After discovering that Sieg-san's Rainbow Dragon could instantly manifest a jewel that typically took an entire year to form, we beat a hasty retreat from the lottery stalls.
Magnawell-san's warning had done its job; no one dared interfere, but being the center of so much attention made it impossible to relax. Fortunately, since he had only just laid down the law, no one was bold enough to follow us.
We eventually reached a plaza a reasonable distance away from the venue and resumed our discussion regarding the Rainbow Dragon.
"So, Fia-sensei. Do you think this Rainbow Dragon actually has the power to produce these jewels without limit?"
"Hmm, I suspect so. I mean, it can generate them at that speed, after all. Let’s try having it make just one more as a test."
"I see. Well then, Sieg-san."
After exchanging a few words with a serious expression, I turned to Sieg-san to ask her to make the request to the dragon.
"Is it tasty? Eat plenty so you can grow big and strong, okay?"
"..."
"What should I name you? I just can't decide!"
"Honestly, Sieg. I understand that you can't help but find your pet adorable, but please pay attention to us for a moment."
"Huh!? S-Sorry, I got carried away..."
Sieg-san, who had been feeding the Rainbow Dragon with a beaming, radiant smile, was snapped back to reality by Lilia-san's stern voice.
Well, it was the monster pet she had always dreamed of. As a total animal lover, she was clearly so happy she couldn't contain herself. Even while replying to Lilia-san, one of her hands remained busy stroking the Rainbow Dragon's head.
"Anyway, Sieg. There's something we want to verify. Please ask that little one to make another jewel like the one from before."
"I understand. Um, do you think you could make another one of these?"
Following Lilia-san's request, Sieg-san knelt down and spoke in a gentle voice. The Rainbow Dragon still didn't make a sound, but after a single nod, it produced another black jewel from its tail.
Just as Fia-sensei had suspected, the creature possessed the special ability to generate those black jewels at will.
Sieg-san took the jewel and handed it to Lilia-san, who scrutinized it from various angles.
"Milady, do you have any idea of its approximate value?"
"No... while I can tell it is a truly magnificent gemstone..."
At Luna-san's question, Lilia-san looked away from the jewel and shook her head. Even as a high-ranking noble, it seemed she couldn't determine the market value of a gemstone that had just been discovered for the first time in history.
"Hmm... Alice, are you there?"
"Right, right. You want me to take a look at that rock?"
"Yeah, if you would."
To be honest, I didn't know much about jewelry either, and since Fia-sensei and Noin-san both looked stumped, I decided to summon the expert.
Alice took the jewel from Lilia-san and tested its texture by lightly tapping it with her finger.
"It’s quite hard. Adamantite... no, it's closer to Orichalcum. And this hue... Sieg-san, may I try cutting this?"
"Eh? Oh, yes, of course."
"Then, if you'll excuse me... Hup!"
After receiving permission, Alice drew a knife. In the blink of an eye, a flash of light erupted from her hand, and an instantly processed, beautiful black diamond appeared.
It had been pretty as a raw stone, but once cut, it looked incredible. It possessed a deep, dark beauty, as if a city's nightscape had been captured and sealed inside the facets.
"At this size, it would be eighty platinum coins as a raw stone. Since it’s so hard, the processing is quite a chore, so I’d say it’s worth about a hundred once finished."
"E-Eighty!?"
Eighty platinum coins—roughly 800 million yen—for the raw stone. One billion yen once processed. Moreover, the jewel Alice was currently holding was relatively small, likely because the Rainbow Dragon was still just a hatchling.
This meant that as the dragon grew, the value of the jewels would only continue to skyrocket.
"I'd like to do a little research on this material, so Sieg-san, would you mind letting me have this? I did the processing myself, but I’ll pay you the full hundred platinum coins for it."
"H-uh...?"
"Thank you very much. Here is your hundred platinum coins."
"Eh? Ah... whe?"
"Well then, my business here is done. I'll be taking my leave!"
Before Sieg-san's brain could even begin to process the situation, Alice handed over a cloth bag containing a hundred platinum coins and vanished.
Sieg-san stood frozen for a few seconds, and then she began to tremble uncontrollably.
"P-Platinum coins? Platinum coins are... the ones worth ten gold coins each... and there are a hundred of them... so a hundred platinum coins... even just one is a platinum coin..."
"S-Sieg-san?"
"Sieg, please calm down! Pull yourself together!"
"Plati... num... coins? Kyuu."
"Sieg-san!?"
To Sieg-san, a commoner, platinum coins were something from another world. She had painstakingly saved three gold coins from her wages over several years just to buy a monster.
She had spent three million yen to fulfill her dream of owning a pet, only to be suddenly handed a cool billion yen.
The sheer shock of the development was more than she could handle, and Sieg-san promptly lost consciousness.
Dear Mother, Father—The people I hang out with are so bizarre and I have so much money myself that my common sense has been numbed... but in a way, Sieg-san's reaction is the most normal of all. I have to wonder, though—is she going to be okay?
A Certain Commoner: "I'll tell you exactly what happened. I saved up money diligently for several years to fulfill my dream of owning a monster, and I managed to scrape together three gold coins. I spent them all at the Six Kings Festival, bracing myself for a life of frugality starting tomorrow... but for some reason, far from decreasing, my savings jumped by about three hundred times. I don't think you'll understand what I'm saying, and I didn't understand what was happening to me either. It wasn't something petty like an investment or fund management. I witnessed a terrifying glimpse of the abyss that is Kaito-san."