The Festival (4)

At a glance, it looked like any other necklace. The chain wasn't even gold — just ordinary metal — and the setting was so plain that, jewel aside, it was indistinguishable from something you might find on any street-corner stall.

The jewel, however, was another matter entirely. It was as clean and luminous as the mana stones Choco had once seen in Tara's cave — a clarity that meant vanishingly few impurities, and a purity that was anything but ordinary.

"The mineral that keeps Nateera fed, second only to mana stones. Mithernic."

"I know that much already."

Choco answered in a sullen tone, but she could not tear her eyes away. She had hunted these lands for a long time and seen her share of mithernic, yet she had never laid eyes on a specimen of such apparent purity.

"Where did you even find something like this?"

"Listen here, you brat. This is how I put food on the table. You think I'd tell you that?"

The old woman cackled.

"So. Are you buying it, or aren't you?"

"Nngh..."

She wanted it. Of course she wanted it. A necklace set with mithernic of this purity — if she brought it back, Yeon's eyes, which had already sparkled at the sight of the Dryad's Essence, would shine twice as bright.

The problem was money. Mithernic of this quality would fetch as much as a low-purity mana stone of the same size, and those went for anywhere from several hundred thousand gold to several million. Buy or don't buy was not even a question.

She was penniless. Completely broke. Se-jin, who was with her, had maybe fifty thousand gold in spare change... But having seen this, taking anything else home was no longer an option. Every other necklace had already vanished from her awareness.

"...I am sorry, but I haven't any money."

"What a shame."

"Is there no other way I might purchase it? Modest as I may appear, I rather pride myself on my abilities."

Choco manifested her Daoist arts upon her open palm.

A tongue of flame. A trembling droplet of water. A spiral of wind. Earth welling up from nothing, and from that earth, a tiny green shoot unfurling toward the light.

She cycled through the five elemental fundamentals without the slightest waver, and behind her, Se-jin's eyes went wide. But it was the old woman's reaction that mattered.

The old woman watched in silence, then let out a thin, deflating little snort of a laugh.

"Not bad, kid. You've got some real talent there."

"Trifling tricks, nothing more."

Compared to her days as the Black Knight, they truly were trifling. The power and the versatility had been boundless then — set against those peak specifications, this was pitiful.

At those words, something twitched at the corner of the old woman's eye. But she quickly composed herself.

"Fine. Take it."

"What?"

"Don't want it? Then I'll just take it back—"

"When did I say I didn't want it?! Ah—?"

Choco snatched the old woman's hand as she reached to reclaim the necklace — and a jolt like electricity shot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through her, startling a sound from her throat.

The sensation vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving her tilting her head. Static electricity? In a game?

The old woman, for her part, made a face of utter disgust and flapped her captured hand.

"Let go, you brat. I make one joke and you try to wrestle an old woman."

"Ah — did I hurt you?"

"Hurt? With those little dumpling hands? Please."

They weren't quite dumpling hands, but at least she hadn't given offense. Choco breathed an inward sigh of relief — and the necklace was thrust in front of her face.

"Take it. It's yours."

"You're truly just... giving it to me? Mithernic like this would fetch a considerable sum... Wait — that is not to say I refuse!"

"Take it while I'm offering. Before I change my mind."

What a thoroughly unpleasant old woman. Choco glared at her with narrowed eyes, then bowed her head. Gratitude was gratitude, after all.

"You have my thanks. I shall not forget this kindness."

"For all that cheeky talk, at least you know basic manners."

"Choco... said thank you?!"

Why are you so shocked? Choco shot Se-jin an incredulous look over her shoulder, then lifted her head and addressed the old woman.

"I know not when we shall meet again, but should our paths cross, I shall surely repay this debt."

"Heh heh. Such a long-winded little thing. Just go, before I change my mind and ask for it back."

"Very well."

And with that, as if she had never hesitated at all, Choco turned on her heel.

"What was that even about, bowing your head? And you of all people, Choco..."

"Just what, precisely, do you take me for?"

"A brat who acts like she owns the world — which I guess fits a god's successor — and someone I've always wanted to give one good rap on the head."

"Go on, then. Insult me all you like."

Se-jin had fallen into step beside her at once. Choco's reply came out incredulous, but the answer she got made her shake her head as if she regretted asking.

So she's the type who seems reserved but actually says whatever she wants. Choco was still turning that over when Se-jin pressed again.

"So? Are you going to tell me or not?"

"...The gem set in this necklace is mithernic. Of all the minerals mined around here, it is the most common — and the most popular."

It wasn't hard to extract, easy to work, and above a certain purity it took mana well enough to serve as a substitute for mana stones — though the output fell far short of a mana stone of equal size. You could use it in magic tools, jewelry, anything at all. It was reasonably pretty, and the mines were full of it, which made it the emblematic mineral that kept Nateera prosperous. Choco explained all this, giving the necklace a little shake.

"Mithernic of this purity would go for a million gold, at the very least."

"A million? That much?"

"I received it without paying a single coin. I can hardly just walk off without a shred of shame."

Even Choco wouldn't go that far. She wasn't a difficult person by nature — a little brusque, perhaps, but still a product of a perfectly ordinary, well-mannered upbringing. Muttering this to herself, she walked on with a bounce in her step.

Cute.

Watching Choco walk along, completely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unaware of how she looked, Se-jin thought it to herself. Every step seemed to leak a little joy. She was always so prickly, but every now and then she did something that made her look exactly as young as she appeared.

I'm not telling her that. Se-jin chuckled inwardly and followed along behind.

"Ah, you're back?"

"Indeed. Though... that has dwindled quite a bit..."

Answering Ho-jin, Choco muttered as she took in the mountain of food, now considerably smaller than before. Had they really been eating this whole time without a break? She was still turning that over when Ho-jin asked,

"Did something good happen?"

"Hm? Ah, well, something of the sort, yes... How did you know?"

"How could I not? You came bouncing all the way over here from halfway across the plaza..."

"...I walked like that?"

Choco's head snapped toward Se-jin, demanding confirmation. Se-jin answered by looking pointedly away.

"You... haah. Never mind."

It was a little embarrassing, and that was all it was. Choco raked a hand through her hair, trying to forget that she had just behaved like an elementary schooler on a field trip.

Then she drew a deep breath and pulled out the necklace she had acquired. The mithernic caught the light with a bright little chime, and Ho-jin's eyes went wide.

"Huh? Wait, is that high-purity?"

"It is. Exceptionally pure mithernic."

"That's worth hundreds of thousands at least — where'd you get the money for something like this? Wait, can you even buy this on the street?"

No idea. And I don't want to know. Choco ignored Ho-jin's fussing and approached Yeon, who was still utterly absorbed in eating.

"Yeon. Cease eating a moment and look at this."

"Gulp. What is it... huh?"

Choco lifted the chain on one finger so the gem caught the light, tilting her head slightly as she asked,

"Well? Is it not lovely?"

"It's beautiful... Where on earth did you find this?"

"I came across it while walking the streets just now. So? It does not pale beside the Dryad's Essence, does it?"

"The Dryad's Essence... wait. Don't tell me."

Yeon looked at Choco with dawning realization.

"You were thinking about what I said back then? I was just talking..."

"It seemed as though you wanted something like this, so I prepared it... If I was mistaken, I apologize."

"No, no! How could I not want a gift from you, Choco?"

As if the food had never existed, Yeon pulled out a handkerchief, wiped her face and hands, and addressed Choco with proper formality.

"Thank you. Really. I never imagined you'd get me a present like this."

That made two of them. Choco had never imagined she would give Yeon a gift like this either. At most, she had figured she would play along with a bit of dress-up, the way she had first imagined, and leave it at that.

She wasn't sure when it had started. She had been looking after Yeon for a while, but back then it had only been guilt — guilt over dragging the girl into her mess. But as time passed, she found her gaze lingering a little longer, a little more often. And then there had been Grape Cave, where she had laid everything bare.

That, she thought, was when she had become fully, inescapably aware of Yeon.

Embarrassed despite herself, Choco thrust the necklace forward and said, rather shortly,

"My arm is going to fall off. Take it already."

"Can't you put it on me?"

"...I suppose there is no reason I cannot."

"Then do it. Please."

Yeon closed her eyes and waited. Choco hesitated a moment, then stepped closer and slipped the necklace over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her head.

Her eyelashes are quite long, seen from this close.

Choco's gaze followed the slowly descending chain, tracing Yeon's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠features as it went. The long lashes of a young girl, a straight and delicate nose, lips like cherries — all the usual clichés, and yet her face earned every one of them.

Come to think of it... is this the first time I've really looked at her face?

She had glanced. She had met her eyes in passing. But she had never studied her like this — slowly, at leisure.

"Choco? Are you done?"

"Ah — yes. A moment."

Startled out of her daze by Yeon's voice, Choco answered in a rush. What am I even doing? The embarrassment rose unbidden, and she couldn't even hide her flushed cheeks as she finished fastening the necklace and even smoothed down the hair the chain had flattened. Only then did she speak.

"You may open your eyes."

"Really?"

Yeon opened her eyes carefully and looked down at the unfamiliar weight at her throat. She ran her fingers over the red-glowing mithernic, then smiled brightly at Choco.

"Hehe. This is kind of embarrassing... Does it look good?"

"It does. It suits you well."

In truth, she wasn't sure it did. On that still-childish face, a gemstone necklace of that size looked less like it suited her and more like a little girl who had snuck her mother's jewelry out of the box and tried it on in front of the mirror.

But Yeon's happy smile wasn't a bad sight at all.

"Well then, shall we—"

"Choco?"

The festival was winding down. She had been about to suggest to Se-jin and Ho-jin that they call it a day when a voice crackled through her mind like static. Choco frowned and reached out to Tara.

Run? She was about to ask what that was supposed to mean.

KRA-BOOM—! A ground-shaking explosion thundered in the distance.

The passing festival-goers, Se-jin and Ho-jin watching from a step behind, and Choco herself — all of them stared, blank-faced, at the smoke rising far away.

"What was that? Fireworks?"

Fireworks don't make smoke like that, you idiot. She wanted to say it to whoever had muttered that, but she couldn't. Because more explosions followed, one after another — booms rolling in from every direction. The murmuring crowd finally understood, and one by one they began logging out or running for their lives.

Whatever this is, we need to get out of here. Choco turned.

"Yeon! We need to run—"

"Choco... why is this glowing...?"

Yeon lifted the mithernic pendant with an uneasy face. Choco froze.

And when it began to swell — grotesquely, impossibly — there was nothing she could do.

"Yeon—"

KRA-BOOM—!

The explosion swallowed her whole.