With a haughty nod and a cold voice, Lapis said, “Noble Spirits avoid metal as a general rule. The only exceptions are gold and silver. Prepare a carriage made only from flora and gemstones, and see to that it’s pulled by unicorns or griffons. The Shaman doesn’t care for crowds of humans, so you must block off the main thoroughfare upon their arrival. Treat them as you would treat royalty.”
I was pretty sure we didn’t go that far out of our way even for royalty. The fact that Lapis seemed to be speaking genuinely made it all the more troubling. Franz grimaced, probably at the thought of all the steps it would take to shut down the main thoroughfare.
“Are there no alternatives?” he asked. “What about that professor, Seyge Claster? She’s a Noble Magus.”
“Hmph. You must be joking—that woman’s only half of a Noble. And maybe I shouldn’t expect a human to know this, but Magi and Shamans operate on different principles.”
Franz had his work cut out for him. But this time, I truly hadn’t contributed to his woes. In fact, you might say that since Lucia, Ark, Ansem, and everyone in Starlight were all members of First Steps, I had done a lot to help.
Yeah, I know. That same line of thinking is why my level is so high!
Franz, the Father, and Lapis all got to work making future plans. With nothing to do, I stared absentmindedly out the window at Marin’s Lament.
“Something bothering you, Krai?” Gark asked me out of nowhere.
“Hm? Not really...”
I hadn’t even said anything. Unless that was the problem?
Everyone’s gaze gradually turned my way. Lucia’s unamused glare was particularly painful. Had it become clear I hadn’t been paying any attention?
Bothering me. Something is bothering me. No, nothing comes to mind.
Then I had something. It didn’t have anything to do with our current predicament, but it was bothering me. It was Liz. In my guard rotation, her turn would be next. I didn’t see any point in having her protection, since I was running into all sorts of chaos anyway, but I didn’t think she would listen to me if I told her not to show up.
Not to mention, she knew that Luke and everyone else had gotten something, so she was assuming she would get something too. The truth was that all the things I had given my friends were nothing but trouble, but she wouldn’t care about something like that. If I didn’t give her something, she would absolutely cause a fuss.
Oh, what am I going to do about that?
“If there’s something, now’s the time to say it,” Gark warned, cutting off my unrelated thoughts.
“Yeah, I don’t think there’s really anything.”
“It doesn’t matter how minor!” Franz said needlessly. “Every time, you say this, then go off and do something!”
What had I done to warrant such a low opinion?
I got the feeling this wouldn’t be settled unless I said something. I cleared my throat and said apologetically, “It doesn’t have anything to do with the subject at hand, but ummm. Ah. Right. I’d really like a treasure chest or some other kind of locked object.”
“What are you babbling about?”
“The important thing is that it’s locked. An old, wooden, treasure chest that’s pleasing to the eye.”
Liz, you see, loved locked treasure chests. The more complex the lock, the better. The closer it matched the stereotypical image of a treasure chest, the better. In this case, it didn’t even matter what was inside. If I complimented her when she opened the box, she would be satisfied.
Everyone looked at me doubtfully. Even the Father seemed unsure of what to do.
Guess I shouldn’t have said that after all. I’ll look for one on the way home.
With the conversation over, I left the church along with Lucia and everyone in Starlight. I stretched my back, overwhelmed by the sense of freedom. Lucia sighed as she watched me.
Despite my odd statement interrupting things, they had a boisterous and frank exchange of ideas, after which we agreed to request the aid of the Noble Shaman. Until then, the curse would remain bound by the Relic. The fact that those two were in such a visible position clearly annoyed the Father, but I thought it made for a nice bit of avant-garde furnishing.
Though more of them had started spending time among us, Noble Spirits generally didn’t mesh well with humans. When dealing with a Shaman revered among their fellow Nobles, any sort of mistake could expand into an international incident. During the entire discussion, Franz looked thoroughly displeased. Being someone of his stature couldn’t have been easy.
“I’d suggest you hurry,” Lapis said to him once we were outside. “We’ll contact our forest as soon as we can. You need to begin preparing.”
“This might take some time,” he replied. “We’ll contact you once preparations are complete. I’ll have a Sounding Stone ready. Thousand Tricks, hand over the stone I lent you. I don’t see you needing it anymore.”
“What? I was sure you were giving it to me...”
“Like hell! Even in the imperial capital, those are precious strategic assets!”
I wasn’t sure what to think when he’d first handed it over, but it turned out that having a direct line to Franz was pretty convenient. I reluctantly returned the stone, which he snatched from my hand and gave to Lapis. Once she had put it away, Franz gave me an irascible look.
“Can I take it there’s nothing else worrying you?” he asked.
“Mmm, not really.”
I dunno, I guess I don’t really know what’s going on.
I’m not proud to say it, but I had been nodding along simply because everyone else was!
“That’s what you always say! And what was that random statement from earlier? Is this clownery the trade-off for your inhuman abilities?! What’s the treasure chest for?!”
Didn’t I say that it’s irrelevant? Just forget it already.
“Gosh, Franz, calm down,” I said. “What’s there to worry about when we’ve got such a dream team here? With Ark, Gark, Lucia, and Ansem, we’re set on all fronts. Nobody got hurt during the purification, and with a group like ours, we can handle any sort of curse. No need to put everything on my shoulders.”
Franz ground his teeth.
Search me all you want, there’s nothing to find. Didn’t you see that I needed Lucia’s help to get atop that gate? Every time something goes wrong, you all bring it to me.
I wasn’t exactly idle. I was very busy resting, and I needed to buy a treasure chest.
“I only came this time as a precaution and ended up not doing anything, right? Let me be clear, I’m much more mundane than you seem to think I am. All I do is cause problems.”
“S-So you realize it?! Goddamn you! Who do you think you are?!”
Crap. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that?!
Just as I was about to take cover behind Lucia, the ground shook. I turned around and saw Ansem calling to us (not that he was actually calling, per se). He wasn’t wearing his helmet for once, and he had a few priests following behind him. Franz stopped his chastising when he saw them. Ansem was big enough that he could just barely pass under the gate. With a presence like that, anyone would shut up if they saw him approaching.
But what does he want? I wondered as he cleared his throat. When he spoke, I realized how long it had been since I had heard his voice unmuffled.
“Krai, regarding your need for a treasure chest, the church has something. Come with us.”