The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 633: A good deception is the one you do until the very end

Chapter 633: A good deception is the one you do until the very end

Contrary to the huge arena above, the ’treasure room’ itself was small.

It was as big as a normal inn bedroom--not the luxurious one. The walls were made of smooth stone that also formed the golem standing guard outside. Honestly, I had no idea how Shiny could end up entering this chamber, which made me think that the relic deliberately called for any nearby creature to be used as an agent.

Yeah--looking at that small bead sitting like a queen on a smooth stone pedestal in the middle of the room made me think that the relic might be somewhat sentient.

After all, wasn’t it the relic who told Shiny to go toward the mountain? Anyway...

"The bead!"

I threw all pretense and threw my arms up, running to the middle of the room. Jade followed me while chirping cheerfully, and Shiny pointed at the bead while screeching proudly.

There! There! I speak truth!

Pfft--yeah, you were. I lifted the bead and, after checking that I did feel the Goddess’ essence inside, secured it inside my storage ring before I lifted Shiny high and twirled around.

"We did it! We found it! The sixth one!"

Chiii! Chii!

[Yaay! Yaaay!]

We twirled around the room while Renna and Heraz clapped for us--which was rather funny. But it was nice to finally reach our goal after all those crawling and growling. We laughed and only after a few minutes managed to calm down.

"Ahem--should we leave now?" I grinned sheepishly, and Renna nodded while giggling.

There was nothing else in the room--no golds or gems or legendary equipment. I guessed this was more of a hidden room rather than the normal treasure room. Eh--we didn’t come here for riches anyway.

Oh, I suddenly wondered if Natha accrued money from ruins and dungeons like this before using it--along with his inheritance--to build his financial empire.

Nggh--really need to go back after this!

"Stan, we’re back!" I jumped to the wide arena, and my two little companions ran toward the golem.

"Congratulation," Stan had assumed a sitting position--perhaps because it was no longer a guard without the item to be guarded. Jade shamelessly perched on its shoulder while Shiny climbed to its knees. The golem didn’t mind and pointed its finger at me again. "Please show me the medallion."

I lifted the key, and Stan touched it. Immediately, rune lines glowed along the golem’s body, and a wave of mana entered the medallion. "Here is what I should give to the one carrying the first Goddess’s tear."

"Huh? Those beads are tears?" I couldn’t hide my surprise--nor Renna. Heraz didn’t really care about the whole ordeal, so he was just as expressionless as usual. "Wait--this is the first one?"

So...this one was supposed to be found first? Was that why it was located in a ruin close to the mountain?

But...why? Why didn’t leave the hint with the beads left on the Templars or...

Eh--who cares? It was rather funny that we found the first one before the very last, but looking back on how I got the rest of the beads, it didn’t matter much.

"Once you collect all tears, you should go to the place pointed by the key."

Ah, so it didn’t really matter whether we found this first or last. We still had to collect everything before the instruction became useful anyway.

"What is this place?" I asked curiously. "Why should we go there after collecting everything?"

"That is not in my knowledge."

"Oh, okay..."

Chii? Shiny patted the stone knee, looking up at the golem.

"Hmm? What will Stan do?" I raised my brows. "Oh, right! What will you do now since there’s nothing to guard anymore?" I asked the golem.

"Then, I shall perish."

The calm and dry answer made us gasp--Shiny was screeching rapidly in panic, and I was no better.

"What?! After waiting for so long?"

"I was only made for one duty."

"But..."

Big Stone no more?

[Papa, can we take Big Stone with us?] Jade flew back to my shoulder and tugged on my hood, while Shiny was tugging my trousers.

"Uhh..."

I would like to, I truly did. It pained me to think that someone must disappear after they have served their purpose. After all, I had been struggling with that thought during the pregnancy. I knew the golem was just...a golem, a magical artificial intelligence, but...it helped us pass through without any violence, and we already considered this one a friend.

Yeah, I would like to not make the golem destroyed. But the problem was...how?

"Umm...Stan," I chewed the inside of my cheek and looked up. "Can you turn...small?"

"...perhaps," the reply was surprisingly positive. "But I do not have the knowledge to execute the command."

"Ugh--must you be so robot-like too?"

"Robot?"

"Never mind," I shook my head. "Hmm...but you didn’t say it’s impossible. Then, if we bring someone who can turn you small..."

Several names immediately came to mind: a powerful vampire with an army of golem, great magicians, inventors from another world...I recalled one was especially going nuts over golems, too.

Yeah...those people might be able to. But we couldn’t have them in this place right this second, so there was no point bringing them to this place if there was no golem to be worked on.

I stepped forward and held the golem’s hand. "Stan, must you perish if you stay?"

"I can not exist without any purpose," the golem replied in an emotionally constipated uncle’s voice. "My purpose here has been completed."

"Ugh...then!" I raised my finger. "If you have a new purpose?"

Stan took a while before answering this time. The red eyes flickered as if the golem was reading a program manual. "As long as it stays within my commandment."

I raised my brow and smiled. "Oh, it would be."

I could feel Heraz and Renna’s curious gaze, but there was no time to waste, so I started to act right away. "Shiny!"

Chii? The Mole flinched and straightened its back in attention.

"You said you can process dirt and stones into a gem, right?"

Chii! Chii--chii...

"Huh--the scattered gems in the ruins came from you? Wow..."

Chii...chii...

[Shiny need lots of time if the stones bad]

"But you can do it?"

Chii!

I crouched to face the mole closer. "Then, can you make something resembling the small ball? The same size and color if you can."

Chii....chii!

"Oh, really? Then, can you do it fast if you eat this?"

I took a pouch out of the storage ring and poured some of the content in front of the mole. They were some leftover gemstones from the underground city.

Chii! Shiny grabbed one of them, which was almost as big as its head. The mole looked at me with widened black eyes. Chii chii chii?

"Yeah, you can eat that," I nodded at the excited mole. "They’re not that expensive."

"...really?" Renna muttered with a little gasp.

I turned and raised the pouch in her direction. "Would you like some? I still have several."

Well, I actually had lots, even after sharing them with the servants. These gemstones were really treated like nothing more than decorative pebbles in the underground city.

But Renna shook her head and hands frantically. "Oh, no...I--"

"It’s fine, they are basically free," I laughed--which was true. These were an apprentice of an apprentice’s failed product. Pebbles. I could just go back and purchase some more if I wanted to, so I scooped some and shoved them into her hand. "Here."

"Oh...t-thank you," Renna was flustered for a few seconds, but she clutched the gems carefully before storing them safely inside a protective pouch. "I...I just thought they would be useful during some disguise."

"Yes," Heraz nodded in agreement. "You can use them for trade when you pretend to be a merchant or fashion them into jewelry and wear it when you’re sneaking into high society circle."

"Y-yes, I think so too!"

"Why don’t you give her more pointer while we wait, Heraz?" I couldn’t help but chuckle at how much her eyes sparkled at the shapeshifter’s comment.

Anyway, there might be no chance anymore after this, so I better give her some. After all, it would only benefit us if she got more proficient in spying.

Leaving the spies to their own mini-class, I plopped down and poked the little bird on my shoulder. "Jade, let’s have some lunch while we wait for Shiny."

[Jelly! Jade want cocoa now!]

"Wouldn’t you rather have the cocoa one later after we’re back?" I tilted my head while taking out some sandwiches the hotel manager packed for us. "It’ll taste more delicious."

[Hmm...okay!] The little bird nodded obediently. [Then, can Jade have candy now?]

"Look at you negotiating and whatnot," I laughed and poked the chubby cheeks of the giggling bird. "Here."

[Yaay!]

I passed some sandwiches and bottled lemonades to Renna and Heraz, before leaning against the golem and ate mine. The cool sensation of the stone reminded me of Natha, and I was biting my sandwich in longing and frustration.

"Stan, do you eat?" I started a random conversation with the quiet golem to distract myself.

"No. I have an embedded mana recycle circuit."

"Hmm...will your system be disturbed if I give you mana?"

"I don’t think so," again, the red eyes flickered for a few seconds. "As long as it’s not a huge amount that will make the circuit overload."

I put my half-eaten sandwich down and turned around, placing my hand on his palm. "How about this?"

Slowly, so I wouldn’t accidentally cause an overload, I poured mana into the golem; purified mana from the environment, which I hoped would match well with what was already inside the golem’s system.

"Visitor," the golem spoke after a while. "This is weird."

I looked up carefully--did the golem realize I left a mana tracker inside his system? I mean...I needed to know whether or not Stan was still ’alive’ later. "Weird how?"

"I feel different."

"Different?"

"I feel like the first time I was born," there was a hint of fascination in the golem’s gentle yet thunderous voice. "Like new."

I asked nervously. "Is it good?"

"It’s excellent."

"Oh, I’m glad!"

I sighed in relief and finished the mana transfer before Stan could notice anything weird. After finishing my lunch and cleaning up Jade’s sugar-stained face, we heard an energetic screeching from the side.

Chii!

Shiny raised one of its arms, proudly showing me its work. There, a small bead identical to the Goddess’s relic was born.