"Well, we'll have to act on the situation. Seleria, Ragni, I need you to collapse the braziers from the corners of the room into the center. Create a real inferno."
The girls glanced at each other and obediently executed the command. Two braziers nearest to us crashed into the center of the room with a deafening noise. However, when they volleyed at the sphinx's side, the creature once again considered it an attack. Emitting a piercing roar, the monster slowly approached us.
"That's just right; that's how it should be. Seleria, you can quickly melt down these braziers, let the molten bronze fill the indentation in the center."
"It won't help; he can withstand volcanic flames without melting."
"Just do as I say! Ragni, fill Asura's sword with fire, and as soon as the sphinx lunges at us, throw her towards it," I moved Asura aside. "Don't attack at the first strike, dodge and land closer to the door. Strike when you get the chance, but I fear you'll have to hold the burning sword for quite a while."
Asura looked at her katana; it was an ancient relic of her clan and not meant for such use. After the previous attack, it already showed signs of scorching, and the handle was melted in a few places.
"I'll do everything I can," Asura said.
"I'm counting on you. He's attacking."
The sphinx stomped for a while on the opposite side of the boiling metal lake, and when the flames subsided slightly, it charged at us.
"Ragni, throw Asura."
"As you wish!" Ragni transformed one hand into a scaly dragon paw, lifted the warrior, and with a single swing, sent her flying to the ceiling.
Asura flew toward the monster's head with her unfinished sword, but it immediately shielded its head with its wings. Performing a somersault in the air, the girl pushed off the wings of the statue and leaped to the opposite end of the room.
The sphinx reached our side of the room and realized that it had let one enemy pass by. Asura, at that moment, pushed the door from the other side.
"Krito! It won't open!"
"I thought so. Wait a moment."
"Easy for you to say!" Asura turned towards the golem, her sword still blazing with dragon's fire, but the molten metal started to drip off the exhausted blade. The sphinx turned leisurely towards the audacious intruder, preparing to pounce.
"Katrina, now throw two lightning bolts at his paws and into the bronze pool on the floor!"
"It won't hold him!"
"It doesn't matter!"
Katrina obediently followed the order, and as soon as the sphinx broke away from the ground, it was magnetically pulled to the center of the room. The monster got entangled in the dense molten metal; it lifted its paws, but they were immediately drawn back.
"Krito, I can't hold him anymore! He's breaking my connection with every resistance," Katrina said.
"We need something to cool down the metal," Katrina glanced at Seleria.
"Can you do it?"
"I'll try my best," the red princess ran to the boiling metal lake and placed her hands on it.
"Hey, you won't be able to do it!"
"Quiet! Krito, don't distract," Seleria closed her eyes and took deep breaths. With each inhale, the bronze solidified. In a few seconds, the indentation in the floor turned into a solid block of metal. The sphinx's paws were firmly stuck to the floor, but the creature didn't give up; it seemed like it would rather tear off its paws than let us pass.
"Asura!"
"I see!" The warrior rushed towards the immobilized foe. She directed her blazing sword straight at the monster's head, but at the last moment, it blocked her attack with its wing. "No! This won't work this time!"
Asura increased pressure on her sword, and the wing cracked under the assault, but the sphinx didn't back down. It waved its other wing and blocked the attack with doubled strength.
However, the beast soon yielded, emitting a piercing scream. The sphinx moved away from Asura's sword, relaxing its wings, and her blade sliced its head in half.
"Krito?"
With the cover of Asura's attack, I gathered flames in my sword and cut the golem's torso, giving the warrior an opportunity to finish the attack.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but as for him..." Asura looked at her sword; the blade was almost melted from the intense heat, the hilt charred. It was hard to tell what it used to look like. "I apologize for your sword."
"It's okay. Weapons are created to save their wielder's life. I'll try to repair it when we get back."
"You wouldn't think that it could be restored by the looks of it."
"This blade is over a thousand years old, and my ancestors have used it in battles countless times. I will try to restore it, no matter how long it takes."
"Then let's go inside; there should be treasures that can help you pay for the repair."
When the sphinx fell to the ground, the gilded door to the treasury finally opened. Behind it stood a figure in a red cloak.
"Look, look! What a spectacle it was! And the young man is not bad," Sheraza leaned towards Seleria. "You should take a closer look at him, dear."
"MOM!"
"Ahem, I got carried away. So you've dealt with one of the most challenging trials, and now you can take whatever you can carry. You have until sunset."
"So much?! Before, they gave us just about ten minutes."
"Well, you see," the queen cast a mischievous glance at the sphinx's remains, "there were no guards like that."
"Hey, wait!" Asura interjected. "What about our comrades? Or is it only us who get to choose the reward?"
"That's right! Here comes the surprise. Only five people can enter, and only they can choose their rewards."
"But if I hadn't fallen into that trap, my guild would have been left without a reward, and you recorded that we passed the trial."
"Hmm," Sheraza lowered her gaze thoughtfully. "So, adventurers, choose your reward."
"Hey, don't avoid the question," Asura's words were ignored, and the queen peacefully left the room.
"Asura, don't worry. We're not in the best position ourselves, and we'll have to rely on Seleria's knowledge of jewelry, but we'll help you choose something valuable."
"Thank you, but it still doesn't feel fair."
We explored the treasury. It was the first place that truly deserved the name. Golden ingots, precious gemstones, gold and silver jewelry were scattered all around.
"Where should we start? Maybe we should take the ingots," Asura took one of the golden ingots, then another one, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Strange, they should be identical, but they have slightly different weights."
"That can't be. Let me see them," I took the ingots from Asura's hands and tossed them into the air. With a swift swing of my sword, I split both ingots in half. One of them had the same golden hue inside, while the other had a grayish-metallic tint. "Counterfeit. It seems not all that glitters is gold."
"They really threw counterfeits in here?!"
"Even more than that," Seleria joined the conversation. "Considering the size of this room and how much father spends from our treasury each year, I would say only a quarter of the treasures here are genuine."
"WHAT?!"
We cast our eyes over the hoard again, and upon closer inspection, some piles of gold seemed suspiciously large, and certain "precious" gemstones were too large to be real.
"It seems we'll have to choose carefully," I said.
Seleria squatted and picked up a beautiful ruby earring from the floor.
"Is something wrong?"
"Hmm, this seems familiar," the princess rummaged through the treasure pile nearby and took out the other earring from the set. "No way!!"
Seleria dug into the pile again and pulled out a silver ring with an emerald and a small golden bracelet.
"MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The furious princess's cry shook the pyramid.
The figure in red slipped back into the room.
"What's the matter, my dear?"
"What are MY precious possessions doing here?!" Seleria was ready to tear the person apart.
"Well, they are not yours anymore. Your father bought them, and when you joined Princess of Verania's guild, he was so angry that he threw them all away. But I gathered them to avoid wasting them and moved them here."
"Where are they all?!"
"In this room," the queen spread her hands with a sweet smile.
"W-what? You threw them all away!? Even the ring my uncle gave me? I hate you," Seleria angrily buried herself back into the pile and began pulling out various pieces of jewelry one by one.
"Her uncle's ring?" I approached Sheraza. "Does that mean he created this golem?"
"So she told you, huh? This sphinx was one of his finest creations. He made several of them, hoping that one day his niece would come to challenge it."
"You could at least leave her the ring."
"Let it be her personal challenge. She won't be able to take all her treasures from here; even you five together won't be able to carry them all, but she can take the ring."
I returned to Seleria.
"Let me help you."
"Mm, fine. My ring is simple, made of dark metal with a red stone, but not a ruby. My uncle never told me what it was made of. Girls, will you help me? You can take all my treasures; trust me, they are worth a lot, but just help me find it."
"Why are we hesitating? We'll help a comrade in need."
The girls joined forces, diving into the mountain of treasures. Amidst the piles of various counterfeits, they fished out genuinely valuable items and, after gaining Seleria's approval, set them aside. After three hours of searching, Seleria's treasure mound had reached half my height.
"Princess, isn't it a bit too much for one person?" I asked.
"Well, maybe a bit excessive. But it's not just me who purchased them; many are gifts from noble houses or suitors seeking my hand. In reality, I only bought about a tenth of all these ornaments, and my father just discarded them."
"But we can't carry all of this away. Even if the girls put on all the rings and earrings that a human body allows."
"It doesn't matter; I'll tell you later what's the most valuable among all of these. The main thing is to find that ring."
We delved back into the search. The small window on the western wall of the treasury indicated the approaching appointed time. We were deep underground, but the mirror system allowed sunlight to reach us. The sky gradually began to fill with crimson hues of the setting sun.
"Seleria, I'm afraid we're running out of time."
"It's still here somewhere; I can't leave without it. What if someone else takes it besides us? Or what if we can't come back here later?"
"Please, calm down. Choose what the girls should take with them, and I'll keep searching."
"Alright," Seleria wiped her tearful eyes and moved to the heap of treasures, surrounded by the other girls.
Once again, I scanned the piles we had been rummaging through. The red light from the setting sun illuminated the room, and I was drawn to a small red glow in the corner. There, I discovered a ring made of dark gray metal with an opaque red stone on top. I didn't know what material this ring was made of, but it fit Seleria's description.
"Princess, isn't this your ring?" I turned to the red-haired princess.
"KRITO!! You found it!! Hurray!"
Seleria hugged me tightly and took the ring from my hand.
"This is all that reminds me of it. Thank you. I'll only take this ring. Look, I've already picked a pile of the most precious items."
I didn't know how she chose, but the jewelry in both piles looked equally valuable. I settled on a sizeable gold bracelet adorned with three gemstones of the same shape: a diamond, a topaz, and a ruby. I couldn't fathom how this piece ended up among Seleria's collection, but it could serve as a belt for her.
Soon, we emerged outside, where our friends were eagerly waiting for us.
"My goodness, why did it take you so long?" Vina was the first to greet us. "When you all disappeared, and then the queen came out and said you went to the treasury room, and we couldn't follow, I got so scared."
"It's nice to know you were worried about us. Didn't expect such devotion from you," I teased.
"Well, of course, I was worried!! What if you entered the treasury, and I wasn't around, and you ended up carrying out a pile of junk again?"
"As expected," I chuckled. "Now let me show you the treasures. Gold and precious gemstones!! Two of my favorite things in this world."
"I'm glad you never change," we watched Vina play with the gold ornaments like a child, her enthusiasm infectious.