Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Gift
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Please take good care of me.
On the way to the inn, Arsen chatted idly with the Azure caravan leader.
When he mentioned Eloise's status along the way, the caravan leader was so shocked to learn that the mage before him was the estate lord's daughter that he bowed nearly double at the waist.
"I have a question—aren't merchant caravans dangerous? It looks like you don't even have any knights with you."
"Many people ask about that. I can't go into details, but... I can say that we almost never run into magic beasts or have to fight them on our routes."
Arsen wanted to pry further into their secret method, but the caravan leader smiled firmly, and he dropped the subject.
If it were a secret that could be extracted even under the estate lord's orders, someone would have already done so long ago—especially since the northern territories had been trading with them for quite some time.
As they walked while exchanging such small talk, they soon arrived in front of a large two-story wooden building.
In Belluan territory, inns—contrary to common assumptions—were a sort of state-run facility directly managed under the estate lord.
The reason no one else handled them was that travelers were extremely rare in this world, if they existed at all.
Squires or soldiers carrying trade goods from the castle might rest there, or wandering caravans like this one might stay, but there were hardly ever any guests one could call customers, making it unviable for civilians to run.
Guests who couldn't be hosted at the estate lord's residence due to security or formality issues typically stayed at these inns.
Unfortunately, the inn hadn't been built with knights in mind, so Arsen had to hunch over awkwardly to avoid bumping his head as he entered.
"Oh dear, what brings a knight like you to a place like this... and the young lady too..."
As soon as they entered, the manager at the entrance bowed his head quickly and greeted them familiarly.
Arsen nodded lightly in response.
"The caravan leader here has something to show me. We'll be out soon, so don't mind us."
"Ah, yes. Understood."
Leaving the manager who bowed again behind them, Arsen and Eloise followed the caravan leader up to the second floor.
When he opened the door to the largest room there, one side of the room was lined with items packaged far more luxuriously than what they'd seen earlier.
The Azure caravan leader politely ushered them inside and closed the door.
"Truth be told, the items we sell outside are just for novelty or everyday amusement. We keep the real treasures separate."
"You haven't shown them to the other knights first? The administrators would be interested too."
"A few have stopped by! But we still have plenty of curiosities left. Here, take a look at this first."
What the caravan leader pulled out looked like a portable lantern.
It had a faded gold-colored base at the bottom, and the handle at the top was smoothly finished in a wood-like material.
In the center was an electric lamp section made of a material closer to metal than glass.
The overall texture wasn't dirty, but it gave off a strong impression of wear from long years of use, so Arsen asked without thinking.
"A relic?"
"Exactly! You've got a good eye! Here, watch this. If you press here..."
When the caravan leader pressed a button on top, a bright light emanated from the metal part, illuminating the surroundings.
In the dim room that had relied on sunlight filtering through the crude wooden windows, the sudden light cast stark shadows from their bodies.
Eloise, startled by the bright light, let out a small "Eek!" and covered her eyes.
"Ah, my apologies! I should have warned you... What do you think? Like it?"
"What's the difference from that glowing stone you showed outside?"
"That's just a one-use novelty. It shines for a few minutes at most. This one keeps glowing until the internal mana runs out... Knights or mages can supply mana to make it nearly permanent. As you can see, being a relic, it's incredibly durable too!"
Arsen glanced down at his left wrist as the caravan leader spoke proudly, then subtly shook his head.
It was a decent relic, but it held no real meaning for him.
He glanced at Eloise, who also seemed uninterested.
"If it's a relic, wouldn't it be better to sell it to the estate lord?"
"It's tradition to offer the estate lord our best items upon arrival and receive permission to trade. We already did that a few days ago when we arrived. He didn't want to buy anything else beyond those."
"Ah. Well, I don't really need that one right now. Anything else?"
At Arsen's words, the caravan leader grinned with a "Well, well" expression and stroked his mustache.
"In that case, we have this too... Take a look!"
After that, the caravan leader showed them a few more items, but unfortunately, none were particularly impressive. Perhaps because the very best had already been offered to the estate lord.
The most useful thing he found was a single earring with a practical function.
It took five gold coins and one gem that Eloise had brought separately to purchase it—a sign of how good it was.
As they looked over a few more items, with Arsen growing bored from finding nothing appealing, the caravan leader ventured a question.
"If I may ask something presumptuous, sir knight... you seem awfully close with the mage lady, if you don't mind me saying."
Since the merchant asked with such caution, Arsen answered plainly.
It wasn't something that needed to be kept secret anyway.
"I have a rather unique constitution, so I don't have the usual aversion to mages. You've traveled to many territories as a merchant, so you must know—have you ever seen someone like me before?"
"Ah, as expected! No, never! I've heard the rumors, but to see it in person... Incredible!"
Arsen couldn't help feeling a bit flustered by the caravan leader's overly excited demeanor.
The man's face looked like he'd stumbled upon a fortune while walking the road, or found the love he'd sought for years.
In short, it was an "extremely happy face."
"Excuse me for a moment... would you mind waiting just a bit? There's something I want to check."
"Sure, go ahead."
With Arsen's permission, the caravan leader opened the door and hurried out.
A short while later, he returned holding a circular circlet.
It was an intricate-looking item adorned with various delicate decorations.
"Would you mind trying this on, by any chance?"
"What is it?"
"I've only heard of its effects in legends, but they say wearing this circlet grants the power to see and hear things from very far away. However, it only works for a chosen one, and no one knows who that is. I thought maybe you, sir knight..."
"Just to be sure, no weird curses or anything, right?"
"Absolutely not! Plenty of people have tried it already. At the very least, it has no harmful effects on people."
With such assurances, the caravan leader even demonstrated by putting it on and taking it off himself.
Seeing that, Arsen placed the circlet on his head without much wariness.
"Let's see... Hm."
Shortly after putting it on, he felt a sharp poke-like sensation somewhere inside his head.
The sudden pain vanished before he could even pinpoint what it was.
"It stung my head a bit for a moment, but no effects as you described. Too bad."
"No, no such luck! It was just a long shot anyway. Thank you for cooperating."
After returning the circlet, they looked at a few more items, but nothing else was worth buying.
He didn't have the money for it anyway.
Arsen decided to treat it as enjoyable window-shopping and mentally noted a few items that his fellow knights might like.
"Thanks for showing us. Caravan leader. Plenty of useful stuff for my comrades too—I'll recommend them."
"I'm embarrassed, having boasted so much but selling hardly anything worthwhile. If we come back, I'll prepare items you'll be thrilled to buy."
After exchanging farewells, Arsen and Eloise left the inn together.
Arsen could finally straighten up, stretching his back with a series of cracks.
"Sen, look at this. What do you think? Nice, right?"
Eloise lifted a lock of her hair to reveal her left ear.
There hung the deep jade-colored hoop earring they'd just bought from the caravan leader.
"You like it?"
"Yeah. It's a gift from you, and the function's fun too."
"I wouldn't say I gave it to you... We bought it together, after all."
Ignoring Arsen's words with one ear, Eloise held out the remaining matching earring to him.
Arsen accepted it with a somewhat troubled expression.
"Earrings? I've never worn any before."
"I'll help you pierce your ear myself back at the tower. Just trust me. Let's test it one more time first."
Prodded by Eloise, Arsen held the earring to his ear.
Focusing his mind while channeling mana into it in that state, he felt a line connecting somewhere.
Eloise's voice resonated through the line, and Arsen responded by directing his words into the earring rather than speaking aloud.
[Sen, can you hear me?]
[I can.]
[Raise your right hand and stick up two fingers.]
Arsen followed the instructions from the voice in his ear.
Watching him, Eloise backed away, running some twenty meters or so.
[Still clear?]
[Yes.]
[This is really amazing. It'd be so convenient if I could use magic like this.]
[Maybe you can learn it someday.]
As Arsen replied and cut off the mana to the earring, the connecting line between them vanished.
Eloise ran back to his side, her face full of satisfaction.
"Awesome! This alone makes today worth it!"
"Good for you."
The two headed up the hill.
* * *
After seeing Arsen and Eloise off, the Azure caravan leader returned to the second floor, knocked on a door, and entered.
The room he entered was right next to the one where they'd viewed the treasures earlier.
There, a middle-aged man in a black robe stood hidden behind furniture.
"...Gone?"
"Yes, elder."
"He definitely wore the circlet?"
"Of course."
"Finally... have we found it?"
A broad grin spread across the man's face.
The caravan leader nearly recoiled in instinctive revulsion but quickly composed himself with his long-honed skill at reining in emotions.
He was quite accustomed to dealing with mages by now.
"Good. No need to delay. Report immediately."
The man promptly pulled out a crystal orb just large enough to hold in one hand and a small cushion from his robes.
He placed the orb on the table, put the cushion underneath to keep it from rolling, then laid both hands on it and closed his eyes in concentration.
As mana flowed, the orb activated its embedded spell, sending a signal far away—somewhere far beyond Belluan.
After a few minutes, the orb hummed, and a voice emerged.
[Who is this? State your name.]
"Mizraf, searching in Belluan. Calling to report. We've found the final target."
[...Are you certain? How did you confirm?]
"Confirmed him standing and touching the mage without issue, and even after activating the control device, he was unaffected. Nothing contradicts what you described."
[Hold on. I'll report to the higher-ups right away. Stand by at the orb for instructions.]
"Understood!"
Once the voice from the orb faded, Mizraf cut off his mana, deactivating it.
Watching him on the verge of humming happily from the thrill of his great achievement, the Azure caravan leader cautiously spoke up.
"Elder, please don't forget my contribution when you report upward..."
"Of course not? If this goes well, you'll get a prime position for sure."
"I ask only that you not forget. After all, I'm just a lowly human."
"What does that matter? For such a huge accomplishment! You deserve great treatment in the new world too."
Mizraf patted the caravan leader's shoulder with a warmth as if toward a close brother.
Pushing down the chilling disgust crawling up his spine, the caravan leader smiled back happily as well.