Chapter 191: What’s in the bag?
Vespertine crouched down on the other side of the chest, his hands on either side of the chest, but from the back. Cass, now that he didn’t have his foot of the chest, realised that it was...not bad looking?
In a creepy, slightly melted way? Like it was made with fine metals, but it had clearly seen better days and might have been melted? Cass didn’t know how that could happen, but the only other option was that someone had put this kind of box here intentionally.
Cass didn’t know what to say, or even think. Did the demons go that far when making these dungeons? He didn’t really know how that worked, and honestly? He didn’t really care. Fuck those guys for the last room.
Cass put his hands on the chest, glancing around to make sure that Lady Ava was asleep and that he could still hear the others fighting, before he exhaled. Then, he turned his attention to the lid. He flicked up the little, almost mocking lock socket before he attempted to open the chest.
He expected it to be heavy, but it was actually rather light. He had only wanted to open it a little bit, but because his expectation and the reality of the situation was different, the chest flew open. Vespertine’s chest was hit with the chest lid, but he didn’t seem to mind as both men couldn’t help themselves and their eyes zoomed in on the content of the box.
Coins, currency, a few gems that looked dark and would probably be pretty when cut and then...a small velvet pouch. Cass stared at it, uncomprehending, a sense of dread filling him as he stared at that little bag. It wasn’t a cloak. He knew that much. The whole chest had been filled to the brim when they had gotten the chest, plus, it had been a reward for defeating the big boss of the dungeon.
So Cass was in uncharted territory right now.
"Let’s close it." Cass said and Vespertine nodded.
"Hey, at least we will be surprised when we open the bag." Vespertine said with a boyish, infectious grin. "And congrats. You can open any of the chests in any dungeon now! Look at you!" Vespertine closed the lid of the chest before reaching out and patting Cass on the shoulder enthusiastically. "This means that we can quietly take a load off of Fiona’s back! She knows, right?" Vespertine was overflowing with excitement and happiness, while Cass couldn’t help the sinking feeling that was filling him.
This felt...he wasn’t sure exactly, but he didn’t feel good. This felt...planned? He was severely worried that something might happen to Fiona, because that was the only conclusion he could come up with. Why was he also a hero, when Fiona already existed?
Were the gods going to throw her away? Were they using ’change the ending’ as an excuse? Maybe that just showed how much Cass didn’t trust the gods, but fuck, he had this sinking feeling fill him as soon as the chest opened.