan, I probably would’ve made you sing. I’d love to be in your corner, ride or die, but I’m not strong enough for that, and you and I aren’t even that close, besides. Both choices would have opened a path for us, so I chose both. That’s all.”
Subaru spoke brusquely as he watched the men swing their pickaxes. Liliana followed his gaze, muttering the words “chose both…”
“These mercs are kinda pushy. They’re not exactly the most upstanding, either…but they seem like they’re in a tight spot. They need that money for something. And I don’t get the sense it’s a selfish reason.”
The way the bearded man spoke, and the fiery impatience of the younger ones… It was clear everyone in the party felt trapped by something, and they needed the money to get out of it.
As the pickaxes hit the boulders with a shrill ping, Subaru waited anxiously for the path to clear. Not noticing all the while the whirlpool of complex emotions swimming in Liliana’s eyes beside him.
All that remained was to wait for the men to cheer in victory—but just before that happened:
“After hearing everything you just said, I envy how coolheaded you are right now, Barusu.”
A familiar voice called his name in an all too familiar way. Subaru flinched and whirled around. There, standing at the cave entrance in a maid’s dress and covering the ragmite’s illumination with one hand, was Ram.
When she saw Subaru and Liliana staring at her in shock, she sighed, shrugged, and said, “You messed up, Barusu. And only because Rem came so quickly to tell me was I able to bother dragging myself all the way out here—ignoring Master Roswaal’s orders, at that.”
“I really am sorry about that…but what are you doing here?”
“I looked into the rich man’s manor where that songstress stayed. I had to cut my investigation short when Rem brought me the urgent news, but I’d already gathered that the men in white were the White Dragon’s Scale.”
Ram walked over to Subaru and Liliana, looked at the silhouettes of the men excavating the cave, and gave a snort. “The rich man in question died a few days ago of illness. In life, he made many enemies, so his manor and fortune got repossessed here and there. That’s where I learned of his involvement with the White Dragon’s Scale. And this cave could be considered a sort of…summer home that the deceased visited several times in life.”
“Yeah, and the treasure he hid here before he died is literally being reclaimed right now by his buddies he betrayed in the past. Karma’s a funny thing.”
Subaru brought Ram up to speed on what had happened on his end, to connect her intel with where they were right then. Hearing this, Ram arrived at the same conclusion as him. Looking at the working men, she said, “It’s likely there are extenuating circumstances…but the actions of the White Dragon’s Scale still constitute an attack on Master Roswaal, the lord of this land. They will all need to be severely punished.”
“Now, not so fast. I agree with what you said, but we should hear them out first…”
Ignoring Subaru’s plea for deference, Ram thrust a finger in his face and said, “Besides, your and Liliana’s safety is not the only thing I need to check on here, Barusu.” Subaru’s eyes widened as she explained, “There were two fortunes not repossessed from the deceased’s mansion. The first was the fortune the deceased locked away with a metia. It apparently took the form of a door or wall.”
“Yeah, it’s right over there. We’ve been ignoring it since we aren’t opening it.”
“Well, no matter. As for the second fortune—the deceased took measures to hide it before his death, and it will be a terribly troublesome thing if we don’t find it.”
“‘Troublesome’ how?”
Ram lowered her chin. And in the split second that passed before she could answer—
“ !”
A roar shook the cave, and the men excavating it shrieked in reply.
A dust cloud rose high, and part of the wall crumbled loudly, changing the shape of the terrain before their very eyes.
Subaru gasped, freezing in terror. His eyes registered something with thick arms covered in black fur smashing the boulders.
“Didn’t I tell you the other thing was troublesome?” Ram said scornfully beside him, her usual emotionless face on full display. “The deceased ordered a rowder from the black market and it went missing.”
A roar like a semitruck’s horn—that’s what the rowder’s roar sounded like to Subaru. The rowder’s silhouette somewhat resembled a monkey. But its body was big enough to fill the entire cave, and its arms were easily twice the circumference of Subaru’s torso. If the rowder handled you gently, its arms were still likely strong enough to rip you limb from limb.
“Go back, go back, go back, go back!!!”
Grasping the situation, the bearded man barked a hasty order to retreat. As the men in white ran, their eyes straight ahead, the rowder roared behind them in pursuit—but its giant body got caught in the pathway, and it was difficult for the creature to move.
“If we let this thing get out in the open, we’re screwed!”
“This is a guard to protect his treasure even after his death. To think the treasurer who betrayed his allies would go so far as to use a metia and even a demon beast to protect his fortune… Ridiculous.”
“Stop commentating and start running!” Grabbing Ram by the arm while she grumbled with a bored look on her face, Subaru turned to lead the retreat. But just before he took his first step, he noticed something.
“Liliana?! Where did she go?!”
She was right beside him a minute ago, but now she was gone. Had she run out of the cave first, abandoning everyone else? If Subaru thought she was that coldhearted, he wouldn’t have stopped in his tracks. However—
“That idiot! What’s she doing over there?!”
After a frantic scan of the cave, Subaru clutched his head when he spotted Liliana. As the rowder’s roar bounced off the walls of the cave, Liliana ran, her tiny body tumbling through the cavern as she approached the passageway where the rowder was rampaging—to the place where the men in white had ditched their belongings to flee.
Liliana was surrounded by the booming cry of the beast and flying shards of rock that threatened to kill her with a blow to the head. She dived into the pile of belongings and desperately tore through them, looking for something.
“Ram! Follow me!”
The moment he realized what she was doing, Subaru abandoned hesitation and began to run. And with a barked command to Ram, Subaru flew to where Liliana and the belongings were. The rowder was squirming right before his eyes: its giant body looked like it was about to burst through the narrow passageway any second.
And in this race against time where every second counted, what could Liliana possibly be searching for?
“Liliana, you idiot! Do you want to die?! C’mon, we have to go—”
“I can’t find my lyulyre! Without it, I can’t…!”
“The one you just tuned, right? If we survive this, I’ll beg Roswaal to get you another one, so let’s focus on getting out of here first!”
“Not the instrument—the case! That case… It’s a keepsake from my mother!”
When he heard the sorrow in Liliana’s scream, Subaru suppressed every urge to curse her out and ran his eyes over the belongings. But neither Liliana, who was flipping through all the items, nor Subaru, whose eyes were wide as saucers, could spot the lyulyre case. The lyulyre must have been taken with them on the cart when they were captured.
“You idiots! The hell are you doing?!” the bearded man cried, running over to them.
Subaru spun around, gave the bearded man a nervous glance, then he pointed to Liliana and said, “Where’s her instrument?! It’s in a case—you guys grabbed it when you took us, right?!”
“Her instrument…? O-oh! I think I know!”
The bearded man’s face drained of color. Then he turned to look—at exactly the spot of ground under the rowder’s feet. He was staring not at the excavated tunnel, but at the metia. Subaru immediately understood.
The lyulyre had been left right in front of the metia so that Liliana could sing the minute they broke her. And that’s where it still was.
“Shit, this’s the worst! Liliana, stay back! I’ll get the lyulyre!”
“No, w-wait a minute, chore boy! It’s mine, so I…!”
“Listen, dumbass! I’m doing this! You stay back! Oh, and my name is Subaru Natsuki!”
He couldn’t stand her calling him chore boy anymore. He hoisted Liliana on his shoulders despite her struggling and hurled her at the bearded man, who had run up to him. Subaru pointed outside as the bearded man hastily caught her, then he ran back into the cave.
Right beside the pathway he was headed toward, the half-free rowder was wildly swinging its arms at him.
“I swear, why do I always get the worst luck of the draw…?!”
He immediately regretted talking big and putting on a show. After all, the girl he wanted to put on a show for the most wasn’t even around. Yet there he was, life on the line.
The rowder’s thick fingertips scratched at the stone walls, trying to gouge Subaru as he ran by. Dashing just out of reach, he dodged his way through the fist-sized rocks and slid down to the metia.
“Found you!”
The lyulyre was right where Subaru landed. And as the cave began to collapse in places, the metia obediently carried out its duty without complaint. Subaru sighed in relief to see the lyulyre by his feet had escaped harm and that he had gotten there without breaking any bones.
He picked up the case and spun around to run out of the cave.
“Oof—!”
His back suddenly gave out, and he fell to his knees. Luckily for Subaru, this saved his life. A giant arm flew through the space where his head had been moments ago, smashing against the metia. As the metia repelled the inertia of the attack right back at the rowder, its howl of pain boomed through the cave.
Awakened by the sensation of his eardrums rupturing, Subaru steadied his shaking knees and ran. He ducked his head through the space between the rowder’s legs, grazing against the needlelike fur as he escaped out the cave pocket.
“Bwah?!”
But just when he thought he was clear of the giant body, his face was smashed sideways by a long tail.
He tumbled and slammed against a boulder, moaning in pain. The case—it’s okay. Subaru, you dumbass.
“This stupid thing isn’t worth dying over…”
Why was he so sad? Why was he risking his life to save someone else’s keepsake?
Cursing under his breath, Subaru spat out the blood pooling in his mouth. His cheek had been badly cut by that tail. It hurt a lot. The pain was actually welcome—it sharpened his senses.
“El Fulla!”
As the tail came swinging at Subaru again, a blade of wind slashed it off at the base. Spurting black blood, the tail wriggled like a snake beside Subaru as he ran.
Thanks for the assist, Ram.
He could now see the cave entrance, which Liliana and the bearded man had just reached. All Subaru needed to do was join them, and he’d meet the win condition for this level.
If only.
“Seriously, lame!”
The rowder, burning with rage over its maimed tail, was blocking Subaru’s way.
Now free of the narrow passageway with all four limbs swinging, the demon beast was ready for action. Standing straight, it was close to ten feet tall—tall enough for its head to scrape the cave roof.
Even with Ram’s magic helping him, normie Subaru’s prospects were grim.
As Subaru hugged the lyulyre case tight, his thoughts raced. Should he use his last-resort magic? He could disrupt the demon beast by casting Shamak, wagering that Ram would pick him up after he fainted. He hated those odds, but he had more hope in that working than getting into a fistfight with that monster.
Subaru turned to the cave entrance and looked sharply at Ram to communicate his suicidal plan. When their eyes met, the girl’s blue hair shook as she swung her arm high above her head—
“Hweh?”
Her spiked morning star twirled horrifyingly as it smashed into the side of the demon beast’s face. The blow had caught the rowder completely by surprise because it’d been so focused on Subaru.
Its head half caved in by the attack, the demon beast bled profusely from its face. It jerkily turned around, whimpering quietly as if to ask who had just killed it.
“Sorry about this.” A silvery voice answered the demon beast’s final cry with an ephemeral echo.
A pale-blue light flashed through the cave, and Subaru saw the girl with silver hair extend both arms high. Appearing in her palms was a tiny cat, its long tail swishing—
“Night night, little monkey. May you have a good, peaceful journey.”
The androgynous voice bid farewell as the pale-blue light became a forest of icicles dancing in the air. The burst of light came from every direction, hurling into the rearing rowder.
Impaled by countless icicles, the rowder roared to the ceiling. Then it opened its mouth wide in a death rattle. A thunderous crack rang out as it transformed into an ice statue.
For many seconds, the rush of cold air in the cave commanded silence.
Unable to believe what he had just seen, Subaru stared up at the frozen demon beast. The rowder was dead in the ice, and Subaru’s life was saved.
“Subaru!”
A voice calling his name snapped Subaru out of his stupor. He turned toward the voice and saw a familiar beautiful girl waving at him. Emilia. Her eyes filled with relief, she pressed an open hand to her chest and smiled gently.
“Subaru! Are you all right? Are you hurt? I’ll take a look at you right away!”
And then Rem came, stumbling over the rough cave floor, the hem of her short skirt rippling as she flew to him. Noticing a familiar weapon hanging from her hand, he finally put all the pieces together.
Apparently, Rem and Emilia had pulled a deus ex machina to save him.
“How do you guys keep arriving just in the nick of time…?”
Their timeliness had saved his life yet again. Subaru dragged his battered body over to Rem as she ran to him—
—then cracks shot through the cave ceiling, the floor, and every wall.
The fissures spread as the cave began to peel itself apart. Seeing this, Subaru felt all his hair stand on end as he pointed at the cave entrance.
“Everyone, run outside now—!”
Less than a minute later, the treasure cave collapsed completely.
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