Chapter 409

<Translator's Note: The following is a translation of the provided text, adhering strictly to the content and style of the original, without additional commentary.>

409 People Preparing for Winter #7

To describe it accurately:

About the length of my palm and about the thickness of a finger.

It wasn’t just a piece of iron or copper casting; its weight was heavier than expected. In short, it was quite sturdy for a simple key.

On what could be called either the end or the head of it, there was a round skull ornament. The craftsmanship was so detailed that it was immediately clear this wasn’t an ordinary key.

Initially, it was assumed to be the vault key possessed by the leader of the Sodomora Thieves’ Guild, so it certainly wasn’t ordinary.

However, since there was another key very similar to it, I couldn’t help but wonder.

“Uh, this is…”

Then Paranoi reacted in a way that was far from ordinary regarding this key, leading me to think that if Paranoi knew something, she might be able to provide some answers.

“So, what exactly is this?”

A question that had lingered since we raided the thieves’ guild.

To which Paranoi replied.

“This is most likely the key to a door…!”

“A door key?”

It wasn’t the key to a vault or box, then?

The key to a door, she said.

While I paused to consider this, Luna asked,

“Hassan, there’s one of these keys in the drawer, right? So is that one also a door key?”

At this, Paranoi was visibly startled.

“You already possess one of the Skeleton Keys of the Door…? Indeed, indeed, worthy of you, Hassan-sama! This is a fateful encounter…!”

In that eerie place filled with monster corpses, Paranoi, as always, became highly excited. Thanks to her excitement, Elpride, whose hearing was acute, covered her ears with her hands.

“…”

Ignoring Elpride’s discomfort, Paranoi maintained her fervor.

“To think, this was originally the key to the Great Temple of Pluto created by the priests of d*ath! It was destined to end up in your hands, Hassan-sama! Truly, objects find their true owners and come to them…!”

Priests of d*ath.

Key to the Great Temple.

From Paranoi’s mouth came some very intriguing keywords.

From Paranoi’s always surprising squirrel-stash of knowledge came not just candy and tools, but various sorts of information as well.

“Hmm…”

I paused briefly to connect thoughts and reasoning in parallel.

Judging by how well this little creature knew about it, it was probably knowledge acquired during her time as a cultist. The priests of d*ath likely referred to the clergy of Pluto.

As for the key to the Great Temple, I had no clue.

I asked,

“In any case, it’s an important key, right?”

“Yes…! According to rumors, it’s the key to the Grand Temple of Pluto, said to hold immense wealth and various treasures!”

Paranoi continued to expound on how important this object was.

Her voice was so full of excitement that some of her words were hard to understand, but boiled down to three main points:

1. Pluto’s temple and priests were extremely wealthy.

2. However, they were eventually persecuted by those who envied and feared their wealth, being branded as cultists.

3. The priests and followers scattered, dividing the riches among themselves. Despite the vast amount of treasures, there was a limit to what they could take.

4. The high-ranking priests of Pluto hid the treasures in a place unknown to anyone, sealed it with a strong door, and set up three keys to open it.

5. The whereabouts of those three keys are unknown, and their very existence is passed down as more legend than fact, whispered only among those who know.

“To the followers of Pluto, this item is itself considered a legend…!”

“Wow-! A key to Pluto’s treasure vault? Incredible! Is there a golden egg-laying goose inside?”

“There might also be a candy-laying goose…!”

A golden egg-laying goose. A candy-laying goose.

It seems Luna and Paranoi have a rather narrow concept of treasure. Swear, treasures like that wouldn’t exist in the vault.

“I wonder what’s inside!”

“Certainly, there will be an overwhelming amount of treasure! Enough to live a life of leisure!”

Apparently, Luna and Paranoi were both filled with pleasant imaginings upon the appearance of this Skeleton Key. Well, treasure, mysterious keys—few would dislike those two concepts.

And over there, Elpride narrowing her brows, would likely be one of those who wouldn’t like it.

After quietly listening for some time, Elpride spoke.

“If it’s regarded as a legend even by followers of Pluto, then this could itself be a fake, and the rumors could also be fabricated.”

“Kanpu lack imagination! Fill that overly large chest of yours at least halfway with dreams and romance!”

“What? This one keeps getting out of line every time I let him. What’s with all this nonsense about dignity?”

Unable to endure any longer, Elpride pulled on Paranoi’s ear.

“Aah-! My ear is getting longer…! If this continues, I, Paranoi, won’t be a short-eared nymph but a long-eared kanpu!”

“She’s going on and on!”

“It hurts…! Lady Luna, please show mercy upon this poor Paranoi…!”

“Elpride, stop tormenting Paranoi-!”

Finally, to stop things escalating, Luna stepped in, after which Elpride released Paranoi’s ear with a snort.

Paranoi, who had turned red, massaged his ear and pouted.

“Lady Luna, did my ears get longer? Am I turning into a kanpu?”

“Don’t worry!”

Only then did Paranoi seem to relax with a sigh. And then she proclaimed.

“In any case, I, Paranoi, assert that these rumors are surely true! And this key is undoubtedly real! The proof is right here…!”

Paranoi pointed her finger at me.

“Who? Me?”

Surprised, I echoed her words. She then proudly proclaimed as if it were a great honor,

“The rumors and legends of Pluto’s heir, Hassan-sama, passed down like myths, are also proven true! The most perceptive nymph in this world, Paranoi, who first noticed the identity of Hassan-sama, can confidently declare this skeleton key as genuine!”

Though preposterous, it strangely had a persuasive quality.

Perhaps because lately, Paranoi often gave sermons, proclaiming “Today, I shall preach about the wise and clever nymph Paranoi…!” and her oratory skills have noticeably improved.

Elpride said.

“Alright, assuming that’s true. Why was this man carrying such a key here? Among these monsters?”

Elpride’s cold, logical observation snapped us out of imagining golden egg-laying geese and brought us back to the grim reality before our eyes.

There were no treasures, only congealed bl**d and scattered corpses. A mysterious, wide-brimmed-hat-wearing archer lay dead.

And beside him, a significantly oversized corpse collapsed. Clutching a rusted axe, the monster had died with a fearsome expression. Its ash-gray skin was hard like stone.

“This is a Rock Ogre. Even one of these alone is enough to earn a Silver-class extermination rating. This man must have fought this and died together. But why would something like this happen here?”

Even Paranoi had no answer to Elpride’s question this time. Apparently, she truly knew nothing.

And of course, I was in the same boat.

Perhaps Luna, who used voodoo, might have a way?

I looked at Luna with hopeful anticipation, and she seemed to sense it, trembling slightly.

“Uh, alright-. Let me try to see what happened here?”

Her voice quivered with anxiety, indicating that this time it might not go well.

“Spirits, arise-. Break free from your decaying flesh and follow the orders of your masters-!”

Luna carried out the same strange ritual as before, holding a dagger in one hand and a doll in the other. She mimicked spiders, birds, and raccoons, raising both hands high and shouting.

“Hyaaah-!”

However, that was the end of it. Unlike the bodies that had moved earlier, nothing happened this time. Luna scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

“Apparently, I can’t summon spirits with higher karma values than mine. Huh, huhuh… These guys must have karma values higher than mine.”

“Well, that’s that.”

In the end, we had no clue what had transpired here.

*

“Efreet-.”

Elpride cremated the massed corpses that were decaying.

And since Luna and Paranoi conducted rites to appease and purify the spirits, this place would not end up cursed or plagued with undead.

“What a horrible thing to happen.”

Joseph looked quite displeased at the massacre that had occurred deep within his logging camp.

And as a bonus, he requested that we keep it secret so no unnecessary rumors spread.

“If useless rumors spread, fewer people will come to work, and the price of wood will drop, you understand? So, let it be known that you handled the monsters.”

“That’s wonderful! It promotes the rights of the Stomps! From now on, they get a 10-minute break after an hour of work…!”

“Hey, now I see. You, you’ve been forcing labor strikes on the Stomps, haven’t you? With the Stomps going into hibernation, there are Sandmen from the western desert anyway. Hohoho.”

“Sandmen can be overworked all they want…!”

“You know things, don’t you?”

Indeed, as I’ve always thought but never said—Joseph, the logging camp owner, was not a good guy. In fact, he might be the most heinous bourgeois villain out there.

“So, what’s this long-hatted guy? Did you find out anything about him?”

“Not really.”

We did go through the man’s belongings, but there was nothing to identify him—no adventurer’s license, no useful documents.

He took down the Black Mane Tribe alone, killed the troll and ogre on the spot, and died with them—all of which suggests he was a martial force of great renown.

A possible clue was that he had asked me to give this key to Thunderblade.

That would imply someone related to the royal family. And I know who can answer this question.

As twilight approached, upon returning to the Mars Guild, I saw women chatting at the reception desk.

“Aris, that’s not how you fill out that section, you know.”

“That’s nymph-phobic language…!”

“No, pointing out a mistake is not nymph-phobic language. I’m half-nymph, myself, so that accusation can’t stand!”

“I see…”

Swear…

“Ahem…”

I cleared my throat, and Daphne immediately noticed and looked up.

“Ah, Hassan and Luna-sama have returned! Looks like you’re unhurt, so it seems the mission went well! Sorry to have missed your return—I was busy training my assistant.”

Assistant?

As I approached, a small nymph with honey-colored hair resembling Doris sat at the reception desk.

There was a little nameplate pinned to her chest.

Nymph of Ditch Water, Aris. Employed under the Nymph Quota System. Don’t be unkind or she’ll bite.

Nymph Quota System, huh? So it’s finally reached Sodomora.

“I’m Aris, Nymph of Ditch Water…! Nice to meet you…! I’ve been hired to take over from Daphne…!”

Take over?

I furrowed my brow at the peculiar vocabulary typical of nymphs, and Daphne explained,

“I’ve been promoted to head of the reception team since I handled you and Luna-sama so well. In receptionist terms, that’s the Silver Tier. Isn’t it great? Now I can even use annual leave.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

You couldn’t use annual leave before? Impressive in more ways than one.

“Hotshan, I’ll handle the settlement then!”

“Ah, Luna-sama, please follow me. I’ve prepared some tea in my personal office.”

“Wow, Daphne, you even have a personal office now? Amazing!”

With that, Luna and Daphne were off to handle their own matters. Meanwhile, Elpride glanced around, stifled a small yawn, and said,

“I haven’t been to the Adventurer’s Guild in a while, so I should update my karma points and report recent events.”

“Ah! Renewals? Let Aris handle it for you…!”

“Alright?”

“You nymphs are surprisingly tall! Are you a stream nymph? What do you eat to become so tall?”

“Huh? I’m not a nymph, I’m an elf.”

“Elf…?! Get out of our land…! Foreign species…!”

“Not that…! Is there any other receptionist here?”

Leaving Elpride to tussle with the new reception nymph Aris, I ventured further into the guild.

At the deepest part of the guild was a shabby office.

Knocking twice on the door—”Dok dok”—

There was some movement inside.

There’s no one in. Go ahead and enter.

“Mr. Valtma, it’s me, Hassan. I’ll break down the door if you don’t open it.”

d*mn.

A brief string of curses, then an eerie creak as the door opened. Beyond, I saw a man who looked quite exhausted, half-blind, and showing M-shaped baldness.

Though he looked like an ordinary uncle, this man was Valtma, the head of the Mars Guild.

And in another capacity, the former high priest of Pluto’s Great Temple, and the royal duke, Vincent Friedrich.

He could tell us about the Skeleton Key, and the man who had given it to me.

“Aah, you locked me up, didn’t you, Uncle…!”

“…”

[Afterword]

Mr. Uken!!! Mr. CitrusPool!!! Mr. Asx!!! Mr. Inno0822!!! Mr. KuandKIceCream!!! Mr. Tante!!! Mr. Datejiru!!! Mr. Potetoserber!!! Thank you so much for the support coupons…!!!

Many of you have also sent draft fee coupons…!!! I always appreciate your comments, recommendations, and encouragements…!!!

It’s already the end of Friday…!!! The afternoon of Friday burns away as quickly as crispy autumn leaves…

At this rate, Saturday will quickly burn away too… But I, Michuri, will slow down time for our dear readers, stretching each minute into seconds…!

Saturday is expanding…!!!

7-8 minutes

People Preparing for Winter

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