国产午夜亚洲精品AⅤ

Chapter 175

She and I continued our conversation on the terrace.

Harriet was wearing the pair of earrings I had given her. They weren’t that fancy. They were button earrings with small emeralds embedded in them, about half the size of a pinky nail. They didn’t stand out too much, and had just the right feel of an elegant accessory.

Harriet’s expression turned a bit dazed, and the corners of her lips twitched. “Th-Thank you for this... but it feels a bit strange.”

“Strange, how?”

“What should I say... I guess it feels like I’m gradually calming down...?”

It was clearly a magical item, and the calming magic seemed to be stabilizing her mind and body, which was a strange sensation for her. It was understandable, since it was almost as if it was forcibly turning the usually high-spirited Harriet into someone like Ellen.

It could almost be considered as if an automatic tranquilizer was being administered to her.

“It’s not like you have to wear them all the time. Just use them when necessary.”

“Y-Yeah... You’re right. Sorry.”

She seemed apologetic for not being able to wear the gift all the time. However, I had given it to her to be used only in unavoidable situations in the first place, so it was no big deal.

“I’m not sure how precious this really is, though... How valuable is it actually? Wouldn’t your family have loads of items like these piled up in storage?” I asked.

These were the questions I had before giving her the gift.

The Duchy of Saint-Ouen was renowned for its magic. The Duke of Saint-Ouen, whom I had seen before, was an Archmage, so it was possible that what I’d given Harriet could be less valuable than the common magical items they had stocked in their family warehouse.

I had debated whether to give it to her or not, and in the end, I’d decided to give it to her just to lift her spirits.

Harriet took off the earrings that made her feel strange and put them in her pocket, then pondered for a moment.

“There are three main criteria for determining the rarity and price of magical items: first, the number of uses; second, the magic used; and third, the item it’s imbued in.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. A single-use magic scroll is, after all, a magical item too, isn’t it?”

Magic scrolls are considered disposable items.

Harriet then excused herself quickly and brought something from her room. It was a wand about thirty centimeters in length.

“What’s that? Is it a magic wand?”

“It can be considered a weapon for self-defense. I carry it just in case. There are generally two kinds of magical wands or staffs: one helps stabilize or control the user’s mana flow, and the other is already charged with spells that are ready to use. They are different from scrolls in that only people who know a bit about handling magic can use them.”

So wands or staffs could either assist the wielder in performing magic, or could come pre-charged with spells.

“This one has ten charges of Chain Lightning on it.”

“So, it’s much more expensive than a scroll then?”

“Exactly. Some of these become useless once all the charges are consumed, while others can be recharged. Naturally, the rechargeable ones are harder to make and more expensive. This one can be recharged.”

A wand that could produce the advanced destructive magic Chain Lightning ten times, and was also rechargeable... It had to be an extremely powerful magical item.

Harriet must have wanted to come along because she had something reliable.

“However there are also wands where the spell is permanently inscribed into the item itself. In that case, you just have to channel your own mana, and the inscribed spell activates.”

“Oh.”

“Those are the rarest items. You can cast the inscribed spells without any casting time, making them exceedingly rare. As far as I know, the techniques to create such items are mostly lost as well.”

The rarity of magical items increased with the number of charges they had, and whether or not they could be recharged. Therefore, artifacts that were permanently inscribed with magic were extremely rare.

I now realized just how extraordinary the Flame of Fire hanging around my neck really was.

Even a wand or staff with a single permanently inscribed spell was treated as an ancient relic, and the Flame of Fire allowed me, who wasn’t even a mage, to conjure flames with just my will. It wasn’t just accessing a specific piece of magic, but a tool that allowed me to wield a branch of the elements.

While I knew that it was an incredible treasure, hearing Harriet speaking made me comprehend just how powerful a magical item it was. It was considered a significant treasure across the entire continent.

“However, this only applies to destructive magic. Enchanted items like armor or clothes often have permanent inscriptions, but inscribing activation-based destructive magic is extremely difficult.”

Ellen and I had taken enchanted equipment from the Temple on our expedition to the Dark Land. I had suspected they were very expensive, but it turned out that all of them had permanent inscriptions.

Enchantment of anything related to destructive magic was extremely rare and expensive.

“Of course, the rarity of an item also depends on which magic is imbued, but magical jewelry is exceptionally rare.”

“Why?”

Harriet held up the earrings I had given her between her thumb and forefinger to show me.

“They’re small.”

“...?”

“Do you think it’s easy to permanently inscribe magic into such a tiny object? And it’s not even a low-level spell like a weight-reduction spell, but a mental stabilization spell. Tranquility may not be a top-tier spell, but it’s at least mid-high-tier mind magic. It’s very difficult to imbue such a magical effect into something you can hang on your ears.”

The third criterion for determining the rarity of a magical item was the object it was imbued into.

In other words, size mattered.

It was easier to imbue magic into larger items, such as armor or swords. However, highly advanced techniques were required for imbuing magic into jewelry. The earrings I had given Harriet were only half the size of a pinky nail.

Harriet smiled at me. “So, this is an extremely rare item.”

She’d given a lengthy explanation to my question about how rare the item was for one simple reason.

She wanted to explain to me the value of the gift, which I wasn’t fully aware of, and to thank me for it.

“Thank you, Reinhart.”

“Um... Excuse me, honored guests.”

Someone interrupted our conversation on the terrace. It was a maid who managed the affairs within the mansion.

“Yes?”

“Um... There seems to be a problem,” she muttered somewhat awkwardly.

“A problem?”

The maid hesitated. “The young miss has left her purse behind.”

‘Oh... What a classic scatterbrain.’

This sort of thing happened to them just when they least expected it.

***

Being scatterbrained is a bit different from being dumb. Scatterbrains can be competent most of the time, but make completely unexpected mistakes at odd moments. Riana de Granz was that sort.

She had planned everything out and prepared all the things she needed for shopping, only to realize, upon reaching the counter to pay, that she had forgotten her purse. That had to be the situation she would soon find herself in.

The servants must have been startled to find the coin pouch sitting right there on the table while cleaning Riana’s room. Of course, since she was part of the high nobility, she could still leave her name and promise that the de Granz estate would settle the bill for her.

However, this wasn’t the imperial capital of Gradium. Even though they were from a noble family, it was uncertain if the influence of the de Granz family would extend across the sea to this distant southern island nation. Furthermore, aside from a single coachman, she hadn’t taken any attendants with her.

“... Adelia didn’t bring her purse either.”

“... I think Ellen might be in the same situation.”

We rummaged through our belongings, and while we couldn’t check Heinrich’s things, we confirmed that both Adelia and Ellen had not brought any money. Judging by the situation, I doubted Heinrich had brought any either; he’d probably just followed Riana without any intent to shop for anything.

The mage from the de Granz family could teleport the purse over, but he was busy and wouldn’t arrive until the day we were scheduled to return. The servants seemed at a loss, and had come to us as a last resort.

If nothing changed, the young lady of the de Granz family would face the embarrassment of trying to treat her friends and ending up without money to pay. It would be an immense disgrace if they had to wash dishes to cover their tab.

“Um... They’ve most probably entered Rajak City already. Even if we take the coin pouch with us, how would we get it to them?”

‘Wouldn’t it be better to just let them face the shame and return? It’s not like we’ll be able to find them easily.’

Harriet tilted her head and pondered.

“Didn’t they bring their student IDs?”

Harriet’s suggestion that they might have forgotten their coin pouches but taken their Temple student IDs was quite plausible.

‘Hmm, Ellen might not have brought hers, but the others might have.’

The Temple student ID served as an identification card, and one never knew when you might need it.

“But even if they brought their student IDs, how does that help us find them?” I asked.

Harriet nodded. “I’ve learned how to detect the tracking magic embedded in student IDs.”

This had to be a result of the previous time when I’d gone missing. It seemed Harriet had learned how to detect the tracking magic on the student IDs after the case of my disappearance. Of course, back then, I had deliberately removed the tracking magic on my ID.

Somehow, I felt proud, apologetic, and grateful all at the same time.

It was a bit overwhelming.

***

The servants had approached us out of sheer desperation, hoping to prevent the young lady from being humiliated, and had unexpectedly stumbled upon the right solution.

To catch up quickly, Harriet and I requisitioned a horse from the mansion.

“... Do you know how to ride a horse?” Harriet asked.

“I... I’ve learned it before.”

Harriet’s eyes widened in surprise when she learned I knew how to ride a horse. Apparently, riding was also considered a basic skill among the high nobility, so Harriet knew how to ride as well.

Of course, we didn’t want to risk a fall from hurrying, so Harriet and I urged our horse onward at a brisk trot towards Rajak. It wasn’t that far away, especially on horseback.

As we approached the outskirts of the city, we saw places where horses and carriages were tethered.

“Over there. That carriage looks like it belongs to the de Granz family. See the crest?”

They must have parked the carriage on the outskirts and walked into the city. Among the arrayed carriages, the luxurious carriage with the de Granz crest was easily recognizable.

We entrusted the horse we rode in on to the waiting coachman of the de Granz family and proceeded into Rajak.

We took some time to marvel at what we saw.

“It feels like a port city.”

“Indeed it does.”

Though the sea was quite a distance off, a refreshing sea breeze wafted through the city, rather than an unpleasant fishy smell. Rajak was a bustling city, not as grand as the imperial capital, but still quite lively. In the distance, atop a hill bound by sheer cliffs, stood a building that looked like the royal castle of the Kingdom of Edina.

Entering the city through its gate, we were greeted by a gentle downhill slope that allowed us to take in the entire cityscape at once. The bustling harbor and docks were filled with numerous ships coming and going.

Harriet gazed in amazement at the scene before her. “So this is what a place without warp gates looks like, huh.”

The introduction of the Warp Gate system had dramatically shortened trade routes, making scenes like this a thing of the past. The numerous white buildings made the city look more clean than cluttered.

I understood why Riana had mentioned this place as a lesser-known tourist spot. Just watching the vast ships traversing the clear blue sea filled me with inexplicable joy. Instead of being a grimy port filled with greasy stains and a fishy smell, it was a picturesque harbor city.

“Anyway, let’s find the others.”

“Okay.”

Harriet closed her eyes, apparently casting some tracking magic. After a brief moment, she opened her eyes.

“Hmm... It’s that way.”

She pointed, but to be honest, I couldn’t tell what she was pointing at.

Harriet took the lead, and I followed.

“Magic is amazing, even as you learn it,” Harriet said with a peculiar smile as we walked.

“What do you mean?”

“I learned this tracking magic for student IDs because I wanted to be of help if someone else went missing, like what happened to you the last time.”

Whenever there was something she wished she had known or some magic she wished she could use, Harriet would strive to learn it.

She continued, “But to use it just to return a coin pouch...”

Harriet had learned the tracking magic to prepare for potential missing student incidents, but she was now using it to return a lost coin pouch to a friend. She found it amusing that she was using the magic in a way that differed from its intended purpose.

“I mean, I guess it’s just the same as that underwater breathing spell I used the last time to help you guys,” she continued.

“Yeah. But what amazes me more is how you can decide to learn some magic and then just go ahead and master it immediately,” I said.

It seemed as though she had skipped too many of the intermediate steps. If she wanted to learn it, she simply learned it—it was as simple as that.

Though I wasn’t a magic major, I knew that what Harriet said would make the other magic majors cry out in frustration. Geniuses were geniuses, after all.

Harriet cast an annoyed glance at me, not exactly pleased with my teasing.

“Well, I keep telling you this, don’t I? Why are you acting like it’s new now?”

“Hey, I never said you were dumb! I just said you’ve got a thick skull.”

“That’s the same thing! And there you go again, calling me a thick skull!” Harriet yelled, her face flushing red.

She seemed to be enjoying this high-energy banter. It had been a while since I’d last made her angry, and it felt good to see her react like this.

‘Ah. I must be a sadist—at least when it comes to her.’

“Anyway, let’s find the others quickly, Thick-Skull!”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Pretending to be nice to me and then doing this! You always end things like this!”

‘I’m sorry... It honestly feels like I have to do this on a daily basis. It’s like completing a daily quest—those tasks that seem unnecessary but leave you feeling a little unsatisfied if you don’t complete them.’

“How did you know that? And why are you only realizing this now?”

“Ugh!!!”

Thunk!

Unable to contain her frustration, she punched me in the chest.

“Oh wow? You’re even hitting me now?”

The punch was so weak that it was almost bewildering.

“It probably doesn’t even hurt you at all! My hand hurts more from hitting you!”

***

I wondered where the kids who’d left their purses behind might be and what they were doing. After walking through the city for a while and bickering, Harriet suddenly let out a deep sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s possible that they’re in a problematic situation.”

‘How could she know it without actually seeing them?’

“Why?”

“Their position hasn’t changed. They’ve been in the same spot for a while.”

I sort of understood what she meant. Harriet had made a deduction based on the fact that their location hadn’t changed, even after all the walking we’d done.

They had to be stuck somewhere, unable to move off once they realized they didn’t have any money. This meant that our last hope, Heinrich, was also without funds.

Harriet pointed to a rather large restaurant.

“We’re here. They’re over there.”