Hidden Dungeon Cleared!

And the Nobel Prize...

Albrecht heard the distant claps as the recipient of the Nobel Prize was announced. He found it ironic considering that his discovery was just the simple effect of photoelectricity.

Anyone would've discovered it if they were observant enough, that's why Albrecht couldn't believe that he received the Nobel for that. Then again, his contribution to theoretical physics was considerably generous, and that's one of the minor reasons why he was given the Nobel.

As he stood in front of the audience, he noticed someone lingering from the distance, smiling as she turned away. Albrecht clenched his fists in frustration as he clutched on the 'trophy' he received commemorating his Nobel.

'Yeah, right, she only came here for that... she didn't come here to see me.' He told himself, suppressing his anger as he shifted his attention to the crowd who was waiting for his speech.

He heaved a sigh of contempt.

—

—

Crackle. Crackle.

The steady crackling sound of the makeshift fire woke Albrecht awake, separating him from the nightmare that he revisited in his dream. It was a past that he could never forget. Even though it was the life that he turned away from, it was still a part of him, and he could never forget it no matter how hard he tried.

Stirring from his sleep, Albrecht turned to his side so his face won't receive the heat from the campfire. He groaned a little bit before he found a comfortable spot so he could continue resting.

"Ah- he's awake."

"I'll go get him."

Albrecht still pretended to be asleep. He had no idea what pillow he was using at the moment but it felt comfortable on his head so he didn't complain at all.

It was comfortably cold and soft, and it smelled good— or so that's what Albrecht told himself.

Cold skin touched him on the shoulder, and it shook him awake. He couldn't believe that someone's hand could be this cold— as cold as the pillow he was sleeping on.

Eh?!

When Albrecht finally opened his eyes, the realization finally hit him.

The first thing he saw was the smile, and then the hand on his shoulder that connected to a body right in front of his face. That body seemed to go down up to the pillow where he was sleeping, arcing where the waist was and curving as it continued on the thighs that served as his pillow.

He was sleeping on someone's thighs!

"Gah~!" Albrecht had no idea what he did, but everyone saw his back arch up before he somersaulted three times in the air before landing on both feet while assuming a fighting stance. "What's going on?!"

Turning around, he saw that the entire Grapevine Party was there, eating their fill of the newly-cooked stew. The person who benevolently gave him a lap pillow was none other than Sheila.

Now that they were out of the Hidden Dungeon, Albrecht finally clearly saw what Sheila actually looked like. The overall atmosphere and the dimly lit Hidden Dungeon gave her an overall creepy vibe, but now that she was in the light, such was actually not the case.

In fact, it was the polar opposite.

Her skin was pale white due to the lack of blood that ran through her system. And aside from the huge scars all over her body, there were no signs of rottenness on her body. Unbeknownst to Albrecht, their horrid look while they were in the Hidden Dungeon was just an effect.

This was what Sheila actually looked like— just a normal lady with paler skin and a couple of scars.

"You're awake, Albrecht-san," Sheila uttered.

"Osu~" Another voice greeted.

It was none other than Asvi, handing him a bowl of stew as he cleared his throat. "I have no idea who she is, but she didn't pose any threat to us so we didn't question her or anything."

"In any case... is she the 'thing' you needed to get from the Hidden Dungeon?" Fioana concernedly asked. "Did you go through all that trouble just to obtain her?"

"Eh?!" Sheila bashfully exclaimed. Everyone could've sworn that her face reddened a little bit.

"No, I was after something else. I just brought her here to give her a second chance and all." Albrecht casually said as if that was the most normal thing to do when diving into dungeons.

Without elaborating any further, Albrecht ate the bowl of stew that Asvi handed him. The Hidden Dungeon shaved off a considerable amount of his Zecian Aura so he needed to compensate by eating a lot.

He was actually amazed that the group had thought of cooking a meal for him. As expected of the Grapevine Party.

"With this our contract is done, right?" Asvi brought up out of nowhere, handing Albrecht another bowl of stew while he refilled the first bowl he just finished. "We get to have 15 Gold Coins each, right?"

Albrecht nodded his head, handing each of them a pouch filled with 15 Gold Coins. "Here you go, thanks for helping me out." Albrecht casually said as if handing a surreal amount of money was just a normal thing for him.

Asvi's eyes went wide with shock when he saw the 15 Gold Coins in his pouch. Everyone had the same reaction as well so Asvi concluded that they received the same amount.

Although Albrecht promised to pay them 15 Gold Coins and they expected him to pay up, they still weren't convinced that Albrecht could cough up that much money at once.

"O-ou~ we should be the ones thanking you." Asvi cleared his throat before he voiced his opinion. The difference between him and Albrecht couldn't be any more obvious when he looked at the 15 Gold Coins in his hand.

"Where are you going next, Albrecht?" Fioana asked in a curious manner as she pocketed her pouch. "Are you bringing Sheila with you?"

"I'll be taking her with me. She's useful in more ways than one." Albrecht carelessly said, referring to her power as offensive support. However, the way he worded it was a tad bit misleading.

"Oi~ you already have her and you're still going to— " Asvi gritted his teeth, interrupting himself as he dealt with his own frustration.

"I mean, her proficiency in offensive support is pretty good..." Albrecht trailed off, wondering what Asvi was talking about.