The residential area was exactly what one would expect—completely picked over.
To be more precise, it had been stripped of items with such fervor that it looked like it had been swept clean.
"Well, of course it’s been explored."
"Right-o."
Then again, it was a game, so the absence of personal effects in a residential zone was just par for the course.
At the very least, it felt like everything of value had been rooted out by those who came before us.
Thinking about it, though, real-world archaeologists and looters did the same thing with ancient ruins like burial mounds and pyramids, taking everything down to the daily necessities. In that sense, maybe the developers were just being realistic.
On the other hand, I kind of wanted to ask why a Pseudo Halo had been left behind in the infirmary, but I suppose that was just a bit of game-logic convenience. It probably couldn't be used anywhere else anyway.
"...Which means, doesn't it mean the Prince has excavated artifacts, like cartridges, too?"
"!! That's right-o! That guy had the journal, so he must have other artifacts too-o! I'm going to demand a cartridge as a reward this time-o!"
Pen-pen and I had been able to strengthen ourselves using the "all-you-can-use items" alchemy skill, but Alto had only helped clear the dungeon without gaining any special enhancements. It seemed the game was maintaining a sense of balance that way.
Just in case there were any missed items, we decided to thoroughly search the toilets and the residential area anyway.
As a result... we found a single lip balm.
"I thought it was a bullet, but I was wrong-o..."
"You don't even need bullets for your gun anyway."
"True-o. Well, I'll take it just in case. Believing it's the used lip balm of a beautiful girl!"
"It’s an artifact from ancient ruins, you know? Even if she was a girl, she’d be an old hag by now."
"Don't be such a buzzkill-o! There’s a possibility she was a Loli-BBA, isn't there!?"
Miti-chan muttered something about being disappointed there was nothing to eat, but we eventually decided to head back to where the Prince was waiting.
"My body feels heavy... but the skills are indeed being suppressed...!"
"Is it like a reincarnation process-ssu? Maybe your parameters dropped-ssu."
"Perhaps...?"
"Ah, then I'll give you some equipment that increases HP for now-ssu."
Oops. As we returned to the infirmary, I saw Gin-chan (Pen-pen) handing a bracelet to the Prince. I had to step in quickly.
"Hey, Prince, when you put that bracelet on—"
"Gwah?! W-W-What is this?! My heart is racing, I can't breathe... This chill... is it poison?! You... are you an assassin sent by the Minister!?"
"Too late."
"Nika-chan, cast Heal on him-o."
"Ah, yes, Lord Spirit. Heal!"
The HP-increasing bracelet Pen-pen made had stats that were simply too high. If a character's base HP was low, the sudden increase in the total health pool meant their current health percentage dropped so low that the system triggered a critical condition warning.
At our level, as long as our health wasn't already depleted, we'd be fine. But for a sheltered Prince like him, he could easily have plummeted past Yellow (Danger) and straight into Red (Near Death).
"...I've calmed down. W-What on earth was that just now...?"
"Well, it's a common parameter fluctuation caused by equipment. It happens."
"Yeah, having performance that's too good has its ups and downs in a full-dive VR-o."
"I accidentally forgot-ssu. Sorry about that, Prince-ssu."
"N-No, I am the one who should apologize for jumping to conclusions. I am grateful for such valuable equipment."
Well, she made that using potion materials she pilfered from the Prince anyway, so it was effectively free. I decided it was best to keep that a secret.
"Still, just by donning this bracelet, my maximum vitality increases? Truly incredible."
"Oh? Isn't that just common equipment-o?"
"Items with this level of performance have long since been lost to time."
"Ah."
While talking, the Prince casually took off the bracelet. Then he put it back on.
"Bugoh!?"
"Ah-ah, I told you so. Nika-chan."
"Yes, Toria-sama. Heal!"
Bathed in the sparkling light of the spell, the Prince recovered his strength once more.
"Kaha... ha, haa... You saved me. W-What on earth was that just now...?"
"That’s what happens when you put on and take off HP Up equipment-o. Are you an idiot-o?"
"The moment you take it off, your maximum health drops while your current health stays the same. Then when you put it back on, the percentage is skewed, right?"
"You just hit the red zone a moment ago, so what were you thinking-ssu? It's common sense-ssu."
"...Is it common sense? I see. So that is how it is."
It was common sense, really. I’m sure plenty of players have done the exact same thing and ended up needing to heal themselves every time they swapped gear.
"More importantly, Prince, there wasn't a single decent thing left in the ruins-o."
"What? I see. Come to think of it, since there was a journal, it must have already been explored."
"Exactly-o! That's why, as a reward, I desire a cartridge—one of the artifacts that should have been here-o!"
"...Cartridge? Forgive me, but I do not understand that term."
"Give me the right to take one of the excavated items from your collection-o! Give it-o!! Give it-o!!"
Alto grabbed the Prince by his collar and began shaking him violently back and forth.
"U-Understood. I shall try to negotiate. I do not know exactly what we have found, so I cannot make a firm promise, but once we return..."
"Yeah! It's a promise-o!!"
Lèse-majesté? Never heard of it! All's fair in love and dungeon crawling!