The group descended the snow-covered hill, stepping cautiously with each step.
In this world of snow, there stood a tree, its branches spread wide in all directions.
Yuric approached the tree, crushing the snow that reached up to his ankles.
The exploration team stood before this majestic and ancient life form.
Yuric touched the trunk of the tree with his hand and looked up. It was a giant old tree, easily capable of overshadowing a house.
“This is a mysterious tree. Even in winter, its leaves are fresh green.”
“Legend has it that the hero Zadrot planted a spear in the ground to commemorate his victory over the Great Demon, and it turned into this tree.”
Niruin nodded in amazement at the incredible legend.
Yuric noticed that quite a few spirits were gathered around this huge old tree, watching the humans who approached with great interest.
He politely bowed his head to the spirits, apologizing for the intrusion, then slowly examined the tree.
“This tree associated with the hero Zadrot can’t be just a coincidence.”
Yuric thought from Dural’s perspective. If he were a treasure mage, he would surely hide clues about the treasure near this giant tree.
He told the others to immediately report if they found anything while searching the surroundings. The exploration team began to thoroughly search the area. Niruin didn’t just stand by; he actively joined the search.
Then someone called out to Yuric. Not only Yuric, but the entire exploration team rushed towards the sound.
“There’s no snow here.”
A patch of land, about the size of a hand’s breadth, was exposed.
“Hurry and dig!”
The ground wasn’t completely frozen. They dug deep with the shovels they had brought. However, instead of treasure, what came out was a stone pillar.
“Is this the treasure?”
“No way.”
There were two lines extending from the center on top of the round stone pillar buried deep in the ground.
Yuric stared at it for a moment, then something suddenly came to mind. He pointed in the direction the lines extended and told two people to quickly go check that way.
Those two ran in different directions for a while, then waved their hands excitedly, saying there was something there.
“There’s melted ground here too!”
“And here as well!”
Including Yuric, the exploration team rushed to both places and started digging. As expected, both spots had stone pillars buried in them.
‘The triangle on the treasure map…!’
Yuric realized that special magic was imbued in the stone pillars and placed one mana stone on each pillar. Soon after, the mana stones began to react.
—
The mana stones on top of the stone pillars started emitting light. The intense light pierced through the ground and eventually reached another mana stone. Soon, the three mana stones were connected by light, causing the ground to start shaking.
The center of the ground where the light formed a triangle started to tremble, and a large hole soon appeared. And the magic ended.
People who had stepped back to watch the amazing sight cautiously approached the hole. It was clearly an entrance leading underground.
“I never imagined such a thing could exist…”
Yuric was equally surprised. He sat down near the entrance with Niruin and carefully observed for a long time, checking if there was any danger. At first, he didn’t sense any further mana reactions.
Yuric cautiously entered the hole first. The passage was quite spacious, allowing him to pass through easily if he slightly bent his upper body.
Following the passage carefully, he stepped into a vast space.
Ah.
The floating light sphere illuminated the secret room underground that hadn’t been touched by human hands for hundreds of years.
Yuric felt how much effort Dural must have put into creating this place as he looked at this astonishing space.
The walls were covered with drawings and writings, which seemed to be about the battle against the Great Demon when he glanced over them roughly.
And…
Yuric noticed a display stand-like object opposite the entrance of the passage on the wall. On it was a box the size of a book.
At first glance, it looked like a crude box, but it exuded an unusual aura. Of course, it wasn’t a malevolent curse.
After checking up to this point, Yuric returned to the surface.
“Your Grace, would you like to come in?”
“Sure.”
Niruin slowly followed Yuric into the underground passage. When he entered the secret room, he forgot his dignity and gaped at the inside.
“…This is truly amazing. Truly amazing…”
Niruin’s gaze, which had been sweeping the surroundings, soon landed on the box. He asked if this was Dural’s treasure. Yuric nodded, saying it probably was.
Yuric carefully picked up the box and handed it to Niruin.
“Why don’t you open it upstairs?”
“Great!”
Niruin smiled happily like a child. He took the box and quickly showed it to everyone. Everyone was amazed at finding the treasure, which was considered legendary, along with Dural.
Niruin placed the box on the floor and slowly opened the lid. People standing around eagerly watched the treasure chest.
Ah.
Inside the box was a pure white horn. Everyone tilted their heads, wondering what it was.
Yuric, who had read the writing under the box in the secret room and figured out the identity of the horn, explained to everyone what it was.
“It’s a unicorn’s horn.”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
If someone mentioned a unicorn, wasn’t it a sacred mythical creature?
And if it was a horn, it was truly a magnificent treasure.
Overwhelmed with joy at finding the treasure, Niruin shook hands in gratitude with everyone who had helped, and finally held Yuric’s hand tightly.
“Thank you. I couldn’t have made it this far without you. This experience will stay with me forever.”
Yuric smiled brightly and asked Niruin if it would be okay to write a paper on the treasure map after this.
“Of course. Since we’ve found the treasure, you can publish it anytime now.”
The exploration team spent a considerable amount of time examining the treasure and then returned to their campsite. They packed up their tents, organized their supplies, and returned to the village.
Yuric wanted to record the contents of the secret room, so he asked Niruin if it would be fine to stay a bit longer. Niruin readily agreed. So, the exploration team decided to stay in the village for a few more days.
And that evening.
Niruin quietly called Yuric to his room. He seemed to have made a decision.
“What is it, Your Grace?”
“Yuric…”
Niruin tapped the treasure chest on the table with his hand and quietly spoke.
“I want to hear your opinion. How should we handle this treasure?”
“Didn’t you plan to store it?”
“Yes… If it were before, I would have stored it deeply in a warehouse without thinking twice.”
Niruin looked out the window with a distant gaze.
“But I wonder if that really has meaning.”
He looked at Yuric again.
“Frankly, this treasure might as well have been found by you. Yet, you didn’t show any greed for it.”
“That’s because I don’t think it belongs to me.”
“Yes, I knew you’d say that.”
Niruin smiled bitterly.
“If you don’t think it belongs to you, can you really call it yours?”
At that moment, Yuric felt that Niruin had changed greatly since they first met.
“I’m over seventy now. I’ve earned enough money to be tired of it. I’ve collected many valuable things, not as grand as this treasure, but still precious.”
Yuric listened intently to Niruin’s story.
“And I finally found Dural’s treasure… Yes, that’s enough. That’s enough. Putting this precious treasure in a warehouse to rot seems like excessive greed to me.”
Niruin laughed heartily, as if he had no regrets.
“I learned something from you.”
“Your Grace…”
“I want to use it in a meaningful place. I’ll follow your advice.”
Seeing Yuric’s puzzled expression, Niruin chuckled.
“Don’t worry. I’m the continent’s greatest merchant. If I can win your heart with just one treasure, it’s much better.”
“I’ve already given my heart to Your Grace.”
“Then I need to show mine too. To show that I’ve given my heart to you. Otherwise, the accounts won’t balance, right?”
Niruin held Yuric’s hand.
“I want us to last long. I was so happy during our treasure hunt. A happiness that’s different from making money… I realized this through this journey.”
“I was happy too.”
“So, I want to end this journey well. No matter how much I think about it, this is the only way. If I take the treasure, you and I will just become employer and employee. I don’t want that.”
Then Niruin said,
“I clearly told you. Let’s find treasures together. Then, we should also discuss how to deal with the treasure together.”
Yuric smiled and nodded.
“Yes, that makes sense. Upon hearing Your Grace’s words, I realize they are right.”
“Yes? Then what do you think we should do?”
Yuric pondered. But he couldn’t immediately think of what to do.
“I need some time to think.”
“Alright. Take your time. We have plenty of time.”
And for two days, Yuric went back and forth between the stormy dunes in the village, steadily recording the pictures and writings engraved in the secret room onto paper.
One night.
While organizing his data late into the night, Yuric felt a strange sensation. Opening the window, he witnessed a remarkable sight.
It was definitely a pure white horse. It looked like a spirit or a sacred beast.
The horse walked back and forth in front of the house as if pleading, appearing when Yuric opened the window. Suddenly, he wondered why the spirit had come here, and something flashed through his mind.
‘Could it be?’
Yuric hurriedly got up and crossed over to Niruin’s room. Niruin woke up from deep sleep due to the late hour.
“Yuric, what’s wrong?”
Yuric said he thought the unicorn had come to reclaim its horn. Hearing this, Niruin’s eyes widened instantly, and he seemed to awaken from a dream.
“Indeed. Yes… It must be destiny.”
Niruin took the treasure chest and left the house with Yuric.
Normally, this spirit wouldn’t be visible to ordinary people, but Niruin could see the dazzlingly white horse clearly.
The horse slowly approached Niruin as if it had been waiting. Seeing a spirit for the first time, Niruin laughed in disbelief, looking back and forth between the spirit and Yuric.
“This, this is…! This isn’t a dream, is it?”
“Yes, Your Grace, it’s a spirit.”
“How could this happen?”
Niruin’s face was as if his emotions were even more stirred than when he found the treasure.
The golden-handed man gazed at the sacred horse for a while, then opened the treasure chest and gave the horn to the horse. Surprisingly, the horn moved on its own and stuck to the horse’s forehead.
The unicorn spirit, delighted, raised its front legs and cried happily. It approached Niruin, rubbing its head against him, seemingly grateful for the return of its horn. Niruin gently stroked the unicorn’s snout.
—
“Thank you for returning it. May blessings be upon you, kind ones.”
The unicorn pressed its nose against Niruin’s head. Then, sparkling powder flowed from Niruin’s head and absorbed into his body. Similarly, the spirit did the same to Yuric’s head.
The unicorn played happily around for a while, then suddenly leaped powerfully into the air and disappeared.
Niruin stood there for a long time, staring at the spot where the spirit vanished.
“…The item has found its rightful owner.”
“Yes, everything went well, Your Grace.”
Although Dural’s treasure had disappeared, Niruin felt no regret.
“This is a wonderful conclusion.”
And the next day, everyone was amazed at Niruin’s transformation.
The golden-handed man, blessed by the unicorn, looked as if he had become 30 years younger. His stiff joints, heavy body, and inconvenient movements were all improved.
He felt like he had returned to the prime of his life.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Niruin genuinely smiled.
“Yuric, meeting you was the greatest luck of my life.”
—
The cycle of kindness.
The golden-handed man obtained the most valuable lesson in his life, one he couldn’t acquire even by spending all his money.
