Chapter 22

The next morning, her group headed toward the magic shrine. Unlike before, nothing happened when she touched it.

“Maybe because you've touched it before?”

Elerina stared at the tower. She tried touching it again, even rubbing her hand across the wall. Yet, nothing happened.

“Maybe… I wonder if this one counts as the first tower?”

“Maybe it does.”

With nothing else to do there, they went on to complete the quest Angen and Memorus took. With three S-Rank adventurers on the job, the fight ended quickly.

“Phew, that wasn’t as tough as I expected.” Angen sat on the ground, leaning her back on a tree, her partner and Elerina on her sides. I was on water bottle duty, handing out bottles of water to Elerina, who passed them on.

“Having your partner sure is convenient.”

“Haha, yeah…”

Angen began chanting. She could use telepathy magic to speak directly with the guild, and the guild could use certain magic spells to make sure they had completed their quest. They still needed to return to town to receive their rewards, but confirming its completion prevented a different party from taking it, something Elerina wasn't able to do due to a lack of magical ability.

They also know that the three of them were alive and well, so the people back at the guild didn't need to worry. Losing an S-Rank adventurer isn't a common occurrence, so three going missing at the same time would create a lot of panic.

“Alright, time to continue on to the next shrine… you do know where that is, right?”

Elerina had briefed me on the location of the other shrines. Since we originally expected to walk there, it would take a while. But, thanks to Angen and Memorus’ carriage, the travel time should be cut by half.

“Yes, I can guide you.”

As they spoke, a notification appeared on my phone. It was from the lady in red… who's that again?

“Elerina, do you remember the lady in red?”

Elerina turned to me and tilted her head. “Who's that? I don't know.”

I opened the message. It contained ‘come to the store. I got some interesting news.’

I read the message aloud. Elerina's eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Is it a scammer?”

“Don't know…”

The message contents do sound suspicious, maybe I should ignore-

Wait, isn't this the lady at the jewelry store?

“Didn't we sell your gold to her?”

“Oh, right!”

She must have results for the gold. I gulped. The message didn't outright contain information regarding the payment. A while had passed since that day, it felt like last year even. I had forgotten many of the details, but I still remember one critical thing.

I could get in trouble if it was proven as fake or stolen.

I took a deep breath. In a way, I understand that what I'm doing is risky, but I needed to go. If I could support Elerina in any way, then…

“Can you fly the drone?” I asked while handing over the drone and its remote.

“You taught me, remember?”

I did taught her how to use it, but she didn't get much practice.

“Just in case something bad happens, can you use it to help me escape?”

“Sure.”

As we conversed, Angen and Memorus listened to us closely. All they see was Elerina conversing with the air, and a drone and remote popping out of thin air all of a sudden.

I did all the necessary preparations, including changing into more suitable clothes. Once done, I made my way down to the first floor of the apartment. As promised, I bought the lighter. Once outside, I taught her how to use it.

“You push this part here. Be careful of the fire.”

“Woah… no chant needed…”

“That looks like magic.” Angen chimed in. Elerina tried using it, the other two looking curiously. Once she got the hang of it, I made my way toward the shopping mall. It was still early in the day, so there weren't many people inside. The jewelry store was located on the first floor, so it didn't take me long to arrive.

“Sorry for being late,” I greeted as I entered. The lady was sitting there on the counter, her eyes gazing at me as I stepped in.

“Welcome, glad you can make it. Come in, sit down.”

I sat next to her. I didn't want to, but sitting far away would make me look suspicious.

“Let's start with the good news. We finally confirmed that it's real gold, and that cup doesn't look like anything anyone discovered before. It's legit.”

A wave of relief washed over me, but then I realized that she mentioned the good news, which should mean there's a bad news.

“... And the bad news?”

The lady smiled. “You got scammed.”

“Wha-”

“By us.” She let out a laugh. “You remember the contract? We promised two hundred million, correct? Well, that cup sold for a billion Rupiah.”

That's a crazy amount of money. My jaw dropped open, and the lady let out another loud laugh upon seeing my reaction.

“So, as promised, we'll provide you with the two hundred million.”

“Thanks, that's enough for me…” But I am curious about another thing. “Why did you told me the actual selling price?”

“Because I prefer honesty and transparency in business, that's all. But don't be worried. If you have any more, then we'll give you three quarters of the value. What do you say?”

Ah, I see. The lady assumed I have more, so if she's honest, I'll be more likely to give her more stuff, which in turn, would result in more profit for the both of us.

I glanced at Elerina. Elerina and the other two had been hearing our conversation through the video call. Elerina nodded and revealed some more stuff she had on her.

“Sure.”

The transfer process progressed quickly. I upgraded my bank card, and after that, I was able to receive the two hundred million I'm owed. Since I couldn't just pull out more golden cups here in public, I said that I would go home and look for them. On my way back, I bought the three some ice cream.

“This is so good.”

“I can't believe your world has stuff like this…”

“Thank you for the food.”

I sat down on my desk. The three of them had been waiting for me to find a place to stop before they could continue their journey. Once I settled in, I gave them the signal.

“You can continue now.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Elerina, now sitting next to Angen, opened up her map. She pointed to the area where they were, then traced her finger northeast, to a different village. It shouldn’t be too far, just two days on the road.

“Alright.”

Angen began moving the carriage forward.

•••

What was supposed to be a two day trip ended up taking much longer, thanks to some challenges in fighting monsters. They ended up taking three days. It was six in the evening when they arrived at the third shrine.

“Here we are.” Elerina faced the shrine. The shrine was visible in the camera. It had the exact white color just like the other shrines. I prepared myself. The last time, the second she touched it, all my thoughts were stopped. I put my phone down and sat on the floor, using the bedside as something to lean against. Once ready, I gave Elerina a nod.

Elerina reached out and touched it.