It certainly looked expensive, but I had to wonder why it was in the Sword Saint’s storehouse. I gave Soln a questioning look.
“This,” he said with a grin, “ended up in my hands long ago. I’m a Swordsman, so I don’t know much about these things, but I’ve been told it can amplify mana like nothing else out there. I figured the Thousand Tricks might be able to use this. I think this will sell for a nifty sum, but I hope you won’t do that.”
“Ohh. This is really something.”
I’ll take it.
Some saints offer their blessing, this one gave me a staff. I didn’t use staves, but I was glad to have one more item in my collection. Lucia looked at it, her eyes wide with shock.
I took the staff and tried lifting it up. Round World was heavy, but this one was light enough that even I could swing it around with ease.
“What’s its name?” I asked.
“Don’t know. Remember, this thing’s been sleeping in my storehouse for a long time.”
Hmm.
Figuring out its name sounded like it could be difficult, but with so many distinct points, I figured I could manage something.
“Well, I don’t quite understand what happened, but I’m glad that got resolved. I knew the Sword Saint was a magnanimous person.”
“For goodness’ sake. Stop getting people worked up every time something happens!”
Walking next to me, Lucia let out a long sigh that seemed to take her soul with it. I didn’t mean to get anyone worked up. Whether I offered compliments, spoke humbly, or was honest, people seemed to think I was trying to get them worked up. I thought I was just being genuine.
“Man, I still can’t believe I got a gift after causing all that trouble,” I said while giving the staff a swing.
Staves tended to be among the more expensive weapon-type Relics. In particular, one could fetch an astronomical price if it had exceptional mana amplification capabilities or some special power that couldn’t be emulated with modern technology. All Magi longed for something like Telm’s bracelet-type staff or Krahi’s staff.
In my hands wasn’t just a staff, but one from the vault of the famous Sword Saint. That heightened my expectations even more. Sure, I wouldn’t be able to use it regardless of its nature, but you see, staves were even more likely than swords to pick their wielders. If this were the sort of Relic that chose who could use it, discerning its powers could be a very lengthy process.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lucia watched me gleefully swing the staff around. “Every time you cause an uproar, my instructors and colleagues tease me,” she grumbled. “They say, ‘Oh, your brother, he went and did it again!’”
“Oh, they do?” I replied. “How about you punch them?”
“Please make it easier to know when you’re joking.”
I never did anything; it was just that trouble came to me. Our world was a dangerous one. I couldn’t feel safe walking outside with Lucia at my side.
My sister cleared her throat and looked directly at me. “So, when are you going to visit my instructor?”
“Hm? What for?”
“I just told you back at the clan house! I had to cancel some plans at the last moment because of the Supreme Warrior Festival, and that made her angry. She said to bring you over.”
Oh, you were serious about that. Your instructor really doesn’t have an eye for people.
Unlike Luke, Lucia was a diligent person. That’s why her instructor didn’t think highly of the way I was always dragging my talented younger sister into trouble. For different reasons, I was destined to be flooded with complaints from both of their mentors. I even got complaints from Ark’s family, House Rodin! I was one of the foremost complaint collectors. If you gathered up everyone who had ever sent me a complaint, you’d have most of the imperial capital. If you could sell complaints, I’d be a billionaire.
I made an effort to put on a gentle smile. “Lucia,” I said in a gentle voice, “bringing me over would be the ruder option.”
“I was sort of thinking the same thing. However, she told me to bring you, even if I had to drag you!”
Glaring at me, she gripped my sleeve. She was serious about this. I was, after all, her brother. Her older brother. That title was starting to lose its weight, but I still felt I was in charge of her well-being, even if nobody else likely saw it that way. If someone wanted to talk with her parents or something, then I, her great Level 8 brother, could jump to the occasion. If there was something I could do for her (such as be a guarantor), then I’d do it. But it was a bit sad when that meant fielding complaints.
Lucia’s instructor was a professor at the imperial capital’s foremost institute of magic, Zebrudia Academy of Magic. Also known as ZAM, the Zebrudia Academy of Magic was a renowned school of the arcane arts. It was an honored institute, with the Abyssal Inferno among its alumni. It employed Magi who were different from the hunters who specialized in practical spellcasting. This was a genuine den of the unknowable, where research was conducted daily.
On an individual level, none of its professors were as famous as the Sword Saint, but their organization dwarfed his. Appearing before Lucia’s instructor was stressful, but in a different way than with the Sword Saint. For one thing, unlike Swordsmen, you never knew what a Magus might do to you. If I were going to see Lucia’s instructor, then I wanted to have something to butter them up with.
That’s right!
I looked at the staff I had just obtained. While we still didn’t know what it did, it must’ve been fairly powerful if it was in the Sword Saint’s vault. I was a little sad to part with it, but Eliza had given me that sword for free, and I couldn’t think of a better way to improve a Magus’s mood. Maybe the Sword Saint anticipated Lucia’s instructor being angry?!
Man, I’m on fire today. It’s my lucky day.
“Lucia, how about we give this to your professor? Didn’t you mention something about her searching for a staff?”
It was fair to assume her anger would subside if we gave her a valuable staff. I know it’d work on me.
Lucia blinked when she heard my sudden proposal. She looked at me dubiously. “Hm? Yes, she was indeed searching for a staff. But when did I tell you about that? And we only just obtained this one.”
Hmph. Do I have to say it? I was just making stuff up.
While we had been told not to sell this thing, nothing had been said about handing it to someone else. I still hadn’t gotten attached to it, and if it managed to put the professor in a good mood, I’d call that a bargain. Besides, it was more natural for the professor to have this than it was for me. Things should be put where they belong.
“I’m sure your instructor will be satisfied with this. So go on, take it. Just be sure to tell her it’s a gift from me. That should ease her anger.”
“I-I see. Are you sure you want to give this away?”
I shoved the staff off onto her, and she looked at it with uncharacteristic concern. I couldn’t blame her; it was uncommon to see a staff that was black from tip to end. Black was evocative of refinement, but in the Relic world, it was also the color of curses.
“Ha ha ha, it’s fine. You worry too much, Lucia.”
“And you don’t worry enough.”
The Sword Saint hadn’t mentioned anything about dangers, and I had trouble believing someone as magnanimous as him would give us something hazardous. Besides, we’d be giving this to a pro. She might have known more about staff-type Relics than most appraisers did. And Lucia wasn’t the type to do things carelessly.
“Who knows,” I said, “the professor might also recognize this staff.”
“Well, she is very knowledgeable, and...” Lucia looked at me gravely. “Hey. If you know something, then say—”
Just then, the Sounding Stone from Franz began to vibrate. What could he possibly want? I didn’t want to answer the stone, but I did owe him after he had mediated with the Sword Saint. Since he answered my calls, it’d be a breach of etiquette not to answer his. It’s not like we were meeting face-to-face or anything.
I took a deep breath and activated the Sounding Stone. I tried to sound as cheerful as I could, so as not to anger him. “Hello, Franz? Yoohoo, it’s me.”
“Do you always act like this?! I’ve already told you, I’m not your friend!”
“I just thought I’d try to help you relax...”
“And you thought I would need that from you?!”
Same old Franz. I try to be considerate, but, well, I guess this was how nobles were.
Lucia pressed her lips together and looked up at me discontentedly. She never liked being interrupted. But I didn’t know the staff’s identity, and even if I told her that, she wouldn’t believe me.
“That reminds me, thanks for the help this morning! I don’t know how you did it, but Soln was in a good mood. That was your doing, wasn’t it? He even gave me something in return. If only things always worked out like this.”
All I had asked Franz to do was make sure there weren’t any odd newspaper articles about what had happened at the lounge, but that couldn’t explain why things were going this smoothly. Franz and his people must have gone out of their way on my behalf. I suppose you could do things like this if you had authority, though I still felt a little bad for constantly asking favors of him.
Hey, Franz, wanna join Grieving Souls?
I tried to sound cheery, but Franz’s response was a roar even stronger than before.
“About that! What the hell are you after?! The incident with the Devil Sword is resolved, but the prophecy hasn’t gone away!”
“Pardon?”
The sudden screaming from the Sounding Stone caused some people passing by to stop for a moment, then hurry away. Lucia looked at the Sounding Stone, then at the staff in her hands. Then she gave me a skeptical glare.