Chapter 337: Team Allen 5, Gratitude (2)
Princess Carmin of Clebeur had offered Allen a reward, but he politely refused to take anything.
Cecile and Dogora were also there, Allen had declined to accept a reward without consulting them first, but they did not seem bothered as it was a normal occurrence for them.
"U-umm, can I at least ask why?"
The princess was slightly taken aback, she had never expected someone would refuse a favor from her.
(I don't know how to put it, I feel like I've seen this too many times in my life, or like I never help on time. I just wish there was a more special king that would trade me a ship for some pepper.)
Allen felt like he had seen something like that in his past life, some king that gave his character a ship just for some salt or pepper.
He was more than willing to undergo such a trade.
In the case of the Spirit God Rosen, or Dungeon Master Digragni, he would request their aid as much as he could.
But there was something the elf princess had told him for times when a poor noble asked him to protect his daughter and tried paying, or when a king tried rewarding him for rescuing a country in crisis.
In those times, their feelings were enough.
"There's many people in Clebeur that may have lost everything and don't have anywhere to go. I simply believe feeding them and giving them a place to call home is more important than me."
Allen realized he might have hurt the royal family's feelings, so he bowed as he said that.
More than a million of Clebeur's citizens were sheltered in the fortified city now.
They were essentially stuffed into the walls, after running away from the capital, or integrating into the convoy after escaping their cities.
Albahar had started sending food and other resources to maintain them.
But those costs would eventually fall on the royal family.
Allen did not feel comfortable receiving a reward from them in such a situation.
"Oh."
Shea looked to her side and let her voice out.
This was the first time Allen acted this way in the 3 days she had known him.
He was very thorough with his plans when hunting monsters, but he also had a rather respectable attitude towards some things.
"I insist."
The king also joined in the conversation.
He felt a duty to reward the hero that had rescued his country after all.
"I can't, it's too soon to thank me either way. The situation isn't fully taken care of, so we can talk about this again once things calm down. But I'll be expecting fifty percent more than your current offer then."
He smiled as he added the last bit in a joking manner.
That was mainly an excuse though, a way to decline the reward without making the royal family feel shame in it.
But if they returned into being a wealthy country, Allen would have no qualms requesting the bonus.
He decided to keep a mental note to not forget about it.
The king nodded as well, satisfied with that outcome.
(Good good, now I can go back to kill more monsters then. Hm?)
Allen was getting ready to leave already.
But he noticed a purple gem glowing on Princess Carmin's arm.
He noticed it was unusually shiny.
"Oh? Ah, you're looking at this. This is Makris' Sacred Bead."
The princess had noticed Allen's glance.
"Ohhh... Is it the same Tear of the Sacred Fish Makris from the fairy tale?"
Tear of the Sacred Fish Makris was the name used in the Prostia Empire picture book, but its real name was Makris' Sacred Bead.
"Yes!"
Princess Carmin looked happy that other countries saw her homeplace with such interest and admiration.
(Ohh, so that's the gem that can buy an entire kingdom then.)
As far as Allen knew, Makris' Sacred Bead was one of the most valuable items in the entire world.
In terms of his past life, it was similar to a large ancient and historical diamond.
Clebeur used to be a territory owned by another country.
The king wanted to own a Makris' Sacred Bead so badly that he divided a third part of his kingdom, which he exchanged for a gem.
Its bright shiny color was an emblem of prestige for the royal family.
It was custom for the king of Clebeur to give one to his daughter too.
"I see. It's such a beautiful gem."
"Oh let me do this, feel free to look at it as much as you want."
Saying that, Princess Carmin took off her bracelet and gave it to a servant who carried it to Allen.
"Ohh! What a pretty purple color. It doesn't look like a teardrop at all."
"Also I prefer yellow. Purple doesn't match me well."
(Can anyone really complain about the color when it's such a beautiful gem though?)
Allen had no interest in jewelry, but even he could admire the beauty of Makris' Sacred Bead.
But Princess Shea did not seem to like it.
(A bracelet...I wish Peromus was here so he could tell me its true value. Can I really take it though?)
Peromus worked as a merchant, and had a Skill that allowed him to appraise the value of items.
No one in Allen's party had such a Skill, so after they went to the S Rank Dungeon, they had to go to a pawn shop in the city to figure out how much everything they obtained was worth.
"Please, take it. We received a message from the empire earlier telling us they'll help us rebuild the country anyway."
Princess Carmin figured Allen was hesitant to accept the gem, as it was common knowledge that one was worth many millions of gold coins.So she informed her the future of the country was secure.
Apparently they had contacted the empire with a magic device when they arrived at Carulo.
The people of Clebeur all came from the Prostia Empire.
The royal family were also the descendants of a duke from Prostia, who was related to the emperor.
While the rumors of a rebellion in Clebeur had made them slightly suspicious, they were more than willing to help after hearing of the disaster that occurred.
Selling the Makris' Sacred Bead could easily net them millions of gold coins, but the help of Prostia would be enough as well.
Relations between Clebeur and Prostia might become slightly tricky once everything calmed down, but Allen had saved the lives of millions of people, so the royal family wanted to reward him in kind.
"I see."
Allen stared at the bracelet, wondering if he still had any way to refuse it, and then noticed the rings he was wearing.
The gem in the bracelet was too big for a ring.
(A bracelet... If it has any extra properties I hope it gets added on top of the rings, since it's a different type of equipment.)
It was only possible to wear two rings that enhanced one's stats.
The last boss of the S Rank Dungeon had dropped a necklace, so Allen had been on the hunt for necklaces now.
While the king still watched him, Allen decided to wear the bracelet real quick to see if it had any effect.
"Huh?"
"Is something wrong?"
The moment he wore the bracelet with Makris' Sacred Bead, he felt his stats going up.
Princess Carmin spoke to him, but he ignored her, hurrying to open his Grimoire and checking his current stats.
"Whoah?! This is crazy! What's going on?"
There was a very clear change in his stats.
Some numbers had gone up, but there were some new entries in the list of active effects.
Reading them made him raise his voice in surprise.
Effects of Makris' Sacred Bead (Bracelet):
(What does that mean? My cooldowns are halved? Oh wait, I think I heard something about that before.)
He recalled one lesson in the Academy where he was taught that some items existed that could shorten the cooldowns of Skills.
But so far he had never found one dropped by a monster, or sold at auction.
Maybe the reason why such an item had eluded him for so long that he almost dismissed it as a fake rumor, was because the Sacred Beads were only traded between kings with Clebeur's royal family.
(I guess that's the power millions of gold coins can fetch you. Would this mean that wearing two of these bracelets would nullify the cooldowns entirely? No, probably only down to a fourth the time, but that's more than enough! I wonder if that applies to Extra Skills too?)
Even in his past life, there were times when Allen would desperately gather items for years, only for them to become essentially trash.
Sometimes an update would introduce far better items than what he currently held.
Somehow he was feeling something similar now.
He was filled with excitement wondering just what new shiny things he could obtain now.
He felt like this bracelet outclassed every item he had found so far.
Even the Mana Regeneration Ring felt inferior to Makris' Sacred Bead.
"Do you like it?"
"O-of course!"
Realizing how valuable and powerful that bracelet was, Allen had no intention of returning it anymore.
"Well..."
Saying that, Princess Carmin turned to look at Cecile.
She was suggesting she should have it.
(That's true. Cecile can probably get a lot more out of it than me.)
"Cecile, it's actually an amazing item."
"Hya?!"
"Catch," Allen said shortly before gently throwing the bracelet towards Cecile.
She yelped in a voice Allen had never heard before, her face flushed red as she struggled to keep the bracelet still in her hand.
The gem twinkled brightly as the bracelet seemed to dance above Cecile's nervous hands.