Chapter 521: Just a Pearl, They Say.
“It’s a ball used when you drop something in the sea, or so they say. Though, I hardly ever get the chance to go to the ocean; I just enjoy this beautiful iridescence!” Chris said with a smile.
The gentle iridescence is indeed beautiful. I’m placing it on a handkerchief, but how exactly should one handle a pearl? Well, it’s not a pearl, but it gives off a soft impression. It feels solid enough when I hold it, though.
“It’s big for a pearl, but if the Sea God Seikai gave it to you, then maybe it really is a pearl?” Dean tilted his head as he peered into the Tide Draining Pearl.
“At first glance, it looks like a pearl, but could it be a droplet from the Sea God Seikai?” Haulon glanced at Chris’s statue while looking at the Tide Draining Pearl.
Stop worrying about the Great Sage, Chris, and figure out the truth about that ball! I know you can do it!
Karn could do it too. With the knowledge and intuition he had when he realized the relationship between Spirit Gold and armor, he could definitely help! Oh, he’s crossed his arms and is lying back down. Well, he’s probably not sleeping, but he’s closing his eyes with a serious expression.
I really don’t like the idea of being the only one holding onto the secret of the Tide Draining Pearl. Come on, Haulon, you can do it!
“So? What kind of effect does this really have?” Retze asked me, and that’s just unfair…!
“It has the effect Chris mentioned,” I said, avoiding eye contact.
“…So? What kind of effect is that?”
“Since it’s called the Tide Draining Pearl, it probably splits the sea or pulls it back to reveal the ocean floor.” I answered honestly after being asked twice.
“Wait! Doesn’t that mean lost items will float back up? Is it really that famous that you can tell its effect just by the name?!” Chris exclaimed, surprised and flustered.
My cheeks were being squished.
“If you noticed, you should have told me,” I said.
“I didn’t have time to tell you before Seikai returned to the sea; it was beyond my control.”
“So it’s called the Tide Draining Pearl. I’ve never heard of it before,” Dean poked the Tide Draining Pearl with his fingertip.
“Stop it! If that really is the Tide Draining Pearl, it could move the sea and destroy a hundred warships!”
“No, there’s no sea here. This is just a big pearl in Kanum.” Dean said, looking somewhat exasperated as he stopped Haulon.
“Y-Yeah, that’s true. It’s a big pearl!” Chris, who had been sweating nervously, brightened up at Dean’s words.
“Retze, when I received this ‘pearl,’ the Sea God Seikai immediately sank into the sea, and I thanked him on his back. I didn’t have time to stop Gene. It was my oversight for not being able to imagine the effects of an item given by a spirit called a god. So Gene isn’t at fault,” Chris said, finally freeing my cheeks from their squished state.
Chris is a good guy, taking the punishment for my cheeks. Wait, huh? Isn’t Chris’s cheeks safe from being squished? Is he free from punishment because he spoke honestly?
“It’s too dangerous to use or sell. After all that work, we’ll have to keep it as a decoration,” Retze shrugged.
“I’ll just admire it and use it as a drinking companion to reminisce about our adventures. It was truly wonderful!”
“Listening to Chris makes me envious. I can’t help but think he must have gone through something terrible,” Haulon said, the complete opposite of Chris’s bright demeanor.
It seems like he could sink along with the Karianto Manju. It wouldn’t be a tale of a thousand and one nights, but rather a tragic love story, so that won’t do. Wait, even if it sinks into the mantle, would the Karianto Manju be safe?
“I’ll invite you next time I get the chance,” I thought I’d invite him when I go somewhere a bit more open.
“…If I go, I’ll just remember how terrible it was with Asas and Es. Let me think about it…” Haulon said, wandering his gaze before plopping down in his seat.
Please don’t suddenly regain your sanity.
“What about your thirst for knowledge?” I urged Haulon.
“First, I need to figure out how to invite Retze. The Adventurer’s Guild has stopped taking requests for me—”
“Seriously, don’t try to take me with you. I’ll die, so just stop,” I glared at Retze, who returned my look with a grim expression.
“Es and Mail didn’t have a scratch on them,” he said.
“Es was surrounded by people who could kill me in an instant!” I retorted. Retze, being relied upon by the Great Sage, is truly impressive!
“—Why are you contracted with a spirit more powerful than Seikai?” Karn, sitting in front of the fireplace, suddenly asked.
How did he find out!? Oh, it must be the King’s Branch. I mentioned that the spirit I contracted could use it.
Did I let it slip!?
“More powerful than the Sea God Seikai…?”
Haulon, who had been trying to persuade Retze, suddenly froze and looked at me with a stiff, creaking motion.
Grandfather, I’ll bring you a good menu for your joints next time.