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Early NBAA Vol. 8 Chapter 5 Part 7
🕑 Added 2025-02-08 02:49:32 +0000 UTCFull title: People Made Fun of Me For Being Jobless but Its Not Bad at All
Note: This part has not been TLCed yet, and might slightly differ from the public version. If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.
Translator: Airis
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Reito and the others' vision shone brightly, and when the light eventually disappeared—
They had arrived at the entrance to the Great Labyrinth. It was already evening, and there were other adventurers there.
“...It seems we've returned safely.”
“Phew...I'm tired.”
“Oh, are you back?”
After they returned, an old man approached Reito and the others. It was Kai, who had brought them to the Great Labyrinth. It seemed he had been doing business until this time of day.
Looking at them, he was puzzled.
“...Even after wandering for such a long time, your bodies are as beautiful as if you had just come out of the bath.”
“Well, we did have a bath.”
“It wasn't bad.”
“The temperature of the water was just right.”
“...?”
Kai tilted his head at what Reito and the others said. Reito activated space magic, took out Excalibur, and handed it to him.
He was confused, but accepted the holy sword, and was amazed at its beauty.
“Th-This is...?!”
“Not as promised, but...I brought it back.”
“You mean Excalibur...?!”
Kai was about to raise his voice, but he quickly suppressed it and looked at the Excalibur in his hand. Reito then handed him the bracelet that Honemin had entrusted to him.
“Here you go too. She told me to give it to you.”
“Is this... my bracelet?”
“It's something you forgot to bring back.”
“Did you meet that person??”
Kai took the old bracelet while clutching Excalibur, and looked back and forth between the two items, unable to hide his agitation. This bracelet was something Kai had left behind when he escaped from the Great Labyrinth, and Kai looked thoughtfully at the holy sword and bracelet.
“I see... so she still has this thing. It was just a decorative bracelet…”
“I also have a message for you. She said she expects something more expensive next time she comes.”
“Hahaha... that's harsh.”
In truth, Kai had left the bracelet as a token of his gratitude, but when it was returned so easily, he let out a laugh. At the same time, he asked Reito with a serious expression, still staring at the holy sword.
“Is this the holy sword Excalibur...?”
“It seems so. According to her, it's definitely the real thing…”
“Hmm.”
Kai brandished Excalibur. As you'd expect from a former adventurer, his swordplay was impressive despite him being an old man, and Shizune and Hanzo looked on in amazement.
Kai looked satisfied as he turned his gaze to the holy sword and bowed to Reito and the others.
“I can't verify whether this holy sword is real or not. But I believe you guys who met her and brought back this bracelet.”
“That means…”
“Yes, I will give you my fortune as promised.”
“Seriously?”
“Wow, what a surprise!”
Dain was the first to respond to Kai's words, and Reito was surprised by his voice.
~
Kai took Reito and the others back to the city of Gaila and invited them to the mansion where he lived.
Even though it was a mansion, it was quite old, with only a few servants and no one living there other than him.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
“Is it okay for me to stay here too..”
“It's delicious.”
Reito and the others were shown to a guest room and tea was prepared for them. Excalibur was lying on the desk, and Kai looked at it with a sentimental expression on his face and slowly began to speak.
“I spent almost half my life trying to obtain this holy sword.”
“...I should mention that this holy sword belongs to Reito, you know?”
“I know that. I never thought of making this sword my own when I gave up being a swordsman.”
“In that case, I don't need any reward…”
“No, that's not the case.”
Kai slowly stood up, rang the bell on his desk, and had a servant bring in a large safe on a cart. He unlocked it in front of Reito and the others, and showed them the contents.
“This is my fortune.”
“Oh...what is it?”
“...a red magic stone?”
Contrary to their expectations, what was stored in the safe was not money, but a square-shaped red magic stone. The shape looked familiar, and Reito and the others immediately realized that it was an experience stone that resided inside the bodies of the monsters of the Great Labyrinth.
“This is an experience stone. But it's this big... could it be a dragon?!”
“Yes. It's an experience stone from a dragon that I defeated with my friends when I was still young.”
“Whaaat?!”
The dragons in this world were feared as symbols of disaster and were dangerous, so all dragons were designated as level 5 without exception. Furthermore, the dragons that live in the Great Labyrinth have higher combat power than those in the outside world. If it's an experience stone from that dragon, it's incredibly valuable.
“It's the most valuable thing I own. Of course, if you're not satisfied, I'll prepare money for you…”
“No, no, no! Are you sure you want to give us something so valuable?!”
“Dain, why are you reacting like that... but this is certainly surprising.”
“I wonder how much this is worth...?”
Reito looked at the experience stone on the desk and remembered that his level also rose dramatically when he had defeated the Rotten Dragon. He knew that the experience points gained from defeating a dragon were incredible. Therefore, he decided to ask Airis for the first time in a while.
~
『Airis』
『Oh, it's been a long time since we last communicated. It feels like about a year』
『Why? We communicated the day before yesterday too.』
『Now that you mention it, that's true. Wait a moment before that, I'll watch a replay of Reito's actions... hmm, I see, I see...』
『It feels like my memories are being probed, and it makes me feel uncomfortable...』
Airis couldn't communicate with Reito during the time they were in the Great Labyrinth, but she was able to read his actions during that time. She spoke in a shaken voice, as if she had realized what had happened in the Great Labyrinth.
『Eh, wait... did you meet Aira? Or rather, was she still alive?』
『I met her. You knew her, didn't you? 』
『It's not just that we knew each other, I've known her longer than you, Reito. I can't believe she's still alive... I'm so touched.』
『Why can't Honemin communicate with Airis?』
He had heard that Honemin had been in communication with Airis, just like Reito, when she was alive. However, since she became what she was now, she had been unable to communicate with Airis. When Reito questioned her, Airis was silent for a while, as if she had found the reason, and then explained, including her own speculation.
『As I said before, I share a part of my soul with the people I send out. I can use it to communicate with them as we do now, or I can give them special powers in the form of blessings. However, this power is not immortal, and if the soul disappears, it will lose its effect.』
『But Honemin is alive... Yes, she's alive, isn't she?』
『Well, I can't say for sure about Aira's current condition, but... I think the hero's resurrection item that Aira had could only revive Aira's soul. That's why my soul disappeared. Sob sob...』
『Oh, so that's why she lost her power.』
『You should be careful, too, Reito. Well, as long as you don't die, you should be okay...but anyway, let's get to the point. I'm glad that Aira is alive, but what is the matter?』
『I was given this dragon experience stone...what should I do?』
『I see, this is a rare item, isn't it? The experience stone of the Great Labyrinth's Fang Dragon...it's probably worth at least several billion yen in term of Japanese yen.』
『Several billions!?』
『Of course. A dragon experience stone is a national treasure, isn't it? If you use this, a high-level adventurer can reach the realm of a hero (level 70 or above) in one go.』
Reito was surprised at the higher value than he expected, but according to Airis, it was far more valuable than Earth's gems.
『Even so, this old man is quite nasty. Giving me a dragon experience stone...』
『It's true that if it's that valuable, it would be difficult to exchange it for money』
『That's one thing, but in this case, the problem is different. If it's discovered that you have a dragon experience stone, it will be troublesome. The kingdom will definitely find out.』
『Ah, I see. That's a problem.』
It was easy to forget, but Reito was wanted by the kingdom. Officially, he went missing in the forest and was treated as dead, but if they found out he was still alive, it would be very bad. At this point, the only people who knew that Reito was alive were his family member Maria and a few of her subordinates. And his companions, including Bal. No one else knew.
In any case, it would be very bad to stand out as an adventurer who possesses a dragon experience stone.
『But it would be a waste to refuse here... or rather, I'm sure Dain would definitely object.』
『That's true. But let's prioritize our own lives here. Just to be safe, say that you can't accept such an expensive item and refuse it.』
『That can't be helped... Ah, that's right. Has anything strange happened while I was away?』
『Various people are gathering in town for the Battle Festival. Well, let's talk about the details in a “different place” soon.』
『...?』
~
Reito felt uneasy about Airis' words, but after cutting off communication with her and returning to reality, he told Kai that he would not accept the experience stone before the others could say anything.
“Kai, I'm sorry, but I can't have this experience stone.”
“What are you talking about, Reito? Do you know how much this is worth?”
Dain was surprised by Reito's words, but the others didn't say anything and just looked at Reito and Kai. Reito understood that the experience stone was extremely valuable, but he still couldn't accept it.
“I wasn't officially asked to do this, and besides, when we first met, you said it was just a joke, right Kai?”
“That's... certainly true.”
“In the first place, I can't accept something so expensive just because I showed you the holy sword, not even handing it over.”
“But aren't experience stones valuable to adventurers?”
Kai was also surprised by Reito's offer, and looked confused, but Reito turned his gaze to the experience stone - he could certainly see that if he destroyed it somehow, he would gain great power, and to be honest, he felt it was a shame, but if he accepted it now, he'd get himself into trouble.
“What do you all think? Do you want to sell these experience stones and split them?”
"I'm an outsider anyway..."
“I don't really care either. I never intended to accept this old man's request in the first place.”
“I didn't do anything. It was Reito who got Excalibur. You can decide.”
“I agree with Gonzo-sama, that I do.”
“Uh... fine. Do what you want.”
The group thought that Reito, who actually received Excalibur, had the right to decide whether or not to accept the reward for this request.
“Kai, I'm sorry, but I can't accept the reward this time.”
“But that won't satisfy me. If this experience stone won't do, we'll prepare something else.”
“If that's the case…”
Kai put the experience stone back in the safe... and in the end, Reito and the others each received the items they wanted instead.
Reito asked for about ten bottles of magic potion to restore his magic powers, while Shizune and Gonzo received healing potions and Hanzo received an antidote. Only Dain asked for money and received several dozen silver coins. Mina refused to accept it because she was an outsider.
As Reito and the others were leaving Kai's mansion, Kai ended up taking them to an inn in his carriage, as a way of thanking them for letting him see Excalibur while he was still alive.
When Reito and the others returned, Kotomin and the others immediately welcomed them back, and they were happy to be reunited with Reito and the others who had returned safely.
◆◆◆
As for Mina, her mother's condition improved thanks to the white medicinal bath they had brought back, and by the time Reito and the others came to visit her, the symptoms of the Green Death had disappeared.
Mina was grateful that she could now continue her adventures without any worries, but she was still worried about her mother, so she decided to stay in town for a while.
