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After spending the night at the ruins, the group set out on the journey home. They had just emerged from the forest.
Levia was still in a bad mood, her well-shaped lips turned down in a pout.
“Ahh, there goes my unexpected income. Next time I see that man, I shall beat him to a pulp.”
“Oh, come on… Get over it already. Besides, we weren’t going to let you sell the boy anyway.”
“Indeed. The child came to no harm, so I would call that an excellent outcome.”
Ney said this as though the matter had nothing to do with her, despite having very nearly become the buyer in a human-trafficking deal. Apparently she had quite the personality herself.
After walking for a while, they could see city walls in the distance. Beyond them lay Yuke, the capital of the Kingdom of Yukt.
The Kingdom of Yukt was an old nation in the northwestern part of the western continent. It was younger than neighboring Saint Faus, but considering that it had survived the period of upheaval five hundred years ago, it could still rightly be called a country with a long history.
The walls visible from here were among the structures that had stood since the kingdom’s founding. Though they had been repaired countless times, they had continued guarding the capital since the day they were built.
The group passed through the checkpoint at the western gate and entered the main avenue. It was shortly after noon, and the streets were moderately busy.
As they walked, the sound of bells came from the north. They were the bells that marked the time. Except during the middle of the night, they rang every three hours to tell the people of the capital what time it was. They had just rung three times, meaning it was three in the afternoon.
The three continued toward the Adventurers’ Guild, talking about this and that they wanted to eat. Their trip had lasted only about two days, but precisely because it had been so short, they had made do with simple travel rations. It was only natural that, after returning, they wanted something good to eat.
After a little over ten minutes on foot from the western gate, they reached the Adventurers’ Guild.
Being a semi-public organization, the Guild occupied a fairly impressive building on a large plot of land. The only oddity was the shabby pair of swinging doors at the entrance, like something out of a Western. Perhaps they were simply more efficient for a place with so much foot traffic, or perhaps someone had chosen them for effect.
“Oh! It’s Poppy Anemone!”
As soon as they entered, a familiar group called out to them. It was the four D-rank adventurers they had met in the forest.
“Thank you again for what you did back there. You really saved us.”
“Don’t mention it. We merely did what we could.”
The man who appeared to be their leader spoke to Ney, who responded as leader of her own party.
“If you’re here, then you defeated the Cerberus! As expected of Poppy Anemone.”
“We did. We brought back the claws and fangs, the fire sac, and whatever hide was still in good condition. Want to see?”
“Absolutely!”
Ney pulled the spoils from the leather sack on her back: claws, fangs, the fire sac responsible for the creature’s fiery breath, and pieces of hide. They had returned to the Cerberus afterward and stripped away all the usable materials.
“Whoa! Look how huge these are!”
“If something like that bit you, you’d be done for. It looks like those fangs could punch straight through a steel shield.”
“These might make good magical catalysts too. I wonder how much they’d cost.”
“What’s this? Cerberus parts? Let me see.”
“Me too.”
Other adventurers began gathering around. It happened to be around the time when many adventurers were returning from their jobs, so quite a crowd soon formed to gawk.
Levia quietly slipped away from the commotion and headed toward the counters.
There were counters for accepting requests, registration, purchasing materials, and so on. Levia went to the purchasing counter, specifically the window reserved for rare items.
She spoke quietly to the portly man behind it.
“Excuse me. There are a couple of things I’d like you to look at.”
“Ah, Miss Levia. What can I do for you?”
“Shh! Don’t speak so loudly. Keep your voice down.”
Levia glanced around suspiciously and raised a finger to her lips. The man looked puzzled, but lowered his voice as instructed.
“R-right. And what did you need?”
“I happen to have a couple of items, and I’d like to know how much they might sell for.”
Levia reached into a pocket in her skirt and took out two objects. One resembled a necklace set with a jewel, while the other was a faintly glowing red orb.
“Oh! This necklace is a magic—!”
“I told you not to raise your damn voice…! Don’t make me say it twice…!”
“Mmph…! M-my apologies. In any case, this necklace is undoubtedly a magic item. It has a complex spell engraved into it, and the jewel appears to be a mechanism for channeling magical power. If it functions properly, it should be worth quite a sum.”
A magic item was an object capable of producing effects similar to magic without requiring the user to cast a spell.
Ordinarily, using magic required three main processes. First came “detection,” in which one released one’s own magical power and determined the number and attributes of the surrounding spirits. Next came “calculation,” determining how those spirits had to be influenced to produce the desired phenomenon. Finally came “construction,” releasing magical power according to those calculations and bringing the phenomenon into existence.
In other words, using magic required studying the nature of spirits, learning to perform complicated calculations mentally, training until one could release magical power outside the body, and then learning to control it with precision. It was something like performing advanced mathematics in one’s head while doing a separate task at the same time.
Naturally, only a small number of talented people could manage that. For that reason, mages used tools to assist with detection, calculation, and construction. Liz’s staff was one such tool and was used primarily to assist with calculation. Following the previous analogy, it was rather like having paper on which to write intermediate results, though what was written was not numbers but magical power whose properties had been altered.
Magic items eliminated those complicated processes and allowed anyone to produce magical effects. They were extremely useful, but their construction was complex, and modern technology could reproduce almost none of them. Aside from the simpler varieties commonly excavated from ruins, they commanded extremely high prices.
“I have already confirmed that it works. It appears capable of firing an enormous fireball. So, how much might it be worth?”
“Hmm. It would depend on a specialist’s appraisal, but I would say five million at the very least.”
“Five mi—!”
Levia practically had dollar signs in her eyes. Inside, she was bouncing with thoughts of Woohoo! Surprise bonus! but she made an effort to contain herself.
If the others found out, her share would shrink.
“A-and what about this orb? It seems to be quite important, so I imagine it must be worth a great deal as well.”
“Oh? What kind of orb is it?”
“What kind? It’s right in front of your… Ah.”
Levia slowly turned her head with the stiff, creaking movement of a rusty machine.
Standing beside her was a certain girl in a red hood, wearing a half-smile.
“An orb, huh. Funny, I don’t remember hearing about any loot like that. Ney, did you?”
“Can’t say I did. Come to think of it, I don’t remember hearing about that necklace either.”
“That ability sounded awfully familiar too.”
“Indeed. Almost exactly like the magic the Cerberus used against us.”
Ney was standing behind her.
Both of them stared at Levia accusingly.
“O-ohohoho… I have no idea what you mean. Surely it’s merely a coincidence?”
“…”
“The truth is, I found these in the bathroom earlier. I was just wondering what they were worth before returning them to their owner. After all, I ought to know how much my ten-percent finder’s fee will be.”
“…”
“Um…”
They continued staring at her in silence. Levia tried to come up with another excuse under the pressure, but eventually—
“Wh-what’s the big deal?! I practically killed that thing by myself! It’s not like I’d be cursed for taking a slightly bigger share!”
“Don’t get angry just because you got caught. We agreed that all proceeds would be divided evenly into three shares.”
“Exactly. Not even reporting loot like this violates the code among adventurers.”
Any party needed rules. That was especially true when it came to rewards, which had to be settled in advance if one wanted to avoid disputes.
When party members differed greatly in strength, their shares sometimes differed as well. But all three members of Poppy Anemone were highly capable, so they had agreed to divide everything equally.
And the accusing looks were not coming only from the two women in front of Levia. Looking around, she found the other adventurers staring at her as if to say, That’s the one thing you absolutely don’t do.
“W-what are you bastards staring at?! There’s nothing to see here! Get lost!”
“…”
“Urk. Damn it, you’d better remember this! If I got serious, trash like you would be easy to—”
“…”
“Ugh…”
Her momentum steadily drained away.
Eventually Levia could no longer bear it. She let out a long sigh and raised her hands in surrender. Apparently deceiving other people was one thing, but even she had reservations about cheating her own companions.
Incidentally, yesterday’s incident had been a perfectly wholesome business transaction undertaken for Ney’s happiness, so that did not count.
“Good. See that it doesn’t happen again.”
“Indeed. Since you contributed the most this time, we’ll overlook it. But there won’t be a next time.”
Normally, a party member who caused trouble like this would be beaten senseless and expelled. The other two, however, appeared willing to forgive her. Perhaps Levia’s usual behavior had simply accustomed them to this sort of thing.
One might also say she had corrupted their standards.
“Well, now we know what the Cerberus’s magic was. Honestly, when did you even manage to pocket that thing?”
“This makes that boy even more suspicious. Did he give the Cerberus the magic item and make it attack us?”
“Possibly. The question is why he would do such a thing.”
“Hmm… Maybe he didn’t want anyone going farther inside?”
Come to think of it, the man who had rescued the boy appeared to have come from deeper within the ruins. Perhaps they had been doing something they did not want anyone to see.
But what?
While the two continued speculating—
“Excuse me. What would you like me to do with these?”
The man behind the counter spoke up.
The necklace and faintly glowing orb were still sitting in front of him. Ney and Liz looked at them and tilted their heads.
“So this one is the fireball magic item… What about the other one?”
“No idea. Sir, did you figure it out?”
“Yes, well… I’m certain it is some kind of magic item, but…”
The man scratched his cheek as he continued.
“I can’t determine what it actually does. Where did you find this?”
“Hmm? Levia?”
“Huh? Uh… Where was it again?”
Levia had taken a seat nearby and was resting her cheek in one hand, looking completely uninterested.
She had entered I don’t care anymore mode.
“Uh… Oh, right. That bastard who stole the kitty dropped it. He seemed pretty desperate, so I figured it might sell for a lot.”
“You were planning to sell something like that…?”
While throwing stones at the flying bird, Levia’s sharp eyes had noticed something fall to the ground. The instant the man dropped it, the two beastkin had become noticeably panicked.
Liz looked somewhat uncomfortable after hearing this.
“Ney, what do we do? Is it really okay to keep it?”
“Hmm. They were suspicious people, but even so…”
“Yeah…”
It belonged to someone else. Selling it for money would be worse than borrowing a game from a friend and simply never giving it back.
While they hesitated, the man continued.
“For now, perhaps I should explain what I’ve been able to determine. There appears to be an enormous amount of magical power stored inside it. There is a similar magic item called a mana stone, which stores magical power, but this is somewhat different. A mana stone allows power to be freely put in and taken out. With this, neither seems possible.”
“What? So it’s disposable?”
“Possibly. Though I’m not sure anyone could ever use it all. I said ‘enormous’ rather vaguely, but the amount inside is truly extraordinary.”
“Huh.”
Liz touched the orb. She appeared to be concentrating, perhaps examining it through detection.
“…Whoa! This thing is incredible! I can’t even sense the bottom of it! Ney, try it!”
“Really? Let me see…”
Liz handed the orb over, and Ney closed her eyes as well, trying to sense the magical power inside.
“Oh, you’re right. There’s an incredible amount. It feels as though the magical power is swirling around inside.”
“Right? If there’s this much, maybe it really wouldn’t be easy to use up. So what does it do?”
“That is the part I cannot determine. There are no spells engraved into it, and I cannot identify the material either. At present, all I can really say is that it is a stone containing magical power.”
“Oh.”
Apparently its purpose was unknown. Ney and Liz both looked less than satisfied by the answer.
“Still, I imagine a researcher in the field would pay handsomely for it. If it truly is an unknown magic item, I would say ten million at the absolute minimum. At the upper end… I honestly couldn’t say. A hundred million, perhaps. Possibly even more…”
“WHAAAT?!”
At the mention of the price, Levia came back to life.
She practically hurled herself at the counter, grabbed the man by the collar, and pulled him close.
“A HUNDRED MILLION?! You’d better not be lying to me!”
“Eek?! I-I said possibly! If it truly is undiscovered and has substantial research value—”
“Give me a straight answer, damn it! How much will you pay?!”
The man recoiled as Levia shouted at him threateningly.
“I told you, I don’t know! I-if you need payment immediately, we could only offer the minimum estimate…”
“Ten million for something worth hundreds of millions?! Screw that! Then where can I sell it for more?!”
“A-a national research institute, perhaps, or the Magic City…”
Levia immediately released him.
The man fell backward onto his rear, coughing. Levia, meanwhile, was radiating an almost frightening amount of intensity.
Liz edged back slightly from the aura and spoke.
“H-hey, Levi—”
“We’re going.”
“…What?”
“We’re going. Right now.”
“G-going where?”
Levia marched toward the exit without losing any of that intensity and spoke to the other two over her shoulder.
“A government research institute might lowball us. They’d be the only buyer. But I’ve heard the Magic City has lots of research institutes. Which means… you understand, don’t you?”
“I-I understand what you mean, but—”
“Then that settles it. We’re leaving!”
Levia practically danced out the door with an excited “Woohoo!” Her head was already full of stacks of money.
Her companions hurried after her, trying to stop her.
“Levia! Fine, we can go, but preparations! We need to prepare!”
“Screw that! If you’re not coming, you don’t get a cut!”
“Both of you, wait! We still haven’t reported the request! And what about the Cerberus?!”