Chapter 12: Clean your first dungeon, Part 4

I tried to get to Lucia as quickly as possible.

But I was late.

I’d assumed she would still be going through the academy entrance process, but surprisingly, she was somewhere deep in the mountains. Because of this, I was forcibly moved to the nearest shop to her location.

Fortunately, I had converted all my items into money, so I had more than enough to cover the 12 silver coins required for the transfer.

Why did that guy, Kevin, sell it to me for only 3 silver coins?

Even for a clearance sale, a 75 percent discount seemed excessive…

Well, whatever works.

I didn’t have enough silver coins to return, but this place was still within the Solarite Kingdom.

It wouldn’t take long to get out of these mountains.

First, I had to deal with the protagonist in front of me.

Our protagonist was once again covered in blood, glaring at me.

What trouble had she gotten herself into this time?

The way she clutched her sword in both hands reminded me of a child hugging a teddy bear. Well, she was about that age.

She’d be much cuter if that wasn’t a holy sword capable of killing me.

Stop worrying and smile. The words of the wise are always right.

See? Our protagonist has finally relaxed enough to drop her sword. She’s even staggering.

Thud.

The protagonist, stumbling, steadied herself by stabbing her sword into the ground.

Her eyes were losing focus; she seemed to have lost a lot of blood.

In the game, even if you died, you could revive at an inn or similar location, but what about here?

Would she somehow be resurrected, or was it game over?

…I hoped it wasn’t the latter. After all, I wanted this game to be cleared, one way or another.

Since the game wasn’t finished yet, I didn’t know how it would end, but I hoped for a happy ending.

I took out a potion to save her.

She must have leveled up by now, so an Apprentice potion wouldn’t be enough. A Beginner one should suffice.

I opened my bag and retrieved a potion with slightly more ornate decorations than the Apprentice version. I felt my coin purse become a little lighter.

“Um… Do you need a potion, perhaps?”

I offered her the potion. Without a word, our protagonist snatched it and gulped it down.

Hmm. A bit disrespectful, but what could I do? She was the protagonist.

“Payment… well, forget it. Do you need anything?”

I hadn’t received payment for the last potion either, and I wouldn’t receive it for this one, but what could I do?

Potions didn’t grow on trees, but the protagonist was destined to clear this world, so I’d consider this a necessary expense.

I hoped this would at least lessen her suspicion of me, seeing it as a debt or favor.

As I pulled out my notebook and asked my question, the protagonist hesitated for a moment before mumbling,

“I… don’t have any money…”

Unbelievable! She had the audacity to enter a shop and declare she had no money!

As I contemplated the tedious task of providing items to the protagonist at a loss, I scanned the recommended items listed in my notebook.

However, the list was different from usual.

[Event Item Exchange Shop.
Items restock in 11:19
Apprentice Strengthening Tome: 3 Lucania Fragments…]

Instead of the usual recommended items, it listed items exchangeable for event currency.

Instead of copper or silver coins, the price column listed “Lucania Fragments.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

So that’s why I arrived at the next shop so quickly.

It was the “event period,” wasn’t it?

I looked at Lucia.

Indeed, this event had started around the time I was playing through the first part of the game.

It was a recurring event story that began with Estelle, the Royal Swordsmanship Instructor, being kidnapped or lost in some dungeon.

Every time, she’d get trapped in a dungeon for some bizarre reason, leading to many comments about how such a serious-looking person could be so clumsy.

Lucania Fragments were event items dropped by monsters during this event, and they could be exchanged for useful items at the shop.

I remembered participating frequently to gather much-needed upgrade materials.

Of course, the event eventually disappeared after being repeated several times and receiving increasingly negative feedback.

But since it was an event filled with memories, I couldn’t help but smile.

“I don’t need money. I’ll accept… ‘Lucania Fragments’ as payment.”

“How…?”

Ignoring Lucia’s confused question, I watched as my notebook began to glow, just like before.

Text materialized, transforming into objects. Even in a world with magic, it was a fascinating sight.

“So? Anything you need?”

Parroting Kayleen’s line, I began my business.

There was one thing I never quite understood about this and other events.

The black key placed right there.

Why was the key needed to proceed to the next floor or rescue the hostage being sold in the shop?

And exchangeable for items dropped by killing monsters, no less.

I could understand it as a measure to encourage continued event participation, but it seemed too contrived.

Wouldn’t it make more sense for the boss to drop the key… hmm… that seemed a bit odd too.

Honestly, RPGs like this were full of illogical elements if you scrutinized them too closely. I decided to just ignore it.

Our protagonist also seemed fixated on the key, staring intently at it.

“Aha. You’ve noticed the key! You have a good eye, customer. So…”

“How?”

My attempt to subtly learn her name failed, met instead with her question.

“How… do you have this…?”

Indeed.

Why did I have this key? I didn’t know either.

I didn’t even know the limits of what this notebook and bag could produce.

I had no idea how the items materialized just by putting in money.

I’d tested it before, and it seemed endless.

Lying wouldn’t change anything, so I decided to be honest.

“Well? Why do you think?”

“…You…!”

Lucia reacted strongly to my words.

Raising her still-trembling arm, likely not fully healed despite the potion, she pointed her sword at me.

Was it because I answered so irresponsibly without offering any explanation?

But I had my reasons. What could I do if I genuinely didn’t know?

This was the third time a sword had been pointed at my throat.

Neither the second nor this third time felt particularly pleasant.

“Calm down. What can I do if I have nothing to tell you? Here, we are simply merchant and customer. Isn’t that enough?”

I abhorred the relationship between robber and robbed.

I’d experienced it once, and it felt terrible to have everything taken away so helplessly.

I eventually got everything back, though.

“If you act like this, I can’t continue this transaction.”

Lucia’s eyes wavered at my words.

I’d been in her shoes before.

I remembered having enough currency to exchange, only for the event period to end, causing the currency to vanish.

Moreover, if Lucia struck me down, I, a mere merchant, would be out of the game.

Then, she really wouldn’t be able to trade. I wasn’t lying.

“Ugh…”

Lucia slowly lowered her sword.

As expected, communication was always the answer.

Non-violence was definitely a better method than violence. Gandhi was right.

Ah, but he had his controversies, didn’t he?

The protagonist stared at me for a moment with her one good eye, then, with a resigned look, returned to the stall.

Did she realize I had no information? Or did she think asking further would be pointless?

Whatever the reason.

What I was curious about was…

Why was she only opening one eye?

That wasn’t in the original game.

You can’t tell her.

With those words, I drew a line with Lucia.

Here, we were just merchant and customer.

Did it mean I wouldn’t maintain that relationship outside this space?

Or that I wouldn’t trade with her anymore?

It was a statement that completely looked down on Lucia.

Indeed, as long as Kayleen could conjure up the key as a sellable item through her mysterious methods, she held the power.

Even if Lucia offered payment, Kayleen could simply refuse to trade, and Lucia would have no recourse.

Feeling humiliated, Lucia stepped back and looked at Kayleen.

The girl continued to watch her, a sly smile playing on her lips.

Was she amused by Lucia’s helplessness?

Realizing that further attempts would be futile, Lucia gave up and approached the stall.

Was it Kayleen who trapped Estelle here?

If so, was it to obtain the Lucania Fragments?

Pondering, Lucia touched her throbbing eye.

…What was this girl’s weakness?

A sudden thought struck her. Picking up the black key, Lucia cautiously opened her closed eye.

And saw nothing.

There were no visible weak points, not on the holy sword in her hand, not on the floorboards, not even on the key she held.

Something hazy obscured her vision.

She felt a tremendous presence.

Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, Lucia quickly closed her eye again.

“Are you alright?”

The girl’s voice reached her ears.

After that, her memory blanked.

The next thing Lucia knew, she was outside the shop, deep within the dungeon.

She saw the key in her hand and Estelle trapped in a cell before her.

“Thank you, Lucia. I won’t forget this kindness.”

Her legs gave way. Estelle caught her as she stumbled.

“A-are you alright?”

Even as Estelle carried her out of the dungeon, Lucia’s thoughts continued to race.

What exactly was that?