After the crowd thinned out, we managed to escape the Adventurers Guild to the tavern, but the news had already spread. As such, we had become famous overnight, and everybody wanted to ask us questions. After what felt like an eternity, we finally had some time to ourselves. Taking the opportunity, I placed my hands under my chin, took a deep breath, and let out a heavy sigh.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about the danger?" I asked with a slight edge in my voice. Either my luck stat was actually infinite, or the god of this world saved my ass back there. Still, things could have gone horribly wrong, so I wanted to know why no one told me about the true nature of the Ruglai cave.

"I wanted to break it to you as soon as you told me, but I reconsidered it."

"Why?! We could have died back there!" I protested, but he smiled and answered,

"Because I chose to trust you."

"T-that's... not fair," I muttered with tears welling up in my eyes.

"I felt like if anyone could do it, you could."

"Why?" I asked again, my voice much weaker than before.

"You took a party on the verge of collapse and gave us hope." He looked up with a melancholic expression and continued, "In all my capacity as a leader, I could never have gotten us a hunting ground in such a short span of time. That was nothing short of a miracle in my eyes, so I believed."

"He also told us not to tell you!" Phildina added with a cheery smile. I really didn't know what to say to all of that. I was happy they trusted me so much, but... I couldn't have them dying for such a reason, but before I could voice my concerns, Lucia said,

"Also, magical scholars around the world have agreed upon the fact that Leo manipulated the randomness of the first set of teleportation traps, probably to ensure that all the Empire soldiers died. This means that the ones that remain are truly random." 

"I don't understand!" Batti complained, and I actually agreed with him for once, as I found the explanation a bit confusing. Lucia cupped her chin and furrowed her brows, probably thinking of the best way to explain it for a while. Then, she summed it up by saying,

"Though dangerous, setting off a teleportation trap is not a death sentence. The Ruglai cave is home to rich natural and mineral resources, so people have long ventured inside since then. There are cases of people who were transported to another country or a different place in the same country or town, in some super rare cases." So, it's not like we were doomed, huh? Wait, that's not comforting at all! We still ran the risk of dying!

"Look, guys, I'm happy you all trust me so much, but if I, or any of you, had taken a wrong step back there, we would have a real problem on our hands. Next time, I want you to tell me about such things." They all seemed to agree to that, so I smiled and concluded our meeting soon after that. 

***

I entered the town smith's workshop later that day to deliver what was left of the Mythril ore to him. We had already taken our fair share, so giving him what was left of it was generosity at its finest, right? He got up from the workbench, and though I couldn't really see what he did, the heat coming from the furnace reduced considerably, almost like magic. Is he a mage? I wondered as I handed the Mythril ore to him.

"Hmm, this is good," He muttered as he inspected it carefully. Then, he scrounged up some spare change and practically threw it on the floor for me to pick up. One, two, three, four... fifty bronze coins?! That's terrible!

"Um, sir?" I tried to sound polite.

"What?!" He asked in a threatening tone.

"We ventured all the way to a dangerous teleportation cave to get this material for you. Isn't 50 bronze coins too low for all that?"

"What is that to me? Either accept the pay or get out of my sight!" He barked at me dismissively before returning to his work as if I wasn't even there. So, now you're gonna ignore me? Great. He's an asshole. Now, the slight pangs of guilt I felt were gone, so I picked up the coins silently and walked outside. On my way back to the inn, I couldn't stop myself from laughing.