Chapter 18
The next day, everything moved swiftly.
The kingdom’s judges had already sent me the written verdict from the duel trial, declaring me innocent.
Along with that came official documents proving ownership of the Valdig Dungeon.
That damned Count Bener.
He might faint all over again when he wakes up.
“Heh heh!”
I could almost smell the sweet satisfaction in the air.
Dungeon ownership, huh?
Quite a tidy profit.
The dungeon’s treasure was exhausted long ago, but a dungeon is still a dungeon.
Monsters appear constantly, and countless adventurers come and go to raise their ranks.
Even just collecting entry fees would give our disastrous finances a bit of breathing room—though it wouldn’t erase the deficit.
With the immediate fire put out, it was time to tackle the next issue.
Those who had taken part in the duel trial gathered:
two members of the Impera family and the wandering knight, Croad—three people in all.
Clank.
His heavy armor gave a low metallic sound as the pieces brushed together.
He even kept the armor on while drinking tea. Some kind of obsession?
“It’s a relief things worked out so well, young master!”
Irene set down a fragrant cup of tea as she spoke.
“Indeed.”
“And…”
She started to say something to the knight sitting beside her, but when their eyes met, she snapped her mouth shut.
The sharpness in his gaze had startled her.
“How about easing that glare? Things turned out fine.”
“I dislike wasting time. Speak your business.”
“Of course. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”
“…”
Even Aemon still glanced nervously at Croad, the shock of yesterday not yet faded.
He had seen it too: the terrifying skill with which Croad had utterly overwhelmed a rank-5 knight.
“My apologies for the late introduction. I am Aemon, head of the Impera family.”
“Right.”
Croad merely nodded, offering no proper greeting.
A rude response to a noble, but Aemon didn’t mind.
Etiquette didn’t matter when you were dealing with the man who had saved your entire household.
Even the family’s fortune wouldn’t be enough to repay that debt.
“…I will never forget the grace you showed us.”
“There’s no grace in it. It was a contract.”
“A contract…?”
Croad didn’t seem inclined to explain, instead giving me a brief glance.
“Father.”
“…Go on, son.”
Seeing the serious look on my face, Aemon sounded a little surprised.
“Forgive me, but from here on I’d like to speak with him alone.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“That, I cannot say.”
If I blurted out, Father, he’s from the Eternal Knights and dreams of restoring the Empire! I promised to tell him the location of a relic to help!—he’d probably faint dead away.
Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.
“Hah… Very well. If that’s what you wish.”
Aemon looked both wistful and quietly pleased.
Perhaps he was proud that the son he’d thought a wastrel had changed so much.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Then I shall leave you to your ‘drinking companion.’”
With a warm smile, Aemon departed.
If he knew Croad was of the Eternal Knights, he wouldn’t smile like that.
Merely being involved with them is a crime that could wipe out three generations.
That’s the risk I’m taking.
“Phew.”
“Well then. Will you tell me the promised location?”
“I was about to.”
It was time to pay my end of the bargain.
Rustle.
I spread out a large map of the continent I had prepared in advance.
“….”
Croad leaned closer, excitement showing; this was the relic of the Knights he’d been hunting for over a decade.
“The Knights’ relic is…”
“Speak. My patience is wearing thin.”
If I joked, I’ll reveal it in one minute! he might cut off my arm on the spot.
“Heh… impatient, aren’t you? Fine.”
I pointed to a region on the map—
the great Selivert Forest in the south-central continent.
Croad’s brow furrowed violently.
“Are you mocking me?”
He looked ready to draw his sword and behead me. I hurried to explain.
“Wait, wait! It’s really there!”
“Ha! Fool that I am to believe a damned brat like you! Do you think that makes sense?”
Selivert Forest belonged to the elves.
Even during the war between the old Empire and the Allied Kingdoms, the elves remained strictly neutral.
A Knights’ relic hidden in their land?
On the surface, it was absurd.
But think about it differently.
The Empire’s remnants hadn’t sat idle all these years.
They’d scoured every inch of the fallen Empire’s lands, and nothing turned up.
That made an unexpected hiding place all the more likely.
“Have you ever wondered why the relic was never found after all this time?”
“That…”
“You kept thinking inside the box: it’s a Knights’ relic, so it must be in Imperial or Allied territory. That’s why it stayed hidden.”
“…If this is a lie, you’ll pay dearly.”
“Of course. You can wipe out me and even my distant relatives if it’s a lie.”
“…”
“Is that all you needed?”
“Hmph.”
Croad finally let the killing intent dissipate.
My pants were a little damp, but I pretended not to notice.
Clank.
He gathered his gear and stood, empty-handed as when we first met.
“Already leaving?”
Irene came in late, carrying a small plate of snacks.
“No need. We’ve kept our promises. Let me go in peace.”
“But I haven’t even served refreshments…”
“…I’d rather we didn’t meet again.”
He gave Irene a brief, unreadable look. She only tilted her head, puzzled.
But I knew it was a warning to me:
If you lied, I’ll kill everyone in this house.
Still, he would come back.
The relic truly was in that forest—but activating it was another matter entirely.
Once he learned that, he’d come after me again, but traveling to the forest would take at least a month.
‘I’ll deal with that when it happens.’
I gave him a half-mocking farewell.
“Agreed. Let’s hope we never meet again.”
After parting with Croad came news that Count Bener had regained consciousness.
Whether he fainted again after learning he’d lost the dungeon, who knew?
Either way, I had taken back the dungeon he’d stolen.
“Heh heh…”
Good news, but no reason to relax.
That man would surely grind his teeth, plotting to reclaim it.
I’d need to prepare to block his moves.
“And…”
I had avoided the first death flag, but that was hardly all.
King Erengold II of Isother must have sensed something strange.
It wasn’t just any knight who lost—it was Priana.
Croad was already gone, so the Eternal Knights wouldn’t be exposed, but Erengold would undoubtedly move again for his original goal.
A decade-long war of blood among the nobles—that was the spark he was waiting for.
If that was the case, I needed power strong enough that no one would dare target me.
My current magic rank of 2 and sword rank of 3 were nowhere near enough.
“Phew.”
Before dawn even broke, I began preparing.
‘Take the shield, and this as well…’
Valdig Dungeon might be unimpressive, used mostly for noble coming-of-age ceremonies or gathering random trinkets.
Still, a dungeon is a dungeon.
Monsters reset with each sunrise.
“Young master, you’re going again today?”
“Of course.”
“Hm…”
Irene seemed worried about my sudden change. They say a person who changes abruptly is close to death.
But she couldn’t press for answers, only fidget anxiously.
“Don’t worry. I’ll bring you plenty of work when I get back. Any jerky left?”
“Yes…”
Her nervous hovering only made it more awkward.
I quickly packed the jerky she handed me and headed out.
My destination at dawn was naturally the Valdig Dungeon.
Dungeons generally forbid entry after dark,
since the moon’s evil goddess, Sellen, is said to empower the monsters at night.
Thus the area around the dungeon was eerily quiet.
“It’s been a while.”
In Ian’s memory, he’d only visited a few times as a snot-nosed child tagging along with Aemon,
back when the Impera family still owned the dungeon.
‘When you grow up, you will hold your coming-of-age ceremony here in Valdig Dungeon.’
I vaguely recalled my grandfather saying that.
But it never came to pass.
The Bener family took the dungeon, and Ian grew into a scoundrel far from any coming-of-age rite.
I searched my memories for anything useful, but found nothing.
‘Not a bit of help, as usual.’
The traces of the duel trial remained at the entrance—
deep footprints left by Croad’s overwhelming presence.
As expected from someone who rivaled the protagonist.
To leave such marks merely by walking.
If only I’d had my old Valhalla System power, this would have been child’s play.
But lamenting was pointless. That strength was gone.
I clenched my fist, firming my resolve.
If I’d lost power, I would just build it again, step by step, starting today.
“Yaaawn…”
“Mmm…”
Two guards at the entrance traded sleepy yawns.
They looked like temporary hires dispatched from the Dungeon Guild.
Most dungeons are owned by nobles.
Some station their own soldiers, but with ownership changing hands so often,
many contract the Dungeon Guild to handle it.
The guild also manages things like selling by-products, treating injuries, and providing lodging—a symbiotic relationship that brings in fees.
I quietly approached the two guards.
I probably looked a bit ridiculous, carrying a huge wooden shield I’d hastily fashioned from a door, but it might be needed.
“…Whoa! You startled me!”
Perhaps because it was still dark, they only noticed me when I was right in front of them.
“Entry is restricted until sunrise. Come back later.”
“….”
I just stared silently.
“Something you want to say?”
“…Ah! Y-young master!?”
“Hm? Young master?”
Finally realizing who I was, one guard snapped to attention.
“Ah! You’re the Impera heir… but why are you—”
“You idiot! Haven’t you heard the Valdig Dungeon has a new owner?”
“R-really?”
“My apologies! My partner’s a bit scatterbrained…”
The old Ian, born of a fallen count’s house, couldn’t stand being slighted.
From a commoner, no less? He’d beat them bloody for the smallest sign of disrespect, and many nearly soiled themselves.
Even now, though people said he’d improved, the reputation remained.
But I had neither the desire nor the time for that.
“Then no one is inside?”
“No! Because of the moon-goddess Sellen’s influence, entry is banned after dark. Everyone’s already been sent out.”
“Good. That works for me.”
I stepped forward toward the dungeon entrance, and the guards broke into a nervous sweat.
“S-sorry, but it’s still too early! At least another hour—”
If they let me in and I died, they’d bear the blame.
I sighed deeply, pulled a sheet of paper from my coat, and began writing something.
