Magic Gems Gourmet Chapter 176

Chapter 176

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 176 – The Last Meeting With the Chief

“――That’s why I keep telling you! We, the Royal Knights, act in the name of His Majesty!”

At the village entrance, a confrontation was taking place between the Royal Knights and the Elf Warriors.

The Elf Warriors also lived in the forest, hunting and fighting monsters and large animals.

However, the Royal Knights were the de facto top group on the continent of Ishtar, made up of the most talented knights. Their fierce att.i.tude intimidated the Elven warriors.

…The one taking the lead and raising his voice is Dill.

He was a knight so skilled that no other knight could compete with him, and he was the young man entrusted with the exclusive protection of Ain.

Some of the Royal Knights have reached the age of forty, but Dill’s aura stands out above all of them.

“I understand…! But we can’t let you into the village without the chief’s permission…”

“Kuh…! Even though you are a citizen of Ishtalika, is there anything more important than the voice of the king!”

The elves also understood the meaning of the words.

However, in the environment they had lived in until now, the chief was given priority over everyone else, which caused their confusion.

Looking at the royal knights who looked like they were about to draw their swords at any moment, they were so confused that they could say they had reached their limit.

“…d.a.m.n it!”

Seeing the elf who had fallen silent, Dill let out an unusual outburst.

He kicked the ground hard and returned to where the royal knight stood.

“Guard Officer Dill. Is everything still not going well?”

“――Yes. They stubbornly refused.”

“In that case, the only thing we could do was leave the letter with them…”

When he told the approaching Royal Knight, the Royal Knight also looked down in disappointment.

Seeing this, the other knights who had come with them also gathered around Dill.

“But, Guard Officer Dill, this is an emergency… If His Highness doesn’t come for a few dozen minutes, it’s possible that he won’t even get the letter.”

“I know. If that happens, I’ll think of another way. …If it comes to that, I should have brought a messenger bird, even if I had to beg for it.

Because they could also be used for emergency communication, messenger birds would be useful anytime, anywhere.

The problem was that the cost was not insignificant, and it was not by chance that he had brought them this time.

Next time, he would get permission to take them, no matter what. Dill decided in his heart.

“What do you mean, another way?”

“It’s really a last resort. If it comes to that, we’ll use force to get to His Highness.”

“…Should we get ready?”

“Yes, please do.”

At a time like this, Krone, Warren, and Ain would probably do a better job.

With that thought in mind, Dill smiled wryly at his own inept.i.tude in this area.

“A good reason… that is difficult. I can think of many things, but I don’t want to antagonize the elves.”

…But if they used force, they couldn’t avoid antagonizing them.

Even though Ain and the Royal Knights visited the elf village, they were trying to do something like that.

This made Dill feel a bit of self-loathing and emptiness.

“――Hmm? Excuse me. Could that be… His Highness and Christina-sama?”

Dill, thinking with his hands on his hips, looked up at the voice of one of the knights.

He looked around, wondering where they were, and then saw the figures of Ain and Chris running out of the village.

Thank G.o.d. He put his hands on his chest and exhaled, looking up at the sky and taking a deep breath.

“Line up. His Highness is here.”

As he gave the order to the knights, they moved behind Dill and took a kneeling position.

Only Dill stood to greet Ain.

“Ain-sama. I apologize for interrupting your meeting with this sudden message.”

“Hah…hah… I-it’s okay. In fact, I’m grateful that you came all the way from the town to contact me.”

Ain was out of breath, more from mental excitement than physical exhaustion.

As he felt relieved that Dill had waited for him, a wave of exhaustion washed over him.

“I read the letter. You said you didn’t know the details… what does that mean?”

“That’s what the network of contacts at the station told me, and the truth is that we haven’t received any detailed information. It’s not a city like Ist, Magna, or Baltic, so it’s difficult to get in touch with them right away…”

Besides, if Warren had been stabbed, the castle would probably be in an uproar.

Even if they could get in touch, it was thought that there would be no time to give them the details.

“――I understand. Then we should leave now to return to the royal capital…”

There was not much information about the mysterious creature, but it seemed that things would work out if Ain relied on Oz.

The desire to investigate more slowly could not be denied. However, if he heard that Warren had been stabbed, there was no way he could not return.

“Ain-sama, I understand that you are in a hurry, but I don’t recommend that you leave now. Therefore, let’s leave first thing in the morning.”

Then, it was Chris who objected to Ain’s words.

If they left now, it would be pitch black. It was already night.

“The visibility is poor and there is a risk that monsters will appear at night. If we hurry to return, there is a higher chance of an accident… so please let’s leave in the morning.”

“Chris…”

He spoke as if he had to endure something, and Chris waited silently for Ain’s answer.

On the other hand, Ain wanted to return to the royal capital as soon as possible, so he wanted to leave now if possible.

“Ain-sama. Chris-sama is right. We will set up camp, so let’s hurry back to the city in the morning.”

“Di-Dill too…”

While Ain was thinking about what to do, Dill’s voice reached his ears.

“…I don’t want anyone to be in danger. I’m worried, but we’ll return to the city after a night’s rest.”

Relieved by Ain’s words, Dill opened his mouth.

“Well then, Ain-sama. We, the Royal Knights, will set up camp near the entrance, so please do not hesitate to contact us if you need anything.”

“N-no, that’s okay. Please let everyone enter the village…”

“…Haha, it’s fine. I know they don’t want us here, and more than anything, I was wondering if there was somewhere we could stay. We’ve also prepared for camping, so there are some parts that are more comfortable outside.”

When Dill let out a bitter voice, the royal knights behind him nodded in agreement.

For Ain, it felt strange to be the only one staying in the village when they had come all this way.

But for the knights, Ain came first, no matter what. Besides, it was undeniably more comfortable to camp.

“Ain-sama? I think you should respect Dill’s opinion. I know it’s not much to say, but it’s probably true that camping is more comfortable…”

Chris agreed with Dill’s opinion.

She understood that elves were an exclusive race more than anyone else, so she spoke her mind, even though it was difficult for her to do so.

“…I’m sorry, everyone.”

He couldn’t help but apologize.

He felt bad for leaving the Royal Knights outside, and he couldn’t bring himself to nod in agreement.

“Hahaha, it’s okay, Ain-sama. It’s not the best way to put it, but we consider it a kind of outdoor training. ――Right?”

It was clearly a word of concern for Ain, but the royal knights nodded in agreement.

…It would embarra.s.s everyone if he said more. Ain felt the same way and replied with a small “I understand.”

“Let’s all go out to dinner sometime. At least I’ll reward you for your hard work.”

＊＊＊

He felt so sorry for the chief, the elf warriors, and Sierra, who had prepared everything for him.

Driven by a sense of guilt, Ain went back to the chief’s house, and the first thing he did was apologize to everyone.

As a member of the royal family, he shouldn’t have to apologize so easily. He was aware of that, but maybe it was just his nature.

Sierra wrapped some of the food and handed it to Chris.

Apparently, the chief had arranged for the food to be served to the visiting royal knights.

Ain expressed his grat.i.tude once more, much to the chief’s embarra.s.sment.

――The next morning…

“Ugh… I don’t know what it is, but I’m really hungry.”

When the sun finally began to rise.

Ain, who had woken up before Chris, appeared in front of Chris’ house, trying to loosen his stiff body.

But there was already a guest waiting for Ain.

“…Chief?”

“Yes. Good morning, Your Highness.”

“W-why are you here at this time…?”

The waiting person was the chief.

She was waiting for Ain, alone, with a cane in her hand.

Several questions came to Ain’s mind: how long had she been waiting, and why?

“One reason is that I had something to give you.”

The chief answered and slowly approached Ain.

“This is something I have kept until now. Not only for Wilfried-sama but also for Celestina-san and Christina-san… maybe I should have given it to those people. But because of what Raviola-sama said…”

The thing she took out of her pocket was wrapped in a silky, s.h.i.+ny cloth, and the chief held it carefully in her hands.

“She said that when Weinstein left, if someone appeared who cared about them, she wanted them to give it to that person. I think she wanted someone who loved the Wernstein to have it.”

The chief spoke slowly, approaching Ain, who listened in silence.

“I think I should give it to Your Highness. Please take it.”

When she put down her stick, the chief held out the silk-wrapped object with both hands.

Ain silently accepted it, looked into the chief’s eyes, and then gently removed the cloth.

“――Could this be?”

What appeared was a pale blue gem.

It was about the size of the acorn the Tree Spirit had given him, but its presence was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Its shape, like a work of art, impressed him with its incomparable beauty.

…Normally, he would have been able to smell it, but this time he couldn’t.

“Yes. You understand, don’t you?”

There was no way he wouldn’t understand.

After all, Ain had a stronger connection to it than anyone else.

“But… didn’t Lyle-sama also think Wernstein was precious?”

“Oh, Your Highness also knew about Lyle-sama?

“――Yes. In fact, I was secretly taught by someone.”

“Is that so? …As for Lyle-sama…No, including Celestina-san, the elves who know are also under a confidentiality agreement.”

…That’s probably the case.

Ain felt this way because Sylvird wasn’t worried about the problem with Lyle.

There was a risk that he would hear about it if he went to the elf village, but Sylvird didn’t seem to care about that, and he gave Ain permission to go to the elf village.

“Now, the reason why I didn’t give it to Lyle-sama… If I had to say it, I thought about giving it to him. However, in the case of Christina-san, she was performing an old ritual with Ain-sama. So I gave that priority over everything else.”

“Ah… I see. You mean the ritual?”

“Whatever it is, I will give it priority. I think that was the destiny that was meant to be.”

Ain listened to the chief’s words and stared at the treasure he had received.

“…Is this Raviola-sama’s magic stone?”

Ain mumbled involuntarily.

Then, like a baby suckling at its mother’s breast, he felt the sensation of his body connecting with Raviola’s magic stone.

And yet, at the thought of losing the woman he loved, Ain shed a single tear.

In the end, just like a baby sucking at its mother’s breast, Ain’s arms tightly clasp Raviola’s magic stone.

“――H-huh?”

Strangely enough, Ain’s dissatisfaction disappeared as soon as the feeling that had lasted for a few seconds subsided.

…After waking up, Ain was confused by his hunger, but that feeling also disappeared in an instant.

He had definitely absorbed the contents of the magic stone. And yet, the magic stone had not changed at all.

“Your Highness? What is going on?”

The chief saw Ain’s suspicious behavior and called out to him with a worried look on his face.

Ain wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his robe and turned to the chief, putting on a brave face.

“N-no… I was just surprised how beautiful it was.”

“I see. It has already been given to Your Highness, but please take good care of it. This cloth was also made to protect Raviola-sama’s magic stone and to protect the person holding it.”

“Yes. I will take it back to the castle with care.”

Ain replied, picked up the chief’s cane that had fallen to the ground, and handed it back to her.

“Ara, thank you, Your Highness.”

“――I’m sorry to have kept you waiting since this morning.”

“No, no… I’m the one who came here on my own. Well, then I should go.”

“I’ll walk you home.”

“…No need. I need to move my body like this once in a while… Well, I look forward to seeing you again.”

The chief turned around, looking satisfied, and left Chris’ house at a leisurely pace.

The morning air was very cold, and she walked through the village, which was slightly shrouded in mist.

For a while, Ain watched the chief’s figure, but then he looked back at Raviola’s magic stone in his hand.

Then, he suddenly took a status card out of his pocket and checked its contents.

“Haha… as usual, it’s all just numbers.”

When he looked at the desired column, he was surprised by the unexpected characters.

“――,―――. …There are too many blanks. What is this? And where did the Demon King’s name go?”

It had been a while since he’d seen his status card.

Strangely enough, when the Demon King’s name disappeared, a job with a blank name was added.

The card is full of blanks, so it’s hard to understand what it says, but no matter how much he touches it or rubs it, the letters don’t change.

To begin with, there’s no function that changes the letters like that.

“Skills… I wonder if this is it…”

He wondered if there was any effect from absorbing Raviola’s magic stone.

There was one more skill listed in the Skills column, and it said ‘Weakening.’

Without thinking, he tried to use it and felt a heaviness in his joints. On the other hand, as Ain’s presence faded, the feeling of being a.s.similated naturally faded as well.

Maybe he could use it to hide like a fairy. But…

“Ah, but that would weaken me… Not good.”

He apologized to Raviola in his heart for saying, “Not good,” and put the card away with a wry smile.

“Hah… Even if I think about what to do, there’s no way I can come up with an answer… There’s no way I can.”

As he stared at the morning sun slowly rising, he let out a voice as if he had given up.

He was clearly worried about the disturbing void, but there was no solution.

“I think I’ll go wake up Chris. …It’s time to get ready to leave.”

After muttering to himself for a while, he carefully held Raviola’s magic stone and walked towards Chris’ house.

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