A short while later, Lucilia’s head erged from the ground and slowly rose.
She was panting slightly, clinging to Ed’s shoulders and looking extrely tired.
"Do ghosts get tired too?" Ed couldn’t help but ask curiously, looking at Lucilia’s breathless face.
Hearing this, Lucilia looked up and glared at him. "It’s too far from the Magic Mirror. The farther away I am, the more energy I consu, and the more tired I beco."
Hearing this explanation, Ed nodded. "I see. It seems her movable range is very limited, and her mirror is not only a resting place but also her charging port."
Slightly recovered, Lucilia pointed to the sea beside her. "There is indeed a space below, but it’s too dark to see anything. However, there’s an underwater tunnel in this direction."
Looking at the sea, Ed realized that to reach the treasure location, he had to find the underwater tunnel.
Judging by the distance, the tunnel shouldn’t be very long. After all, the difficulty level was only "Adult." If it were really long, the difficulty would probably be "Diving Expert" or "Breath-Holding Master" instead.
Ed imdiately took off his coat, wrapped the map and so non-waterproof items inside, and hid them behind so rubble. Because Lucilia was present, and he had no intention of showing her his greatest secret, he didn’t put them in his inventory. Although they were all worthless items, losing them would still affect his mood.
He kept the two guns on his person, in case of an ergency. These weren’t like real firearms from his previous life, so they weren’t afraid of water.
Following Lucilia’s directions, he jumped directly into the sea.
Below the surface was a large, protruding rock. Swimming along its edge, he indeed saw a cave below it. Lucilia pointed toward the cave entrance.
Having found the way, Ed surfaced again. After taking a deep breath, he subrged once more.
A crystal had appeared in Ed’s right hand, emitting a faint white light that illuminated the surrounding area. He swam towards the cave.
After swimming only three or four ters, he saw the cave entrance above again and surfaced imdiately.
"Phew!"
He wiped the seawater from his face, and the white light from the crystal in his hand instantly illuminated the entire cavern.
Ed used the light to survey the environnt. No one had been here for a long ti. The walls were crawling with sothing like moss, and so unknown small insects quickly shrank into the shadows under the white light.
The only thing in the room was a wooden crate with iron bands in the distance. It was also covered with various weeds and moss, and the exterior of the wooden planks was rotten. In the corner, it almost blended into the environnt.
"Is this little crate the treasure?" Lucilia couldn’t help but ask.
Ed nodded while observing his surroundings.
"This is too easy. It doesn’t feel like a treasure hunt at all," Lucilia said sowhat dejectedly, looking at the crate. She had been thinking about a wonderful adventure, solving mysteries, escaping hidden puzzles and traps, before finally finding the treasure. Sadly, she had been thinking too much. Ed had gone straight to the location, she had sunk into the ground to find the space and the entrance, and that was that. "It’s not as interesting as those treasure hunt stories in books," she complained again.
Hearing this, Ed smiled while shaking his head. "Those are just literary works after all. In real life, who wants to risk their life to find treasure? Isn’t it great to find it quickly and safely? Not everyone can go through obstacles like you. Everyone only has one life."
As he spoke, he looked around carefully and indeed found no trace of traps. Only then did he walk over and examine the wooden crate. He shook it slightly before squatting down. There was no lock at all; the lid was simply held by so iron bands, making it feel quite heavy.
With a little force, the box was opened.
Looking through the white light, the contents were wrapped in a waterproof gray cloth that faintly emitted magical energy.
"This is an [Isolation] spell. This gray cloth is made of material enchanted with it; the spell’s effect is directly enhanced through the material itself," Lucilia, who had again attached herself behind Ed, hurriedly explained.
Ed recognized the [Isolation] spell as well; it was a common spell generally used to protect fragile things. It was waterproof, fireproof, and even corrosion-resistant. Valuable books, paper items, or even food could be protected with it.
Ed tested the cloth with his pistol. After confirming there were no traps, he picked it up. It wasn’t heavy.
Unfolding the cloth, the contents were revealed. A faint outline appeared in his eyes: a notebook, a book, a wrapped scroll, and a disc with a faintly glowing outline. With a touch, the disc’s glowing outline disappeared.
Ed rewrapped the cloth, grabbed the bundle, and after making sure he hadn’t missed anything, he jumped back into the water and swam to shore.
Gathering his coat and other belongings, he headed straight for the harbor.
"Alright, that’s enough fun for today. You can go back to the mirror now; I have sothing to do," Ed said. After stopping a few stores away from the "love house" Jason had ntioned, he found a corner and spoke to Lucilia, who was flying beside him, occasionally going inside shops to examine goods she found interesting.
"Alright, then rember to call out when you examine the treasure we found," Lucilia said. Knowing her place, she didn’t make things difficult. She nodded with a smile and hurriedly retreated back into the mirror.
Then Ed, with the mirror, the rest of his useless things, and the treasure he had just found, threw everything into his inventory. As for what would happen if Lucilia got out while in the inventory and discovered his secret? He had already tested that and confird that while she was in the inventory, the ti-stop effect also worked on her, freezing her in her mirror like the rest of the items. This was very convenient.
With everything settled, Ed first looked at the money in his inventory before hurrying toward the ’Sleep Paradise’ brothel. Because of all the treasure hunting, he had already wasted nearly two hours, and now he only had about four hours left before 6 o’clock, when Andre had asked them to return to the ship. He had to hurry; ti was running out.
[ Money: Silver Snake x 18, 3 Gold Leaf, 1 Gold Sail. ]
"Welco, sir! Welco to Sleep Paradise..." As soon as Ed entered the establishnt, a beautiful young woman in a very short main outfit ca to greet him with a bright smile. She wore beautiful makeup, had red lips, and long blue hair that was probably dyed, as it looked unnaturally shiny. She had C-cup breasts. Overall, she wasn’t Ed’s type, but considering she was very young and perhaps still developing, her undeveloped assets were reasonable.
The girl, while explaining the rules and regulations of the establishnt, brought Ed to the counter, where another, more mature woman with heavy makeup gave him a catalog so he could choose which woman he would like.
Ed, already running out of ti, hurriedly picked a young blonde with a nice figure and a middle-aged, Japanese-looking woman with perky breasts and shoulder-length black hair. Considering it was his first ti with a threeso, he didn’t pick anyone else and moved to the next stage: the paynt section, where he would decide how long he wanted to hire them and if he needed any supplies.
He first paid two silver snakes to hire the two won for four hours, then bought two stamina-recovering potions for 100 copper swallows each, before following another waitress toward his room.
Although the service at this brothel was more expensive than on ister Island, where he had bought Yukino for an entire night with just one silver snake, he considered that these won were more beautiful and experienced than her. Also, the current island was a tourist island, so overcharging custors was essential. He didn’t think too much of it; if a few coins could buy him happiness, he didn’t mind spending them.
The room wasn’t worth ntioning. There was a soft, comfortable king-size bed in the middle, a bathroom with a big bathtub in which three people could have fun with ease, and a wardrobe.
Ed, without wasting ti, hurriedly put away his clothes in his inventory before going to the bathroom to wash up. After all the treasure hunting, he was starting to sll and didn’t want to give his two bedmates a bad impression.
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