The Strongest Onmyoji and the Shikigami With AI are Unparalleled in Another World ~ A Second Life Properly Enjoyed Using Artificial Intelligence ~ - Chapter 237

After parting ways with Rosalia, we headed for the guild.
Even though it was evening, the place was empty of adventurers besides us—eerily quiet.
I couldn’t help but worry a little as we went over to Gina.
“Hey… you guys actually making money here?”
“What a greeting.”
“I mean, the streets outside are bustling, but here it’s totally dead. Feels just like our guild.”
Pamela was probably killing time again today.
After all, even Tama-chan had wandered over here.
“We only deal with high-level labyrinths, remember? Customers are few, but each one is big business. Well—except for someone who drops his magic stones on his girlfriend, of course.”
…So not selling the magic stones really was a bad move.
“Yeah, my bad. Still, I think we hit the jackpot today. Pulled it out of a treasure chest. …Though we also got some garbage.”
“That’s how it goes. Honestly, high-level chests are still on the better side. Low and mid-tier? You get trash more often than not.”
The quality of a labyrinth reflects the adventurers who dive into it.
Odds are, magic stones are the more reliable jackpot most of the time.
“So, want to see the dud or the hit first?”
“Let’s start with the dud.”
Since Gina said that, I glanced over at AI-chan.
She placed a single copper coin on the counter.
“Ah… not even silver or gold, huh? Yeah, that’s definitely a dud.”
“That was inside the chest. This child here threw a fit over it.”
“Such malice! Unforgivable!”
AI-chan puffed up in anger.
“Out of a treasure chest, huh? That’s rough. Chests are supposed to have higher odds of something decent… Even I’d be mad at that.”
Well, when you’re risking your life in there, it stings.
“You gonna buy it off me?”
“Sure, but it’s worth exactly one copper coin.”
Yeah, fair.
“Still, it came out of a labyrinth. That makes it rare.”
“Copper is copper. If anything, it’s bad luck—here, I’ll swap it out for you.”
Gina took the coin and pulled a different copper coin from the drawer to exchange it.
“Thanks.”
AI-chan took the coin and tucked it away with her spatial magic.
“So, what’s the jackpot?”
Gina leaned forward curiously. Once again, I glanced at AI-chan.
This time, she placed a rapier on the counter.
“Should fetch at least a hundred gold coins, don’t you think?”
“…Is that so.”
AI-chan spoke happily, but Gina’s smile vanished as she picked up the rapier.
Then she began staring at it—long and hard.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just give me a second…”
“Well, fine, but…”
Gina drew the blade from its scabbard, her eyes never leaving it.
“…It’s genuine. To think you lot would be the ones to pull this.”
Sliding the sword back into its sheath, she placed it on the counter and gave a faint laugh.
“What? So it’s a jackpot?”
“In a sense, yes. For starters, this rapier is worth one hundred and fifty gold coins.”
Ohh—that’s huge!
“We did it, Master! That’s a fortune!”
“Yeah, but… hang on. Gina, what’s the catch?”
A hundred and fifty gold was amazing, sure, but her reaction didn’t match the number.
“Well… let’s just say it’s complicated. Mind if I hold onto this one for a bit? Of course, if you really need the money right away, I’ll buy it off you now for one-fifty.”
“Sounds like trouble. I’m not interested in that.”
“Not that kind of trouble, don’t worry. I won’t cheat you either. If anything, this will end up making you more profit.”
…Guess I could trust Gina on this.
“We’re not in a rush for cash, that’s for sure. But how long are we talking?”
“Come by the day after tomorrow or later. Anytime’s fine.”
Day after tomorrow was no problem.
“We were going to take tomorrow off anyway, so we’ll drop by then.”
“Appreciate it. Oh, and—may I keep the rapier here?”
Ahh… now I get it.
“You’re not planning to steal it, are you?”
AI-chan asked something pretty rude.
“Do you know where you’re standing? As if I’d ever pull something like that. But if you’re that worried, I can hand over the one-fifty as collateral.”
If a guild ever cheated its adventurers, that would be the end of it.
“I don’t need collateral. I know full well what trust means.”
Trust was everything.
And anyone who betrayed it would never be forgiven.
“I see. Then come by the day after tomorrow. Any time will do.”
“We’ll come around noon. Don’t want to keep you waiting.”
“Got it. I’ll be counting on you.”
“Yeah. Well then, we’ll be heading back.”
Leaving the guild behind, we made our way to the inn.
“What do you think that was all about?”
“…No idea.”
Natalia and Alice tilted their heads.
“We’ll know the day after tomorrow. Most likely, it’ll fetch more than one-fifty.”
If you thought about the way labyrinths worked, it made sense.
“Really?”
“…Well, if it sells for more, that’s fine by me. So does that mean no labyrinth runs tomorrow or the next day?”
Alice asked curiously.
“Natalia, is that okay with you?”
It was her job to decide our rest days.
“Yeah. Tomorrow’s definitely no good anyway, and if we can also take the day after off, that’s plenty.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Rest up tomorrow and the day after.”
“O-okay. Got it.”
Once we reached the inn, we climbed the stairs and entered our room.
AI-chan called Leanne via the bees, and with teleportation, we returned to the dorm.
Dinner was already waiting for us.
“Welcome back! Look, look! I made this myself—amazing, right?”
Merell greeted us with maximum energy.
“Wow. You really pulled this off in such a short time?”
“Of course I did!”
As expected, the dishes were mostly potato-based, but they were put together beautifully.
The only problem was… there were only six servings.
“Isn’t this not enough?”
“I don’t need any.”
“I’ll pass too…”
Apparently, Merell and Lily weren’t eating.
“What’s up with you two?”
I turned to Annie, who had been on standby with them.
“They spent the whole day cooking—and we snacked on everything the entire time. We’re stuffed. So I don’t need any either.”
Ah, that explains why three portions were missing.
“Well, we just got back from the labyrinth, so we’re starving. We’ll eat.”
“Right? Labyrinths really work up an appetite.”
“…It’s the labyrinth diet at work.”
Not that it mattered if you just ate it all back.
Sliding under the kotatsu, we dug into the food Merell had made.
Tasty, yeah, but… it was all potatoes.