Lunarin.
A mysterious ore said to contain moonlight.
This item, which is quite important in the elementary section chapter of Legend of Academy, is treated as a decent doping item among veterans, but to the people living in this world, it was completely different.
【Lunarin】
【Increases magic power by 50% for 2 turns. Then decreases magic power by 50% for the next 2 turns.】
Lunarin, which amplifies the magic power within the body, is a very dangerous item. There’s even a setting that it causes addiction symptoms.
When you think about it, it’s absolutely no coincidence that Esme summoned a nightmare during art class.
The fact that a small fifth-grader from the elementary section had outstanding magic power and, in a mentally unstable state, suddenly summoned a dangerous spirit, also had its secrets.
Nicasia naturally ended up checking the items brought in by Crimson Nexus Trading Company because, while investigating the nightmare Esme summoned, she found something suspicious.
Anyway, Lunarin is a highly dangerous item by the standards of the Legend of Academy world. As soon as its components were discovered, the Academy asked Nicasia to act as a witness to ensure a fair investigation, so there’s no need to say more.
“Good work, Balkan. Murmur? The investigation results are out, please take a look.”
Citrine, with her white hair that suited her well, handed a thick stack of papers to Balkan, the butler, and sat down next to me, holding a chair.
It’s already been about three weeks since I asked Nicasia and Citrine for help. It was strange that the investigation results hadn’t come out yet.
“Yes, Murmur is looking at it now.”
“Murmur already seems to know, but would it be okay if I explain it to you?”
It wouldn’t be bad to tidy up the situation and move on, right?
And it’s also important to know how the incident is being evaluated from the perspective of someone living in this world.
“Yes, please do.”
“Ahem…! There are currently four trading companies dealing with Cosmos Academy. Our ‘Crimson Nexus’ Trading Company, ‘Astral Emporium’, ‘Chronicle House’, and ‘Sapphire Concord’.”
Citrine held up four fingers as she spoke.
“You’ve heard of Astral Emporium, right? It’s a massive trading company formed by the union of many small and large trading companies. They supply over half of the Academy’s needs.”
I, of course, know how great Astral Emporium is. There were wars, almost like civil wars, to form that massive union of trading companies.
“Chronicle House is a trading company affiliated with shops in Starlight Alley. Although in small quantities, they definitely sell items that only they can supply to the Academy.”
“Sapphire Concord is affiliated with shops in Dragon Tail Street, right? The ones that sell weapons and potions.”
“Oh~hohoho! That’s right! As expected, Murmur knows well!”
Citrine, smiling brightly, flipped through the papers.
“Lastly, there’s our Crimson Nexus Trading Company. Our company started trading with the Academy relatively recently.”
“So that’s why that guy holding the book last time was shouting that he was ruined.”
“If Lunarin had only been found in our company’s items, the Academy would have had every right to cut off trade with us.”
But the investigation results show otherwise.
Citrine didn’t say it, but knowing how things usually go, it was information I could infer.
“Fortunately, Lunarin wasn’t only found in our company’s items. While none were found in Sapphire Concord’s items, Lunarin was discovered in items from both Astral Emporium and Chronicle House.”
“And there are people who suddenly ran away?”
“Yes, it seems the story has spread that Nicasia is protecting the Academy staff and acting as a witness while visiting the trading companies. A few workers with ambiguous statuses… an unquantifiable number of people suddenly disappeared.”
Changelings are always like this.
If they’re about to be caught, they disappear. They use transformation magic to become someone else.
That’s why I don’t go around saying, “XX is a changeling! We should lock them up in advance!”
Even if you do that, they’ll just run away, and if they become someone else, the information about who might cause an accident in the future becomes useless.
“Which trading company had the most Lunarin?”
“Unfortunately, it’s our Crimson Nexus Trading Company.”
Of course, it would be. That’s a relief.
I know who’s spreading Lunarin in the Academy and which trading company is plotting. This question was to confirm if the events were progressing according to the information I have.
“Next?”
“Astral Emporium, followed by Chronicle House.”
Just as I thought.
Players who have confirmed the information up to this point are free to roam the Academy grounds, talk to staff or trading company members, and find the answer to the question, “Who is spreading Lunarin?”
And the information Citrine just told me can be heard from Citrine in the Demon Lord route and from Nicasia in the Hero route. And this information has an obvious trap set within it.
“Citrine, which trading company do you think is the most suspicious?”
“You’re asking for my opinion?”
Citrine blinked her eyes.
“In my opinion, Astral Emporium seems the most suspicious.”
Wrong answer, but Citrine didn’t fall for the obvious trap.
Most players would think ‘Sapphire Concord’ is suspicious in a situation like this.
The reason is simple.
Out of the four trading companies competing in the Academy, Lunarin was not found in only one: Sapphire Concord.
A criminal hiding at a murder scene wouldn’t necessarily have blood on their hands.
“I’m curious why Citrine thinks that.”
“Because if our Crimson Nexus Trading Company were unable to trade with the Academy, Astral Emporium would benefit the most.”
“I see. Your company was trading with the Academy at a lower price than Astral Emporium, right?”
“Oh? You knew?”
Citrine blinked, but isn’t that too obvious?
“Citrine, you said it yourself. You started trading recently. If you brought expensive items to sell at high prices, they wouldn’t agree to trade with us, right?”
“Hohoho, that’s correct! That’s why I chose Astral Emporium. Also…”
Citrine quickly flipped through the stack of papers and pointed to some scribbled notes.
“Although the exact number isn’t confirmed… roughly, the trading company with the most workers who disappeared is Astral Emporium.”
“You can’t confirm the exact number, but you can roughly estimate?”
“If 10 or 20 people disappear, you can get a sense that a lot have gone missing.”
This must be a bit unfair to Astral Emporium.
The reason there were many changelings hiding there is simple. As a ‘union’ of trading companies, there were many nooks and crannies to hide in.
Anyway, since Citrine worked hard on the investigation, I’ll slowly reveal the truth.
I can’t say everything, like the fact that Lady Jepar is the one spreading Lunarin in the Academy.
I need evidence and grounds, and right now, there’s nothing. Even if Citrine is on my side, considering Lady Jepar’s good reputation, only Citrine would believe me, and others would likely dismiss it as nonsense from a ‘fifth-grader in the elementary section.’
“Murmur thinks ‘Chronicle House’ is the most suspicious.”
“Chronicle House?”
Citrine blinked and flipped through the stack of papers.
No matter how much you look, you won’t find the answer there.
To find out that Lady Jepar is the real culprit, you need to clear four sub-quests before the truth becomes barely visible.
That’s why most players face a super event with a sense of time running out.
On the other hand, since the truth is so tangled, the event itself isn’t extremely difficult, and if you just fight your way through, you can somehow clear it…
But I don’t want Nicasia, Citrine, Esme, or the other heroines I haven’t met yet to get hurt, so I want to handle this event quite neatly.
“Hmm… I don’t understand why Murmur thinks it’s suspicious.”
“Yeah, Citrine, you wouldn’t know just by looking at it.”
“Huh…?”
Citrine looked at me with a blank expression.
“Citrine, think about it. Smuggling Lunarin into the Academy is an incredibly dangerous task, right?”
“Yes, even if you don’t study hard, anyone would know that. Lunarin is very, very dangerous, and if you use it anywhere other than the Mage’s Tower, you’ll be called crazy.”
Citrine looked around and covered her mouth with her hand.
“…It’s an open secret, but there are rumors that the descendants of Nectar like it because of its magic amplification effect, so no one trades this dangerous ore.”
“Yes, exactly. So why would someone take such a risk and bring a lot of Lunarin into the Academy?”
“Well… because it sells well? The more dangerous it is, the more certain the magic amplification effect is.”
“No, Citrine. They got caught.”
Citrine blinked.
“Huh? What?”
Then she touched her mouth with her right hand and tilted her head.
“That’s… true? Although Esme accidentally summoned a nightmare… Lunarin wasn’t discovered solely because of that incident. The components were found so blatantly that Nicasia was asked to investigate.”
“Then there’s no point in secretly bringing it in to sell, right? It’s not like someone was found with a lot of Lunarin in the first place.”
“…That’s true. They didn’t even sell it? The Lunarin soaked in the paint was used as is.”
Citrine looked incredulous.
“It doesn’t make sense. Lunarin is such a dangerous mineral that there are very few places that mine it, so no one would trade it like this.”
“Right? If you think about it, maybe the person who brought Lunarin into the Academy wanted to get caught from the start?”
“…Is there such a fool?”
I nodded.
“Citrine, think about it. A demon appeared at a party. What’s the easiest way to not stand out?”
“Hmm, hmm… …Transform into a human, I think?”
“There’s an easier way.”
Citrine tilted her head.
“Go to a party with a lot of demons.”
“Ah? Then, of course, you wouldn’t stand out. If there are already demons at the party…”
At this point, Citrine, who is smart and good at calculations, covered her mouth with her hand.
“W-wait…! Did they spread Lunarin on purpose? To make it seem like a minor incident if they got caught?”
“Yes, that’s right. And…”
I took out a flyer that had been folded three times from my pocket and showed it to her.
“Free dessert…? First 100 people… for a month.”
“Have you tried this dessert?”
“I have a personal trading shop, so I only eat desserts from there.”
“This shop is also affiliated with Chronicle House Trading Company.”
Citrine stared at me wide-eyed. The connections are starting to show, right?
“And… Murmur heard a rumor…”
I’m about to reveal information that requires clearing two sub-quests in a row.
“…If you eat the cake here, you can suddenly use magic well.”
From the materials used in magic classes to the food in the cafeteria, the paint in art classes, and even the uniforms the kids wear.
The real reason Lunarin started appearing so commonly everywhere.
It’s to feed the Academy students desserts soaked in Lunarin.
“No way… But Lady Jepar has such a good reputation… I’ll check it out! Murmur!”
Citrine must not have read many fairy tales.
What do you think the reason is for raising a piglet full of magic power?
