SWNOVELXO Chapter 167 - The Ruins City (5)
At my question, Yard and the assistant branch manager looked at me in surprise.
“…Yo, young master. Surely you don’t mean the method I’m thinking of, right?”
Yard awkwardly called me young master instead of my name and asked. At his gaze, I smiled brightly.
“No, so don’t worry.”
Of course, it might not be a no.
At my smile, Yard looked at me with slight distrust in his eyes but remained silent.
“If renting from the Twilight Guild is impossible, I’ll have to borrow it from somewhere else that has a permit.”
At my words, the assistant branch manager took a deep breath and asked.
“…You don’t mean borrowing without permission, right?”
Just ask bluntly if I’m planning to steal it, won’t you?
Not discriminating against customers and not interfering with where or how purchased products are used was an unspoken rule of the Twilight Guild, but the woman in front of me was trying to cross the line.
At my silently glaring gaze, she flinched in surprise, apologized, and tried to change the atmosphere.
“I apologize, that was rude of me. Since there are also exploration teams and organizations in this city that even the Twilight Guild cannot ignore, I had no choice but to be cautious. Please understand.”
To be precise, it’s not the “Twilight Guild” but the “Vahanad branch”. Unless the branch is completely destroyed, the entire guild won’t move just for the sake of one branch.
“…It’s not that I don’t understand, so I’ll let it slide just this once.”
After giving a chilly warning, I shrugged my shoulders and smiled.
“Even if renting is not possible, I should at least negotiate to squeeze in, right?”
“Understood. I will prepare right away.”
She gave instructions through a short-range communication magic tool and spread catalogs on the table, smiling.
“While you wait, how about taking a look at the catalogs? There are many good products.”
“Alright. Let’s take a look.”
While I was browsing the catalogs, a waitress from the dessert shop brought luxurious snacks and tea.
As I ate the snacks and casually flipped through the catalog pages, I found something interesting.
In the black catalog, among the ordinary products, not rare or high-grade, a small brooch caught my eye. A red bird sitting with its eyes closed on a branch with seven small fruits.
“I want to see this, this, and this.”
In addition to the brooch, I asked to see other items regardless of grade.
At my request, the assistant branch manager said she understood and contacted somewhere through the communication magic tool.
Not long after, the waitress brought the items I had pointed out.
Naturally, retrieving items from the warehouse would be faster than collecting and organizing information.
The assistant branch manager began to explain the most expensive magic tool among the items I had chosen.
“You have good taste, sir. This scale is a magic tool called ‘Scales of False Judgment’. When used on someone telling a lie…”
I listened to her explanation with one ear while examining the brooch.
This also seems to be the “Phoenix’s Crystal Staff”?
The Phoenix’s Crystal Staff was a magic staff on par with Aquila’s grimoire, a treasure with seven types of magic built into it.
Of course, seeing that no magic power was felt at all, there was a possibility that it was just a similarly designed brooch.
However, judging by how Biam, the spirit of fire, was dying of happiness when I held the brooch in my hand, it seemed to be genuine.
“The design is pretty. Where did you buy it? Is it possible to get an introduction to the craftsman who made it?”
I asked about the brooch while pretending not to know, and the assistant branch manager answered with a smile.
“I apologize, but we also don’t know the information about the craftsman who made that brooch. If you’re interested, shall I try to find out?”
The assistant branch manager asked, intending to properly rip off a sucker today.
“No, it’s not to that extent.”
I don’t know why the ancient treasure most cherished by the Grand Witch of the Flame Sea, who is regarded as the apex among flame-type magicians, is here.
There can’t possibly be two of such treasures.
No, that’s not what’s important.
No matter how much it costs, I must buy it.
Among flame-type magic staffs, the only one that can match this is the staff of the undead Sage of the Sun.
It seemed like it would be a good gift for Abassael, who is called the Superheated Mage.
I already have Aquila’s grimoire, so I don’t need a magic staff.
Moreover, Aquila’s grimoire is not limited to specific attributes or magic and exhibits optimal performance, so it’s better for me.
“I’ll buy all of these.”
I purchased the brooch, the scales, and various small magic tools and magic books, immediately paying with 14 large gold coins worth 100,000 ducats.
“Thank you.”
About half of the price was for the scales, and the brooch presumed to be the “Phoenix’s Crystal Staff” was a mere 2,000 ducats at most.
If this magic staff is genuine, it is a treasure among treasures that cannot be obtained even by paying not just a few gold coins, but enough money to buy a large territory.
As I scooped them into the subspace, I focused on the catalog. There might be more treasures.
While I was focusing and cross-referencing with my memory, the information I had originally visited for finally arrived.
“For information, we can only accept prepayment. Please understand.”
At the assistant branch manager’s words, I placed a pouch of gold coins on the table.
After checking the quite thick documents, I let out a small whistle.
“As expected, it’s enough to make even the Twilight Guild hesitate.”
The list of groups possessing permits was impressive.
There were a total of 50 ruins entry permits produced by the state.
Among them, 20 were held by the royal archaeological excavation team and the city government as spares, and the remaining 30 were distributed to private businesses that proved their qualifications.
The Twilight Guild had 6, the magic tower had 5, each of the seven denominations had 2, the Izel Exploration Team had 2, and the Wiesel Count family had 3.
The seven denominations had an alliance, so they had to be considered as one group.
In other words, inside the ruins, a total of six groups, no, since the Twilight Guild said they had long-term rentals for 3, up to nine large and small groups were competing for relics.
“Currently in the city, there’s 1 from the magic tower, 4 from the seven denominations, and 1 from the Wiesel Count family.”
There was no information about the Twilight Guild’s permits.
Were they all inside the ruins, or were they hiding them because they were their customers?
If they deliberately hid it after finding out, I’ll have to apply the crime of being annoyingly stingy.
One might think, why not take the spare permits without owners that the city government is keeping, which would cause less trouble than permits with owners?
However, the problem was the storage location of those spare permits.
“The city government used their brains. To think they would store the ruins entry permits inside the ruins.”
Yard genuinely admired the city government’s resourceful countermeasure.
“From the entrance to the beginning of the ruins, it’s practically the most secure vault entrance in the world.”
Stealing the spare permits wasn’t impossible, but it would be difficult.
“I wonder which one is relatively easier.”
As I muttered with a smile, the assistant branch manager looked at me with anxious eyes.
“Uh, if it’s alright with you, shall we build a bridge for you?”
“For money?”
At my question, the assistant branch manager shook her head.
“No! As a service for VIPs, it’s only natural to do this much for free!”
What nonsense.
They just want to prevent me from causing trouble by stealing.
If the permits, which could be considered the most important item in this city, were stolen, naturally the Twilight Guild, which handled such detailed information, would inevitably be suspected.
If I were to be caught and confessed that I bought the information from the Twilight Guild, all the groups in this city, including the city government, would resort to any means necessary to erase the Twilight Guild from this city.
Then the Twilight Queen would be please. She would be so pleased that she would stuff the branch manager and assistant branch manager of this branch and display them in front of her subordinates as a long-lasting reminder.
“Well, we’ll see how it goes.”
As I smiled brightly, the assistant branch manager trembled as if sensing an ominous feeling.
******
The market in the ruins city had quite a unique atmosphere.
Unlike markets and stores in other cities, each one was decorated with strange ornaments and sculptures that looked like antiques with some age.
The fact that the items being sold were also relics and objects of unknown origin added to that atmosphere.
“Wow! Jade oppa! Look at that!”
“Haha, let’s take it slow. Didn’t Yuan also tell us to look around at our leisure?”
Silua peeked around the stores with curiosity as if it was fascinating. Then, when she spotted an item with even a hint of magic power, Silua picked it up.
“Jade oppa! Buy this for me!”
“Do you like that?”
Jade also smiled as he examined the item Silua was holding.
“But it’s not good to overspend.”
“Hiing~! I want to keep it as a souvenir!”
“Ah, can’t be helped. How much is it?”
Jade acted as a soft-hearted older brother opening his wallet for his naturally whiny younger sister and purchased items presumed to be magic tools.
If they showed any signs of appraisal or impatience in this city, the merchants would uncannily notice and refuse to sell.
Those who had been doing business in Vahanad for a long time knew better than anyone that such items occasionally bestowed sudden riches.
“Oppa, isn’t this mask funny!”
Silua pretended to be childish and made a gesture of putting on the mask.
It wasn’t just Jade who had been influenced by Yuhan.
Among the party members, the one who learned the most from Yuhan and was influenced by him was none other than Silua.
Jade recognized the curse on the mask at a glance and thought he should dispose of it, skillfully opening the wallet containing small change.
“Hahaha! It sure is. You’re saying you want to buy it, right? Hmm, I wonder if my allowance will allow it.”
“Wow! I love you, oppa!”
The market street had quite a few useful ancient magic tools befitting a ruins city.
However, there were even more items mixed with curses that could activate at any unknown time.
“…Quite a dangerous market.”
Jade muttered as he followed behind Silua.
As the two energetically roamed around and scooped up items, the merchants started soliciting Silua.
“Little miss! Look at this! Doesn’t it look interesting?”
“No, what’s so interesting about that? Little miss! How about this?”
Surrounded by merchants, Silua was one step away from Jade, who was looking around the market and sensed a subtle feeling.
Not far from the main street of the market, down an old stone staircase, a small, inconspicuous weapon shop came into view.
Looking around, Jade intuitively realized that this place was one of the hidden places Yuhan had mentioned they should visit.
Opening the old door and entering, there were only dusty old swords piled in oak barrels used for liquor, and no owner keeping watch.
Forgetting to even look for the shop owner, Jade followed his senses and pulled out a sword from an oak barrel.
Contrary to the subtle feeling he had before picking up the sword, an indescribable malice and killing intent overflowed from the sword, trying to dominate Jade’s body.
Jade tried to draw up magic power to resist the unidentified magic sword.
“I’m sorry, boy.”
However, a slender hand easily grabbed the magic sword in Jade’s hand, severing the connection with the sword.
“I know the rule is that the first to grab in a store like this becomes the owner, but could you yield this sword to me?”
At the voice that caught him from behind as if mocking his senses, Jade turned around in surprise.
Seeing the neat black-haired beauty who had snatched the magic sword from his hand, Jade mumbled in confusion.
“…Master?”