Evan D. Sherden, Hunting for Treasure (3)
Evan called the waiter to take away the empty plates on the table, then bought himself a second drink. Finally, he called the escorts to tell them that no one had access to the room and locked the door.
After that, he displayed all the jewellery and trinkets he had bought at the jewellery store that day on the table. Surprisingly this inventory pocket could categorize the items inside and take out only the type of items he wanted!
And Evan, who was born in a wealthy home and had been using magic tools since childhood, was proficient in dealing with magic tools even though he didn't have the ability to use mana!
"There are 32 in total. Okay, these are more than I thought."
'These should have been saved from Yo-Ma Great War 1.'
"Wow, they're so pretty because they're arranged like this."
"Master, if you put it on a rough table like this, wouldn't the jewellery be damaged?"
Belois still had realistic worries even while seeing the jewellery and sparkling jewels that made others captivated. Evan answered Belois's question,
"It won't be damaged. As an artefact, it has a basic defence."
For a short time, Belois was stiff because she couldn't understand. Even if he had 32 artefacts, no matter how many artefacts were constantly being unearthed from the dungeon, it was still dangerous to place them over a table like that!
Instead, Serena asked,
"How did you buy the artefacts from the jewellers?"
"They didn't know these were artefacts. Not all artefacts in the world reveal their presence at the moment they are discovered."
The things he said were still unintelligible to them. Their facial expression showed that they were logically unconvinced; how the hell artefacts could be obtained from a jeweller without him even knowing?
He would have never thought so too if he had just been a pure nobleman, but they did not know that Evan had also been a player of the Yo-Ma Great War series. However, when his knowledge as a nobleman, and his knowledge about the game and the artifacts' knowledge were combined, it had become possible to explain this phenomenon.
"These weren't artefacts in the first place, but there are some things that naturally become artefacts over time. Some have the potential to become artefacts, but there are cases where they aren't revealed because they don't receive appropriate attention. There are artefacts that don't emit magical power until the owner is found, and there are also artefacts that have to be replenished due to loss of power."
"I heard that there is a mage who manages artefacts in our Royal Palace."
"Yes? Everything I just said is something you can't figure out without scrutinizing and testing out these artefacts all day. Even if someone knew that artefacts can be found at a jeweller's, if you do something like that in a jewellery shop, you will be kicked out, of course."
What would happen if a skilled person went to the jeweller and said,
'I want to find out if there are any artefacts among these and buy them at a low price, so can I rent the store for one day?'?Maybe that guy would be handed over to the guards to be put on trial.
With that in mind, it was natural that such a large number of artefacts had been kept there still. By the way, they had been finally rescued now from the place where all the precious stones of the city had been gathered for hundreds of years.
"Then, Master, these 32 gems are really all artefacts…"
"Huh. The Jewelers lost almost a million coins today…It's not a standard, but it can be said that they've lost nearly half of what they will earn in their life."
However, Evan didn't feel sorry for them. No matter how much money he had, Evan couldn't pay for 32 artefacts at their actual price. No one else would have been able to figure out the worth of these artefacts anyway, not here in the game world at least.
Initially, the jewellers had not paid for the artefact either.
"But Master Evan, I have a question."
"That's a trade secret."
Belois puffed both her cheeks. She didn't even know what they were trying to ask, 'It takes such great people all day and they barely find them, but how did you recognize them at a glance and pick them all?'
And the answer was simple. They should remember that Evan cleared all the Yo-Ma Great Wars from 1 to 4, and took up all the artefacts in the form of jewellery and accessories! In a state where he remembered nothing, if someone asked Evan to recall them and write them all up, they would be a lot to remember, but when he saw the artefacts, he could remember their names and properties easily!
'But, of course, we cannot explain this as always, and as we have not done so far, we have no choice but to relate it all with his unknown prophecy's ability… It's getting harder and harder to understand this.'
Still, he couldn't help it. There was a reason? behind his revealing to Serena that these were rare artefacts. He was already getting annoyed by her words.
"But Evan Oppa, these are so pretty, can't you just give me one as a gift?"
"People should not keep asking for things, Princess."
"If you give me one as a present, I'll get something for you too. So? Give me one, huh?"
Serena, who was excited about persuading Evan, proposed a trade again like she had learned earlier in the boutique. Evan said with a snort,
"Ha, the Princess said that she would bring the treasure trove of the Royal Palace, which was not obtained through fair labour, so I have to give it to you."
"…Uh?"
"Young Master?"
Serena and Belois opened their eyes round with such affirmation. It seemed to be possible. Soon Serena gleamed with joy.
"Really? Are you really giving it to me, Evan Oppa?"
"Yeah. However, you must keep your promises. Because this is a deal."
"It's not a deal, it's a gift to each other! We are sharing memories."
The words were spoken as smoothly as possible, but they were just words, after all. Evan grinned on the inside, watching Serena rejoicing, spinning round and round in the same place.
Yes. Evan had been calculating his compensation from the beginning! After Serena took an artefact from here, Evan was thinking of the moment when she would give him a corresponding gift too!
Otherwise, there was no reason for him to talk to Serena, an outsider, about the artefact. Also, they experienced the Haunted Fire Event together.
"Then pick one."
"My Oppa chooses one for me too."
This also went as expected. Of course, Evan wanted to pick the most badly performing artefacts for her.
It would be nice revenge for her constant bickering… Evan's conscience was not so corrupt.
In fact, he already had one of the most suitable artefacts for Serena. It was also at a lesser level than the other artefacts available in the Palace… But it was still a much better level of artefact if limited to her use.
'Um, I have stayed long enough in this city.'
He hadn't played Yo-Ma Great War 4.
Even if he didn't think of kidnapping or anything else every time he saw her, he knew the tragic fate that would come for her eventually in the future.
"I like this."
"Wow, it's wild."
In the end, he picked one out of 32 artefacts that looked wild, as Serena said. It was a small gold and diamond necklace that resembled a lion's paw along with a silver paw-shaped metal covered with platinum.
"The name of this artefact is 'Tigris Glory', and it is a necklace that is good for gamers of all kinds. It increases the basic taming success rate, increases the stats of the contract target, and more importantly, injects mana to create a shield. It's one of Tamer's final pieces of equipment, and I was lucky to get it here."
"It's a necklace for me, Oppa!"
It was too hard for Serena to think so much. The former owner of Tigris Glory had also been a monster tamer. He had been the Regular character of Yo-Ma Great War 1, the Demi-human Urakea.
'However, in Yo-Ma Great War 3, there were other types of tamers, even if they were not monster tamers, so it would be much better for me to hand this over to someone whom I could control.''
The Beast Tamer's ability to grow to the limit with this necklace was really worth seeing in Yo-Ma Great War 3, but Evan still chose to sacrifice the future and handed over the necklace to Serena. She was almost hopping with glee.
Even if he did this, Evan would really be upset if the Princess was kidnapped later.
"Princess, this is really valuable. You have to keep working hard."
"Yes, I know. Oppa is so serious, I can see that."
Serena was seemingly dumb but also had the ability to read people's signs. Maybe she even noticed that Evan was acting weird in the situation.
"I don't know why Evan Oppa is so good to me. I saw him for the first time yesterday, isn't that weird?"
"It is because of the insurmountable status of power that you have. I have no personal feelings for you at all."
"Oh, so it's like that."
Serena replied quite plainly with an unknown expression and hung the necklace right around her neck.
This necklace was a top-notch artefact that did not reveal its ability even if she died unless she had the aptitude of a tamer, and as such, Serena wore it, who had the ability of a monster tamer, the highest rank among tamers; it immediately caused an unusual reaction.
"Oh, oh oh oh oh."
Serena exclaimed in a silly voice.
Evan was dazzled for a moment. It was not an artefact with a spirit, so why was this girl standing still with such a blank expression? Had the game and settings changed? Fortunately, however, Serena quickly woke up from her trance.
"I have a little more knowledge about being a Monster Tamer, Oppa. This necklace goes well with me!"
"Ah… That's great."
If you thought about it, it was possible. The former owner of Tigris Glory had been a monster tamer, so even if another monster tamer had the ability to open more functions, additionally, it didn't seem odd!
For reference, when a situation where you could acquire Tigris Glory in the game came up, there was no Monster Tamer among the regular characters in the story.
If there was a chance, the protagonist would select the aptitude of the monster tamer, but in fact, it was not possible to obtain Tigris Glory in every round, so it was difficult to win with such a small probability.
"I learned how to grow Ruby even more. But right now, I think the method my Oppa taught me is the best."
"I've never lied to you, you know."
"That's right."
Serena seemed to have something more to say, but for now, she just said that and laughed. She was lovingly tying the necklace. She seemed to be jubilant.
Ruby was also happy as it felt stronger thanks to the necklace, running around Serena.
"Then, Princess, I'll tell you the artefacts I want from now on. If you have them in the Palace, you must bring them."
"Yes Oppa, even if you ask me to bring Dad's sword, I will."
"That's the King's proof."
"What if Evan Oppa becomes the king?"
"That's absurd, definitely not. You shouldn't say that to His Majesty by any chance."
Evan explained to Serena the characteristics of the artefact he wanted. She was smart and quickly remembered it.
"Okay, I'll get it somehow."
"No, you probably won't be able to get it by yourself. If you just ask for it, they will give it to you."
"Yeah, I got it! Then I'll go do this today! See you tomorrow, Evan Oppa!"
Serena was full of thoughts about what she had been asked to do, and ran out of the room first, declaring her dismissal there. Outside, they could feel the escort knights getting up and running along with her.
However, Evan didn't go out right away; he stayed there a little more, sorted out the 32 artefacts' properties, and put them in the pocket. Now he would be able to pull out the artefacts according to his desire.
"…By the way, did Shine wake up?"
"No, Master."
"I really can't help it. Then, first of all, I should give Belois her portion first."
"…Okay?"
Belois widened her eyes a bit. However, Evan laughed at her appearance.
"You were honestly looking forward to getting one after I gave one to the Princess, right?"
"Oh no. How dare I! What you gave to Her Majesty The Princess was just a part of a deal…"
"Right. That was a deal."
It felt like half of the loss was his, but the deal was acceptable because he was able to exchange what he wanted anyway.
"But this is not a deal, it's a pure gift. A gift I give to Belois."
Evan pulled out a pair of earrings from his pocket. Belois tilted her head.
Evan had been correct. She expected Evan would give her a gift too.
However, among the 32 items that were taken out and sorted, those earrings were not there, but now it felt like she had seen them somewhere…?
"This was the last pair of earrings I bought at the jeweller I visited for the first time. It was hanging on a mannequin's ear, so I guess everyone couldn't see it properly. I had bought this from the beginning but separately from other artefacts. I had kept it, just for you, Belois."
"Ah…"
In other words, he had purchased 33 artefacts instead of 32. Yet, he had saved it out for her!
Belois' heart pounded. She was so happy that her heart and brain were going to burst at the same time. She bowed her head because it was difficult to hold back her feelings of joy. Evan's explanation followed,
"I didn't know if I could even get these earrings. They were originally meant to be used elsewhere."
It was said that it was an object supposed to be in the protagonist's hands in Yo-Ma Great War 2. However, since those earrings were present in this game, it seemed that Leo Arpeta did not have a friend who handled fire magic. Either that, or he couldn't find these earrings.
"Belois, the name of this earring is Hwa Mountain Spirit Earring. It will dramatically increase your mana recovery speed, while at the same time amplifying the performance of all the fire magic you deal with. It's a typical 'final piece of equipment'."
"… What?"
Belois raised her head. The name of the blue cross earrings hanging by Evan's ears was Snow Mountain Spirit Earring. Looking at them, the earrings in her hand were also jewelled earrings in the form of a red cross.
So this meant, these pairs of earrings belonged to each other.
"It's a pair."
"No. This is difficult for me to handle. How can I get a treasure like the Master's?"
"Then won't you take it?"
"… It's a blessing that is above me, but I can't dare reject the Master's heart and wish."
After all, a child is still a child. Evan laughed at Belois, who couldn't hide her feelings. Belois puffed her cheeks a little.
"Master, you have bad taste."
"Yes, sometimes they complain about me like that. The feelings that have accumulated on me must be released promptly so that there will be no big deal among them."
But at Evan's words, Belois paused for a moment then, her red eyes gleaming, she twisted the tip of her lips very slightly.
"I bet, if I release the feelings that I have accumulated for the Master, it will definitely be a big deal."
"What did I do wrong!?"
"It's a joke."
Belois' jokes were a problem because they didn't sound like jokes. What could Evan do after hearing what she said with such a stiff expression, especially as he knew her future was growing up and becoming a bloody witch!
"Hey, you should tell me about what I did wrong. I am really good at reflecting and fixing things you know. Why don't you call me the fixing king? You can trust me."
"Yes, Master. But I wouldn't call you that way."
Belois laughed. Evan was relieved and gave her the earring. Belois stared at it for a moment, then took a deep breath, and carefully approached Evan, turned to her side to reveal her ears.
Evan wasn't too stupid to know what that meant.
'Is it that you really don't hate me that much? It would be a real joke for you to have accumulated emotions, right?'
Evan trembled and hung earrings on both of her ears. As it was an artefact, the ear did not need to be pierced separately, and the moment you tried to wear them, they stuck to your ear.
"Thank you, Master."
Belois was now wearing an earring in her ear that was put there personally by Evan.
As she checked it, she smiled again. For her, who smiled rarely, it was the highlight of the day.
But it didn't end there.
"From now on…"
She glanced back to see that Shine was still fainting and then squeezed her lips a little bit more to make sure only Evan could hear her next words.
"I want you to call me Lua."