Wasn’t there a hidden twist behind that cringeworthy memory?
I had held onto that hope, but in the end, Fran didn’t say a single word.
On top of that, she immediately fell asleep and started breathing softly and peacefully.
She didn’t even hold my hand, let alone show any light affection.
She used the bed purely for its original purpose. Just sleeping.
And this was a night spent with the opposite sex!
It wasn’t like I was expecting anything to happen, but for some reason, I got stubborn too and turned my back to Fran as I tried to fall asleep.
In the morning, we left the village and arrived in a nearby city, where a small quarrel broke out in the marketplace.
“Trying to rip me off, are you? You’re charging 200 gold for something they sell for a quarter of the price in a mining town. Does that even make sense?!”
“Who do you think handles the distribution, huh? If you don’t like it, go mine it yourself!”
Levasthan was raising his voice, arguing with the owner of a magic stone shop.
They were clashing head-on over whether the selling price was too high or fair.
“You bring in a single rock and try to sell it for several times the price. How is that okay?”
“It’s because it’s heavy! Once you deduct all the costs, there’s barely any profit left!”
“That’s your problem!”
The red crystal embedded in Levasthan’s head blinked rapidly.
That meant he was pissed.
It was the magical equivalent of a human face turning red with anger.
“This is a standard price around here. Go compare it somewhere else!”
The shop owner shouted like he’d been wronged.
To be fair, it did feel a bit overpriced, but regional differences made it fall within acceptable limits.
“I’m sorry. He just tends to speak a bit harshly.”
I apologized on his behalf.
“A petty thief like you should stay out of this! You don’t even know how to appraise magic stones!”
“Do you?”
“Hah! Of course I do. If your owner runs a magical tool shop, you naturally develop an eye for these things!”
The shopkeeper’s eyes widened.
“You run a magical tool shop?”
“In Alto.”
At Fran’s words, his expression instantly stiffened.
Levasthan seized that opening to start bargaining.
“150 gold. Honestly, anything more than that isn’t worth it.”
Surprisingly, he offered a reasonable price.
“You’ve got to be kidding! I’m already giving you a deal at 200 gold!”
“Cut the nonsense. Are you selling or not?”
It was still a price at which he could make a profit.
Fran also seemed interested in buying.
“Hmm…”
The shopkeeper let out a conflicted groan.
………………
…………
……
We ended up buying the magic stone for 160 gold.
Thanks to Levasthan’s rare generosity in conceding 10 gold.
After that, we continued walking through the market street, passing the time.
“You could’ve bought it in Alto too. Why go out of your way to buy it here?”
Fran had enough connections to get most things cheaper than market price.
And since this wasn’t even a local specialty, it was even more puzzling.
“Collecting magic stones from different regions is a hobby of mine.”
“But the origin is probably from somewhere else.”
“I don’t care. I’ll do the processing work here anyway.”
I knew he had a hobby of collecting magic stones, but that part had apparently escaped me.
“Everything’s fine, but you really need to teach Levasthan some manners. Every time he shows up at a shop, I end up having to apologize.”
That guy didn’t go a single day without causing trouble.
Having to apologize for him every single time was exhausting.
“I’m not good with words, so it can’t be helped.”
“What does being bad with words have to do with anything?”
“I’m not good at bargaining.”
“Huh?”
My thoughts froze for a moment.
Then it hit me.
“You… You let him pick fights on purpose, didn’t you!”
Fran couldn’t haggle herself, so she was using Levasthan.
No wonder she just stood by and let him make a scene…
“You troublemaker!”
“All I did was lower the price. It’s my right as a consumer.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s okay to cause problems for others!”
While we were bickering like that, a young boy suddenly held up a newspaper and shouted,
“Breaking news! A volcano has erupted near the village of Lindel!”
The curious announcement immediately caught people’s attention.
Some began buying newspapers from the boy and started reading them on the spot.
“The village of Lindel, huh…”
“Do you know someone there?”
“No, but I think I need to go.”
“When?”
“Right now.”
This was the sign of an event.
I’d been waiting for the right moment, knowing it could happen within a margin of several months.
“Didn’t you have business in this city?”
“Let’s cancel it. Lindel Village is more important.”
“For what reason?”
“Just a gut feeling.”
I told Fran that it was just a spontaneous adventure.
There was decent work available here, but Lindel Village was a far higher priority.
It was a rare destination I chose without rolling the dice.
Claria will probably rush over as soon as she hears the news too.
Getting there first didn’t offer much of an advantage, but being late meant there wouldn’t even be scraps left.
“Let’s hurry.”
***
“Claria, I’ll hold off the tentacles. Get Meteor ready!”
In a gloomy forest.
Louis was fighting a huge monster shaped like a flower. It was a blood-red lily.
As its petals quivered, thick tentacles surged out from all directions.
They writhed like snakes hunting prey, lunging toward Louis.
“Can you hold out? It’s too strong to handle alone!”
“Don’t underestimate me. I fought things like this back when I was an apprentice swordsman!”
Louis lowered his body and moved swiftly.
Dodging the bundles of tentacles with agility, he swung his sword.
But no matter how many he cut, there seemed to be no end.
The tentacles were tough, and their tips were as sharp as spears.
One wrong move could lead to a serious injury.
“I’ll help too!”
Farne borrowed the power of the spirits and erected a wall of light around Claria.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The semi-transparent barrier deflected the tentacles.
Farne’s spirit magic was among the best in the kingdom.
Its duration was short, but it blocked the attacks flawlessly.
“Just hold on a little longer!”
Farne shouted to Louis.
The flower’s core, where the nucleus was located, had solid defenses.
Their only hope lay in Claria’s fire magic.
It had the drawback of requiring time to cast, but its power was beyond imagination.
“Louis, get out of the way!”
A fireball several meters in diameter formed in midair.
When Claria swung her staff, it came crashing down toward the blood-red lily.
Meteor Strike.
It was the most powerful spell among Claria’s signature magic.
With a blast, a wave of heat swept through the forest.
“Ugh…!”
All three shielded their faces with their arms.
The ground trembled, and trees swayed violently in the wind.
A few seconds later, once the heat had subsided and they opened their eyes, the blood-red lily was charred black with its tentacles limp.
“Good work, everyone.”
Claria lightly tapped her staff on the ground.
The battle was over.
It had been a formidable foe, but they overcame it through teamwork.
Each of them had fulfilled their role flawlessly.
If even one of them had fallen short, they wouldn’t have achieved such a clean victory.
The three were satisfied and exchanged high-fives.
***
At the heart of the blood-red lily’s main body was a magic-infused core.
It was a rare material used in crafting high-grade magical tools.
Claria took it to a renowned staff workshop.
“Here is the item you ordered. Please confirm.”
The staff was placed on the counter.
The core embedded in the head was as black as a black pearl. Only far larger.
It was a masterpiece crafted entirely from the finest materials.
Even though she had procured all the materials herself, the staff had cost over ten thousand gold. It was that high in quality.
“It’s amazing. This is the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen.”
Claria took the new staff with her.
To make it, she had ventured into rough terrain and fought the blood-red lily.
To eliminate the monster that was spreading harmful pollen through the village—
That was only the official reason.
In truth, it had all been to obtain the core.
Claria had been persuading Louis and Farne for weeks to head to the village where the blood-red lily appeared.
She had already predicted how the battle would unfold.
It would be a bit of a struggle, but not beyond their ability to win.
Thanks to her regression, she had been able to devise a reliable strategy.
“I didn’t expect the blood-red lily to contain such a rare material. We really got lucky.”
“Seriously. If things keep going this well, even taking down the Demon King might be easier.”
That’s what she told Louis, but Claria’s true feelings were different.
This was nothing more than a desperate struggle.
Even with upgraded equipment, they would be powerless before the Demon King.
She couldn’t bring herself to reveal those feelings, so she said nothing that might weaken the party’s resolve.
The current team worked well together.
Each member was among the kingdom’s finest adventurers, with outstanding individual skills and coordination.
They could shine no matter where they went.
—If only Theo weren’t missing.
If he just comes back, we might still have a chance…
He wasn’t someone who wavered easily.
Even when she tried to repay the debt or approached him in a friendly way, he always drew a clear, cold line.
As time passed, it would only become harder to mend their relationship.
But with the added conflict involving Louis, things only continued to deteriorate.
What should I do?
As she walked down the street, feeling a dull headache coming on, a newspaper displayed on a shop’s stand caught her eye.
“Looks like a volcano erupted in Lindel Village.”
Farne had noticed the same thing beside her.
It’s earlier than in the previous round.
A volcano was bound to erupt around this time.
And not long after, a golem with rare materials would appear.
It was the monster Claria had been eagerly waiting for.
There’s a high chance Theo will show up there.
Last time, she had suffered a humiliating defeat, but this time she could make up for it.
She had even managed to defeat the golem faster than Theo once before.
“Fufu, I won’t lose.”
Claria smiled with confidence.
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