Chapter 386: Now That's What an Adventure Should Be
Just as expected, the moment Steven sat down with Laurentina in a little café in Kazimierz, their cups of steaming coffee barely half-finished, the peace between them shattered.
Because the girl with the bizarre greatsword slung across her back and the strange triangular hat on her head pushed open the door.
"You done with your business already?" Steven asked, looking at the girl who seemed completely unchanged from when she had left earlier. He hadn't bothered to ask Skadi what kind of "mission" Kal'tsit had sent her on—and honestly, he wasn't worried either.
After all, it wasn't like these Abyssal Hunters were weak. Considering Kazimierz's level of combat prowess, it would take a lot to give her real trouble.
By his estimate, even based only on the strength and speed she'd casually shown before, it'd probably take at least five or six Silverlance Pegasi working together just to have a chance at subduing her.
And if there was anyone in all of Kazimierz who could even think of going toe-to-toe with her, it'd probably be that uncle from the Nearl family.
So no—Steven didn't need to worry about whether her mission was successful or not. He just wanted to know if something unexpected had happened along the way. Otherwise, with Skadi's usual get-it-done-and-move-on attitude, she wouldn't have taken this long to return.
Knowing her, she wasn't the type to get distracted by "interesting detours." The woman's brain was basically wired in straight lines—if the mission came first, then nothing else existed.
Skadi plopped herself down beside Steven without hesitation, set the strange longsword against the floor, and, imitating him, ordered herself a drink.
"I ran into another Rhodes Island operator on the way. She caused… unnecessary trouble. I told her it was a secret mission, but she just wouldn't listen. Things got a little messy," she said with a small shake of her head, her tone casual as if she were describing the weather.
In short, Kal'tsit had sent her to find some so-called treasure once belonging to an old knight. Along the way, she had to fend off a few bounty hunters with the same idea, crossed paths with a fellow Rhodes Island operator—a "little pony," apparently—and after a few misunderstandings and scuffles, she managed to complete the mission safely.
That was it.
Her story might've sounded dull to her, but Steven listened intently, even looking a little regretful and envious.
Because honestly, that—that sounded like the kind of adventure he'd expected to have in a land like Kazimierz.
Thrilling journeys, fights with bounty hunters, meeting companions, a few misunderstandings, and resolving them in the end—wasn't that the most classic adventure setup imaginable?
Way better than his own "adventures," which so far mostly involved fighting corporate overlords and their shady dealings.
"So, what exactly was that thing Kal'tsit sent you after?" Steven asked, leaning forward with interest. "Don't tell me Rhodes Island has fallen so far we're grave-robbing for spare change now? What's in that 'treasure' that caught the old cat's attention anyway?"
Skadi didn't see any need to hide it from him. After all, Kal'tsit herself had said there was no need for secrets between her and Steven—he wasn't a threat.
So, without hesitation, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a strange, half-transparent crystal-like object—something that defied easy description, faintly glowing in the café's warm light.
"In that knight's tomb, aside from this thing, there were only some old coins and trinkets. I left all the valuables to the nearby village—turns out the people there are the knight's descendants, so it's only fair they keep what's rightfully theirs."
Skadi spoke plainly, handing over the strange crystal. "Kal'tsit only wanted this. Though… I have no idea what it's supposed to be."
Honest as ever, she didn't hide a thing—not even how she'd handled the rest of the treasure. It was obvious she really didn't see Steven as an outsider anymore.
"Well… I might have a little clue about what it is," Steven said, taking the object and turning it over in his hand. To the naked eye, it looked like nothing more than an oddly shaped piece of crystal. But the thing was—he had his little "cheat."
And the moment he touched it, a line of text appeared before his eyes, clear as day:
[Knight's Treasure Key]: Seems to unlock a certain mechanism aboard the Stultifera Navis.
A key, huh? That was hard to believe. Nothing about this weird crystal looked like a key.
But what caught his attention more was the name—Stultifera Navis. From the sound of it, it was probably a ship.
So Kal'tsit went to all that trouble for this? Sending Skadi herself just to retrieve it? What could she possibly want from that ship?
Steven knew Kal'tsit well enough to understand one thing—she never did anything meaningless. If she'd gone that far to get this key, then whatever lay behind it must be something crucial—something that mattered to both her and Rhodes Island.
"The Stultifera Navis, huh…" Steven murmured, tapping his finger against the crystal. "Isn't that kinda like that… what was it called again? The Mad Ship or something?"
He remembered the name vaguely—he'd heard it once, muttered under the breath of none other than Specter herself. The phrasing was different, but somehow… it felt like they might be talking about the same thing.
And sure enough, the moment he spoke the name aloud, Specter—who'd been quietly sipping her coffee—froze.
Her brow furrowed deeply, and her expression twisted with something between pain and confusion. Slowly, she pressed a hand to her forehead, as if trying to stop some buried memory from resurfacing.
"That name… ugh, that's a headache," she muttered. "Looks like that's one of the reasons my memory's such a mess."
Her eyes drifted toward the crystal in Steven's hand, a flicker of interest—and maybe recognition—stirring within them.
Steven chuckled softly. "Yeah… looks like this thing's tied to you Abyssal Hunters after all."
Half-lidding his eyes, he turned the crystal in his fingers, a sharp grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
This "key," whatever it truly was—he already knew exactly who would be very interested in it.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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