When Fíliya said this, the three demons were all stunned.
It was the first time they had ever felt such palpable killing intent from Fíliya.
Just then, Solitär suddenly realized something.
True to her reputation as someone who has studied humans for centuries, Solitär made a connection even though Fíliya hadn't mentioned that individual at all.
So she spoke up.
"If The Empire's goal is to eliminate powerful individuals with 'absolute personal might'... then there is one target who must be a thorn in their side."
After saying this, Solitär felt a slight tinge of regret.
She was puzzled, finding it hard to understand herself.
Why would she voluntarily bring up the matter of that powerful Elf?
Sigh... Fíliya's influence on me might be greater than I anticipated.
She gave a wry smile.
"Hmm, you have a point, Solitär. If it comes to that, The Empire might actually make a move on Serie. But I find it hard to believe. I can't imagine any possibility of Serie being attacked... Forget it. That's too far removed from our current situation. It's not our place to worry about it."
Although Fíliya said this, she had her own doubts.
She truly couldn't imagine any means that could threaten Serie, but as the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry.
When I return to the Continental Magic Association, should I find a chance to warn Serie?
Hmm, I have a feeling the God of Magic would just treat it as a joke.
Whatever, I'll deal with future problems in the future.
Linie watched Fíliya and Solitär's exchange, feeling completely lost.
The earlier part of the conversation, she had understood.
But who was Serie? She had no idea, not that she particularly cared.
In any case, Fíliya ended her discussion with Solitär, and then the two of them stood up from the ground.
"Was there another earthquake while I was meditating for the first time?"
Fíliya's gaze swept across the deepest part of the labyrinth.
She had already noticed the wall that was different from how she remembered it at the beginning.
"Mm-hmm."
Solitär nodded, and was about to say something else, but Fíliya quickly covered her mouth.
"Don't! Whatever you do, don't tell me!"
Fíliya's tone was extremely anxious.
She was genuinely afraid Solitär would spoil what was behind that wall for her.
So, Solitär could only shake her head helplessly, indicating she wouldn't speak again.
Only then did Fíliya let her go.
"Good, let's have a look."
After letting go of Solitär, Fíliya grinned and approached the stone door, while the three demons followed tacitly behind her.
Once Fíliya got close enough, the stone door rumbled and opened on its own.
"Whoa..."
Fíliya quickly shielded her eyes, as the light emanating from within was quite blinding.
It was a mountain of gold coins.
These small, round objects, due to the vibration from the door opening, were still trickling down from the top of the pile, making a pleasant, crisp sound.
Many people would probably consider this shade of gold the most beautiful color in the world, even feeling the urge to dive into the pile of coins and swim around in it.
But for Miss Fíliya, this kind of direct material reward was not a high priority.
Her attention was, as expected, fixed on the treasure chest in the center of the room, one that looked rather plain and even a little 'dirty'.
As if enchanted, she lunged toward the chest with a fanatical expression.
"...Fíliya, I'm sorry, but this chest... is also a Mimic."
Watching Fíliya hug the chest, stroking it over and over as if she couldn't bear to part with it, Solitär hesitated for several seconds before deciding whether to tell Fíliya the truth.
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening!"
Fíliya clung tightly to the chest, refusing to let go, just like a stubborn child.
"This is another opportunity granted to me by the great Goddess! I believe this chest is definitely not a Mimic. It's the one-in-a-hundred surprise."
Fíliya said this with a completely serious face, though she didn't have a shred of faith in the great Goddess.
That didn't stop her from using Her name to bolster her argument.
"She's hopeless."
Aura shook her head at the sight.
Linie followed her master's example.
In the end, Solitär didn't try to dissuade Fíliya any further.
She knew full well that Fíliya was the type to never give up, even if it meant banging her head against a brick wall.
Seeing that no one else was commenting, Fíliya affectionately lingered with the chest in her arms for a while longer before she finally brought herself to open it slowly.
In that instant, the three demons subconsciously closed their eyes, because the image of being eaten by a Mimic was just too painful to watch.
But... several seconds passed, and Fíliya's imagined screams for help yet never came.
This made Solitär involuntarily open her eyes.
And so she saw Fíliya sitting cross-legged in front of the chest with an excited expression, holding a thick book whose cover alone radiated a sense of history.
...Did Fíliya actually win her bet?
Solitär and Aura exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.
"Hmph, didn't expect that, did you? This is what you call 'those who believe in miracles are as incredible as miracles themselves.' You have to open three fake chests, then defeat a powerful monster and five golem creations. If the final treasury still contained a fake chest, that would be completely unreasonable... It seems the creator of this labyrinth had at least a little bit of conscience."
"There really was something good in the chest after all. You may call me the Gambling Master."
Fíliya said with a grin, then immediately immersed herself in the book before her.
Seeing this, Solitär slowly approached.
She had grown accustomed to this feeling of walking to Fíliya's side.
"What kind of grimoire is this?"
"Hmm, this isn't a grimoire. It's more like a... journal of insights. It's written all about reflections on meditation, along with some personal experiences... It records several tips for concentrating quickly and methods for accelerating mana training."
"Sounds very useful for Fíliya."
Solitär commented.
"It's more than useful. As you know, I'm not very good at meditation. I'll take my time absorbing the experience of my predecessors."
Fíliya chuckled lightly as she looked at Solitär.
"It's just that the characters are a bit hard to understand. The writing style is a bit archaic, and some of the characters I have to study carefully."
As Fíliya spoke, she handed the notebook to Solitär.
When Solitär indicated she didn't need it, she offered it to Aura.
"Huh? Why give it to me? We of the Demon Race don't need to read this kind of thing."
Although Aura took the notebook, her expression was one of slight disdain.
She flipped through a few pages casually before returning it to Fíliya, completely uninterested.
"Tsk, right. After all, as long as the Demon Race lives, their mana grows steadily, without needing to train like humans and Elves... Dammit, that part is really enviable."
Fíliya clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Even she had to admit that although the Demon Race had fallen to their current state, they were truly the 'favored children' of magic and mana.
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