Chapter 205

‘I was so absorbed in cooking that I forgot the most important thing……. I almost ended up parting ways like this…!’

Still, it was fortunate that Kurt pointed out that fact, which I had completely forgotten, and reminded me.

Belatedly snapping out of it at Kurt’s words, Albert quickly straightened his posture.

“Ahaha! Right. Now that I think about it, that was a thing. I totally forgot.”

Ignoring Louis, who was casually making light of the situation as if it were someone else’s business, Albert carefully chose his words.

“Yes. We heard that you, Kurt, obtained an artifact of the Ancient Empire.”

“That’s right. It’s true that I obtained that artifact……. But what business do you have with it?”

“Well, actually, we’re interested in the artifact you obtained. If it’s alright, could we take a look at it?”

“More artifact talk? The nuns who came by the other day were the same……. At this rate, I might end up with the whole world flocking here to see my artifact.”

Kurt sighed in exasperation, muttering to himself as if lamenting.

However, hearing Kurt’s muttering, Albert couldn’t help but stiffen his expression.

“The Holy Kingdom……. Did you say?”

‘Could it be that the Holy Kingdom made contact first? If so, did he already hand over the artifact to them…?’

After all, the Spine Empire and the Holy Kingdom were not exactly on good terms.

The Empire, which adhered to human supremacist ideology and discriminated against non-human races, calling them sub-humans, and the Holy Kingdom, which strove day and night to create a world where all races coexisted, were fundamentally opposed in their ideologies.

Moreover, recently, the Holy Kingdom had been increasingly interfering with the Empire’s growing interest in the artifacts of the Ancient Empire, causing relations between the two nations to deteriorate further.

Lately, conflicts between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom over the artifacts had become so frequent that localized armed clashes had even broken out.

Thus, Albert felt a different kind of difficulty when dealing with Kurt.

‘Obtaining the artifact from the Lizardman Master is no easy task, but stealing it from the Holy Kingdom is a whole other level of trouble. The Holy Kingdom would never willingly hand over an artifact to the Empire. Unlike the Lizardman Master, who is just an individual, the Holy Kingdom is an organization with international influence. We can’t recklessly meddle with them…….’

Facing the Holy Kingdom’s saboteurs would be worse than dealing with the Lizardman, who at least could be reasoned with.

While eating Kurt’s cooking, Albert had unknowingly lost his aversion to him and genuinely thought so.

“By any chance, did you hand over the artifacts to someone from the Holy Kingdom……?”

“What? No way. The people from the Holy Kingdom just came to take a look at my artifact and left.”

Contrary to Albert’s worries, Kurt smiled as if to say, “Don’t talk nonsense,” and denied his speculation.

“I-I see? That’s a relief…….”

‘Thank goodness. The Holy Kingdom and the Empire are practically sworn enemies. Getting involved with them would have complicated things…….’

Hearing Kurt’s answer, Albert secretly let out a sigh of relief.

“W-Well, then…….”

“Then?”

“I mean……. That is…….”

“That is?”

But not being preempted by the Holy Kingdom and asking the Lizardman Master to hand over the artifact were two separate issues.

Though his fear of Kurt had significantly lessened, Albert still couldn’t figure out how to ask him to hand over the artifact and ended up hesitating in front of Kurt.

“So, you still have the artifact?”

“Yeah. I still have it.”

“Oh. Then, can we take a look?”

As Albert was carefully choosing his words, Louis stepped in between them and smoothly took over the conversation.

“Lu, Louis! Be more careful with such matters…!”

“It’s fine. We’ve already shared a meal together.”

Caught off guard by Louis’ sudden words, Albert tried to stop him in a panic, but Kurt, who had received the request, casually accepted it as if it were no big deal and stood up, gesturing for the two to follow him.

“Lu, Louis! So you weren’t just here to hang out!”

“…What exactly did you think I was here for, Captain?”

“Well, just someone who only cares about eating……. Ahem, never mind.”

Albert, who had been speaking up to that point, quickly noticed Louis’ cold gaze and awkwardly cleared his throat before hurriedly following after Kurt.

.

.

.

The place the two arrived at was the kitchen where Kurt had just brought the smoked brisket.

“This is clearly the kitchen…?”

“It seems so…….”

“Why is the Artifact of the Ancient Empire in the kitchen?”

“I’m not sure either…….”

*Clatter*

As the two whispered to each other with puzzled expressions, Kurt pulled out a metal plate from the kitchen and held it out to them.

“This is the artifact.”

The metal plate he brought was just a fragment of something, but the piece was clearly made of a mysterious metal that couldn’t be replicated with the technology of this era.

*Gulp*

“This is the artifact…….”

And the moment Albert saw it, he realized why the higher-ups of the Empire had sent them back to Astram.

The first to discover the ruins was undoubtedly the Empire’s Holy Sword Knight Order, and they were also the first to sweep up the artifacts from there.

Having personally collected all the seemingly valuable artifacts from the ruins, Albert knew.

Although his main expertise wasn’t in analyzing artifacts, through his experience excavating ruins and collecting various artifacts, he had honed his eye enough to at least gauge the grade of an artifact at a glance.

From his perspective, the artifact Kurt had brought out……

‘At first glance, it doesn’t seem different from other artifacts from the ruins, but upon closer inspection, this artifact exudes a bizarre quality unlike anything I’ve seen before. This is undoubtedly a top-tier item even by the standards of the Ancient Empire…!’

Albert quietly became convinced.

The artifacts they had collected were also of exceptional value, worth their weight in gold, but the item Kurt had brought was the real treasure, truly valuable.

The artifact Kurt had brought was of a different caliber as an artifact compared to anything they had excavated.

What was even more regrettable was that the artifact wasn’t in perfect condition.

‘If it were intact, it would undoubtedly rank among the top artifacts of the Ancient Empire in the Spine Empire……. No. It might be too early to be disappointed. Perhaps only the exterior is damaged, and the functionality is unaffected.’

Hiding his disappointment, Albert cautiously asked Kurt.

“It’s a bit different from what I imagined. So, what does this do?”

“Heh. Don’t be too surprised.”

In response to Albert’s question, Kurt, who had initially seemed reluctant to show the artifact, now wore an enthusiastic smile.

His demeanor was like that of a child proudly showing off a new toy, and seeing that smile, Albert couldn’t help but swallow dryly again.

‘Such a confident smile……. So the artifact only looks damaged on the outside, but its functionality is unaffected…! Truly a top-tier artifact!’

“Now, let me show you the true power of this artifact. Watch closely with your own eyes!”

As he spoke, Kurt placed another piece of brisket on the metal plate.

*Gulp*

‘Wh-What is this…? Just how powerful is this weapon that even a master like the Lizardman can’t hide his excitement…!?’

As Kurt activated the artifact, countless imaginations flooded Albert and Louis’ minds.

A weapon that could ignore the hardness of an object and instantly turn it to dust with a destructive beam.

A device that could create a micro black hole and swallow the meat in an instant.

Or perhaps the legendary light from a certain region’s folklore that turns anything it touches into a pillar of salt.

*Whirr*

As Albert and Louis watched with bated breath, the activated artifact began to emit a mysterious turquoise light……

*Shimmer*

*Shimmer*

A translucent mana shield slowly began to envelop the smoked brisket.

“….”

“….”

“See! With this mana shield, you can isolate ingredients from the outside and preserve them for a long time! Isn’t it amazing?”

“Ahaha……. Yes…….”

“Y-Yeah…….”

The two could only force a subtle smile as they watched Kurt proudly boast about the artifact’s performance.