Chapter 36: How to Obtain Necessary Items

A few days later, a letter arrived from the demon Berard.

The letter stated that the whereabouts of the staff, which had been purchased by someone three months ago, had been discovered.

“This is worth checking out again.”

“…Then let’s quickly catch any dragon we see on the road and ride it there.”

“No, what exactly do you think dragons are? Although we got away safely last time, dragons are not creatures that can be casually taken and used!”

“A flying taxi.”

She seemed to think of dragons as a kind of taxi in a fantasy world.

But now, it’s a flying taxi.

“What is a taxi?”

I explained the concept of taxis to Arsep, and she grabbed the back of her neck in disbelief.

“And dragons are fast and convenient, aren’t they? You seemed to enjoy riding them last time too.”

“…It was certainly fun, but in any case, if another dragon appears, the demons won’t stay quiet. Worse, it might provoke the Demon King’s army.”

“But if we go on foot or ride horses instead of using a dragon, it will take a lot of time, won’t it? If we consider resting along the way, it could take about a day.”

“Don’t worry about that. That demon seems to have good sense, and it appears they’ve prepared for something like this.”

Arsep confidently pulled a blue crystal from the envelope, claiming there was a better solution.

“What’s this?”

I examined the crystal carefully but couldn’t figure out what made it special.

‘I wish I could see magic with my eyes. I can do things like seeing through objects, but visualizing magic is beyond me, unfortunately.’

“This is called a teleportation stone. Using this, we can travel directly to that demon’s city.”

“Really? How do you use it?”

“It’s simple. You just supply it with magic power, and the spell inside it activates automatically. Even if you can’t use magic, as long as you have a small amount of magic power, it’s a very convenient tool.”

Arsep explained eloquently while holding the teleportation stone in her hand.

The teleportation stone was indeed convenient, allowing even non-magic users to activate it with minimal magic.

But.

“…I can’t use it, haha.”

The fact that at least some magic power was needed to use the teleportation stone once again stirred Arsep’s feelings of helplessness and depression.

“It’s okay. Can’t I just use it instead?”

“That’s true… but have you ever used a teleportation stone before?”

“Of course not.”

“Then it would be good to practice with another magic stone first. If you have too much magic power, the teleportation stone might break.”

Not knowing much about magic, I agreed with Arsep’s reasoning.

It was like learning not to crush opponents when using fists or bricks—it had taken a lot of practice.

“Let’s practice with this first.”

“What’s this?”

After a moment, Arsep brought out several crystal-like magic stones from somewhere.

“These are from the castle’s storage. It doesn’t matter if they break, so try supplying magic power to one of these.”

“How do I supply magic power?”

“Just imagine putting strength into your hand and—”

Crash!

“…This isn’t going to work.”

It seemed that magic stones were softer than bricks.

Even with just the slightest bit of effort, the stone shattered like glass.

If I’d done this with the teleportation stone, we might have had to walk all the way to the city.

I was glad we practiced with magic stones first.

“Listen, it’s about channeling energy, not physical strength.”

“Got it. I’ll try again.”

“When it works, the stone will emit a bright light.”

***

Swish!

Moments later, a few strands of Arsep’s white hair fell to the floor.

Her hair had been cut by the magic stone.

When I supplied magic power to the stone this time, it suddenly launched as if fired from a gun—directly toward Arsep.

The projectile’s sharp edges pierced through the sofa and several layers of the wall before finally stopping.

“I-I almost died… I really almost died just now…”

Arsep’s face turned pale, and she collapsed to the ground.

Her crimson eyes were trembling as if shaken by an earthquake.

“Are you okay?”

“Haha…! I’m fine! B-but could you lend me a hand? I can’t stand up; my legs have no strength…”

I helped Arsep up and placed her on the sofa.

She was trembling, so I brought her a blanket.

Although she wasn’t cold, I figured having a blanket was better than nothing.

“Should we try practicing again?”

“No, stop! Don’t do it!”

When I picked up another magic stone, Arsep shook her head with all her might.

It looked like a desperate plea to live.

Honestly, I couldn’t blame her; even I hadn’t expected the stone to behave like that.

“I think we should find another way to use the teleportation stone. At least until you can control your magic power properly, don’t mess with the stones.”

“But is there really another way?”

“…That’s true, but I really don’t want to try something that could put a hole in my head again.”

‘I should probably make her some tea to help her calm down.’

Arsep was already struggling with feelings of helplessness and depression. If she developed a fear of magic stones on top of that, it could severely impact her ability to function.

For now, it was best to avoid using magic stones around her.

“By the way, that stone you fired went through the wall…”

Just then, Flua walked in, holding the magic stone that had flown away earlier.

Thankfully, Flua seemed unharmed.

The magic stone simply emitted a soft glow.

‘Huh?’

When I held it, the stone didn’t glow, but now, in Flua’s hands, it was shining brightly.

“…Did you have the same thought as I did?”

“…Probably.”

“Flua.”

“Uh, yes…?”

It seemed that Arsep and I shared the same thought.

Flua, the person in question, looked a bit flustered, but right now, we desperately needed her.

The teleportation stone glowed brightly, instantly transporting us to the demon Berard’s city.

“Flua, I’m so glad you’re here. Meeting you in that city back then was truly a stroke of luck for us.”

“I was at a loss since I couldn’t do anything about magic myself.”

“…Thank you for the compliment.”

Flua blushed shyly.

Thanks to Flua, we were able to use the teleportation stone without any issues.

Arsep, having no magic power, and me, unable to control mine, were in a bind when Flua came to the rescue just in time.

Either way, thanks to her, we arrived at Berard’s city once again.

This time, we didn’t need to carry heavy luggage due to the short travel time, making things much more convenient.

Now that we were in the city, we decided to get straight to business.

After all, Berard had finally discovered the whereabouts of the staff Arsep had been searching for so desperately.

***

“We’ve encountered a slight problem.”

That was the first thing Berard said when we arrived at the mansion.

“What kind of problem? Surely, you’re not lying to my master, are you?”

Arsep, as usual, expertly played the role of a maid.

I decided to remain silent and listen.

“The letter contained no falsehoods. We successfully tracked down the whereabouts of the staff. However, it’s located in a specific place.”

Berard explained that he had investigated the demons who frequented the shop three months ago and reviewed the list of individuals who had entered and left his city.

After much effort, he finally found the answer.

“Where exactly is the staff?”

“…It seems to be in the Demon King’s castle. I don’t know much about the one who purchased it, but they were a mid-tier demon from the Demon King’s castle.”

“The Demon King’s castle?!”

But that wasn’t the end of the problem.

Even knowing the location, it wasn’t a place we could easily go to retrieve it.

“Yes, that’s as much as I could uncover. Beyond that, everything occurred within the Demon King’s domain.”

With that, we decided to step out of the mansion and discuss our next steps.

While Berard’s help had led us to the staff’s location, none of us expected it to be in the Demon King’s castle of all places.

***

“The Demon King’s castle, of all places… If we go there recklessly to retrieve the staff, the Demon King will undoubtedly notice us.”

“Can’t we just go and take it? Whether by storming the castle head-on or sneaking in to steal it, I’m fine with either.”

“Are you dissatisfied with the human adventurers who occasionally come to the castle? Do you want demons to start showing up as well?”

“Oh, you’re right. If we did that, demons would start flocking to the castle too. It’s already crowded enough as it is.”

Initially, I thought of simply taking the staff by force, but Arsep’s words made me realize that doing so would likely turn the castle into a chaotic meeting ground.

Demons and humans clashing in front of the castle once was more than enough.

Back then, it had taken three whole days to clean up the aftermath.

The area around the castle was a mess, littered with giant craters and frozen terrain.

If I ever found out who the culprits were, I’d put them side by side in coffins, chain the lids shut, and throw them into the sea.

“But you can rest assured. Violence isn’t the only way to get what you want.”

Just as I was considering blowing up the Demon King’s castle after retrieving the staff, Arsep confidently raised her chin and spoke.

“Then what do you plan to do?”

“Of course, I’ll buy it back. To anyone else, that staff is nothing more than a beautiful and sturdy staff. If I offer a fair price, wouldn’t they hand it over without resistance?”

It was a remarkably reasonable plan—a rare thing to hear in this world.

“You’re right. We could simply purchase it.”

Lately, I had encountered so many people who solved problems by brandishing swords or spears that Arsep’s logical approach felt oddly refreshing.

“Demons, especially those of higher ranks, are often more rational than humans in matters like these.”

Listening to Arsep’s words, I felt the need for some self-reflection.

Thinking of forcibly taking or stealing the staff was clearly the wrong approach.