第１１０９堀：彼女の才能 (Part1)
Chapter 1109: Her Talent
Side: Enora
To be perfectly honest, I hadn’t expected much from this student of the academy, Nairua.
The reason is simple: from the moment she appeared, she lacked even a shred of proper etiquette. Even if she didn’t fully grasp Yuki’s standing, I expected at least a baseline of decent behavior. Not only did she fail to consider that, but when asked why she sought him out, her motives were purely avaricious—a transparent attempt to exploit Yuki.
Well, if one were to hear the story of her upbringing, there might be room for a modicum of sympathy. Even so, Nairua is still better off than most simply because she possesses talent. Those who truly have nothing are denied even the right to resist, no matter what atrocities are visited upon them. Just as I was, back when I had no power and was captured and tortured.
But that is neither here nor there. For now, I have to deal with the "trash cleanup"—or rather, the rescue—of Nairua, who is currently causing a massive commotion and screaming amidst a collapsing pile of junk.
"Nairua, what on earth are you—"
"..."
Kagura, who had rushed ahead, was the first to be struck speechless. As we peered into the room from behind her, we, too, lost our words at the sheer scale of the disaster.
There wasn’t a single inch of floor space left; the room was packed to the brim with an indiscriminate mountain of items. It was worse than a storage shed. It was as if she were competing to see how much clutter she could cram into a single space, regardless of whether it was necessary or absolute refuse. It was reminiscent of those "trash houses" I’d seen in the Japanese magazines Yuki had shown me.
As Kirue had said, if anyone were forced to drink tea brewed in a place like this, they would undoubtedly fall ill.
While I was half-dazed by such thoughts, the mountain of trash shifted, and a hand emerged from the depths.
"H-help me..."
"Just wait a moment. Yuki is waiting, so let’s get this over with."
Kagura regained her composure and began shoving aside the "trash"—or, as Nairua called them, her belongings. Eventually, Nairua was excavated from beneath the pile.
"Ugh, that was a nightmare."
"You really should clean up a bit more, you know. So, did you find the tool you wanted to show Master Yuki?"
Mikos asked as she lent a hand to pull Nairua to her feet. I, for one, certainly hoped so. The thought of having to sift through this mountain of garbage to find the item... well, that’s a job for a servant, not us. I was already mentally calculating how to summon the academy’s staff to handle it when—
"Oh, yeah. I found what I was looking for. Look, here it is."
Nairua held up a pendant adorned with a small gemstone.
"This appears to be a pendant. Does it have some sort of enchantment?"
"That’s right. This is a prototype of the magic tool I’ve been researching. I’ll explain the details once we’re with Yuki."
With that, Nairua headed toward the living room where Yuki was waiting, clutching the pendant. We followed suit, leaving the trash-filled room to its own devices.
"Alright, everyone is here. This is what I’ve been researching."
"A pendant, huh? It’s enchanted... but this is rare. It’s not a stat boost, but an infusion of a skill—a talent."
"Huh? How could you tell?"
"Ah, I have the 'Appraisal' skill."
"No way! The 'Appraisal' skill? I’ve only ever heard of that in legends!"
"Hm? Is it really that rare?"
*Sigh.* Yuki really does have a way of stating the extraordinary as if it were common sense. I could correct him, but Kirue, standing beside him, looked like she was about to beat me to it. I gave her a subtle look, and she nodded. I’ll leave it to you.
Side: Yuki
I’d blurted that out in response to Nairua’s shock, but now that I thought about it...
"Master. The methods for verifying the 'Appraisal' ability are ambiguous at best. If one truly possesses that power, they see the intimate details of others. Because of that, unless it’s someone of immense standing, people won’t believe you. And those who do possess it are usually kept under the thumb of some authority figure. Or..."
"Ah, right. I forgot."
Surprisingly, this world is quite strict about personal information. If you aren't careful, you might end up revealing someone’s criminal record. Moreover, the presence of such an ability isn't easily verified; it’s often swayed by the perceptions of the user or those around them.
In other words, people can end up with the wrong titles. Then again, titles like "Hero" are often just based on rumors; if the public says you’re a hero, then you are one, in a sense. But that often leads to misunderstandings and the distortion of truth. That’s why the ability to appraise cannot be made public, and why people in this world are so guarded about their personal information.
Those who possess such power, as Kirue said, either live under the yoke of the powerful—used to judge who is an enemy and who is not—or they hide it entirely. In the latter case, if they are exposed, they often have no choice but to die. After all, there aren't many people in this world who live truly clean and righteous lives. In fact, the more self-important someone acts, the more likely they are to have a past they don't want anyone peering into.
That’s why people who go around peeking at others' secrets tend to get "disposed of."
"Well, if you ask whether I’m the real deal or a fake, I can’t exactly prove it. But it’s thanks to that skill that I noticed your pendant had a skill infusion."
"No, you could have just said you were a legitimate appraiser!"
"I don’t even know what the standard definition of a 'legitimate' appraiser is."
I honestly don't know what level of proficiency is required to officially claim the skill.
"Hmm. True. But you saw through the skill infusion of the pendant I made, so I believe you’re the real deal."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence. By the way, Nairua, you don’t have 'Appraisal,' do you? So how did you confirm that you’d successfully created a magic tool that grants skills?"
That was the real mystery. Nairua doesn't have the skill, so she shouldn't be able to see the infusion on the pendant. Yet, she was aware of it. It’s not like a change in talent is something you can easily feel.
"Oh, that’s easy. My status changes when I equip this pendant."
"Ah, that makes sense."
A blind spot. If it’s a piece of equipment, you can just check your status after wearing it. Still...
"It shouldn't be that easy to create a pendant that grants skills or talents."
Simply by wearing this accessory, one’s fire magic level increases to 1. Isn't it incredible that this allows someone to use beginner-level offensive magic? It means that even someone with zero talent could use magic just by putting it on. It implies the ability to freely grant intended talents. And since it bypasses the need for study, it’s an incredibly convenient tool.
However, no one has ever created a skill or magic tool like this before.
Then again, I suppose I’ve been forcibly installing talents myself using my Dungeon Master skills.