Chapter 276
Chapter 276
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 276
Chapter Title: Hostile Amicable Relationship (5)
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“An equivalent exchange of fortune and misfortune?”
“No. It’s not a problem with the Object, but with people. The first owner of the ‘Everyday Gift’ was supposedly a shoemaker from the lower class. He probably made a fortune. But he couldn't overcome the compulsion. On days he received a modest gift, he became extremely depressed. Those days accounted for seventy-five out of a hundred. Eventually, he developed a mental illness and went mad, spending all day just spinning the roulette wheel.”
It was a classic case of what happens when a person gets hooked on probability.
In reality, people addicted to gambling who hit rock bottom don’t do it to make money. What they want is the thrill of winning a battle of chance; money is merely a tool to achieve that.
“As time went on, the ‘Everyday Gift’ fell into the hands of a certain nobleman. He wasn’t the type to just stare at the roulette wheel because he was short on cash. But one day, he hit the miracle. And…”
“And?”
Uorin pouted her lips, imagining the situation back then.
“His family was ruined.”
“Ruined? Why?”
“When you land on a miracle, it gives you an Object. The Object the nobleman received was a small stone called ‘Nemesis.’ When you touch it, your imagination manifests into reality within a twenty-meter radius. The nobleman who obtained ‘Nemesis’ indulged in his imagination every day. You know what I mean, big brother. That thing about human desire…”
Uorin wiggled her index finger and clicked her tongue, embarrassed to say it out loud.
Shirone understood immediately. He also didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing.
Every human being lives with desire, striking a balance with reality through imagination.
The problem arose when that imagination became reality.
“Anyway, that’s why his family was ruined. And ‘Nemesis’ left to find a new owner. It’s still very popular among enthusiasts today. But it seems they can’t hold onto it for long. There was even a case where it returned to the auction house in just a month. Of course, it’s true that Objects can be dangerous. But that’s a human problem, not the Object’s problem. In fact, most owners of the ‘Everyday Gift’ lived comfortable lives.”
If that was the case, Shirone had nothing more to say. But he felt even stranger.
If it wasn’t particularly dangerous, then what on earth were Objects? Why were such items circulating in the world?
Shirone turned his gaze to the ‘Everyday Gift’.
From a collector’s perspective, an Object that begets another Object was like a goose that lays golden eggs.
But on the other hand, it felt terribly destructive. If there was no limit to the production of Objects, the world would surely be destroyed someday, even if not right away.
When he shared his thoughts, Uorin agreed to some extent.
“That’s a possibility. Though not in our generation. But it should be fine. Even if it’s an Object, it’s not any more durable than other items. It’s bound to get damaged over time. So far, the most dangerous item to come from a miracle is ‘Nemesis.’ The Curia Auction House classifies ‘Nemesis’ as A-rank. The ‘Everyday Gift’ is also A-rank. It seems it can’t give gifts of a higher rank than itself.”
Curia was a world-renowned auction house that Nade had mentioned once before.
But Shirone was more interested in something else she said.
The ‘Everyday Gift’ cannot produce a gift of a higher rank than itself. It sounded plausible at first, but it didn’t make sense.
“How is that possible? The rank is determined by the auction house, so there’s no way the Object would know the criteria. Isn’t it just a coincidence? Even after 240 years, the frequency of hitting a miracle is low. If you factor in the probability of an A-rank item appearing, there isn’t enough data to make a statistical claim.”
“That could be true, but…”
Uorin neither confirmed nor denied it, trailing off vaguely. Shirone’s thinking was certainly logical, but when one personally owned over forty Objects, they were bound to acquire new information that ordinary people couldn’t access.
One such piece of information was the VIP membership card issued by the Curia Auction House. On the back of the card, under the precautions, the first clause read as follows:
Objects do not guarantee 100% safety to the user.
Upon seeing the first clause, members would ask the curator for an explanation. The curator would then share a few cases that hinted at the origin of Objects, and hearing those stories made it clear that the warning was not just an empty threat.
But Uorin remained silent on this matter.
Becoming a VIP member at Curia wasn’t just about having a lot of money. One needed to have a sense of alliance regarding Objects.
Abusing one’s privileges with non-VIP members was an act that diminished the value of the Objects themselves.
However, stopping the game was something her Teraje pride wouldn’t allow, so Uorin gave Shirone a chance to figure it out for himself.
“Come over here. I’ll show you some other Objects.”
Uorin led Shirone to a shelf. The first item she introduced was a magnifying glass that could be found anywhere.
“This is an Object called ‘Just Once!’. It shows a person’s bare skin.”
“You mean it can see through clothes?”
“Yes. But it only works within a five-centimeter distance.”
With a mischievous cry, Uorin aimed it toward Shirone’s lower body.
Even though he had already heard the ‘guidelines,’ Shirone instinctively crossed his legs. Uorin stuck out her tongue and handed him the magnifying glass.
“Hehe, you try it, big brother.”
Shirone aimed the magnifying glass at his arm.
At first, it just showed the magnified fabric of his clothes, but as he brought it closer, his bare skin was revealed.
“That’s amazing. But at this rate, it would be better to just look openly.”
“Exactly! If you tried to peek at a woman, you’d get caught right away. Maybe that’s why it’s called ‘Just Once!’?”
“Haha! That could be it. But depending on how you use it, this could be useful. I bet it can see through armor, so it could be used for security checks.”
Shirone returned ‘Just Once!’.
“What’s the principle behind it? X-ray vision?”
“I haven’t checked yet. An Object’s ability doesn’t necessarily correspond to the item’s function, so it could be a power in the handle or the frame. To be honest, it’s not a high-rank Object. I bought it on a whim and just keep it to make up the numbers.”
Even to Shirone, it seemed to be of a lower class compared to the ‘Everyday Gift’.
The next Object Uorin introduced was a bookshelf. It was packed with the works of renowned scholars.
“This one belongs to my brother, Jion. It’s an Object called ‘The Philosopher.’ If you place a book on this shelf, its contents enter your mind without you having to read it. It can hold about one hundred and twenty-four books in Kazura format. However, be warned that if you remove a book from the shelf, the memory disappears too.”
Shirone was flabbergasted. The idea that simply placing a book on a shelf could transfer its contents into one’s mind was a different kind of shock from the ‘Everyday Gift’.
“How can a bookshelf connect to a person’s mind?”
“Well, that’s surprisingly simple. Some Objects have a tendency to bind to a user. At the auction house, we call this a ‘Contract Ceremony.’ In short, ‘The Philosopher’ is a Contract-type Object, so it’s bound to my brother, Jion. By Curia Auction standards, this is a B-rank.”
Shirone gazed at ‘The Philosopher’ in awe.
He didn’t care much for the others, but this ‘Philosopher’ was something he truly wanted. He was beginning to understand why collectors were so obsessed with Objects.
Uorin introduced several other Objects. There was a headband named ‘The Beauty,’ which, when worn, would make the user exercise for an hour while unconscious.
The ‘guideline’ was that while it allowed one to lose weight without effort, the movements were often unsightly, so it was best to lock the door.
There was also an Object called ‘Soulless Massage.’ It was a pair of red and blue stones that, when held in both hands, would contract sore areas to relieve muscle tension.
When Shirone tried it himself, it was incredibly refreshing. The simultaneous massage on his arms, legs, shoulders, ankles, and the soles of his feet felt so good he almost passed out. Although it lacked the warmth of a human touch, the effect was top-notch.
*So that’s why it’s called ‘Soulless Massage.’ This is probably around D-rank.*
As that thought crossed his mind, Shirone’s eyes shot open.
The names of the Objects he had encountered so far. And the fact that even a layman like himself could judge their rank. These two facts revealed the secret of the Objects.
*I see. Objects are…*
The ‘Everyday Gift’ does not give Objects of A-rank or higher. For that ‘guideline’ to hold true, one of two hypotheses had to be correct.
Either the Object knew the auction house’s criteria, or the Object had an inherent value.
The answer was the latter.
Objects are born with an intrinsic value. This is because their functions are all directly linked to human desires.
The fact that they were too purposeful to be naturally occurring items meant they were artificial products of an intelligent existence.
The desire to be beautiful, the desire to gain knowledge, the desire to receive a gift every day, the desire to make imagination reality.
In that sense, ‘Nemesis,’ which fulfilled the highest form of desire, was undoubtedly worthy of an A-rank judgment, no matter who said otherwise.
*Then what’s S-rank?*
To flip the statement that the ‘Everyday Gift’ doesn’t give anything above A-rank meant that S-rank must exist.
Shirone thought it highly likely. Humans have animalistic desires, but they also possess higher-level aspirations.
If ‘Nemesis,’ the pinnacle of animalistic desire, was A-rank, then S-rank was likely an Object that embodied rational aspirations.
*Hehe. Looks like he’s starting to get the hang of it.*
As Shirone remained lost in thought for a long time, Uorin smiled with satisfaction. This was the joy of collecting Objects.
Meanwhile, Jion was burning with impatience.
It was the first time Uorin had kept someone who wasn’t a Curia Auction VIP member in the gallery for so long.
*How dare that bastard…*
To Jion, Uorin was more than just a younger sister. She was the most powerful weapon he possessed. More so than the royal blood flowing through his veins.
*Why? Why is she coddling a bastard like him?*
Unaware of Jion’s boiling emotions, Shirone quickly scanned the other items.
Looking at them now, it was a display of truly immense wealth. The Objects lined up on the shelves were mostly C or B-rank, but occasionally an A-rank could be spotted.
It was a luxury that not even the king of a nation could afford. It gave him a hint of just how powerful Uorin, a direct descendant of the Teraje, was.
After examining the entire eastern shelf, Shirone turned his gaze to the north. But that area was starkly empty, with only a single sword on display.
“Huh? Uorin, what’s that sword?”
“That’s the ‘Magic Sword Armang.’ It’s the Object my brother, Jion, treasures the most.”
The item Jion, who considered even gold to be trivial, treasured the most. For something like that, it wasn’t particularly ornate.
It wasn’t encrusted with multicolored jewels, and it didn’t even have a scabbard. However, it had a strange, captivating quality. There seemed to be a subtle difference in its design that an ordinary person’s senses couldn't distinguish.
But that assessment vanished the moment he saw the gem embedded in the center of the hilt. It exuded an overwhelming presence that made it impossible to look away.
His feet moved on their own, as if Armang itself was calling to him. By the time he came to his senses, he was already at the northern wall.
Just as he slowly reached out to grasp the sword’s hilt, Jion shouted.
“That’s mine! Don’t touch it.”
Even after Shirone flinched back in surprise, the scowl on Jion’s face showed no sign of easing.
The ‘Magic Sword Armang’ was a Contract-type Object that bound to its user. But its presence was so powerful that it sometimes reached out to other potential users.
The exact ‘guidelines’ for how it chose its user were still unknown, but the fact that it had tempted another in its owner’s presence was a displeasing event in itself.
Shirone came to his senses and asked Jion.
“Ah, sorry. I don’t know what came over me. But this is S-rank, isn’t it?”
“What’s it to you? You, who can’t even afford a piece of trash. Get away from my sword. How dare a bastard like you paw at a royal masterpiece?”
Shirone scowled and turned away. No matter if the ‘Magic Sword Armang’ was an S-rank Object, he wasn’t so spineless as to remain interested after hearing such words.
Watching him, Jion reconsidered. Wasn’t this for the best? This would be a good opportunity to show him the gap between royalty and a mountain hick.