Chapter 20: Eina's Reminder
'It seems like this is something that happened solely to Bell. If other people find out about it, Bell will also attract the attention of some gods. Bell carries some special secrets, and it is because of this secret that this kid is different. However, it seems like he himself doesn't know about it. From now on, I need to be extra careful and make sure no one else finds out about his secret.'
Eina had no intention of sharing this secret with any other gods. Since Bell had entrusted her with the secret, it meant that he had already placed his trust in her.
To honor that trust, she would do her best to help keep the secret hidden.
"Bell-kun, remember, you must never tell anyone what we just talked about. If the higher-ups in the Guild find out about such a thing, you might become the subject of research. The Guild has always investigated and researched the Dungeon. If you end up influencing the operations of the Dungeon for personal reasons, you will become their research subject."
"It's best if you don't form teams with others. This would absolutely be the worst thing for your future. The floors of the Dungeon can't be done alone, and teaming up is the best way to reach the mid-floor faster. In other words, if you want to keep your secret safe, you must avoid taking any dangerous actions and steadily develop your strength slowly."
Not being able to form teams meant taking risks. There's a huge gap between level 1 and level 2, and crossing that line requires nothing less than desperation.
There's no doubt that this is very dangerous.
Eina strongly disagrees with such risky adventures, often saying, "adventurers shouldn't take risks."
However, it seemed that she couldn't keep saying that anymore. After all, if this child wanted to keep his secret...
"In this case, it actually works out the way I want."
From the very beginning, Bell was unwilling to trust any "teammates."
In this city, trusting someone casually was like handling his life to another person, and only an idiot would do something like that.
Clearly, this was not something Bell would ever consider.
"Due to my own experiences, I also don't trust anyone easily. Moreover, Orario is a very special place, and finding a reliable partner to form a team is extremely difficult."
"If that's how you feel, then follow your own path and do what you believe is right."
Even though Eina really wanted to guide the child's thinking, Bell had already made it clear that he doesn't trust anyone because of what he's been through.
Eina didn't know what exactly had happened to him, but she really wanted to find out.
It was clear that Bell's maturity was also the result of those experiences. The way he acted shy and tried to hide his actions showed that he'd been hurt badly before.
However, Eina had only known Bell for less than three days, and she clearly didn't have the right to ask about his past.
That's why she didn't keep questioning him.
She looked around the room at all the daggers lying on the floor and sighed quietly.
The number of them wasn't something that could be appraised quickly. Of course, the situation with these daggers also needed to be kept secret, or the Guild would immediately learn about Bell's secret.
"Bell-kun, let's talk about the value of the drops. The goblin magic stones aren't worth much—each one is only worth about 100 valis, while the daggers are way more valuable. Given that they are incredibly sharp weapons and even capable of injuring strong monsters like Minotaurs with thick skin, the value of the swords has risen to around 100,000 valis."
The high value of the short dagger truly surprised Bell. He had originally thought that each one was worth about 10,000 vallis, but it turned out to be ten times more.
"The monster drops are really worth that much?"
Eina felt the need to explain things to Bell.
"Bell-kun, the value of any drop from upper-floor monsters typically fluctuates between 1,000 and 10,000 valis. That's because most of those drops are just materials used to make weapons or potions, which require processing first. However, weapons are completely different."
"A dagger is strong enough to seriously hurt a middle-floor monster like a Minotaur, so its value doesn't fall in the same range as low-level monster drops. The fact that it's sharp enough to cut even those tough monsters is what makes it valuable. Furthermore, the drop rate for a goblin dagger is quite low, and we receive about five a year. They're almost as good as the basic weapons sold in shops."
After the explanation, Bell came to understand why the dagger was so valuable.
The main reason was that the goblin dagger was a finished weapon without additional sharpening or processing.
Additionally, its quality was good enough to even cut through the Minotaur's tough skin. That kind of sharpness and rarity makes them worth a lot.
"Bell-kun, how many do you have in total here?"
"264."
"That means... 26.4 million valis. To earn such a large sum on your first venture into the Dungeon... if other Familia found out, they would be shocked by your ability to make money, right?"
He gave a wry smile.
Bell's actions would not just shock the other familia members, they would probably scare them half to death.
In fact, he was even shocked by his own success because earning 26.4 million valis from the very beginning might even be able to afford top-tier weapons.
'This should be the last time. Aside from the magic stones, I should avoid selling those materials at the Guild. I might even need to ask a Hestia-sama for help to sell them or perhaps rely on the connection from Hephaestus-sama's side.'
Bell thought.
After joking around a bit, Eina became more serious. She could help Bell in many ways, but that help wasn't unlimited.
She needed to set a boundary for Bell and thought it was important to make sure Bell stayed under the radar.
If this kind of thing keeps happening, it won't just be the gods who will become suspicious—even the Guild might start noticing.
"Bell-kun, we need to have a serious talk about these daggers. From now on, you'll need to control the amount of monster drops you sell. If you bring in too much, it won't just be the gods who keep an eye on you, but the Guild as well. I can help you cover for this time, but this trick will only work once."
"So, Bell-kun, you'd better find a different way to sell off the extra drops next time."