BSS 25

Chapter 25

I decided to head over in response to Rai’s fuss. When I suddenly changed direction, Hansen and Philo scrambled to follow.

The items the boy was selling were hard to look at closely without wrinkling my nose.

There was no cohesion at all, and honestly, these weren’t really goods…

“Isn’t this trash?”

“No! This definitely smells like a spirit stone.”

“Spirit stone? What do you do with it? Eat it?”

What exactly was a spirit stone again? Was it a stone that increased affinity with spirits? Or was it a stone that contained a sealed spirit? I should have remembered from class, but nothing came to mind immediately.

“If you eat a spirit stone, isn’t that like a civil war among spirits?”

“Do you think I only care about eating?”

“Yeah, right?”

“…Sometimes it’s not like that.”

“Uh, welcome!”

When I first stood in front of the mat, the boy froze, probably unsure if I was a customer or not. Only then did he awkwardly greet me.

I gave a casual nod and squatted down in front of the mat.

“So, where’s the spirit stone?”

“Do you see that yellow gem next to the old brown book over there? That’s it.”

Everything on the mat looked worn and old. I wondered where he had even gotten these things. I picked up the yellow gem Rai had pointed to.

It was more like a rock than a gem.

Its surface was rough, mostly opaque, and seemed like a pretty rock at best. But looking closely, I could see a strange golden hue lurking within.

A deep gold color spread from the center of the stone outward, almost like cracks covering the whole rock. When held up to the sunlight, it became obvious.

Something was… inside.

Occasionally, my innate instincts as a spirit master made this clear.

“There’s a spirit inside this?”

“Yes, though faint, you can feel the spirit’s power within.”

“What kind of spirit?”

“Hmm? I feel a tingling sensation… probably a lightning spirit? Or maybe a lower one. Right now it’s too weak to tell.”

“Lightning…”

“So, should we absorb it?”

He’s thinking of eating it too!

Has he lost his mind? I furrowed my brows in disbelief.

“Wait a moment. You’re selling it, right?”

Sitting right in front of the owner and already thinking of eating it—Rai had less conscience than I did.

The boy was so thin from who-knows-how-many days without proper food that his cheekbones were prominent.

“Also, a spirit eating another spirit is a bit…”

“It’s not that the spirit is directly inside; it’s more like a conduit to draw it out.”

“Like a contract scroll?”

“Not quite, but the function is similar.”

Should I go to the inn and get some money? Was this really worth that much?

As I examined the spirit stone in the sunlight, I suddenly thought of Undine, my beloved water spirit.

And then, a scientific fact I knew well as a literature person came to mind.

Water conducts electricity… really well.

“Rai, so can this summon the spirit?”

“Hmm? Whether it will function properly is uncertain. It’s at least a few thousand years old and has some damage…”

“Can’t you fix it? Things like this can be fixed with mana, right?”

“Ah, I see. I think I can try.”

I was filled with hope.

What had been just a strange rock a moment ago now felt extremely valuable.

Even this lousy trip was somewhat useful!

Technically, if it weren’t for this trip, I wouldn’t even need attack power!

Anyway, this was an unexpected gain. Is this the luck of a genius?

I couldn’t stop a smile from forming on my lips.

“How do you activate a contract? You know, right?”

“You just infuse mana into it.”

“Hehehe.”

“But Master, even if you repair it, there’s no guarantee the spirit inside will actually be summoned. Whether it comes out is up to the spirit itself. Not all spirits are friendly to humans…”

No matter what Rai said, I couldn’t stop my weak laughter from escaping. Perhaps thinking I might eat the spirit stone, the skinny boy nervously spoke up.

“Uh, um…”

“I want to buy this.”

“Eh? That stone?”

“Yes. You’re selling it, right? How much is it?”

Although it was his item, the boy looked shocked, as if he had never thought anyone would actually buy it.

“That stone… well, um…”

“You didn’t even set a price?”

“I’m sorry… I didn’t think anyone would buy it…”

It seemed like he was selling for the first time, and his actions were both frustrating and awkward. Granted, the items themselves were strange. Some I wouldn’t want even if offered money.

“Miss? You really want to buy that stone?”

“Yes. Hansen, sorry, can you go to the inn and bring my bag? There’s money in it.”

“That’s no problem.”

“Wait, miss! Hansen is injured, so can I go instead?”

Philo’s words reminded me that Hansen had a shoulder injury. No wonder he was moving slowly. Come to think of it, Philo was the one who came after me when I ran away.

“I don’t care who helps me.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“When you enter my room, there should be a table. Bring the whole bag from there.”

“Understood.”

Philo quickly disappeared into the crowd.

I focused back on the spirit stone, glancing at the other items as well.

I wondered where this shabby boy had gotten such a thing.

“Do you even know what this is?”

“A… pretty stone, isn’t it?”

“Then where did you get it?”

The question was casual, but the boy’s face instantly turned pale and he trembled violently.

“I didn’t steal it! Please believe me! Really!”

I thought, why is he acting like this? I tried to meet his gaze with a puzzled look, but it was impossible.

There was something strange about one of his eyes. The left pupil moved oddly on its own and was cloudy white.

No wonder he had been avoiding my eyes.

“Ah, sorry! I cover it up because it’s… ugly.”

“Who cares? I just asked where it came from.”

Seeing a damaged eye and feeling repulsed… back then, when I saw an orc hacked up, I probably would have fainted from rage.

The most horrifying thing I had ever seen was my own death.

People trampled to death, dying nations, selfish people… all that cruelty.

Compared to that, an orc with guts spilling or a child with one bad eye was nothing.

“Th-then…”

“This?”

The boy was terrified.

He overreacted to everything, and when Hansen rattled his sword and stepped closer, he started babbling frantically, as if being chased.

“We’re innocent! My father found this while gathering herbs in the mountains. He also found it together with that book. He said it had been there for years… We never stole it!”

“This book too?”

“My father… thought if you read it, you might learn to read. So he brought it home. I thought of selling the stone to help with my mother’s medicine… I swear it had no owner.”

“Can a thing really have no owner?”

“…For a very long time… in that forest.”

“Think about it. Things don’t just fall in the forest on their own. So, someone must have owned it at some point. Well, your excuse seems reasonable. Selling someone else’s property is still a crime, though.”

“Miss.”

The boy looked so flustered I teased a little, but Hansen intervened.

Shouldn’t it be Hansen, a knight, who is stricter about this?

Apparently, he had a very sentimental sense of understanding.

“Anyway, it doesn’t concern me.”

Watching someone terrified was annoying. I picked up the book the boy had indicated, along with the spirit stone.

It was in rough shape, but once I brushed off some mud, the cover looked surprisingly intact.

It was clear it was made from high-quality leather and was very old, judging by the binding.

Having spent almost my whole life in the Academy library, I could tell whether a book was cheap or valuable and roughly estimate its age.

Its peculiarity was that it had no title.

I gently touched the cover, unlocked it, and opened the book.

“This isn’t Common Tongue.”