Chapter 60 - 『Platinum ++』

Nabe sat there on the sofa, her legs flatly resting on the ground as she held a teacup to her lips. Her sharp dark eyes exploring the familiar liquid which was seated deeply within the cup. It was tea, the same tea in which she often drank with her sisters back at Nazarick. Taking in the scent of the premium tea, she then took a daring sip just prior to lifting her gaze to peer at the two forms on the other sofa across from her.

She was seated there beside the Dark Hero Momon, across from her was Jack, and directly across from Momon was none other than Arche. A girl who she had yet to judge objectively due to her human nature and her closeness to the supreme being. The woman was nothing more than a maggot to her, a lower life form.

Awkwardly the blonde girl, Arche, shifted in her seat looking over the two heroes as she did so.

Jack yawned lightly as their little meeting had practically turned into a staring contest.

"Uh... Huh..." Momon tried to think of something to say, but he mostly just cleared his throat in the process or at least imitated the sound through the use of the lip bug within his armor.

"So... Those ruins that you found near the Great Forest of Tob..." Jack leaned forward slightly as he wanted to get some production out of this. It seemed everyone felt a bit awkward.

"Ruins?" Arche nearly jumped at the words. Another place to explore? Another job to do?

"Yes," the armored man leaned back into the sofa and appeared to let out a huff of air. "We haven't been able to identify its origins, or the era it was from. Let alone how it had been there without being detected for so long."

Jack grinned lightly at his Leader's words and nodded lightly. "Sounds like an interesting find."

"Are... Are we going to check it out?" Arche looked to Jack rather excitedly. If there was any form of monetary gain from it, she could contribute a bit more to the house.

His eyes flickered over towards the girl for a few seconds before looking to Momon, then shrugged lightly. "Momon here wants to lead an expedition into the ruins. So it's likely he will speak with Fluder, one of the Nobles or the Emperor himself."

"We already have," Momon kept his hands rested on his knees.

"And?"

Momon made a faint gesture with his hand as he continued to speak once more, "In a months time one of the nobles will gather a group of workers, Foresight is invited as well. The Empire has taken a large interest in these Ruins, so there is a large payout. Approximately two hundred coins upfront and another three hundred after the completion of the job."

"That is an interesting offer... I wonder how much knowledge can be found within." Jack snickered lightly as he scratched his chin at the thought. Though all of this was fake, they were just putting on a show as roleplayers often did.

Arche looked up at Jack as he was scratching his chin in curiosity. She blinked a few times, "Yeah..." The magical knowledge that could be in the ruins, or other pieces of information she could gain, seemed to be a profitable form of gain as well. "I hope there's... Lots of knowledge."

Nabe took another sip from her Platinum++ Asgard Pekoe tea as she watched them talk, not really finding the need. This was talk amongst the Supreme Beings which she was simply enjoying being near. Though she was rather disgusted of Arche, a lower life form, who was being supposedly spoiled by Jack-sama in her eyes.

Momon's eyes traced over the look that Arche was making. It was clear due to her connection with Jack, her ambitions were intertwined with him, making her following his suggestions in a sense. She was a willing follower and if anything, she truly felt for his friend.

Pondering to herself, it took a little bit before she spoke once more, "How old do you think the Ruins are?" She was interested in the ruins, as she had been studying many others along with the other students whenever she went to visit places around the Empire.

"I can't say for certain, but I'm sure they're far older than two hundred years," Momon spoke once more as he made little gestures to keep them attentive and interested. "Perhaps it's from the times of the Eight Greed Kings."

Hearing how old the ruins were and him implying its relation to the Kings, she could only assume it was filled with treasure. At the same time, vast amounts of magical knowledge.

"It's purpose exactly?" Jack leaned forward a bit looking over the friend of his dressed in adventurer's attire, getting into the whole mysterious tomb charade.

"A tomb," Nabe spoke as she placed her empty teacup down on the coffee table between the two sofas. "A Great Tomb."

His eyes flickered to Nabe, it sounded as if she was boasting about the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It almost made him chuckle and shake his head. "A Great Tomb you say... Must filled with bountiful treasures and monsters... Huh?"

Hearing the part about monsters, Arche looked to Jack, she was going to reinforce his words by claiming they'd vanquish them, except she stopped and went dead silent. Seeing the leather lamp from the corner of her eye, she lost the reason to do so, not entirely understanding why. It was like her mind was telling her not to say a word about the tomb. Why? It was giving her the chills. Her eyes moved to Jack once more as she gave the lamp a stern gander, then towards Momon, activating her magic talent.

Momon was draped in a magical aura that seeped out from the very chinks in his arm. If it wasn't for seeing Jack's, she would have thought he was almost angelic. Of course, what she was seeing was not the true amount of power he was capable of, as it was all hidden.

"Hm?" Momon looked over her eyes which were glowing blue. "Huh!?"

Nabe, not knowing what she was doing, almost stood up from the sofa in order to counterattack, only for Momon to force her back into a seated position.

"She means no harm, Nabe," Jack had informed Momon of her talent along with the others in the club. "She is simply... Snooping."

Blinking, Arche closed her eyes briefly, before opening them again. They were no longer glowing once she did so and she bowed her head. "I am sorry for startling you, Nabe-san..."

Momon shook his head and laughed it off as Nabe leaned back into the sofa, coldly stoic as usual.

"So in a Month... So after the Ball, it sounds like an adequate choice, if I don't say so myself." Jack sniggered at the plan as he placed a hand on the top of Arche's head, pulling her into and holding her head to the side of his chest.

"Mmmm..." Arche let out small soft comfort sounds as he did this, closing one eye as the side of her face pressed into his chest. "With that much gold, I can focus on my studies." She'd finally be able to spoil her little sisters rotten with her own money rather than depending on Jack for income.

"Indeed you could," his fingers traveled down to the side of her face and pinched her cheek playfully. Causing her to groan and swat at his hand, it was almost like playing with a kitten.

Nabe raised a brow at the strange display of affection, seeing Jack pull on the girl's cheek enough to reveal her pearly whites.

"Cut it out in front of your friends," she whined quietly as she grabbed at his arm to no avail.

"Oh? Hehe," Jack shook his head lightly as he then hooked his arm around her, hugging her head against the center of his chest now. It seemed he had the urge to play, innocently, in a menacing fashion. "I don't think so!"

Arche groaned before throwing her hands up frantically trying to grab his face, "Mah!"

"Pffff, Don't Mah me!" Jack teased.

Nabe just crossed one ankle over her knee watching this, imagining as if he was playing with Aura and her brother, or even Jack's own little sister. It was a rather strange circumstance for her to behold. This will definitely need some getting used to.

Momon wasn't really phased by this at all. With his support network, in the beginning, Jack had become just as playful with their voice actress teammates. That was mostly Bukubukuchagama, the creator of Mare Fiore and Aura Fiora, and her hentai game obsessed brother.

"We have some spare rooms left if you'd like to take up some space until the ball. What do you say?" Jack cocked his head to the side as he offered this, fully aware of the fact Momon would be unable to remove his armor in front of others unless he used illusions to appear human.

"I don't see why not," Momon straightened up as he stood from the Sofa, looking down to his friend. "Nonetheless, it is a pleasure to see you again, my friend."