BSS 52

chapter 52

Lying on the freshly sun-dried bed sheets, still full of the smell of sunlight, I felt my nausea easing.

I dozed off without even realizing it.

As expected, my true calling was just lying around doing nothing.

[Master!]

“Mm…?”

[It’s that smell! Master!]

While I was diligently discovering my true calling, Rye shook my body vigorously.

For a snake, he was deceptively strong—he could lift a person with the tip of his tail.

“What the… this guy. How dare you wake your master… hmm.”

Until Rye woke me up, I had been in a deep sleep.

Rubbing the damp corners of my mouth, I hesitated to open my eyes.

[It’s the elemental stone we lost before!]

“What?”

Half-asleep and groggy, I asked again, and Rye pushed his snake head right up to my face.

If an ordinary person opened their eyes to see a white snake with red eyes blinking right in front of them, they might faint.

But I was so used to the sight that I felt nothing.

[The one we couldn’t retrieve because of the bee swarm!]

“…The one we missed at the Dunhel Jewelry Store?”

[Yes! It’s in this city!]

That news instantly woke me up.

The elemental stone we couldn’t get because Rye ran into a swarm of bees was here in this town!

It’s mine! I even paid for it!

I jumped out of bed in one motion and grabbed Rye roughly.

“Really? It’s here? How!”

[I found it while going for a walk! I smelled something familiar and went to check, and it was the one!]

“What a coincidence…”

[There’s a Dunhel Jewelry Store branch here in Lemali!]

“…Hooray for chain stores!”

Chain stores are wonderful!

[Let’s go! I confirmed the location!]

Excited, I tumbled down from the bed.

Even though my warp motion sickness still made me feel a little queasy, I felt much better than before, enough to go out.

Most importantly, since I would leave Lemali for Elan tomorrow morning, I had to retrieve it today.

“I’m going to find it! My elemental stone!”

[Find it!]

“The one I paid for!”

[Just one bite, please!]

“No!”

I was thrilled as I came down to the first floor, but my excitement immediately sank when I saw the knights blocking—or rather, guarding—the inn’s entrance.

“That’s right. I can’t go out alone.”

Reluctantly, I decided to go look for the captain of the knights first.

As expected, he was sitting arrogantly in the first-floor lobby, reading a strange book. His name was something like Sir Tonel, but the surname was so long I could only remember his first name.

Lately, Tonel had been acting suspiciously nice toward me.

Very suspiciously.

“Sir Tonel!”

“Hmm? Is there something… I can help you with?”

The title of the book he was reading was 1,898 Ways to Flatter Without Being Obvious.

Where on earth did he get that?

Tonel’s eyes twitched slightly as he looked down at me.

His forced smile looked awkward.

He clearly had some ulterior motive.

The unnatural politeness he had started using with me, and the deliberate effort to act like a good person, all confirmed it.

I muttered with a suspicious look.

“I’d like to go out.”

“Of course! You should. It’s such a lovely day; it’s a waste to stay in the room. Hahaha!”

“…Could you call Hansen and Philo?”

“Or, perhaps bring other knights along? More skilled, better lineage… reassign…”

What nonsense. Better lineage, my foot.

“No!”

I shouted and glared at Tonel with a dissatisfied expression.

It was strange. He was trying so hard to be nice to me, but it just made me dislike him even more.

“Hansen and Philo!”

Because they’re obedient and easy to manage!

Lemali was a famous commercial city with a large harbor.

Since all kinds of imports entering the Empire of Elan passed through it, there were many rare sights and goods unavailable elsewhere. But I headed straight to the Dunhel Jewelry Store.

[Just a little further. Turn left at that alley.]

So Rye had a navigation function in addition to his intercom.

I hurried along the path his tail pointed to.

Hansen and Philo scrambled after me, trying to keep up.

Though I was talking to Rye, my sudden turns and quick maneuvers into alleys sometimes made them lose sight of me.

Lemali was a large and complex city, and it seemed easy to get lost.

Of course, I wouldn’t get lost.

[Go through that small opening.]

[Isn’t there another way?]

[I don’t use the main roads. I’m a snake, after all.]

[True enough.]

I crouched and easily passed through the hole under the wall.

It was easy for my small frame, but adult men might struggle.

“Ugh! Miss!”

“Please! Come on!”

As expected, they got stuck in the opening and called to me desperately, but I ignored them.

[Here! Stop, it’s this way, Master.]

“The alley in the middle?”

[Yes, inside there.]

I began to see the sign myself.

Dunhel Jewelry Store – Lemali Branch

Compared to the small Dunhel store in the tiny town whose name I didn’t even remember, this branch looked considerably larger.

Not that the other store had been shabby, but this one was far bigger and grander. It seemed the elemental stones hadn’t sold in the old town, so they were moved here.

“Shall we go in?”

[Huff… huff…]

“What, you pervert!”

Don’t pant while hanging on my waist!

[Sorry, Master. The smell was just too good…]

Indeed, the jewelry store must have looked like a fish market to Rye.

I frowned briefly but didn’t delay and pushed open the glass door of the Dunhel Jewelry Store.

Inside, it was filled with jewelry displayed in every direction.

So many jewels in the world!

[Ugh, how much is all this?]

[I want to eat everything from there to there!]

[Restrain yourself.]

[My reason is shaken! Master!]

[No.]

Rye had a strong appetite.

Though his desire was for metal rather than food, he expressed it as wanting to “eat,” so it was pretty much the same.

Ignoring Rye’s begging, I scanned the store for the elemental stone, when an armed man, likely a store security guard, strode toward me.

Alongside him was a thin, bow-tied male employee.

“Hey! Kid, you can’t just come in here.”

“Little girl, this is…”

Bang!

“Miss!”

“Miss!”

The staff members who had been about to reprimand me suddenly changed their tune when they saw Hansen and Philo following me.

“Welcome!”

“Guests, this way, please.”

They probably assumed I was a noble girl out for a stroll.

Not entirely wrong. Hansen and Philo did help after all.

“What are you looking for? Dear lady, there’s nothing the Dunhel Jewelry Store doesn’t have.”

Seems about right. After all, they do have elemental stones.

[Rye, the elemental stone?]

[Let’s see.]

Finding the elemental stone among all these jewels was like searching for a needle in a sandpit.

As the store filled with people, Rye peeked out from inside my sleeve.

He squinted and scanned the surroundings carefully, then precisely pointed with his head.

Rye’s radar had instantly located the elemental stone.