Chapter 24

The next afternoon, I was in the living room of my house, facing a man who had come to visit.

The man appeared to be in his late thirties and was dressed like a high-ranking servant.

I guessed he was probably a butler or someone of similar status.

The man bowed deeply to me.

"Nice to meet you, I am Sebastian Bernhard."

"I'm Cyril Arrows."

"It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Arrows."

"..."

I nodded slightly.

I was being polite to Sebastian, but I still wasn't quite used to putting on such a formal act, so I kept my reactions minimal and tried to handle the situation as flexibly as possible.

Sebastian carefully took a letter from his pocket and handed it to me.

"This is an introduction letter from Mr. Morinière."

"Morinière."

I took the letter.

The handwriting on the envelope, addressed to me, was familiar.

Ah... Miss Catherine.

Catherine Morinière.

She was someone I had worked with right after being exiled from Rintvurm and becoming independent.

It seemed this was an introduction letter from Miss Catherine.

An introduction letter?

I was surprised.

I hadn't expected anyone to visit me with an introduction letter.

I glanced at Sebastian and opened the envelope to read the contents.

The letter was indeed written by Miss Catherine, and it seemed to be about her father's business contacts.

I see, that's why she wrote an introduction letter, I thought.

I put the letter back in the envelope and turned my attention back to Sebastian.

"Indeed, it is Miss Catherine's introduction letter. So, what do you need from me?"

"I apologize for the trouble, but I would like to request the acquisition of Desite Stones."

"Desite Stones."

I repeated the name.

It was the first time I had heard of them.

"Yes. The size is 1 cocotte, and I need 100 of them."

"I see."

"Is it possible?"

"Hmm."

I thought for a moment.

First, I needed to find out what these Desite Stones were.

*Hahaha, how interesting, you should accept it.*

"Chris."

"Aah!"

Chris's face appeared outside the window.

Although I was used to his sudden appearances, Sebastian, who was seeing him for the first time, was taken aback.

"Ah, I apologize. He is Mr. Arrows' dragon."

"Ah."

More importantly... Chris said I should accept it.

*Hmm.*

Don't read my mind.

Well, it's fine.

I turned back to Sebastian.

"Alright, I'll take the job."

"Oh! Thank you very much!"

☆

Under the bright sun, we were on a well-maintained suburban road.

I was heading to our destination with Chris and Colette.

Incidentally, I didn't know the specific destination.

I was just following Chris, who said she had a hunch.

*Why are you coming along?*

*Because I was bored.*

*If you're bored, stay home and sleep. Louise can teach you how to sleep well.*

*Hahaha, I don't need sleep.*

Chris and Colette bickered as usual while walking.

I had become quite used to their seemingly bad but actually good relationship.

*Anyway, is there any inconvenience with me coming along? For example, do you want to be alone with Colette?*

*Wha—*

She hesitated for a moment, looked at me, and then fiercely rebutted Chris.

*—Are you stupid! There's no way that's true!*

*If that's the case, there's no problem.*

*Grrr...*

Chris laughed heartily, and Colette grumbled in frustration.

They really do get along well, I thought.

"Anyway, Chris, tell me more about the Desite Stones."

*Right. Desite Stones are... well, stones.*

"I can see that much."

*They are a type of gemstone, but they don't look particularly appealing. They aren't the kind of gemstones humans usually like.*

*...When are they useful?*

*Hahaha, as expected, my dear friend, you are perceptive.*

"Uh..."

Of course, I could guess when he put it that way.

*Yes, the true power of Desite Stones is revealed under moonlight.*

"Moonlight?"

*Yes, they glow brightly under moonlight. That's why they are also called 'Night Dragon Pearls.'*

"Interesting. Why 'dragon'?"

*It's just for prestige. There was a time when people liked to attach 'dragon' to everything.*

"Really?"

That was a bit surprising, but it made sense.

"So, where can Desite Stones be found?"

*Hehehe.*

"...?"

I tilted my head.

Chris was smiling mysteriously for some reason.

☆

When I reached the top of the mountain, I was speechless.

"What is this place?"

I muttered and looked around.

A desolate wasteland, with rock surfaces exposed as far as the eye could see.

And from a large hole in the center of the mountain top, thick black smoke was billowing out.

It was the summit of a volcano.

*It's a volcano.*

"I can see that."

*Its name is Tonibin, I believe.*

"Interesting, I see."

...

"No, that's not what I meant—"

*The Desite Stones are in there.*

"Wha—?"

I was taken aback and looked into the crater.

Black smoke was rising, and red lava was visible in the crater.

"In there?"

*Yes. Look, can you see the transparent spots here and there?*

"Um... Ah, those?"

I squinted, and sure enough, I could see the transparent spots as Chris had said.

They were hard to spot, but once I knew what to look for, I could identify them.

"Those are Desite Stones?"

*That's right.*

*What are we going to do? There's no way we can get them from there.*

Colette confronted Chris.

*Normally, no.*

"Normally?"

*But my dear friend and I can handle it.*

"Huh?"

*Have you forgotten, dear friend?*

"Ah."

I was startled.

I had a contract with Chris, which gave me special abilities.

I was immune to fire, a trait inherited from the phoenix.

"Can I really handle lava?"

*Yes, you can even go in naked. It would feel like a hot spring.*

"No, I'll pass on that."

I smiled wryly and politely declined.

Even if I was immune, I didn't want to play in a lava hot spring.

"Alright, I'll get them."

*Wait, is that okay?*

"Chris wouldn't trick me with something like this."

*...Hmph.*

Colette backed off reluctantly.

She looked unhappy but stepped back.

I jumped into the crater and entered the lava.

It felt slimy and strange.

"It really isn't hot."

*Hahaha, as expected, my dear friend.*

"What? Why? You said the heat of the lava wouldn't affect me."

*Still, not many people would jump into lava without hesitation. As expected, my dear friend.*

Chris praised me extravagantly.

I guess that's how it works.

If I knew Chris better, I wouldn't have hesitated.

Well, it's fine.

I started walking through the lava.

I approached the transparent stones I had spotted—Desite Stones—and picked them up.

It was difficult, like pulling something out of mud, but it was much easier than I expected.

"I need 100 of these."

I muttered.

Looking around the crater, I could see enough to meet the requirement.

"For 20,000 reals. Considering this is a request from someone who brought an introduction letter, it's a surprisingly good deal."

*That's how it works.*

Chris said this in a more serious tone than usual.

"Huh?"

*That's how the human world works. The more power and fame you have, the more you can earn for the same amount of effort.*

"I see."

I nodded, understanding.

It was a pretty good deal, and I was grateful for it.