The Former Child Prodigy Grows Suspicious Of The Red Jewel

That night, Fiona was organizing the sketchbook she had filled in at the ruins in her room at the inn.

When she put her hand into her bag—

Something hard tapped against her hand.

“Ah.”

Without thinking, she took it in hand and pulled it out.

It was the red jewel they had found in the ruins. It was not merely a simple crimson; at the center of the jewel was a pattern that resembled an eye.

It was a truly beautiful jewel. Even Fiona, who cared only for research and had no interest in ornaments, found herself gazing at it in fascination.

(…I-I wonder… how much it would fetch if I sold it…!?)

Without thinking, Fiona muttered to herself inwardly with gold marks in her eyes.

Fiona hurriedly shook her head.

(No, no! As a researcher, I have to put research first!)

Yes, Fiona had vaguely sensed that this was something extraordinary. If that intuition was right—and if she could put it into proper words—then surely it would become an incredible discovery.

Right now, she was standing at a crossroads of fate!

That was what Fiona’s instincts as a researcher were telling her.

And so, Fiona steeled herself again and stared intently at the red jewel. Comparing it against the knowledge she had accumulated in the past, she searched for anything she might notice—

At that moment,

“Eh—!?”

Fiona felt a chill run through her.

She had the feeling that the eye-like pattern on the jewel had looked at her.

Startled, she quickly looked at the jewel again, but by then that sensation had already vanished. All that remained there was a beautiful jewel.

With an unpleasant, lingering feeling sitting heavily in her chest, Fiona thought again,

(…W-well… maybe I was just seeing things from being tired… I am probably just worked up)

That was what she told herself.

Thinking she should rest her eyes for a bit, she stood by the window and looked into the distance. Though, since it was the middle of the night, all she could see was the shadow of the town standing vaguely beneath the moonlight.

It was then.

Something moved at the edge of Fiona’s vision.

“Huh? Ilvis-san?”

Ilvis was walking along carrying a light. She could not see clearly, but the build looked like someone she recognized.

(…What could he be doing out at this hour of the night…?)

In the darkness of night,

“Enchant—‘Holy Blade.’”

With my short dagger glowing white from magical enhancement, I slashed through the translucent ghost standing before me.

Oooooooooooooo.

Letting out a sound as though it had shaken the air itself, the ghost dispersed into mist.

Phew… that made three of them…

In the middle of the night, I had woken up with a strange feeling of unease. I noticed the ominous presence hanging in the air around me and went outside. That was where I found and drove off the first ghost.

I thought that was the end of it, but then a second and third ghost began appearing one after another.

Why were there ghosts in a place like this town?

In the end, I hunted ghosts sporadically until morning, taking down around ten in total.

It was not that they were especially strong, so that itself was not a problem, but… I could not shake the feeling that something was off. A haunted mansion or ruins would be one thing, but did ghosts really appear this often in an ordinary town?

And on top of that—

Somehow, the ghosts seemed to be heading for Fiona’s room.

At that moment, the red jewel Fiona had in her possession came to mind.

“Hmmm… I would be glad if it were just my imagination.”

I hoped this would be the end of the strange incidents.

—But it seemed things would not be that simple.

The next day, while Fiona and I were walking along the highway,

“Waaaaaaaaah! You two, run!”

When I turned toward the man’s scream, I saw a carriage being pulled by a panicked horse racing straight toward us at tremendous speed. The coachman, unable to control the horse, had a face twisted with terror.

“W-w-what should we do!?”

“For now, let’s get out of the way.”

I left the highway together with Fiona.

And then, unbelievably, the carriage corrected its course and came charging straight toward us again.

“S-sorry, ahh, you two! Run! Please runnnnnnnnn!”

“…For now, let’s run!”

So we moved away again, but—

Once more, the carriage changed its route and came toward us. It was already almost upon us! The coachman desperately pulled the reins, but the horse ignored him completely, charging at us with the face of something that had lost its mind.

Fiona let out a voice that was almost a cry.

“Hawawawawawa! Wh-wh-what should we do, Ilvis-san!?”

“Let’s see, for now, don’t move.”

I drew my short dagger.

“Enchant—‘Hardening.’”

It would have been pitiful to hit it too hard, so I gently struck the horse on the muzzle with the flat of my dagger.

A sweeping slash.

Rather than slashing the charging horse itself, I cut through the kinetic energy of the entire carriage. As a result, the whole carriage slid sharply sideways.

At the same time,

“Loose Sleep.”

I cast magic on the horse. It was, in other words, a sleep spell. I had adjusted it slightly so that it would fall asleep gradually rather than suddenly.

Because it would be dangerous if the horse came to an abrupt stop.

The carriage rattled on into the distance, but well, it would stop eventually.

“Th-thank you very much! Ilvis-san! You saved me!”

“I’m glad Fiona-san is safe.”

As I replied, I told Fiona the conclusion I had reached.

“I’ve been thinking, but ever since we got that red jewel, nothing good has happened, right?”

“…That’s true…”

“I’m not an appraiser, so I don’t really know, but isn’t that jewel suspicious?”

“…It might be… suspicious…”

Groaning softly, Fiona took the red jewel out of her shoulder bag.

“Do you think I should throw it away?”

“Hmm… I don’t think it’s a good idea to throw away something dangerous. It would just cause trouble for someone else.”

At my words, Fiona let out a sigh.

“That’s true…”

“Rather than throwing it away, maybe we should return it to where it came from. I think that would be fine. Should we turn back now?”

“…Hmm…”

After thinking for a little while, Fiona clapped her hands together.

“I think I’ll return to the Imperial Capital just like this!”

“Oh?”

“The truth is, one of my mentor’s acquaintances is a famous maker of magic tools in the Imperial Capital. I want to consult that person!”

“Ohh, someone like that exists. Who is it?”

“It’s Lord Travas of the Eight Stars from that famous clan, Black Dragon’s Fang!”

“I see.”

“Um, Ilvis-san… it might be troublesome in various ways getting all the way back to the Imperial Capital, but would that be alright?”

Well, since throwing it away was not really an option, our only choices were to return it or take it back with us. If both options involved costs, then I might as well respect the client’s wishes.

“It’s fine. My job is to escort you, Fiona-san. I’ll manage somehow, so don’t worry about it.”

And so, we started walking toward the Imperial Capital.

…Incidentally, when I asked Fiona why she had requested me as an escort even though she had an acquaintance in Black Dragon’s Fang, she told me this.

“Black Dragon’s Fang charges a lot, you know…”

The world was harsh…