「T-This is……」

Roseus raised his voice at the large magic stone that suddenly appeared in front of him.

Of course, the magic stone appearing from nowhere did suprise him, but what surprised him the most was the size of the magic stone.

Basically, the larger a monster got, the larger its magic stone would be. In addition, the quality and size of the magic stone would also changed based on the rank of the monster. The magic stone in front of him definitely had a different presence compared to ones from low ranking monsters.

「As you can see, it’s the Lemrace’s magic stone. There’s other parts as well. This is Egret’s share……」

Saying that, Rei took out a fang that was more than a meter in length. It was one of the fangs from the Lemrace’s mouth that Egret had requested as his share of the reward.

「Is this a fang?」

「Yes. One from the Lemrace.」

「……It was large enough to be seen from the city. I don’t doubt that its fangs would be this big……but, I’m sorry, but this isn’t enough to confirm that the monster you killed was the Lemrace. In the first place, what was the Lemrace doing on land when it has been off the coast, never nearing the port, all this time?」

「As for that, I can only say I used a magic item.」

Rei explained the effect of the magic item he had used.

Of course, the magic item was a complete lie, but there was no way he could talk about Grimm, a Lich who had lived for thousands of years……because of that, he had no choice but to push through with that lie.

「Is that so? A magic item……that is true, if you wanted to move the Lemrace onto land, you would only be able to use a magic item to do that. If you don’t mind, would you be able to show me that magic item so that I can study it?」

His words were soft, there was a smile on his mouth and his eyes were calm. However, there was a sharp light in Roseus’ eyes when he asked Rei to show him the magic item.

As a guild official……no, as a citizen of the Mireana Kingdom, he couldn’t ignore the existence of a magic item that could forcibly transfer its target. If someone were to use that for criminal activities, it would even be possible to kidnap nobles or even the royal family.

However, Rei just shrugged his shoulders at Roseus’ request.

「Unfortunately, it was a disposable magic item. Because its effect is so powerful, it’s not something that could be used multiple times. It has since turned into dust and scattered into the sea.」

「……」

Roseus looked into Rei’s eyes as he replied. There was a tense atmosphere in the room as he seemed to gaze into the depths of Rei’s mind.

Egret and Miroir just watched on calmly, but Hendeka had a tense expression as he seemed to have turned into a statue.

After a few seconds of silence, Roseus spoke again.

「I won’t pry any further into the magic item. However, here’s some advice for you. Whether it be superior strength, skill or tools, those with any one of them will stand out. Naturally, there will also be people who will target them.」

「Of course. I am more than aware of that.」

While saying that, Rei glanced towards the Misty Ring on his right arm.

The Misty Ring was an item box, a very convenient item. But, there were many people who targeted him because of it. Thanks to its rarity, Rei was already familiar with people targetting him for a magic item. But……

「If they attack me, all I need to do is to fight back.」

「And if they are stronger than you?」

「Well, that’s true. There are definitely people stronger than me.」

The face of skull with a crown, who he had met just this morning, passed through Rei’s mind.

「However, even if someone like that shows up, I still have my partner, Set. If it’s someone the both of us can’t beat, there’s always the option of running away.」

Grimm was a Lich who could fly through the sky as if it were nothing. However, there weren’t many creatures who could fly in this world. If you further limited it to people, the number was even less.

「……Is that so. If Rei-san is aware of this, I won’t say anything more. Ahem, pardon me. We’ve gone off topic. So, about the Lemrace. I’m sorry, but I can’t confirm that the monster that was killed was the Lemrace with just this.」

「Is it because we killed the Lemrace on land when it should have been in the sea?」

It was Miroir who interjected at Roseus’ words.

However, looking at her expression, she didn’t seem to have any complaints. Rather, it might have been something she had half expected.

「Yes. As I asked you about earlier, if there really was a magic item that could forcefully transfer it, and we saw the effect happen ourselves, there wouldn’t be any problems. ……As it is, all we can say is that your party worked together to kill a monster that appeared out of nowhere.」

「I guess so. However, if ships leaving the port tomorrow aren’t attacked……and that continues for 10 days, can you judge that the Lemrace is no longer off the coast? It’s hard to give any clear evidence considering no one has ever seen the Lemrace.」

Hearing Rei’s suggestion, Roseus thought about it for several seconds before nodding.

「Hm, that would be fine. The decision on this matter is up to me, so I will accept that. However, with regards to the bounty prize, is it okay if you only get paid when we confirm the Lemrace is gone after the 10 days?」

「I have no problems with that, what about the rest of you?」

Rei looked at the other three, who nodded to indicate that they didn’t have any issues with that.

「Then, starting from tomorrow, if the Lemrace doesn’t appear for 10 days, I will judge that you have killed the Lemrace. Aside from that……」

Roseus pointed to the magic stone on the table.

「With regards to the magic stone and materials that you got from killing the monster you said was the Lemrace. What do you plan to do with them? Are you splitting it between the four of you?」

「No, all the materials, except for the fang I got, have been given to Rei. Anyhow, even if it was a disposable magic item, Rei had still used a magic item that could be considered a national treasure.」

「……Rei-san, would you be willing to sell the magic stone and the materials? Of course, it’s an unknown monster, so I will give a suitable price for everything we buy.」

「That’s right……」

Seeing Roseus’ eager gaze, Rei thought for a few seconds before speaking.

「Since it was a kind of Sea Serpent, we’ve stripped all the materials we could, but I’ve only got its bones, skin and some of its organs. Most of the blood was spilled during dismantling due to my incompetence.」

Saying that, he took out a few bottles of blood from the Misty Ring.

「With regards to the blood, bones and organs that I have, I can sell you as much as you’d like, aside from a small amount I would like to keep for myself. If I do sell the skin though, I will only sell a small part of it.」

「Why is that so?」

「Because I have a use for it.」

Rei just said that without explaining his planned use for it.

Roseus nodded with a disappointed expression, as he had wanted to use it in blacksmithing and alchemy. After that, he turned his eyes to the magic stone, which was his greatest goal.

「As for the magic stone……I’m not selling it.」

Roseus sighed in resignation when he saw Rei’s expression, not even needing to hear the rest of his words.

Seeing Roseus like that, Rei nodded with a small smile.

「I’m sorry, but I like to collect magic stones. I’m greedy, so I usually like to keep one to preserve and second for display. However, I don’t think there’ll ever be a second Lemrace, so I don’t want to give this one up.」

「Collecting magic stones? That’s a considerably expensive hobby.」

「Not really. Normally, it’s a hobby that you wouldn’t be able to sustain unless you were rich. But fortunately, I’m an adventurer, so if I kill monsters and collect their magic stones myself, it’s not that big of a burden in terms of money.」

「……I think that’s only possible for Rei-san. Normally, magic stones are the most expensive material, so most people wouldn’t keep them unless they were really eccentric.」

「Well, I guess I’m just that eccentric.」

「……」

Roseus seemed to be quite surprised by Rei’s response before suddenly turning serious as he asked Rei.

「Rei-san, I know you’re not willing to sell this magic stone. But……could you lend it to the guild for a few days? Of course, I’m not expecting to be able to learn everything about the Lemrace just by looking at the magic stone, but I still think we should be able to find out some information. ……Would that be possible?」

「What benefit is there for me to leave the Lemrace’s magic stone at the guild? I don’t want to be rude, but it could be stolen by someone. If I had it, I could store it into my item box and it would be safe.」

「That is……I guess we could give you the information we get from investigating the magic stone? Of course, on the honour of Emoshion’s guild, we wouldn’t let anyone take it away.」

Rei frowned his eyebrows slightly at the heated gaze Roseus directed towards him.

(Certainly, any information about the Lemrace would be greatly appreciated. Especially since only either Set or the Death Scythe can absorb the magic stone. I don’t know how much information I would be able to get, but if I could get any on places where it would likely live……)

Collecting his thoughts, Rei nodded slightly.

「Fine then. If you really want it, I can leave the magic stone with you. But, you’ll be carefull with it, won’t you? If it’s damaged or is stolen by someone……Set and I won’t forgive you. I won’t let anyone in the guild get away with it, even if it means a bounty if put on me. You’ll see why I was given a title in the war against the Bestir Empire.」

「……Yes. There will be absolutely no problems with regards to security.」

Roseus probably realised Rei’s seriousness. If there were any mistakes, the whole city of Emoshion would probably go up in flames. Because of that, Roseus nodded as he looked straight back at Rei with a serious expression.

Then, gently reaching out towards the magic stone, making sure Rei didn’t make any moves to stop him, he gently touched its surface.

Being over 30cm in diameter, it was a very large magic stone. Even Roseus, who had worked in the guild for many years, had only seen magic stones of this size several times. In addition, it was also a high quality magic stone. Comparing this to the magic stone of a Goblin, one of the lowest level magic stones, was like comparing a jewel to a stone on the roadside.

「This is amazing……it must be B rank at worst, it might even be close to A rank. Whether the monster was really the Lemrace or not, there’s no doubt that this magic stone belonged to a powerful monster.」

「I thought the same. It’s one of the most powerful monsters I’ve fought before. As for monsters I’ve seen that are stronger than it……」

Rei recalled the Silver Lion, the S rank monster, that was the boss of the dungeon he had gone into with Elena.

Although Rei hadn’t seen the Silver Lion directly, he had still felt how powerful the monster was.

The Lemrace was clearly not comparable to such a monster, but Rei still agreed with Roseus’ words.

Rei half instinctively understood the difference between A and S rank and he finished his sentence.

「I’ve only ever seen one.」

「……Even C rank monster are rare around here. No, I guess this one did come from the sea.」

Rei looked at Roseus, who gave a sigh, before turning to face the other three.

「Well then, that’s all I’ve come here for. All that’s left is the party in the bar that I promised everyone. ……Roseus, everything at the bar will be my treat today, can you handle that? We’re going to have a big celebration for killing the Lemrace.」

「That can be done. However, there are a lot of costs that will make it expensive……are you fine with that?」

「No problem, take off the cost from the Lemrace materials I sell.」

Nodding as he replied, Rei left the meeting room with Roseus, who hid the magic stone so that others wouldn’t find it, before returning to the first floor.

「Looks like everyone has already gathered.」

When Egret turned to look toward the bar on the first floor, there were already a large number of adventurers there.

Seeing that, Rei, who wasn’t that good at interacting with people, asked Egret to shout out to them.

「Hey, all of you! As promised, today is Rei’s treat! Drink and eat as much as you’d like! We all did a great job today!」

Along with his shout, the adventurers in the bar gave a loud cheer.

 

 

……Aside from that, Rei also took out some of the Lemrace meat that he had in the Misty Ring. It was cooked in large dishes and everyone got drunk as they ate the meat of a high ranking monster.

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