「Shopkeeper-san, what is that?」
Selene tilted her head curiously, sensing something special about the box.
「This has been passed down in my family since even before my great-grandfather. According to the stories, it contains a treasure of our clan.」
「And why does it involve me?」
「Well… the legend says that if a Carbuncle ever came to this shop, we were to hand it over.」
「Heeeh～」
Selene stared intently at the box. It was metallic, with patches of rust here and there, but still in remarkably good condition for its age.
「So… this now belongs to you, miss.」
「Fweh!? Wait, yes, I’m a Carbuncle, but… what if someone pretended to be one?!」
「That is a fair concern… But we were told that if the gem on your forehead is a true Carbuncle’s gem, the box will unlock.」
The shopkeeper pointed gently at her forehead and gave a warm smile.
「Selene, is it okay if I check?」
「Ah, yes. Go ahead, Yuuki-san.」
「Thanks. 『——Appraisal』」
I took the box and activated appraisal. It was a magic steel container crafted by a Carbuncle adventurer 500 years ago. It would open only when exposed to Carbuncle-specific jewel magic.
「Yeah, it looks fine. A Carbuncle made this 500 years ago.」
「Fweh～ That’s amazing…」
「Why don’t you try opening it? It seems like you just need to channel your magic into it.」
「But… I don’t know any unlocking spells…」
「I bet it’ll open if you just pour magic power into it and wish for it to open.」
「You think so? 『——Open!』」
The gem on her forehead and the box both glowed softly. With a quiet click, the lid lifted.
Inside lay a gem slightly smaller than Selene’s own, glowing with a gentle light, along with a folded letter.
「Um… 『Hey there, descendant-chan! After leaving the village and spending 60 years out in the world, I found an amazing husband (omitted) and we spent our remaining days being lovey-dovey and smoochy-smoochy. Mareeru』… apparently.」
「That’s… quite something…」
「What a shameless brag…」
「I’m so sorry… My ancestor was…」
「W-well… it’s good to know the Carbuncle who left the village lived happily, right?」
The shopkeeper buried his face in both hands, ears burning red. No wonder, he’d guarded this unopened family heirloom for generations, only for it to reveal such an embarrassingly lovestruck message the moment it was opened.
「Um… what should we do with this letter?」
「It’s mortifying, but I’ll report it to my ancestor’s grave. And since our shop has long had ties to Carbuncles, I’d like to display this handwritten letter from one as proof, if it’s alright with you, could I keep just the letter…?」
「Ah, yes. Please do. I’m not even her descendant, and I have no idea if I have any relatives from that line. Go ahead…」
The love letter was being treated like some forbidden artifact that shouldn’t be touched, though apparently they planned to display it right out in the open.
「Yeah, of course! Please take the gem with you!」
「Ah… yes, thank you.」
The mood had turned strangely awkward, so we ended up leaving without buying anything.
「Was that okay?」
「We can always come back another time. More importantly… what should we do with this?」
Selene lifted the gem carefully. It was noticeably smaller than her own, but still far too large to handle casually.
「Hmm… maybe have it processed into something?」
「Processed… that’s tricky to decide.」
Selene furrowed her brows in thought, looking adorably serious. Who could we ask? Someone knowledgeable about gems… or maybe about Carbuncles…
「Hey, what if we ask the ancestors at that shrine?」
「Those people? …Yeah, that might work.」
「Then let’s stop by on the way back.」
「Yes!」
After that, we wandered into a clothing shop, then tried out a café that felt unusually modern for this world and enjoyed some tea together.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
「Alright, time to head out.」
「「「「Yeah!」」」」
Everyone climbed into the empty carriage and answered energetically.
「Thank you so much for everything.」
「If you ever come back to Milrose, please stop by again.」
「Yes, we definitely will.」
「The food was delicious.」
「The bath was wonderful.」
「This was my first time staying in a place like this, so it was really fun.」
「Nufu～ We’ve already let the guild know, so they’ll take good care of you from here!」
With a crack of the reins, the young couple bowed politely and saw us off.
「Lopple-san, what were you talking about earlier?」
「Oh, I asked Groog-san if he could do a few little modifications to the inn.」
「Ah, right. I kind of figured.」
「Yep! Well, I’ll handle the detailed designs and fittings myself, though.」
Lopple-san stuck out her tongue in a playful 「tehe」 grin.
「What are you talking about?」
Liliana and the others, who had been left out of the loop, tilted their heads curiously.
「Oh, remember how the wife is pregnant?」
「Yes, her belly was just starting to show.」
「And the stairs in that inn were pretty steep, right? The bath floor was slippery too, and there weren’t any handrails. It’d be dangerous like that.」
「You’re right… those stairs were steep.」
「The tiles in the bath were slippery too.」
「As expected of Yuuki-san.」
「Ahaha, in my world we’ve got a lot of things designed with safety in mind.」
(Guess I’ll have to start thinking about making my house livable for everyone eventually…)
With that thought drifting through my mind, I urged the horses forward.
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