The investigation of the explosion's epicenter didn't take long; what kind of clues could one expect to find in a crater similar to those formed by a meteorite impact? Within a 100-meter radius, not even a single blade of grass remained.
So, after our three heroines spent about a minute standing at the edge of the crater, marveling at the sheer intensity of the explosion, they began looking around to see what could be salvaged from the treasures of the marquis's deceased son.
But since the items had been flung as far as over a kilometer in every direction, and the terrain was rough due to trees being uprooted by the blast, collecting them wasn't going to be easy. If they attempted to gather everything, down to the last gold coin, it would probably take them two or three days.
Lucy wasn't particularly motivated to do that. First of all, it was not only a time-consuming activity but also a boring one. She was a catgirl, not a doggirl—so how could she possibly enjoy rummaging through grass from morning till night? A cat sleeps when she wants, hunts when she wants, and occasionally courts a female cat; she wasn't built for such domestic tasks.
Secondly, there was nothing among those treasures that she truly needed. Gold coins? What could she even do with them? It wasn't like she had anywhere to spend them in the near future. And even if she did, did this world offer food or equipment superior to what the Ninja Shop had? Lucy was quite certain the answer was no. Given that this world appeared to be at a medieval level of development, she didn't exactly trust their standards of food hygiene.
As for ninja gear, it would probably have to be custom-made following her instructions. But that would leave traces that could be linked back to her—a very dangerous thing when you have many enemies. That's why many ninjas forge their own weapons. Plus, she didn't want to reveal her techniques.
She was more interested in magical artifacts, but since they were more fragile than precious stones or gold coins, the chances of any surviving intact were slim. Almost all the ones she detected nearby using her ocular abilities were shattered into multiple pieces and no longer held any magical signature.
The only intact artifact in the vicinity was a shield made of a metal Lucy couldn't identify, shaped in a way that reminded her of Spartan shields. Curious to study the effects of the shockwave that had preceded the explosion—and had temporarily disabled her skills—Lucy managed to overcome her laziness for a while and went to retrieve it. It was embedded in the trunk of a tree about 200 meters from where they stood.
Her effort wasn't in vain, as the condition of the shield revealed something important: the shockwave really could disable magical devices within its radius, at least temporarily. That was the only explanation for why the shield was covered in scratches, even though its magical protection was now active—something Lucy confirmed when she failed to make new scratches on it using a kunai.
After testing her theory, Lucy no longer had any motivation left, so she asked Rina and Yara if there was anything among the scattered treasures that interested them. For the sake of her beloved girlfriends, she might have been willing to sacrifice a few hours to help collect it. Otherwise, she intended to leave it all behind.
Yara responded without hesitation that she didn't need anything. In her mercenary career, not only had she saved up enough money to live lavishly for about 200 years, but she had also acquired all the magical gear she might need during missions or daily life. Honestly, she hadn't even planned to take anything before the explosion happened, thinking that Lucy and Rina, who lived in an isolated village, probably needed it more.
Rina, on the other hand, didn't know how to respond. Even if only a few magical artifacts had remained intact, they would still be valuable to her village. And some of the broken ones might be reparable. As for the gold, well, having more never hurts.
But the longer they stayed away from the village, the higher the chances something else might go wrong. What if they ended up with no prisoners left alive? That would definitely be a problem, as it would make it harder to prove that she and Lucy were telling the truth; some might think the marquis's planned invasion was just a story Lucy made up to gain their trust, and that Rina was supporting her because she had been seduced.
Before Rina could make up her mind, Lucy had an idea: why not let others collect the treasures? With limited entertainment options, there were probably enough lionkins back in Rina's village who were bored and idle.
"Rina, it's not like the treasures are going to disappear if we leave them here until tomorrow. Even if the marquis sends someone to investigate, it'll probably take a few days. So who's going to steal them? Beasts don't hoard gold. Hmm… maybe dragons do? At least that's what I heard in a story. Anyway, I haven't seen any around these woods…", Lucy began to explain her thoughts.
"Wait a second! So you're suggesting we come back tomorrow for them?", Rina interrupted her, knowing Lucy's tendency to go off-topic. Besides, if she guessed correctly where Lucy was going with this, the whole discussion didn't make much sense: she and Lucy would be too busy over the next few days discussing the marquis's plan and her own intentions to marry Lucy with the rest of the village. They wouldn't be able to leave for at least three days.
"Uh, I don't think we need to come back…", Lucy answered with a hint of hesitation in her voice, not knowing how to admit she didn't feel like doing such tedious work even a day later—without seeming lazy. She didn't want to ruin her image as the perfect girlfriend.
But there was a way for Lucy to avoid looking bad: what if she turned assigning the lionkins to the task into an act of charity?
"Some of your fellow villagers will probably come here to verify our story, right? What if we ask them to collect the scattered treasures, and let them keep half as a reward? That way, I could even boost my popularity with the villagers…"
Rina didn't bother analyzing the nuances of Lucy's plan; she focused only on whether it could work. Since she saw no reason it wouldn't, she happily agreed.
Now that they had decided what to do about the scattered treasure, their task there was finally done. However, Lucy couldn't fully enjoy the moment, because she knew that before heading back to the lionkins' village, something was going to happen that she wished she could postpone a little longer: her and Rina's separation from Yara.
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"Um, take some stamina recovery potions too. Even if your level is high and, err, you're in great shape…" — such great shape that Lucy was practically drooling; 'Please, mommy, choke me with those thighs…' was one of the thoughts haunting her as her gaze drifted to Yara's toned legs, wrapped in tight leather pants.
"Yeah, if you're up against a lot of enemies, keeping your speed up is vital…", Lucy added, placing a few more potions in Yara's arms, along with five packs of cola cans, several trays of pastries, and various other items she deemed useful for an assassin.
Since they probably wouldn't see each other again for about 30 days, Lucy didn't worry about point costs when buying supplies for Yara from the Ninja Shop; she just wanted her to be as comfortable as possible during the time they'd be apart.
"Okay, Lucy. You're a very thoughtful girlfriend…", Yara said, unsure how to stop Lucy. Sure, she was happy at first when she saw how generous Lucy was, especially when she pulled out the cans of cola—after all, affection is best shown through actions.
But as the pile of items Lucy gave her kept growing, Yara began to feel awkward. It was starting to feel less like a gift and more like Lucy was trying to support her financially. Given that Lucy was half her age, that didn't exactly make Yara feel proud.
Eventually, Lucy stopped, remembering she also had a lioness to feed. Plus, she couldn't afford to be stingy toward Rina's family and close friends if she wanted to be accepted quickly.
Yara sighed with relief as the mountain of food and potions in her arms finally stopped growing—by then, it was nearly up to her chin. At last, she could use her storage ring to put everything away. Until then, she hadn't dared, fearing Lucy would just keep piling more on if she saw her hands empty.
Wanting to show that she was a generous girlfriend too, Yara rummaged through her storage ring to find suitable parting gifts for Lucy and Rina. Even though she considered herself wealthy, it turned out to be more difficult than expected. Sure, she had lots of stuff, but she couldn't even remember what three-quarters of it was. Then again, maybe she just wasn't used to picking gifts.
Eventually, Yara settled on two magical devices: a round pendant with a blue gemstone in the center for Lucy, which granted the wearer waterproofing and the ability to breathe underwater—essentially allowing one to walk along the bottom of the water like it was dry land (a dream for any cat)—and a storage ring for Rina, which matched the necklace she had received from Lucy. So Yara made sure her gifts were not only useful but also looked good on them.
After the exchange, Rina felt a bit uncomfortable being the only one who'd received a gift without giving one in return. But what could she do? She had nothing of value on her. Thinking it over, she probably didn't even have anything useful for Yara back home. So all she could do was apologize for not having a parting gift to offer.
"It's no problem, Rina. I gave you the ring because I wanted to see you happy, not to make you feel indebted. Besides, I may not be like Lucy, who owns all sorts of rare items, but I'm still quite wealthy. It's not like I just gave away half my fortune....", Yara reassured her. She believed that in a relationship, everyone contributes what they can; when gift-giving starts feeling like a transaction, the joy disappears and it turns into a burden.
"Besides, it's not like there's nothing you can give me to make me happy…" she added, licking her lips. And judging by the way she looked at Rina like prey, it wasn't hard to guess what kind of gift she had in mind.