Chapter 17: Treasure Chest of the Gods part 1

Zak’s POV

The Court Magic Division is closed two days a week.

Holiday requests must be submitted by the middle of the previous month, and they are coordinated by the deputy divisional commander of each division.

In the event of an expedition, the holiday may be made up. So far, there have been no problems with that because they respond flexibly.

This month, Fii has today and tomorrow as her day off.

I’ve been trying to arrange my own work so that I can be at the house during her time off.

On the terrace facing the garden of the detached house is a rustic wooden table set. The rectangular table is large and topped with baskets of vegetables and herbs that she has picked from the fields behind the house. This detached house is located within my barrier in Shion Castle, where flowers bloom and fruits can be harvested regardless of the season.

The wooden detached house is surrounded by ivy and flowers hanging here and there, and there is an atmosphere of being swallowed up by trees and plants, as the sunshine trickles down through the trees.

I know that she especially loves the remote the atmosphere of this house in the forest.

As it is a covered house, there are many dried flowers and herbs hanging from the inside of the roof on the terrace.

She is the master of this detached house. Sometimes, she brews me a cup of my favorite tea that she had searched for in the city, and sometimes she would recommend the sweets she made to me. I love these times very much.

It feels very nostalgic, as if something important is right there.

When I started to live in the mansion with her, I was often surprised that I had such human-like emotions.

And since she came to the mansion, the two of us have started playing together to find good food on our days off. One of us would learn about a good food somewhere, and then we would both go and check it out. This expanded to include not only food, but also beautiful places and tourist attractions.

“Hey, did you know that Bobo is a fish’s stomach, Zak? I heard it was skewered and grilled with a little salt. They serve the sea urchin mixed with a seasoning called “miso” on the charcoal-grilled skewer with a brush. It’s crispy, and the texture isn’t that of a squid or a clam, so if you huff and puff on it, it’s fantastic!”

Today’s story of her delicious food was about the snack that her friends from the magic division ate at the tavern restaurant.

“Ho, was it really that delicious?”

“Grindel told me the other day that he ate it at a tavern in the port city.”

It’s hard to believe that she’s not even sixteen years old, and she’s so cute when she speaks with those rare, beautiful eyes shining like a child. Just as I was about to say, “If you want to eat it that much, I’ll take you there,” an illusion of a pale blue glowing butterfly appeared in the room and I clicked my tongue inwardly.

The illusion is an urgent call sent by the Dairoku.

What bad timing.

I was just one step away from seeing Fii’s bright, flowery smile, and the usual holiday fun time of making arrangements to go to a new location for dinner.

“Zak’s work? Too bad, but it can’t be helped, because you’re the General Division Commander.”

Zak strokes Fii’s head with bored pout on his face.

“I’m going to the castle. Will Fii go shopping? If you’re going out, make sure to go with Silk.”

“Hmm, I’m not going today. I think I’ll read the book I checked out from the library the other day.”

Zak pats Fiara’s head again, still pouting.

“I’ll let you know if I’m going to be late. You’ll be resting then.”

“Yeah, okay. Good luck with your work, Zak!”

As usual, she put her hands around my waist, looking up at me as she says goodbye.

Strangely enough, I had a feeling of what I thought was déjà vu in this exchange.

It was as if I had always experienced the same kind of scene in the past somewhere.

Whenever I wanted to check where and when it happened, it seemed to slip away and disappear. It’s an unfortunate situation.

I also knelt down and hugged her back tightly.

I was aware of this, but I’m afraid to lose her.

It doesn’t matter how much I try to layer her with protective magic, I can’t help feeling uneasy.

Somewhere…somewhere beyond my control, I wonder if I’ll lose her one day…

“Bye.”

I left the mansion with a slightly sad expression pulling at my face.

***

It seems that the ‘Treasure Chest of the Gods’ has appeared.

The subject of this time came up when all of the divisional and deputy divisional leaders of the magic division, and the general division commander Valmonter were all gathered in the conference room.

The conference room was buzzing with activity. As expected, the ‘treasure chest of the gods’ is a dungeon, and it is said that if it is a large scale object, an ancient magic tool rests in the lowest level.

“Where did it come from?”

“‘Kupuka’ in the Earldom of Eznoa.”

There has been no word yet from the Earl of Eznoa, and the tectonic anomaly has been confirmed by a relay sent by the ‘insects’ and ‘birds’.

If the ‘Treasure Chest of the Gods’ appears due to a tectonic shift, the obligation to report it lies with the lord of the jurisdictional territory.

“How large is it?”

We sent one of the birds in, but it suddenly broke down.

“Earl Eznoa, the interior is in a state of panic, there was a heavy barrier, but we have made a hole in it. It looks like they want to get to the ‘treasure chest’ first.”

The sound sent by the insects is played back through the magical stone.

“Dig it up, bury it, and you’ll never know. An ancient treasure is worth a fortune!”

“Yeah, I know. It’s a very stupid thing to do.”

“Do you want to leave it until they come crying to you?”

“If we wait for them to destroy themselves, they could anger the ‘treasures of the gods’ and take some of the land of Elementia with them…”

“So…”

“I’m sending an expeditionary force.”

***

Fiara’s POV

I was disappointed to see the cancellation notice for tomorrow’s holiday.

But then I thought that maybe it had something to do with what Zak had been called up to today. I’ve never seen anything like that happen before.

Normally, the emergency communication of our magic division is done by means of a communication metal plate. The metal plate is attached to a chain so that it can be worn around the neck.

The metal plate is designed to display words on the plate, so only the owner can see it.

When Zak contacted me, a white butterfly appeared and Zak’s voice told me to ‘go to sleep first’.

‘Okay,’ I replied honestly, but in truth I was worried about Zak.

But after a while, I felt that this place was full of Zak’s presence and protection. Zak wouldn’t feel relieved if I didn’t sleep, so I decided to take a quick shower and get some rest.

‘Goodnight, Zak…’

I felt like I was being softly stroked on the head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T/N: Fluffy times and Zak POV! Hopefully they flesh out his character a bit more in future chapters.

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