Still, she did not even let the A-ranked thief sense her the other day, so even if they were a mere 30 centimetres apart, they wouldn't have noticed her existence anyways.
"......Left already? I hope you have a safe trip home."
The person watching the Four-headed Dragon from the shadows of the temple's entrance was dressed in clothing that would look out of place in either the ruins, the mountain paths or within the forest of the Seas of Darkness.
A woman in a maid's uniform with a silver collar — Uni.
And then, the space beside her flickered in a haze. The next moment, there was a new person there.
It was the dark elf Drei, who was bound by a slave collar, like Uni.
"Hey, Uni. Is it a good idea to let them flee? They took the golem which might still be repairable?"
"No, it is alright. This is part of master’s intentions."
"Good, though I see it as the root of disaster later. Mithril is a rare metal, even though we have plenty of it in the laboratory. If we let them take it home, won't those greedy monkeys come back for more treasure?"
"Don't you see, Drei? That's why it's perfect."
"Oh?"
Drei wavered for a moment while Uni continued.
"The mithril golems are acting as our advertisement. If there was an opportunity to obtain a rare metal, other adventurers who have been waiting and watching what would happen would gather in droves to this dungeon. Then we can hunt them to increase the number of test subjects. I'm sure you understand that much."
"Yes, I've heard that explanation many times. But is it really necessary to spread word about this dungeon so rapidly? If we're not careful, we could end up with too many adventurers and an oversupply. I have a feeling that it would be bad news for them to keep coming back as an alliance."
"No problem. You've just seen what an alliance really is."
"Ah," Drei thought. There were adventurers trying to get a jump on each other and there were adventurers trying to drag others down. The A rankers did some impressive feats but overall, the alliance was a miserable sight.
"The kind of alliance where people can trust each other's life to one another can’t be created overnight. Trust has to be built over a long period of time, and sometimes you have to show that you were willing to go through rough times for others to build mutual trust. Being bonded by temporary profit would lead to the alliance we saw. Never make an alliance with somebody you do not trust......That has always been the ironclad rule of adventurers though—"
"How many adventurers or parties, blinded by the shiny mithril, can put faith in one another? ......I see now."
"That's right. What's more, when those adventurers return to the foot of the mountain, they'll tell everyone that there were ancient golems in the temple deep within the Sea of Darkness. And that they were guarding the ruins. Basically, word would spread that there were no actual monsters in the dungeon that actively sought to destroy humanity."
Even if adventurers from all over the continent were to gather, they would never be able to work well together. A large group of adventurers who came together for the sake of treasure would be in danger of splitting abruptly. That's why they could not form large alliances, and even if they tried to, they would be no threat. That was what Uni was trying to say.
And if the dungeons were guarded by golems that just did as they were told, the adventurers' guild would not take any action. They gave priority to monsters which threaten human life. It would be like poking a beehive if they tried to kill a tomb guardian that was not immediately harmful. There was little to no chance that they would form alliances with important and high ranking adventurers to do it.
Naturally, there would be an increase in monster hunting activity in the Sea of Darkness, but there would be greater safety for the Temple of the Sun, or more specifically, the lab hidden underground of it. Those who would venture into the temple would likely be small in numbers but capable or fragile alliances. In any case, this would leave the best ducks to be hunted. This was the reason the Four-headed Dragon was allowed to leave with the parts of the golem.
"I get the picture now. It’s really an excellent plan."
"Yes, it was master’s. Although the details seem to have been fleshed out by Lord Laubert."
"Young Laubert? If I were to guess, the part about using mithril as a souvenir. Am I wrong?"
"No, it is the correct answer. He was always waiting for the chance to promote the area."
"To attract people to Marlan? He's in charge of internal affairs, right? How meticulous of him."
The two women casually conversed as they watched the adventurers running away.
Suddenly, Uni struck on an idea.
"That guy over there looks like he'd make a good adventurer."
"Hmm? That clumsy looking guy running as fast as he can? It's true that he was fortunate to have his life spared—"
But was that all there was? She was about to finish but was interrupted by a shake of the head from Uni.
"Luck," she said, "is the utmost important factor. This is just my theory, but...... A good adventurer is simply the adventurer blessed with luck."
"—Luck, hmm..."
"Not convinced? But isn't it all down to luck that people are born with talent, or had the opportunity to develop their talent, or given the chance and the stage to showcase their talent? If somebody’s luck was not good, he might just die in the middle of the road with nobody to pick up his dead body. It is only through luck that we avoid this."
Drei could not help but agree.
Escaping the Sea of Darkness, Temple of the Sun and even getting away with the precious mithril. Indeed, not just anybody could pull off such an adventure. It was a feat that only the best of adventurers could accomplish.
"Of course, that's only if you have the wherewithal to seize the opportunity when it presents itself. ...Ah, this is just my opinion. You don't have to take it seriously."
"No, no, I'm also deeply impressed by it. After all, it is the opinions of the great adventurer Silver Wolf. I'll bear that in my mind."
"Please don't make fun of me too much. I'm a little ashamed that I said something so unbecoming."
"Come on, being unashamed at telling me your love stories? You meant to say that you are the happiest woman in the world to have met master? Hmmm?"
"If you know what I mean already then don't say it. ......You are a very bad dark elf, aren't you?"
After saying this, Uni silently watched the adventurer descend the mountain.
With his arms full of treasures and his sword at his hip, he was more of an adventurer than anyone else.
※ ※ ※
Heart of the temple, night yet bright.
She stood patiently waiting for their entrance.
Bodies of intruders lay before her feet.
A faint smile towards the shakened four.
A true to heart, joyful, captivating smile.
"I've been waiting for you. Dear guests."
They were now in the deepest part of the ruins, after being driven back by sporadic golem attacks and traps. With these words, the four members of the Scarlet Shield were greeted with a scene that was out of this world in every sense of the word.
In the middle of the hall-like space, standing tall with half of its body buried in the floor, was a huge crystal that shone as bright as the sun. This eye-burning source of light made it so that the insides of the ruin were as bright as if it were daytime outdoors, despite it actually being night time.
The next thing that caught their eye was a woman in a strange suit of armour and earflaps, standing against the crystal and protecting it. With her platinum hair blowing in the breeze, coming from a hole in the ceiling, it would be easy to believe that she was a priestess who had served this temple since ancient times.
If so, then it was okay. But there was a scene from hell around her feet.
"....... ....... ............"
A man laid on the stone floor with his arms and legs helplessly thrown out. The rags that clung to his half-naked limbs barely resembled the robes of a mage. The whites of his eyes gazed into the void, and the small rise and fall of his thin chest plate barely gave away that he was not dead. The hair on his head had all turned gray, as if he had been through something terrible.
The man — a survivor of the Apostles of the Dawn, possibly their leader — was surrounded by a choking pool of blood and flesh. One would think that instead of chicken feathers being plucked before cooking, human body parts were plucked instead. In fact, that had to be what had happened here.
