unedited

“Huh? Come to think of it, there are hardly any.”

“Right? Magic items are things you don’t normally see. It’s strange to think that something you see for the first time is a magic item.”

I was able to recover my lost pride thanks to Kir getting persuaded by me. When I was proud of myself, Kir grabbed my hand and pulled me.

“Then, let’s go over there.”

“I haven’t seen them all yet.”

I couldn’t conquer this room, but Kir had moved to the next room. I was so preoccupied with the jeweled dress that I hardly saw anything else. I’ve come to a place I’ll never come again, so I have to keep it in my eyes.

“I heard you haven’t seen any magic items. There are magic items gathered in that back room. Let’s take a look at that.”

A collection of magic items! As expected of a Grand Duchy! They have a lot of expensive things!

“If there was such a thing, you should have said it earlier. Come on, take the lead. Quickly!”

I gestured to him to lead the way, and Kir smiled and walked away. We passed two rooms and arrived at the farthest room. Even at a glance, the two rooms that we passed by had enormous things on display. Still, seeing the magic items in the corner, it must be the most expensive and important item.

“Everything here is a magic item, no matter how small.”

“There is a musical instrument too?”

The first thing that caught my eye was a harp the size of an adult. It was inevitable that the pillar of the harp had the shape of a woman. It was realistic and beautiful, as if they had taken the shape of a real person. I wondered what magic might have happened to such a silvery harp.

“That? It’s a bard Bavaria, and it has a magic that plays itself.”

Like a jukebox?

“How many songs? How does it play?”

“See the pins on the torso here? You can press this. Each pin has different music. There will be a total of 24 songs. Shall we listen?”

“No, but what if we get caught sneaking in here!”

I was curious about what the sound of the instrument playing by itself would be like, but I was worried that we would be discovered. Kir nodded his head obediently because he knew that not only me has to be careful in this situation, but Kir too.

“Yes. It’s just amazing because it’s a magic performance, but it’s not that good. There are real musicians who play better than this. Let’s hear from it later.”

Oh, it had a slightly different meaning. It’s better to listen to a better performance, not for fear of being caught, right? I shook my head and observed other things.

There was also a magic sword said to strike lightning, a shield said to turn arrows, and a flower that did not wither. Not only that, but there was also a magic bracelet that can make two people from a distance talk, a necklace that would block all poisons, and a ring that would heal wounds.

There were useful things, and there were things I wanted to know their usage, so we went looking at magic items without knowing how much time had passed.

“Are you that curious?”

“Well, it’s the first time I’ve seen something like this. Does everything really work?”

“Of course.”

Kir’s assertion made it even more unusual. Of course, I didn’t see it in action, but the delusion that there might be invincible magic was manifested grew rapidly. Did it seem like I was snooping around curiously? Kir pulled me again.

“Come and see. I will show you something really valuable.”

We stood in front of a treasure chest in the middle of a dead end wall. In fact, the box caught my eye from the moment I entered the room. The tightly locked treasure chest seemed to contain something, as if it was the final boss of this room. Isn’t that just decoration? I thought like that before.

Kir took out the key from his chest again.

“Wasn’t this a decoration?”

“No way.”

Kir, who smiled like that, inserted the key into the treasure chest. But now I was worried about whether it was possible to unify the keys into one. If you lose one key, you will lose all your possessions.

Kir unlocked the box and opened the lid. In a treasure chest in the farthest room, it is locked with a key. My tension was at its peak as to what valuables might be in there.

However, it was not unexpected what was gradually revealed. What was in the box were four well-processed but ordinary jewels the size of a fist. The seemingly ordinary gems were red, brown, green, and blue, respectively.

What magic is it here? Huh? Is this alive? It felt like something was moving inside the jewel.

“As for what this is, you would be surprised when you find out.”

Kir was smug and tried to explain. However, I didn’t listen to Kir’s words because the jewelry was unusual. When I put my head in and looked closely, it wasn’t just a jewel. The strangeness I felt earlier was true.

Curiously, there was some movement inside the four jewels. In particular, the movement inside the red jewel increased. It’s like a flickering light? As time went on, the movements grew larger and more violent. Is this normal? Ominousness welled up. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed that the jewel was not normal.

“Kir, isn’t this strange?”

“Huh? What?”

Like the jewel was a prison, as if it wanted to get out of it, the movements became violent and uneasy.

“This red jewel, strange…”

So while I hurriedly explained to Kir, the red jewel in front of my nose burst.