Chapter 177: The Silver Flower
It’s been a while since I had lunch with Ash, the Butler, Dinoss, and Retze. Chris and Dean have been taken to the Adventurer’s Guild by Reed. Even though we’re about to leave, or rather because we’re about to leave, my little brother is moving energetically.
Dean is apparently working diligently on requests to pay for my sword. I should treat him to some tonkatsu later.
“This is delicious. Can we have the bread sliced thicker?”
“I can do that.”
I served the liver rillettes made from the eagle duck alongside crispy, thinly sliced bread, but Dinoss devoured it in no time.
“I want some too.”
“Well, I want to eat it as well, but we have more to come.”
“Lord Jean’s baked bread is exquisite.”
You too?! It’s nice to see them enjoying the food, though.
“Everything is delicious, but the one thing I’ve been craving since I couldn’t eat it for a while is bread.”
“Same here, but I’m also craving coffee.”
Retze’s coffee is exceptional, but it seems he’s holding off on brewing it while Reed is around.
I prepared thick omelets, prosciutto and cheese, and pickled sardines as requested by Retze. The salad was watercress sautéed with sea urchin and butter.
“I tried making this too, but I couldn’t get it to come together nicely, and the taste is different. Is there something else in it?”
“It has dashi made from a fish called bonito and kelp.”
It seems Retze enjoys the taste of dashi. I should increase the variety of Japanese dishes.
“Pairing this with the sake is simply divine.”
The Butler requested gratin made with oysters.
Next up was grilled sweetbreads from a calf that had only been drinking milk and hadn’t grazed yet. And another meat dish, a herb-grilled lamb chop requested by Dinoss.
“What is it? It’s not just the smell of the herbs; it’s the meat itself that smells so good. It doesn’t stink at all.”
The ingredients from the pantry are top-notch.
Finally, we had shortcake and tea, with plenty of whipped cream and extra strawberries on top. I had to be careful not to overdo it, or the balance would be off.
I sipped my tea while watching Ash’s delighted expression. The other guys were enjoying coffee brewed by the Butler.
“Coffee brewed here always tastes better.”
Retze grumbled. That’s because we’re using water brought from home.
“Now that we’ve enjoyed a delicious meal, let’s get to the main topic. We’re leaving tomorrow, right?”
As I cleared the plates and poured more coffee and tea, Dinoss spoke up.
“I have a feeling something’s going to go wrong again.”
“Don’t worry, this time I set conditions.”
Dinoss reassured Retze, who seemed concerned after hearing the explanation.
“Then here.”
I gently presented a silver flower wrapped around a spinel to Ash.
“What’s this?”
“It’s not a bracelet, you know?”
Dinoss and the Butler looked suspicious.
Since then, the bracelet had changed shape and demonstrated the ability to stretch when I tried to wear it on my wrist.
“It’s beautiful—a bracelet.”
As it passed into Ash’s hands, the silver melted and flowed like ice, wrapping around his wrist. Two spirits appeared in response.
“How lovely.”
Ash murmured, captivated. It seemed the design met his approval.
“Wait, wait, wait?”
Dinoss, frozen in place, moved only his mouth.
“What? It’s not mercury, is it?”
“I used magic silver that we picked up together in the mine shaft,” I replied to Retze.
“Lord Dinoss…?”
The Butler slowly turned his face toward Dinoss.
“Me!? Is it my fault!? Wait, is it really magic silver!?”
Dinoss seemed to be panicking all on his own.
“It’s definitely magic silver.”
“What did you use?”
“…”
I turned my face away.
Retze wasn’t letting this slide!
“Hey!”
I turned my face away from Dinoss, who stood up. It was magic silver, but after the [Appraisal], it turned out to be spirit silver. It seemed to have enhanced effects, but that was probably due to the spirits being attached.
But still, the silver flowed out before the spirits were attached, right?
“Does this small bracelet really have two spirits… could that be the reason?”
The Butler looked perplexed.
“Isn’t magic silver that’s heavily influenced by spirits called spirit silver? If there are spirits, wouldn’t it have turned into that?”
So please stop accurately guessing what Retze can’t see.
“Oh. That’s right, there were a ton of spirits swarming around the box where I kept it!”
I see.
If the magic silver from that mine shaft has various effects, there should be more spirit swords circulating. I get it now.
“Don’t say it like they’re flies! I should have prepared all the materials myself…!”
Dinoss slumped over the table. It was an accident, so please forgive me.
“Even so, having two spirits seems impossible.”
“Ah, I asked them to protect the owner of the bracelet since they looked free. The blue one is Aoshizuku, and the green one is Ryokuen.”
I answered Ash, who was deep in thought.
“Don’t do that! And spirits shouldn’t just casually inhabit things!”
Dinoss shot up, shouting.
“Is it something you can just ask for?”
The Butler murmured.
“Is Note okay? He looks distant.”
“Not okay at all.”
I received a response that was definitely not okay.
“You know, I can’t see them, so I don’t really get it, but if it gets out that you can casually have spirits inhabit objects, that could be a huge problem, right? You’d get requests from authorities, adventurers, and even people outside of adventurers.”
“Ugh… I’ll keep it a secret.”
I really don’t want to be pressured by random people, not just specific individuals.
“Fortunately, the noble class with knowledge about spirits is mostly blind to it, and most citizens can’t see them either. I think it’ll be fine, but if it somehow gets out, just say it takes time and costs exorbitant prices for catalysts.”
“Yes.”
I obediently listened to Retze.
Since they probably only work at home, and if they haven’t spoken directly to me, they won’t be able to connect the dots, I think it’ll be fine, but it’s better to be cautious. I’ll be careful.
“Is it okay that Lord Dinoss and Note haven’t returned to normal?”
Ash said worriedly, looking at the groaning Dinoss and the unmoving Butler.