Maruyama Kugane - The Invaders of the Large Tomb

After several seconds, the thief turned his head Greenham and his other teammates and shook his head.

Which meant ‘there is nothing’.

The thief himself thought it was strange and tilted his head.

It was a mystery why it wasn’t locked, but since the thief couldn’t detect anything else, it would be the vanguards’ turn next.

Greenham went to the front and the thief reached for the door. Behind them was a warrior with a shield.

Greenham pushed the door handle down and slowly opened the door. Maybe it was well oiled or perhaps the caretaker of this place did his job seriously, but the heavy door opened easily despite its appearance.

The warrior who was ready for action stood between Greenham and the door, raising his shield to defend against sudden attack or traps.

However, there wasn’t anything like an arrow being shot over. The iron door was completely open and a deep darkness appeared before the Heavy Mashers.

“「Continual Light」.”

The arcane magic caster summoned a magic light. The brightness of the magic light could be roughly adjusted. The crypt was illuminated. With another spell, the weapon of the warrior was shining too.

What the light was shining on, was a room that could be easily mistaken for the chambers of a noble.

In the center of the room was a stone coffin normally seen in a temple. It was 2.5m long and engraved with intrinsic carvings. Four alabaster statues carved into the shape of fully armored and armed warriors, with swords and shields over full plate armor, stood at each corner.

And so—

“—Hmm, does this emblem match anything in your memory?”

“Erm, I don’t know.”

Hanging on the wall was a banner with golden edges, bearing an emblem no one had seen before.

The Kingdom might be a foreign nation, but the thief and magic caster had memorized the heraldry of many nobles and kings. Since they couldn’t identify it, it was safe to assume it was foreign in nature.

“Could it be some nobles before the founding of the Kingdom?”

“You mean this is from more than two hundred years ago?”

Many countries had been destroyed by the demon gods two hundred years ago, which was why there were very few countries with more than two hundred years of history. The Kingdom, the Holy Kingdom, the Republic and the Empire were all founded within the past two hundred years.

“If that is true, why is it so well-preserved after such a long time? What is it made of?”

“It should be enchanted with preservation magic right? Maybe it was repaired by magic.”

“By the way leader. You can stop that strange way of speaking now, can’t you? We are the only ones here.”

“Hmmm…” Greenham frowned, and then relaxed. “Ahh, that’s so tiring. All that thou and art stuff, how stupid.”

“It must be hard on you. Like he said, it is fine if we are alone right?”

“Nah, I can’t do that, that stiff way of speaking makes me look like a capable worker. It’s troublesome to change midway, ain’t it? Don’t you all know my policy while on the job?”

Greenham answered his comrade’s wry smile with a wry smile of his own.

Greenham was originally the third son of a farmer working in the Kingdom.

Like the saying goes, if many people split the farm lands, after several generations, the land each person could inherit would gradually grow smaller. The farm produce each family could harvest would also decrease. That’s why the eldest son would inherit the land, the second son could work as a helper, but the third son and the others would be nothing but trouble. It was normal for them to move to the city to seek a livelihood.

However, Greenham was blessed with a good body, and it worked out well in the end. But in the end he was just a farmer and the education he had received as the reserve of the reserve was as good as nothing. That went for reading, writing and etiquette.

It was true that workers focused on ability and the execution of the assigned task, not etiquette.

However, it wasn’t good for him as a leader.

He worked hard on it, but unlike the talent he had with his body, he wasn’t gifted in such a way and it was barely passable. Greenham kept his position as leader because he was highly regarded in all other aspects. However, in order to not embarrass his comrades, Greenham started speaking in that strange manner.

“‘This quirky way of speaking is normal as a way to advertise my team.” That was what he wanted the clients to think.

Despite that, people would still look down on him. However, that kind of image would still be better than a dim-witted farmer.

“Alright, break time is over. We’re moving out, lads.”

Greenham announced and everyone started moving without complaint.

First was the thief who cautiously entered the crypt to search for traps.

The rest of the group placed a thick metal bar between the doors so it would not be closed completely even if there was a mechanism which shut the door. To avoid light from spilling out, the door was half closed. While the thief cautiously inspected the room, Greenham and the others did not let down their guard. The use of light couldn’t be helped. It was entirely possible that they might be spotted.

While Greenham and the rest of the team were crouching and watching the surroundings, the thief went to the area below the banner and observed it for a moment. After making up his mind, he reached for the banner, and pulled back nervously the moment he touched it.

“There is no problem here, everyone come in.”

The thief turned his head back towards Greenham and the others as he pointed at the banner.

“...This is really valuable, made from cloth-of-gold.”

“Haaahhh!? Cloth-of-gold? Leaving this here just like that, is there something wrong with their head?”

All of them gasped in surprise. Everyone gathered under the banner and took turns touching it. The cold material under their fingers was definitely metallic.

Considering how grand it looked, the appraisal of the thief should be correct. From this size, weight and artistic value, it must be worth a fortune.

“Our client won this one. Although our, or rather, the full payment for the four teams hasn't been collected yet, there are definitely loads of treasure here.”

“Do we take it with us right now?”

Greenham answered the thief’s query.

“This is too big. And heavy. Let’s take it later, any objections?”

“No. It will be difficult to move with this in tow. As for the result of the inspection, there are no traps or hidden doors.”

“...Well then, please.”

Greenham nodded at the mage— an arcane magic caster. His companion replied by casting a spell.

“‘Detect Magic’— I can’t detect any magical traps either. We can dismiss the possibility of anyone hiding with concealment magic.”

“...The inspection is almost done, let’s head for the main target.”

Their gaze fell on the stone coffin in the middle of the room.

The thief spent a lot of time investigating and concluded that there were no traps.

Greenham and the warrior nodded at each other and began the task of opening the stone coffin. It was rather big and should be very heavy, but it was lighter than they thought. They used too much strength and almost lost their balance.

The stone coffin’s cover opened, revealing numerous sparkling lights from within.

Gold, silver and gems of various colours, in addition to numerous sparkling accessories. And more than a hundred gold coins scattered all over.

They had been expecting something good after seeing the banner, but Greenham still grinned from ear to ear at this sight. The thief who was observing carefully picked up one of the items inside— a gold necklace.