How to Live as a Knight After the Ending - Chapter 97



Only Noblemtl

Episode 97. An Uncomfortable Encounter (3)

The Archaeological Federation recently made a big announcement that it had discovered ancient ruins deep underground in Tirna.

It was natural for people’s eyes to roll over.

What kind of place are the ancient ruins?

A secret space said to have been built in the distant past, in an era when traces of mythology still remained.

The ruins themselves are of immense value, but what’s more important is that there may be gold, silver, treasures, and relics inside.

Yes, that’s right.

Relics. That’s what people wanted most.

The value of the relic is difficult to convert into monetary value.

If you happen to get even one intact relic, you can make a lot of money by analyzing it and making artifacts.

Just as the golden city of Tirna preferred money the most, artifacts that could be made into money were the fruits that everyone coveted.

“It must have been a total mess.”

“Is it just chaos? How many ancient ruins are there?”

“Have there been similar cases before?”

“There was. It was a famous anecdote that 20 years ago, a mid-sized company that discovered an ancient relic rose to the position of a major corporation.”

The gap between businesses in Tirna is huge.

There used to be an insurmountable wall between small and medium-sized businesses, but the gap between medium-sized businesses and large corporations was even greater.

It is said that the gap between classes was narrowed by ancient ruins.

That alone was enough to make anyone thirsty for success want it.

“Besides, the size of this ruin is not small. They say it’s hard to guess the scale even though we’ve only looked at the area near the entrance.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Ossian also became quite interested.

It wasn’t just because Lorraine was so excited and talking so loudly.

‘If it were an ancient ruin by today’s standards, it would probably be at the level of a dungeon I used to play in.’

Relics also existed in the games he played.

Ruins, or underground dungeons. There were countless monsters and traps there, and of course, there were rewards to match.

Because the game is so large, the number of dungeons scattered across the continent has also exceeded 100.

‘In the last 99 times, I only went to places essential to clear the story… … .’

Just a rough estimate, there would be over 90 left.

Of course, there was no guarantee that those 90 would remain intact.

‘The place where I first opened my eyes has also eroded away after so much time has passed.’

Even if it is an ancient relic, there are places that could not withstand the passage of time and collapsed.

Given that, most of the underground dungeons and ruins he remembered were likely gone.

Actually, some dungeons were built on mountains, but they pushed the mountains down and built factories.

As the world developed and changed, many places disappeared.

‘But where was this relic discovered?’

Looking at the article, it said number 32.

It just so happens that it is adjacent to District 33, which has a large floating population.

It was an area without any special features, but it was easy to imagine a future where people would gather like a swarm of bees.

“If you go here and get just one relic, you’ll graduate from life! You can live off of it for the rest of your life!”

Lorraine shook her body, dreaming of a rosy future.

Ugh.

Dioranne looked at the swaying movement and turned her head away, as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have seen.

“Rather than that, no matter how I look at it, it looks like there’s going to be a lot of competition.”

Lorraine flinched at Ossian’s remark.

Although I had high hopes for the relics, reality was harsh.

“Can we participate?”

“That, that… … .”

It was Ronan who answered on behalf of the hesitant Lorraine.

“That’s impossible.”

“Impossible! It’s not necessarily that bad!”

Lorraine snapped back, as if to tell him not to trample on her rosy dreams.

“Common sense tells us that it would be easy for troubleshooters to get involved in something like this. If we keep an eye on it, other places will probably keep an eye on it too.”

Ossian nodded in agreement.

If the relics from the ruins are that important, it’s not something that can be pursued by just one individual solver.

The city of Tirna will also be on the move, and the corporations will definitely be on fire. What about the wizards? What about all the organizations that exist in Tirna?

“If that happens, the situation will become even more of a mess.”

Ossian made a reasonable point.

If all sorts of organizations got involved in one ancient relic, it was clear that a fight would break out over ownership from the entrance.

Isn’t it a cliché now that the moment a treasure map is discovered, chaos and destruction ensue?

‘Well, it’s not that I’m not interested.’

Even if you’ve cleared it before, going now feels different.

There is a huge difference between the world you see through a monitor and the world you can actually feel with your five senses.

But in a place where competition is so fierce, it was difficult for the problem solver to even hand out his business card.

“Haha. That’s right. If things continue like this, the surrounding area will become very noisy. People will start claiming ownership, and there will be internal fights over treasures.”

“So you’re saying there’s a countermeasure for that?”

“That’s right. As it says in the article, in the case of ancient ruins like this, the Archaeological Federation manages them.”

“The Archaeological Federation.”

As Tirna was a city with all sorts of unions, it was only natural that there was an organization for archaeologists.

Those who call themselves the Archaeological League are mostly those who are passionate about exploring dungeons and underground ruins that are said to have existed in the distant past.

“They are given priority over the ruins, since they were the ones who discovered them. It’s a law that the city of Tirna has put in place to prevent chaos.”

“What good would come from doing that?”

“First of all, the number of shameless people who claim ownership of the relics will decrease. That alone will calm the chaos and make things as orderly as possible. The fun part comes after that.”

Ronan raised his index finger with a smiling face.

“The Archaeological Federation holds the right to enter, but that doesn’t mean they can just barge into the ruins. The ruins are a place where you never know what dangers might exist. The Archaeological Federation lacks the military power to explore the ruins themselves.”

“Then they would need people to keep them safe. Or they would have to transfer the exploration rights themselves, or hire people.”

“That’s right. Even if it’s the Archaeological Federation, it’s divided into countless archaeologists and explorers. The Federation gives them each a ticket and then has them each bid on it.”

In other words, it was a system in which archaeologists or explorers with the right to enter the ruins recruited people to enter with them.

It’s an interesting structure. Selling admission tickets to the discovered ruins.

What was even funnier was that if you put those tickets up for auction, there would be a lot of people trying to buy them.

‘I wondered how a place like the Archaeological Federation made money, and it turned out to be this way.’

After entering together like this, the gold, silver, and treasures or relics that come out from inside will be divided proportionally.

Once the relics are discovered, the Federation will earn a huge sum of money that will support the union for years to come.

It couldn’t have been a more capitalist choice.

“Well, usually there are people who fight behind the scenes for the tickets because of that.”

Lorraine added her explanation.

It made sense. I don’t know how many tickets were released in total, but it would definitely be less than the number of people targeting the ruins.

“Some people get tickets by threatening archaeologists, some people get tickets by using their connections with archaeologists or explorers, and some people just get tickets with their high status and money. The methods are varied. Oh! There’s one more.”

“what?”

“It’s a very, very rare case where an archaeologist hires that person separately.”

“But isn’t it more advantageous for the person with more money?”

“That’s not necessarily true. It’s not like force is important, right? Having a lot of money doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use force.”

If an archaeologist were given the choice of choosing between a tycoon and a magic tower, who would he choose?

Of course I choose the latter.

Even if wizards pay a little less, their abilities will shine in places like ruins.

“Even in the case of tycoons or companies that initially obtained the tickets, if there is a shortage of people, they sometimes hire separate problem solvers.”

“A subcontractor of a subcontractor?”

“That’s what the troubleshooters are after. If you just catch the falling water somehow, you can make money? If you’re lucky and get a certain percentage of the treasures from the ruins? You’ll be happy.”

“Is that what you’re aiming for?”

“Ugh! Why can’t I do that?”

Lorraine pursed her lips.

It was because he knew that the probability of him going to those ruins was low.

“Well, I’m just letting my imagination run wild. In the first place, only a limited number of people can go to places like that.”

“I see.”

“So we just have to ignore it and watch who goes in and what they take out. That’s kind of fun.”

The sweet dream ended, and Lorraine, who had come to realize reality, sat down in the chair.

However, the fact that he was shaking his legs back and forth, even though he said it was okay, seemed to indicate that he was very disappointed inside.

At that moment, a parcel arrived for Ronan via registered mail.

“Hmm? Suddenly mail? How unexpected. Usually it all comes in at 6 AM.”

Ronan took out the documents from the envelope, looking puzzled.

Ronan’s eyebrows rose subtly as he quickly scanned it with squinted eyes.

“This is… … .”

Everyone turned to Ronan at that reaction.

Was there something wrong? Ronan said it was better to see it for himself rather than explain it to Ossian, so he handed him the documents.

“Me?”

“Yes. I have come to see Mr. Ossian.”

“Where on earth did you come from… … .”

“This is the Archaeological Federation.”

Boom!

Lorraine, who had been leaning back in her chair at the mention of the Archaeological League, lost her balance.

“What, what what what what what are you saying?!”

“Archaeological Federation?”

Ossian also checked the documents with a puzzled look.

There was a seal stamped on it, symbolizing the Archaeological Federation. In this situation, an emergency registration letter with the Archaeological Federation seal stamped on it arrived?

The strange feeling of anxiety and anticipation became reality.

“I would like to invite Mr. Ossian for this ruins exploration.”

Even Ronan, who would normally laugh out loud, was dumbfounded by this incident.

*

‘This is really interesting.’

Ossian never thought he would be chosen.

Of course, he has been working hard to raise his stock price as a problem solver recently.

Even so, I didn’t expect to participate in the exploration of the ruins.

‘Should I thank you for picking me?’

Considering how many people were interested in this exploration of the ruins, it was truly groundbreaking.

Maybe that’s why.

Rather than feeling happy, Ossian felt a little embarrassed.

What’s even more surprising is that he was not selected as a subcontractor, but the archaeologist himself nominated Ossian.

‘You’ll find out why you chose me when you meet me in person.’

That was also the reason why Ossian came to the office where the archaeologist was staying.

Part of my purpose was to meet my employer once, but I couldn’t stay because I was concerned about Violet Fox.

-Why, why only you… … .

Even for Ossian, it was hard to bear to see Lorraine’s expression, which seemed to almost shed tears of blood.

‘That’s not an expression that a human being can make.’

Ossian stood in front of the office, shaking his head.

The office was a small single-family home.

It was a small two-story house, but it seemed to have been built quite a while ago, so the old walls gave off a sense of age.

Ossian rang the doorbell on the first floor.

For a moment, a rustling sound was heard. Then, an urgent voice was heard from inside.

“Okay, just a moment!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

For a moment, you can hear something running, falling, pouring, and falling.

The door opened slowly with a squeak.

“Heh, heh heh. Nice to meet you!”

What appeared through the open door was a woman with braided hair and high-precision glasses.

Baggy clothes and greasy lime-colored hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed for several days.

He was truly a model researcher.

As if to prove that the journey to open the door had not been easy, behind her were piles of fallen books and fluttering papers.

“Are you Mr. Ossian?”

“But that’s true.”

“Nice to meet you! Oh, let’s go inside! It’s a little dirty, but it’s more than enough to accommodate guests.”

A little dirty?

Ossian frowned as he saw a cockroach passing between the books.

I glanced into the kitchen I had just passed by, and the sink was covered in dirty dishes and dust.

No matter how I looked at it, I could tell it had been several months since it had been cleaned.

The stairs leading up to the second floor were also filled with books.

There is really only enough space for one person to pass through.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Illua, an archaeologist from the Archaeological Federation.”

“It’s Ossian. He’s a problem solver and a knight.”

“Wow!”

The archaeologist who introduced himself as Illua had bright eyes.

“Why is that?”

“That’s the first time I’ve seen someone introduce themselves as a knight!”

“… … Is that so?”

“Yes! I also did some research on knights in the past! In particular, the wandering knights of the past were described as superhumans with great powers, so I really wanted to meet Mr. Ossian at least once!”

How would you react if I told you that I was that wandering knight from the past?

Of course you won’t believe it.

Ossian decided to ask something else for now.

“Or am I the only one who called?”

“No. I called someone else too. But even so, it’s a bit much to hire just one person, right?”

I had a hunch, and it was as expected.

“He will be here soon, too. Oh, you’re here just in time!”

Illua, who responded to the blaring alarm, went down to the first floor, saying she would bring him over right away.

After a while, the door opened and Ossian couldn’t help but sigh as he faced the person who appeared.

“Why are you here?”

Balud glared at Ossian with a cold gaze behind his glasses, as if he felt the same way.