Treasure Map

Thus, the task of clearing the coastline fell to them. Although this was not a particularly difficult task for True Magic, they still had to brave the cold winds to get to the beach every day. To make matters worse, the weather near the Glanz Strait changed very quickly. Sometimes, a rare sunny morning would turn into a sudden blizzard by noon.

Moreover, even if Lorenzo had a way to quickly clear the coastline, he couldn't use it. After all, the commission clearly stated "accommodation and food provided during this period." If it really could be cleared in less than a day, then by the afternoon they would be kicked out of the house.

As Frieren had planned, they were determined to stay here for the entire winter, so in order not to lose this long-term "meal ticket," they had to control the pace of their daily cleaning.

However, it wasn't without its advantages. These days happened to be a rare window for observing Neptune, so Lorenzo would symbolically clean a little bit each day before going to the side to observe the sky.

Frieren would often slack off. Even though she was full of confidence when she took on the task, it seemed like she was the one who slacked off the most. She would sleep until the sun was high in the sky every day before getting up. After cleaning up for a while, she would start a fire and study a magic book that she didn't know where it came from.

Both adults had become like this, but Fern, unusually, did not "like father, like son," and continued to diligently clean the coastline every day, occasionally going to town for dessert.

Time passed slowly, and everything was supposed to proceed in an orderly fashion, until two young men arrived in the town...

"Lawine, is the treasure on that treasure map really located nearby?"

A girl with orange twin ponytails walked down the town's street and asked a girl named Lawine beside her.

"You've asked that several times already, Kanne."

Lawine unfolded the parchment in his hand with some impatience. The map looked quite old, covered with a lot of strange lines and dots.

"But there isn't even a single street here."

Kanne peered over and watched for a long time.

"Shouldn't a normal treasure map depict mountains and coastlines, and then mark the location where the treasure is buried with a big red cross?"

So this is not an ordinary map.

Lawine pointed to a slightly larger dot in the center of the parchment.

"According to the librarian of our college, it looks like a star map. The dots correspond to constellations visible in winter, and the lines are used to determine the direction and angle of observation."

"Can't understand."

Simply put, the location of the treasure can only be found by observing the starry sky at a specific location.

"I see."

Kanne looked like he suddenly understood.

"So where exactly is it located?"

"Currently, we can only confirm that it is near the Glanz Strait; the specific observation location will need to be found based on other markers on the map."

Lawine pointed to the lower right corner of the parchment, where a strangely shaped tower was drawn, with a star that had been repeatedly drawn floating on top, and several arcs symbolizing ocean waves below the tower.

"The curator said that this should be a ground reference point deliberately left by the person who drew the star map. Once you find this tower and observe the night sky from the corresponding angle, you can determine the location of the treasure."

"So all we need now is to find a tall tower near the sea."

Kanne looked up and around; there were quite a few buildings in town that could be called towers.

"What do you think of that clock tower?"

Kanne points to the church bell tower in the center of town.

"No, there are no waves below, and the shape of the tower top is different too."

"What about the one at the port?"

"That's a crane, isn't it? Do you really think the person who drew this map would use a crane to orient themselves?"

"That windmill over there?"

"What exactly makes you think it looks like it?"

After searching aimlessly for some time, the two had no choice but to stop an old man who was tidying up his fishing nets on the street.

"Is there a tower nearby that's over a hundred years old and has a view of the sea?"

"A tower that's been there for over a hundred years?"

The old man stopped what he was doing and thought for a moment.

"You're probably referring to that old lighthouse to the north."

"Lighthouse?"

Yes, these tall towers on the coast are no ordinary structures; they refer to lighthouses.

"The lighthouse is right next to the north coast. Recently, several True Magic have been cleaning up trash there every day. You'd better be careful if you go there, as the winter winds and waves are not gentle."

"Several True Magic?"

Lawine remembered this information. Could it be that someone had already beaten him to it?

After thanking them, they quickly followed the path over a slope, and the Glanz Strait finally came into view.

Part of the coastline has been cleared, with wooden stakes planted at intervals to demarcate the area, but further afield, piles of shipwrecks and debris still lie like small mountains.

"Someone got here first. Could they also be looking for treasure?"

Kanne immediately tensed up.

"It shouldn't be."

Lawine observed for a moment and felt that the behavior of the three True Magic in front of her was very strange. Although they were using True Magic to clean up the debris at sea, she had a strange feeling that they were just dawdling.

And that white-haired True Magic... I feel like I've seen him somewhere before...

"Perhaps cleaning up the coast is just a smokescreen; their real purpose is to dig up the treasure."

Kanne remained vigilant.

The two walked toward the abandoned lighthouse, discussing in hushed tones.

Because the path to the lighthouse was blocked by several huge pieces of ship wreckage, they had to pass through the area that the three had just cleared. Fern quickly noticed the two unfamiliar girls.

"How can I help you?"

"We want to go to that lighthouse."

"Lawine replied."

"Follow the rocks in front and turn right to find the entrance, but it's been abandoned for a long time, and the stairs might not be safe."

Fern kindly reminded her.

"Thanks."

Lawine nodded and was about to pull Kanne away when Kanne suddenly pointed at Frieren and said something.

"Lawine, is that person an elf? She's lived for so long, maybe she can decipher the treasure map."

The coastline suddenly fell silent, Lawine slowly turned his head.

"Kanne."

"What's wrong?"

Did you just reveal our purpose?

Kanne then realized what was happening and quickly covered his mouth.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

As if it had caught a whiff of something, a wicked spirit had somehow appeared before the two of them, its gaze fixed on the parchment in Lawine's hand.

"Treasure map?"