Meikyuu Toshi no Antique Shop - Volume 1 - Chapter 10

Fujiwara stifled a yawn.
After drinking coffee, his head was much clearer.
He was eager to fix his tarnished image after disgracefully falling asleep in front of Anemone and the two girls.
“Well.”
The Appraisal was done quickly.

Unfortunately, most of the items Soarer brought back were scrap iron with no better than Bastardized as the quality at the very best.
Most were corroded or broken by the dissolving slime mucus, so there’s no choice but labeling them as “Useless”.

Of the respectable items, there were only one long sword, one leather buckler, and three short swords.
The quality is decent, and everything is “Off The Mark”.
Of course since at this store they didn’t handle the weapons and only wrote up the certificates, there is a possibility that it could be bought for a high price at a weapons store.

“After that… This.”

The last item was left alone on the counter.
It was a small barrette.

It was mostly unhurt because it wasn’t metal, and Soarer had placed it in the bottom of the sack. Soarer hadn’t thought it was valuable and had just picked it up, somehow.

Fujiwara picked it up, observing it.

The material seemed to be a mineral composition called ‘Thunder Egg’, which wasn’t too uncommon.
A stunning design was cut across its cross-section, on the Barrette.
In the center it had of the egg-sized white agate, there were six semicircles of black onyx enshrined, and a red Sardonyx was cut on the thin edge. (tl: It’s a thin red stone which is a variant of onyx. Both have white lines going across them. To be clear, they mean the barrette hairclip, not the French hat.)

When Fujiwara fed the Barrette magic, the expected reaction occurred. Fine blue lines ran across the surface, running and spreading until it formed a pattern. Countless magical symbols configured.

“Hmm.”
Undoubtedly, it was a Granting Tool.
◆

“Oh dear child with the beloved hair, offer nine long chestnut hairs while rubbing this- The world will become animated, blooming and budding, like a petal of Aphrodite’s Orchid.” (tl:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Boholflora7.jpg/1024px-Boholflora7.jpg)
Fujiwara deciphered the magic circuits, summarizing their contents.

Of course, it had the three main clauses.

“Qualification”, the ability to use the Tool. “Price”, the cost paid to activate it. “Compensation”, the magic phenomenon it creates.

The qualification was “Oh dear child with the beloved hair”, which was in this case a hairstyle of girls who had just gone through a rite of passage. This likely means only young women can use it, but it’d be nice if anyone could.

The “Price” was 9 chestnut hairs. To compensate for Granting Tools activation, sometime hair was used. The magic inside a strand of hair was thirty to one drop of blood, but the issue is you can’t use it after it’s missing, until it regrows. Some Granting Tools have adverse effects on hair, such as making it white. The “Chestnut” was very important. The other condition here is that the hair must be Chestnut to be offered, so if you don’t have it, it can’t be used.

Finally, the “Compensation”, which was “while rubbing this- The world will become animated, blooming and budding, like a petal of Aphrodite’s Orchid.” This request to the world is odd, but Fujiwara could understand that it’s meaning is that while you’re rubbing it, it would create a Magical Barrier. Magical Barriers is are like physical walls, but they are invisible to the naked eye.
Its strength was denoted by “petal of Aphrodite’s Orchid”. Thick Fairy Orchid petals can be used as bedding due to its softness, but it’s not stronger than a steel helmet even when layered and hardened.

Perhaps this was made by a parent for their child.
Worried that they couldn’t protect their own body, they left this to wear so they wouldn’t get injured. To be honest, this effect wasn’t very strong. But, it might be able to protect from a certain level of monster attacks.
However, the nonexistent weight of this armor makes it excellent. Thieves relied on the lightness of their equipment, so it’s a great item for an occupation such as Thief. As well, this is good for a Magician when the amount of magic they can use is limited.
Now, since it’s a Granting Tool, it will also be worth a large sum of money.

After all, when any Giving Tool is present, novice investigators would crave after them.

It’s not good to depend on them, but this could be called excellent loot, suitable to be acquired on the fifth floor of the Dungeon.

◆

“That was a fair amount of money.”
“Bad quality sword, it’s good we could sell it.”

Several accessories were at a price over Mr. Manager’s Appraisal. The scrap iron dissolved was also taken back and sold. It can be reused, so traders and smith bought such material. The Exploration gave a good income.

After Linne and Soarer went to “The Good Old Magician’s Shop”, they went to the shopping mall at the center of the city.
They went mainly to get back their consumable supply.
Soarer needed to buy a variety for the next Exploration.
She wanted healing potions, more herbs, and hopefully more supplies like painkiller. She also wanted more nutritious rations, hopefully something with a taste.
“It’s OK, though.”
She had managed to get some lee-way in their income.
Even if they bought things with higher quality than expected, it would be no problem.
But, there was one problem.

“Sure you don’t want this one, this one?”
Linne confirmed it for the umpteenth time. It was the one, intolerable item left in the bag.
What was so intolerable was the item in her hand. A Barrette with a small black petal pattern. Soarer once again declined it. Linne said “Even if Magicians can wear it, it’s a loss if it isn’t sold after all.”
“It’s through Linne that I even arrived at the sixth floor.”
“But, you can’t get through the third floor on your own, only with me. And didn’t Soarer knock down all the other monsters?”

It was not just a Barrette, but instead the Granting Tool, “Defense Barrette”.
If it was sold, it would make quite a lot of income, especially with its appearance.
Several months of luxury were possible if it were sold.

Since Linne had lived with her sister up until recently, Linne didn’t need money.
On the other hand, Soarer was renting a room alone in an inn and had left the home long ago.
Even though it likely wasn’t too bad, Linne found that sort of life slightly severe. Linne wanted to ensure Soarer had extra money, even if only a little.

“Well, lend it to me a little.”

Soarer held out a hand, and Linne was relieved, handing the Barrette over.
Finally, she had decided to sell it.
“The Good Old Magician’s Shop” wasn’t far away either, it wouldn’t be hard to sell it off.

But, Soarer promptly went behind Linne and began making up her hair.
“…Hold still, Linne.”
“Oh…Well…Shouldn’t you”
“When talking to Linne, I became much more happy.”
“…”
“…It’s a lot of fun fighting with you in a party and becoming familiar with you, so when this was found… It became possible to say my thanks, finally.”
“Soarer-chan”
“It’s been good. The Barrette suits you so much.”
“…Thank you.”

Soarer said as much. Now that they had, Linne couldn’t bear to remove it and sell it.
Linne felt sorry, but decided to be obedient.

Linne held out a hand, instead.
“Now, I’ll also thank you.”

“Yeah. Let’s work hard to capture the sixth floor.”
Soarer grabbed Linne’s hand, holding it.

In her other hand, Linne held a city map. On it were marked weapon shops and armorers, which she had noted while getting advice from her elder sister.
She decided to go to those now.
“-You’re not on your own, thinking how good it was to meet”, she thought.

It may not be possible to return the Barrette, but Linne decided to work hard for Soarer at least.

The two people walked along the sidewalk , holding hands under the warm sunlight.
◆

“Oh… Why did those biscuits look so poisonous?”
“It was baked in that Tavern.”
“Ha?”
“They’re quite good when you eat them, like so.”

Fujiwara again looked at the dish on the counter. The biscuits were unusually heaped up, each with a different primary color.
While it couldn’t be said they smelled repugnant, they were not fragrant. However, Fujiwara was quite hungry.
Fujiwara picked one up, cautiously asking

“This red one?”

“Covered in a great deal of Tabasco.”
“Green one?”
“Jalepeno.”
“Blue one?”
“It’s mint.”
“And this black one?”
“It’s just pepper.”
“…”
“Oh, what happened? You don’t want to eat?

These biscuits had all been favorably reviewed by Seekers at that certain Tavern.
They seemed to be used to avoid drowsiness or confusion, or as a punishment game to kill time…

◆

Discrimination Ticket “Defense Berrette (Off The Mark)”
“Oh dear child with the beloved hair, offer nine long chestnut hairs while rubbing this- The world will become animated, blooming and budding, like a petal of Aphrodite’s Orchid.”

The Spring Aphrodite’s Orchid is famous for its inclusion in the children’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and it is used as a descriptor in this circuit. In the “Supreme Magician’s Era”, this play described sprites running amuck in the King’s Castle, later changing the petals of this orchid into a huge shield to help the small prince who was chased by the Fairy Queen into a flower garden.
Much like the story, perhaps this Granting Tool was made to protect a small child, which is also evident from analysis of the Magic Circuit, which isn’t even left with a signature, clearly sincerely made for only one person.
Unfortunately, the effects of the magic barrier are likely less effective than the story mentioned prior. The relative strength of the shield should be about that of a steel helmet, but it should be able to stop a simple club or a small goblin hitting with full force. Good for Magicians and Thieves.

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