Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Kaian looked at the identification card.

"Marius Sterling? Is this supposed to be your name?"

The merchant avoided his gaze and stared off into the distance.

Apparently he was extremely conscious of the [Intention] spell placed on him.

Kaian clicked his tongue and examined the card more carefully.

It was made from a thin, transparent crystal plate surrounded by a Silver-White frame with high mana conductivity.

Hmm. Doesn't look forged.

A moving portrait occupied the left half of the identification card.

Inside the portrait, Marius Sterling sat sternly while stroking his mustache.

Then, as though someone had called his name, he turned and offered a dignified smile.

The five-second movement, recorded through mana, repeated endlessly.

No matter how I look at it, this is a standard Mana Gaia identification card.

Kaian carefully studied the kneeling merchant's face again.

It was identical to the portrait.

"Wow."

He looked between the card and the man.

"How did they make you look this identical?"

The merchant stared even farther away and desperately ignored the question.

"Tch. Fine. Appearance aside."

The upper-right portion of the card listed the owner's name, race, date of birth, and residence.

The center displayed the mana rank in large letters.

Highest.

High.

Middle.

Low.

At the bottom, a single drop of the owner's blood and a single drop from the person guaranteeing the identity were embedded as bloodstones.

Those bloodstones contained mana information.

If the mana of the person carrying the card didn't match the bloodstone data...

No nation would allow them through the border.

"Look here."

Kaian held the card directly in front of Pett's face and tapped the mana-rank section.

Tap, tap.

"Marius is a high-rank mana user."

Then he pointed at Pett.

"And you're low-rank."

Kaian raised an eyebrow.

"You'd get caught immediately at immigration."

"So how were you planning to enter?"

Pett completely shut his eyes and tilted his head backward.

It was a desperate attempt not to think about anything.

Kaian laughed dryly.

He might as well wear a sign saying, 'I have [Intention] cast on me.'

Then he reached for the final remaining item.

"Enough with the performance."

Kaian smiled.

"It's obviously this."

A luxurious golden pocket watch.

It had caught Kaian's attention the instant it came out of Pett's pocket.

Not simply because it looked expensive.

That thing is overflowing with mana.

Just before Kaian touched the pocket watch, Pett grabbed his wrist first.

Grab!

Kaian laughed in disbelief.

"What are you doing?"

He looked at the hand around his wrist.

"My wrist is very delicate, you know. You can't just grab it like that."

"Ugh... Please."

Pett started sobbing again.

"If I lose that, I'm really finished."

Kaian sighed.

"Haah. Mister. Get a grip."

He pointed toward the carriage.

"Did you already forget what's inside that thing?"

Kaian's voice was matter-of-fact.

"You're already finished."

He tapped his chest.

"I'm trying to help you. Understand?"

"Ugh..."

Pett knew Kaian was right.

Whatever excuses he made...

He was a wanted criminal who had also committed treason.

If Kaian left him alone in the forest, the furious dark elves would probably kill him.

If he returned to Valancia, the mastermind behind the operation would kill him.

After finishing his calculations, Pett slowly released Kaian's wrist.

"Good."

Kaian patted his shoulder.

"Excellent decision."

Then he carefully picked up the pocket watch.

Whoooooosh!

Powerful mana immediately wrapped around his entire body.

A huge smile spread across Kaian's face.

"Mister."

He stared at the watch.

"This is an Artifact."

"Urgh!"

Pett grabbed his stomach.

Kaian could sympathize deeply with the man's painful loss.

After all...

This wasn't some ordinary magical tool anyone could manufacture if they had enough money, time, and materials.

Artifacts were mysterious magical objects whose origins were unknown.

No one knew when they had been born.

Where.

Or how.

They possessed powers capable of defying even the laws of the world.

That was an Artifact.

If I had to compare it to something, it'd be similar to Twofold Lake or a highest-class spirit.

Kaian glanced sympathetically at Pett.

This probably hurts so much it feels like his intestines are tearing apart.

It was an unexpected windfall.

Kaian waved the watch in front of Pett and deliberately dragged out the moment.

"My goodness."

His eyes sparkled.

"So this is an Artifact...!"

Pett couldn't tear his gaze away from the pocket watch.

Kaian exaggerated his tone even further.

"Some say that long ago, among all the artisans blessed by mana, only the greatest of the greatest could create one single Artifact over an entire lifetime!"

"Urgh...!"

"Others say they contain magic not only from the Magical Civilization, but from long before the Common Civilization!"

Kaian dramatically raised his voice.

"In other words!"

"Magic from the Primordial Age itself!"

"Ughhh..."

"And there are supposedly only around ten confirmed Artifacts across all of Mana Gaia!"

Kaian spread his hands.

"You can't even put a price on them!"

He shook his head dramatically.

"No, no. If you value your life, you wouldn't dare buy or sell one in the first place!"

He lifted the pocket watch.

"A legendary treasure!"

"That is an Artifact!"

"Ughhhh!"

Pett rolled around clutching his stomach and crying.

Kaian looked down at him with endlessly tender affection.

Pett's loss...

Was Kaian's gain.

What a beautiful system.

Only after teasing him to his heart's content did Kaian finally examine the pocket watch properly.

"Wow. It's flashy even at first glance."

The golden cover had two masks delicately embossed into it.

One smiling.

One crying.

That was an unusual design for a watch.

"Hmm. Strange."

The inside was even more unusual.

The inner side of the cover contained a mirror.

And the watch itself had two hour hands and two minute hands.

One pair was red.

One pair blue.

There's only one crown, but four hands? How are you supposed to adjust the time?

The materials inside also looked extraordinary.

Pocket-watch movements were normally made from gold and other metals.

This one appeared to use a special metal capable of withstanding the user's mana.

Even the jewels inside the pivot weren't ordinary rubies or sapphires.

"With my untrained eyes, I can't even tell how valuable this really is."

Kaian smacked his lips.

Then he used [Quick Draw] and pulled out a monocle.

Whoosh!

Pett immediately stopped crying.

Instead...

Drool began running down his chin.

"W-what is that?"

Perhaps his instincts as a former thief hadn't disappeared.

He seemed exceptionally good at recognizing valuable objects.

"Hey."

Kaian frowned.

"Don't get greedy."

His expression became serious.

"This magical tool stimulates the wearer's desires."

"It's dangerous if just anyone uses it."

He pointed at Pett.

"A low-rank weakling like you would get eaten alive immediately."

Pett forgot his own miserable situation and laughed.

"Oh, come now. It's just a monocle."

He grinned.

"How could glasses eat a person? You're just trying to scare me."

Kaian sighed at the greed gleaming in the man's eyes.

Words clearly weren't going to work.

"...Want to try it?"

Pett's eyes widened.

"Really?"

He'd expected a fist to come flying with the words, "Obviously not!"

Instead, the Reaper simply held out the monocle.

Pett quickly shuffled over on his knees and accepted it with both hands.

Shuffle-shuffle.

He grabbed it quickly in case Kaian changed his mind.

Fortunately, he didn't feel any strange desire stimulation like Kaian had warned.

He was just trying to scare me after all.

Pett smiled and bowed repeatedly.

"Hehe. Thank you. Thank you very much."

He carefully raised it.

"I'll only try it once."

Then he quickly placed the monocle over his right eye.

The next moment...

He was lying flat on the ground with a broken jaw.

...?

Yes.

Lying down.

Completely spread out.

What happened?

Pett struggled to calm the violent ringing inside his skull.

Then he slowly searched his memories.

He had definitely lost the Artifact to the Reaper.

Then the Reaper had given him the expensive-looking monocle.

Then...

Pett suddenly screamed and sat up.

"Muh guh...! Uh...?"

The sudden movement made his head throb in protest.

And his jaw hurt so badly he couldn't even touch it.

His speech came out mangled.

"Muh guh...? Muguhhh...?"

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pronounce "monocle."

Kaian was wearing the very monocle Pett desperately wanted back.

He calmly examined the pocket watch through it.

"You came at me pretty violently."

Kaian shrugged.

"So I hit you a little harder than usual."

"Wha...?"

He attacked someone?

Who?

Him?

The Reaper?

"Uh...?"

Pett remembered absolutely nothing.

"Still, you woke up faster than I expected."

Kaian looked impressed.

"Maybe you're tougher than you look."

"Wha... whaah...?"

Pett remained completely confused.

Only then did Kaian look away from the Artifact and stare directly at him.

"Oh?"

Kaian's eyebrows rose.

"You lost your memory too?"

Then he burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! I told you it'd eat you!"

"...!"

The monocle's official name was [Greedy Monocle].

According to legend, a greedy goblin had stolen it from a dwarven craftsman three hundred years ago.

It was a magical tool that analyzed the value and material composition of anything within the wearer's vision.

"It's useful."

Kaian nodded.

"Especially when you want to identify ingredients in medicine or cooking."

Pett blinked.

He still didn't understand.

Such an incredible magical tool...

And Kaian used it to inspect cooking ingredients?

Kaian seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

He smiled.

"Yes, it's useful."

His expression became amused.

"But its name is [Greedy], remember?"

"It really lives up to the name."

Kaian pointed toward the monocle.

"If it thinks a nearby mage's mana is weak enough, it immediately stimulates that person's greed and tries to increase its own assets."

He tilted his head.

"Just like it did to you."

Plenty of mages had apparently lost their heads after being driven mad with greed by the monocle.

The Reaper kindly explained the story.

"Honestly, I'd only heard about it secondhand, so I'd never seen the effect myself."

He looked at Pett.

"But after watching you today, the story seems very believable."

Then he muttered that too many people apparently had to taste something themselves before believing whether it was shit or a brownie.

"Oh."

Kaian lifted one finger.

"And for reference, the Artifact's value couldn't be measured."

Thanks to the troublesome merchant volunteering to knock himself unconscious, Kaian had been able to quickly inspect the pocket watch's materials.

He recalled what [Greedy Monocle] had shown him and clicked his tongue.

"The mainspring is made from dragon heart muscle."

Kaian counted on his fingers.

"The jewel stores another person's blood, and it's a Bloody Opal."

"The lubricant is sap from an ancient tree..."

He shook his head.

"Wow. I've never seen [Greedy Monocle] that happy before."

Pett couldn't respond because of his broken jaw.

But inwardly, he felt immense relief.

Phew.

At least that magical tool can't tell him how to use the Artifact.

Kaian stared quietly at him.

His expression contained roughly one handful of pity...

And an entire sack of disbelief.

"Mister."

Kaian shook his head.

"My dear foolish mister."

"After everything you've seen and experienced, you still don't understand?"

"Wha? Wh-what...?"

Kaian smiled in a way perfectly suited to his nickname.

"I..."

His smile widened.

"...always have a way."

"Wha?"

"So stop trying to be clever."

Kaian sighed.

"It makes things exhausting for both of us."

The moment he finished speaking, Finn popped her head out of the pocket on Kaian's chest.

Flutter.

"...!"

The instant Pett saw her, all the color drained from his face.

"Whuh?! H-how?! A spiwit!"

"Judging by that reaction, you seem to know."

Kaian smiled.

Spirits and Artifacts could communicate with each other.