He sighed again, then got to the point. “That’s not the problem. Graste hasn’t been transporting a little bit of thundercite, but tons of it. Now he’s got a massive overstock of the stuff.”
“Massive overstock? Does that mean he’s storing it in a warehouse?”
“Ah, yeah,” Graste said. “At first it was only a few pieces, but those first few flew of the shelves. So, I kinda decided that it’d be more efficient to mine a whole bunch at once. I rented a warehouse and stored it there. Now, I can’t move it.”
“How many pieces?”
“Close to a hundred small ones.”
I recalled that some of the stones I’d seen at the mine had been as big as my body. Certainly, he hadn’t transported any of those. Were we back on Earth, you could use the thundercite for energy and other applications, and thus easily make a fortune. The science of electricity was required for that, of course.
While the Japanese were aware of electricity during the middle ages and Edo Period, they lacked the tools to utilize it. It was basically just something sparkling to observe. I obviously didn’t have the expertise to make any electric machines. Neither did Graste, who now had a ton of thundercite and no use for it.
I could guess the rest from the haggard look on his face: he’d run out of money due to the warehouse rental, plus the total cost of transport. Now, he was in a tight spot. Why bring this up to me? Was it just to make me feel bad for him?
“That being said, I got a favor to ask of you,” Graste said. “Can’t you think of any way I can sell the stuff? You knew how to transport it, right? I thought maybe you might be able to come up with somethin’…to help.”
Ah, so this was what his self-pity and misery came down to. His gaze and posture had been withering away the longer he talked. It was strange to see someone who was ordinarily such a big personality become so small. Asking a favor from a kid my age was a big blow to his pride.
I understood. It wasn’t easy to ask a child to do something for you as an adult. That wasn’t a problem if you could do it yourself, but to have a child help you out—that was uncomfortable, to say the least. Grown-ups have pride as grown-ups, after all.
With that in mind, I was at a loss of how to respond. I recognized the seriousness of his situation. He came all the way here to ask me, that was all the proof I needed. Dad and Mom looked clueless themselves.
Graste had helped me out with getting the thundercite. He was also Dad’s friend, so I couldn’t just leave him hanging. Emotionally, I wanted to help him out. My hesitation came from not knowing whether I really could. I didn’t know if I could figure something out or not, and I didn’t want to let him down. Even if there was a solution, I didn’t know if it would be possible. At this point, I had no clue what to do. And yet…
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll try to see what I can come up with.”
“A-are you sure? I realize it’s a selfish ask.”
“I’m sure. I don’t have anything in mind right now, so please don’t expect fast results. I’ll come up with something if I can, but this isn’t an easy problem to solve.”
“Of course! That’s fine. Wow, thanks. Thank you!” The light came back to Graste’s eyes as he grinned at me.
Could you please not expect so much of me? I was just a kid. I’m sure he wasn’t placing all his eggs in my basket, but given his desperation, he must’ve figured it was worth a shot. Just a little bit of hope can work wonders on the heart.
No matter the result, I decided that I would do something to help. Plus, a notion began to form—not about this problem—but it was a thought about my magic research. There was a chance this project would go hand-in-hand with my studies.
So, it was with a mixture of altruism and self-interest that I agreed to help Graste out.
“Listen up, Graste,” Dad said. “Shion’s just helping out. You’ve gotten yourself into this mess, and Shion’s lending you a hand to get out of it. No matter what happens, don’t blame things on him.”
“Of course, I know that,” Graste said. “I’m just grateful that he agreed to help at all. I’m really sorry, little guy, for putting this on your plate. But I just thought maybe you…if it were you… After all, you’re—”
“Graste!” Dad raised his voice.
The atmosphere of the living room became tense. Marie and I stayed silent. We were confused about what had just happened.
“Ah, um, sorry, it’s nothing,” Graste said. “Forget it.”
What was Graste about to say? I decided to squash my curiosity. The grim look on Dad’s face indicated that I’d be better off if I didn’t ask. A dry patting sound hit against my eardrums.
Mom had clapped her hands together and broke the tension. “Well, now that that is all settled, why don’t we have lunch? I’ve made a seafood stew.” She spoke as cheerfully as usual and went straight into the kitchen.
That was when I realized I smelled something delicious wafting from the kitchen. She had been cooking when Graste arrived. The awkward atmosphere had prevented me from even noticing.
Dad and Graste had perked up, but they still looked uncomfortable.
“Lunch time,” Dad said. “So, Shion, do you have any ideas for your next step?”
His voice sounded kindly in spite of his stern expression. I could tell that Graste wasn’t feeling better yet, but time would heal that.
Had Graste been trying to tell me something? What could it have been? Maybe it had to do with my true parentage. I knew that I wasn’t my parents’ blood child, so it could have been that. Or it could have been something different altogether. I put a lid on the curiosity welling up inside my mind and tried to act normal. That was the best I could do for now.
Once I regained my composure, I answered Dad’s question.
“First, I’d like to go to Istria to assess the situation. I’ll tell you my thoughts after that.”
Dad vigorously nodded. The hint of a smile crept on to his face. During lunch, the cheerful conversation got Graste back on his feet. With our stomachs full, we took a rest before finally heading out an hour later.
To be honest, while I currently had no thoughts to share, I did have a vague sense of what direction to head in.