Eh? I thought.
At Marina's stern words, everyone who heard her turned questioning gazes in her direction.
But it didn't seem like Marina was trying to deceive them, nor did it seem like she would do such a thing without reason.
Given that, Vihera judged that the spherical emerald she held must have some significance and placed it on the ground.
"So, Marina. Will you tell us what's going on?"
After setting the emerald down, Vihera moved to Marina's side, putting distance between herself and the gemstone.
Naturally, Byune—who had been the first to discover the emerald—also moved alongside Vihera to Marina's side.
Not just Vihera and Byune, but Elena, Ara, and Rei as well turned their gazes toward Marina, who wore a serious expression.
What on earth had happened?
Since they didn't understand that, there was nothing they could do about the current situation for the time being—but they also didn't understand why Marina was directing such a serious expression toward the emerald.
"This emerald... has a Spirit sealed inside it. A high-ranking one, and a crazed one at that."
"Huh?"
Several voices of doubt escaped their mouths simultaneously.
What kind of existence a Spirit was—many of those present knew.
That was only natural, considering they had seen Marina use Spirit Magic countless times.
Because of that, Marina had spoken of Spirits before, but she had never shown such a serious—no, such a grave demeanor.
It wasn't that they didn't wonder what was going on, but it was clear that the answer lay in the crazed Spirit.
The problem was that they had no idea what a crazed Spirit actually was.
"First of all—can Spirits even go crazy? I mean, I know they have something like an ego."
Rei's murmur voiced the question on everyone's mind.
Mages were already extremely rare, and Spirit Mages were even rarer among them.
Since Rei and the others were usually by Marina's side, they had no real sense of that scarcity.
Even so, they only understood the broad strokes of Spirit Magic.
That was precisely why, upon hearing Marina say a crazed Spirit was sealed within the emerald, they had questions.
"Of course, a Spirit going crazy is not a common occurrence. I myself have never seen it. But... perhaps because I use Spirit Magic, I can tell. That emerald unquestionably has a crazed Spirit sealed inside it."
Only a Spirit Mage could sense that.
Told as much, Rei and the others accepted it as reasonable.
The majority of those present besides Marina were individuals who possessed some kind of special ability themselves.
That was likely why they were able to accept Marina's words.
"So, assuming there is a crazed Spirit—what should we do about it? I understand that just leaving it here isn't the best option."
At Rei's words, everyone turned their gaze toward Marina.
Marina, receiving those gazes, thought for a moment before opening her mouth.
"At the very least, we can't just leave things as they are. I don't know how long it's been sealed in the emerald, or why it was in this sealed Underground Space, but..."
What came from Marina's mouth was the question everyone had been feeling.
Until Grimm connected the surface to this place with a passage, this should have been a completely enclosed space.
And yet—why was an emerald sealing a crazed Spirit in such a place?
(Wait. Huh? Grimm? ...Don't tell me Grimm placed this here for some reason?)
Grimm's research laboratory and this space were already connected.
If that was the case, then maybe—just maybe—there was such a possibility.
That was what he thought, but there was also the question of why Grimm would do such a thing.
...At the same time, he also felt that if it was Grimm, it wouldn't be strange for him to be capable of sealing a Spirit inside a gemstone.
With Ara and Byune present, mentioning Grimm's name would be problematic.
Judging that, Rei approached Marina—who was staring intently at the emerald on the ground—and quietly spoke.
"Hey, Marina. Maybe... and this is a real 'maybe'... this might be Grimm's doing."
"Eh?"
At Rei's words, Marina looked at him with an expression of being completely caught off guard.
Naturally. She had no understanding at all of why an emerald sealing a crazed Spirit would be placed here.
But at the same time, the thought existed in her mind that if it was Grimm—who had connected his laboratory to this space—then it wouldn't be strange for him to be capable of such a thing.
"...But would he really do something like that?"
"Honestly, I don't know. But you understand that if it's Grimm, he could do it, right?"
"That's..."
Marina was well aware of Grimm's absurd nature, so she understood what Rei was trying to say.
"Well, thinking about it normally... it's probably to research something about that Wisp, I'd guess."
So Rei stated, but there was no way he could understand what purpose placing an emerald sealing a crazed Spirit would serve.
"In that case, should we leave this emerald alone?"
"I think that'd be best. If this really is Grimm's doing, there's definitely some meaning behind it."
"Right... Understood."
Marina's reply sounded genuinely disappointed.
For Marina, who used Spirit Magic, leaving a crazed Spirit as it was was something she wanted to avoid if at all possible.
She wanted to somehow release the Spirit from the gemstone and restore it from its crazed state back to normal.
It was only natural for Marina to feel that way.
But if it involved Grimm, she couldn't afford to act carelessly.
Though he was an Undead, Marina had been saved by Grimm many times.
Of course, Marina herself had not been directly saved all that many times, but considering the party she belonged to—Crimson Lotus Wings—with the incident where he saved Vihera and the matter with the Eyeball, it was safe to say she owed him a deep debt of gratitude.
That was precisely why she could not afford to act carelessly in this matter.
"Rei, will you ask him about it later?"
Confirming that Rei nodded, Marina called out to the others, who were watching from a slight distance.
"I want to do something about this gemstone, but I can't deny the possibility that it's exerting some kind of influence on the Wisp. So, unfortunately, we'll leave this emerald here."
"Are you sure? It's a Spirit, right?"
At Marina's words, Vihera voiced her question.
The others as well, though they didn't say it out loud, directed questioning gazes at Marina.
Naturally. Just moments ago, she had been going on about a crazed Spirit being sealed inside, and now she was saying the complete opposite.
Anyone who knew Marina would naturally have doubts—not just Vihera.
"Yes. The fact that it's here probably means it has considerable significance. If so, then moving it carelessly from this spot... we can't know what might happen."
What Grimm was thinking when he placed this gemstone here was unknown.
But if it held some significant meaning, interfering with it would without a doubt lead to the worst possible outcome.
...Of course, in reality, they didn't actually know whether Grimm had truly placed the emerald sealing this crazed Spirit.
(It's true that I don't know, but considering that such an item actually exists here... yeah, that's the only possibility.)
Watching Marina, Rei thought to himself deeply.
Elena and Vihera, who knew about Grimm, seemed to have their own thoughts upon seeing Rei's demeanor.
They didn't press the matter any further.
And with Elena and Vihera maintaining silence, Ara—who was deeply devoted to Elena—and Byune, who personally wasn't that interested, also fell silent.
"Well, with that being the case... having something like this emerald around means we can't exactly go casually exploring the Underground Space, can we?"
"Nn..."
At Rei's words, Byune wore a disappointed expression.
Naturally. From Byune's perspective, she had found a massive emerald—one that would fetch a considerable sum if sold—only to find that a crazed Spirit was sealed inside, making it untouchable.
Byune wanted the emerald, but she had no need for a crazed Spirit sealed within it.
If she sold such a thing, it would be tantamount to spreading disaster.
But even understanding that—or perhaps precisely because she understood—Byune still harbored the desire to search further through this Underground Space and find something of monetary value.
In that situation, Rei had spoken words prohibiting exactly that. Telling her not to be dissatisfied would have been unreasonable.
"I understand how Byune feels, but think about it for a moment. In this situation, the very first thing we found was an emerald with a crazed Spirit sealed inside. Thinking about it that way—if there's something else in this space, do you really think it would be something ordinary?"
Marina's explanation carried as powerful a persuasive force as could possibly exist.
So powerful that those who heard it had no choice but to accept it.
Considering that the first thing they casually found was something like that—something that could be called a trouble magnet, so to speak—it was easy to imagine what kind of things might be lying around in this space.
That was why, unfortunately, even Byune could only nod at Marina's words.
"Well then, we've seen enough of this place, right? We've seen the Wisp too. ...What kind of existence the Wisp specifically is, we'll just have to leave to the researchers that Lord Daskar will prepare."
At the very least, Rei was no expert in what one might call monsterology.
He only had the knowledge from reading a general Monster Encyclopedia, and even about ordinary Wisps, he knew almost nothing.
If someone like him carelessly touched this Wisp, what on earth would happen?
Just thinking about it, it seemed like it would only lead to the worst possible outcome.
Precisely because Rei possessed immense magical power, there was additional uncertainty about what effects touching it might produce.
"Nn."
When Byune finally nodded in resignation, no one else voiced any further dissatisfaction, and they set about leaving the Underground Space.
...At that moment, the three who knew Grimm—Elena, Marina, and Vihera—exchanged glances directed at Rei. The message was clear: once you've heard the circumstances from Grimm, tell us too.
Given that a crazed Spirit had been sealed inside, Marina's gaze was dead serious.
(If Grimm actually says he sealed a Spirit in an emerald on a whim, I have a feeling Marina would find it unforgivable and challenge even Grimm to a fight. ...Please, Grimm. Don't tell me you did this for fun, okay?)
Fortunately, Elena and the others seemed willing to leave the conversation with Grimm to Rei alone, so if Grimm really did say something like that, Rei would need to vaguely cover it up for the time being.
Thinking that, Rei and the others exited the Underground Space.
...Precisely because he was preoccupied thinking about Grimm, Rei failed to notice.
That the giant Wisp floating in the Underground Space had been pulsating its body.
"Hmm... I don't hate an Underground Space like that, but as expected, being under the sunlight like this is better."
Upon exiting the underground passage, Vihera stretched luxuriously.
At that moment, her exceedingly ample twin peaks asserted themselves with overwhelming intensity, but Vihera showed no sign of embarrassment.
Everyone here besides Rei was a woman, and she didn't mind being seen by Rei. No—rather, the fact that she wanted Rei in particular to see was a significant factor.
Glancing slightly toward Rei, Vihera was disappointed to find him looking in a completely different direction. But when she soon noticed that his ears, exposed after he had removed his hood, were dyed bright red, she nodded with satisfaction.
"So, what do we do now? Going to report to Daskar?"
Marina, who had been watching the exchange between Vihera and Rei, asked Rei.
Normally, she would be willing to cooperate with Vihera's attempts to seduce Rei, but considering the current situation, she judged that it was better to move the conversation forward.
Rei, after thinking for a moment at Marina's words, decided that he would keep the matter of the emerald a secret for the time being, but report everything else.