165-CHAPTER 164




'Is that ......? William, where are you going?'

I was about to leave the room with two small hammers in my hands when Mee stopped me.
She pointed to four stone statues lined up at the back of the room.

'I'm going to retrieve the key.

'Yeah, but didn't ...... say that the key was inside the stone statues?

'Yeah. But it didn't say 'the stone statue in this room'.'

'Hmm ......?'

Mee tilted her head, but followed me out of the room.

I walked out into the corridor and went back to the room where the guillotine had been set up.
Then, after a while...

'Aaaaah! ...... So, that's what you're saying?'

Mee seemed to have come to the same answer as me.
She almost shouted out, but covered her mouth with her hand.

I nodded towards her.

'Yeah. All the conditions match, so I think that's the right answer.

'Yes, that's true. ....... Agh, I can't believe I'm being hit by such a rudimentary trick. ......!

Mee clutched her head in frustration and squirmed.
I walked through the door with her, stepped over the guillotine again, and returned to the corridor where we had fought the gargoyle.

There, in addition to the two pedestals, two gargoyles that Mee and I had defeated were lying on the floor.

Mee ran up to one of the gargoyles and poked it with her fingertips, which was no longer moving.

'...... But isn't this unfair? It's a monster, isn't it?

It is said that the gargoyle was originally a stone statue that was turned into a monster by giving it magical power. And riddles are usually like that. It's not that strict. It's just a quiz to see what the contestant thinks.

As I said this, I walked up next to Mee and swung my small hammer at the stone statue in front of me, which was a gargoyle.

When the small hammer hit the stone statue with a pale light...
The statue itself flashed white and then crumbled away like fine sand.

There was nothing left after that.
Only a small pile of sand remained.
You can't find anything by scraping.

'Is it ......?

'Looks like it.'

I answer Mee and head towards the other statue.
I swung my hammer down on that one as well.
And then...

...clink.

The stone statue turned to sand, but a golden key came out of it.

'Bingo, sir. That's William.'

'No, I'm glad I got it right. I was a little nervous inside, even though I talked a lot.'

'Really? Does William have that kind of thing?

I picked up the golden key and took Mee back to the room where the treasure chest was.
Then I used the key and inserted it into the keyhole of the treasure chest.

Squeak!
There was a high-pitched sound, and the treasure chest glowed faintly, and then the light disappeared.

Mee took another look around, reexamined the box, and then opened the lid.
With a squeak of hinges, the lid opened to reveal the contents of the treasure chest.

Inside, there were three treasures.
A bottle of liquid potion, a staff, and a pair of boots.

'...... magic items, right?

'Yes, I suppose so. 'A trivial treasure, but a treasure of ancient ruins.'

'It's a great deal of fun.

I'm not sure what to do.

Magic items are generally extremely valuable.
In the event that you have a lot of money, it is possible to buy a lot of things at the same time.
Of course, depending on the item, you can use it yourself without selling it.

You can find out what kind of magical power an item has by using the Analyze spell, but since Analyze is a high-level spell and consumes a lot of mana, you should avoid using it while exploring dungeons.
We should appraise it after we finish exploring and take a break.

So I wrapped the items in cloth and put them in my bag.
Mee, who was watching me, tilted her head.

'William, why did you wrap them in cloth?

'Because some of the ancient magic items have a curse on them. The conditions for triggering the curse vary, but for the time being, I'd like to avoid touching it directly with my hands.

'Oh, I see. I'm a thief and I'm learning a lot. ...... I mean, William, aren't you actually a thief?

'No, I'm just an ordinary wizard. He's not as good at detecting traps or covert action as Mee.

'That may be so, but... But 'ordinary' is an absolute lie. He's a bit of an unusual wizard.

With this exchange, Mee and I left the room where the treasure chest was.
Then we went out to the corridor and went further into the ruins.


(*)


Meanwhile...

The King Andrew and his men, who had sealed away the Demon King with the power of the Pearl of Hell, were now residing in one of the small cities in the country.
It was in this small city that Andrew and the rest of the Kingdom's forces had clashed with the Demon Lord.

The number of warriors, kingdom knights and court magicians currently stationed in this small city is about fifty, not including the squire.
The total number of the kingdom's troops in the standing army alone is about 1,000, and the maximum number of troops that can be mobilized in times of war is nearly 10,000, so this number of about 50 is quite small.

The reason for this was that it was judged to be a foolish plan that would only increase the number of casualties in vain to challenge a large army with miscellaneous soldiers against a small elite enemy that only had powerful individuals, the demon race.

Also, due to the combination of logistics, securing mobility, heavy mobilization footwork, and the convenience of maintaining public order other than the Demon Lord issue, the Royal Army also formed a small number of elite troops - but three times as many as the number of demons.

However, because of this, the people gathered here were all capable.
Each and every one of them was powerful enough to fight off a pack of goblins or a small group of orcs on their own, and were capable of competing on equal terms with the demon race.
The elite warriors that the kingdom is proud of are gathering here right now.

With the power of their elite troops, they clashed with the small group of demons led by the Demon Lord, and Andrew and his team succeeded in containing the Demon Lord with relatively little sacrifice.

The Demon Lord is currently in the central square of the city.
The 20-meter square energy field created by the Jewel of the Extreme Prison has sealed the Demon Lord and seven other demons in place.
The other demons have already been defeated, and the only remaining enemies are the demons there.

Two days had already passed since Andrew and the rest of the Kingdom's army had sealed the Demon Lords in place.
The time for the decisive battle was when the effect of the Jewel of Extreme Hell was lost.

The court sorcerers in the army agreed that it would be safe for at least four more days.


Therefore, the warriors were resting for a while until then.

The ordinary citizens of this city have already been temporarily evacuated to another city.
The only people currently stationed in this city are those who are directly or indirectly involved in the extermination of the Demon King.

Andrew and the other heavyweights are staying in the mansion of the lord of this small city.
The original owner, the lord, is now hunched in a corner of the mansion.

The king, Andrew, is currently using the mansion's dining room as a conference room, and is having a chat called a military conference with the heavyweights.

Andrew himself and the heavyweights are usually too busy to talk face to face unless they have an opportunity like this, so after the discussion on tactics was settled, they took the opportunity to exchange opinions on everyday matters.

The open exchange of opinions without fear of position or status is due in large part to the personality of Andrew, the head of the country, and his ability to select people.
Most of the people that Andrew values are of this type.

Then, a knight came running into the room where the military meeting was taking place.

Andrew is the first to notice this, and calls out to the knight.

'Hey, what's up, Knight Langley? Is there something wrong?

'Yes, sir! You need to come right away! The Demon Lord is ......!

Andrew's gaze narrowed sharply at the knight's appearance, and he stood up.
He instructed his squire to take his favorite magic sword and left the room with the knight who had come to call him.
The other heavyweights who were participating in the military discussion, sensing the unusual atmosphere, followed Andrew in their own way.

'So... What about the Demon Lord?

'Yes, that's right... he suddenly attacked the other demons that had been contained together and started to eat them ( ).'

'...... what?'

Andrew and the rest of the country's top officials walked quickly through the corridors of the lord's mansion.
Looking out the window of the corridor, dark clouds were beginning to gather in the sky.