6. Aksarai>“Hooh… this guy is incredibly comfortable….”
Still exclaimed from Mangdungi No. 1’s back.
The ride on this creature was far more impressive than he had expected.
Since it was as large as a small mountain, he had expected its back to move violently.
Even the slightest shaking would feel like an earthquake to an ordinary person.
Yet this creature swam across the water incredibly smoothly.
Moreover, perhaps because of its enormous size, it was completely unaffected by the waves, making it feel as though they were on land.
Because of that, even though they had bound the steel chest tightly to its back with chains in anticipation of the shaking, it did not move at all.
“Hmm… Should we take this guy along on land too? I think I saw that it had legs last time.”
The surface beneath them twitched.
When Sian muttered those words, Still felt the surface she was standing on twitch.
“…
Take a guy as big as a mountain? Hehe. Little brother, are you planning to conquer the world? If so, you have my wholehearted support.”
“…
Come to think of it, you’re right.”
If a creature like this walked onto land, Kiaran would surely haul Artagon over from the capital and open fire.
Well, that much would be fine.
Even if they managed to kill Mangdungi No. 1, Miss Still would be thrilled and go charging forward on its back. And if that happened, Kiaran would be doomed.
To prevent such a tragic incident, Sian decided to release the creature near the point where Ragaopora was almost over.
Kuooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!
“Goodbye, buddy. You worked hard.”
Although the creature had tried to make a fool of him, perhaps because he had grown attached to its comfortable back and its sashimi-grade meat, Sian sent it off without any hard feelings.
“Miss Still, let’s walk from here.”
“Ah… Wait a moment, little brother.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s cut off some more of that guy’s meat. It’s really delicious.”
Perhaps she had enjoyed eating on its back, because Still suggested that they take a little more of Mangdungi No. 1’s loin.
“My… Miss Still.”
“Hmm? Why?”
“You truly are a genius. Hehe. Mangdungi No. 1, stop there for a moment.”
Sian stopped the creature as it was leaving.
Goooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!
It let out a mournful cry, but Sian paid it no attention.
There was still some distance between here and their destination, Kerval.
It would be delicious to eat while walking across the sea.
With that thought, Sian pulled out his Krona
-phone and approached the creature.
☆ ☆ ☆
“What happened?”
“Are we still in contact with Margaran?”
“Damn it. What kind of calamity is this?”
As expected, Kerval, the city at the end of Ragaopora near Kiaran, was also in an uproar.
After an urgent message had arrived from Margaran ordering them not to launch any ships under any circumstances, all contact had been cut off.
As a result, every ship was tied up in the harbor, and Kerval had fallen into chaos.
Of course, once they managed to contact Margaran and learned what had happened there, they would fall into even greater chaos. But this was only the beginning.
Unlike Margaran, which had flourished after Ragaopora opened, Kerval had been a bustling city from the start.
Naturally, after Ragaopora opened, its prosperity reached even greater heights.
Some even called Kerval Kiaran’s second capital.
The countless supplies that crossed over from Broshan through Margaran.
And the countless people who flocked there to cross over to Broshan.
The pleasant living environment created by the mild climate of a coastal city, which remained warm all year round.
Its beautiful scenery and abundant production.
Kerval had so many advantages that, aside from the capital, it was the most prosperous city in the land, incomparable to anywhere else.
Kerval, the city where the lights never went out.
The city was famous for many things, but there was one in particular that stood out.
The black market.
Every city had a black market, but the one in Kerval was extraordinary in scale.
It was the enormous darkness of Kerval, born from the countless interests and people intertwined amid the flow of so many goods.
Its scale was too great, and the profits too substantial. The nobles of Kerval knew the black market existed, but openly turned a blind eye to it.
The profits generated by the black market and the power of those involved were too considerable to eliminate it. Besides, the money they received in tribute was far from insignificant.
Thus, although Kerval’s black market existed in a dark place, it was one of the city’s famous landmarks—known to anyone who mattered.
“Oh-ho! Then we should get a room first and visit that place.”
“It’ll be fun once you see it, little brother.”
Sian and Still were chewing on slices of Mangdungi’s loin as they walked.
They had stuffed a great deal of it into the remaining space in Nitsmatan, so it would not spoil, and they would have plenty to eat for the time being.
After having a considerable portion of its back sliced away, Mangdungi No. 1 departed into the sea, letting out a mournful cry.
“Will this place end up collapsing completely like Margaran?”
“Probably not. This was originally a prosperous city, and it definitely has the advantages of being a trading port… but it wasn’t as dependent on Ragaopora as Margaran was.”
“Then… even if property prices fall a little compared to before, this place will remain prosperous, right?”
“That’s right. It probably won’t collapse. It’ll take a hit, though.”
“Hmm… But Miss Still, do you know how to get to the black market?”
Even if the black market was famous, it was still hidden.
That was why its location was not listed in the guidebook. Since Sian had no idea where to look, he asked out of curiosity.
“No? I don’t know either. Kiaran is a first for me too, little brother.”
“…
You certainly seem quite relaxed for someone in that situation.”
“Hehe. It’s incredibly easy to find.”
“……?”
When Sian looked at her curiously, Still removed one of the layers of clothing she was wearing.
Beneath it, she wore only a thin short-sleeved shirt, and that single garment could not completely conceal her voluptuous figure.
“Now… after doing this…….”
After feeling every gaze around them turn toward her, Miss Still strode confidently through the crowd.
Click.
“Gyaaaah! My wrist! You crazy bitch!”
“There, did you see? Now we just ask this guy, little brother.”
“…….”
Still dragged over a man who had taken the bait, and Sian looked at her with an expression half admiration and half disbelief.
“Hmm… According to what that man told us… it’s underground here.”
Having found the black market through a very simple method, Sian looked around the alley.
After Still stroked the man a few times, he had confessed so freely that it seemed he might even reveal the secret of his birth.
The black market had multiple entrances due to its enormous size, and this was the one closest to their lodgings.
After finding the restaurant the man had mentioned, Sian and Still entered.
Considering that a restaurant was half location and half taste, this place was as good as half-ruined already. No one would come looking for a restaurant in such a secluded corner.
As expected, the owner was sitting there with a bored expression when they entered.
“Customers?”
“…
We’ll have Krona meat and Raiona steak, please.”
“…
Hmm. This way.”
As though he had expected it, the owner led Sian and Still down into the basement of the restaurant.
“…
This is incredibly childish. Why do they make people say passwords like this?”
Sian whispered in embarrassment.
“Hehe. Isn’t that part of the fun of the black market?”
As they continued downward while chatting, they soon came upon a small iron door.
“Go in this way. Have fun.”
After saying that, the owner went back upstairs.
Creak.
When they opened the iron door, an entirely different scene from what Sian and Still had expected unfolded before them—though it was also similar to what they had expected.
There should have been a tiny basement beyond the door, but instead, an incredibly wide alley stretched out before them.
They had emerged through a basement, yet this place was not underground. Alleys had been carved through the spaces between the buildings.
It was Kerval’s landmark: the black market.
The black market had originally been formed through illegal trades conducted behind buildings or in tiny basements. As each group expanded its basement and territory, the spaces gradually connected.
When it continued to grow and became impossible to hide, they built entire new structures and dug into the ground, concealing the market more cleverly.
Thus, despite its enormous size, the black market was arranged in a way that made it difficult to see from the roads outside.
It was a street completed by connecting underground passages, spaces behind buildings, and secluded corners.
Of course, a place of this size could not be hidden perfectly. But there was no noble or administrator in Kerval who did not accept kickbacks from the black market’s major players, so the market continued to thrive.
Here, one could find everything from drugs that were troublesome to trade in the open, to illegal goods, weapons, and Talik Stones.
And the most famous commodity of all was slaves.
It had been a long time since slavery had disappeared from every other country, but Kiaran was the only nation where the institution still secretly remained.
This was not because of any spirit of philanthropy. It was simply that slaves lacked motivation and were therefore less productive, making it far more efficient to keep people as citizens and collect taxes from them.
Yet in Kiaran, slaves still existed in secret.
Their existence was tacitly acknowledged, but the supply and demand were not particularly high, so they were not sold openly on the streets. Instead, slaves were occasionally traded here, in the black market.
It did not have the atmosphere of a market where people shouted loudly while buying and selling.
It was bustling, yet strangely quiet.
Many people were selling and purchasing goods, but everyone who felt uneasy about having their identity or merchandise exposed moved about quietly, inspecting the wares and speaking in low voices.
Sian and Still walked down the street, looking around.
There were all sorts of strange things they had never seen before.
Rare creatures that were difficult to obtain, equipment of unknown origin, and even illegal elixirs.
That was why mercenaries often visited this place. If they were lucky, they could acquire something effective at a cheap price.
Of course, such goods had flowed into this black market because they had defects or side effects. But mercenaries, who never knew when they might die anyway, were not the sort to worry about side effects.
As they looked around, they saw a market selling and buying slaves up ahead.
The slave market was located along one of the busiest routes in the black market, since quite a number of people took an active interest in it.
“It’s a slave market.”
Sian and Still saw the slave market but were not particularly interested.
“Hmm… But everyone is sitting there looking quite presentable.”
“If they made them too filthy, no one would buy them. Even in an ordinary store, the goods on display are kept clean.”
“I suppose… They’re all rather ordinary-looking.”
“Little brother, you didn’t think some peerless beauty, the daughter of a noble, a beastkin, or a defeated general would end up here, did you?”
“…….”
Having had his thoughts seen through, Sian turned his head away.
‘In the old fairy tales, they used to find companions in places like this…….’
He had no intention of buying anyone, but he had imagined that people like that might be here, so Still’s sharp retort struck him hard.
Those who came all the way to a slave market like this fell into one of two categories.
People so poor that they could no longer support themselves and had sold themselves…
Or people who had incurred a debt to someone else and, unable to repay it any longer, had been forced to sell themselves.
Their one thing in common was that they were both incompetent.
In some novels, astonishing beauties or beastkin were sold in places like this…
But could that really happen? Anyone who obviously had value as a commodity would never make it all the way here.
The seller would go directly to a high-ranking noble.
That was why, although the slave market stood at one of the busiest locations, it had the bleakest atmosphere of all.
People who had lost every last shred of hope sat locked inside iron cages.
Still, since they could not be sold if they were unclean, they had been washed and dressed neatly, so the place did not feel like some den of beggars.
“Hmm… Let’s go somewhere else.”
Having physically experienced the gap between imagination and reality, Sian nodded with an understanding expression and was about to go look at the next set of goods.
At that moment, Sian caught a familiar scent from somewhere.
He could not remember where he had smelled this scent—or energy—before, but he immediately moved after it.
Still followed behind, wondering why the boy had suddenly started acting this way.
‘Where have I felt this before…….’
As Sian racked his memory, he finally recalled the sensation.
Long ago, when those Arankal bastards had thrown him into another place, he had spent a brief time in a different space.
He had definitely smelled something like this there.
Leaving the slave market behind, Sian moved after that sensation.
After traveling a short distance, they came upon a small, square box.
‘Hmm… It has a rather interesting appearance.’
He had no idea what it was used for. But it looked unusual and gave him an inexplicable pull, so Sian decided to buy it.
He had come here to look around and shop anyway. If he didn’t buy the things that attracted him, then what was the point of shopping?
“How much is this?”
“That?”
The ferocious-looking man selling goods at the black market turned toward the one who had asked the question.
And there stood some pale-looking fellow speaking to him.
But that wasn’t what mattered.
It was the stunning beauty standing beside him.
A level of charm that seemed ready to explode was wafting all the way over here.
It was an incredibly mismatched combination. And that was precisely why the man grew wary.
A combination one would only see in a book was walking around in reality… It was strange enough to belong in a book.
The man knew that avoiding entanglements with unusual people was the shortcut to living a long life, so he hoped these fellows would hurry up and leave.
Thus, he stopped what he was doing and looked toward the place the young man was pointing at, intending to settle the matter quickly.
There was the peculiar box that had come into his possession a few days ago.
A box about the size of a thin book, whose purpose he could not even begin to guess.
He didn’t know what was inside, nor what it was meant for.
He had pressed it in various places, wondering if it might open, but nothing had changed. He had almost thrown it away, but then remembered placing it there in case some gullible fool who liked unusual things happened to come along.
“Hmm… That… Give me five talants.”
Not wanting to get involved was one thing, but profit was profit. Even in this urgent situation, the man tried to fleece him once.
“Hmm… Five talants…”
Sian scratched his head, then seemed to decide that it wasn’t an expensive price and lightly touched his necklace.
A red light flashed from his palm, and five gold coins appeared in Sian’s hand.
‘Gasp!’
The man watching him was so shocked that his eyes nearly popped out.
An Otherworld Artifact like that was not something just anyone could possess.
“Here you are. Farewell.”
Though the man was startled inside, he did not show it. He accepted the money and handed over the item.
“Little brother, why did you buy that?”
Steel asked curiously as he watched Sian put the item back inside Nitsmatan.
He was wondering why Sian had suddenly walked off as if possessed and then bought something without warning.
“Hmm… I bought it because I smelled something familiar from somewhere.”
“…”
“The scent of an ex-girlfriend? You’re a lifelong single, though.”
“…”
“Did you really have to put it that way? And it isn’t anything like that.”
The man watched the group leave while bickering among themselves, then folded up his stall and quietly headed somewhere.
If they were skilled enough to carry around something like that, he would be torn apart if he picked a fight with them at his level.
The fact that they were still carrying such an item around while forming such a bizarre combination meant they had something up their sleeve.
But did he really need to obtain it himself?
There were probably plenty of people in this black market who would love this information.
And information always turned into money.
That much was more than enough to satisfy him.
☆ ☆ ☆
Rif, a third-grade Law Master affiliated with the main branch of the Grand Law Society, was walking alongside Rimainu.
“Rimainu, why have you looked so glum since earlier?”
“It’s just…”
“Hmm… Don’t tell me it’s because of the slave market we saw earlier?”
“…”
“…”
Rif clutched his head as he looked at Rimainu.
He did not know where this friend had come from, but he possessed some very strange notions of justice and ideology.
He was obviously upset over those slaves.
If left alone, he would certainly pay out of his own pocket to free them, so Rif issued a stern warning.
“You… Don’t even think about doing anything strange. We came here with a purpose, remember?”
“…”
“Lord Dekaduin said we could spend as much as we wanted, so it’ll be fine.”
‘Heh heh heh heh… Ha ha ha ha…’
Rif let out a hollow laugh as he watched Rimainu, who had indeed been thinking something strange.
He could at least have understood if there had been a beauty or a useful talent among them.
But Rimainu wanted to buy nearly a hundred men so incompetent that they had been sold as slaves.
Rimainu would certainly not be reprimanded even if he did something like that. He was someone the upper echelons of the Grand Law Society treasured dearly.
And he possessed the skill to justify it. The achievements he had accomplished in such a short period were unquestionably extraordinary.
But Rif was different. If he failed to manage this fellow properly, he would be severely scolded. He might even suffer worse than that.
Thus, Rif resolved to persuade him.
“Fine, Rimainu. Let’s say we rescue these people. What are you going to do afterward?”
“Why, take them home…”
“The fact that they’re here means they’ve already lost their homes. It means they have nowhere to go.”
“Then…”
“You want us to take them with us? And what are we supposed to do with them after that?”
“…”
“If you set them free, they probably won’t even make it out of the city before being captured again. In other words, you’ll have to protect and feed them for the rest of their lives.”
“…”
“At least if they stay there and meet a master, they’ll have their food and shelter taken care of. Buy them if you’re prepared to take responsibility for them to the very end. Otherwise, don’t.”
‘Surely he won’t buy them even after all that.’
From what Rif had observed, he did not know where Rimainu had been educated, but the young man always emphasized morality and justice.
After hearing this much, he should have realized that it was impossible.
“…”
“All right…”
‘Phew…’
Rif sighed in relief when Rimainu stopped insisting.
“Good. You thought it over properly. Besides, didn’t you say there was something you absolutely had to find here?”
“That’s right… Yes.”
Rimainu gave a bitter smile as he recalled his purpose.
He had come after hearing that the item was circulating here.
He had given up after losing it as soon as he arrived, but he had been unable to abandon hope and continued searching.
That was why he had borrowed the power of the Grand Law Society to make inquiries. When he heard a rumor that an item resembling it had appeared on the black market, he had come here.
It was an item he absolutely had to obtain. If he failed to acquire it this time, advancing to the next stage would become incredibly difficult.
The data within it was essential to changing the world.
Since it would be difficult for anyone but him to recognize it, he had come all the way here himself.
“Whew… Good thinking. Still… this black market is much larger than I expected…”
He had come here on a whim after hearing that the item seemed to have been discovered in this place.
But there was one problem.
The black market was far larger than he had expected.
Since no one but Rimainu himself could identify the item, they could not spread out and search separately.
Rif and Rimainu had been walking around for two days, yet they had not even covered a tenth of the market. Rif let out a despairing sigh.
“Ha… Right… We should prepare ourselves to spend several days here…”
“…”
“Rif, I found it.”
“What?”
Rimainu suddenly began striding toward somewhere.
“Hey! Hey! Where are you going?”
Rif hurriedly chased after Rimainu, who was walking briskly toward some unknown destination.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Hmm… So you bought it without knowing what it was for?”
Now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, Steel was turning the item Sian had bought over and over as he examined it.
“Yes. It wasn’t very expensive anyway… I just had a feeling that I should buy it. Haha!”
Steel thought that little brother Sian’s instincts seemed rather questionable, but he was curious about the object himself, so he decided not to say anything.
“Hmm… It doesn’t seem to operate using Exar… And it isn’t Vander, either…”
It did not seem to be an ordinary box. There would be no reason to make a box using such expensive glass otherwise.
Besides, if glass had been used so that one could see inside the box, then something should have been visible. Yet the inside was pitch-black.
On top of that, it was too thin to be suitable for holding anything.
“Could it be a relic from the time of the Ancient Empire?”
“Hmm… If that were the case, it should react to Exar… But I don’t sense any flow…”
When there seemed to be no way of determining its purpose, Steel lost interest.
Sian had not bought it because he needed it in the first place, but out of curiosity. He figured he could ask someone about it later, and was about to put the box back into Nitsmatan.
Then someone spoke to him.
“Excuse me!”
‘Hmm? This scent…’
When Sian turned around at the call, a man was standing there. Several people were running after him from behind, panting heavily.
“Hmm… Who are you?”
Sian asked because the man he had never seen before had called out to him, wondering what he wanted.
Although he had never met him before, the man carried a scent similar to that of the item Sian had bought, which piqued his curiosity.
“My name is Rimainu… Uh, that is… The thing you’re holding in your hand…”
The man seemed either pressed for time or troubled by some circumstance. He was flustered and could not explain himself properly.
“Yes. This thing I’m holding in my hand.”
“That belongs to me.”
“……!”
“……?”
Rif, standing behind him, was bewildered by Rimainu’s abrupt statement.
Wasn’t that practically picking a fight?
But it was fortunate for them that he had spoken to Sian rather than Steel.
If it had been Miss Steel, Rimainu’s spine would already have been bent about forty-five degrees—
Backward, not forward.
Sian, however, considered himself a cultured man who prioritized conversation.
Thinking there must be some circumstance behind this, Sian decided to listen carefully one more time.
They looked educated, at least at a glance. Surely they would not act recklessly.
“Um… Could you explain exactly what this is about?”
“Ah, I was rambling. I apologize.”
Sian, who had guessed correctly that there must have been some misunderstanding, listened attentively.
“The box you’re holding… is one I lost… Would you be willing to sell it back to me?”
“Ah, so that’s what this is about.”
When Sian answered with a bright expression, the man before him, Rimainu, also brightened.
“Yes… As for compensation, I’m willing to pay whatever…”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“What? You don’t need to accept any compensation…”
Sian opened his mouth to correct the apparent misunderstanding.
“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. I mean I’m not going to sell it.”
“…”
“What?”
“It’s not as though I need the money urgently… I simply want to keep it, so I intend to hold on to it.”
Rimainu was flustered by Sian’s answer.
That item was essential to him—and, beyond that, to the purpose of the current project.
No matter how much of a genius people called him, he could not possibly remember every piece of data.
He needed the data stored inside it.
And yet the man before him refused to sell it.
‘Could it be… that he knows what the box is?’
Rimainu thought that was impossible, but asked just in case.
“Do you perhaps know what that box is?”
“No. Haha! If I knew, I would be using it by now.”
“…”
“Then why won’t you sell it?”
“Hmm… Because I want to keep it.”
Rimainu was left unable to move in either direction. If someone did not want to sell his own possession, there was nothing more he could say.
“Th-that item is truly essential…”
“Rimainu, step aside.”
Rif watched Rimainu and, apparently unable to bear it any longer, stepped in himself.
It was obvious at a glance that these people were trying to fleece them and make a killing, yet the frustrating fellow seemed determined to fall right into their scheme.
What good would it do to emphasize how badly they wanted it? Those swindlers would only seize on their weakness and become even more brazen.
This was precisely when the authority of their organization was meant to be used.
Rif stepped forward, thinking he would show Rimainu how it was done.
“Greetings. My name is Rif, a third-grade Law Master of the Exile Grand Law Society.”
“Hmm… Hello. My name is Sian.”
Rif narrowed his eyes when he saw that Sian did not look the least bit flustered despite hearing the name of the Grand Law Society.
A swindler ought to back down upon hearing the name of the Grand Law Society.
Though its main branch was located here in Kiraan, it was an organization whose influence extended across the entire continent.
And yet the expressions of these fellows remained entirely calm.
Wondering if they had some backing, Rif asked once more.
“Pardon me, but may I ask which organization you are affiliated with?”
“Affiliated? I’m not affiliated with any.”
Sian, an unemployed seventeen-year-old who had emerged from Dragona, answered truthfully.
Beside him, Steel wore an expression as though he were having the time of his life.
It seemed that the young punk was trying to use the backing of his faction and overwhelm them with his halo of influence.
Anyone who heard the name Roman Family would have shriveled up on his own, but their innocent little brother was answering him so honestly.
Steel, however, had no intention of getting involved in this matter at all.
‘Heh heh… Let’s see how much patience my little brother has.’
Just as Steel expected, once it became clear that the fellow was nothing but a fearless fool with no substance whatsoever, Riff’s actions grew even more brazen.
“The item you have taken originally belonged to us. We merely lost it for a short while, and it ended up on the black market.”
“……”
“Under normal circumstances, this would constitute theft, but taking your circumstances into consideration, we will pay the amount you purchased it for and take possession of the item in your stead.”
‘Pffft!’
Unaware of how amused Steel was by Riff’s attempt to shove his head even farther into the tiger’s jaws, Riff finished speaking and cast a sidelong glance at Limaineu.
It was as though he were showing him how such matters were handled.
Sian stared at Riff for a moment before opening his mouth.
“What will you do if I refuse to hand it over?”
“Why… then, naturally, we will have no choice but to enforce our will through force.”
Only then did Sian’s expression relax.
“Phew… What a relief. It would be awkward to beat up someone who keeps insisting on settling things with words… Thank you.”
“…
What did you say… Guh!”
Smack!
No sooner had Riff finished speaking than the loin meat of Goby No. 1, which Sian had been chewing on, flew at him.
Though it was called loin meat, the moment it was in Sian’s hand, it was no longer fit for consumption.
Smack! Smack! Whack!
The loin meat pounded Riff, sending pieces flying in every direction, and Riff began to be beaten before he even had time to regain his senses.
Overwhelmed by the ferocious momentum, Limaineu, who stood behind Riff, and the people around them could do nothing but watch Riff get pummeled, too bewildered to intervene.
Thud.
“Hoo… Shall we go, Miss Steel?”
“Pffft… Little brother, you still went pretty easy on him.”
“Well… It’s not as though he needed to die. Anyway… This is no longer edible. Tsk.”
Leaving Riff behind, beaten into a pulp, Sian and Steel walked away. Unable to let them get away, Limaineu hurriedly stepped in front of them.
“Wait… Just a moment!”
“Hm… Sir Limaineu, are you also planning to discipline me through force?”
Having witnessed with his own eyes the fate that had befallen Sir Riff after being deceived by those sweet words, Limaineu shook his head emphatically.
“No, that’s not it… You said earlier that you didn’t know what that item was, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“Then… I will teach you how to use it. It would be a waste to use it merely as a collectible. Instead, please hand over at least the data inside it… That data is extremely precious to me.”
Desperate, and knowing that the data inside was what mattered most, Limaineu offered the best proposal available to him.
The people watching the situation were dumbfounded by his utterly straightforward attitude. If he made an offer like that, wouldn’t the other party simply seize his weakness and use it against him?
Just as everyone was about to give up, Sian gave an answer completely different from what they had expected.
“Very well. If that’s all it is, then by all means.”
“Gasp! Thank you so much!”
Only after seeing how readily Sian answered did Limaineu realize that Riff’s approach had been completely wrong, and he frowned at Riff, who was lying on the floor.
“Then… Would you come to our lodgings? If I make a few repairs and charge it right away, I should be able to get this machine working immediately.”
“Hm. Little brother, what are you going to do?”
“Sounds good. Let’s go. It’s not difficult.”
Sian had been curious about the item he possessed, and now he had the chance to find out what it was. He readily agreed. Steel had also been wondering what the item was used for since earlier, so she decided to follow along without protest.
As soon as they arrived, Limaineu began rummaging through his bag and taking out various objects.
Sian did not know what they were, but they appeared to be repair tools.
He watched the scene with curious eyes.
Only Sian, Steel, and Limaineu remained in the room.
Riff, who had fainted, had been taken to the room next door, while Steel had insisted that she was curious too and come inside with them.
“Then… I shall begin.”
After saying this, Limaineu carefully began separating the back of the box.
“Oh……”
Despite its crude exterior, the inside of the box contained an incredibly complex structure.
Limaineu rummaged around inside and removed something.
“What is that?”
“Ah… This is called a battery… but it can no longer be used.”
“Why not?”
“It has been discharged… This supplies the energy that makes the machine in my hand operate. But all of that energy has been used up.”
“Aha… So it serves the same function as a Talic Stone.”
“Yes. And in this spot… we insert a Talic Stone like this…”
Simply inserting a Talic Stone was apparently not enough. Limaineu sprinkled Talic Stone powder here and there, then replaced various components using expensive, rare metals.
At last, Limaineu put the back of the box, which he had removed, back into place.
Then, when he pressed an unidentified part on the front, the glass suddenly lit up.
“It worked…!”
Limaineu had not been certain it would work even as he proceeded, so when the machine changed, he looked delighted.
“Oh-ho… Can you use the machine now?”
“Yes. May I transfer the data inside it? It won’t take long, and afterward I will teach you how to use it.”
“Well, go ahead. Haha.”
Sian did not know what it was, but he was pleased to have obtained such a fascinating object and kept chuckling.
Limaineu took out something resembling a small crystal and placed it on top of the machine.
Before long, the crystal began flashing repeatedly.
“Oh-ho… What a fascinating object.”
“Yes. I made it myself for the purpose of transferring the data inside.”
Limaineu said this with an embarrassed air.
The red bar in the center of the glass attached to the box gradually filled with green. Once the entire bar had turned green, Limaineu removed the crystal and carefully stored it in his bag.
Then he took out another crystal.
“What is that crystal?”
“Hmm… I made this one in advance as well… The machine can no longer be used now. I have taken out all the data, so it is empty.”
“Huh?”
Sian looked at the man, wondering if he had deceived him, but it did not seem that way.
Worried that Sian might misunderstand, Limaineu quickly spoke up.
“The data was written in another language, so you would not have been able to read it anyway. I will put in new data written in the continental language.”
“Data… But what does that box do?”
Now that the immediate work was more or less finished, Sian finally began asking what he had wanted to know.
He had no idea what kind of machine it was, despite hearing that data could be put in and taken out of it.
“Ah! I forgot to explain the most important part. In the language of this place… you could call that a book.”
“A book?”
Sian repeated the question as he looked at the thin little box. It was so small that it did not seem capable of holding more than a few pages.
“Hehe. It may be small, but… in terms of books, it can easily contain several million volumes. The data stored in this crystal is nowhere near that much, but it is still an amount that an ordinary person could not read in an entire lifetime.”
“……”
‘Is it something like a Nitsmatan…?’
Sian could not believe that the tiny box contained several million books, so he wondered whether it operated like an extradimensional space.
“Hehe… Once the data has finished transferring, I will show you how to use it yourself.”
Limaineu smiled as he spoke, wearing an expression that suggested he fully understood Sian’s confusion.
He had achieved his objective, and perhaps because he had realized that Sian was not as dangerous a man as he had expected, he appeared much more relaxed.
Once it began operating, Limaineu kindly started explaining how to use it to Sian and Steel.
He had accomplished his purpose, after all. He had thought it would take ten days to find the item here, but he had located it far sooner than expected.
Thus, with a relaxed heart, Limaineu began teaching them how to use the thing.
“Ah, by the way, what is this thing called?”
Sian suddenly grew curious and asked.
“Ah… You may call it
“Aksarai?”
“It is an ancient word. It means something like
“Aksarai……”
Sian was extremely pleased with his new possession and diligently learned how to use it. Steel, who also found it tremendously fascinating, watched from beside him with equal enthusiasm.
“Then I shall be going now.”
“Goodbye. Hehe.”
Sian was exceedingly satisfied as he gazed at the newly acquired Aksarai, while Limaineu also returned with a satisfied expression, having obtained the data he had thought he would never find.
“Sian, are you really that happy?”
“Hehe. You saw it too, Miss Steel. This thing is an absolute treasure.”
Sian was tossing the guidebooks and various manuals out of the Nitsmatan one after another.
He had treated them as immensely precious until now, but once he obtained a substitute, he discarded them without mercy.
However, acquiring the Aksarai was not the only reason Sian was in such a good mood.
Sian clearly remembered what Limaineu had secretly whispered to him earlier, while Steel had briefly gone elsewhere.
‘Hehe… You are at an age when your blood is surely running hot, Mr. Sian… Here, like this… Then this way… Now, try going in like this.’
‘Hmm… Oh? Ooh? Ooooooh!’
Thinking about what was inside the Aksarai, Sian gave an obscene grin.
“Hehehehe……”
“Hm? What is that laugh, little brother?”
“Hehehehe. It’s nothing. Hehehehe……”
Steel did not know what had happened, but she had the strong feeling that she had somehow lost to something, and she could not shake off her displeasure. Unaware of the reason, Sian simply continued to laugh happily.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Yes, Lord Dekaduin. Thanks to your assistance, I was able to acquire it here.”
Limaineu was communicating with the Law Society from
The first-grade Law Master of the Law Society visible on the other side of the video, Dekaduin, wore an extremely delighted expression.
“Thank you.”
‘A treasure bestowed by the heavens…’
Since it was true that the heavens had sent him down here, Limaineu smiled strangely as he looked at Dekaduin.
“Yes. I will move to Ra-Shar-Roa.”
Looking at Dekaduin, who was welcoming him so brightly, Limaineu ended the video and went to bed.