Ian’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Miguel. Even Mev frowned slightly as she turned toward him.

However, Miguel didn’t back down. "I-I know it’s a ridiculous request. But this—this is exactly the kind of moment I dreamed of countless times back when I was a mercenary!"

His expression had gone beyond earnestness. He looked downright desperate.

"S-So please, grant me permission, Agent of the Sa— huh?"

He faltered mid-sentence. The crate he’d been holding had suddenly floated up, making him feel lighter.

Ian slowly pulled the crate toward himself with his will, saying, "Do whatever you want. You don’t have anything to do for a bit anyway. And drop the ‘Agent of the Saint’ nonsense while you’re at it."

"Th-Thank you, Brother!" Miguel’s eyes lit up.

Watching the savage grin spread across his face, Ian added flatly, "But it won’t go the way you’re imagining. Don’t get yourself hurt."

"I’ll keep that in mind! Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen!" Miguel nodded repeatedly, as if swearing an oath.

Ian clicked his tongue lightly and tilted his head.

The moment he did, Miguel turned and bolted.

"Wahahah! Glory to the great Platinum Dragon!" Arms raised high above his head, he shouted in pure exhilaration as he charged toward the sea of gold.

Ian let out a dry chuckle, the crate still floating beside him.

"Good thing the heavens aren’t watching."

"Seriously. I’ve heard some mercenaries dream of dying buried in gold. I guess Miguel was one of them." Mev said as she walked alongside him. A faint smile had already formed on her lips as she watched Miguel.

"I’m just as shocked, though, Ian. I didn’t think there’d be this much gold."

"Yeah, even knowing it, it’s still a sight." Ian nodded.

That vault was large enough for Archeas to roll around in its true form, which may have been the intention from the start.

A space completely filled with gold and jewels like that—Miguel losing his mind over it was the more natural reaction.

"There’s no way we can move all of that at once."

"I never planned to," Ian replied calmly.

Dumping that much gold and treasure all at once would only cause problems; it would be better to distribute it gradually, in manageable amounts.

Lowering his head slightly, Ian asked, "Think you can search through that, Yog?"

Besides, the gold wasn’t even his real objective.

Yog, still coiled around his neck, answered immediately.

—Of course. But I’m guessing you don’t want me flailing around like that idiot. What exactly are you after, my friend?

"I pulled some out before, but there might still be relics buried under all that. Crawl through it and let me know if you find anything with decent magic in it. Bringing it up yourself would be even better, though I doubt that’ll be easy," said Ian.

Yog let out a lazy chuckle.

—Maybe I could even do the digging for you, my friend.

"You can?"

—If you share a bit of your blood and your chaos.

At that, the corner of Ian’s lips curled upward.

Figures. Never misses a chance, does it?

Still, this time, there was no reason to refuse.

Drawing chaos from his core, Ian answered immediately, "Fine. Go ahead."

As if it had been waiting, Yog lifted its head, and a sharp sting followed at the back of Ian’s neck. Its jaws had grown larger than before.

Mev narrowed her eyes slightly as she glanced at it.

A low sigh slipped from Ian’s lips.

Not because of Yog, but because Miguel had sprinted up the slope of gold and launched himself into the air.

He was clearly trying to dive into the golden lake below.

Of course, it didn’t go the way he imagined.

Crunch! Clatter—

Instead of sinking in, Miguel slammed face-first into the solid pile like a frog hitting the ground. Gold scattered and clinked loudly around him.

Mev turned sharply at the sound, while Ian clicked his tongue.

"You said you wouldn’t get hurt."

It would’ve been stranger if he hadn’t broken his nose.

Then, Miguel’s shoulders shook.

"Heh... heh! Hehehehe—"

Letting out a bizarre laugh, he rolled onto his side, scooping up armfuls of gold and tossing them into the air.

Coins and trinkets rained down over him, yet they only made him laugh harder.

"Hahaha! I can’t believe I’m actually doing this! Wahahaha—"

Watching him flail and roll around, Ian finally let out a dry laugh. "Well, that’s one way to fulfill a lifelong dream."

Mev shook her head slowly, as if he were beyond saving.

—Then sit tight, my friend...

At nearly the same moment, Yog dissolved into smoke and shot forward into the sea of gold, leaving behind a faint violet trail.

"Let’s head further in," Ian said, turning to Mev.

Only then did she tear her eyes away from Miguel and say, "You already sorted the relics?"

"The Platinum Dragon helped with that itself. Before facing the Heaven Defier, I needed equipment to match."

"I see. That makes sense." Mev let out a quiet breath of realization.

Stepping onto the slope of gold, Ian nodded. "As I said, the real valuables are those. You’ll see them soon."

Mev swallowed and followed him.

Still holding Miguel’s crate in his Willful Grasp, Ian stepped into the golden lake. He paid no mind to Miguel, who had already rolled off to the side and was practically swimming through it, not just because watching his rapid descent into madness was hard to bear.

Still a ridiculous amount...

To the left, two towering piles of relics, each stacked higher than a person, stood out far more than the sea of gold.

They were what Archeas had excavated in the past, and what Ian himself had sorted afterward. The smaller pile contained items that had been useful against the Heaven Defier. The larger was everything that hadn’t been.

Of course, now both were useful.

"By the Stern Goddess..." At the awed murmur from behind, Ian turned his head.

Mev stood there, mouth slightly open, staring at the piles as if mesmerized. It was easily the most stunned expression she’d shown so far.

A true knight, huh?

The corner of Ian’s lips lifted faintly. "Think you can handle the smaller pile? I’ll take the bigger one."

"Sorry—I didn’t catch that, Ian. What did you say?" Only then did Mev blink and snap back, turning to him blankly.

Ian let out a quiet chuckle and continued as he stepped forward, "Pack the smaller pile into the crates, nice and neatly. They’ll probably be paired and fixed together, but if anything isn’t, set it aside."

"Ah, right. Got it. My goodness. I didn’t think there’d be this many relics." Mev nodded, then turned her gaze back with another breath of awe.

"If we distribute them one by one, we could outfit quite a number of people," said Ian.

"Quite a number? This isn’t quite—this is..." Mev trailed off.

A faint, snickering voice slipped into the air.

—Looks like I found something...

Along with the low whisper, a faint ripple of magic spread from somewhere beyond the piles. The subtle sound of metal shifting followed.

—Don’t worry about this side, my friend. I’ll let you know when I’m done.

"Seems like we might be getting a bit more than expected." Ian shrugged lightly and came to a stop before the larger pile.

He lowered the crate held by his Willful Grasp, set the one in his hands beside it, and began opening them one by one.

As he did, he glanced over at Mev.

Clunk—

"With artifacts like these... there’s no such thing as too many."

Even while setting the crates down, Mev’s gaze remained fixed on the pile, drawn in as she examined each item one by one.

No point telling her to pick a favorite.

Ian turned fully toward the pile. Extending his Willful Grasp to the very top, he pulled a pair of plate gauntlets bound together with fastening rings.

Catching them in his hands, his lips twisted slightly.

I suppose this counts as modest.

That was only by comparison.

The bluish metal surface, flowing from gauntlet to vambrace, was covered in intricate patterns, like gold thread embroidery.

"It’s beautiful..."

While Ian checked the item’s details, Mev’s quiet admiration came from beside him. She was turning a crimson-sheened breastplate over in her hands, its center adorned with an ornate gold emblem shaped like a star.

That alone was reason enough for Ian to have passed on it.

Even the stats are modest.

Clicking his tongue, he tossed the gauntlets into the crate and immediately reached out again, pulling down another set of greaves from above.

Clank— Clatter—

Ian worked steadily, checking each artifact’s properties and placing them into the crate one by one.

The crates were large enough to be carried with both arms, allowing multiple items to be stacked neatly inside.

"So intricate..." Mev was doing the same—though she was clearly taking more time, admiring each piece as she went.

However, she wasn’t the only reason Ian could work without distraction.

—Found another one. This is more fun than I expected.

Yog continued excavating relics buried beneath the golden lake.

Ian had no idea how it was doing it, but it was even lifting the discovered items up to the surface.

"O-oh, it’s working! I’m getting the hang of digging in now. Heh, just a little more."

Ian ignored Miguel’s voice entirely.

He didn’t even want to know what Miguel was doing anymore. He planned to drag him back to reality soon enough.

"Hmm."

In any case, not every artifact went inside a crate; the plate boots Ian now held were one such example.

Across the dark greaves, patterns spread like branching lightning, and at the front of the boots, sharp golden claws jutted out, reminiscent of a dragon’s talons.

Thunder Stride, huh?

Turning around, Ian set the masterpiece of Master Krankahal down on the floor behind the crates, right beside the other artifact boots already laid there.

And those weren’t the only things on the ground. Gauntlets and greaves, breastplates and gorgets—various pieces of plate armor were neatly lined up.

There was even a two-handed sword placed among them. Needless to say, every single one of them was extravagantly crafted.

Mev, who had just placed a pair of chain greaves into a crate, tilted her head. It seemed she had only just noticed that Ian had been setting certain items aside separately.

She blinked once.

"Ian, don’t tell me these are...." Mev trailed off as she looked back at him.

Ian nodded. "Yeah. I picked out the finest ones—the ones that should suit you best."

"My goodness."

Though she let out a breath as if she’d expected it, Mev stepped closer, resting a hand against her chin as she carefully examined the arranged equipment.

"They all look like exceptional pieces," said Mev. It took her a few seconds before her lips parted again. "To choose just one, I think I’ll need a bit more time."

"Why just one? Pick one of each."

"One of each? Wait."

Mev’s brows drew together as she echoed his words, then she froze.

Meeting her gaze, Ian let out a quiet scoff. "You thought I’d only give you one."

"But... you said earlier..." Mev said hesitantly, as if she hadn’t even considered asking for more.

Then again, she hadn’t pressed him about the treasury or the artifacts at all on the way here.

A faint smile touched Ian’s lips."That was for the elite troops. You, Mev, are my knight."

As Mev’s eyes widened, Ian gave a small tilt of his chin.

"If we’re going to keep walking into death together, then you should be properly equipped for it."