Side: Myst

Shinaguru was a pitiful kid.

He claimed he could hear songs coming from magic tools.

He must have gone through something truly terrible.

“Where are you from, Shinaguru?”

“A poor village about a week’s walk from here.”

“So your family were tenant farmers?”

“Yeah.”

“They sent you away because they couldn’t afford to feed another mouth.”

“I left on my own.”

“I know.”

I placed both hands on Shinaguru’s shoulders as I spoke.

“Whatever you say.”

“So, what happened?”

“I became an adventurer with my childhood friend.”

“Things went well at first.”

“Our level difference wasn’t that big back then.”

“Did you have any combat skills?”

“No.”

“Just a skill that lets me hear really well.”

“I see.”

“So you almost got killed by monsters and it left you traumatized.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I patted him gently on both shoulders.

“I was scared.”

“But I didn’t give up.”

“I just got kicked out of the party.”

“That’s awful.”

“As if having your heart broken wasn’t enough, they went and made it worse.”

“Exactly.”

“They even took away my guild card.”

“Then just get a guild card from the Magic Tool Guild.”

“Don’t I need a recommendation?”

“I’m your master.”

“At the very least, let me write you a recommendation letter.”

“Thank you, Master.”

Shinaguru started crying.

Just as I thought.

He’d really been through a lot.

“You’ve written down quite a collection of those magic tool songs.”

“What are you going to do with all of this?”

“My dream is to create Core Stones.”

“To do that, I need to keep researching.”

“Good.”

“Keep at it.”

“Yes.”

Shinaguru began replacing a Storage Stone.

He carefully slid a knife into the gap around the stone.

With a light pop, it came free.

The casing of the magic tool was left almost completely unscratched.

He really did meticulous work.

He inserted a new Storage Stone.

Since the replacement stone was slightly smaller, it wobbled in place.

Shinaguru adjusted the fit by applying plaster around it.

He secured the Storage Stone with thread until the plaster dried.

While waiting, he picked up the magic tool he’d just repaired.

After confirming the Storage Stone no longer moved, he connected it to the Core Stone using thread coated in powdered magic stone.

Finally, he tested the magic tool.

Once it worked properly, the repair was complete.

He could probably hear another song now.

He listened with a blissful expression.

Poor kid.

Imagining songs that no one else could hear…

At least it didn’t interfere with his work.

And he was careful and diligent.

I’d heard that you should never forcefully deny people like him.

That only made things worse.

So it was better to simply tell him it was nice that he could hear those songs.

It was sad.

But time would heal him.

Eventually, the songs would probably disappear.

A tenant farmer’s child…

The fact that he’d survived at all was impressive.

Most children from tenant farming families became adventurers…

And died.

Side: Shinaguru

Master was kind.

Even when I made mistakes, he simply smiled and patiently taught me the correct way.

So this was the Magic Tool Guild.

It was almost identical to the Adventurers’ Guild.

The only difference was that everyone inside was a craftsman.

“I’d like to register.”

I handed over Master’s recommendation letter.

“Very well.”

“You’ll need to complete a simple examination.”

“Please proceed to Workshop Seven.”

I entered the room marked with a large number seven.

Inside was a workshop with a table and chair.

On the table were a magnifying glass, a craft knife, plaster, a spatula, and thread.

Everything needed for the test had already been prepared.

A short while later, the examiner entered.

His face was bright red, and he wore a leather apron.

He looked every bit the seasoned craftsman.

“So you’re the applicant.”

“There are two parts to the examination.”

“First, replace a Storage Stone.”

“Second, identify the function of a magic tool based solely on its shape.”

“Understood.”

I quickly replaced the Storage Stone.

The magic tool used for the second test was shaped like a handbell.

“It’s an alarm magic tool.”

“Correct.”

“Your Storage Stone replacement was flawless as well.”

“You pass.”

“Take this paper to the reception desk.”

When I handed over the paper, I received a guild card marked F Rank.

Starting from the bottom, huh?

Well, it couldn’t be helped.

The way to increase your rank was simple.

The more guild repair requests you completed, the higher your rank became.

Maybe I should accept a request to celebrate becoming a member.

There was a repair request for a magic tool.

It had no rank requirement.

The request simply read:

Please repair a broken Core Stone.

I already knew.

Once a magic tool’s Core Stone was broken, it couldn’t be repaired.

On top of that, the reward was only six copper coins.

Even replacing a Storage Stone would normally pay much more than that, assuming the client provided the replacement materials.

Even so…

I wanted to try.

For some reason, I just felt I should.

When I handed the request slip to the receptionist—

“You’re not taking this as a joke?”

“You really want to accept it?”

“Yeah.”

“My instincts are telling me to.”

“So… you can hear the songs again?”

“Not right now.”

“But yes.”

“Did Master tell you about me?”

“He did.”

“Myst told me everything.”

“The fact that you can hear songs from every magic tool is wonderful.”

It was the first time anyone had ever called it wonderful when I said I could hear songs from magic tools.

She must have been a genuinely kind person.

“I’d really like to take this request.”

“If it’s you…”

“You might be able to heal the heart of the young girl who submitted it.”

“My name is Pyuanna.”

“I’m Shinaguru.”

“I know.”

“It’s written on your guild card.”

“And Myst has already told me about you.”

“Your request has now been accepted.”

While we were talking, Pyuanna had already finished processing everything.

She handed me the client’s address.

After checking the location on a map, I left the guild.

Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky.

It felt like a good encounter was waiting for me.