The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter - Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Translator: “Kell” Editor: ”Weasalopes”

The hot springs training camp of wanton lust ended without any more problems, and I was now back at home .

「I’m home!」

No answer . They were probably in the store . I’ll go there after some rest, I thought as I opened the door to my room and found Alice sleeping in my bed, embracing my pillow . Furthermore, she was trying to kiss it .

「…Alice?」

「Ha… Onii-sama?!」

「She quickly got off the bed and addressed my like nothing happened . 」

「Welcome back . I’m glad you made it home safely . 」

「…Yeah . By the way, what were you doing in my bed?」

「Hmm… actually I was thinking about you last night, wondering if you were all right and I couldn’t sleep . Before I knew it, I was here savoring your scent . 」

「Well that escalated quickly . 」

「It was a fragrant scent!」

I don’t really know what to do if you say that with a bashful expression . She’s cute though so whatever . Alice didn’t look like she had anything to do so we locked the house and made our way to the store .

「By the way, Layla-san came yesterday . 」

「What did she want?」

「She mentioned something about combat practice . Too bad she came at the wrong time . 」

So she came to the house during her free time . She kept her word but I wasn’t there . I felt bad about it .

「She said she’ll be back in a few days . 」

「All right . I’ll have to practice with her next time . 」

「Oh, look at that . Toramaru’s doing his best today too . 」

Toramaru was stationed in front of the store, calling out to customers . There were a lot of people today gathered around him too . It looked like he was particularly popular with the kids .

「Sit! Sit, now!」

「Oh, dear . I am not a dog . 」

「I won’t buy anything, then . 」

「…Fine . 」

Toramaru sat like a faithful dog . He even wagged his tail affectionately .

「Next, turn around three times then bark . 」

「You want me to cast away my pride?」

「I’m not buying anything, then . 」

「Turn around three times~, woof!」

I felt like crying after seeing Toramaru’s devotion . Maybe it was actually Toramaru that’s contributed the most to our sales . I gotta help him .

「All right, guys . Let’s stop the silly games, okay? Toramaru is a proud lion . 」

「Eeeh~ but he has a flower on his head . 」

「That flower is precious and has something to do with his mood . If you don’t stop being mean to him, I might not let you in the store anymore . 」

「Wait . 」

Toramaru wanted to tell me something and whispered in my ears .

「Those kids’ parents are big-spenders and are most likely our top buyers . Upsetting them might not be wise…」

「Really?」

「We won’t buy anything anymore…」

The kids were getting impatient, pouting their mouths . I have to please them, then .

「I’m sorry . Um, what was it again?」

「Do lion warrior! Then we’ll buy something . 」

「I don’t know what that is…」

「Get on me . 」

I wasn’t sure what to do so I just straddled over on Toramaru’s back . The kids said to do something interesting so I drew my sword in desperation .

「I’m the Stalgia family’s lion warriors, Noir!」

「Roar! Rooooooaaar!」

「Ahahaha! So funny!」

For the next thirty minutes or so, Toramaru and I played the part of a warrior and his familiar that fought imaginary enemies . Or rather, we were forced to .

As for the Rare Shop, business was doing great . Customers came every day and we had a good reputation in the neighborhood . As I had guessed, the golden slime jelly was a hit and a talk of the town . I was glad I hit the mark on my prediction . There weren’t a lot left in stock so I should go and get some more .

And perhaps due to a ripple effect, my mother’s bizarre hand-made dolls sold like hotcakes . Incidentally, its name was Ugly Doll . It was popular with the girls for being “ugly-cute” . Like how people find bulldogs cute I guess?

After helping out in the store until dusk, I headed to the armor shop I went to before . They asked me to help with Appraisal .

「Good evening . It’s Noir . 」

「Oh you’re the guy from last time . I’ve been waiting for you . 」

「I came here to Appraise some goods . Is this a good time?」

「Yes, of course . 」

I might as well take this opportunity to negotiate .

「In exchange, can I ask for your help in buying a shield?」

「If it’s within my power, sure . I’ll give you discounts on stuff I sell here too . 」

We had ourselves a deal . The shopkeeper went to the back and returned after a while with a number of defensive weapons, lining them up on the counter table . A long shield, an iron gauntlet, a helmet with rusts in some parts, and leather shoes . These are the stuff he wants me to Appraise .

「I got something here that was owned by a ruined noble, one I recently bought from an ogre village, et cetera . My instincts tell me they’re gems, but they can be off sometimes . 」

I’m going to dictate and he’ll take notes . We’re all set .

「Which one should I check first?」

「Let’s start with the helmet . It’s quite rusty but it was apparently owned by an S-rank adventurer of a major guild . 」

「Oh, that’s incredible . 」

「He always had it on so I’m sure there’s something special about it . 」

I checked to see if the was right… Oh, this is good . It was imbued with the skills【Durable】and【Fire Resistance A】 . I told the shopkeeper and he clapped his hands in joy .

「An A rank skill! That was unexpected . It can withstand most fire attacks, or perhaps even a dragon’s breath . Next is this gauntlet . 」

「Hmm… this is just an ordinary gauntlet . 」

「No way! I bought that from a famous merchant for seven million ria…」

So he got duped . There were people who’d sometimes use their fame to commit evil deeds . He was probably unlucky .

「Well “boo-hoo” I guess . Gotta pull myself together . Next . 」he said .

「The shoes, then . 」

They were black leather boots . I gave the soles a cursory check . It was wonderfully-made and carefully maintained . The leather had a luster to it; it was beautiful . And now to the crucial part: it had【Swift Foot】imbued on it . In this case, the effect is active only if you were wearing it . Though if one just had it with him, he’d still be fast barefoot .
Then again, everyone wears shoes so I’m sure he could sell it for a hefty price .

「It has the skill【Swift Foot】 . 」

「All right! Just as I expected . There was a bandit who tried to rob me during one of my trips . We sent him packing and I got this from him . He was quite fast on his feet . 」

The shopkeeper was only level 4 with no combat skills so my guess was a bodyguard he hired took down the bandit . His business seemed to be thriving which means he had lots of money to hire one .

「Now for the last one: this shield . 」

「I see you’re nervous . 」

「Yeah . This is my greatest treasure . It belonged to a ruined noble from a different kingdom . I lent him some money and I got this to settle his debt . 」

Ruined noble, huh? You make it sound like it’s not your problem…

It was a dull-colored iron shield that could be used with only one hand, but it was long so it would be difficult to maneuver with it . It was more suitable for fighting while carefully protecting yourself .

I Appraised it and hit the jackpot .

It’s called a Champion’s Shield and it had the skills【Durable】【Fire Resistance A】【Water Resistance A】and【Wind Resistance A】 .

「This one’s incredible! It has four skill imbued . 」

「Wow!」

「No, not four actually . Five . 」

「Even better!」

Not all skills were buffs . It looked like a curse type of skill . I examined it with my【Edit】skill .

【Life Force Absorption Curse】
Continually takes the life force of a living person .

Yikes, this one’s bad news . If a human held it, they’d probably be dead in no time . The shopkeeper, blissfully unaware of this, was trying to rub his cheek on the shield and I quickly stopped him .

「Stop! Don’t touch it!」

「Why not?」

「The fifth skill is a curse . You’ll get your life force sucked just by touching it . 」

「What in the world?」

He immediately stepped away from the shield, regarding it with eyes like they were looking at something terrifying .

「Now that you mention it, the previous owner said he’d start feeling unwell after touching it for a long period of time . He only had it as a decoration, though, so that’s probably why it didn’t escalate into anything serious . 」

「It’s a nasty thing that continually takes the life force of a living person . It’s an excellent shield otherwise . No doubt about that . 」

「So it shaves off your life force to increase its defensive power . 」

The shopkeeper wore an expression that said he had no idea what to do with it now . He probably didn’t even want to touch it again either . Putting it away was difficult now too .

「You’re selling it?」

「Absolutely not . I have my pride as an armor dealer . I don’t want to sell something like this to customers」

「Dispose it, then?」

「I’d like to, but I don’t know where . 」

Someone else might get hurt if it was disposed of carelessly . What a good guy . I checked with my【Edit】how much LP was required to nullify the curse . 5,000 LP, huh?

I had plenty from the hot spring trip so it should be all right . I needed a superior shield anyway so this might be the best one for me .

「Can you sell this to me?」

「You’ll use it even with the curse?」

「No, but I know someone who can dispel curses . I don’t mind if it’s a bit pricey . 」

「In that case, how does 10,000 ria sound?」

「That’s very cheap . Are you sure about that?」

「I’m selling a defective merchandise . Plus you’ll probably need money to get the curse dispelled . 」

「Thank you . I’ll take it, then . 」

I paid him and secretly deleted the curse skill .

「You can use this to carry it . 」

The thoughtful shopkeeper brought out a thin wooden board . Using a stick, he pushed the shield on top of it . Now I could take the shield with me without touching it .

「Thank you . 」

It was actually all right to touch it now, but I couldn’t tell him that . Not after everything I said . So I just had to fake it .

「You can throw the board away if you’re done with it . 」

「Thank you for the help . I’ll come again soon . 」

「Thank you, too . I learned that the helmet and shoes were worthwhile goods, and you saved me from having my life span shortened . Please come again . 」

We were both satisfied . It was a wonderful shopping trip . I held the shield with my hand when I got out of the shop . It’s just a sturdy shield now—my life span won’t shorten . It was used as a decoration previously so it was still pretty durable and the handle was still firm and secured .

「With this, I might be able to clear the 10th floor . 」

I hope we get along, Champion’s Shield!