Reincarnated in the Same World for the Nth Chapter 61 : Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Bejiana gave a twenty percent discount on the total price of the goods.

Considering that they had not originally intended to catch anything, and that the thief had charged straight toward where they were, it was not a bad price at all.

“Then we will send the bill over here, and we are thinking of delivering the items all at once around the last day of the Founding Festival. Would that be all right? If there is anything you need urgently, we can deliver it earlier.”

“Yes. The last day will be sufficient.”

Even with the discount, the goods were expensive to begin with, so it was not an amount that could be paid in cash.

They did not have that much money on hand right now, either.

So they decided to send the paynt later, and once the price was settled, Bejiana’s side would ship the items.

After finishing the invoice, Aquila and Cahena exchanged farewells with the explorers of the eastern dungeon.

Since they would et again anyway when the goods were delivered, the goodbyes themselves were brief, but the explorers once again thanked them for their help.

‘We obtained quite a valuable item right from the start. It sounds ridiculous, but it is thanks to that thief.’

It was sothing that could only be obtained by going east in person or traveling to the Labyrinth, so this really was good fortune.

‘At this ti, he was an herbalist, I think. I am not sure if he will be in Portplum, but I have plenty of ti. I should look for him.’

Having finished their satisfying shopping, Aquila and Cahena turned back.

For a mont, Aquila worried that they might run into Beirets Hurbel again, but the luggage containing the communication bracelets was heading in the complete opposite direction from them, so he walked on with relief.

“…It will be difficult to find it again now, but is it really all right to just leave the bracelet like that?”

Cahena leaned toward Aquila and whispered.

He had not explained anything at all while they were moving away from Bejiana’s stall, so Cahena had no idea what had happened.

“That, uh, well… still, it was a gift from the Saint, was it not?”

“Ah, well. You do not need to worry about that. If it were sothing I borrowed, that would be one thing, but as you said, it was a gift.”

If he said that he had lost it by accident, what could a Saint really do about it?

Since it was sothing Beirets Hurbel had personally given to Ianpel, aside from being of higher quality than items sold on the market, there was nothing particularly special about it.

Communication bracelets were expensive, but they were not impossible to obtain in Reschenhardt.

From Aquila’s perspective, it was nothing more than having received one expensive gift.

In truth, Ianpel must have thought of it as nothing more than a simple favor as well.

Aquila fiddled with his left wrist, which felt oddly empty after removing the bracelet, then lowered his hand.

“And besides, it will co back anyway.”

“…Pardon? Co back, you say?”

“You will find out later. Let us hurry. Shen will be worried.”

Aquila cast a sideways glance, then quickened his pace, weaving through the crowd.

***

“Young Master! Where in the world did you go?!”

When they returned to their original spot, Shen’s tearful voice greeted them first, as expected.

This attendant was alone without Heinen, and upon seeing the cracks in the ground and the bloodstains, he was in a complete state of panic.

“I was worried that sothing terrible might have happened, so I was looking everywhere! Sir Heinen went to check the surroundings…!”

As he spoke, Shen explained that he had stayed here in case they passed by each other while returning.

He had been reassuring himself that the worst had not happened, since Cahena had gone with Aquila.

“Nothing serious happened.”

Looking at Shen as he wiped away his tears, Aquila explained why they had left their spot.

They had been standing still when a thief charged toward them on his own.

Then they happened to et the owner of the items the thief had stolen, and since that person seed to possess rare goods, they had stopped by the stall briefly while handing the thief over to the guards.

Of course, after hearing the full explanation, Shen eventually shot Cahena a glare.

“I told you to stay right here. What were you supposed to do if the young master said he was going and just took off like that?!”

“Well, I an, he said we should go while we were at it. What was I supposed to do…?”

Cahena scratched the back of his head and avoided Shen’s gaze.

In any case, Shen agreed to handle the paynt matters on their behalf.

While examining the items listed on the invoice one by one, Shen tilted his head.

“The price is manageable, but… what did you buy, Young Master? What are you planning to use it for?”

At Shen’s question, Aquila hesitated for a mont, but in the end, there was only one way he could answer.

“I have a very specific use for it.”

“Yes?”

Since he could not say that he was planning to leave ho later and go traveling, this was the best answer he could give.

In any case, the interrogation that seed ready to continue ca to an end when they returned.

“You are back.”

Seeing Cahena and Aquila there, Heinen relaxed his shoulders as if relieved.

Cahena gave him the sa explanation he had given Shen.

“So the only thing the thief stole was black tal?”

“Yes. There were many items that looked more valuable, but he only took that.”

“…I see.”

Heinen added his words in the sa blunt tone as usual, but the silence before that was long enough to be unsettling.

Aquila looked up at his face, hidden behind the helt.

“Do you know sothing about it?”

“…I cannot say that I know for certain.”

Rubbing his chin with rough fingertips, Heinen slowly continued.

“It is sothing I have heard as well, but apparently item supply from the eastern dungeons has been delayed recently. I have also heard that so dungeons have been temporarily closed.”

“…Temporarily closed dungeons? Is that sothing that can even happen?”

Shen asked, tilting his head.

Normally, dungeons that had already been revealed to the world were mostly cleared, with their strategies fully shared, so there was no reason for them to be closed.

No matter what happened, revival was possible up to three tis inside a dungeon, and escape items were well prepared.

If such a dungeon was temporarily closed, the reasons fell into two categories.

A good one, and a dangerous one.

“Was a new room discovered?”

Aquila asked.

A good sign was when a new room was discovered within a dungeon, uncovering items that had not existed there before, or when new monsters appeared.

In such cases, it was not particularly dangerous, but the entrance was temporarily closed to redraw the dungeon map.

It was to update the strategy guide.

And the other, dangerous case was…

“No. From what I have heard, it seems that a new boss monster has appeared.”

“A new boss monster?”

Shen blinked.

He looked completely confused, but that was understandable.

Dungeons usually did not change.

The sa monsters appeared, the sa nad enemies existed, and the rewards were similar every ti.

That was why strategies and maps could exist in the first place.

However, there were tis when, without any warning or signs, an existing dungeon vanished and a powerful boss monster appeared along with a new map.

People called this a ‘calamity,’ but Aquila knew exactly what it was.

‘A raid event designed to keep players from getting bored of repetitive dungeons….’

Since running the sa dungeon every ti would beco tedious, new monsters were introduced to entertain the players.

The reason Aquila thought of it as a ga event was because of the System window.

The last ti he entered a dungeon whose boss monster had changed, a ssage had appeared saying, “Entering an event dungeon!”

In any case, once the boss monster was defeated or a certain amount of ti passed, the dungeon returned to its original state.

When Heinen finished explaining, Cahena, who had been standing there with his arms crossed and listening quietly, spoke up.

“Then are they preparing to clear it now?”

“Yes. Since no one knows how long it will take for the dungeon to return to normal.”

There were only two ways to end this raid event.

Either kill the monster, or wait until it ended on its own.

Because the monster was extrely powerful, there were cases where people chose the latter, but as Heinen said, no one knew when the dungeon would revert to normal.

In the longest case, it took five years before it finally returned to its original state, only after being cleared.

And of course, most people chose to defeat the monster rather than wait.

The rewards after a raid were lucrative.

“Then the dungeon that is currently temporarily closed is…?”

“Yes. It is the ‘Black Forest’ dungeon, which produces black tal.”

Heinen nodded.

Black tal was often used as a weapon material, so with that dungeon closed, it made sense that soone would be targeting it.

Moreover, ironically, preparing weapons to enter that dungeon would require even more black tal.

If soone went east with even a single piece of black tal right now, they could sell it for several tis its previous price.

‘That thief was lucky too. He found a stall selling black tal here.’

Then did Bejiana and Ridim not know about the current situation of the eastern dungeons?

Aquila glanced back in the direction of the stall they had just visited.

‘Well, if they knew, they would not have displayed it on a stall and sold it.’

Since they had co here after being driven out of the eastern Adventurers’ Guild, there was a good chance they did not know.

“Should we not tell them? We could go and let them know.”

Cahena, apparently thinking the sa thing, looked in the sa direction.

However, Aquila did not deliberate for long and shook his head.

“There is no reason to be that kind. The original price was already quite high.”

They would et again anyway because of the transaction, so it would be fine to tell them then.

If the item was sold before that, it could not be helped.

When Aquila stated it plainly, Cahena nodded.

After all, they had already ensured that they did not suffer a loss by catching the thief and returning the item.

“Let us head back. I was planning to look around a bit more, but I think we have already gained enough for today.”

They had not found the magic tool that was their original objective, but they had gained more than expected from Bejiana’s stall.

Moreover, today was only the second day of the Great Old Dust Release.

There was still plenty of ti before the event ended, so they could co back tomorrow or the day after.

Given that they had looked around the outskirts like this and not found it, there was a high chance it had not yet appeared at the stalls, and in any case, it was said that it would remain unsold until the last day.

When Aquila sumd it up, the others nodded.

“Yes, Young Master. Then let us go back!”

Shen cheerfully took the lead.

Following behind him, Aquila slowly looked around the still-bustling Portplum.

‘A raid event… Was there really a ti when the Black Forest dungeon was closed during this period?’

He thought about it, but it felt as though it had happened, and yet also as though it had not.

In any case, by the ti he traveled east with Ark, it had already been an ordinary dungeon.

After rummaging through his mories for a bit longer, he turned his head.

If that was the case, soone preparing now to clear the dungeon would eventually restore the Black Forest dungeon to normal.

As he was now, Aquila neither could nor needed to go there.

‘No. Perhaps I might need to go east sooner than I thought. He is there, after all.’

By then, Aquila boarded the carriage that had arrived.

Then he imdiately erased the magic formula.

A halo of light shimred at the tips of his black hair, and in an instant, it spread upward like flas, dyeing the crown of his head red.

Aquila swept his restored red hair back.

“Ah. It is the original young master.”

Seeing him from across the carriage, Shen smiled.

Aquila returned the smile briefly at that innocent face, then shifted his gaze to the small window.

‘The Demon Dragon. Should I try hunting that thing first?’

Resting his chin in his hand, Aquila leisurely took in the rapidly passing scenery.