Maruyama Kugane - The Invaders of the Large Tomb

"Before deciding, I have one thing to say... I think there's a need for everyone to hear this."

Hekkeran sighed deeply, and Imina, who sat beside Hekkeran, momentarily held her breath.

"Arche, a strange man came and said he wanted to see you."

Hearing this, an eyebrow went up on Arche's usually expressionless face. Seeing this reaction, Hekkeran understood that Arche knew the man.

"What did that guy say at the end? ...What was it again?"

Hekkeran blatantly asked Imina. What he received in return was a stare which said "what the heck are you saying?". However, after realizing that Hekkeran had really forgotten, Imina replied in a tired voice.

"'Tell the brat from the Furt family. Tell her the deadline is coming!'"

"Yep, something like that."

Being thrown into the spotlight, Arche took a deep breath and said with a heavy voice.

"—I'm in debt."

"Debt?!"

Hekkeran exclaimed in surprise. Of course, it wasn’t just Hekkeran alone, Imina and Roberdyck also had shocked expressions. Since there were no ranks within their team, the income was shared equally. And thinking back on the amount they've earned so far, the notion of being in debt was ridiculous.

"How much do you owe?"

"—Three hundred gold coins." Hearing the reply from Arche, the three of them glanced at each other once more.

The amount that was owed was something that normal people wouldn’t even be able to dream about.

It was something that even workers of their level wouldn't be able to earn in one go. Although the deposit for their current given request was three hundred and fifty gold coins, that amount was for the entire team. After subtracting the cost of maintenance as well as buying necessary equipment and items, the amount left for each member was only around sixty gold coins.

Furthermore, their team was counted among the top of the worker profession. Using the same set of criteria as assessing adventurers, they would be equivalent to the mithril rank. Even at their level, they couldn't earn that much in a go. That showed just how much of a debt it was.

Arche’s face began to cloud up as she felt the doubtful gazes of her companions on her.

She naturally wanted to avoid this conversation. However, if she didn't answer it now, it wouldn't be a surprise if she ended up being expelled from the team.

After a brief moment of consideration, Arche finally opened her mouth.

"...Since my family considers it a huge disgrace, I never told this to anyone, but... the Blood Emperor revoked my family's nobility status."

The Blood Emperor—Jircniv Rune Farlord el Nix. Renowned for staining his hands with blood.

Due to certain events that took place, the previous Emperor was forced to retire. Soon afterwards, what used to be one of the Five Great Families of the Empire, the family of the Blood Emperor's mother, was accused of assassinating the Emperor and eradicated. Things turned sour after that, where the brothers of the Blood Emperor died one after another. During that time, it was as if the winds that blew within the city carried death itself, and near the end, even his mother got caught in it and perished.

Of course, there was opposition during this period. However, this opposition was meaningless to the Blood Emperor, who already controlled the Empire’s knights during his time as the crown prince.

Using overwhelming military force, every aristocrat that was capable of opposing him was cut down like wheat before the scythe. The only ones who remained were those who pledged their allegiance to the Emperor from the bottom of their hearts, and thus it ended with the complete centralisation of power in him.

However, the Blood Emperor didn't just stop there. Many leftover aristocrats soon had their nobility revoked due to incompetence. Instead, capable commoners were given the chance to rise in status.

All in all, there were two main points that surprised people the most. First was that the national power of the Empire did not drop a single bit during the mass removal of aristocrats. Second was that the Emperor who had achieved all of this was only a boy one or two years past the age of ten.

It wasn't rare to see families that lost their nobility status. However—

"—Even now my parents still live the same lifestyle as before. Of course we can't afford the cost.

That's why my parents ended up borrowing money from shady places."

Hearing this, the three of them glanced around at each other.

Although the three of them hid it well, feelings of anxiousness, irritation, unpleasantness and anger passed between them.

"—I have confidence in my magic abilities. I wish to join." These words had been said by a slender child holding a staff taller than herself.

The image of a small child with an expressionless face, who was holding her staff with both hands while standing before them, suddenly came back into the minds of Hekkeran and the others. Later, the image of their stunned faces after they saw the display of Arche's strength in magic came into view in their heads, resounding with nostalgia.

In the two years that went by, after experiencing numerous adventures and having survived adventures where even one wrong move would result in death, the money that they had gained was quite a considerable amount. However, Arche's equipment had hardly changed since the beginning.

The reason for that was finally made known.

"Is that for real? Should I go and have a proper 'talk' with them?"

"I think it's about time for your parents to hear the voice of God. No, no, perhaps they should meet the fists of God before that."

"I don't think their ears haven't been pierced yet, maybe I should start making holes in them."

"—Please calm down. It's already gotten to this stage, what I want to say is, depending on the situation I plan on taking my sisters away from my parents."

"You have sisters?"

Seeing Arche nod her head, the three of them looked at each other once more. Although they didn't say it out loud, but deep down in their hearts they started to feel that it might be better to give up on this particular request.

It was true that workers had a higher income than adventurers. However, the amount of danger they faced was also much higher. Although they tried their best at making sure the work they took on was as safe as possible, the chances of encountering situations outside their calculations was still quite high.

A single slip might result in a tragedy for her sisters. However, it was pointless to keep thinking along these lines.

"Is that so? ...Then let's put this topic on hold for now. We will let you handle your current problem... Anyway, back to our main discussion topic, do we accept the offered commission or not?"

Having said this, Hekkeran cast a cold gaze at Arche.

"Arche, I don't want to make it sound bad but you don't get a say in this."

"—That’s fine. For someone who’s in need of money, I can understand that my vote would be compromised because of my debt issue."

That was what they meant by being blinded by greed.

"—Truthfully, I had thought that I might end up becoming removed from this team."

"What are you saying? After having a magic caster as skilled as you join our team, it would be a huge loss for us to simply let you go."

This statement wasn't meant to provide any comfort. It was the truth.

Arche's innate talent. A pair of eyes blessed with miracles, had helped out Hekkeran's team multiple times in the past.

If a name had to be given to Arche's innate talent, the 'All-Seeing Eyes' would probably be the most suitable words to describe it.

Arcane magic casters were constantly surrounded by an invisible aura which wrapped around their body. However, Arche's innate talent allowed her to see it directly. Not only that, she was even able to see which tiers of magic the opponent was capable of using.