Ch. 196
[If your search ability gets out, it’ll be a hassle. Come here, I’ll pet you instead.]
Rai trembled with frustration, clearly wanting praise of his own, but as soon as I pulled him between my legs and roughly rubbed his head, his mood improved and his tail began to wag.
He pretended otherwise, but it always showed. Such a simple creature.
He sulked easily, had a bit of affection deprivation, separation anxiety, and a desperate desire for my approval, so he could be exhausting. Still, a few rounds of “good job, good job” made him happy. Simple like that.
[Rai wants you to say he’s the best!]
[Yeah, yeah. You’re the best.]
[Better than Undine, right? I’m cuter, right?]
[I don’t know about cute.]
In some ways, he had his flaws too. The attention-seeker type, but unlucky enough to end up with an owner like me who wasn’t kind, leaving him perpetually starved for affection.
Fortunately, our souls were connected, so Rai would feel my sincerity.
Even without me saying it aloud, he would know.
That I loved him like another version of myself, cherished him, and yet sometimes got so annoyed I could explode.
Rai was the same as me.
The one I should love the most, and the one I treated the most harshly.
It wasn’t like I stole his big achievements to make him feel more precious on purpose.
Seriously. Judging by how Rai’s eyes narrowed, he didn’t seem to believe that.
[…]
“Ahem.”
While I was clearing my throat, Lox—eyes swollen from crying—looked back at us. He seemed calmer now.
“Everyone… really…! You worked so hard! Huuuhk, we finally found it! We really did! Without all of you, we never would’ve found it.”
He hiccuped with emotion, but when our gazes met, we both panicked slightly and turned our heads away at the same time.
Crying faces were never meant to be shown to others.
They became unbelievably ugly.
“We all worked hard. More importantly, how is it? Is it real? Did you appraise it?”
“Without the Grail of Dawn it’s just a golden cup. Shouldn’t we find that first if we want to know for sure whether this is the real thing?”
“Why would someone hide a fake in a place like this? Of course it’s real!”
The three commoners having mixed opinions was natural. There were countless fakes.
Even with tears running down and his nose red, Lox never missed a chance to flaunt his expertise.
“Ahem, the Goblet of the Golden Star has thirty-one distinct features. Comparing what we can check here, most of them match. There’s a very high chance it’s genuine.”
“Thirty-one?”
“My god, you memorized all that?”
“I want ice cream.”
That random mumble was from me, but nobody reacted.
Rude idiots. Ignoring me like it’s nothing.
“Of course! This is basic. I’m not an ancient relic expert for nothing.”
“But it could still be a well-made fake. If we present it to the imperial family claiming it’s real and it turns out to be fake, imagine the humiliation……”
“Isn’t there a way to know for sure?”
Since it was such a legendary artifact, it was hard for everyone to believe we’d really found it.
For me—someone born with a gemstone appraiser as my contracted spirit—it was just frustrating.
“Why? It’s real. Seems real to me.”
“Since when do you not doubt anything?”
“Ahem, not because I found it, but because it looks exactly like the picture Lox showed us.”
He’d practically forced us to memorize what it looked like by showing it daily. There was no way we wouldn’t recognize it. But unlike the others, I had a different perspective.
Especially Chad, who reacted the strongest.
“It’s easy to make something identical. There was an expedition once that found a very convincing fake. They thought it was real and offered it to the ducal house that sponsored them, and they all lost their heads.”
“…Why?”
“The duke believed it was real too and announced it to high society. When it was revealed to be fake, he suffered massive humiliation. Where do you think he vented that anger? They paid the price. For commoners like us, getting a foot in the door is as hard as plucking a star from the sky, but losing it takes a second. One gesture from a duke is enough.”
That was a problem.
Still, not presenting it to a noble wasn’t a good option either.
Having such a priceless artifact as a commoner only meant trouble unless you handed it over willingly.
Most expeditions moved with a noble patron from the start. If not, they would aim to present their findings to the imperial or royal family.
That guaranteed the best rewards and most secure advancement in status.
“I’m not the smartest guy, but I know this: until we confirm whether it’s real, we need to be cautious. And we keep this a secret. If word gets out, we’ll get attacked from every direction.”
“Unbelievable……”
“What?”
“Chad, you actually think sometimes? This is the first time I’ve seen you cautious.”
“If I die, I can’t open my skewer shop. If I’m alive, I can open it somehow, right?”
“…I guess.”
“Come by later. I’ll give you some for free.”
Oh, my senses are sharp today.
“You like me or something?”
“Idiot.”
“Ugh, I know I’m pretty. I’ll take the skewers. And if someone kills you, I’ll kill them for you.”
As a friend.
“You’re insane… I won’t comment further, but you’re not my type.”
“Hmph.”
Seriously, can he not take a joke? And why keep glancing at Ash while saying that? So Chad really does like Ash……
“No!”
“I didn’t say anything!”
“Your eyes were already filthy!”
Who said anything about romance?
Friendships like that existed too.
Friendship stronger than love!
Loyalty where you choose your friend over your lover!
Brotherhood!
A bond forged by surviving life-and-death crises together!
I admired that. Because friendship felt more realistic to me than love.
I wondered if Ash and I could ever build a friendship like that.
[Haa……]
[Why are you sighing?]
[No reason. I just feel bad for someone.]
[Who?]
Rai shook his head, keeping me in the dark.
That was unfair. Rai could read my thoughts, but I couldn’t read his.
We’d been glued together day and night for about ten years. I was so intertwined with him that even the boundary between speaking to him and thinking to myself had become blurry.
If I focused, I could think without him hearing, but that felt too tedious.
Rai was basically my other self, and I believed he’d stay with me for the rest of my life.
Honestly, eavesdropping was his fault.
He had to focus quite a bit to read my thoughts too.
And the worst part was that he conveniently never listened at the important moments.
“Anyway, relax. You all know I’m acquainted with someone from the imperial palace, right? I’ll take this cup to an imperial mage and get it appraised. A skilled mage can distinguish the real one.”
At Lox’s smug declaration, the trio lit up, but I felt a bit of self-loathing.
Ugh, that show-off.
“Right, you said you had connections in the palace! That person can introduce you to a mage?”
“When can that happen? Is it free? What’s the price?”
“If a mage appraises it, it’s certain, right?”
“It’s certain! Once we leave here, let’s head to Helikke, the capital of Heidrike. Then we’ll take a warp to Elan and……!”
“Wait, what about the Sword Masters’ duel? It’s held in Helikke.”
At the word “warp,” before he even finished speaking, Enk cut him off.
The friend most excited about the Sword Masters’ duel.
“……Is that important right now?”
“Uh… we’re watching it, right?”
“Yeah. I have to see it.”
Gale and Chad were just as invested in the duel.
Honestly, everyone except Lox was extremely excited about it. Ash was the only unknown.
“You’re not saying the duel is more important than confirming the cup’s authenticity, right?”
“…If I miss that duel, a vengeful spirit will cling to me……”
“Yeah. If I don’t see it, I break out in hives.”
“It’s my father’s dying wish……”
Wow. I thought I was the only con artist, but they’re all the same.
“Be serious!”
Unlike Lox, who was desperate, the others clearly had no intention of leaving Heidrike until after the legendary duel.
“We need to store the cup somewhere safe! What if we lose it while traveling? What if it gets stolen? What if something happens before we get an appraisal…… do you only feel satisfied after watching someone hang themselves? Does that make you feel better?!”
Between the trio of whatever-works believers, the spirit mage who walked his own path, and Ash who was like water and oil—always separate—Lox was constantly on the verge of losing his mind.
His nagging like this was nothing new.
“Lox.”
And every time, the one who reconciled everything was Ash.
This was why he was the leader. Ash almost always sided with the majority.
“No! We must go to Elan!”
“We’re not saying we won’t go.”
“Lox always talks formally to Ash when he gets worked up. Isn’t that a weird habit?”
Chad wondered aloud, but didn’t think too deeply about it. I just chuckled. Sure, you wouldn’t conclude someone was royalty from that alone.
“My thought is this. There’s no need for everyone to go to Elan. Everyone’s been running nonstop to get here. Rest is important too.”
“……Then the cup! The cup isn’t important? Carrying this around in the chaos of a festival? Are you insane? That’s suicide!”
“That’s why I’m saying this. How about you go to the palace alone?”
The trio and I all raised our eyebrows at once—full agreement. Lox looked shocked, but Ash’s calm voice seemed to be winning him over.
“It’s simple, isn’t it? While you go to the palace to get the cup appraised, we watch the Sword Masters’ duel and take a short break.”
“I… I can’t… be away from you……”
“Lox? Think carefully. We found the cup. The artifact generations failed to find, the one everyone believed we would never find. We have rules, right? What’s the first thing we do when we find the cup?”
“…Take it to the imperial castle.”
“Exactly.”
Even for a short time, leaving the crown prince unattended would normally be impossible. It definitely broke protocol.
But if something more important than guarding and assisting the prince happened?
Like finding the Goblet of the Golden Star—the imperial family’s long-awaited desire?
“There was a rule like that?”
“Lox likes making rules. Something like that?”
“Ahh.”
The trio tilted their heads briefly but didn’t think much of it. A testament to how carefree they were.
It was almost impressive how naïve they could be. Or maybe they trusted Ash that much.
“I would go with you if I could, but… I still have something left to do. I can’t go right now. You know what I mean, don’t you?”
Only I vaguely understood. Ash still hadn’t gathered all his companions. He couldn’t return to the palace yet.
He needed to gather five companions within the time limit to become a Guardian. Even counting me, he only had four.
With one missing and only about three months left—four at most—could he find another trustworthy companion?
Anyone could see how difficult that would be.