Tier V Seeker ⑨
Basically, there are the four main Dungeons around Hydrangea.
And then there are the smaller Dungeons scattered about the vicinity.
The belongings left behind by Seekers and others from these places—often the subject of debate regarding the nickname “junk”—are gathered on the first floor of the city’s Dungeon.
So, other Dungeons shouldn’t have Junkyards… or so I thought.
“I don’t know the details either-ssu, but it seems not all the junk gathers there-ssu. Like leftovers, or junk that somehow doesn’t end up in the city’s Dungeon, seems to pile up in these Hidden Junkyards-ssu,” Bid-san explained.
“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
Leftover junk, huh? Thinking about it, maybe it’s junk from places where retrieval is difficult.
There are probably others like this in different Dungeons too.
“I found this place by chance too-ssu. At first, I thought I’d found treasure-ssu, but…”
“It turned out to be this Junkyard?”
“Still, I searched for any treasures-ssu, and took a few things that looked promising to Arifa-san’s place-ssu, but it only amounted to pocket money-ssu.”
I gave a wry smile.
Even just pocket money like that is enough to live on day by day.
“So, you want me to find something for you, right?”
“Please do-ssu.”
“Understood.”
I use the Relic [Wheel of Fortune].
However, all the junk in this room is wet and rusted.
Ugh, this leather armor even has mold growing on it.
“Hmm. It’s mostly green.”
“Green?”
“It means they aren’t worth much. Not that they won’t sell… Ah.”
There it is. Deep inside the junk pile at the very back of the Hidden Junkyard—a single yellow light.
Yellow, huh? Yellow again. Haaah, yellow. This is becoming traumatic.
“What is it-ssu?”
“Ah, I found something. It’s buried in that junk pile way in the back.”
“…This one-ssu?”
The junk pile at the very back was covered in, how should I put it, dried coral and barnacles.
It looked like it had been brought up from the seabed. The yellow light is… deep down inside this pile.
“I’ll handle it.”
There are no other treasures. I project 【Vanish】 in front of my fist and punch.
“Vanish Knuckle!”
The spot I punched gets shaved away.
“Ooh, 【Vanish】-ssu, right?”
“Y-Yes.”
Bid-san knew about it. Oh well, it’s fine.
I keep punching the junk pile, making it disappear. Each time, I’m hit by an overwhelming smell of the sea.
Was it really at the bottom of the sea? Does the Water Dungeon have a sea?
Meanwhile, Bid-san was collecting the green lights I pointed out, saying it’d be a waste-ssu not to.
“Vanish Knuckle!”
I approach the treasure via the shortest route. How many times did I punch?
I finally reached it. The yellow light was a sword.
It had a rounded white hilt with no sword guard.
The scabbard was also white, and the blade itself was buried in other junk. I grab it and try to pull it out, but…
“!?”
What the? The moment I gripped the sword, I felt an unbelievable weight.
So I instantly let go.
“What’s wrong-ssu?”
“Ah, no, this sword…”
“Is it the treasure-ssu!?”
“Y-Yes. This sword is it, but…”
“Oh! It looks valuable just by looking at it-ssu.”
Bid-san grips the sword’s hilt.
“Ah, that sword is!”
“It’s still buried-ssu, but this much should be fine-ssu!”
Bid-san put her strength into it and pulled the sword free. It was a straight sword.
I don’t know how long it was buried, but the sword didn’t show its age.
Bid-san drew the sword.
With a flash, a blade faintly reflecting raging waves appeared.
I murmur unconsciously.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Eh? Eeh? What is it-ssu!?”
“Bid-san?”
Bid-san, holding the sword, seemed strange.
She looked at me with a bewildered expression and said.
“Th-This is an OOPArts-ssu!”
“Really?”
“A-And what’s more, I learned a new Relic-ssu!”
“Ooh! What kind is it—ah, sorry.”
It’s an unspoken rule. You shouldn’t casually ask about someone’s Relics.
“It’s 【Swiftfoot】-ssu!”
“…Isn’t that the footwork technique?”
“I’ll try it-ssu!”
Then, Bid-san’s figure vanished, and she reappeared behind me.
“It worked-ssu!”
Swiftfoot. Like steps as fast as blinking, I guess.
It’s like teleportation.
“Why behind me— Whoaah!”
Suddenly, Bid-san hugged me.
“Woff-kun, amazing-ssu, amazing-ssu! Thank you-ssu!”
“Wai- It’s fine, you don’t need to thank me, but the sword! The blade!”
Along with a soft, warm feeling, the drawn sword flickered before my eyes, and I felt the chill of death.
Realizing, Bid-san hurriedly pulled away.
“S-Sorry-ssu.”
Bid-san fidgeted as she sheathed the sword. Then, as if starting over, she hugged me again.
I almost fell over.
She hugged me for a while, then, perhaps satisfied, she let go.
With a huge smile, she repeated the thanks she had probably been mulling over while hugging me.
“Woff-kun. Thank you so much-ssu!”
“W-Well, it was a promise.”
“This sword. It seems to be called ‘Swiftfoot Sword’-ssu!”
“That’s a good name.”
Or rather, it’s exactly what it is. Easy to understand.
The reason I couldn’t hold it must be because it was an OOPArts. Yeah. That must be it.
I checked elsewhere, but there were only a few green lights at the bottom of the pile. No hidden walls either.
There’s nothing left for us here. The request is finished, so we decided to return outside.
She must have been really happy. Bid-san’s spirits were high.
Every time a Monster appeared, she used 【Swiftfoot】 to toy with it.
But using 【Swiftfoot】 against Undine Soldiers and slashing with the ‘Swiftfoot Sword’ seemed a bit pointless…
Since it’s just a sword, cutting them only scattered water and had no effect, and she missed when aiming for the core.
Also, she mentioned that moving to the exact intended spot with 【Swiftfoot】 wasn’t stable yet.
She laughed, saying she still needed more practice-ssu.
Like that, unlike the trip in, we returned outside without any major happenings.
Well, since neither of us had anything particular to do, she said, “Lunch is on me-ssu,” and we went to the tavern in the fort ruins.
We enjoyed the seafood dishes.
After that, we naturally ended up heading back together, but the front of a general store caught my eye.
Under the eaves, there was a cylindrical basket with a sign that read, ‘Big Sale’.
Inside it were several swords.
Noticing my gaze, Bid-san spoke.
“Are you interested in swords-ssu?”
“Yeah, well, a little.”
I approach the general store. And I grip one of the swords in the cylinder.
“!?”
Instantly, just by gripping it, I felt an abnormal weight.
The sword I gripped looked like nothing more than an ordinary sword. From its appearance, it should only be slightly heavier than a Knife.
And yet, I couldn’t lift it at all. It was far too heavy.
“Woff-kun?”
“Nnh?”
“…Ah, no, it’s nothing.”
I let go of the sword.
“Swords like those aren’t very useful-ssu.”
Bid-san patted the pommel of the ‘Swiftfoot Sword’ at her hip.
I gave a wry laugh… “Ahaha…”
Night.
From far away… far away, I hear a voice calling.
(Woff. Woff. Awaken. Woff…)
“……?”
When I opened my eyes, I was in a pure white space.
There stood a beautiful woman with silver hair, possessing a beauty that shone mysteriously like a blade.
“…Lady Goddess of Knives…?”
The divine beauty smiled brightly.