The area boss had been defeated without having a single moment to shine but it properly dropped its loot.

There was a magic jewel about the size of an adult man’s clenched fist and the black robe with gold trim that it had been wearing.

It carried an ominous aura and according to Trismegistus, it had multiple layers of magic enchantments placed upon it.

“Instructor Megan, will you use it?”

“No, Li-chan, you should take it. I didn’t do anything, after all.”

“Is that how it works?”

Li tilted her head.

The female instructor found herself momentarily captivated by the sight but quickly nodded.

After collecting the drop items, Li looked around.

The skull-shaped flames were still burning atop the pillars.

“Hm?” Feeling a sense of unease, Li called out to Tori-chan.

“Those flames are not magic, are they?”

The grimoire floated lightly through the air.

“…Hmm, how interesting. Master, you should examine the throne where that skeleton was sitting.”

Following those words, Li inspected the throne.

There was a mechanism built into the armrest.

The fact that it contained a stage-effect magical device was something Li would rather not have known.

“Hey, Li-chan! Can you come here a moment?”

The female instructor approached and began examining the throne as well.

With a determined grunt, she pushed it and it slid backward with a heavy rumble, revealing a hidden staircase.

“I knew it! I thought something seemed suspicious!”

The female instructor snorted proudly.

“I smell treasure!”

She practically leapt toward the hidden stairs.

“Instructor Megan!”

Li hurried after her.

When they reached the bottom of the hidden staircase, they found a stone chamber piled with old gold coins and jewelry.

“We did it, Li-chan! Treasure, treasure!”

The female instructor danced in delight.

“Is it that rare?”

“Of course! Even back when I was active, I never found something like this!”

That said, how were they supposed to carry this amount of treasure back?

Li thought simply using the Jewel Dimensional Vault would suffice.

It was hardly something worth holding back at this point.

Still, she wanted to know what the female instructor was thinking.

This place had remained an unexplored area long after the dungeon had been conquered.

Was there even a way to return here?

“What shall we do?”

“For now, we’ll pick out the most valuable-looking items and take them back. Also, the fact that defeating the area boss didn’t produce an escape teleportation circle means…”

Before the female instructor could finish speaking, the ground trembled.

It was not strong enough to knock them over but it was clearly noticeable.

“It’s fine. This just means it’s being connected to another area. When you defeat an area boss, a teleportation circle that returns you to the entrance usually appears but since it didn’t here, that means in cases like this, it connects to an adjacent area instead.”

Just as she said, after waiting for a while, they heard the sound of stone walls collapsing.

“That must be the wall in the area boss’s room. I’ll go back and check.”

Li judged that the timing was perfect.

She took out the Jewel Dimensional Vault and stored all the treasure at once.

“My master, that magic is remarkable.”

“Isn’t it? I struggled quite a bit before completing it.”

“Indeed. I suspect it is more mana-efficient than the versions used in ancient times.”

“I paid close attention to that.”

Li puffed out her chest proudly when a shriek rang out.

“Eeeehhh!?”

It was the female instructor returning to the now empty treasure room.

“Li-chan! The treasure is gone! Why! Was it a dream!?”

“Calm yourself, this is unsightly. My master merely stored it.”

“Stored?”

“It is a type of magical device. The details will no doubt be explained in time.”

“Uh… Li-chan?”

The female instructor turned toward Li.

“What Tori-chan says is true.”

For perhaps the umpteenth time that day, the female instructor’s thoughts came to a complete halt in shock.