Magic Gems Gourmet

TLN: We’re terribly sorry for the very late update, my previous editor was a lil bit hard to contact, but in the end, he answered that he’s quitting, so here we’re, me and my good-ol-editor Phantom-san will be workin on it again! We’ll push 1 chapter per week for maseguru, thank you for your patient.

It was already dark and the temperature was slowly dropping.

Ist, a city far away from the Royal Capital. Unlike the Royal Capital, the weather here was a little cooler, and it seemed harder to feel the warmth of spring compared to the Royal Capital.

They had taken many breaks and had shared the knowledge that they both knew. Chief Professor Oz lived up to his reputation as a man of great knowledge and quick understanding.

The Red Fox’s magic stone, which was shown to him earlier in the day, was immediately re-sealed because they didn’t know what would happen.

「...So, to sum things up in my own way, there are two main problems for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince right now. The first is the phenomenon of his transformation into a monster, and the second is the matter of the Red Fox, which is connected to the Demon King’s past cases」

「Yes. It’s as you said」

「But regarding the Red Fox, could you please come back here the day after tomorrow? I’ll prepare the data I’ve been studying」

「We’d love to know that!」

Oz had a lot of research to do and he needed time to put it all together. When he had heard that Oz was going to organize the data for him, Ainz was honestly overjoyed.

「Well. May I tell you a little of my opinion about your monster transformation?」

「Do you know anything about it!?」

「Even among researchers, it’s something that’s been called taboo, though. But there are even darker things that have been done in this Magic City... Have you heard of it, Kadyma-sama?」

After their long conversation, Kadyma had allowed Oz to call her by her name.

(TLN: Before: Her Royal Highness the First Princess, Kadyma-sama)

「...Yes. However, only a handful of people in this city know the details. Of course, I’ve never heard about that details either」

「That’s right. It’s valuable and truly forbidden information that only a few people here at Ist have heard of. It has been almost a hundred years since the last one was performed... Oh, by the way, it’s already late, but would you like to continue?」

It was already dark outside, and the evening lights were already fading away. Even though they had taken a break, he was concerned that Ainz and the others might be tired from the long conversation they had been having.

「I’m still fine, but... No, you’re right. We should probably leave already. It was already this late, and the professor had given me so much of his time」

「No no, you don’t have to worry about that... I’ll prepare a special paper for you!」

Oz then stood up and walked over to the cabinet that contained the magic stone again.

He pressed his finger against the thin drawer at the bottom. Then, a click sounded and the drawer started to open automatically.

“Is that a fingerprint scanner?” Ainz was surprised at the technology they had here.

He took out a few sheets of paper from the drawer and went to the desk where he would normally work.

「I will now make a blood seal. Can someone please give me a drop of their blood? We will register the person’s biometric information, and if anyone other than the registered person gets their hands on it, it will burn away」

「I’ll do it then」

Ainz wanted to offer his blood. But Chris offered her blood first from his side.

「Very well, please come over here」

Oz called out to Chris who had volunteered herself. Chris stepped close to Oz, placed her finger where she was instructed and offered her blood.

「Yes, thank you very much. We’re done」

「Eh...? Is that all?」

「Yes. As technology advances, we can now get blood quickly and painlessly, so new techniques are being used in these technologies as well」

「...I’m sorry, I’m just surprised」

Chris had her blood sucked out of her before she had even realized it, and she was impressed by the speed and the technology that made her feel nothing.

Even though they didn’t need to give blood anymore, Ainz and Kadyma thought to themselves, wishing they could experience it too.

「Now that the printing has been completed. Please take this with you. The contents will not be burned if anyone other than Christina-sama touches this envelope. However, I would like you to be the one to take it out of the envelope」

「I understand」

「...Speaking of which, Professor Oz. From what I remember, the blood seal was priced pretty good out there, wasn’t it...?」

Kadyma was aware of the making of the document and the price. Until now, she had been focused on the blood-sucking magic tools, but now that she thought about it, she was concerned that it might have cost a lot of money.

「As Kadyma-sama said, this paper was made with high technology and materials to protect its secrets. It’s about 200,000G per sheet, but you don’t have to worry about it」

「...I’m sorry, Professor, we’ll pay for it」

「His Highness the Crown Prince doesn’t have to worry about it, it’s only 600,000G for three sheets. Compared to the information I had heard... you have given me new information that’s worth more than that. Depending on the research content, I can make billions of G’s in a day with that, so please don’t worry about it...」

As expected of Ishtalica’s most prestigious research institute. The worth of their research was also far beyond Ainz’s imagination. It was not even within the realm of his imagination.

「T-that much...?」

Research was an expensive business, no matter what one was working on. Not to mention the use of materials that were not available for mass production, and the use of precious monster materials for each test to ensure certainty. Considering this fact, a mere 600,000 Gs was a mere trifle for Oz as an excellent researcher.

Ainz was still a little lost in thought, but he received the documents about his monster transformation without any incident. Chris also took the envelope containing the documents with him, just in case something happened.

After apologizing for their sudden visit, Ainz decided to go back to their inn for the day.

Oz thanked him again and again and promised to tell him about the Red Fox when he came here again the day after tomorrow. He promised to do so and then they left the institute.

***

When Dill showed them around, he couldn’t help but take his time to look around at the inn’s appearance.

They had rented a large room, which was meant for Nobility, but they left as soon as they had gathered their luggage in the entrance area.

There seemed to be room for everyone so everyone could rest in their private rooms today.

Ainz wanted to look at the documents he had been given as soon as possible, but Kadyma had other ideas.

「We’re finally here nya! So, Ainz, I’m going to borrow Dill for a while nya」

「You’ve changed your way of speaking again, haven’t you? I mean, could you just use that kind of way of speaking?」

Kadyma did not open her mouth the whole way to the inn.

There was a reason for that. She had borrowed some of the latest engineering books from Oz. From then on, she seemed to be happy just looking at the covers of those books, and she looked like a cat that had been fed matatabi.

(TLN: Matatabi, some kind of catnip)

As soon as they arrived at the inn, he couldn’t help but point out Kadyma’s usual tone of voice.

「Eh, m-me? Umm, Ainz-sama...?」

He didn’t know why Kadyma said she wanted to borrow Dill. He had to ask her that first.

After a glance at the puzzled Dill, he asked Kadyma.

「Why do you want to borrow Dill?」

「I want to read this as soon as possible nya, and as a courtesy to the researcher, it’s only natural that I return my thoughts to Professor Oz nya. So, I’d like to ask him to do a little chore for me nya」

Chris needed to open the blood seal for him, so when it came down to it, Dill was the perfect choice for it now.

「...Dill, is that okay with you?」

「Y-yes, of course!」

「Then let’s get going nya! Come one, hurry, Dill! Follow me nya!」

「W-wait... Kadyma-sama!?」

He couldn’t help but wonder how such power could come out of that tiny body.

Kadyma grabbed Dill, who was already close to 170cm, by the waist and headed towards the room at a breakneck pace.

「...Our rooms have been arranged. I’m glad we had an easy time finding one」

「Yeah...」

Ainz went with Chris to the other large room.

When they opened the door, they found themselves surrounded by the charm of the magic city... where new technology was born.

Of course, the interior was lavish and luxurious, but he could also see a large, beautifully cut glass case with two faucets under it. It was probably a water tank that served hot and cold water separately.

A door that seemed to lead to a shower room was set up in one corner, but he couldn’t find anything inside where water would come out from. He thought he’d have to experience it later to see how it worked.

「This room has a completely new vibe from what I’ve seen so far」

「It’s very Ist-like to see so many magic tools used here」

After arriving at his room, Ainz felt tired from their long journey. He moved his feet a little faster than before and sat down on the couch.

「Fufu... Thank you for your hard work today, Ainz-sama. I’ll make you a drink now」

「Yeah, thanks, Chris-san. I’d love to have something to drink now. I’m so thirsty」

「Understood」

Although she didn’t have many opportunities to show it, Chris was actually very good at preparing tea. In fact, the knights of the King’s Guard were given the opportunity to learn it.

Among them, those who had a lot of contact with the Royal Family, like Chris and Dill, were disciplined even more strictly.

「Kya...! Umm, I’m sorry...」

「W-what happened Chris-san?」

When Chris went to get some water, she seemed to be surprised by something and raised her voice. It was a high-pitched shout that he couldn’t imagine from her normal voice, and Ainz couldn’t help but look at Chris.

「I’m sorry... The water was very cold, I was just a little surprised」

As Ainz had imagined, the water in the glass container seemed to be a magic tool that could be used to produce cold and warm water.

Chris, who thought that water would come out if she opened the faucet with the image of cold water, was surprised to find that it was colder than she had imagined.

「Aah, I knew it, you opened the faucet for the cold water after all」

「...Y-you should’ve told me sooner if you knew it...」

Ainz apologized to Chris, who looked a little pouty, and said sorry while laughing.

Chris then prepared water for the two of them and laid it out on the table in front of the sofa.

「Well, it’s not bad to see Chris-san like that once in a while」

「Oh, jeez. As you get older, isn’t your behavior getting more and more like Olivia-sama?」

「Well, it’s no wonder, we’re parent and child after all」

Ainz said that such a thing would be obvious.

「It looks like they’re having “fun” too over there, well, let’s read it for the time being」

By “over there,” he meant the two people in Kadyma’s room.

But the only one who seemed to be having fun is Kadyma though, and he could easily predict that Dill was having a hard time.

「You mean the documents that Professor Oz gave us?」

「Yes yes, can you please take it out?」

Not wanting to waste time, Chris took the envelope of the documents that they had received out of her bag and pulled out a few documents from the envelope.

「Umm... What should we do?」

「Hmm? About what?」

Chris, who had taken out the documents, looked lost and turned to Ainz.

「Professor Oz told us that if anyone other than me holds this paper, it will burn up... So, I-I thought it would be better for me to be the one to hold it and sit next to Ainz-sama...」

「A-aah... I see, yes... I guess so. Then, I think Chris-san should sit next to me」

Chris looked a little embarrassed. After fiddling with her side-flowing hair a little with her fingers, she sat down next to Ainz with great determination.

「Well, umm... shall we start with the first one then?」

「Y-yeah, let’s do so」

Chris sat down on Ainz’s left side. She pulled the hair that was hanging over her right ear behind her ear. Then, seeing her fair neck, which had become closer to Ainz’s, made him feel even more nervous in his mind.

「Hmm? Ainz-sama, is there something wrong?」

Chris didn’t seem as flustered as Ainz, it was probably because Chris had made up her mind.

「N-no, it’s nothing...」

She still wondered about it but didn’t pursue it because Ainz said it was nothing. Ainz also took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

「The content of the first page seems to be quite intriguing...」

「Let me see...」

Ainz looked at the document Chris was holding.

「...Hmm. It seems that there used to be some pretty gruesome research here. Is it possible that they were doing it without telling the country?」

「I don’t think it was kept a complete secret. Perhaps some of the researchers in the Royal Capital were involved as well」

「An experiment in turning a different race into monsters. Research to create an artificial Demon King」

The subject of the first page described an experiment to artificially create a Demon King using a different race. It also seemed that only a few people knew that such a thing was being done here in Ishtalica.

In short, they were probably trying to modify human bodies to create a Demon King that would listen to their commands.

Just thinking about it was enough to make him shudder, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that it might have something to do with him.

「...Are you okay, Ainz-sama? If you like, we could continue this tomorrow...」

「Don’t worry. I’m fine, so let’s keep going. And it’s something I’ll have to read either way」

No matter how disgusted he felt, he couldn’t ignore this. He was happy to know that Chris cared about him, but he decided to make up his mind.

***

At the same time that Ainz and Chris had opened the documents. Claune’s letter arrived at the Augusto Family’s mansion in the Royal Capital of Hyme.

It was a letter that Ein had carried with him to Euro, but because of his encounter with the third prince, Tigre, and the others, it took more than half a year of careful handling to finally reach Harley’s hands, Claune’s father.

「Elena! It’s Claune’s letter! We finally got a letter from Claune that she wrote herself!」

Conveniently, his wife Elena also had finished her work early today and had returned home to the Augusto residence.

There had been no prior notice of the arrival of Claune’s letter, so Harley had been too excited by the situation.

「A grown man shouldn’t be frolicking like that!」

「M-my bad. But it can’t be helped, right?」

「I understand your feelings, but... well, there’s no point in getting angry. So, where’s the letter?」

Harley had jumped into his wife, Elena’s private office. He walked into her place without knocking while she was compiling some documents for tomorrow.

「...I’m sorry, I was just so happy that I even barged into your office... It’s my bad! I-I’m sorry, so please put that pen down! That’s dangerous, you know!?」

「...Haah. Since your father stepped down, you’ve become a bit restless, haven’t you? It seems I need to re-educate you when I have the chance」

「Oh, come on. Give me a break...」

She could understand her husband’s feeling of restlessness, but as a member of the Grand Duchy, it was understandable that she would want him to remain calm at all times. Elena, his wife, thought about this and quietly left her seat to go to Harley’s office.

「O-oi, wait for me, I’m coming with you」

「Of course, come on」

Since when did she become like this? If anyone asked him such a question, he could only answer with, since the beginning.

Even the first conversation they had when they first met was, “Excuse me, Harley-sama. There seems to be some mistakes in this document”.

And the following night. Graff formally introduced Elena to Harley.

If he were, to be honest, their chemistry was great.

Harley, as Graff’s first son, was well-liked by many people because of his excellent grades and good-natured personality, but he was lacking in the aspect of speaking strongly about things.

It was the same in social circles, and ever since Harley started showing up at various places with Elena, she had been a great help to him.

Harley followed Elena as she walked ahead. They were going to his office, but his wife was walking ahead of him, which made him feel miserable.

Regardless of what he might think, Elena did not stop... and they finally arrived at Harley’s office with Elena in the lead.

「Then, where is it?」

「A-ah, it’s on my desk...」

「...Oh my, it was a really good paper, as expected of Claune. As her mother, I’m glad to see that she shows the goodness of Ishtalica in these places」

Elena picked up the letter from Claune. She was relieved to see that it hadn’t been opened yet. If it had been opened, Elena’s fury would have been directed at Harley.

「Do you mind if I open it?」

「Not at all, let’s read it」

For some reason, the two of them got along well as a couple. They sat down side by side on a nearby sofa, and Elena opened the letter.

「...It’s been a while since I’ve seen Claune’s handwriting. It’s prettier than it used to be, but the consistency is still there」

「...Yeah, you’re right」

They both stroked the letter lovingly. There was no Claune there, but just stroking the letter made them feel like they were stroking Claune. After a few moments of stroking, they began to read over the letter.

「Hmm. It looks like that child is doing well there」

「I was actually planning to makes her attend the academy here, but if I think about her potential, I think being there is probably for the best for her」

「Yes... That child, Claune, is not someone who can be kept here in Hyme. I’m proud of her, she can now spread her wings in a bigger world」

Elena worked at the castle and always felt that she was too good for Hyme. Even without her love as her mother, she felt that she was too good for Hyme. When the third prince, Tigre, asked Claune to marry him, she felt that it was only natural that at least someone of royalty would ask Claune to marry them. But even so, even if it was Hyme’s Royalty, she couldn’t help but feel that it was a shame for Claune.

「As expected of her. Graduating at the top of her class in a country as prestigious as Ishtalica is quite an accomplishment」

「She must have put a lot of effort to achieve it」

「Well, of course. ...The rest of her story is great too. It’s about your father. It seems that he has become a famous merchant in the Royal City of Ishtalica. As expected of my father-in-law!」

Graff’s accomplishments in Hyme were so outstanding that no other Hyme noble in the past could match him.

That was why he was known as the champion of trade here in Hyme. Even though he had the cooperation of the Royal Family of Ishtalica, he would not have been able to survive without his abilities.

「Good grief. Father really is a great man. He may have wanted to make things easier for Claune, and he probably had the right environment to do so. But for him to even succeed in Ishtalica, what a fearsome man」

The couple smiled at the news about their family that they hadn’t heard of in a long time. ...Actually, they wanted to share this news with Claune’s little brother, Rille. But they could not give this information to him because he was still too young. Even if he didn’t intend to, if he ever leaked the information, everything they had been doing up until now would be ruined.

「Selected for national projects...? Building the Sea Dragon Ship Leviathan? What on earth is that? Father’s merchant company is in charge of that?」

「You. You should read the next sentence as well... It’s written that Ainz defeated the Sea Dragon... But wasn’t Ainz the Crown Prince? The Crown Prince defeated the Sea Dragon...? I wonder what this Sea Dragon is...」

Claune knew that her parents would wonder what a Sea Dragon was, so she made sure to describe how big and strong the Sea Dragon was.

「She wrote that a Sea Dragon is bigger than Ishtalica’s battleships, that’s how big a Sea Dragon is... Didn’t she write that Ishtalica’s battleships are like castles floating on the sea in the previous letter...? For the Crown Prince to be able to defeat such a giant dragon by himself, it seems that he is a very strong man」

「The Crown Prince of Ishtalica is amazing, isn’t he? I envy them that they have such a brave heir」

「Come to think of it, Elena? Isn’t His Highness Ainz Claune’s dearest person? I wonder if you forgot about that」

Elena, who had completely forgotten about that, could not help but be surprised to hear that the person her daughter loved was such a hero.

「...W-wa-wait? I’m starting to worry if Claune could make such a person fell for her」

「...Well, you’re certainly right」

If she thought that Claune’s dearest person was such a hero, even Elena would shy away. She understood how capable her daughter was, but still...

Harley was enjoying seeing such a look on his wife’s face, but he continued to read more.

「W-well, she should be fine, I guess... And it seems that the Sea Dragon ship will be dedicated to the new King of Ishtalica, made entirely from one of the Sea Dragons he defeated. It’s amazing that father can be involved in such an important project」

「Father-in-law seems to be a lot more successful than you are at Hyme」

「Well, you’re right. But can you stop being so harsh on me」

They then continued to read the rest of the letter. She wrote about small things that happened in her daily life, such as “I learned this at the castle...”. They were more than happy to know that Claune seemed to be enjoying her life.

―――They were reading the letter slowly, but the end of the letter was approaching. At the end of the letter, she wrote.

『I hope that one day we will be able to have dinner together as a whole family again』

It was proof of Claune’s love for her family, even though she was away from her parents and country.

「One day, huh... Yeah. I hope we can all sit around the table together again someday. If it’s possible, I’d like to invite that person to join us too」

「E-Elena? You know that he’s the Crown Prince of Ishtalica, right...? I think it’s gonna be difficult」

They felt a sense of regret, but in resignation, they burned the letter they had finished reading. They decided to destroy the evidence immediately so that this letter would not leak anywhere else.