"Nick, what took you so long?" Sakura asks while hanging from Josh's arm. Both of them are waiting for me at the gate.
"Sorry, I got caught up talking to Inari."
"Oh, okay." Sakura drops to the ground as she responds. It seems she has something on her mind. I quietly wait for her to continue while she searches the ground for the right words to say. "Did she say anything about the expedition?"
"What do you mean?" I don't want to give away too much information if I don't have to. It's best if she can be more concise so I can only answer the questions she asks, not that I would lie either way, but I don't want them to do anything rash.
"Inari took the Dracoterra, right?"
"Yes, she did."
"Why?"
"Supposedly, there's a creature called 'The Guardian of the Forest' that they need to feed to avoid some kind of consequences."
"Like what?" Sakura's face fills with concern.
"I'm not sure, but it must be pretty dire if Inari is willing to risk a vested relationship. My concern is that the lives of her tribe are at stake."
"Why didn't she ask us for help?" I can't help but chuckle as Sakura asks the same question as me.
"I don't know. I told her that we can always take down a few more monsters during our expeditions so they can feed them to the guardian." Sakura grows more serious as I explain my plan. Her eyes seem to glow red as they burrow into the middle of my forehead.
"Okay, if that guardian hurts any of the fairies, we'll kill it."
"Of course. That goes without saying. My concern is that we'll be forced to confront it before then, so I want to be prepared."
"That's why you want to get magic?"
"Well, it's not the only reason, but yes."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Josh doesn't seem to mind, but Sakura looks genuinely hurt by the fact that I hid this information from her.
"Hmm..." I put my hand on my chin as I think of the best way to explain my rationale. "Some of this information I just confirmed a few minutes ago, so I was largely acting on assumptions before that. Also, I don't want you to worry too much about these things. At the end of the day, Inari and I are adults; we'll figure this out eventually."
"No. You're not! Josh is older than you!" Sakura shouts, which causes me to blink in surprise.
[I forgot I'm only ten in this world. I really need to keep that in mind.]
"Right, I forgot. Anyway, all we can do for now is continue working on getting stronger. We need to focus on that." Sakura glares at me, clearly upset by my claims that I'm an adult. I don't want to waste time arguing about nothing, so I prompt her with a question. "Anything else?"
'Hmmph!'
Sakura harrumphs and drags Josh off to the magic shop while I follow a few steps behind.
"What size stones are you looking for?" The owner of the magic shop asks.
"What sizes do you have?" I counter with a question of my own. The owner smiles and walks down one of the aisles near the middle of the shop. I take this opportunity to look around at all the strange-looking magic devices. The shop is just as extravagant as the first time I came. Walls of rods, armor, and weapons fill the small room. I can also see some weird-looking stones as well as a variety of contraptions with no apparent use. It's as if Dr. Seuss drew a weapons shop.
"Right here are the three largest stones in my shop. I keep them in the middle, right next to the Talistones."
"Perfect, let's see those." He brings the three pure mana stones to the back counter and places them in a wooden bowl. The first thing I notice is how strikingly clean they look. The stones are a misty, translucent blue color with no imperfections. They shine so brightly that they almost look wet. "How much are they?"
"The two big ones are five hundred Denarii each while the smaller one is three fifty." Now that he mentions it, two of the stones are noticeably larger than the third. I pick up one of the larger stones and inspect it. Something about it feels repulsive. I move the stone closer, and the feeling of an invisible hand covers my mouth. Inari's earlier words run through my mind. All my instincts are telling me to avoid these stones.
"I'll take the smaller stone." Sakura is the first to speak. She looks dejected. I turn to face her, and she continues. "I know you fight on the front, so you should have the bigger one. I'd just get in the way."
I tilt my head to the side and smile. This is the first time I'm seeing her behave this way. I want to tease her, but that'd be in bad taste, so I tell her my thoughts.
"I won't be buying one today."
"What?!" Both Sakura and the shop owner look very surprised.
"Inari warned me not to get one, and my gut is telling me the same. You two can take the big ones."
"Are you sure?"
"Yup."
"O-okay then." Sakura cautiously pays for the two stones, and I follow them outside. "Now what?"
"Let's head to the guild. I bet they know what to do."
"Those are pretty big mana stones. Where'd you get them?" Shelly asks as she sits down at our table. We occupy our usual spot at the back of the guild hall and make a request for her help. It only takes a few minutes before she strides up to us with a big smile on her face.
"We just got them at the magic shop," I reply casually.
"Good, it's best not to skimp on size when purchasing a stone as the volume determines how much magic you can store. The larger the stone, the larger your initial MP stat." She explains.
"I see." I've been thinking about how magic is used to differentiate class, and the cost of magic stones appears to be the limiting factor. The wealthier you are, the bigger the stone you can afford. This also explains why Shinobu can act as an effective adventurer despite only being about twelve years old.
[I'll have to talk to Shinobu about this as well. I'm sure she'll have some insight into normative culture among nobles.]
"How do we use them then?" I ask.
"Simple, you just eat it," Shelly says with a smile. I blink a few times as I digest what she just said. Considering the stone is about the size of a plum, "just eating it" is asking a lot.
"Is it chewable?" I ask, hopefully.
"No, silly. It might be a bit uncomfortable, but you only need to do it once. The pure mana stones are very smooth, so it goes down quick." I look over at the kids to tell them they don't have to do this if they don't want to, only to find them both shoving the stones in their mouths. Josh looks like he's about to vomit after he swallows the orb while Sakura falls into a coughing fit. It takes a few moments for them to calm down when suddenly, they both sit up with a start.
"What's happening?" Sakura sounds more concerned than afraid. Her eyes are darting around at some sight unseen.