Chapter 15:
Mist and Embrace
WITH THE DEBT to the Paisley Company repaid, it was time to say goodbye to the city of Zibil. We had our late breakfast before we headed to the plaza by the city’s main gate. The grandpa who’d driven us here would be waiting for us in a corner of the plaza, as we had arranged to hitch a ride on the way back to Tibar as well.
We took a lively street to the plaza, which was lined with a multitude of vendors. Various goods were displayed on carpets spread over the cobblestone.
One of the street vendors called out to me. “You, the handsome spellcaster! Come and take a look at my wares. In fact, I’ve just gotten my hands on a damn amazin’ ancient mana tool.”
“An ancient mana tool, you say?” I couldn’t help but stop when I was called handsome. Also, Chotos had said ancient mana tools were a rare sort.
“Look right here.” The street vendor showed me a wooden carving that resembled a poorly made terracotta figure.
Huh? This was the first time I’d seen a wooden mana tool. All the mana tools in Mr. Chotos’s shop were made of some unknown material that resembled stone or resin. Furthermore, the paint on this doll’s surface seemed kind of cheap. Rather than a mana tool, it looked like a tawdry souvenir.
“What magic does this mana tool possess?”
“What a wonderful question. This fellow here is, could you believe it, a legendary ancient mana tool blessed by the goddess of love and desire, Dalmaty. Just by holdin’ it, all the women of the world will become your captives. A terrible little thing it is.”
“Wha—?” Impossible. There was no way. Rationally thinking, there was absolutely no way.
No, wait. Calm down. Pull yourself together, me. Remember, this is a world where spells and dragons exist. Compared to monsters that ignored the laws of nature like that ancient Earth Dragon, the existence of an item that made you popular was both feasible and, frankly, adorable.
In that case, this street vendor had to be telling the truth! If I got my hand on the goddess of love’s ancient mana tool, would I finally be freed from my life overflowing with old men?
I swallowed. “May I ask…how much this costs?”
“This guy’s so powerful I’d hate to risk it bein’ abused. Normally, I wouldn’t sell ’im to just anyone, but…I trust a man like you, so how ’bout I give you a special limited-time deal of just sixteen gold coins, hm?”
“S-sixteen gold coins!” How could this be? I currently had five gold coins and fourteen silver. The rest were copper. This was not remotely enough. I dropped my shoulders, heartbroken. “Unfortunately, I only have five gold on me right now…”
“Oh! You’re truly a lucky one!”
“Huh?”
“Yes, yes. Honest truth, I’m in the middle of a huge sale, so the price’s been cut in half to just eight gold! Plus, the festival to celebrate that holy Saint of the Stone’s birthday is just next month. Since you have the same lucky black hair as the saint, I’ll deduct another three gold. And that makes it, bang, five gold coins! How ’bout it? Take it, you thief!”
“Wha…?!”
Ridiculous! How could that be? For some wild, unexpected reasons, the price had taken a sudden dive?! A discount of over ten gold coins would make even Old Dancy from the bookstore turn pale.
In other words, was this too good to pass up? As I listened to this street vendor’s pitch, I was overcome with the feeling that if I didn’t buy this tool, I’d miss out on the chance of a lifetime. If I let this opportunity escape me, it might never come again. And when I considered the absolutely dire consequences of being unpopular for the rest of my life…
Wait. If I buy this mana tool, I’ll exhaust my funds. Maybe I need to deliberate more before making a decision… Damn, it was no good! The promise of being popular with all the women in the world was far too tempting. My desire was already as large as Antarctica. I was being crushed by a continent’s worth of pressure, and I couldn’t think! Save me, Gol. What should I do?
At my wits’ end, I turned to Gol behind me. She hadn’t even bothered to look at the street vendor’s wares. Her warm gaze was fixed, as ever, on me. It felt like she was saying: “It’s fine. You can buy whatever you want.”
Right… Gol didn’t pay any real attention to other people. She didn’t even know which of the goods I was so stressed about. In the end, I would have to make the decision myself.
Fine. I could do it.
“All right…”
A mere five gold coins was nothing, if I could be popular with the ladies. I’d lose all my money at once, but I doubted it would kill me. Starting tomorrow, the Sorcerer King would retire and change jobs—I would be a Matagi hunter with Gol.
Committing to my new self-sustaining lifestyle, I rummaged through my black shoulder bag and was about to take out my purse.
“Hey, Nemaki…”
When I turned to the source of the voice, Mr. Chotos firmly gripped my shoulder.
What’s wrong, mister? Making kind of a scary face there…