Akata's Gift
Akata felt a complicated swirl of emotions as she watched the bracelets sell so easily for no reason other than that the maker’s identity remained hidden, all while thinking of the someone waiting back at the inn. It was the sort of feeling that kept alternating between dry snickers and hollow laughs.
“Still, I made some money……”
If the trend had stayed only among the city folk, the sum would never have grown so large, but the way it had spread even to the mages made the results deliciously sweet. She hadn’t quite hit the million Gal she had aimed for, yet in her hands now sat a sum that a girl her age—perhaps even most village women—would struggle to earn.
“It’s not just ‘some money.’ Compared to the product, you made a killing.”
Akata shrugged at the words of her senior, Chelsea. Even at that very moment the woman’s three pairs of arms were stripping yarn from bracelets, knitting arm warmers, and crocheting blankets.
“And you’ve already started taking custom orders.”
“Only three people, though.”
“And every one of those three is a mage. Two of them even specialize in item crafting! That’s something worth bragging about!”
At Chelsea’s exaggerated shout Akata rolled her eyes.
Then she admitted it. This was certainly something to take pride in. The status of the two people Chelsea had just mentioned was practically celestial. All the more so because the headquarters of magic tools, the Bemyurhen Magic Tower branch, had collapsed under an unprecedented disaster.
“Besides, once mages get hooked on something they tend to use nothing else for a good while. And if it spreads to one mage, it often spreads to others. This is definitely going to work out.”
“You think so?”
“I do. Even the guildmaster is pushing hard for you because it looks like you’ll succeed.”
Well, that much was true. Even considering how well this merchant guild treated its employees, giving her a full week off and supplying materials free of charge was more than simple welfare. It was an investment made in hopes of forging connections with mages.
“But even if we do make those connections… I don’t think anything will change all that drastically.”
“True enough. Still, remaining on good terms with an item craftsman at a time like this is already a solid gain in itself. Especially when you consider the standing the Hudelen Magic Tower branch is about to gain.”
Limited to the south, the magic tower that supplied the most items after the Bemyurhen branch was the Hudelen branch. Considering that sixty percent of Bemyurhen’s output had gone north and thirty percent south, Hudelen might now claim a slightly—just slightly—larger share.
Roughly forty percent of the items circulating in the south felt like Hudelen products, thirty-nine percent Bemyurhen products.
What truly mattered, though, was not whether Hudelen sold more or Bemyurhen sold more. The truly critical fact was that a supplier handling a volume nearly equal to Hudelen’s had collapsed without warning.
So where, then, would those thirty-nine percent of customers who had suddenly lost their trading partner flock? What would happen to item prices when demand stayed the same while supply shrank? And what of the value of the craftsmen who made them?
In that light, forming ties with a craftsman held meaning in and of itself, just as Chelsea said. Enough meaning that their guild and guildmaster—merchants who pursued profit while still observing proper bounds—were this delighted.
“Yeah……”
And if she thought a little further, this connection was not a bad thing for the girl either. After all, once she had made even this much of a face-to-face acquaintance, she could hope for a little consideration when the time came to purchase items later.
She wasn’t asking for discounts or absolute priority. Simply avoiding being rejected at light speed with the excuse that some nobody had put in a request would already be consideration enough.
That mattered all the more because she had a request she needed to submit as soon as possible. Akata once again thought of the person waiting at the inn.
“Ah, done.”
“Done already?!”
In the meantime one of the arms that had been moving mechanically finished a product. The yarn bracelets and arm warmers had long been completed and new ones were already in progress; what had just been finished was a blanket—one ordered by a mage, no less.
Chelsea, who had been handling paperwork in the same space as Akata for efficiency—more precisely, who had simply combined the paperwork area with Akata’s workshop—slammed her desk and stood up. Her excitement was visible from ten ri away.
“So now we just deliver it?”
“Just a moment. Let me check for defects first.”
Akata, by contrast, calmly inspected the finished product. With a single shake the blanket unfurled—an exotic style completely different from what had been popular until now. Perhaps because of the good yarn, it did not feel heavy for its thickness. Mages with weak constitutions would have no trouble wrapping themselves in it.
“Is it okay?”
“It’s fine.”
“Great. Then I’ll go deliver it!”
“Ah. About that… may I take it myself? As long as I just hide that I made it, it should be fine.”
Besides, the Magic Tower was not the sort of place to take offense at using a girl with eight eyes as a messenger. From the start they were a place that worked hard to maintain good relations with the Great Forest, so they would only be more welcoming.
“If you put it that way I can’t stop you… but why?”
“I want to look around at the magic items.”
“Well… then there’s no reason to stop you. Go ahead.”
Perfect. Watching Chelsea sit back down, Akata neatly folded the blanket and slipped it into the wrapping paper. A product wrapped in linen cloth and tied with a ribbon would not stray too far from courtesy.
“Then I’ll be off.”
The girl’s light, bouncing steps carried her out of the guild building.
“Akata.”
“Oh. Lady Aori.”
If the person who should have been at the inn had not been waiting right in front of the guild, the path would probably have led straight to the Magic Tower.
“Why are you here?”
“The innkeeper did not seem particularly fond of our party, so I came out to look around. And, while I was at it, I wanted to see with my own eyes the place where Akata works.”
“Ah.”
“More importantly, where are you headed?”
“I have something to deliver to the Magic Tower.”
“I see. Perfect timing. I had been wanting to experience the Magic Tower myself. Might I accompany you?”
“Of course.”
She still held many regrets toward the people of her own tribe, yet toward the Great Chief of another tribe and his priestess—who had shown her so much goodwill—she could offer kindness without limit. (Though it seemed the priestess was no longer the tribe’s priestess but had been chosen as the Swamp Priestess now.)
Akata nodded and took a step ahead to lead the way.
“What about the others?”
“They are probably sightseeing in the city, same as I was. Now that we have secured food and medicinal herbs, every goal we had for coming to the city has been achieved.”
For reference, the circumstances underlying those words were as follows.
Not long ago the Great Forest had officially learned of the Bemyurhen incident, and in the face of that tragic disaster the Great Chief had decided on “material support” both to strengthen friendly ties with the outside and to help those who had suffered.
That was why Aori stood in Hudelen now.
“…So, Akata, have you found a place to buy what you need?”
“Not yet. These days the market price for item craftsmen has shot through the roof……”
“Is that so.”
Of course Aori’s inclusion in this party was not solely because she was a favored subordinate of the Great Chief. Or perhaps it was precisely because of that.
True, the fact that the Demon Knight still remained in the Great Forest was an absolute secret among absolute secrets; yet the reason Aori and Akata shared that knowledge could only be that they enjoyed the Great Chief’s absolute trust, could it not?
The Great Chief had deliberately sent Aori so that she could speak with Akata directly and leave no worry of information leaking.
“But the person receiving this delivery is an item craftsman. If things go well, I might be able to get an introduction to a mage specializing in illusion magic.”
“That is fortunate news. Even though it must have been difficult to look into, I am truly grateful—and sorry—that you have worked so hard. If I moved personally there is a high chance I would catch the Tower Master’s eye……”
“It’s fine. This is something I want to do myself.”
Akata could not fully grasp what it meant to catch the Tower Master’s eye, but she understood at least that Aori must not move personally. That was enough. Considering the grace the girl had received, running this errand was nothing at all.
“There’s just one big problem. As I said earlier, magic tools have become extremely expensive these days……”
“You need not worry about money.”
Moreover, Aori had brought a solution to the monetary problem that had been troubling Akata as well.
To be more precise, a solution had appeared in the interval between Akata sending a letter that she had found a method and the Great Chief asking, through this very messenger, that she try that method.
“With the funds on this side… we can support you up to three million Gal.”
“Th-that much?”
Of course that three million Gal had not fallen from the sky; it had come from the Black Thunder Snake’s wallet. More accurately, from the extra money he had pressed into their hands.
“It may be a bit excessive, yet for a fellow tribesman surviving alone outside the tribe, is this level of investment not something we can certainly afford?”
He had probably intended it as money for a wig… yet the wig itself had been purchased without spending a single coin.
After long deliberation the Great Chief and Aori had decided on the use of those three million Gal. Returning it to the knight was likely to fail, so they would rather spend it on procuring something else.
“If the money proves insufficient then……”
“I don’t think it will be insufficient. Probably.”
“That would be fortunate. Still, just in case, I will speak to the guild. We will repay whatever you borrow, so use as much as you need.”
“Um, all right. But what if there’s some left over?”
“If any remains, then Akata may keep it. Since the money was given under the name of support funds to begin with, we cannot take it back.”
And because it would be used that way, the money would be delivered to Akata in full. To outside eyes it would be support funds; in reality it would be capital for obtaining the necessary tools.
“Additionally, the five hundred thousand Gal I will give you now is not merely nominal—it is truly for you, Akata. You need not spend it on magic tools. If anything falls short, borrow that from the guild; this is to be used entirely for yourself.”
“Is that really all right?”
“These are things we should have provided long ago. Do not refuse them.”
Of course, exploiting the name of support funds while failing to give real support was not among the Great Chief’s virtues, so Aori newly handed over money the Great Chief had prepared from his private funds.
It felt as though the lump that had remained in one corner of her heart ever since she had sent Akata away was finally dissolving.
Today the lord of Bemyurhen had died suddenly. The cause was probably overwork.
Fortunately the sudden death did not trigger great chaos. Support from other cities had been arriving in steady streams—even the relief force sent from Munmunt in the northeast had reached this place—and conditions had improved considerably; city reconstruction had also just begun to find its proper track, making such stability possible.
“What are you so sad about? All that died was a guy who always put the nobles first……”
“Shut up. If it hadn’t been for the lord we all would’ve been dead a long time ago.”
“Tch……”
Yet it was not as though he had departed without any impact at all. Even the residents who had once raged that food should go to the soldiers first, and even the priests who had been offended by the lord’s remarks against the temple, now mourned him and observed a moment of silence.
Perhaps because he had spent a lifetime serving and dedicating himself as lord. Once he was dead, the opinion “He was a decent man, all things considered” spread in every direction.
Or perhaps the shock of death had simply diluted the anger that had been piling up layer upon layer. It would have been different a few weeks ago when food was still scarce, but now things were stable.
“Idiots.”
Even so, the impression that they were foolish and stubborn refused to fade.
Meister suddenly wondered whether he even needed to remain in this city.
He had wanted to become like his grandfather, and he had not wanted to see the comrades who had died so meaninglessly appear in the world once more. With that intent he researched for the weak, yet even he could not hide his disappointment at this incident.
“I’m really sick of this……”
Of course he would not abandon the goal of improving convenience for all humans just because of a few garbage specimens. That purpose sprang from an ideal higher and more important than contempt for humanity.
But at the very least, was there any need to keep serving the people who had disappointed him? Did the desire to help everyone necessarily equate to protecting even the minority among them?
“……”
Meister thought that far, then recalled his grandfather and let out a long, heavy sigh. What a damned old geezer, no matter how you looked at it.
Sangun seemed to have developed a taste for shaking me down for packed lunches on the grounds that he needed something to eat; almost every day he came to me carrying food.
Thanks to that I no longer filled my stomach with tasteless scraps or simply went hungry because it was too much bother… but wasn’t this getting a little too comfortable? I felt like I was putting on weight from eating and resting so well—was this even right?
I spent each day wavering between the thought that this shouldn’t continue and the thought that I wasn’t getting caught. And on the day that stretch of days reached exactly fourteen, I closed my inventory with an indescribable feeling.
Inside the inventory, food harvested layer by layer from the farming plot Sangun had made for me and several kinds of medicinal herbs I had gathered under Sangun’s advice were packed full. It was time to leave.
“Black Thunder Snake.”
Just as I was about to leave the hideout I ran into Sangun and the Great Chief. I figured they had come to stop me again.
“Before you go, would you accept this?”
This time, though, even if they cried and clung I would not yield. I opened my mouth intending to convey that resolve, only for the Great Chief to speak a beat faster, as if mocking the attempt.
Was he trying to hold me back? That thought lasted only a moment. Resting on the boy’s outstretched palm were a round silver-rimmed pair of glasses and a jewel that looked like an accessory, one each.
“These glasses, so long as they are in contact with the body, overlay an illusion upon the pupils and make the color of the irises appear different. For reference, after deliberating over which color to choose I heard that green eyes are common outside, and so decided on that. Even if they do not suit your taste, I ask that you look upon the sincerity and overlook it.”
“…What.”
Wait, what? Overlay an illusion on what?
“And this is an accessory worn on the ear; while it is worn, the scar at the corner of the mouth is concealed, they say. It will be of help on your journey.”
And what was this accessory now. The scar at the mouth is concealed? So it helps on the journey?
…Well, if they changed the eye color and hid the scar of course it would, but how did they even know?
“…Why are you giving these to me?”
It was true that I had tried to alter my appearance against possible pursuit. Yet no matter how hard I searched I had found no method and was on the verge of giving up… so how had the Great Chief known and procured exactly these?
And was it all right for me simply to accept them?
Instead of taking the glasses and accessory I left my neck tensed and forced my voice down. The tightly constricted sound emerged like a growl.
“I do not fully understand the true intent of the question. In what sense do you ask?”
“I mean, why go this far for me.”
“Ah.”
Allowing me to stay had still been something I could accept, just barely. There remained room for excuses, and the money they spent approached zero—excluding the proxy purchases I had requested and paid for myself.
But this… this was……
“I always think this, yet it seems Benefactor is unaccustomed to goodwill. You ask similar questions every time.”
Well. Rather than being a person unaccustomed to goodwill, I was closer to a person who had been made unaccustomed to it.
Besides, even goodwill without price had its limits; anyone would find expensive items like these burdensome. Yes. Magic tools were simply too costly to receive for free. Even without knowing the exact market price, it was more than I could take raw.
“However, Benefactor, this is not something I or this forest is offering. It is a gift from Akata.”
Yet at the name spoken next I became unable to voice a single word of refusal. Before I could do anything the yarn bracelet that had burned away without a trace, and the yarn bracelet I myself had handed over to another, rose in my mind.
“Do you remember Akata?”
As if I could ever forget that child.
“Since you remember, the child will be delighted if she hears of it.”
But, but why would that kid… what money or affection did she have that she would give me……
“Why would that child……”
“Aori relayed that Akata has adapted splendidly to the outside world. Enough that she has begun to wish to repay the grace she received.”
“This is too much.”
“That may be so. Yet it will surely prove helpful in Benefactor’s future path. Akata will be satisfied with that fact alone.”
“I cannot accept—”
“Do not refuse. What the child wishes for is not refusal.”
I tried to say something.
Yet my mouth closed before the objects that had been forcibly placed upon the open palm. The child’s raised hand carefully peeled away the eyepatch.
“Green eyes suit you as well.”
Damn brats. Words I could not bring myself to speak lodged in my throat and scraped at my insides.