Ch. 52

Lying on the bedsheet that smelled freshly sun-dried seemed to ease the nausea.

I drifted off into a light nap.

As expected, my true calling in life was lying around and doing nothing.

[Master!]

“Mmm…?”

[That scent, Master!]

Just as I was finally discovering my calling, Rai shook my body wildly.

For a snake, he was absurdly strong—he could pick a person up and slam them down using just the tip of his tail.

“What the heck, you punk. How dare you wake your master… mmgh.”

Before Rai woke me, I had been sleeping like a baby.

I wiped the drool from my lips, debating whether or not to open my eyes.

[The spirit stone we lost before!]

“What?”

Still half-asleep, I asked groggily, and Rai brought his snake head right up to my face.

Anyone else would’ve fainted with a white snake’s red eyes glaring inches from their nose, but I was too used to it by now to feel anything.

[The one we couldn’t get because of The Swarm!]

“…The one we missed at the Dunhel Jewelry store?”

[Yes! It’s in this town!]

That news woke me up completely.

The spirit stone Rai couldn’t retrieve thanks to the wasps was here, in this village!

That’s mine! I paid for it!

I shot up from the bed and grabbed Rai tightly.

“Are you serious? It’s really here? How?!”

[I went for a walk and found it! The scent was familiar, and when I followed it, it turned out to be the one!]

“How could that be such a coincidence?”

[There’s a Dunhel Jewelry branch in Remalli!]

“…Long live chain stores!”

Chain stores are truly a blessing!

[Let’s go! I confirmed the location!]

Overjoyed by the news, I practically rolled off the bed.

My warp sickness still made me feel queasy, but I had improved enough to manage going outside.

More importantly, we were leaving Remalli for Elan tomorrow morning, so I had to find it today no matter what.

“We’re finding it! My spirit stone!”

[We’re finding it!]

“The one I paid for!”

[Just let me have a bite!]

“No way!”

* * *

Getting excited and heading down to the first floor was all well and good, but the moment I saw the knights standing—no, guarding—the inn entrance, my mood instantly deflated.

“That’s right. I can’t go out alone.”

Though I wasn’t thrilled about it, I went to look for the knight captain.

Just as I expected, there he was in the first-floor lobby, sitting with a pompous posture and reading a weird book. His name was something like Tornel Something Something, but his surname was so long I only remembered the first name.

For some reason, Tornel had been unusually kind to me lately.

Suspiciously so.

“Sir Tornel!”

“Hmm? What brings you here… I mean, young miss?”

The title of the book he was reading was 1,898 Ways to Flatter Without Being Obvious.

Where does someone even buy something like that?

Tornel’s gaze trembled slightly as he looked down at me approaching.

His forced smile was painfully awkward.

He was definitely up to something.

Using overly formal language all of a sudden, trying to act like a nice guy—it all reeked of an ulterior motive.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion and muttered,

“I want to go out.”

“Of course! You should! It’s such a beautiful day—what a waste to stay inside, hahahaha!”

“…Could you call for Sir Hansen and Sir Philo?”

“How about some other knights instead? Ones who are more skilled and from better bloodlines—perhaps newly assigned…”

What was he even trying to say? What the hell does bloodline have to do with anything?

“No!”

I snapped and glared at him with clear displeasure.

It was weird. He was trying to be nice, but somehow it made me dislike him even more.

“I want Hansen and Philo!”

‘Because they’re kind and easy to push around!’

* * *

Remalli was a well-known commercial city with a large port.

Since it was the hub where all imported goods entered the Elan Empire, there were tons of rare and fascinating things you wouldn’t find anywhere else—but I headed straight for the Dunhel Jewelry store.

[A bit further. Left at that alley.]

Apparently, Rai could function as a GPS, not just a walkie-talkie.

I followed the direction Rai’s tail pointed to without hesitation.

Behind me, Hansen and Philo scrambled to keep up.

Though I was silently conversing with Rai, from the outside, it just looked like I was making abrupt turns or diving into alleyways without a word, so the two of them occasionally lost sight of me.

Remalli was a fairly large and complicated city—getting lost would be easy.

Of course, I wasn’t the type to get lost.

[Go through that doghole.]

[Isn’t there another way?]

[I don’t really use the main roads. I am a snake.]

[Fair point.]

I crouched and slipped easily through the small hole at the base of a wall.

My small body had no trouble, but for adult men, it was probably a tight squeeze.

“Wah! Young miss!”

“Please wait! Let us come with you!”

As expected, the two got stuck and called out desperately, but I didn’t care.

[Here! Stop—over there, Master.]

“The middle alley?”

[Yes, in there.]

Even I could see the sign now.

<Dunhel Jewelry – Remalli Branch>

It was the same chain, but it looked vastly different from the small-town Dunhel store I barely remembered.

That one hadn’t felt shabby either, but this one was in another league entirely—huge and grand. They must’ve moved the unsold spirit stones here from that other branch.

“Well, shall we go in?”

[Huff… Huff…]

“What the—don’t pant like a pervert clinging to someone’s waist!”

[My apologies, Master. The scent was just too delicious…]

I guess to Rai, this jewelry shop was like a fish market to a cat.

Frowning for a moment, I pushed open the glass door of Dunhel Jewelry without further delay.

Inside, it was glittering wall to wall with displayed jewels.

There were so many jewels in the world!

[Gasp! How much is all this worth?]

[I want to eat everything from there to there!]

[Restrain yourself.]

[I’m losing my grip on reality!]

[Master!]
[No.]

Rai had a strong appetite.

Technically, it was a desire to absorb metal rather than simple gluttony, but since he referred to it as “eating” himself, it was close enough.

Ignoring Rai, who was whining to eat something, I rolled my eyes around, searching for the spirit stone—when a heavily armed man, presumably store security, started striding toward me.

A scrawny employee with a bowtie followed behind him.

“Hey, kid, you can’t just waltz in here like that.”

“Little miss, this place isn’t for—”

Bang!

“Young miss!”

“Young miss!”

The employees, who looked like they were about to stop me, suddenly froze at the sight of Hansen and Philo rushing in behind me—and instantly changed their tone.

“Welcome, miss!”

“Right this way, honored guest.”

They must have assumed I was some noble lady out on a walk, judging by the knights trailing after me.

Not a wrong assumption. Hansen and Philo were actually being useful for once.

“What kind of item are you looking for, dear lady? Here at Dunhel Jewelry, there’s nothing we don’t have.”

I suppose that’s true. They had spirit stones, after all.

[Rai, where’s the spirit stone?]
[Let me see.]

Finding a spirit stone in this sea of gems was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

With more people around now, Rai hid under my clothes, peeking his head out through my sleeve.

Narrowing his eyes, Rai scanned the surroundings slowly before nodding his snout toward one spot.

His radar had zeroed in on the spirit stone in no time.