Chapter 1225: Encounter with a Compatriot ⑥

Somehow, even though I felt that my senses went out of sync, my conversation with Akane-san was proceeding peacefully. Thereupon, Akane-san looked as if she had just remembered something.

[Ahh, that's right. Lots of stuff happened that it slipped off my mind. I brought you a souvenir.]

[A souvenir?]

[Look, I thought you were a very scary guy at first, so I thought it would be better to put you in a good mood... Moreover, even if it's risky, it's tempting to make a connection and thought of having you get a good impression of us.]

[I'm not sure that's something you say in front of the person in question though?]

[Eh, it depends on the person. If it's Kaito, well, I don't think it would be a problem... And so, I'll give you this souvenir, hoping you'll give me something in return someday.]

[Ahaha.]

How should I say this... I really like this kind of straightforward conversation. I'm not really good at stuff like trying to find if the other party had any sort of hidden motives and the likes, so I appreciate it when people say things like this in a joking manner.

Besides, with this kind of preamble, it's easier for me to receive her gift without hesitation.

[...However, if I was that kind of person in your mind, I guess this would be something good?]

[It's worth about three times the annual income of Frau, who is behind me~~]

[That's also expensive.]

I don't know Frau-san's annual salary, but considering her position as assistant to the Chairman of a trading company, she must be earning a good salary.

No, even if she had an annual income of 4 million or something like that, considering that this item is equivalent to 12 million, this would be too expensive for a souvenir.

[I would say that three times that amount would be a bit excessive. Therefore, let's raise my salary to make that item be twice my salary.]

[Why the heck are you adjusting that? Stop talking nonsense and take out the box we brought.]

Akane-san was quick to give Frau-san the tsukkomi for her nonchalant tsukkomi. It seemed as if they were having this kind of conversation on a regular basis, and I could sense how well they were getting along.

Then, Frau-san brought out her magic box, took out a small palm-sized wooden box from inside, and handed it to Akane-san.

Although it was quite small, the box looked luxurious... An expensive item of this size, jewelry perhaps?

[I could have gone with an artwork, but you would need to like art to actually appreciate them. So, I decided to play it safe and went with a valuable piece of jewelry that wouldn't get in the way. There are only a handful of them on the market each year.]

[Thank you very much for the expensive item. This is...]

The diamond in the box was quite large, but unlike most diamonds, this had a bluish tint to it.

...This is a Blue Diamond, ain't it?

[It's called a Blue Diamond. It's a gemstone that signifies your high status just by possessing it.]

[I see... Thank you very much.]

Actually, when I went to mine Midnight Crystals before, Isis-san gave me a lot of these... I have quite a few of them stored in my magic box.

However, since there was no need to go and tell Akane-san that, I just thanked her and accepted the gift.

[I would like to give you something in return but... Akane-san, is there anything you want?]

[Hmmm, it's not like I had something in mind in return... but well, if there's one thing... Do you have any connections with an amazing Recovery Magic user? If you do, I'd like you to introduce me.]

[Recovery Magic? Are you injured?]

When it comes to Recovery Magic users, there are people I can think of, like Dr. Vier, so I asked her back for confirmation, to which Akane-san responded while lightly scratching her head.

[Ahh, it's not us, but a merchant in our company... was unluckily attacked by a monster on their way to stock up and was seriously injured.]

[The person themself said they didn't need it but...]

[It's not like we can just not do anything about it. Injuries received on duty are the responsibility of their employer. As expected, I can't do anything about the one arm they lost because I can't acquire a Fruit of the World Tree, but I have to do something about their paralyzed legs.]

I see, I could guess the general situation. Also, even if Akane-san was looking for a Recovery Magic user, she isn't assuming they would be on the same level as Dr. Vier... Dr. Vier is apparently able to rejuvenate missing limbs, but that is because her skills in Recovery Magic are amazing, which would normally be impossible.

She's on a level where Dr. Vier could have healed Sieg-san's throat and body if they had asked for her help. However, at the time Sieg-san was injured, Lilia-san and the others thought that Dr. Vier was just Luna-san's mother's doctor, and they had no idea that she could heal injuries that Court Mages could not, and they probably didn't even ask her to examine Sieg-san's condition.

Well, be that as it may, there's no problem introducing that merchant to Dr. Vier, but a quicker way to heal them...

[I have a lot of Fruits of the World Tree, so I'll give you one.]

[...Huh?]

I have lots of Fruits of the World Tree that Lillywood-san gave me, and although I have been told not to distribute them in the market, she had told me in advance that giving one to someone I know who I think needs it isn't a problem, so I can do it in this case.

Taking out a Fruit of the World Tree from my magic box, I placed it in front of Akane-san.

[...Hey, Frau... The Fruit of the World Tree is precious, isn't it?]

[Even among the species that are closely related to World King-sama, there are more people who have never seen it.]

[...Is this the real thing? Not some practical joke or something?]

[I can feel tremendous magic from it, so I'm pretty sure it's real...]

[I see... And he's saying he got lots of them... Kaito... You seriously need to cut it out! How many times are you gonna shorten my lifespan!!!? This is seriously bad for the heart...]

Akane-san put her hand on her forehead as if to endure a headache and had a dumbfounded expression on her face... but after a little while, she raised her head and looked at me.

[...Kaito, is it really alright to give this to me?]

[Yes, as a thank you for the souvenir...]

[No, that won't do. The souvenir I brought and the Fruit of the World Tree is completely disproportionate in value. We have our pride as merchants... However, I don't think it's right to reject something that was offered in good faith and I don't think it's right to settle it with money either... Hmmm.]

[If that's the case, would you like me to introduce you to someone who can use Recovery Magic powerful enough to rejuvenate limbs instead?]

[You have connections with someone like that? However... They're definitely a Peerage holder, right?]

[She is a Peerage holder... but she's also working as the local doctor.]

[Why the heck is a Peerage holder working as a local doctor... T- This is completely going out of my common sense... What the heck is wrong with this guy?]

As Akane-san made that shuddering expression for the umpteenth time, I somehow felt like she resembled Lilia-san when I brought a big shot to her mansion.