"Hmm, so in the end, you didn't find a Magic Item after all."
On the night of the Gigant Turtle dissection, Rei and the others were eating in Marina's yard and recounting the day's events when Elena made that observation.
Marina, Vihera, Ara, and the rest all directed mildly exasperated looks at Rei, but he simply nodded without seeming the least bit bothered.
"Yeah. I can say for certain there was nothing resembling a Magic Item within the area I searched today. I figured Set's five senses would turn up some kind of clue, but... no such luck."
He glanced over at Set, who was galloping around the yard with Ielo perched on his back.
Truth be told, the whole search had been a long shot—more of a "wouldn't it be nice if a Magic Item turned up" kind of effort.
That was why he wasn't particularly cut up about coming up empty.
"Hmm, but honestly, it really gnaws at me. What kind of method could control Cobolts like that? If it's not a Magic Item, then it has to be something else entirely... maybe some sort of ritual?"
"Ara's in the ritual camp, huh. In that case, I'll go with... let's see. Let's say it's a Skill."
"Lady Elena, a Skill is a bit of a stretch, isn't it...?"
"Is it, though? Skills are truly diverse. They're Special Abilities that even people who can't use magic can acquire through mana. So it's entirely possible a Skill really is the cause."
Ara looked skeptical at Marina's words.
She couldn't use magic, and she didn't have enough mana to develop a Skill either.
That was likely why she didn't fully grasp how such things worked.
...Though Ara's Herculean Strength was, in a sense, practically a Skill in its own right.
Her strength, wholly disproportionate to her frame, was more than enough to swing the oversized Power Axe with ease.
"Hmm... then I'll cast my vote for Rare Species or High-ranking Species."
"No, Vihera, you just want to fight strong monsters. For starters, even if it is a High-ranking Species or Rare Species, if the base creature is a Cobolt, I doubt it'll live up to your expectations."
Given how much Vihera loved combat, that was less a prediction and more a wish disguised as one.
Then again, Rei was only theorizing that a Magic Item was gathering the Cobolts because he himself wanted one, so he was hardly in a position to talk.
"In the end, we won't know what's causing these repeated Cobolt attacks unless we actually look into it. ...Marina, can Spirit Magic shed any light on this?"
"Listen, Elena. Spirit Magic can't do everything."
Marina delivered that line with a touch of exasperation, but for Rei, who had been listening nearby, there was a faint pang of disappointment.
He'd been planning to ask Marina to use Spirit Magic to investigate for any clues, if possible.
But as if she'd noticed Rei's reaction, Marina turned a similarly exasperated gaze on him.
"What is it, Rei? Don't tell me you were also thinking of having me investigate the Cobolt situation with Spirit Magic?"
"Ah... no, nothing like that. I just realized I forgot to give you all your souvenirs from Anesis."
Under Marina's pressing, Rei recalled that he still hadn't handed out the souvenirs and said as much, dredging up the memory from earlier in the day.
Mentally patting himself on the back for remembering the souvenirs during daylight hours, Rei pulled a set of gemstones from his Misty Ring.
They were white gemstones.
Among all the souvenirs from Anesis, these were the centerpiece.
...There were plenty of other souvenirs too, but the reason he'd brought out the gemstones—something he should have produced last—first of all was undoubtedly because Rei was feeling flustered.
"Oh my, gemstones? White gemstones, though—those are quite rare. ...Rei, what exactly are these?"
Marina at first regarded the gemstones with curiosity, but the moment she picked one up, she must have sensed it was no ordinary stone. She fixed Rei with a slightly stern gaze and asked.
"Oh, you could tell. ...You're right, these aren't ordinary gemstones. They're a kind of... well, you could call them a Magic Item. Recovery Magic is sealed inside these white gemstones. They're single-use disposables, but they let you cast Recovery Magic instantly."
Gemstones. Magic.
At those two keywords, Byune, who had been eating in silence, stopped mid-bite.
If it had been just one or the other, she wouldn't have batted an eye.
But the two combined changed everything.
Because that combination... was tied to how Byune's parents had met their end.
Her parents, sacrificed by a certain madman.
And the reason that madman had needed sacrifices was something best described as Jewel Magic.
"...Nn."
A low murmur, but one charged with fierce intent.
Hearing it, Rei showed no surprise—he'd clearly anticipated Byune's reaction—and spoke.
And with a clear understanding of what Byune was trying to communicate, he opened his mouth.
"That's right. The fact that Recovery Magic is sealed inside these gemstones means they're exactly what you suspect they are. ...However!"
At the words "exactly what you suspect," Byune half-reflexively readied a Long Needle to throw—but the forceful word that followed from Rei's mouth froze her in place.
"Nn."
The murmur came as a prompt to continue, and Rei felt a wave of relief.
Even from a seated position, dodging one of Byune's attacks wouldn't have been difficult.
But the fact that she'd halted at his words before things turned violent told him she hadn't completely lost her head.
Her cautious response to a matter involving Jewel Magic was proof that Byune had grown since last time.
...Though for someone usually as stone-faced as Byune, it was hard to say where her expressionlessness had gone—she was currently glaring at Rei with unmistakable intensity.
As if to calm her down, Rei pressed on.
"Listen to me, okay? First and foremost, the technique for sealing magic into these gemstones is... just as you suspect, based on the technique Pri developed."
At the name Pri, Byune's glare sharpened further.
The name of the person directly responsible for her parents' death had just been spoken aloud—it was only natural.
Still, the fact that she didn't lash out reflexively like before suggested she had at least some measure of composure.
"This technique was obtained from Pri... no, from the technique held by House Marstchel, and the Noble Faction Nobles developed it further. But obviously, anything requiring human sacrifices would never be tolerated. You can rest easy on that front."
At Rei's mention of Noble Faction Nobles, Byune glanced toward Elena, then immediately turned back to Rei and urged him to continue.
Her expression had shifted from harsh to deadly serious—perhaps because the brief glance at Elena served as a mental reset.
...Or perhaps it was because Vihera had started stroking Byune's back to soothe her.
(Judging by her reaction, it's better not to bring up Remuria's name. ...Knowing Byune, she might go so far as to seek Remuria out directly.)
Byune was a thief, but her personality made her terrible at information gathering.
No, to be precise—she was skilled at gathering intel through eavesdropping, but she was poor at proactively setting out to collect specific information.
Given that she normally communicated in single syllables, that was perhaps to be expected.
All things considered, Rei judged that if he didn't drop Remuria's name here, Byune would have a hard time tracking it down on her own.
Though with Vihera around—someone who could generally read what Byune was thinking—the situation might be different.
"So do those gemstones truly require no sacrifices?"
Not exactly on Byune's behalf, but Vihera put the question to Rei directly.
"I didn't witness the creation process firsthand, but that's what I was told by the person who gave them to me."
"Wait, then..."
It's meaningless if that person was lying.
That was what Vihera was getting at.
And she wasn't wrong. Her poor opinion of Noble Faction Nobles was surely a factor as well.
If it had been someone she knew, like Elena or Ara, that would be one thing—but Vihera hadn't forgotten that a noble had once tried to sabotage Gilm's Expansion Construction.
Under those circumstances, it was only natural for her opinion of the Noble Faction to sour.
"Don't worry. The person who made these gemstones isn't the type to lie. I'll vouch for that myself."
At the word of Elena—who knew Remuria—both Vihera and Byune accepted, albeit with visible reluctance.
"And that's precisely why these gemstones reflect the fact that no sacrifices are used in the sealing process. Specifically, they're one-time disposables."
The Jewel Magic Pri had used in combat had repeatedly fired spells from the same gemstone.
There were probably limits on the number of uses, but based on Rei's senses during their fight, it had seemed capable of casting magic a dozen or more times.
In that respect, the gemstones Rei had placed on the table were clearly inferior in performance.
...Though that was strictly in terms of reuse. The fact that they required no sacrifices was of tremendous significance.
If they were ever mass-produced and sold, that benefit would be enormous.
If sacrifices were involved, openly marketing them would be unthinkable. But if Jewel Magic could be produced without sacrifices, there was no barrier to selling them. ...Though anyone who learned where the technique originated and what it had once entailed would probably feel ill.
"............Nn."
After several seconds of silence, that small sound finally escaped Byune's lips.
She hadn't completely bought Rei's explanation—that much was clear.
But she seemed to understand that she couldn't argue with it.
In truth, if these gemstones ever hit the market, they'd be invaluable not just to adventurers, but to soldiers, knights, merchants, and countless others.
Given that they incorporated gemstones, they'd be expensive and not something one could buy casually, though.
"Anyway... I've given you the whole explanation, but the bottom line is these are Magic Items that let you cast Recovery Magic the instant you need it. Take them."
With that, Rei set a white gemstone in front of each of the three—Marina, Vihera, and Byune.
He'd considered that handing one to Byune might come across as a kind of provocation, but the reality was that Byune currently had the lowest combat prowess among the Crimson Lotus Wings.
What's more, her Class as a thief meant she often had to scout ahead and assess the enemy's disposition. From that perspective, it was essential for Byune to carry a means of recovery.
She already had potions, of course, but given the compact size of the gemstones, there was no downside to having one.
In a pinch, a gemstone was clearly more practical than a potion.
"...Nn."
Byune seemed to understand that as well. She picked up the gemstone Rei had set before her, though her expression was a conflicted one.
For someone normally so impassive, that complexity of feeling was all the more telling.
Once Byune took hers, Marina and Vihera each picked up their own.
"Recovery, huh. Is it really all right for me to have this?"
The one who looked at Rei and asked was Marina, who served as the Crimson Lotus Wings' healer through Water Spirit Magic.
Rei nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Your Spirit Magic can heal too, Marina, but it takes some time to cast, right? These activate instantly. Though if it's a fatal wound, they probably won't be enough."
"I'd expect as much. The magical power I sense from this gemstone isn't all that potent."
Even so, in terms of instant activation, Jewel Magic was an extraordinarily useful tool.
"If these ever actually went on sale, they'd fly off the shelves, wouldn't they?"
"Without a doubt, they would."
Marina answered Vihera's remark without a moment's hesitation.
"Personally, what I'd find really helpful is the ability to seal my own magic into gemstones that haven't already been sealed."
The single biggest bottleneck when it came to using magic was, naturally, the chanting of incantations.
But if sealing magic into gemstones were possible, it would mean casting spells instantly—no incantation required.
"That sounds fascinating, but... is it actually doable?"
"Good question. I'm not sure. But I hope it becomes possible someday."
That was Rei's reply to Vihera's words.