"I want a Pandora Gift!"
My emotional outburst earned me a few startled looks from the other patrons in the room.
We were currently in the dining hall of our inn in Aingurna. The crowd was a fairly even split between adventurers and merchants. The former were likely here for the dungeon, while the latter were here to buy up whatever items the explorers dragged out of it. Since they were all professionals in the trade, they knew exactly what a Pandora Gift was. Considering that, their reaction made perfect sense. In the eyes of the general public, after all, they were nothing more than Dud Items.
Fortunately, my own party members took the declaration in stride. They’d seen me popping those things open one after another, so they were well past the point of being surprised.
"I’m not saying I’m against it, but where did this come from so suddenly?" Halfa asked, tilting her head curiously. "Wasn't the plan to investigate this dungeon while we focused on raising Spira-chan’s rank for a while?"
That had indeed been the original plan. However, now that Garnalava’s name had entered the picture, I wanted to secure as many useful items as possible for preparation. There was also the chance I might receive some kind of countermeasure from the Destiny God.
When I shared my reasoning, Spira tilted her head as well.
"I understand why you're worried, Tort-kun. But we haven't received an oracle yet, have we, Halfa-chan?"
"No, nothing so far," Halfa confirmed.
Several days had passed since we defeated the special individual—the Shiny Gold Slime. Since Garnalava seemed to be involved, I’d expected some kind of word from the Destiny God, but so far, there had been total silence.
"Maybe it's because the matter with the former Guild Master is technically settled?" Lowell offered his guess, though his expression remained uneasy. He clearly didn't find his own theory very convincing. After all, even though the incident in Garond was over, a special Golden Slime had still appeared here. If anything, it wouldn't be surprising if a second or third incident followed.
『Well, I think it’s a great idea to look for them! If it's you, Tort, there's no harm in having a few on hand!』
Shiroru spoke up while enthusiastically gnawing on a chunk of meat. Since we were in public, he was eating manually rather than using his Telekinesis. He seemed to be struggling a bit since he usually relied on his powers for everything, but at least he’d been paying attention to the conversation.
"That's true; we aren't in a desperate rush to raise Spira's rank," Lowell added with a nod. "Besides, we're here to support you. You should do whatever you feel is best."
Spira nodded in agreement.
All I really wanted was to go on adventures with everyone, so in a way, I had always been doing what I wanted. Still, since they were giving me the green light, I decided to make Pandora Gifts my priority for now.
The only problem was that I didn't actually have a lead. I figured I would start by asking at the Guild. Buffy-san seemed like she’d just get angry at the suggestion, so I decided to look for Rache-san instead. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too hard to track down.
When we arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild, we found Rache-san sitting at the reception desk—a stroke of good luck. She spotted us immediately and gave us a vigorous wave. This was the first time I’d seen her since the battle with the slime. I’d been worried about whether hearing Garnalava’s voice had left any lasting ill effects on her, but judging by her high spirits, she seemed perfectly fine.
"Welcome, nya! Did you bring me another interesting story, nya? Or is this about that key, nya?"
Only Rache-san could dismiss that terrifying encounter as a mere "interesting story."
"That key" referred to the item dropped by the Golden Slime. Our appraisal had revealed it was a key for finding a special treasure within the Aingurna Dungeon, but that was all we knew. We had no idea where or how to use it. Rache-san had let us keep it while she handled her duties as Guild Master, though she’d made us promise to call her the moment we figured it out. Of course, at the moment, we didn't have the slightest clue.
"No, I just had something I wanted to ask today. I'm looking for a Pandora Gift... do you happen to know where I might be able to find one?"
"Nya? You sure do want some strange things, nya. Though I suppose if it’s you, Tort, you might actually get some use out of it, nya?"
"Eh?"
"Oh, was I wrong, nya? I just had a hunch, nya."
Rache-san was strangely sharp sometimes. I hadn’t told her anything about my Great Luck, yet she seemed to intuit things. Even when I’d used the Attraction Slip to lure out the slime, she had acted as if she knew I’d be able to call it forth without any evidence. Maybe she had some kind of intuition-based skill.
Before we could continue, she and Shiroru started bickering again.
"Waf! Wafuu!"
"You're saying incomprehensible things again, nya! What a noisy Horn Dog you are, nya!"
"Wafuuuu! Waf!"
"I don't care, nya, I don't care! Bark all you want, nya!"
Maybe they just had bad chemistry. Or perhaps they were so close that they felt comfortable enough to fight. Regardless, the conversation wasn't moving forward, so I stepped in to soothe both of them so we could get back to business.
"Oh, that’s right, nya. Items like that are usually all snatched up by the Dungeon Research Society, nya."
"The Dungeon Research Society? What’s that?"
"It's a group of eccentrics who love studying dungeons, nya. A bunch of real mad scientists, nya! Godfee was a member too, if I recall, nya."
Well, that was a concerning connection.
Still, research into the mechanisms of dungeons wasn't exactly rare. Since Aingurna was a city built inside a dungeon, it was only natural for such academic pursuits to be popular. Rache-san had mentioned there were no suspicious reports about Godfee until his disappearance, so I doubted the Society was just a front for Garnalava’s cult. Probably.
In any case, it was the only lead I had on Pandora Gifts, so I had to check it out even if it felt a little suspicious.
"I see. In that case, I'll try pay them a visit."
"Good luck, nya! From here, you just go—"
After getting the directions from Rache-san, we set off for the Dungeon Research Society.
I could only hope I’d have some luck tracking down those Pandora Gifts...