“Hmm, this cloak should be useful later, and then there’s this cup…”
Amir carried her hands behind her back, as if she were strolling through her own backyard, leisurely picking and choosing among row after row of dazzling dwarf-forged treasures—items that, if exposed to the outside world, would surely stir up a storm of blood and chaos.
Meanwhile, Histori, who followed behind her, had already left the sacred chamber some time ago, but her mind still felt a bit floaty.
‘This… this is way too unreal, isn’t it?’
‘Are you telling me that the seven sacred artifacts in the whole world—the lifeline of an entire race—were simply obtained by Amir like this?’
‘Even though Baron said it’s broken, even if it is broken, the Anvil of Thunder is still a broken sacred artifact, right?’
‘In other words, from the time I suggested to Amir that I needed to collect the sacred artifacts to go home, until she actually got one in her hands, not even three or four days have passed…’
Now, Histori began to ponder a rather serious problem.
‘If this efficiency continues, maybe in just a few months, Amir will have collected all the sacred artifacts on the continent. And after that…’
—“Lady Amir, a voice from the depths told me that if I could gather all the sacred artifacts in this world and use the mysterious power they contain, I might be able to open a crack between the two worlds and return to my own world!”
The words she herself had spoken to Amir still echoed clearly in Histori’s ears.
‘Oh no, what do I do now? When Amir actually bundles up the other six sacred artifacts and shoves them all into my hands, how will I settle this?’
‘…It’s all my fault. My mind went blank and I blurted out that request to Amir. But collecting sacred artifacts is nowhere near a method of transmigration—it’s actually the formula for resurrecting the Demon King…’
‘I’m doomed. Even though Amir seems friendly now and sometimes even indulges me quite a bit, Histori has personally experienced what happens when Amir truly gets angry. She won’t care about any camaraderie from traveling together. She’ll really lift that heavy sword and cut off my head…’
‘…Hiss, could it be that when that time really comes, my only choice is to use the sacred artifacts to resurrect the Demon King and have him help me deal with a furious Amir?’
‘He got stabbed by Amir in a single encounter before, and his performance in battle wasn’t even as good as that dwarf just now. But according to the Demon King himself, when he’s resurrected using the gathered sacred artifacts, his power will increase to near that of a deity.’
‘No matter how strong Amir is, it’s only because of divine protection. She definitely can’t beat a real deity, right?’
‘But putting aside whether the Demon King will turn his spear on me first after resurrection—when it comes time to gather all the artifacts, will I really use this method to deal with Amir, who has helped me so painstakingly for so long?’
‘I feel like my conscience is already fiercely condemning me…’
‘…Forget it, I won’t think about that too much for now. Besides the Demon Tribe Sacred Relic in my hand and the dwarf sacred artifact in Amir’s, there are still five more scattered across the world!’
‘This experience was just a coincidence. It won’t be like this every time—Amir won’t always get them so easily…’
…‘Will she?’
“Histori.”
Just as Histori was lost in thought, a slender hand suddenly fell onto her shoulder without warning—
“I’ve already picked the three forged items I wanted. The remaining two chances are yours to choose.”
“…Me?”
Histori quietly widened her eyes, pointing at the tip of her own nose with her index finger in disbelief.
“Th-there’s a share for me too?!”
She flapped her hand at Amir, flattered, and spoke quickly—
“But! This opportunity was obtained from the dwarves entirely through Lady Hero’s own strength. I couldn’t possibly…”
“No, you definitely contributed.”
Amir looked at Histori, a faint, barely noticeable smile flickering in her deep eyes—
“In fact, most of the credit should go to you. If you hadn’t suggested it, I would never have thought of a method like this—getting the sacred artifact just through conversation.”
“…Such a method?”
Histori blinked at Amir in confusion.
“Lady Hero, the reason they handed over the Anvil of Thunder is because only you can restore their sacred artifact, right? And that method is quite draining for you. That’s why they needed to pay you with five forged items…”
“Maybe that’s how it looks to them?”
Amir raised her index finger and wiggled it slightly. A faint blue arc of electricity flashed in sync from the surface of the black storage ring.
Then, Amir lifted her other hand and, with extreme casualness, rubbed her left thumb and middle finger together, snapping them lightly.
Another pale blue arc shot from Amir’s own fingertip, exploding into a spark in the air.
“As you can see, I don’t actually have the ability to restore a sacred artifact. It’s just a small lightning trick.”
“…Huh?”
“Thanks to what you just said to Baron and the others, if I want to disguise the fact that the sacred artifact is broken, all I need is to fake it with some lightning magic.”
Amir grinned at Histori, a hint of playful mockery flashing in the corner of her eyes—
“So, to put it another way, if we want to get their sacred artifact, we just need to use some lightning magic to pretend I can restore it. They’ll naturally find ways to shove the Anvil of Thunder into our hands.”
“……………………”
Histori was silent for a moment. Then she rubbed her chin, raised one index finger toward Amir, as if about to say something.
But after thinking for a long time, she silently withdrew her finger and just rubbed her temple with her knuckles.
“…Lady Hero, I think three forged items are enough. Let’s just go.”
“Huh? Why?”
Amir tossed a few forged items in her hand toward Histori, asking in confusion—
“Even though Chief Baron agreed so readily, the Great Forging Assembly’s forge stock is a treasure trove that people all over the world covet, you know?”
“You misunderstand. I don’t mean to look down on dwarf craftsmanship.”
Histori turned around and shook her head at Amir with a heavy expression—
“I just feel that after taking their things like this, I might end up losing some lifespan later on…”