Chapter 9 – The Restorer of the Shadows (4)
“I’ll rest here, so feel free to do the same until I call for you.”
“I’ll do that.”
‘What a mysterious person.’
It was a lazy afternoon just like any other. Rina set the teacups and, just as she had done for the past few days, stepped back one step while holding the tray and quietly watched her back.
She had said to rest, but Rina found this more comfortable and fun. It was entertaining to watch the beautiful elf girl sunbathing while sitting in a chair made from dirt that she had conjured in an instant.
This elf girl, Isilia, who had become her superior, was a unique and enigmatic being. She claimed to have existed for ten thousand years, possessing a power that even Ethan, an executive of an organization with immense power in the city’s underworld, could not fathom.
‘It might seem real, but… it’s not important to me.’
Based on Ethan’s attitude and Isilia’s words about the artifacts he brought, it did seem real.
Of course, for Rina, who could barely write her name, discussions about history or mythology were far too difficult. Eventually, she abandoned her thoughts and resolved to just do her own work.
“Ugh.”
“I’ll clean it for you.”
What she needed to do was the work of a maid dedicated to her master.
When Isilia, lounging awkwardly in her chair, accidentally tipped over her teacup and spilled liquid everywhere, Rina smiled gently and picked up a handkerchief to wipe Isilia’s mouth and clothes.
Honestly, seeing her like this made it hard to believe that she was a ten-thousand-year-old elf. Especially when she would ask Rina questions about things she didn’t know.
“If you’re bored, why not go out again?”
As Isilia twisted her body in the chair, making it look like she’d spill her cup again, Rina cautiously suggested an outing, knowing that every time she did go out, Isilia found everything in this world fascinating.
“I wish I could, but I have work to do.”
However, Isilia rejected the idea. The way she had twisted herself, with her head almost resting on one armrest and one foot hanging off the other, made it unlikely she could say such a thing.
‘As long as I’m not buried underground, this is the most efficient way to train. It’s true that I’m wrapped up in this self-made mold.’
Sighing, Isilia glanced at the earth spirit resting on her chest and chuckled lightly. While others would never believe it, for the high elf like Isilia, who could directly wield the power of nature and spirits, being in contact with the earth like this was a form of training in its own right.
Just sitting still strengthened her power, so while it may be dull, it was a minor complaint compared to the rigorous training others endured.
“I wonder what kind of stuff he brought this time.”
Of course, she wasn’t just twiddling her thumbs. Sitting up straight, Isilia smiled as she saw Ethan arrive in the courtyard.
“This is it. It’s not very big.”
“Hm, it looks familiar somehow.”
Ethan handed Isilia the contaminated artifact that his associate had recovered. Holding it in her small hands, Isilia immediately began to channel her power to purify the contamination.
“Ugh!?”
But the reaction was different this time. With a crackling spark, Isilia’s mana was rapidly sucked into the artifact.
Isilia’s knees buckled in shock. A startled Rina rushed to support her, while Ethan barely managed to catch the artifact she had dropped.
‘If I hadn’t been steadily building my strength, I might have fainted right there.’
With a grimace, Isilia looked at the artifact, now purified, being held with wonder by Ethan.
Ethan could hardly believe his eyes as he stared at his reflection in the black screen now in his hand.
“What on earth is this that it consumed so much of your power?”
“You don’t know what a smartphone is? It’s definitely not comparable to something like a crumpled plastic bottle.”
With a pale face and cold sweat trickling down, Isilia, supported by Rina, retrieved the cellphone that Ethan was holding. She found the power button and pressed it, shaking her head at its unresponsive state.
“Well, of course, it’s not turning on. But really, you don’t know? It’s a type of communication device.”
“A communication device, huh? It looks valuable, but I’m not too sure.”
Ethan took back the cellphone and smiled faintly. Although he was knowledgeable about items that could be worth something, he had never seen an artifact that looked like this before.
In the first place, ‘real’ valuable artifacts were typically owned by people of high status or handled at a national level, so seeing one was as unlikely as reaching for the stars.
‘If this elf vouches for it, its value is guaranteed.’
However, thinking that he could sell it for a considerable sum, Ethan made a fatal mistake.
He decided to put the artifact up for sale on the black market.
Using the black market to dispose of artifacts was the norm, but sometimes items existed that were problematic just by their very nature.
As an executive of the organization, Ethan should have been well aware of such things, but there were many matters in the world beyond the understanding of a mere crime syndicate executive.
*
“Mayor! We have intelligence that an artifact of grade one or higher has leaked onto the black market!”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
Mayor Wilrn blinked in surprise at the abrupt words of his aide who burst into his office. It was such an unexpected and unpredictable event that his reaction was warranted.
“A grade one artifact is the rarest type of relic that can hint at the secrets of the mythical era. The vast knowledge or powers contained within are beyond imagination.”
As if to emphasize this, Renia, who had rushed to the mayor, pricked up her red fox ears and approached him.
“The grade one artifact that was said to be discovered on the black market is likely to be a similar artifact to this one.”
“An artifact? Is this it?”
“According to legend, the beings from the mythical era could directly connect with the god of knowledge through this artifact.”
Wilrn’s eyes widened in astonishment when he looked at the item she had brought.
“This is just a box. It’s protected by ten layers of spells.”
“Aah…”
Renia placed the box, about the size of her head, on Wilrn’s desk and began to unlock it one by one. Both he and his aide held their breath as they watched the locks slowly being released.
She whispered the code, rubbed her fingers in a certain pattern, opened her eyes to shine light, and finally, plucked a tuft of her tail fur and placed it on the magic circle, before the box finally opened and revealed a black square object inside.
“Be careful. This is property of our royal family, and I painstakingly acquired it for research purposes.”
“From what I see, it just looks like a shiny rock.”
“It’s merely in an inactive state.”
Seeing their reactions of amazement pleased Renia, who smiled and carefully picked it up with her gloved hands and pressed a button.
The screen lit up, displaying unknown letters and numbers, along with nine black dots.
“Truly remarkable. This is from the mythical era… but is this all there is?”
“Sadly, the research ends here. This artifact I possess is locked, and in order to utilize it, we must unlock this ancient seal within a limited number of attempts.”
Although fascinating, that was as far as its usefulness went. Renia replied that this mysterious magical object was locked and could not be opened.
“So far, it seems no one has been able to unlock it, but according to rumors, there are artifacts without such locks. Of course, to understand the information contained within, one must have the appropriate interpretive skills.”
“I—I’ve never seen such artifacts. The only valuable and rare items I know of are the mythical weapons.”
“That’s the general consensus. To date, the number of handheld artifacts that have been fully restored is few and far between. Given their value, there are quite a few of them.”
Seeing Wilrn, who prided himself on his knowledge, puzzled by the appearance of such an artifact, Renia nodded.
“Yet such an item has appeared on the black market in perfect restoration. This is no trivial matter.”
“Is it really that difficult to restore?”
“To my knowledge, when our kingdom restored this, it took 26 years and required the mana of over a hundred wizards each year.”
“Gulp…”
Wilrn’s mouth fell open in shock at the value Renia indirectly confirmed. The Beastman Federation, which Renia referred to as her kingdom, was a powerful nation that governed most of the beastman forces across the continent.
Realizing the significance of an item restored at such an effort appearing in the city’s black market made his expression change drastically.
“I know that much, so the rumors must have spread. Won’t those who recognize its value pay attention to the city?”
“Then, what should we do…?”
“We don’t know who did this or how, but since we don’t know what kind of incident might occur, it would be wise to be prepared.”
Renia’s somber warning pierced Wilrn’s heart deeply.
