Tokyo IV-2

A young person whom Emma had recently been looking after was visiting Emma's laboratory.

Something about them seemed familiar. As I was thinking,

"It's been a while. Do you remember me, Tarou? It's me, Sakamoto Daniel. You helped me out before when I was getting into trouble with dangerous people. Anyway, today I'd like to ask you—could you please tell me about the magic you're using?"

That energy... I suddenly remembered.

The guy I helped at the gem mine before taking the mission in Akau Village. So he's been here all along.

He was oddly interested in my magic.

Back then, his hood was pulled down low, so I couldn't see his face clearly, but he had short black hair and glasses. His clothes were a bit too big, with the hem hanging loose at the bottom.

His hands were smeared with pencil lead, clearly showing he'd been working hard and intently.

"Hey! It's not polite to expect magic and secret techniques to be handed out for free."

Daniel was getting a chop to the head from Emma as she said this. Emma was slightly taller than Daniel. In a few more years, Daniel would likely be the taller one.

After arriving in the capital city, he had apparently been introduced by his father and had been working on research involving magic and magical stones at a certain laboratory. He still goes to that lab today.

As he spent his spare time disassembling tools that used magical stones and analyzing their structure, he gradually became interested in the use of magical stones.

However, the Empire focused heavily on magical research while conducting little research on the practical use of magical stones.

Thus, he was introduced to Emma’s lab, one of the few that seemed understaffed. Emma, however, felt as though she had been forced into taking him on.

He was curious by nature but fundamentally honest, so he stopped directly asking me about my magic.

Instead, he skillfully guided conversations to subtly extract information.

Working under Emma’s guidance alongside Daniel, we managed to complete the paper this way.

It ultimately took about a month. Snow had piled up even in the capital, located south of the kingdom, turning the entire town into a single white hue.

The paper focuses on recycling magical stones.

It verifies and documents a method that, by attaching degraded magical stones to activated ones and using a specialized technique, can reactivate them. It also notes their effectiveness against a disease that causes magical petrification, specifically the ability to destroy magical stones on the body's surface.

I initially thought this approach might already have been discovered, but degraded magical stones are generally considered disposable, and nobody had previously attempted to work with them.

Thanks to that, my paper was readily accepted, and surprisingly received a good response.

"Trying it out, it's surprisingly simple, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

Emma immediately began working on crafting parts using the content of my presentation. She seemed to have had an idea.

"My paper, of course. It's strange, once it's accepted."

"Really? I thought it would be accepted. I believed it contained quite a surprising and impressive idea."

"I'm really glad to hear that. Is it going well on your end?"

"Yes, just watch me. I'll show you something amazing very soon."

She said that, flexing her bicep. It felt like something like this had happened before. Whenever she did this, she always made sure to follow through completely.

"Hmm? Emma-san, this letter..."

A letter sealed with the imperial wax was present.

"It's a letter inviting me to participate in war research. I've replied on your behalf, declining, despite my own reservations."

"Really... are they seriously preparing for war..."

"Utter nonsense."

Emma immediately returned to her work, fully focused. Feeling somewhat awkward, I stepped outside.

After finishing the paper, I found myself with some free time. For now, I wanted to gather a bit more funding toward my next goal—the ruins in the desert. I should also look for a base where I can leave my belongings. And then, I’d like to take some time to calmly investigate and craft magic stones and magical items.

Honestly, that was the goal I’d set for myself, yet somehow I ended up writing this paper instead. Emma’s drive is truly astonishing...

Taking a stroll through the imperial capital, freshly blanketed in snow. It’s not much different from before, really. If anything, the only noticeable change is that the old shop has closed down and a new one has taken its place.

I’ve heard rumors that the new empress is working hard. Unlike the noble gossip I heard from Enthi, this new empress makes a much better impression. Most importantly, there are whispers that a major war might break out soon. Whether that’s true or not, I can’t say, but in any case, she’d have to be desperate to prepare for it.

I arrived at the equipment shop next to the guild. There are many enemies in the dungeon.

They also sell magic stones for magic users and spellcasters.

The magic stones available at the equipment shop are reasonably priced and come in a wide variety, suitable for beginners and intermediate adventurers.

Healing potions, bandages, longswords, short swords, armor—everything is available.

Though in limited quantity, high-purity fire magic stones were also for sale.

Although priced at more than double that of medium purity... While idly browsing, I noticed an unusually priced magic stone in front of the shopkeeper.

It was a voice-altering magic stone.

"Shopkeeper! Where did you acquire this?"

Ah? That one came from the empire as surplus goods. Occasionally, things like this happen. We bought a lot for nobles, but couldn't sell them well, so they ended up here after circling around. But there's no one around here willing to pay such a high price for a magic stone like this, so it's just been sitting here. I feel bad getting rid of it, though—what should I do? Wanna buy it?

I'm honestly torn. I really want it badly. Price-wise, I can afford it.

I'd love to continue the research that was being done at Linna's place. But if I buy this now, all my travel plans will be ruined. I won't even have a base to return to. Worse, I'd have to spend money just to survive day to day.

"Hey! What's it gonna be? If you're not buying it, I was gonna get rid of it already. Make up your mind!"

You shouldn't buy it here... You shouldn't buy it at all...

...I knew from the beginning. I just can't resist when it comes to stuff like this.

That's right—I ended up buying it.

The Voice-Altering Gem... Thanks to that, my wallet is completely empty.

I was face-down on the guild's desk.

Because I bought the Voice-Altering Gem, my carefully laid plans are now ruined.

I now need to earn a lot more money for my journey. But that amount is astronomical. Even with magic and an adventurer rank of 3, there's still a limit to how much one person can earn.

Once again, I'm paying the price for acting without thinking ahead. What should I do?

Just staring blankly around, I saw Clara lying face-down on the desk, just like me, and Kenny quietly sitting beside her.

Idly standing around, I decided to strike up a conversation with Clara and the others just to pass the time.

"How's the dungeon clearance coming along?"

Clara glanced at me briefly, then lay back down on the desk. Seems like things weren't going well.

"Why was Taro lying face-down on the desk?"

Before I could even nod in satisfaction at my own conclusion, Clara suddenly asked me.

"Ugh... I just had a little setback. Ran out of money, you see. I was trying to figure out what to do about it."

"Then why don't you try tackling a dungeon? I doubt you'd accomplish much even if Taro did it alone."

Dungeon... Dungeon, huh...

"Could I hear about dungeons? Just the basics, please?"

"Details on how to beat them are expensive and troublesome. Just the basics will do."

"Ah, that's fine."

Then he went on to tell me the general idea behind dungeons.

The dungeon consists of a single main path, with narrow side paths branching out from it like roots, from which sub-beasts emerge.

As you go deeper, the underground becomes increasingly deep, causing temperatures to rise, and it's expected that a vein of high-purity fire magic stones will be found at the very end.

Since the paths aren't properly maintained, walking is extremely difficult, and the route leading to the dungeon itself is equally treacherous.

The biggest factor making this dungeon difficult to conquer is the strength and sheer number of enemies. Additionally, unexpected encounters occurring in the poorly maintained corridors are hindering progress.

Normally, a straightforward dungeon like this would be considered simple to clear—simply send a large group straight through, eliminating enemies en masse without getting lost. However, despite having been discovered for several months, its full layout had still not been confirmed, which only heightened the enemy's perceived strength.

Of course, Clara and Kenny were also completely unable to make progress on the dungeon's conquest.

"The imperial forces will be sending an official expedition team imminently... If we keep going like this, we'll just end up losing the kingdom entirely."

"Isn't it better if the expedition team comes?"

"It's not just adventurers who want the mine sites. Though the nobles here are fairly wealthy, in the capital they're already fiercely competing for mining rights."

Kenney finally speaks up after a while. Yet, trees that produce gold seem to be a source of conflict in every world.

"But even so, the enemy is strong, isn't it?"

"If they were just strong, we could handle them on our own. The real problem is when you think it's just a wall—only for the wall to crumble and monsters to burst out."

Clara suddenly snaps her fingers, as if recalling something terrible.

I see... the sub-beasts emerging from within the wall... I can detect them through the wall if they're within 100 meters...

Clara exaggeratedly reacted and answered as I spoke.

"Huh? There's no way that's possible! You're not some legendary magician... Wait, Taro? The magician Taro? You're the Taro everyone's been talking about lately."

It's just another rumor. I wonder how it's spreading now... I'm a little worried.

She leaned forward, listening intently.