CH 108

Two men. It seems that there are people in the back, but. . .

“Brothers, what do you want?”

Hiding behind Thruster-san’s shadow, Ryleigh-kun replied to the suspicious men.

The men looked at each other at Ryleigh-kun’s words, laughed horribly, and beckoned us.

“Hey, you guys are tourists, aren’t you? That young lady seems to be of high status. Rather than eating while walking around, why don’t you buy some nice souvenirs?”

“Souvenirs. . .?”

The men’s words made me more cautious.

Souvenirs should be sold on the main street. I can’t help but feel suspicious that he’s calling out to us in the back alley.

However, I don’t think it’s a good idea to provoke things, so I vaguely return the words.

Then Thruster-san straightened his glasses without being disturbed by the sequence of events.

“Yes. I’ll have you show us.”

“Eh”

No no. Isn’t there an option to keep up with this flow?

When I looked at Thruster-san in surprise, the right corner of his mouth was smiling amusingly. . .

“That idiot took the trouble to separate Volvi and the others from you. I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”

“Haa. . .”

Once again, I confirmed the members who were here after listening to Thruster-san’s words.

Me, Shizuku-chan, Ryleigh-kun, and Thruster-san. Two women, one boy, and one man.

Thruster-san, who is the only male, looks far from the martial arts faction, and the three other than me are elegant, so it seems that they have money.

If there were members who participated in the contest, these suspicious people wouldn’t have called out to them. They stand out, they seem to be strong, and I only have a troublesome premonition. . .

“Then follow me.”

The two men grinned as they felt that the conversation went well.

Then he began to advance further down the alley.

However, I can’t move right away. . .

For now, I feel like we have a mission to gather information about magic fish and poachers. The decision was made too quickly, and I feel like it’s someone else’s problem.

That’s why I think it would be fine for Elja-san, who wants to know about that mission, and Thruster-san, who is the next prime minister, to do it.

“Volvi saw us enter this alley. If something happens and you raise your voice, he will fly here soon. You don’t need to use you skills, and Volvi will defeat your opponent and it’s over.”

“Certainly.”

I have a feeling that Hurst-san will arrive in less than 30 seconds.

My experience so far tells me so.

“We’re just tourists with money. I’m sure they’ll be satisfied if we can do good business. I can’t say for sure that it won’t happen, but the chances of that happening are extremely low. . . These men have a bad smell. It’s ugly, but it’s a small thing, and it smells of information.”

First is generality. And what was added was a word unique to Thruster-san.

Thruster-san has the skill [Sense of smell], but he seems to be using it right now. And finally, he laughed softly.

“In the first place, there is no way I would put Ryleigh in danger.”

“Oh, I can believe that.”

Rather than how much it was explained, that convinced me that it would be fine.

“. . . Is everything true so far?”

“I know that, but what Thruster-san says about Ryleigh-kun is most believable.”

If Ryleigh-kun is here and Thruster-san wants to follow the men, it’s important.

That’s why, I nodded and moved forward while still holding Shizuku-chan’s hand.

When Thruster-san confirmed that I, Shizuku-chan, and Ryleigh-kun started walking, he led the way and followed the men.

And so, I arrived at. . .

“. . . a shop, right?”

. . . It was a small basement shop.

“This is a secluded place, and it’s hard for customers to come, so we’re trying to attract customers. After that, the guy at the store will deal with it. See you later.”

The two men who guided us left immediately after confirming that the four of us had entered the store.

As the man said, without the guide, I wouldn’t have been able to find this store.

The location is in the back alley. A house that was at the end of the several passages. It was underground there.

“. . . Why is the shop in such a place?”

Shizuku-chan muttered whole looking around.

That’s right. If you open a shop in a place where customers do not enter, it will be difficult to prosper.

There must be some meaning in setting up a shop here.

“It’s a small shop. It looks like they sell accessories.”

Ryleigh-kun mutters while looking around the store.

As he said, the size of the shop is about 3 tatami mats. There is already a sense of oppression just by the four of us standing.

Nothing was hung on the wall. But the large desk in front of it was covered with black cloth and accessories were lined up there.

“I guess you came to buy souvenirs. Have a look at this.”

An old man sitting behind the desk recommends a product in a hoarse voice.

This person must be the owner.

“Do you mind if I pick it up?”

“Oh. Take a closer look.”

Thruster-san checked with the owned and took one of the earrings.

A white thing about 10mm shines on the gold clasp.

“The material is reasonable. It’s not something to be particularly cautious about. . . but what is this stone?”

Thruster-san frowned when he saw what was attached to the earing.

Seeing that, Shizuku-chan and I looked at each other.

“Shina-san, is that. . . a pearl?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

Thruster-san called it a stone, but I think that unique glow is a pearl.

This place is close to the sea, and maybe there was something like pearl oysters, and it was included in it?

“Um, can we take a look too?”

“Of course. I hope you like it.”

After calling out to the owner, I picked up the necklace.

A golden chain and a large 20mm pearl in the center. Among the goldwork, it was shining brightly.

. . . . Even though 10,, is big enough, it would be mazing if such a large pearl could be taken from an Akoya oyster.

I’m not a connoisseur, so I don’t know if it’s fake or real.

However, the pearl had a mysterious brilliance.

“I want to see you. . .I want to see you. . . . . ”

. . .A voice echoing in my head.

“. . .”

“Shina-san, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”

Unable to hold it any longer, I put the necklace back on the desk.

. . . . . . . Hallucinations?

I shook my head to erase the resounding voice.

I never thought a voice would come from a pearl.

When I looked next to me, Shizuku-chan was looking at me worriedly.

So I smiled back to reassure her.

For now, let’s talk about the auditory hallucinations later, and let’s focus on the store for now.

Then, the owner called out to Shizuku-chan.

“That little girl has very white skin, so this accessory would look great on her.”

“No, I’m fine.”

Shizuku-chan shook her head at the shopkeeper who tried to give her the bracelet, but she didn’t accept it.

Perhaps feeling that there was no excitement in Shizuku-chan’s and my attitudes, the owner turned his eyes to Ryleigh-kun.

And raised an eyebrow.

“You’re wearing a lot of magic stones, aren’t you?”

“Do you know my magic stones?”

“Of course. Look, this stone also has magical powers.”

Saying that, the owner pointed at the pearl.

“Recently, this stone can be found in the sea. Only magic stones held by magical beasts have magical powers, right? If you have magic stones, how about this stone? It’s cheaper than magic stones, and it’s rare to have a white and round stone instead of a red stone, right?”

Thruster-san and Ryleigh-kun exchanged glances at the shopkeeper’s words.

And then, Thruster-san hands over the earrings to Ryleigh-kun.

Ryleigh-kun held the earrings in his hand and closed his eyes tightly.

“It’s true. . . this stone has magic power. It’s also a very pure, dark magic power. . .”

“Hou! Do you even know that, young master! Then you would know the value of this stone. Of course, it’s more expensive than just an accessory. But right now, it’s sold cheaper than a red magic stone. Besides, if this becomes famous, it will definitely be sold at a higher price than red magic stones.”

Seeing Ryleigh-kun’s surprised face, the owner spoke vigorously.

He must have felt that now was his chance.

Thruster-san nodded appreciatively at the shopkeeper.

“We are very lucky indeed. We were able to find out about this stone before it became famous. I just want my brother to have something clear and safe from the source. Where do you get this stone?”

“I’m sorry, but that’s a trade secret.”

“I see. That’s too bad. In that case, my brother can’t buy them. However, I personally want them, so could you give me a pair of these earrings?”

“Oh!”

Thruster-san’s words made the owner’s face light up.

I’m sure he’s happy that the negotiations went well. When Thruster-san asked about the price of the product, he took out a gold coin from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

“It’s more than the price, but please accept it. As you can see, I want magic stones for my brother. If I can confirm the safety, I would like to continue communicating with you.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right, I really want to continue!”

“What I want is a magic stone. I would like to get one before it’s processed into an accessory. Would you please introduce me to where to get this stone?”

“. . . .I can’t decide that sort of thing alone.”

“I know. If it’s not possible, that’s fine. The gold coin is what I paid you. if there’s anything else, I can give it to you each time.”

“. . . Gold coins. . . each time. . .”

“I hope to hear a good story again. Well then.”

After saying that, Thruster-san immediately left the shop.

So we followed suit.

To be honest, speaking of Thruster-san, I have an image of someone who is panting at Ryleigh-kun’s feet, but he is good at negotiating after all.

In particular, I think it’s Thruster-san’s specialty that he didn’t negotiate tenaciously and just bout a pair of earrings.

Somehow, it seems that the right to choose is handed over to the other party, but that is not the case. In the end, Thruster-san was going to proceed as planned.

On top of that, if he can tell a lie with the power of his skill, or if he can tell if there is information, I think he’s almost invincible.

“I was able to buy a very nice souvenir.”

From the underground shop, we return to the back alley and aim for the central square.

The festival lights are far away and it’s still dark where we are.

Thruster-san laughed at the pearl earrings he had purchased.

“Maybe this is why the sea is rough.”

I wonder if Shina was the only one who heard a voice when she held the pearl of if Thruster and Ryleigh heard it too?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!