"I need you to come and see this vacant lot."
An Ran's expression was so serious when he said this that I could hardly doubt the sincerity that was leaping in his eyes, but the words he said were hard to understand.
What do you mean by "just taking a look at this open space"... Haven't I been watching it all along? Could there be some hidden secret here besides being the fairy's territory?
I tried to extend my senses forward, but there was no other special information returned besides the three of us. The surging tide of magic continued to rise and fall merrily, slightly deflecting where there were clearly stimulating protective spells around us, creating shallow ripples as birds flapped their wings.
There was nothing unusual; just as the eyes could see, the open space in front of them was also completely empty in their perception.
Hikari suddenly let out a small gasp in my ear, then pointed, indicating that I should move closer to a spot not far ahead.
Following the directions, after being misaligned three or four times, I finally found what Hikari had mentioned during a noticeably unusual sensation in my foot.
A magic stone, entirely silvery-white and translucent. Holding it up to the sunlight, one can see a flowing, undulating line within it. Though faint, this suggests a considerable amount of magic power within.
"Pure Magic Stone... How could someone just casually throw this thing away here?"
I weighed the palm-sized magic stone in my hand with some doubt, muttering to myself.
Although this is also a magic stone, it's much more expensive than the mixed-color magic stones I usually eat as snacks. Despite the large amount of magic power inside, the production is always low due to the harsh mining environment and methods. In addition, most of the magic devices currently in use only require magic stone fragments or even powder to be powered, so pure magic stones have few advantages in use. Therefore, they are usually just kept as decorations, used as the core of high-powered explosives or super-large barriers, or filled into the occasionally produced super-high-level magic devices used by archmages.
Rather than valuing its practicality, its unique appearance makes its decorative value even greater.
An Ran also glanced over and then revealed a knowing look: "Ah, I know this. It was an application that Teacher Mo'er submitted to my father, who was the city lord at the time, more than ten years ago. I heard that it was to build a protective barrier around the World Tree, and for the sake of long-term effectiveness, they proposed to use pure magic stones as the base. Originally, they should have been recycled after the World Tree disappeared, but I've been so busy that I don't usually need them, so I've just forgotten about them."
As he spoke, he suddenly glanced at me, then at Hikari who was still clinging to my back, and revealed a mysterious yet bright and slightly mocking smile that made me instinctively feel disgusted: "Of course, if you need it, you can just take it. We don't lack this, at least I don't."
Those despicable rich people!
Of course, it was only at this moment that I could sense that he was actually just a young man not much older than me.
Well, since they've so kindly shown off their deep pockets, I'll just take it without hesitation!
Of course, my main purpose is to study this rare and pure magic stone, not to be greedy for money.
After chatting about some trivial topics, we walked around the open space for a short while. As dusk approached, Hikari, who had been dozing for a while, woke up rubbing her eyes. Since we hadn't discovered anything further, we decided to leave.
Anran originally intended for me and Hikari to stay as guests, and after having a meal, to find a guest room in the mansion to stay in. This overly luxurious house was perhaps a burden for him in some ways. Rooms that were not used all year round could only be left vacant after repeated cleaning, and the things piled up in the house could not find their owners for many years.
However, I still rejected him.
It wasn't because of my obsession with cleanliness, nor because I was worried that my involvement would disturb the peace and quiet of someone else's home.
I can confidently say that I'm not that delicate or coy, and I'd even enjoy watching some late-night soap operas where the main character isn't me. My decision to decline at this point is purely because I have other urgent matters to attend to.
For example, I still need to go find our [Frost Sword], that is, Miss Miyuki.
For example, I need to resolve the issue of a certain silly girl whose upper body is still stuck in a void passage.
Looking back at Hikari, whose eyes were shining as she surveyed the increasing number of bunks around her, and feeling the weight and sensation of only half of my body, I couldn't help but sigh.
This silly girl, why is she still so carefree?
Forget it, let's deal with her problem first, so as to avoid causing more trouble later.
Driven by this idea, I randomly chose a narrow alleyway that was mostly hidden in the shadows. After confirming that no one was around, I signaled Hikari to wait aside and then took the lead in slipping into the open door.
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