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Maseki Gurume - 022
🕑 Added 2020-02-01 00:02:38 +0000 UTC
Visiting The Town And A Magic Stone Store For The First Time
======
At Euro, far away from Ishtalika. A bit before Lloyd reported to Chris and the others.
Here, the heavyweights were discussing about the matters with Ishtalika.
"To think something like this would happen."
The one speaking was the leader of Euro, Duke Amour. When he first heard this story, he could only see it as a joke.
This story passed through many people until it finally reached Duke Amour.
At first, the diplomacy and trade officer received a letter from someone who claimed to be a merchant from a foreign city. For Euro, to which those were little more than pretty stones, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say this was like someone buying trash from them. So, when someone offered to buy those stones, they were very welcoming.
When the deal was getting at its last steps, a message bird's letter arrived and it said they would be the new contact point from there on, albeit extremely polite. About a year had passed since the last letter saying "please wait some time while the preparations are completed", from a person from the other party.
"Duke Amour. It finally arrived today, Prime Minister Warren's reply from Ishtalika, shall I read it for you? "
"If you will."
"We, Ishtalika, agree to the amount of the payments and conditions set to this transaction. We will also officially announce this trading partnership between Euro and Ishtalika. We completely acknowledge these two points and have high hopes for the future development of this enterprise. With this said, we would like to move on to a meeting to agree on the terms and other issues such as excavation work...... W-We did it, Duke Amour! "
"Yeah, it would seem we will get busy from now on, but the most important thing is we got this deal."
Duke Amour felt greatly relieved.
He never thought he would be in a trading partnership with such a strong country as Ishtalika.
Duke Amour wasn’t stupid, and he was also good at reading the flow of things. Despite that, he had no idea how this deal would end up as.
"Hahaha. Thank you for your hard work, Duke Amour. Still, with this our country will make a lot of money, and we can also borrow the name of Ishtalika."
"To think something like this would happen. You really don’t know what life has in store for you."
Heim didn’t disclose Olivia's case, so of course, Euro wasn’t in the knowing either.
From Euro's perspective, they only knew the fact that a person from Ishtalika who was investigating the Sea Crystals in the trading city contacted Euro through the Guild after discovering them and that's how the exchange begun.
"Then, with this issue settled, there's only that other matter."
"……About Archduke Augusto, isn’t it? "
The Duke's aides spoke about Archduke Augusto.
The Archduke thought about evacuating Krone in the unlikely scenario that an attack from Ishtalika were to take place.
Luckily, it wasn’t impossible to travel to Ishtalika through Euro, so Archduke Augusto prepared money and intended to use this channel to cross the sea.
"I have a suggestion."
"Let's hear it."
A well-dressed noble who was attending the meeting expressed his opinion.
"Archduke Augusto is a heavyweight in the mighty Heim, how would he feel if he were to learn of our dealings with Ishtalika? "
"Wouldn’t that be dangerous? "
"Rather, wouldn’t this be a good opportunity to talk about it offhandedly?"
What he meant to say was to speak with Archduke Augusto in a way of implying the dealing was set. Something like, 'Euro is now friends with Ishtalika'.
But, of course, there were many cautious opinions on it.
"……No, I don’t think it'll be a problem. This has already been acknowledged by Ishtalika, by the Prime Minister Warren-dono. This means we can also speak about our relation with Ishtalika. Therefore, I don’t think It'll be a problem."
Duke Amour said so. It might've been a problem if the contents of the deal were still being discussed. But now, official permission from Ishtalika had been granted. Therefore, it was Duke Amour's opinion that it would not pose a problem.
"Certainly, now that you say it, that might be the case."
"Umu. Since it's been officially acknowledged, it won’t be a problem if they know."
After hearing the words of Duke Amour, the opinions of the other members present began to shift. After all, he was correct, Warren had already given his agreement to the terms. The deal was already in motion, and all that was left were some minor details that would be discussed next.
"Then, what will we do? Will we give a ship for Ishtalika to Archduke Augusto? "
"But that might be somewhat rude towards Ishtalika."
"It'll be alright. However, I think we will need to consult with them beforehand. It's the Archduke after all, so I think if a fair price is paid, Ishtalika wouldn’t have a problem."
The heavyweights exchanged opinions, but eventually they came to the conclusion that they should consult with Ishtalika for the time being.
"Archduke Augusto said his granddaughter, Krone-dono, wanted to visit the man in her heart. As expected of Heim......Of and Archduke of Heim, he seems to have acquaintances with nobles of Ishtalika."
"Hahaha, that kind of makes me feel a bit envious of him."
"Well then, let's talk with Archduke Augusto. We need to prepare a letter."
After that, when Archduke Augusto received the news, he was so surprised that his eyes seemed to pop out.
But, as a result of that, he was relieved he managed to secure a safe travel to Ishtalika. First, he wanted to tell Ain to have a word with Krone and with that see if they would accept it.
＊
A few days after hearing about Krone from Chris.
Ain was going down to the castle town. Since he shouldn’t be walking outside on his own, Chris came together with him as an escort.
"May I ask you one question? "
"Sure, what is it?"
Chris had her face unusually hidden under a helmet while in this escort.
This was a measure to ensure that Chris' identity wouldn’t be found out as she was doing this.
"You want to go to a place that sells magic stones, right? "
"That's right."
There was a reason why Ain had come to the castle town today. It was about magic stones, he wanted to find a magic stone he hadn’t seen before. Silvird had given Ain some pocket money for this. So, he was thinking of buying something that might catch his eye.
"Would you prefer a place that sells high-end products? Each one would cost about 50,000 G."
"Yes, let's go with that. Up until now I've only seen Big Bees' and Ripplemodoki's, so why not search for a luxury store?"
Ain wanted to go to a luxury magic stone store.
High-end magic stone had several uses.
For example, ornamental use. They were safe so long and people didn’t mess with them, but some enjoyed displaying them on special pedestal made out of Sea Crystals. These high-end magic stones were not suitable for selling in places like street stalls because of their strong magic. The small and weak magic stone that were sold in those stalls were safe because they didn’t become poisonous unless they were active.
Other use was as fuel. The high-end magic stone that weren’t pleasant for viewing were mainly used as fuel. They were quite handy since they were able to produce a high output.
And finally, the other use was in the magic tools of nobles. The magic tools the nobles used were different since they regarded highly their appearance, so they had gold engraving. For that very reason, the magic stones used were also selected by their appearance.
"When we left the castle, His Majesty gave you some pocket money, but is that enough? "
"I think it should be okay. Ojii-sama told me to buy myself the ones I liked, and Okaa-sama told me that if it came to it, just to leave Chris behind and run back home."
"U-Uhh......Why me......?"
The last part was, of course, a joke. However, Olivia loved to tease Chris. This could be even called her daily routine.
By the way, Ain called Silvird Ojii-sama because Silvird himself wanted to be called that. Despite his rowdy appearance, he was quite sweet to his family, and since he didn’t like being called 'Your Majesty' by Ain, he told him he should only call him that in public places.
"Is it here? "
"Yes……indeed……"
Magic stone store, Majorca. A specialized magic stone store, just like what Ain was aiming to find. It was one of the few shops that specialized in selling high-quality magic stones.
While hurrying the still slightly depressed Chris, he opened the door.
"Ara, welcome."
Dooon.
Immediately after, Ain closed the door. The reason why he closed it was because he found something strange.
"Say, Chris-san. You know I wanted to go to a magic stone store (maseki no mise), but you brought me to a sexual fetishes shop (seiheki no mise)."
"Yo-Yo-Yo......You're wrong! This is a famous and renowned high-class magic stone shop! "
Chris denied those words with tremendous momentum. However, it was only natural that Ain would have thought so, since the person who welcomed him was a muscular man with waxed blond hair, wearing shirtless suspenders and his nipples hidden behind magic stones.
"Sorry for, intruding."
Just as Ain opened the door again, he noticed it wasn’t his imagination as the man welcomed him again.
"I wondered what was wrong for the door to shut so suddenly, welcome again, my small customer."
"Y-Yes, nice to meet you."
"It's been a while, Majorca-dono."
After making sure nobody else was inside the store, Chris took off her helmet.
"Ara, isn’t this Chris? What's wrong? ……Could it be because of this boy you're accompanying?"
"Well, sort of. It would be great if you're not prying too much on this."
Although Ain had been acknowledged as the Crown Prince, his appearance had yet to be shown to the people of Ishtalika. His name, on the other hand, had been made public, so there was the possibility of him being exposed because of that.
"Hmph...... well, fine, I won’t ask who this boy is or what's his name."
"I appreciate it."
"So, what can I do for you?" Do you need some magic stones? "
Majorca wondered what they wanted. At that time, the magic stone attached to the suspender glowed. Ain couldn’t understand how it glowed, or why was it necessary for it to glow.
"Yes, actually I wanted to see some magic stones."
"Eh, you did? "
"Me TOO, you know."
"Is that so? Understood, please look around as much as you like. Ahh, that's right, I always say it but please don’t touch them, okay? Also, don’t try to take them off the pedestals because it might be dangerous."
"I know that. Uhmm……You heard him? "
"Alright. I'll be careful."
Chris' words felt a little weird because she couldn’t use Ain's name in front of Majorca. But Ain paid no attention to that and replied.
"I wonder what will I find?"
At first, Ain thought he would feel weary by just going to a place filled with the smell of various magic stones. He certainly perceived a lot of smells, but perhaps because he could now control the Absorb skill, it wasn’t that hard on him anymore.
『……』
Majorca's shop had many magic stones in it.
Gold-colored magic stones that looked like pure gold, magic stones with something like a thunder crackling inside them, even a reddish-black magic stone in a carved glass case. And then……
"Steak……? "
What gave Ain the sense it was stake was a magic stone about 30 cms in size that glowed in a greyish color.
"Ara, boy, you sure are sharp. That one is from a White Bison, so you can certainly call it steak, I'm surprised you could tell."
"It's because I'm studying magic stones."
"Is that so? What an amazing thing, after all, magic stones are wonderful! It isn’t an exaggeration to say they're existences that are like a testament to their lives, the best jewel! "
Ain couldn’t keep up with the sudden rise in tension, but he did agree that they were like a testament to their lives.
Given how the Big Bee is a sort of giant bee but its magic stone has a sweet taste, you can guess what sort of existence it was. Such element might be a factor related to it.
"Certainly. Like a testament to their existence indeed, and most likely this White Bison was delicious when cooked."
"Ara, you sure know how to talk, boy……That's correct. I believe the White Bison is a high-quality ingredient, and for a bison which can make such a big magic stone, it surely was absolutely delicious."
"Will you be buying it? "
Ain decided he wanted it, so he bought it following Chris's words. Despite there were many delicacies he could eat at the castle, the taste that came out from the magic stone was, after all, incomparable to anything else.
And in that situation, he had now found a magic stone that tasted like steak. It was a bit pitiful for the White Bison to be spoke of as only a steak magic stone, but Ain could no longer see it as anything else than a steak.
"I will. How much would it be? "
"White Bisons are rare in their own way, but their magic stone aren’t worth that much...... since you're Chris' companion, I'll sell it for only 30,000 G."
"Uhmm……Okay. This should be enough, right? "
With that said, he took out 30,000 G out. Chris worried there for a moment that he wouldn’t have enough money, but it seemed he had some leeway after seeing him pay the money. This made Chris wonder how much he had been given.
"Yes, thank you for your purchase. I'll wrap it up for you to take it home. The White Bison's don’t have any special strength, so I'll just pack it like normal."
What Majorca was talking about was about the magic in the magic stone. Magic stones, like those found in high-end stores, could leak some magic even when they weren’t being used, so it was essential to use a special pedestal to avoid this.
In the case of the White Bison's one, despite it being rare, it wasn’t particularly strong, so there was no problem even with boxing it normally.
"Yes, please do."
"Is there anything else you want, boy? "
"I'll keep looking around."
After Majorca asked Ain this, he went back to the counter to pack the White Bison magic stone.
"Ain-sama. Don’t let the fact that you can smell the magic stone be known, okay……?"
"I'm sorry, I'll be careful."
Chris spoke to Ain in secret, and urged him to keep his abilities under wraps. The reason being, currently, this matter was treated as confidential information.
＊
An hour had almost passed since they came to Majorca's magic stone store. Ain enjoyed seeing a lot of magic stones.
In the end he bought the White Bison one and another magic stone about 20 cms long from a Wyvern species called Green Wyvern.
The Green Wyvern had a smell somewhat similar to fried chicken, but it wasn’t as enticing as the White Bison, but still he bought it. The magic from this one wasn’t large, so there wasn’t the danger of outflow and it was packed in a simple box. The price was 52,000 G. A bit more expensive.
"Well then, shall we go back, Chris-san?"
"I guess you're right. Majorca-dono, could you bring what we've bought? I'll be carrying it."
"Yes, right away."
『……』
Saying that, Majorca went back behind the counter to get the boxed magic stones. At that time, as Ain watched this happen, he heard something similar to a voice and turned to look in that direction. There was the reddish-black magic stone that he saw when he first entered the store. He felt like he heard that voice from inside the engraved glass case.
"Here, sorry to keep you waiting...... Ara, boy. Are you interested in that? "
"Eh? Ahh, yes, I think the case is somewhat amazing."
Since Ain couldn’t say silly things like he heard a voice, he lied when replying to Majorca's question.
"It's been five years since this came to my shop after bouncing from one place to the next in Ishtalika...... no, across the continent of Isthar."
"Why bouncing from one place to the next? Did something happen?"
"You are not the one. You'll be having dreams and in there, you'll keep hearing the phrase 'you are not the one'. All the people who had this magic stone were like that."
Ain thought this was quite the disturbing story. In that case, was Majorca in a similar situation?
"This engraved case is special, it's a seal. I made it in my store, after all, I'm quite adept at this kind of technology."
"I see, then, if you didn’t seal it, would you be hearing that voice too, Majorca-san?"
"It appears it is heard without exception. It's really a strange story……to hear a voice just because you have a magic stone."
For Ain, who could sense the smell and taste of magic stones, this was indeed strange, but it didn’t feel particularly weird. With that said, this time, more than his appetite, his interest in this magic stone was greater.
『……』
Still, he could feel something from that magic stone. And from Ain's point of view, if it wasn’t evil, he didn’t feel like it would do something to him. Thus, Ain couldn’t help but to be interested in that magic stone.
"Majorca-san. That magic stone……how much would it be with the case included? "
"Sorry boy. I didn’t quite catch on……what did you say? "
"P-Please don’t joke! What if something happens?"
"Majorca-san. How much for that magic stone? "
Majorca acted like he didn’t hear, however, Ain continued. There was no answer to Chris' attempt to stop him, though.
"Why do you want this one, boy?"
"I don’t know. But I just can’t help being interested in that magic stone, I'll be very careful when I take it out of its case......is it still a no? "
"......It doesn’t seem like you're being manipulated to say you're interested in it."
Majorca looked straight at Ain and declared so. He was good at looking into such things, so Chris was relieved to hear him say that.
"It's okay. It's all my own will."
"Haaa……If something happens come here, I'll deal with it in the case something goes wrong. You got it, Chris? "
"To be honest, I can’t give my consent. But I also know that once it becomes like this, I can’t do or say anything to persuade him, so I'll be relying on you, Majorca-dono if something comes to pass."
"Well then, I'll just charge you for the material cost of the case. It's 300,000G, is that okay? "
"Okay, I'll take it."
How much allowance did you gave him Your Majesty? ......After hearing Ain's calm answer, Chris grieved in her head.
"Ahh, but this is pretty much the last of my money, thank god."
"Alright then. Just wait for a bit until I wrap the whole case."
Despite feeling troubled about it, Chris decided that for now, she'll just report this to Silvird and Olivia.
In fact, Chris wasn’t in a position to be too forceful in stopping him, so she thought the best course of action was to leave this to Silvird's judgement.
After receiving the third magic stone, Ain and Chris left Majorca's magic stone store, where they had stayed longer than they had initially planned, and returned to the castle.
"He sure liked the strangest of things, was he someone important? Maybe the Crown Prince? "
For Majorca, it was easy to infer that the 'boy' was in fact Ain.
There's no way the vice-captain of the Royal Guard would be escorting a simple noble. And he inferred that was the reason Chris wore a helmet outside the store, so that her identity wouldn’t be exposed.
Still, Majorca was the owner of a high-end magic stone store that was often used by nobility, and it also supplied the royal family. His lips were just as sealed as Lloyd's and the others.
『I found you……I found you……』
