When I got back, Hoss was there, so I passed on Ruma's message.
Hoss gave a quiet "Got it" and started preparing dinner.
After dinner, Hoss said he had something to take care of and headed out.
Then he didn't come back even when it got late into the night.
The next day.
Hoss still hadn't returned.
Anna Kreuzen and Mineha made breakfast.
Hoss. I'm worried, but it's Hoss, so it'll probably be fine.
The fact that he still hasn't come back — I'm guessing it has to do with Ruma.
I don't know the details.
I don't know how far I should pry.
So, if Hoss ever ends up truly stuck and asks for help—
I've decided I'll help him with everything I've got.
"Thanks for the meal."
"Nah!"
"Well then, I'll be borrowing Miss Dagaa again."
"Nah!"
For some reason, Dagaa hops up onto Gymnema's shoulder.
No idea what they're up to, but at least I'm not worried about safety.
But it was worrying in a different sense.
The combination just didn't feel right at all.
"Mind if we tag along too?"
Bidd said to Gymnema and the others.
Gymnema and the rest agreed without hesitation.
Bidd seemed curious about what they were doing too.
If they figured anything out, I'd have them fill me in.
Annacroizen and Mineha took care of the tidying up.
Chardina handled the cleaning. There were still plenty of places that needed cleaning. Des.
She was really throwing herself into it.
The witch, Mineha—who had finished tidying—and I headed down to the Junkyard.
"Here you go. A newly adjusted potion."
I took the medicine bottle from the witch and swallowed just one pill.
Since it was a tablet, I washed it down with tea from the Crescent Flask water bottle.
"Mineha. Give me a theme, would you?"
"Me? Hmm... How about a ring?"
"Oh?"
"A ring, huh."
I used the Wheel of Fortune and envisioned a ring.
Green lights appeared scattered across the Junkyard. There were also a few yellow lights here and there.
"Well then, what do we have here?"
"Quite a few, huh."
I picked up the ring right next to me that was emitting green light.
It was a red ring with a small blue gemstone set in it.
"Hey, I was thinking. With this, it's like... I feel like you'd need someone with Appraisal like Arifa to really tell what the value is."
Mineha noticed that.
The witch and I exchanged glances.
"Well, well, it is a pain not knowing what something is, I suppose. As long as young Wof here knows the value, that's good enough for now, right? So what'll it be?"
"I can tell them apart. Mineha, I'll point them out — could you pick up a few for me?"
"Sure."
I had her pick up four rings with green light and one with yellow light.
"Ah, ah. This one's a bone ring."
The witch was holding the creepy ring with a delighted look on her face.
Mineha was gazing at the yellow-light ring with interest.
"This is definitely a wedding ring. Look, there's a name and a message engraved on the inside. 'To Irene, with love from Eric.' See?"
Ah, I went and set up a flag.
*Presses palms together.*
"Yep, yep. They were all rings."
"That's right. Everything we were told to grab was rings."
"Success... right?"
"Mm-hmm. I can see why you'd think that, Kon."
"Do you have some kind of complaint?"
Mineha said that, and I went "Hmm" and racked my brains.
Wait, a complaint... is it?
But what am I complaining about?
What is it. Something—ah, right. I gazed at the Junkyard. Stared hard.
From the very beginning, this Junkyard has been... strange.
Yeah, strange. Something has been off from the start.
But I don't know what, exactly.
Was it because the Gold Eater was lurking here?
It's true that it wasn't in any of the Junkyards before. But that's not it.
Maybe there's nothing at all.
No. There's definitely something. There is something.
What I can't figure out is,
the
me
of
now
can't
solve...
...not.
Can't.
Because.
That's why.
I look at the small bottle the witch handed me.
Seven pills inside.
"Witch. This medicine boosts Relic sensitivity, right?
It amplifies the effects of Relics, right?"
"My my, what's the matter? It certainly acts on Relics.
I've tuned it to be especially effective, you know."
"...Wof?"
I stare at the medicine bottle.
I'm definitely getting scolded later.
With a self-deprecating laugh, I swallow all seven pills at once and take a swig from the Crescent.
"Wh-what, young Wof!?"
"Wof!?"
"...——————!?"
What the—? Something's breaking.
An invisible, untouchable wall shatters spectacularly.
I felt my mind grow lighter.
No, it was my heart. Everything that had been covered by something thick was gone.
I only realized it after it had disappeared.
I hadn't known, even after my Awakening.
I'd been living in such a narrow world all this time.
But I also knew that I could survive even so.
Still, I wouldn't say it was something I didn't need to know.
It was better to have known. So this is what growth is.
It's different from Awakening. This is growth.
[Wheel of Fortune] evolves into [Wheel of Fortune's Ring].
[Wheel of Fortune's Ring]: Represents everything of true value that is hidden.
Green light is rare. Yellow is super rare.
Blue is the almost-nonexistent super ultra rare.
Purple is the impossible Ultimate Rare.
It also guides the owner toward things of value to them.
Furthermore, it can freely choose what to display.
"………………………"
I was stunned.
No, wait, what. What's happening, what's going on, what even is this.
What on earth. What is this. What is happening.
I—Relic—the scene before my eyes was something I simply couldn't believe.
But that was the reality before me.
I didn't want to believe it, but it wasn't an illusion.
Before my eyes—countless blue lights were flickering.
Not just one.
Countless of them.
So this is what the Heizen Junkyard truly looks like.
"What the—?"
Those blue lights... they looked familiar.
They looked familiar... so familiar. I started running without thinking.
"Wof!?"
"Hey, hey, what in the world is going on?"
They were familiar. Those blue lights. So very familiar. Familiar and familiar.
The middle of the junk mountain. Somewhere in here. I kept carving through with Banish.
I could tell. I could tell where the blue lights were. How deep they were.
The Wheel of Fortune guided me intuitively.
"This is it! I found it!"
I dug out a box that had been buried, the one emitting the blue light. It was a red wooden box.
A wooden box... with a painting of a bird spreading its wings proudly across its surface.
The way it was drawn, it kind of looked like flames rising up.
A bird made of rising flames?
"What a magnificent box."
"Hmm, hmm. Looks like wood, but it isn't, is it. This is metal. So what's the story with this box?"
"The light looked similar."
"Similar to what?"
I answered her question and opened the box.
Everyone's gaze locked onto it, and they drew a sharp breath.
Inside the box, an egg was carefully nestled.
No — it was a perfectly egg-shaped case.
"It's the Sacred Egg of Elixir."
Ancient characters were engraved on its surface in gold.
And this was what they read:
"Phoenix Resurrection Egg."
One of the three eggs of Haiarn.