An Adventurer Mom, Who Awakened [Housewife] Skill Through a Login Bonus, Is Making the Most of Her Adventurer Life With the Weekly Flyers She Gets! - Chapter 54

It was decided that they would continue the discussion at Kachua’s house.

Before leaving the dungeon, Kachua and the others made『a little detour』and stopped by the goddess statue.

It was part of Kachua and her companions’ daily routine but surprisingly, Bernhardt came along too.

When offering prayers, one’s stamina and mana recovered, and the body felt somewhat refreshed.

“……”

When Kachua stole a glance, she saw that Bernhardt was praying with a serious expression.

After leaving the dungeon, they split into groups — one to sell the items gained in today’s exploration, set aside anything useful for the team, and restock spent supplies, and another to go shopping for dinner.

Kachua went with Ann and Bernhardt as part of the shopping group.

Since they were tired from returning from the dungeon and time was short, they decided to buy prepared foods for dinner.

Gamma Team, Bernhardt and the whole Kachua family.

Since they were a large group, at the market they bought three of the largest pizzas, barbecue-sauce pork ribs also in a large size, and to balance nutrition, three kinds of salads: fresh vegetable salad, macaroni salad, and steamed vegetable salad.

And when they presented the tool shop card, they were served enough French fries for everyone as a service bonus.

Bernhardt paid the bill.

“Eh, are you sure? Today’s supposed to be Bernhardt-san’s welcome party, you know?”

Kachua had assumed they would split the cost without including Bernhardt, but never imagined that the one being welcomed would be the one to pay.

“I’ll be eating too, so at least let me cover this much.”

On top of that, he also said,『I’ll carry it』and took the bags.

Kachua and the others went to the Adventurer’s Guild nursery to pick up Barbara, and by the time they returned home, the rest of the party had just arrived at Kachua’s house as well.

When Barbara saw Bernhardt, she was so overjoyed she let out a strange cry, “Ahh, it’s Bern-san!”

There really are kids who just love big people.

Ed, who had just returned from school, also joined in, and with a cheerful “Well then, let’s eat” everyone enjoyed dinner together.

After Ed and Barbara had taken their baths and gone to bed, the discussion began in the dining room of Kachua’s house.

＊＊＊

“This is a matter of utmost importance to our kingdom. I ask that you not speak of it to anyone. First, I want you to swear to that.”

Bernhardt said this before beginning his story.

In response, Ann gave a sly grin.

“Fine. But we also have something to tell you. You have to swear never to tell anyone about it either. Alright?”

“…? Very well.”

Thus, the exchange of conditions was established.

Then Bernhardt began to speak, his expression grave.

“Something has vanished from the royal treasury. I came here to search for it.”

“What is it that vanished?”

“The Holy Sword.”

There were many treasures owned by the royal family of this country, such as the crown, the orb, and the scepter, often referred to as national treasures. Of course, common folk had never seen the real things, but they were famous enough that everyone knew of them.

However, the Holy Sword—

“Was there even such a thing as a Holy Sword?” asked Rick, a treasure enthusiast, who nevertheless had never heard of it, which showed just how obscure it was.

Bernhardt spoke quietly.

“Among the treasures guarded by the royal family, it is the most important secret relic. That is why its existence has been kept hidden from the public. The Holy Sword is said to have been granted by the gods to our nation’s first queen and her companions, to protect this country.”

“Eh, isn’t that incredible?”

The Moon Goddess had pitied the frail human race, bestowed them with special power, and from that gift the race known as wolf beastmen was born.

In this world, the distance between gods and humans was quite close, but even so, gods remained higher beings of overwhelming power.

Direct contact between gods and humans was exceedingly rare.

Yet it was said that the nation’s first queen and her companions had received the Holy Sword from such a god.

Put simply, it was incredible.

“That Holy Sword has gone missing.”

“That’s a huge problem, isn’t it?”

Come to think of it, Jessica had mentioned not long ago that something important had gone missing from the royal palace…

“Yes, it is a grave situation. We must find the Holy Sword immediately.”

Bernhardt spoke with a grave expression, but when Rick asked, “And do you have any leads on the culprit?” Bernhardt looked troubled.

“The culprit is…”

For some reason, Bernhardt hesitated.

“You haven’t found them?”

“…That’s right.”

“It’s the royal treasury, isn’t it? I don’t know much, but the security must be strict. Was it stolen?”

“It was not stolen.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Just as I said. The Holy Sword has vanished from the treasury.”

“Eh, but how is that any different from saying it was stolen…?”

Bernhardt let out a gloomy sigh, “Haaah…”

“I wasn’t in the capital at the time. Everything I know is secondhand, from what others told me, and from the fact itself that it was gone. So even I don’t understand the whole picture of this incident. What is clear is that my elder brother, Prince Garrit, has been ordered into confinement by our father, the King.”

“Then… does that mean the culprit is… His Highness the First Prince, Garrit-sama?”

Bernhardt hastily denied it.

“My elder brother would never do such a thing. He is upright and pure, and detests anything crooked. In the first place, he will be the one to inherit the throne. The Holy Sword would eventually belong to him. He has no reason to steal it.『Something』happened.”

“『Something』? What do you mean?”

In response to Rick’s question, Bernhardt weakly shook his head.

“I do not know. Even if I wished to hear the details, my brother is under house confinement, and I was not permitted to see him.”

“Then… so the culprit isn’t His Highness the First Prince, but someone else?”

“Most likely.”

“Then, could it be His Highness the Third Prince?”

With the matter of the wolf beastmen, the Third Prince seemed all the more suspicious…

Bernhardt gave a wry smile.

“I understand your suspicion of my younger brother, Serendip, but in this matter he is innocent. My father, my elder brother, and myself — that is, His Majesty the King, the first in line to the throne, and the second in line — only the three of us possess the keys of the royal family. Serendip is the Third Prince, and thus does not have a key. Having only just come of age, he likely does not even know of the Holy Sword’s existence.”

The country’s chancellor and chamberlain also possessed keys to the treasury, but the door in the deepest part of the treasury where the Holy Sword was enshrined could only be opened with a key of the royal family.

“Wasn’t His Majesty the King willing to explain the reason for His Highness’s confinement?”

“No. I do not know the circumstances, but it seems my elder brother was involved in the disappearance of the Holy Sword from the treasury. If this incident were made public, it would ruin my brother’s position. Especially if our younger brother were to learn of it, things would become most troublesome. As you know, he is aiming for the throne. That is why I believe His Majesty secretly ordered me to search for the Holy Sword.”

For the sake of the Holy Sword’s search, Bernhardt had come here alone.

As the Second Prince, he did have retainers, but they were currently employing Bernhardt’s body double to carry out official duties in his stead.

“And the Holy Sword most likely vanished of its own will. I believe it is now somewhere within Loa Dungeon.”