“Ms. Eindebelle... are you not satisfied with this price?”
“You’re darn right I ain’t satisfied. No chance I’m sellin’ this for that price.” Gratt had always conducted honest business with Eindebelle, and he thought that she saw his appraisal skills as reputable, as well. So her outburst was shocking to him, seeing as how he never expected her to so vehemently find fault in one of his offers.
“...You have my dignity as a merchant that I only sought to offer you a reasonable price.”
“That price is only reasonable goin’ off its aesthetic merits, ain’t it?” It took a second to process what she meant by that, sending Gratt’s eyes quickly back to the brooch. Shining in the center of the piece of jewelry was a beautiful magic stone. Gratt was then struck with a sudden realization. He had thought that the magic stone was set up so that the buyer could install whatever enchantment they’d like, but...
“Do you mean this magic stone is already enchanted...?”
“That’s the gist of it. And I’m sayin’ I’ve assessed this brooch as an enchanted item.”
“So I see. This was a joint project between the both of you, then? Your enchanted items have always been popular, Ms. Eindebelle, so the price would indeed have to increase.” Using high-quality magic stones yielded stronger effects, but they were also that much harder to produce. Therefore, it would take a considerable amount of technique and effort to enchant a magic stone of this caliber. Gratt reflected on his ignorance, seeing that Eindebelle was reasonably upset that he had only viewed the item as a piece of jewelry. That was when Ristia spoke up.
“I’m the one who enchanted this brooch~” she declared in a very matter-of-fact manner, which threw Gratt for a loop. As explained earlier, a considerable amount of technique was needed to enchant a magic stone of high value. He was surprised that a girl so young was capable of enchanting anything, but... unfortunately, any person capable of purchasing a piece of jewelry this fine could also request a well-known enchanter to enchant it the way they wanted. Basically, an amateurish enchantment applied to the brooch would actually diminish the value. An enchanter enchanting something was natural, and it was understandable that one would like to provide their own enchantments, but it was a bad move from a merchandise perspective.
Nanami, probably understanding that, made a reproachful look, simply saying, “Lady Ristia...”
That’s right. Please, tell her for me. Me telling her might make things even worse, but since Nanami seems to be on good terms with her, if she were to tell her, things would work out peacefully. Gratt hoped, watching patiently over the pair’s interaction.
“...Huh? Are you saying I shouldn’t tell him?”
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t, it’s just...”
“Naw, he’s gonna figure it out once he looks into its effects anyway. Mr. Gratt is a reliable connection, so it’s better to tell it to ’im straight and get him on our side,” Eindebelle said, positively reinforcing what Ristia said. Gratt hadn’t at all been anticipating this interaction between the three of them. He wasn’t sure why, but it seemed that there was not a single person present that was willing to explain that an amateurish enchantment would lower the value of an item. Gratt breathed a sigh and decided to break the news himself.
“So Ms. Ristia, you were the one that enchanted this?”
“Mm-hmm, I sure did~”
“I see. Well... I should start by telling you that many of the customers who would buy such a high-priced accessory make requests for enchantments that they themselves want.”
“Oh... I didn’t know that.”
“Hence, well... I would like you to be informed that the price of this brooch could very well drop depending on the effects of your enchantment.” The gist of Gratt’s roundabout phrasing was that a poor enchantment would negatively affect the value. It ran close to saying, “Your enchantment isn’t going to cut it,” which had the potential to rub Ristia the wrong way, but his appraisal value would make his sentiment clear to her either way. That was why he wanted to make sure to hammer that point home while he still had the opportunity...
“Oh, now I get it. So I should have taken the person’s request and then enchanted it, right? If that’s the case, then should I rewrite the enchantment so it does whatever the person wants?” But the point did not seem to reach Ristia. In fact, it raised an even bigger concern. Rewriting something that was already enchanted shouldn’t have been possible.
Normally, being capable enough to enchant a magic stone of this quality would take a considerable amount of knowledge and skill... so why is it that she doesn’t know something so simple? Gratt asked himself, confused. It was almost as if they had come to a mutual understanding, yet they were worlds apart at the same time.
Perhaps witnessing the two miscommunicate was hard to watch, because the nearby Eindebelle provided some recourse. “Hey, Ristia? Why don’cha explain to Mr. Gratt what kinda enchantment you put on this here thing.”
“Oh, good idea. The enchantment nullifies bodily ailments.”
“Oh-ho! That would put it in demand, if that is so.” I may not know the extent of the effect, but we’re heading in the right direction here, Gratt thought, slightly relieved. Regardless of whether they were aristocrat or merchant, any person with money needed to be careful of poison, so any enchantment that would mitigate bodily ailments of any kind would receive positive reviews. “Right, so what kind of ailments does this enchantment help mitigate?”
“The conditions are less ‘what kind,’ and more ‘every kind.’ It targets every ailment.“”
“...Huh? ‘Every’? Are you saying it helps mitigate every bodily ailment?”
“No, it doesn’t mitigate. It nullifies.” Gratt blinked in disbelief. Soon after, he laughed.
“Goodness, you’re quite the comedian, Young Lady.” If an enchanted item produced the same effect every time, then it would have more effective abilities the further its scope was narrowed down. Based on that premise, it targeting “every bodily ailment” was so broad that it was infeasible. And even if one was to restrict the scope of what it helped, it couldn’t have enough power to nullify bodily ailments. For example, even if you were to limit it to specific poisons, the best it could do was mitigate the effects of the poison. Setting weak poisons aside, nullifying the effects of poisons in general was simply impossible. Basically, it would be a high-end item if it were able to pacify even just half of an ingested poison, and if it had an ability to completely nullify even a single type of poison, then it was practically an Artifact. Nullifying any and all bodily ailments was the sort of thing one would only find in fairy tales.
Eindebelle remarked with an awkward smile, “Yeah, can’t blame ya fer thinkin’ that...”
Nanami, on the other hand, had an obvious tension in her brow. “Lady Ristia, you’ve fouled up, haven’t you?”
Gratt then realized that something here was off. If what Ristia claimed was the truth, then that would mean all of their stories fit into place, leading to quite the unbelievable predicament. Gratt looked at the brooch in his hands for a second time, then shot his eyes back to Ristia.
“Huh? Does it really have the power to nullify all bodily ailments?”
“Indeed it does.”
“...D-Do you mind if I appraise it?”
“Go right ahead~” Ristia said in an easygoing tone. Upon hearing that, Gratta used his treasured Artifact, a magic crystal tool that appraised enchanted wares. And the moment he did—the magic crystal tool shattered into pieces.
“...Goodness!”
“Oh, no. A tool that low-grade simply won’t cut it. Wait just a second.” Gratt was taken aback at what had just happened, but it wasn’t soon after that Ristia pulled out a countless number of crystal-like shards seemingly from thin air. Then, an unbelievably complex magic circle deployed around Ristia, and the shards transformed into one solid, transparent orb.
“Ehehe, voila. An appraisal crystal that will appraise any and all enchanted items~” Ristia said with an innocent smile. However, the words that came from those beautiful glossy lips never entered Gratt’s ears—because the phenomenon that had just unfolded before his eyes transcended his comprehension.
“Wh-Wh-What... What did you just do?”
“‘What’? Just what it looked like. I made an appraisal crystal.”
“You made one? Just like that?” A simple enchantment took several hours, and some even took several months. Also, an appraisal crystal was an Artifact, an item that could never be created in the modern day. So, unable to believe what he was told, Gratt tried appraising the enchanted item in his hands with the crystal he was just handed. Displayed on the crystal was an effect he was familiar with... along with a detailed supplementary explanation. The explanation far exceeded the appraisal crystal that had just broken moments ago, which caused his jaw to hit the floor.