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Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes
The Adventurer’s Movement
It wasn’t until evening that Hikaru, Lavia, and Paula made it back to the hotel. They were stuck in the museum for the whole day for a reason.
「Well, I suppose we should be glad we got the poem collection.」
In Hikaru’s hand was the genuine parchment found in King Allegro’s Treasure Chest. In the end, Hikaru’s request to give him the contents was granted.
No matter how you looked at it, the parchment wasn’t worth two million gilans, which in this world would be enough to buy a few new houses.
The museum had no choice but to accept Hikaru’s request. However, since the museum had the right to examine the contents, they said they would like to copy not only the letters but also the handwriting, which Hikaru agreed to.
「So, can you tell us now why you took this parchment? This will get us good money, right?」Lavia said as she prepared the food they bought on the table.
「Relax. True, you can hardly say this paper’s worth two million gilans.」
「But you think it’s valuable, right?」Paula cut in.「Oh, maybe a collector will buy it for a high price!」
「Sounds interesting, but no.」Hikaru took a sip of the tea that Paula prepared.「This is a treasure map that shows the location of King Allegro’s fortune.」
「What?」
「It doesn’t say it’s a map, though.」
Hikaru spread the parchment on the table.
「First, let’s examine the line “Unfurl the sails, and ring the golden bell”. I can understand ringing a bell, but a golden one? I’m pretty sure you won’t find that anywhere. Next is “Let our fleet embark on its maiden voyage to the historic seas”. “Historic ocean” doesn’t make much sense. Then there’s the “maiden voyage” even though it’s a fleet. I think “historic” means “up until now”, and “maiden” means “untouched”. I believe it’s a code that means “Untouched gold that I had amassed until now”.」
「I guess… it kinda makes sense?」
「I know. It sounds too contrived. But consider the last verse: “My glory is within my hands”, “If you wish to take my hand”, and “come to me where I sleep in peace”. I think it means that King Allegro’s fortune is buried with his body.」
「So a gravesite?」
「I don’t know if we can call it that. We know one thing, though. There’s no record of his final years. How and where he died is shrouded in mystery. I think this parchment will point us to something that will lead us to his resting place.」
Every day was a busy day for Patricia. Today many documents were brought in in the morning, and meetings and visits were set up every minute. Right now she was dealing with a pile of papers together with her secretary.
「So the lunch meeting with King Doriachi today will be replaced by a tea party instead.」Patricia said.
「Yes, Ma’am. Bios’s messenger is being pushy…」
「It’s fine.」
Patricia met with Doriachi almost daily to exchange information. What she was after, of course, was the advanced magical knowledge that Dream Maker had, and what Doriachi wanted was safety for his people.
However to her surprise, the initial expenses that should have been Patricia’s biggest bargaining chip, was shouldered mostly by Silver Face. In addition, the people of Dream Maker started making their own money for their daily necessities, leaving no room for Patricia to strike on the financial side of things.
「Providing land, security, other preparations… Those are the only things we can do. But since Vireocean’s the only one that can do them, we have an advantage. Bios accumulating funds at this point won’t make a difference.」
「That is correct.」
「But Silver Face still gets on my nerves. I didn’t know he had so much money.」
「He also possesses a powerful magic item that could move thousands of people at once.」
「That’s it.」
It had been confirmed that Silver Face transported the citizens of Dream Maker. But how he did it was unknown. The refugees said they went through a tunnel, but upon later inspection, they didn’t find said tunnel, not even a trace of it being buried.
What’s more, the time spent by sailing through the sea and the time they spent on foot didn’t add up. No matter how you looked at it, the distance couldn’t be covered in just half a day.
「We still don’t know where Silver Face is?」
「No. He just up and disappeared.」
「That annoying little punk…」Patricia heaved a sigh as she leaned back on her chair.
With a strained laugh, the secretary changed the topic.「Supreme Leader, about yesterday’s adventurer…」
「Oh, that oddball who bought a scrap of paper for two million gilans?」Patricia’s expression softened.
「It sounds like you’ve taken a liking to that boy.」
「Why, of course.」
To her, he was a boy of good fortune who brought her huge profits from the gems. Plus she didn’t have to disburse two million gilans. She had not even considered that Silver Face and the boy were the same person.
「He went to the national library today to find out more about King Allegro.」
「Haha. Obtaining his autograph piqued his interest, eh?」
The analysis done yesterday at the museum showed that the handwriting on the parchment belonged to the real King Allegro.
「I can understand. After all, he was a great man that came from a poor farmer family in Cape Zelze. After finding some success, he eventually commanded an army of more than ten thousand and founded his own kingdom. You won’t find another document like that anywhere.」
「Yes… I suppose.」
「What? You’re not making yourself clear. What’s wrong?」
「It sounds like the boy doesn’t even know much about the king. He’s reading history books to learn even the most basic knowledge about the man.」
「Hmm…」
「I just thought it was strange, considering he threw away two million for that parchment.」
Patricia stood up and looked outside the window. She had an unobstructed view of Ville Zentra’s harbor. The sea glittered as it reflected the light from the sun. Fishing boats came and went.
「“The shack protruding from the peninsula is our starting point”…」Patricia muttered.
「I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that.」
「Maybe that poem is more than just a poem.」
「And by that, you mean…?」
「The chest! Is that poem really something you put in such a luxurious chest?!」
「Now that you mention it… The content being just a scrap of paper doesn’t make much sense.」
「Which means…」Patricia pondered it over with a serious look.「I get it now… King Allegro’s fortune. That poem is a clue to his fortune’s whereabouts.」
「Fortune?」
Patricia let out a laugh.「I see. The boy must’ve quickly realized that. That’s why he wanted the parchment. If he asked to copy the poem, he’d risk us realizing that there’s significance to the poem itself. So instead he made it look like he was after King Allegro’s handwritten notes. He didn’t expect us to keep an eye on him afterwards, though.」
「That means that adventurer Hikaru is going to the library to look for the treasure?」
「What else could it be? There’s no way he’d throw away two million gilans otherwise! Listen. I need you to form a research commission by today and have them visit King Allegro’s house in Cape Zelze immediately.」
「Wh-Why there?」
「Don’t you get it? The poem said “the shack protruding from the peninsula is our starting point”. “To the east is a graveyard, to the west a hole to hell” means you need to locate a graveyard to the east and opposite of it would be a cave or a well. “The sunrise will light your course” means some kind of clue will appear at sunrise. Hurry! Make sure they make it by dawn tomorrow. If this Hikaru kid tries to leave town, come up with some reason to prevent him from leaving for a day.」
「I’ll be the one to find King Allegro’s real treasure!」Patricia declared.