Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 274

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 274 – Reunion and Random Conversations

Within a few hours, the knights sealed off the area around the Ancient Biological Research Institute.

Curious onlookers had gathered, wondering what was happening at such a late hour. However, neither Ain nor any of the other officials offered any explanation.

The snow fell gently, and the stars gradually appeared in the sky.

In contrast, Ain and Chris were in a gloomy mood.

The two stood near the building’s entrance, watching the knights and civil officials go inside.

“Ain-sama. What are you thinking about?”

Several tens of minutes had passed since they found eggshells in the hidden underground research facility.

And Ain had been quiet since then.

It was clear that he was thinking about something, so Chris didn’t disturb him.

She asked him as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

“…Unlike the sea dragon incident, I think this is going to be troublesome.”

“Troublesome?”

“Sea dragons only appear… I mean, the damage they cause is limited to areas near the sea. But…”

This time was different.

It was a dragon, so it can definitely fly.

It was hard to imagine what would happen if it were to attack.

“To be honest, I don’t think it’s a threat.”

Ain said, exhaling white breath and looking down.

“…You mean you can easily defeat it?”

“I’m not underestimating it before we fight. But even if it were a red dragon, I heard that Sylvia-san easily defeated one hundreds of years ago.”

Of course, but Sylvia was also a powerful figure.

At the very least, even if all the current forces of Ishtalika came together, they still wouldn’t be able to defeat the former royal capital forces.

The exceptions were Ain and the twins, but they should be excluded this time.

Besides, Ain was stronger than Sylvia.

In fact, he was stronger than the Demon Lord Arche.

Considering this, there was no reason to feel threatened by a personal battle.

“The problem is that they can run wild in areas where we don’t have enough forces.”

In other words, even if Ain won, it would mean nothing.

The real problem was that the people of Ishtalika would suffer.

“Even if I… no, even if Lloyd-sama, Dill, and the Black Knights are here, we still don’t have enough power?”

Chris grimaced in frustration and stared at Ain.

The winter cold intensified her emotions.

“Don’t say such strange things. That’s not true. I’m glad to have everyone here.”

It had become a habit lately to calm her down.

Ain naturally reached out and stroked her blonde hair.

However, deep down, Chris understood.

“I don’t intend to make a fool of myself like I did that day… like I did with the sea dragon.”

At that time, Chris had rushed toward Magna intending to die while leading the fleet.

Ultimately, Ain saved her by taking a reckless risk and managing to return alive.

She prided herself in her abilities.

And Ain was undoubtedly out of her reach.

Still, she felt pride.

Her values were different from Krone’s feelings for Ain.

As a knight, she couldn’t bear to be carried around.

Finally, she regained her composure, clenching her hands tightly and staring at Ain.

“I-I’m sorry. I guess I got a little carried away…”

She apologized and cleared her throat.

Then, she turned her gaze toward the Ancient Biological Research Institute.

“Um… What should we do now?”

By “what should we do next,” she meant something related to the institute.

“Once everything is ready, I think we need to inform all the cities about the researcher Noish. The rest are just details, like following up on clues and asking around the neighborhood. But I think we can leave that to the knights.”

“Right. Then we should ask Baron Alberon’s family about it, too.”

“Yeah, so we’ll just do what we can.”

“…Do you have any specific ideas about what we can do?”

Ain answered her confidently, tilting her head in question.

“Yes, as members of the royal family, we have that advantage, but we also have our powers. We should go to the former capital and ask them about various things.”

Going to the former capital was already part of the plan.

Chris nodded in agreement, but then suddenly wondered about something.

“Come to think of it, I think the egg was about the same size as the twins’ eggs.”

“Ah… Now that you mention it, El and Al’s eggs were about the same size, too.”

He remembered that the eggs Lloyd was about to break were also about the same size.

“Right? That means that even if a red dragon is born, it won’t be that big… At least, that’s what I think.”

The twins had grown considerably over time.

There was still some time left, Chris thought. Her expression brightened, but…

“No, I’d rather not think about that.”

Ain denied it flatly.

He spoke with a confident tone of voice and a slight wry smile.

“The twins’ growth rate is incredible. That’s because Katima-san fed them magic stones like crazy under the guise of snacks.”

At one point, Katima spent most of her personal funds on that.

That’s why they were already bigger than they should be for their age.

“So that connects to the robed men checking on the twins the other day.”

“It’s a possibility we can’t rule out. Besides, they somehow hatched the egg, so I don’t think we can be too optimistic.”

First of all, how did they get dragon eggs that were supposed to be extinct?

How they hatched was still a mystery.

“We’ll have to ask Sylvia-san about that, too.”

Well, it’s about time to head back to the inn.

They needed to provide instructions and schedule a meeting.

As Ain moved away from the wall he had been leaning against, he heard a voice he hadn’t heard in a long time.

“Oh, I wondered who that was… It’s you, Your Highness!”

“Oh, Mouton-san?”

Mouton appeared from the thinning crowd, accompanied by Ememe.

He had his usual muscular arms and manly beard.

Upon hearing the words “Your Highness,” the people around them distanced themselves.

“Oh, oh, oh, the researcher who was just making fun of the dwarves is leaving.”

“Eh… Did something happen?”

“It’s no big deal. Smart researchers like him tend to look down on adventurers.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

It seemed like some kind of faction.

The difference lay in their mindset: adventurers and blacksmiths relied on physical strength, whereas researchers relied on their intellect.

Ain knew that not everyone was like that, but hearing stories like this didn’t feel good.

“Hahaha! Don’t worry about it! Technological progress is the result of clashes of opinions and arguments!”

He was a good-spirited man, though.

Ain scratched his temple and slowly began to smile as he spoke.

“So, why are you guys in Ist?”

“Oh! We have some business to attend to. That business is… Ah, hey! Ememe!”

“Yes! We came to buy a new furnace!”

After saluting with her wings, Ememe and Mouton crossed their arms proudly.

“Isn’t that expensive?”

“Yeah! It’s crazy expensive!”

“But it’s okay. Ever since I started getting work from the castle, I’ve been making pretty good money!”

“O-oh, I see…”

At first, Ain was worried about bringing them from Balt and whether they would enjoy life in the royal capital. [T/N: I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I’ll change “Baltic” to “Balt” from now on.]

However, now they seemed to be enjoying themselves, which was a relief to Ain.

“By the way, we were thinking of going to our house in Balt to pick up some things we left behind.”

“Really? Actually, Chris and I are going to Balt after Ist.”

Hearing this, Mouton tilts his head.

“Oh? Do you have something to do in that dreary town?”

“At this time of year, it’s hard enough just to leave the house…”

“Exactly. We had to scatter magic stones in front of the house and set them on fire!”

Was that okay?

Leaving Ain and Chris confused, the two continued talking boisterously.

“Oh, that reminds me. Actually, since we’re already here, Ememe and I are planning to go to the western side of the continent.”

“West of Ishtar?”

Ain asked, wondering if something had happened.

“That’s where the Huorn group is based! Remember? They’re the group of craftsmen who made Ememe’s perch.”

“I remember. It brings back memories, but…”

Why did that have anything to do with fire?

The Huorn were wooden monsters. The Huorn group wasn’t made up of Huorn. Were they going to burn something?

“The Huorn group only sells locally, but they sell good whetstones and other materials.”

“The western side of the continent has a lot of big mountains and lakes. That’s why it feels like a completely different world from the eastern side!”

That’s knowledge unique to craftsmen.

Ain, who wasn’t familiar with these details yet, is intrigued.

Still, the continent was too vast to understand everything.

“All the whetstones we use in our workshop are bought from the local Huorn group.”

“Huh… Are they rare materials?”

The matter of the Ancient Biological Research Institute remains, but talking with Mouton was a good break.

Chris seemed to have calmed down, and her expression relaxed.

“Yeah. Some gems have been crystallized by lava and magic over many years, and they make really hard whetstones.”

That’s why he said “fire.” It had something to do with lava.

When Ain understood, Chris asked curiously,

“Lava? As far as I know, there aren’t any places where such things flow.”

Ain had never been there, so he listened quietly.

“No, no. Apparently, a long time ago, there was a huge volcano in the west. That’s why there are gems buried underground.”

“I’ve never heard that before. There’s history like that.”

“Well, there are no water trains in that area. You have no choice but to go by horse-drawn carriage or on foot. It can’t be helped.”

Ain’s imagination ran wild as he wondered what kind of place it was.

Of course, he had no way of going there himself, so he could only learn about it from books and other people.

“Ain-sama.”

Chris spoke to him after noticing Ain.

“Um… You know the son of Baron Crim, right?”

“Batz?”

“Yes, the current head of the Crim family has been sent to a town on the western side of the continent.”

Ain had heard that Batz’s father was fighting monsters.

He hadn’t expected to hear about that town now.

“The monsters aren’t particularly strong. It’s just that the area hasn’t been developed much, so they appear frequently.”

“…So he’s working in a difficult place. We should be grateful.”

Ain murmured thoughtfully, then suddenly started walking.

“Chris, wait here for a moment. I’ll check to see if there’s anything new before we leave.”

“N-no! I’ll do that!”

“Wait here with Mouton-san. I just want to hear it with my own ears.”

The three of them watched him leave.

“Oh, by the way, I’ll send you more of those knives I sent you before. Make sure you use them!”

After Ain left, Mouton said, as if he had just remembered something.

Chris also remembered what the servants had said about the knives.

“The servants seem to think highly of them, too. They said it cuts well and is very useful. Martha-san, the chief maid, said so.”

“I know, right? That’s a knife from my hometown. Well, I don’t remember anything about my hometown, though!”

Mouton laughed heartily, having forgotten about his hometown.

His unyielding nature remained unchanged today, and Chris couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“Dwarves are long-lived, aren’t they? Have you forgotten where on the continent you’re from?”

“Yeah! Actually, when people ask me if I’m from Ishtar, it feels off. But don’t worry about it! Hahaha!”

“As expected of you, Master! You don’t sweat the small stuff!” Ememe said.

It’s not that he didn’t care about details; he just didn’t want to intrude on their values.

The two of them were serious, not joking, so things always felt lively.

“All I remember is how to make it and its name. I’m not bothered by it, and I didn’t need any other information!”

“Chris-san, that knife is difficult to make. The material is iron that’s found in the ground, so it’s hard to collect…”

“Ah, ahahaha… Thank you so much for taking the time and effort.”

What an odd way to make it.

She muttered under her breath, then rejoined Ain, who had returned. They headed back to the inn.

The two worked until noon.

They finally fell asleep when the sun began to set.

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