Episode 81: Treasure Hunting with Everyone ①
The following Saturday, the four of us Secret Base Members gathered in the Private Dungeon.
The reason for this was…
“Natsume-kun, what do you think? Do these glasses suit me?”
“Ah, uh…”
“Shi-chan, you’re so cute! You look so smart! I’m so jealous…”
For some reason, Otama-chan was getting all excited seeing Shi-chan in glasses.
A little while ago, a dragonfly had dropped the “Appraisal Glasses.”
Today, we had decided to try out various things with this item.
The Appraisal Glasses allow for a higher level of 【Appraisal】 the higher one’s Intelligence stat is.
Right now, Shi-chan, who has the highest Intelligence in the party, was the one wearing the glasses.
“Kehkeh, Ko-chin, you should try saying something like ‘You’re cute’ or ‘They really suit you.'”
“Fufu, Natsume-kun… what do you think?”
“Ah, well… they suit you, I guess.”
“Fufu, I’m happy. Maybe I’ll start wearing non-prescription glasses from now on?”
“U-uuu~. Maybe I should get glasses too…”
“Otama-chan, you have 2.0 vision, don’t you…”
As for what to appraise first…
“Natsume-kun, can I borrow the map?”
“Yeah, go ahead. When I 【Appraised】 it this morning, no information came up, though…”
I handed over the map.
It was a hand-drawn map we found previously when we investigated the “Home” inside the Private Dungeon.
At the time of the investigation, we guessed it might be a treasure map, but the mystery still hasn’t been solved.
Incidentally, the result of my 【Appraisal】 was as follows.
‘Name: Secret Map
Effect: It’s a secret.’
It’s a secret that I was annoyed.
“Thanks, Natsume-kun. Well then, I’ll take a look.”
Shi-chan stared intently at the map.
And then.
“Ah, I see… Yes… I think I kind of get it now.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Shi-chan, is it really a treasure map after all?”
“Valuables…!”
The three of us—me, Otama-chan, and Manamin—also peered at the map.
Just as we’d guessed before, this map had an auto-mapping feature.
Back when all that A-Rank Party business happened, we had explored all over the first floor of the Private Dungeon, so the map itself was complete.
However, no hints indicating a specific location had appeared on the map.
To be honest, we had no idea what to do.
Shi-chan adjusted her glasses with a push and smiled.
“Well, you see, I’m still not sure if it’s a treasure map. But, thanks to 【Appraisal】, I think I know what we need to do. Probably, if it were Natsume-kun as a child, he would have tried it right away, I think.”
“As a child…?”
This was from before I ever entered the Private Dungeon, but…
“Hey, hey, Shi-chan. Tell us quickly. I’m excited too!”
“Fufu. Okay, I’ll tell you. When I 【Appraised】 it with the glasses, this is what was written.”
‘Name: Secret Map
Effect: It’s a secret. If you want to solve the mystery, you’ll need something hotter than summer.’
“Hotter than summer…? What on earth is that about… Ah.”
Suddenly, a past memory resurfaced.
“Ko-chan, did you figure it out?”
“Yeah, probably. Thanks to Shi-chan’s hint, though.”
“Eh…? What do you mean?”
“Otama-chan, you’ve done it before too. You know, with lemon juice and stuff…”
“Eh, eh? Sorry, I don’t get it… Ko-chan, tell me~!”
“Honestly…”
Well, I don’t intend to drag it out.
I told Otama-chan the answer.
“—It’s heat-revealed ink.”
“Ah…”
I did that when I was a kid.
You dip a brush in lemon juice and write on paper.
When the moisture dries, the paper becomes completely white, and it looks like nothing is written on it.
However, if you expose that paper to high heat, like a flame or a hairdryer, brown letters will appear…
“Yes, I think so too. Probably, if we heat this paper, information pointing to a location will appear, right? And if we dig there with the shovel that was in Natsume-kun’s room…”
“Ooh…!”
This is starting to feel like a real treasure hunt.
“Alright then, shall we try it right away? Something to burn…”
“Let’s gather some dry fallen leaves! Yay, a bonfire!”
“With this, we’ll be billionaires too, huh… We’ll have to worry about taxes…”
“Geez, Manamin, you have no sense of adventure!”
We raked up dry fallen leaves in the garden of the “Home.”
Then, using Otama-chan’s 【Water User】 skill, she created a convex lens out of water and, like a magnifying glass, slowly focused the sunlight.
“Ehehe… This is kind of fun, isn’t it? I feel like I did stuff like this in the old days…”
“Tamama, you used to get scolded by the teacher at school for it, right? I remember.”
“You got scolded by your mom at home too. Haha… How nostalgic.”
“Ugh… I’d forgotten all about it, but now I remember…”
And so…
FWOOSH!!
“Ah, it caught fire!! Ko-chan, please! It looks like it’ll burn out quickly!!”
“Yeah, leave it to me!”
I held the map over the flames.
And then, after a few seconds.
Near the shrine, at the base of a tree, an “X” mark appeared in brown.
☆★☆
“Hah, hah…”
Thunk, thunk…
With single-minded focus, I thrust the shovel into the ground.
On the map, a place where two trees were twisted together to look like one was indicated.
Considering its position relative to the shrine, there was no doubt the treasure was here.
There was also some kind of meaningful-looking round stone placed there.
“Ko-chan, want me to take over?”
“No, I’m fine. Just a little more…”
Clank…!
“Oh…!”
Just then, the tip of the shovel hit something hard.
“Bingo…!”
“Money, money…! Ko-chin, we’re counting on you!”
I increased the speed of my digging.
And then…
“Ah, it’s coming out! Ko-chan, that’s…!”
“Yeah…!”
What emerged from the ground was a flat container, like a cookie tin.
“I’ll open it right away.”
“Okay. Please, Natsume-kun.”
Clack!
And inside…
“More paper…?”
Inside, there was a piece of paper with this written on it.
‘Come at night. You’ll see something beautiful.’
“Kuh… Things are starting to look bad… The scent of money is fading… They might just say the beautiful scenery itself is the treasure… Please, let it be money, money…”
“Honestly, Manamin…”
“At night…? Is this a code, maybe? Shi-chan, what do you think?”
“Hmmm… I don’t think I can understand anything more than what’s written…”
“Well, whatever. Let’s try it for now. First, I’ll use my skill to make the surroundings night.”
“Un! I’m starting to get excited too, somehow. Natsume-kun, please!”
“The treasure hunt is getting exciting!”
“Here I go. Skill: 《Day-Night Reversal》!!”
Kana-kana-kana-kana…
The sound of evening cicadas echoed through the dungeon.
And then—the Private Dungeon became night.
…It became night, but.
“What changed…?”
The paper in my hand was too dark to read.
I thought it might glow faintly, perhaps with phosphorescent paint or something, but…
As I stood there bewildered, someone tapped my shoulder from behind.
“Hey, hey, Ko-chan. The tree next to us…”
“Eh…?”
When I looked where Otama-chan was pointing, the tree trunk was glowing blue.
No—that’s not it.
It wasn’t the tree that was glowing.
“A blue… butterfly?”
What was there was a blue, luminescent butterfly.
It was a fantastical light, like a will-o’-the-wisp.
Its wings were translucent, and you could see the tree on the other side through them.
It wasn’t an ordinary butterfly like one you’d find in Japan.
This was, without a doubt.
“A rare insect…!”
“So pretty…”
Just as I was about to try and catch it, Shi-chan grabbed my sleeve.
“…Natsume-kun, sorry. It seems that even with the glasses on, I can’t recognize that butterfly as a target. So, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“Yes. …Just in case, could you also 【Appraise】 the butterfly, Natsume-kun…? There might be a hint…”
“Ah, yeah…”
My desire to catch it quickly had taken over, so I hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Certainly, high-rarity insects often have special capture methods.
It’s always better to have information.
I took the glasses from Shi-chan and stared at the blue, glowing butterfly.
Then, information was displayed.
‘Name: Spirit Butterfly Psyche
Capture Method: ???’