Chapter23
âFairy Accessoriesâ
âHey, Fosu. How did you find the magic wand?â
âGrandma said it was over there,â
Fosu replied, pointing toward the cabinet.
âEh? Your grandmaâs still around?â
Ruri looked around the room.
âIs Grandma still here?â
âNo. Sheâs gone now,â Fosu said, glancing at Ruri.
Then why didnât she move on after telling us where the compact was?
Ruri sighed.
âMake sure you keep altering the video feed from this place from time to time, okay?â
âWhy?â
âBecause of Fosu⌠and because it would be a problem if people ever found out about you all.â
âFor now, since we come from the Fairy Stone, humans shouldnât be able to see us. But since Fosuâs human, weâve covered him with a concealment veil.â
âThen for Fosuâs safety, keep it that way.â
ââŚIf thatâs how it is, I suppose we have no choice,â
Morga said, munching on sweets.
Exhausted from thinking, Ruri crawled over to the tatami room and lay down on her back.
Ishibashi watched the fake surveillance footage and muttered,
âCome to think of it, that woman was talking to herself, wasnât she? Last time, she jumped into the tatami room and just rolled around. Even nowâlookâsheâs holding chopsticks and pretending to eat, but thereâs nothing on them. Drinking beer and chatting with the air, laughing all alone⌠creepy, right?â
He gave Takagi a wary look.
The current footage showed Ruri sitting in front of the TV.
âGuess you start going a little crazy after living alone for so long,â Takagi said.
âSo youâre the same, huh, Takagi-san? Divorced and allâdo you talk and laugh to yourself at home too?â
âDonât act so smug, Ishibashi-kun. Youâre single as well, arenât you?â
âI have a girlfriend, actually,â Ishibashi said proudly and bit into a slice of delivery pizza.
âStill, where do you think those âThree Sacred Treasuresâ are?â
âNo idea. We donât even know what they look like. But according to the higher-ups, the old man used them for fortune-telling.â
âFortune-telling? Like with a crystal ball?â Ishibashi leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling.
âThey say he used some kind of gemâsomething like a precious stone. Supposedly, even the minister got his current position thanks to her divinations. Thatâs why everyoneâs after those Three Sacred Treasures.â
âBut even if someone found them, theyâd be useless unless they knew how to use them. Unless theyâre, like, magic stones or something. In that case, itâs not just the ministerâeveryone would want them. I sure do; Iâd love to be rich!â
Ishibashi laughed loudly, washing down his pizza with cola.
On her next day off, Ruri had the fairies make gemstone accessories.
Since gems could pop out endlessly from her magic wand, she could produce as many as she wantedâreal treasures from the Kingdom of Jewels.
Because of traceability issues, they couldnât make fine jewelry for sale, but accessories would be perfectly marketable as soon as they were finished.
The first thing Flare made was a crown.
âThis is impossible! Thatâs like a national treasure-level piece!â
Ruri stared, dazzled by the sparkling crown. Flare smiled and showed her an image on a smartphone.