Episode 18
When we arrived at the jewelry shop run by Oracle, right on cue, Aidan was stepping down from his carriage as well.
“Wow… I felt that the orchard was enormous too, but this place is no joke either.”
The shop situated on the most prime real estate in Seg Village was a jewelry shop in a three-story building, no less. Its scale was large to a degree that was hard to believe it was located in such a small village.
“So did you find what you wanted?”
“Yes, the local lord and the jeweler are suspicious. Did you find anything, Young Lord Aidan?”
“Yeah, in fact, right now in the Wis region…”
Mid-explanation, Aidan shut his mouth. No, if you’re going to talk, you should speak to the end, shouldn’t you? Only if we exchange the information we know will we be able to go inside and demand answers.
“My, oh my, did you come to look at ornaments?”
At the voice heard from behind, I was able to know the reason Aidan had shut his mouth.
“Ha-ha-ha, hello.”
A man wearing large gem rings on all ten fingers showed off shining gold teeth and beamed broadly.
Though the clothes he wore were of the finest quality, he was a man possessing shoulders hunched from bowing and scraping, and belly fat spilling down over his belt.
“Are you the owner of this jewelry shop?”
“That is correct; I am the owner of the jewelry shop, Oracle.”
Slender, slit-like eyes quickly swept over Aidan. It seemed he had noticed that the items Aidan was wearing were extraordinary.
“I did not expect that such splendid guests would come to such a humble village. Though it is a shop with nothing much to see, please step inside.”
“Hmm, very well.”
Taking it as natural, Aidan began walking in the lead, and I followed behind him.
The interior was a place so luxurious that it wouldn’t be strange to say it was slathered with money. It was filled with items so expensive-looking that it made one wonder: would anyone in this village actually buy these?
“At this level, it would hold its own even when compared with most shops in the capital.”
At Aidan’s words, Oracle rubbed his two hands together and bowed and scraped.
“It seems you came from the capital! Are you on a tour?”
“If I were going on a tour, I would have gone to Wis.”
Is it impossible for Aidan to just say yes at times like this?
“Ah-ah, I see. You came to buy a ring for your sweetheart, didn’t you?”
Somehow, chills ran through me at his sly laugh. Me, Aidan’s sweetheart? Good heavens.
Even if Aidan drew his sword right now and cut off that man’s tongue, it wouldn’t be strange.
“You came to the very right place. Our jewelry shop carries all the expensive gems that aren’t handled elsewhere, you see. There are even many guests who go to Wis and deliberately come to our shop.”
Oracle laughed loudly and quickly examined the items in the display case.
“From what I see, how about a blue diamond ring for this lady? Or a necklace set with a large emerald would be pretty, too.”
There was no way such flashy things would suit me.
Even as empty words, I was not a flashy beauty. I wasn’t a person with a knack for fashion, but I knew at least that large ornaments like those didn’t suit a short, plain-looking woman like me.
If left like this, Aidan was bound to turn things upside down, saying, ‘Where do you see that this woman is my sweetheart? What low-level insight.’
Before he got angry for no reason and made the investigation difficult, I was about to open my mouth first, but faster than that, Aidan’s hand caught hold of my waistline.
“Other than things like that, do you have no red gems?”
And after pressing me close to his side, he gently held my hair with his other hand and kissed it.
“Because we have to be apart for a while. It would be nice to have a red gem like my hair that can remind you of me just by looking at it.”
What’s this? Why is he suddenly acting like this so creepily?
When I looked at him strangely, strength went into the hand rested on my waistline. At an expression telling me to quietly catch on, I shut my mouth for now.
“Ah-ah, a red gem? What to do about this?”
Oracle spoke, rubbing his two hands loudly.
“We don’t have rubies or garnets in our shop.”
“Is that so?”
“Ye-es, usually they are custom-made.”
“That is a pity. This time, while traveling to the Kingdom of Litos, I saw a very pretty ruby, you see. When I asked, they said it was crafted and sold at this jewelry shop, so I came all the way here for that, as a matter of fact.”
The Kingdom of Litos?
I stole a glance at Aidan. Since it seemed the story Aidan had left unfinished earlier was this story, I shut my mouth for now and put on a smile.
“Is this not the place?”
“Oh my, so you saw that! That is right; it is a product crafted at our shop.”
He spoke with a smile.
“Since you saw it, you must know, but it is a ruby of immense value, after all. Not to mention the blood-like color that can only be seen in top-grade rubies, as well as the clear luster devoid of impurities.”
“That’s right. I haven’t seen a small number of rubies myself, but it was my first time seeing a pigeon-blood color like that.”
“As expected, you were someone who knows how to look at gems.”
Oracle smiled until the inside of his mouth was dry. It seemed Aidan looked like a source of money to him.
“However, that ruby is a product harvested from our village local lord’s mine, so you have to stand in line.”
“The local lord’s mine?”
At an appropriate timing, I chimed in.
“Is there a mine here?”
“Yes, owned by the local lord, but only top-grade rubies come out of it.”
“Wow~ To think that many such rubies come out. I’d like to take a look. Is it far from here?”
“Ha-ha, no. Naturally it is close. Because it’s the local lord’s land. However, taking a look is difficult.”
“That is such a pity.”
When I expressed regret, Aidan asked.
“I am inclined to buy even at a premium; is it difficult to obtain?”
At the mention of a premium, I saw his slender eyes flash.
“Ahem, in fact, there are already many orders received, so I shouldn’t be doing this, but… Since you visited all the way here in person, and the two of you are such a well-matched pair of lovers, my heart weakens once again.”
Saying that when his heart simply weakened before money—he sure talks well.
“Right on cue, there is one raw, natural ruby gemstone left that hasn’t undergone crafting yet. Would you like to see even that?”
“Sounds good.”
Oracle told us to wait for just a moment and went up to the second floor.
The moment he disappeared, Aidan removed his hand and began wiping it with a handkerchief.
“About the story from earlier. Overseas, there were several fake ruby incidents.”
“Fake rubies?”
“It’s not just one or two places, but the place where they were discovered most was the Kingdom of Litos I mentioned earlier.”
I thought it was strange somehow.
Because top-grade rubies could absolutely never come out of the Seg region.
“Seeing as the damage isn’t just one or two cases, it seems they are producing fake rubies systematically. And that is probably…”
I nodded my head. It was definitely this place.
“The mineral that fisherman found is probably that fake one, then.”
“That’s why they had to get their hands on it quickly, but because the fisherman tried to sell it to another jeweler, they probably committed a act like this out of fear of getting caught.”
It was right when Aidan lightly stroked his chin.
“Ha-ha, did it take long? Here it is.”
The red ruby Oracle put forth certainly looked like a top-grade ruby on the outside.
“This ruby is enormously beautiful. It’s certainly worth being targeted by connoisseurs.”
Oracle smiled confidently and squared his shoulders.
“Indeed, it is a top-grade natural ruby that I confidently guarantee.”
“A natural ruby, you say…”
Removing my eyes from that fake gem, I spoke.
“I knew the Seg region to be famous for fruit, but looking now, rubies were famous.”
“Ha-ha, of course fruit is delicious here as well. Fruit is a food even commoners can buy and eat, but rubies—and top-grade ones like this at that—can’t be bought by just anyone.”
Poking my side, he spoke.
“Unless it’s a capable man like the lady’s sweetheart, that is! Ha-ha-ha!”
It seemed his intention was to flatter like this so that Aidan would hurry up and buy this fake.
“Do you know why the Seg region is famous for fruit?”
“Uh, well, that’s because fruit near here is particularly sweet and vivid in color.”
“The reason is precisely because the soil around here is soil with a high iron content. Because it is rich in iron, the fruit is particularly vivid and sweet compared to other nearby regions. The reason it is famous for fruit even compared to nearby regions with similar weather is precisely that.”
With an expression showing he had no idea what I was trying to say, Oracle simply smiled.
