'Oh, he's back.

I returned safely from the basement and joined Lucia and the others who were waiting for me as I said.
I'm suddenly out of the dark and into the light, but I'm not dazzled because I'm relying on my Third Vision for my vision.

I don't wear a mask very often, so I haven't had many opportunities to use it, but it seems to be an expensive and effective tool.
Lucia glanced at the package I was holding, frowned and said.

'Where have you been ......?

'Hmm ............ secret'.

'Huh?'

Lucia blinks. She probably wouldn't believe me if I told her what I've experienced underground.
I guess there are all kinds of enthusiasts in this world. ....... And apparently I'm the boss of the group because I have a rare fox mask.

It's been an interesting experience. I don't want to get involved in any trouble, but I wasn't attacked and it didn't seem to be any trouble.

The only thing is that the Fox Mask Club seems to be a secret society, and they asked me not to do anything too flashy, but there's no one who doesn't do flashy things like me. I don't know what it is, but I even received a treasure trove. I've been through a lot in my life, but this is the first time I've ever received a treasure trove from a stranger.

If you give me a treasure trove, I'll be the boss of my club. However, those people are quite discerning when it comes to fox masks, a drop item that caught my eye.
They said they were planning to go to the Emperor's Festival, so maybe we'll see them there.

After deciding on a place to stay, I opened the carefully wrapped bag in my room. Luke's crimson eyes lit up when he saw what came out.

'Oh, ......! It's a sword! Cry, give it to me!

I'll see you next time.

What appeared was a sword. It had a strange handle with geometric patterns. It was in a scabbard, but the scabbard was made of wood, and was very plain compared to the obviously unique handle.
Sitri blinked and snorted.

'Well, well, well. ...... Short enough to be called a longsword, long enough to be called a shortsword.'

'I'm sure it's a treasure trove, but ...... it's a very light sword.

Well, I'm a collector anyway. I don't wield it, so that's not a problem.
I wonder if it has anything to do with foxes, since it was given to me by a fox mask enthusiast group. But since they gave it to me for free, it must not be a big deal.

I gently pulled out the blade from the scabbard. The width of the blade is only about half that of a standard straight sword, and it seems to lack the strength to be used as a weapon. The blade is double-edged and has a coppery luster, and the entire body of the sword is engraved with fine grooves, creating a strange pattern.

Since treasure tools are the embodiment of past memories, their appearance and abilities often do not match, but at the same time, since they certainly existed in the past, their appearance can be a useful material for analogizing their abilities. There is no need to shorten the blade in order to make a weapon.
Of course, that's unless the wearer was a dwarf or something, but perhaps this sword was a ceremonial sword.

And then Lucia raised her eyebrows and looked at the sword and said.

'............ Isn't that the one that was stolen in the city the other day?

...... That's ridiculous.
As I rolled my eyes at the unexpected words, Lucia took out a carefully folded newspaper from her luggage and opened it to show me.

'Look, there's a picture in there.

'Wow. ......'

The newspaper Lucia showed us seemed to have been bought just before we left the city.
The article on the front page proudly stated that bandits had invaded the museum, that they had been successfully repelled and no damage had been done, and that miraculously no one had been killed.
A black-and-white photograph was printed in the middle of it. The treasure trove on it looked exactly like the treasure trove I have now.

No, wait--.

'The sheath is different.

'Yes, it does.

The treasure trove in the photo had the same handle as the blade, but the scabbard was also engraved with the same pattern.
It is true that it looks exactly like the treasure, but it is not the same as the treasure I got from the club. The theft had failed, after all. It says that most of the perpetrators have been captured.

Then I opened my eyes and snapped my fingers.





'All right. The treasure trove in the museum appeared with its scabbard, but the treasure trove acquired by the enthusiasts must not have appeared with its scabbard.

The appearance of a treasure trove is usually a set. A sword comes with a scabbard, a shoe comes with a lace. A smartphone comes with a box and an instruction manual. But sometimes, only some of them are missing. This is reflected in the price.
If it is a sword treasure, it is not uncommon that the sheath does not appear, and conversely, there is a very sad pattern where only the sheath appears.

'Yeah, ...... is there such a coincidence?

'Yes, there is. That's for sure.

In the first place, it is not unheard of for the same treasure to appear. The general view is that the number of appearances increases in proportion to the amount of items in circulation, but there have been cases of two or more items appearing in the past that were thought to have existed only once.

It is much more natural to think that the fox mask enthusiasts were the bad guys who burned down the town and stole the items from the museum. In other words, it is the same thing that was stolen, but it is not the same thing that was stolen.
He slapped Lucia, who was still looking at him with suspicion, with a newspaper and continued.


'In the first place, it's too early to judge that it's the same thing just by looking at the picture--no, wait, what?

'Is it ......?'

I looked at the newspaper with a serious expression, my eyes like saucers.


According to the newspaper, the name of this treasure is the Key of the Earth, and it is one of the national treasures.
Leaving aside whether it was the same one or not, and leaving aside the fact that there was no scabbard, the fact that the second one was found could be called a big news.

Perhaps if you bring this treasure to the museum and ask for it, they will let you see it up close. Perhaps they will even let you touch it.

'......Let's stop by the museum on the way back.

'...... are you sure you want to come back?'

No, that's not all. If you ingratiate yourself with the museum, I'm sure they will show you other valuable treasures as well.
I have to thank the fox mask lovers again.

I then handed the treasure to Luke, who was looking at the sword with the expression of a dog that had been left in charge.

'Yes, sir. Don't kill anyone.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Except for people . You don't mind if it's not a person, do you?

Luke loves swords. And of course he loves sword-shaped treasures. I usually only let him use a wooden sword, but he has already tried most of my treasures.
Luke gulped as he checked the length of the blade.

'The length of this blade, the length, the weight, the pattern ---- cry, this sword--it's so hard to use. It's like a toy.'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah.



'And no matter how much magic power I charge, it doesn't fill up at all! The response is different. I can't charge this sword!

'Yeah, yeah, right?'

Luke is shouting excitedly. It seems he doesn't care about swords anymore.
By the way, Luke is a swordsman, but he also has more magic power than I do, and can draw the power of most sword-shaped treasures. Since Luke can't fully recharge it, it seems that this treasure tool is not very fuel efficient.

Lucia is looking at me like she did when I asked her to charge it. I'm not sure what to make of it.

'I mean, ...... when I can charge this sword, I'll be able to rise a notch higher as a swordsman. That's what you're saying, Cry!

'Yeah, yeah ......, that's right.'

'...... I wish someone would learn from this attitude.'

Because of Luke, Lucia's opinion of him has dropped.
The simple Luke is a disgrace to Liz and Sitri. I don't know about Ansem, because he can't get Kou to enter the ...... inn, but I'm sure he's appalled. Luke has never really changed.

'Cry, can I have this sword?

'Sure. This sheath doesn't look like a treasure, so you might as well keep it in that one.'

The scabbard Luke carries is a special one that can hold several swords.

I'd like to examine it in detail, but I'm traveling. Considering that he dropped the sword he was carrying in the middle of the treasure house the other day, it would be much safer for Luke to carry it.

Luke cheered as I smiled at him, and quickly swung the sword around.

We're almost at our destination. I'm getting pretty lucky this time. I've already had two good encounters. And then I got a reply from my sister fox and brother fox, who sent me a photo of the fox mask club.

"It's tacky.

I want one.

Apparently, my sister didn't like it, but my brother did.





I want it.





And so we arrived safely at the venue of the Martial Emperor Festival, the city of swords and warfare, [Crete].

There were fragments of excitement in the city we stopped at on the way, but the heat that surrounded the main city was not at that level. It was as if the elation and tension that treasure hunters seem to feel before a battle had spread to us.
A quick check of the area revealed that it was filled with mercenaries, hunters, and strong men who seemed to have made a living out of violence. Treasure hunters can be seen here and there in the Imperial Capital, but this is not the same level.

And in this city, those who take pride in their power clash and compete for supremacy. Men can't help but be excited.
I'm glad I'm a spectator!


Citri, one of the contestants, was smiling.


'Mr. Cry, I'm sure they're already accepting contestants, so I'll go. If it's the same party, we could have sent them out at once.

'Ah, have a good day.

'Can I borrow your ticket, please?

Citri's a real hard worker.
I handed him the platinum ticket and looked around at the warriors strolling down the street, trying to look hard-boiled.




'The war ...... begins.'