Chapter 148: A Chance Encounter
“Wow, look, Yuma! A Blue Magic Gem, a ‘Sapphire’! It’s so pretty!”
“Yeah, it certainly is beautiful.”
Lined up in the jewelry showcase were expensive-looking blue gems, “Sapphires” and “Aquamarines.”
The two of them stared intently, like children. The brilliantly cut gems emitted a beautiful sparkle, captivating the hearts of those who saw them.
That being said, the shape of a Magic Gem isn’t artificial.
Their shape is determined from the moment they are born from a Monster. Kaede and Yuma looked around at the array of such mysterious gems.
A step-cut “green” Emerald.
An oval brilliant-cut “red” Ruby.
A cabochon-cut “yellow” Amber, and so on.
All of them were beautiful, but what caught their attention was the price.
“Wow! An Emerald, 1 carat for 10 million yen. A Sapphire is the same price for 1 carat!”
Yuma opened his mouth in surprise. One carat is 0.2 grams, so it’s not that big. And yet, this price…
“Yuma! This one over here is 20 million yen for 1 carat!”
“Eh!?”
It was a yellow Magic Gem, “Amber,” that could be used for Thunder Magic.
It had a deep, transparent orange color, and it felt like you would be drawn in if you stared at it.
Looking at it, Ruby was the same price. As expected, [Fire] and [Lightning], being powerful magic, seemed to be twice the price of other Magic Gems.
However, what was even more amazing was—
“Yu, Yuma! This gem!”
“O, One carat for 100 million!?”
Inside the showcase in front of them was a White Magic Gem, “Zircon.”
It was a slightly bluish gem, and it looked a bit like a rounded diamond. Yuma gulped.
He had heard that White Magic Gems were expensive, but seeing the price in front of him made him realize it.
“As expected, Magic Gems that can use ‘Recovery Magic’ are in a different league,”
“Yeah, that’s right. At my salary, I don’t think I could ever buy one in my life.”
The two of them sighed at the gems they could only look at.
“I’ve seen ‘Recovery Magic’ at the company, but I’ve never seen a Magic Gem, so I wanted to see one at least once,”
Kaede leaned forward and stared at the showcase.
This was also the first time Yuma had seen a White Magic Gem. Inside the case, not only Zircon but also White Magic Gems such as “Moonstone” and “Rock Crystal” were lined up.
“They’re all incredibly expensive. Well, it’s only natural since they can cure people’s illnesses and injuries,”
“It’s truly dream magic. I wish I had Mana so I could use magic to help patients, like a doctor,”
“Even if you had Mana, you couldn’t buy a Magic Gem without money!”
“That’s true.”
Kaede and Yuma laughed together. At that moment, a loud voice came from the back of the store.
“What’s this!? 1 billion for 1 carat!? Are diamonds this expensive? Hah~ I can’t afford this.”
The two turned around. A man was peering into the most luxurious-looking showcase in the back.
He had a black, long bag about his height slung over his shoulder, and he scratched his head, saying, “How strange.” Yuma watched the scene with a dubious look.
The man turned around and walked towards them.
He seemed to be looking at the other Magic Gems while glancing around.
“That’s a strange person,”
“Yeah. Should we leave?”
At Yuma’s words, Kaede nodded “Yeah,” and the two were about to leave the store when—
“Huh? Huh-re-re, Brother, haven’t we met somewhere before?”
The man peered into Yuma’s face and suddenly called out to him.
“N, no, I don’t think we’ve met…”
Yuma said that much, and then he thought. –Huh? Now that he mentioned it, it felt like they had met somewhere…
The two looked at each other and groaned. The man with the Kansai dialect spoke first.
“Ah! That’s right, you’re the kid I met when I was job hunting in Tokyo! No doubt about it.”
“Job hunting?”
Yuma rapidly pulled on the threads of his memory. –Come to think of it! He remembered.
“If I remember correctly, you gave me a canned coffee on the way home when the interview with GIG Corporation didn’t go well…”
“That’s right, that’s right! That was me, that was me! You remembered.”
His memory had completely returned. He had forgotten his name, but he had been spoken to by a person who spoke in a strange Kansai dialect. Why was that person in a place like this?
“After that, I was able to get a job at a Dungeon-related company. I’m here on business now,”
“Is that so? I’m glad you got a job.”
“How about you? Did your job hunting go well?”
He was suddenly asked, and he was at a loss for words.
“Y, yeah, well, I was able to get a job.”
“I see! That’s good, that’s good. I’m glad you both got jobs safely. It’s good that you didn’t become NEETs!”
“Y, yes, that’s right…”
Even though he said he was able to get a job, it was D-Minor, a micro-enterprise among micro-enterprises.
It was doubtful whether it was a success as a job hunt.
“Um, excuse me. I should have heard your name, but I forgot.”
“What, it’s okay, it’s okay! I only said it once. I’m Akito, call me Akito.”
“H, haa… Which company did Akito-san get a job at?”
“Oh, you asked! I’m at ‘M-Five,’ a subsidiary of Fameel.”
“Eh!? Fameel? That’s a major company.”
“No, it’s a subsidiary. It’s not a major company. Well, I think it’s a decent company.”
As the two were talking, Kaede, who was next to him, pulled on his sleeve. She spoke in a small voice.
“Yuma, do you know him?”
“Ah, yeah. I know him, well, I know him…”
Seeing that, Akito smiled wryly and scratched his head.
“Ah, sorry, sorry. It seems like I’m interrupting your date, I’ll go now.”
“N, no, we’re not on a date…”
Akito patted Yuma on the shoulder, who was about to deny it, and said, “It’s okay, it’s okay,” as he headed towards the exit.
As he was about to go down the stairs, he turned around as if he had noticed something.
“Come to think of it, I should have heard your name, but I don’t remember it. Sorry, but could you tell me again?”
“Eh? Yeah, it’s Mitaka. Mitaka Yuma.”
“Yuma, huh. I’ve remembered it. If we’re in the same industry, we might meet again. See you later, Yuma.”
Akito said that as he waved his hand and left.
“That was a strange person,”
Yuma was told by Kaede, and he smiled wryly, saying, “Indeed.” He had a feeling that he would really meet him again.
◇◇◇
Akito, who had left the warehouse-type store, walked for a while and headed to a group loitering in a corner of a building.
“Ah, Tennoji! Where have you been!? I’ve been looking for you.”
The leader of the group raised his voice.
“I’m sorry. I came to Tokyo, so I thought I’d take a look at a store famous for its ‘Magic Gems’.”
“Don’t act on your own! We have a meeting later. It’s about the ‘Black Armor’ that even your brother couldn’t defeat!”
Hearing those words, Tennoji Akito grinned.
“Don’t worry. My [Magic Enchanted Armament] will pierce through the ‘Black Armor’s’ body.”