"Splash—"
Yuhran wrapped one arm firmly around Milliarde's knees and leapt down into the ryū's nesting ground.
The scene before them resembled an enormous bird's nest. The ground was unbelievably soft, layered thick with withered branches and leaves.
He cautiously tested it with his foot.
Rustle, rustle—
"Put me down," Milliarde said softly.
Yuhran snapped back to himself and set her down. She lifted a hand to gather the strands of hair blown loose by the wind and walked forward.
Yuhran followed, scanning their surroundings as he asked,
"Is this everything the lair contains?"
The so-called treasures were mostly gold, silver, copper, and iron, piled crookedly in a corner.
In the center lay a stack of books, covered with animal pelts like a bed. It seemed this ryū actually knew how to enjoy itself.
Milliarde bent down and lifted the fur. A wave of mixed beastly odor rushed out.
She instinctively waved a hand in front of her nose, frowning slightly, then nodded.
"More or less. Whether it's dragons or ryū, they're obsessed with shiny objects that contain magic."
"In their understanding, these are all food. Even if they can't eat them, they'll still gather everything in one place."
She picked up a book and flipped through it carefully. Her brows knit even tighter.
It was a spellbook—crushed and deformed, the text partially blurred.
Suppressing her displeasure, she continued,
"So if you ever encounter them, don't hold back."
Such a precious tome, ruined like this.
In the current era, spellbooks weren't as convenient as in the future. You couldn't just open one and learn the spell; it required long-term interpretation.
Even a small loss of content rendered a book useless. And without copies, the magic recorded within could be lost forever.
What a waste.
A flicker of realization passed through her eyes. She sighed softly, carefully smoothed the damaged edges, and quickly stowed the book into her backpack.
Yuhran , meanwhile, walked over to the pile of gold and jewels and replied casually,
"So that's how it is?"
"Of course." Milliarde nodded solemnly.
"I understand." Yuhran inclined his head and then looked around again.
His gaze lingered among the clutter before he spoke thoughtfully,
"Then are there any magic items here? Can you sense them?"
There was too much junk; sorting it all would take who knew how long.
Unfortunately, that approach was unrealistic.
Even Frieren in later ages—despite her vast experience—often failed to identify items correctly and was frequently deceived into buying fakes.
After receiving a negative answer, the two could only roll up their sleeves and personally move everything out of the lair, sorting it piece by piece.
About three hours later, Yuhran stood in an open area.
He let out a soft breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, and stared seriously at the results.
"There are over a hundred items…"
Since he couldn't determine their value, everything had to be left to Milliarde.
She sat cross-legged on the ground, inspecting each item carefully. Worthless objects gradually piled up beside her into a small mound.
When her hand closed around a figurine, her previously casual expression finally turned serious.
"Yuhran , come here," she called, waving behind her.
Yuhran had just changed clothes. Hearing her, he walked over quickly.
"What is it—"
His words stopped short.
Because the figurine was unmistakably the goddess.
Milliarde held it in her palm, examining it closely as she judged,
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be an amulet made by a devotee in the past. The magic imbued in it is extremely dense…"
Yuhran raised an eyebrow.
"So it's a magic item?"
"No, but you can use it to exchange for magic items."
Milliarde's fingers gently traced the figurine.
Under magical perception, its aura was profoundly sacred, like an unmelting block of ice.
Without a doubt, its creator must have been a highly respected figure.
Additionally—perhaps it was just her imagination—but she sensed a faint trace of elven aura upon it.
Had an elf been killed by the ryū? She wasn't sure.
Shaking her head lightly, she turned and handed the figurine to Yuhran .
"Take it. If that priest knows what he's looking at."
Yuhran hesitated for a moment, then finally reached out and accepted it.
The figurine felt icy cold to the touch, yet the moment he held it, an inexplicable sense of calm washed over him.
He admitted that it did feel somewhat sacred—but exchanging it for magic items?
Well. It was a gamble.
His gaze hardened slightly as he carefully packed the figurine into his backpack.
Milliarde lowered her head and continued rummaging through the "trash pile."
Time slipped by unnoticed.
...
"Let's go."
An hour later, the two returned with bulging backpacks, fully loaded.
Once back in Mondo, they immediately began selling off part of their haul in exchange for higher-value currency that was easier to carry.
Yuhran deliberately kept two gold jars, calculating silently—
His equipment funds were running low again.
Drones and warehouse rent were expensive… maybe it'd be better to just buy the warehouse outright.
It would be useful sooner or later.
He muttered to himself,
"There's more food in the warehouse than I could ever eat. Maybe I can use it to win people over. In this era, a bit of white rice is probably enough to make someone follow me loyally."
"I wonder how many years it'll be before Emperor's Wine appears."
He casually tossed a few gold coins in his hand as he walked through the streets, deep in thought.
Rather than waiting passively, he felt it would be better to create opportunities himself.
In the manga, it was precisely because Emperor's Wine tasted so awful that Milliarde was deeply disappointed, left the royal capital, and eventually arrived at Frieren's village.
Thinking of this, Yuhran 's thoughts grew increasingly tangled. Before he realized it, he had returned to the church.
He took out the figurine and made his request.
The priest froze for a moment—then his eyes lit up brilliantly, his face flushing red as he agreed without hesitation.
"No problem at all. Sir, your luck is truly exceptional. If I'm not mistaken, this craftsmanship dates back two hundred years."
"At that time, the goddess's followers were few, which is why amulets like this existed."
"In a critical moment, it could protect a believer once. That technique has already been lost—I never imagined…"
He looked up, excitement flashing in his eyes.
"May I ask—did you find this in the ryū's lair?"
Yuhran scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.
So that was it. No wonder Milliarde had been so confident.
He gave a brief explanation, then lowered his gaze, thinking to himself,
"Fortunately, my matters here aren't the top priority. Even if there's only one, that's fine. Those unparsed spells are what truly matter."
The unknown represented infinite possibilities—perhaps even magic that could replace magic items altogether.
The priest took the figurine and immediately led Yuhran toward the underground chamber, his steps noticeably lighter.
Yuhran narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint glint flashing within them as he recalled the magic items he'd once seen.
Mobility was already secured. What he lacked next was…
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