We returned to the Guild and headed for the fairial receptionist with her black-and-gold two-tone hair.
This time, she was in her fairial form.
"Good work~ Have you~ finished the quest~?"
"Indeed. It was a good harvest."
Pakira handed back the card, key, and Fortune's Eye, then spoke.
"Please put the harvested items~ in this~ …wooden box here~"
The receptionist opened part of the counter. Inside was a wooden box.
Pakira tried to pull the horns from her pouch… but they were too heavy, so she called for Juicy.
Juicy carefully placed four of them into the wooden box.
"Sorry about that, Juicy."
"Um, woof. I'm happy I could help."
"I am as well. Will this do?"
"Yes~ Thank you~ Now, please sign~ the quest acceptance form~ the quest requester needs to sign~ here it is~"
The receptionist produced the quest acceptance form and Pakira signed it. How businesslike.
"Thank you~ The quest fee will be communicated once the quest is complete~"
"Oh, no need for that."
That voice!? I turned around, and sure enough, he was there.
"Um um, woof. It's Valente!"
"Valente!?"
"Why are you here?"
"Oh, perfect timing, it seems."
Valente grinned.
White beard, a burn scar on his left eye. His muscular build, visible even through his work clothes, spoke of countless battles.
Without a doubt, a powerful dwarf. A reliable dwarf blacksmith.
"Are you the quest requester~?"
"Yeah. I'm here to have a look at some Monoceros magic silver."
"Hmm, just a moment~"
She picked up one of the horns from the wooden box, took out a hammer, and gave it a light tap.
A resonant *kiiiing* rang out. Then part of the gray horn transformed into a pale, silvery blue.
"The color changed!?"
"Yeah. This part is magic silver."
"It's not the whole thing, then?"
"That's right. Only a portion of the horn."
"What a curious color."
"Um um, it's so beautiful."
"The area of magic silver is quite substantial."
"Is that so?"
"Ah, this is good stuff."
"Naturally."
"Um um, we all worked really hard to get these."
"Oh, yeah. Is that so."
He tapped each one with his hammer, testing them one by one.
The way a portion of each gray horn turned into brilliantly luminous pale silver was captivating no matter how many times you saw it.
And the last, largest horn. The yellow-glowing Monoceros horn. He stopped at that one.
"…"
Valente touched the horn and fell silent. What was going on?
Pakira inquired.
"Is something the matter with that horn?"
"I have a feeling… this one is—magic gold."
"So it is, as I thought."
"Magic gold?"
"Wof?"
"…No mistake about it."
"Hmm. I see, then."
"Hm?"
"Um um, you two, um, what's wrong?"
"~Um~ over there~ I'll handle the paperwork here~ Would you like to take it with you~?"
The receptionist flew over to Valente and asked.
"Yeah, I'll do that. Pakira. Kid. Tassan's—"
"Um um, it's me. Juicy."
"Sorry. Juicy, I'm sorry to ask, but could you bring the horns to the blacksmith shop?"
"Indeed. Very well."
"I need you to wait at the shop until I get back. I'll return shortly."
"Of course. It doesn't bother me."
"I'm fine with that too."
"Um um, I'm fine as well."
"Ah, right. There's someone already waiting there—could you let them know as well?"
"Hmm. Very well."
"Understood."
Pakira put the horns back into her pouch, and we left the Guild.
We headed toward Valente's blacksmith shop. I immediately asked.
"Pakira, what's magic gold?"
"Um um, um, me too. I'm curious!"
Pakira had clearly anticipated being asked. Can't blame her.
Even so, she seemed to struggle for words as she spoke.
"Well now. How should I put it… Hmm. Simply put, it's an ore rarer than magic silver and more useful for restoring OOPArts and various other things. A superior version of magic silver."
I more or less had that impression.
"So does that mean it's more valuable, too?"
"Normally, yes."
Pakira made a complicated expression. Her ears drooped and her tail wavered uncertainly.
Juicy noticed too.
"Um um, does that mean it's not always the case?"
"Could it be that it's too valuable for anyone to know?"
"…Actually, well, I only know what my master told me, but while its rarity is extremely high, its value is… unexpectedly low."
"High rarity but low value?"
"Um um, does that mean its market value is low? Even taking various factors into account?"
"That's right. It truly hardly ever appears, so its value is surprisingly unknown."
"If its value is low, why is that?"
"Hmm. If it's like the three-eyed rabbit's eyes…"
"So it's rare but there's no demand or use for it?"
"Wof. Um, that's… too harsh."
"I suppose that's how it is."
Wait, it's super rare, though.
Wait, hold on. Tassan's engagement ring was super rare, wasn't it?
It had value, but… so that kind of pattern exists too.
I felt a strange mix of understanding and lingering dissatisfaction.
Before long, we arrived at Valente's blacksmith shop.
Someone was inside. Right—he'd mentioned a prior visitor.
That visitor had their back turned, wearing a black robe with the hood pulled deep over their head.
Suspicious, but this look wasn't exactly uncommon.
Three tails protruded from beneath, and even through the hood, I could tell they had beast ears.
Hmm? Those three tails. And that somewhat voluptuous figure.
"So you're the prior visitor."
"Um um, um, nice to meet you."
At the words of the two of them, the visitor turned around with a flourish. Then they looked at me.
A wide grin.
"My, my, my, my—fancy meeting my dear disciple in a place like this."
They spoke with evident amusement and dramatically threw back their hood.
Ah, just as I'd thought. Just as I'd thought—that beautiful face was unmistakably a witch.
A cat, a fox, and a dog had all gathered together.