Kōichi Hayashi watched the Knights busily fastening heavy shackles around Alderp and roughing him up, then glanced over at the lord's private treasury, packed with luxurious artwork, precious jewels, and magical items.
A highly tactical idea quickly took shape in his mind.
He quietly leaned toward Aqua, who looked drained from exhausting her magic and was just about to find somewhere to sit down, then spoke into her ear in a low, tempting voice.
"Hey, Aqua, don't rest just yet. Look at all these glittering antiques, those gorgeous statues, and those staffs glowing with magical power... Haven't you noticed? They've all been contaminated by the evil aura of that Devil Duke."
"Huh? They have?"
Aqua rubbed her eyes and stared blankly at the priceless treasures.
"Why do they just look like they're glowing with the light of money to me...?"
"No. Look closely. They're covered in curses invisible to the naked eye!"
Kōichi Hayashi pointed solemnly at a solid-gold lion statue.
"As a Goddess of Justice, surely you can't stand by and let these contaminated valuables enter the market and harm innocent citizens, can you? So while Claire and the others are busy, hurry up and accidentally use a wide-area [Purification] spell to cleanse everything. Make sure the purification is flashy. Ideally, create a few sacred explosions. Then I'll take care of collecting the purified remains... ahem, I mean the treasures that have had their evil energy removed, and place them in my backpack for a second round of purification."
Aqua's eyes instantly lit up like two thousand-watt bulbs.
She immediately understood what Kōichi Hayashi meant.
Wasn't this basically robbery with official approval...?
No.
This was purification by divine decree!
"Ohhh! So that's how it is! As expected of Kōichi, you've really thought this through!"
Aqua sprang to her feet, her exhaustion disappearing instantly.
Once again assuming her sacred and untouchable Goddess pose, she shouted toward the busy Knights.
"Everyone, stand back! This Goddess has discovered that every treasure in this room has been afflicted with an incredibly vicious curse by the Devil Duke! If we don't perform immediate forced physical purification, the entire Royal Capital will fall into disaster! Take this! Chain Purification Edition!!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of spectacular explosions erupted throughout the basement as Aqua recklessly bombarded the room with magic.
Gold coins flew through the air, gems flashed beneath the sacred light, and Kōichi Hayashi activated [Agility], darting through the holy glow like a phantom.
"Oh my! This solid-gold vase was purified straight into my arms!"
As Kōichi Hayashi expertly stuffed treasure into his backpack, he shouted toward the bewildered Claire.
"Lady Claire! Don't worry! I'll take these dangerous objects contaminated with evil energy back and dispose of them properly! For the safety of the kingdom, leave this exhausting dirty work to us Adventurers!"
"W-Wait! Those are the lord's personal assets! They should be confiscated and transferred to the royal treasury..."
Claire was repeatedly forced backward by Aqua's blinding holy light.
All she could do was watch helplessly as Kōichi Hayashi and Kazuma, who had somehow joined the looting operation as well, emptied the shelves with the speed of starving beasts pouncing on food.
Kazuma stuffed jewels into his clothes while tears of emotion streamed down his face.
"Kōichi, you've finally done something decent for once! This is exactly what I've always dreamed of. A Hero raiding someone's private residence... No, wait! I mean a Hero gathering the spoils of battle!"
Amid this absurd purification ritual, the basement of Alderp's mansion was undergoing a cleansing far more thorough than anything the Devil's descent had managed.
Kōichi Hayashi looked down at his Adventurer backpack, which was nearly bursting with gold ornaments, gemstones, and Enchanted Items.
He had even stuffed a heavy solid-gold lion head inside his clothes.
Then his sharp senses noticed that Claire's previously dazed expression, overwhelmed by the holy light, was gradually becoming clear again.
And increasingly suspicious.
The Knight Commander was staring fixedly at Kōichi Hayashi's comically swollen waist, packed full of treasure.
"Hey, Kōichi Hayashi... your backpack wasn't that full a moment ago, was it? And that handle sticking out... no matter how I look at it, that resembles Alderp's treasured Sword of Evil-Bane..."
Claire's voice was low, like the rumble of a gathering storm.
Her hand had already moved to the hilt of the sword at her waist.
"Ahem! Lady Claire, you misunderstand! The sword sensed the Goddess's call and came seeking protection on its own so that it wouldn't be corrupted by evil energy!"
Kōichi Hayashi lied without the slightest change in expression.
At the same time, he suddenly grabbed Aqua, who was still frantically casting [Purification] on a silver candlestick.
"Aqua, that's enough! The evil energy here has already been completely washed away by your sacred and inviolable radiance! If we stay any longer, your noble magic will be drained so badly that you won't even be able to maintain your holy image. We must return immediately for a sacred recovery period!"
"Huh? But that diamond-encrusted toilet brush over there still hasn't been purified..."
Aqua tried to resist, but one sharp look from Kōichi Hayashi, carrying the unmistakable promise of premium sparkling wine, instantly silenced her.
"Kazuma! Stop digging gems out of the floor! We're leaving!"
Kōichi Hayashi barked at Kazuma Satou, who was bent over with his backside in the air, using his short sword to pry gemstones from the floor tiles.
Kazuma suddenly looked up.
The moment he saw Claire's nearly murderous stare, his whole body shuddered.
He immediately put his Agility to good use and dashed to Kōichi Hayashi's side.
"Right, right! Our righteous mission has been successfully completed! We need to return and write a detailed battle report now, Lady Claire. We'll leave the remaining cleanup to the professional Knights! Goodbye!"
Before Claire could react, Kōichi Hayashi had already grabbed Aqua and bolted for the exit.
Kazuma followed behind carrying a huge, heavy sack of valuables.
Like three rabbits being chased by dogs, they vanished through the basement exit at incredible speed.
"Stop! You bunch of...!!"
Claire's furious roar echoed behind them.
But because she still had to oversee the arrest of Alderp, who had collapsed on the ground, she could only watch helplessly as the so-called heroes disappeared into the shadows before dawn.
...
Twenty minutes later, inside an inconspicuous but luxurious hotel room somewhere in the Royal Capital.
Clatter!
Kōichi Hayashi dumped the entire contents of his backpack onto the soft carpet.
The sound of gold coins and gemstones striking one another was especially beautiful in the quiet early morning.
Aqua and Kazuma instantly pounced on the pile like two dragons that had just discovered a mountain of gold, their eyes practically filled with Eris symbols.
"We're rich! We're rich! Kōichi, you're a genius! I've never seen this much money in my entire life!"
Kazuma hugged the golden lion head and rubbed his face against it, practically drooling.
"Hmph, hmph! All of this is the result of this Goddess's hard work purifying everything, so I deserve the biggest share! I'm buying that expensive wine glass with my face printed on it, and then an entire wagon full of top-quality sparkling wine!"
Aqua proudly planted her hands on her hips, having completely forgotten that she had been crying in terror because of the Devil in the basement only moments earlier.
Kōichi Hayashi leaned against the window and looked toward the distant skyline, which was slowly brightening.
A meaningful smile appeared on his lips.
"Don't celebrate too soon. We can't sell any of this directly yet. News of Alderp's arrest will spread throughout the Royal Capital very quickly, and Claire will definitely conduct an inventory of his property. Until things calm down, all of this will have to stay with me for safekeeping."
Kōichi Hayashi tapped his staff against the floor, drawing both of their attention back to him.
***
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