Chapter 233: An Unexpected Gift
The moment the frog grabbed my finger, a system window popped up in midair.
You've discovered an Animal Friend!
Your Animal Friend doesn't have a name yet! Please give it a nice name!
"A name?"
Hmm... what would be good?
Naming things had always been a chore. Now that I actually had to come up with one, I found myself hesitating.
For starters, something with two syllables seemed easy enough to call.
I looked around.
This place was dim.
And it was a Desert Rain Frog.
Looking down at the little fellow gazing up at me from my arms, I opened my mouth.
"...Dukbi?"
Ppoeng-?
The little guy tilted its head and let out a cry.
The system window sparkled.
You've completed the registration of Darksand Dukbi!
The seventh Animal Friend has arrived at your farm!
Ppoeeeng-! Ppoeng!
Dukbi cried as it looked at my face.
Fortunately, it seemed to love the name.
'So that's done.'
Oddly enough, Dukbi didn't disappear into the system.
Following its lingering gaze, I noticed a flower blooming at my feet.
It was a Forget-me-not with a vivid blue hue.
Even in the game, Dukbi had always stayed beside the Forget-me-not.
Ppoeng-! Ppoeeeeeng!
Dukbi tilted its head slightly and cried toward the flower.
Come to think of it, Philip had said Dukbi gave him quite a beating when he tried to pick that blue flower.
"...Don't tell me you've been protecting this flower all this time?"
Ppoeng-!
Dukbi cried out as if answering yes.
Then it hopped out of my arms, tightly clinging to the stem of the Forget-me-not while struggling desperately.
Ppoeeeeeng-!
"What? You want me to take this with me?"
It looked as though it was urging me to bring the flower along.
Ppoeng! Ppoeng!
Dukbi nodded repeatedly, as though earnestly asking me to do so.
"Hmm..."
I didn't particularly like flowers.
But I didn't dislike them either.
"Keeping a decorative flower in my room wouldn't be a bad idea."
I decided to accept Dukbi's opinion.
"Move aside for a moment."
I carefully picked Dukbi up and set it off to the side.
Pulling it out by the stem would damage the flower, so I intended to dig up the surrounding soil along with it.
Ppoeng-! Ppoeng-! Ppoeeeng-!
Dukbi kept fussing that even the slightest roughness would hurt the flower, forcing me to be twice as careful.
"I know. Don't worry. I'll dig it up carefully without damaging even a single root."
After some time...
"Finally."
Only after painstakingly working until dirt had settled beneath my fingernails did I manage to dig up the Forget-me-not intact.
Ppoeeeng-!
Only then did Dukbi happily begin singing.
"There, satisfied now? I'm putting it away."
I placed the flower inside my Subspace.
Once I got home, I'd either transplant it into a flowerpot or plant it near the Upgraded Livestock Shed.
Ppoeng-!
Only then did Dukbi seem to let go of its lingering attachment and disappear into the system.
The only thing left behind where it had stood was a small jewel, like a piece of loot.
The moment I picked it up and slipped it into my pocket—
Shhh...
The darkness pressing down from every direction receded like the outgoing tide.
'...Is it over now?'
The first thing I saw was Lapin.
She had remained exactly where she was, faithfully waiting for my return.
"I'm back."
"Good work."
At Lapin's greeting, I couldn't help but smile.
She couldn't see it because I was wearing a mask.
Then again...
Perhaps Lapin could recognize my smile even through the mask.
As my Spirit Creature, she could sense my emotions and feelings.
While Lapin and I quietly looked at each other...
The silence was broken by Philip.
"...Seeenior!"
There was someone else standing beside him.
Without even looking, it was obvious that it was his fiancée, who had been secretly following him.
The surrounding scenery shimmered, collapsed, and then returned to normal.
We were back near Seventeenth Street.
The very same place we'd been before entering the dungeon.
As the dungeon, sustained by the boss's magical power, disappeared, we were naturally expelled.
There wasn't a single trace left behind to suggest that a dungeon had ever existed here.
"You've returned, Senior! Ah, now I need to find..."
Philip searched the ground.
Soon, his eyes lit up.
Among the grass-covered ground, a silver ring glimmered beneath the moonlight.
"I found it...!"
"Thank you! Thank you so much, Senior!"
Philip bowed over and over as though his waist might break.
Glancing briefly at Villed, Elza spoke to Philip.
"Philip, what exactly were you looking for?"
"Huh? Ah... I was looking for a rare silver coin. Here, look."
Philip forced a smile as he took a coin out of his pocket.
Elza immediately shot him down.
"Do you honestly think I'd believe such an obvious lie?"
"Ugh... I'm sorry..."
In the end, Philip explained everything from beginning to end.
After hearing the whole story, Elza's voice trembled.
"You entered such a dangerous dungeon just to find a ring? ...And I had no idea."
She had thought Philip had simply changed his mind and chosen not to wear the ring anymore.
She'd assumed he didn't want the other cadets to know he was engaged.
That he was embarrassed by her.
That he'd come to regret their engagement.
The truth had been the complete opposite.
He valued their engagement as much as his own life.
"E-Elza? You shouldn't cry."
"Who said I was crying?"
After finally calming Elza down, Philip turned toward the masked Villed.
"Anyway, Senior. It's time for me to give you the reward I promised. Please accept it."
Without the slightest hesitation, Philip removed the necklace from around his neck and held it out.
"Good. I'll gladly accept it."
The moment Villed took it, Elza was horrified.
She knew better than anyone what that necklace meant to Philip.
Even knowing the other person was Villed, she couldn't help protesting.
"Were you after this from the very beginning when you agreed to help Philip? Please return it immediately. We'll compensate you with something else or with money instead..."
"Elza."
Philip gently held her hand and shook his head.
As though asking her not to continue.
"It was my decision. Please respect my wishes."
"...Philip."
Tears welled in Elza's eyes.
"The keepsake is precious, but my engagement with you is more valuable to me than anything else in the world."
"Philip...!"
"Elza...!"
"Give me a break."
Villed let out a short snort before walking away with Lapin.
"If you two want to flirt, do it when you're alone. We're done here, so I'm leaving."
"Yes, Senior! Please get back safely! Thank you!"
Philip repeatedly bowed toward the departing seniors.
Soon, Elza and Philip also headed back toward the dormitory.
"He looked rough on the outside, but he was truly an angel."
Philip continued praising the 'mysterious senior' until one's ears would hurt from hearing it.
After silently listening for a while, Elza finally spoke.
"Philip, do you really have no idea who that person was?"
"He was wearing a mask, so I couldn't tell. Even the contract used an alias. I promised not to ask about his identity. I intend to keep that promise, so I won't try to find out."
Philip looked up at the dawn sky filled with stars, his eyes shining.
"But he was an amazing senior. Elza, I've made up my mind."
Clenching his fist firmly, he declared,
"I'll definitely... become someone like that Senior. I'm going to enter the Finders Department."
How long had it been since she'd seen Philip this confident?
Elza smiled warmly.
"That's the spirit, Philip. As it happens, I was planning to apply to the Finders Department as well."
"Huh? But wouldn't that be dangerous for you, Elza...?"
"Oh my, have you forgotten that I'm a Schuler Candidate?"
Besides, though Philip didn't know it, Elza had already cleared several dungeons herself.
"Philip is so careless that I'll have to keep an eye on him."
Her smile faded as she spoke after a moment of thought.
"Philip. Do you happen to remember the second son of House Dedencman?"
"...Villed? Of course I remember him."
The moment the name came up, Philip clicked his tongue.
He didn't attend social gatherings very often, but he had seen Villed once or twice.
"I could never bring myself to associate with someone like him... Setting aside the fact that he's a noble, he doesn't even possess the basic decency expected of a human being."
"Yes. He certainly was like that."
"I heard he's also a second-year student at Yggdrasil... but compared to that wonderful Senior, they're complete opposites."
Elza couldn't bring herself to speak.
Her heart was conflicted.
"Elza, you absolutely mustn't get close to Villed."
"Philip, that's exactly what I should be saying. You have no idea how worried you made me."
"What do you mean?"
"...Never mind. It's just... something."
Philip had no idea that the senior behind the mask was the very Villed he despised.
What should she do?
Elza remained conflicted.
'Villed... he isn't the sort of person who would do something like this.'
The Villed Elza knew would have abandoned Philip inside the dungeon.
He would have stolen both the necklace and the ring before escaping on his own.
He was incompetent and despicable.
He probably wouldn't even have been able to defeat the monsters in the first place and would have resorted to deception instead.
'But... he took responsibility until the very end and cleared that difficult dungeon.'
He even helped Philip recover the ring that he treasured as much as his own life.
He accepted the keepsake as payment, but that had been a fair exchange.
Furthermore, he left without causing any harm.
Philip had even come to sincerely admire him.
Elza still hadn't forgotten his ugly past.
But...
The Villed she saw today seemed like an entirely different person.
She had originally intended to report him...
'...I'll stay quiet for the time being.'
Thinking that, Elza walked down the road side by side with Philip.
Late at night, while everyone else was asleep.
I stood alone in the fields, holding a golden lamp.
Lapin had gone straight to bed the moment we got home, saying she was sleepy.
As for me, I was here alone to examine Dukbi's abilities.
'Maybe it's Earth-element? Since it's a frog, it could also be Water-element.'
Dukbi's title also contained the words 'Darksand.'
'...If I'm lucky, maybe it's actually Darkness-element, just like its title.'
I'll find out once I look.
'Right. Whatever it is, let's check.'
I reached into the air and looked at the card in my hand.
The signs shown by the cards were clear depending on their element.
If sand and dust surrounded the card, it was Earth-element.
If bubbles and droplets formed, it was Water-element.
And if an abyss resembling obsidian appeared, it was Darkness-element.
...Soon, sand and dust began surrounding the card in my hand.
'As expected. Earth-element.'
That was what I thought.
Then—
'No, wait.'
I'd mistaken it because of the darkness.
It wasn't just sand and dust.
'...Obsidian?'
Dark energy and drifting sand were swirling around the card at the same time.
'Did I accidentally draw two cards?'
For a moment, I thought I'd accidentally drawn Shark's card.
But I hadn't.
There was only a single card in my hand.
Black shadows and grains of sand orbited around Dukbi's card like satellites.
How should I even describe this phenomenon?
'...Don't tell me a single card possesses two different elements?'
That wasn't even the end of the surprise.
Desert Rain Frog
Borrow the power of the Desert Rain Frog.
The contents of Dukbi's card flooded into my mind.
'What...'
The moment the skill was imprinted into my brain, I couldn't help laughing in disbelief.
'I already knew my ability was bug-level, but this is genuinely absurd.'
As someone who had seen every ending in the game 《Yggdrasil》, I immediately understood just how limitless and extraordinary this skill's potential truly was.
"Dukbi... just what kind of creature were you...?"
Looking at the portrait of the Desert Rain Frog on the card, excitement welled up from deep within me.
'With this.'
Yes.
With this...
'I can definitely survive against the Cleaner.'
Filled with a premonition of victory, the corners of my lips rose into a smile.
The following day, under the bright midday sun.
Philip was walking down the street with his arms full of blue flowers he'd bought from a street stall.
"Hey."
A familiar voice called out from behind him.
"I've been looking for you."
Philip turned around.
Standing there was a senior wearing a ridiculous mask.
The mysterious senior from the Finders Department.
"Ah, Senior! Is something the matter?"
"Hold out your hand."
"Huh?"
"Less talking. Hold it out."
Overwhelmed by the commanding tone, Philip unconsciously opened his palm.
A thin metal chain slid across his hand before coiling neatly in his palm.
The cold yet familiar touch of metal against his skin.
Philip's eyes widened.
"This is..."
It was his mother's keepsake.
He had definitely given it to Senior yesterday as payment for the request.
"...It's the necklace I gave you."
"I don't need it anymore. Take it back."
"W-Wait a moment, Senior. I gave this to you as yesterday's reward..."
Panicking, Philip tried to grab the departing senior by the sleeve.
But...
His hand stopped in midair.
He couldn't even continue speaking.
The masked senior who had been standing before him had already disappeared into the distance without another word.
Philip could only watch the senior's retreating back.
After holding the necklace for a long while, he let out a helpless laugh.
"...At this rate, you really worked for nothing."