Chapter 175: Deep-Sea Fishing Boat, Mine or Casino?

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It had been a while since they all rode together in a carriage.

Munch munch. Sugar, nibbling on a snack, gazed out the window.

They were on their way to acquire the ingredient for Saint’s Water—Song of Silence. Their destination was the port city of Zenrock, where an auction would be held.

Though the auction itself was still about a week away, they had left early to account for travel time and preparations.

A glance to the side revealed her childhood friend staring out the opposite window. Shouldn’t he still be in the infirmary? Worry flickered in her chest, but the moment their eyes met, she quickly turned away.

“Leon. Do that thing. That one.”

“Again?”

“Do it.”

For no particular reason, she pestered the young man in the front seat.

With a sigh, Leon raised his white staff. As he focused, golden mana shimmered and spread around him.

“Whoaaa.”

He looked every bit the prophet. Just before their departure, Ione had summoned him and taught him the technique.

After Sugar’s visit yesterday, Her Holiness had reconciled with Ian. Had she thought of something since then?

‘At least her health seems better. That’s a relief.’

She’d promised to check on them again later. Had things smoothed over between her and Leon too? But judging by the expression of the guy in the front seat, it didn’t seem so.

“Hey. This is good news. Why’ve you looked like that since earlier?”

“The first ironclad rule of Her Holiness’s prophetic teachings… Never speak of what happens during the lessons…”

“Huh?”

“Never speak of it… Never speak of it… Never speak of it…”

His body trembled violently, his condition clearly not ideal. Gripping the staff with pale knuckles, he looked like he was clinging to a lifeline.

Of course, this was none of Sugar’s concern. Once this matter was settled, she had her own consultation to attend to. And Ione was always kind to her.

‘There’s just so much I want to ask.’

Thinking of the days ahead, she pulled out something she’d brought along.

Partly to stave off boredom, partly because she wanted to show her friends.

“Ta-da! I’ve got something to show you all. Remember this?”

It was the Dream Lantern—a mysterious object lent by a tenant of her Dream.

“I’ve figured out more of its uses. Watch closely.”

A small box was attached to the lantern’s handle. When opened, two eyeballs popped out. One belonged to Louveci, the other to a bird known as the ‘Liar’.

“Ah, so that’s why you bought so many eyeballs yesterday. You were planning to use them for this.”

“Mhm. I wanted to test if other eyeballs worked too.”

“Sigh. I was sure it’d be for curses—”

“What?”

“Carry on.”

Leon clamped his mouth shut. Unbothered, Sugar placed the bird’s eyeball into the lantern.

“This is the Liar’s eyeball. You all know about them, right?”

“Of course. They communicate like humans, but half of what they say is lies.”

“Right. And this one’s a mutant’s eyeball.”

As Ian answered, Sugar raised the lantern with a flourish.

“My name is not Sugar.”

The moment she declared this, her hand and arm holding the lantern flushed bright red, as if bathed in crimson light.

“Ah… A lie detector?”

“Exactly. Any being who lies within the lantern’s range glows red.”

Ian reached out in fascination, and Sugar gladly handed it over.

“Among those birds, there are rare mutants born unable to lie. They see liars as bright red.”

“So it’s showing us that vision…”

The lantern projected the world as seen through the equipped eyeball.

“I tried other ingredients too, but… they’re kinda messy? For now, only eyeballs work, so I’m thinking of carrying just two.”

An eyeball that sees what others cannot.

An eyeball that discerns lies.

For now, these two would suffice.

Leaving Ian to fiddle with the lantern, Sugar poked Riley’s arm. Her gaze stayed fixed on Ian, but her lips moved.

“Hey. Riley.”

“What.”

“I tried putting the stone you gave me this morning in it… but since it’s a stone, nothing happened.”

The white stone Sugar had asked for earlier. She’d gotten it back from Riley that morning and immediately tested it in the lantern. It had been nestled in a pretty pink box, but whatever.

“Anyway, since I have it now, can I make something out of it?”

“…Like what?”

“A secret.”

Riley’s eyes narrowed. Memories of Sugar’s past antics to invade his room resurfaced. When he didn’t answer, she shot him a sidelong glance.

“It’s nothing weird…”

“Your track record says otherwise.”

“This time’s different.”

“Hard to believe when you can’t even look me in the eye.”

“That’s just… Ugh…”

Truthfully, she hadn’t been able to meet his eyes since that morning. It was just… hard. Why? She didn’t know.

“…Fine. If you don’t believe me, use the lie-detector lantern.”

“Nah. Because it’s you, I’ll trust you.”

As Riley shifted in his seat and echoed her usual catchphrase, Sugar pouted, displeased.

“Hoh…”

Riley stared intently—first at her, then at her pouting lips, jutting out in a sulk.

Sugar immediately began smacking him repeatedly, her face flushed as she gritted her teeth and vented her frustration.

“Hey—you—you little—! You seriously need to get hit sometimes!”

“What? Why? I just looked at you, and you’re throwing a tantrum over it.”

“I don’t know! I don’t know!”

Riley pinched her cheek in retaliation. Sugar tried to fight back, but he blocked her by pressing a hand against her forehead, keeping her at bay.

“Aah! Move your hand right now!”

“No.”

As they bickered, Ian clapped her hands to gather their attention.

“Enough, you two. Let’s talk about the most important thing.”

What else would be the most important topic on their way to an auction?

“First, I have 500 gold on hand.”

It was, of course, about their funds.

“I tried to save as much as possible… but since we had to keep it secret in the Holy City, I couldn’t gather much. I don’t have a lot of personal spending money.”

This was about recreating a mythic mystery. They didn’t want to draw attention and escalate things, so they’d silently agreed to keep it among the four of them.

“I have 100 gold.”

“200.”

Sugar and Riley chimed in one after another.

Leon’s jaw dropped.

“Wait… Did you all borrow money? For me?”

“No? I just saved up my allowance bit by bit.”

“Part of what I earned outside.”

At their words, Leon pressed his lips together tightly.

“Hey. No one’s blaming you. When would you have had the chance to earn money? Getting into Steele alone was impressive enough.”

“Pay us back.”

Sugar and Riley each tossed in a remark, while Ian quietly patted Leon’s back.

“So… we have a total of 800 gold. What’s the estimated winning bid?”

“Well, the last recorded transaction was 800 gold.”

“When was that?”

“Two years ago.”

When Sugar muttered the question, Riley answered, recalling the records he’d seen before.

“Hmm… Since it’s a rare item, it might go over 1,000 gold.”

“Or maybe there won’t be as much competition?”

“Some buyers collect it as a trophy, not just as an ingredient. It might be popular.”

“That’s true too.”

As the three calmly discussed the matter, Leon trembled beside them. The talk of 800 gold, 1,000 gold—massive sums exchanging hands—left him pale.

“I-I-I’ll sell myself to a deep-sea fishing boat or a magic ore mine! I’ll make up the shortfall somehow…!”

It was a declaration of resolve, a sincere offer to his friends who cared so much.

But the reaction he got was far more intense than expected.

“Don’t you dare say that!”

Her Holiness’s sharp rebuke instantly drew the attention of the other three.

“Absolutely not! Do you really think I’d send you to the middle of the ocean or underground? Over something as trivial as money?!”

Her voice was icy. Her expression, even more so.

Sugar and Leon’s eyes widened, and they immediately exchanged glances before turning back to Ian.

“Ah… I mean, it’s like, we’d never sell off a friend to a fishing boat.”

“Yeah…”

“We still have to graduate together and everything. Students should live proper student lives.”

Her Holiness awkwardly tried to smooth things over.

“…That’s true.”

Sugar played along. Leon, still dazed, nodded blankly.

Riley, glancing between Sugar and Ian, kept his mouth shut.

“A-anyway, let’s get back to discussing how to cover the shortfall…”

The conversation resumed.

“I could sneak some funds from the Holy City—”

“That’s embezzlement, Your Holiness.”

“What if we hit the casino? There are tons there. Let’s go!”

“And then you’ll actually get sold to a fishing boat, idiot.”

“I’d rather avoid loans if possible…”

“We could take one under my name, and Your Holiness covers the interest…?”

“Sugar, that just means we’d be stuck paying it off forever. The losses would be too big.”

“So pay us back after you graduate. 50% interest every ten days.”

“I’d rather die.”

They tossed around ideas—hopes, slight worries—but the excitement of heading to a new place kept the conversation lively.

Well, it’ll work out somehow.

They stopped at waypoints to rest, switched carriages, traveled, and did sightseeing along the way.

Before long, Zenrock City came into view.

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…

It felt like watching a fire.

Except they just realized they were the kindling.

[Estimated winning bid for ‘Song of Silence’: 2,000 gold~]

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“I-it’s just an estimate! Auctions can be unpredictable…!”

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“An estimate… haha…”

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“Haha… ha…”

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“……Let’s go?”

No one responded to Sugar’s suggestion.