Chapter 21
21
"The Butterfly of Fate."
"...That's good."
After a moment of silence, I nodded in acceptance, and he smiled as if pleased.
"Excellent. I'm looking forward to it. I wonder who will seize victory in the end."
I stared at him, who was wearing a meaningful smile, and then I stood up.
"I should be going now."
"I'll see you to the door."
He also stood up, following me.
Soon, he opened the door and whispered in my ear.
"I wonder who the butterfly will choose. Then, goodbye."
Thud.
The door closed behind me.
And I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
'That was nerve-wracking...'
To make a bet against the master of the Rune Information Guild, of all people.
'Aren't you making too big of a deal out of things for an extra?'
But what else could I do? Even extras need to find a way to survive.
I composed myself, lowered my gaze for a moment, and muttered.
"The Butterfly of Fate, huh..."
'The Butterfly of Fate' is one of the empire's oldest myths.
Long ago, before the empire was united, the divided tribes waged war every day.
The land was stained with blood, and corpses covered the ground. Weary of war, the people asked the gods to choose a victor for them, and at that moment, a butterfly suddenly appeared.
The butterfly chose one of the two tribes, and the tribe that was not chosen all died of a mysterious illness the next day.
The tribe chosen by the butterfly later became the foundation of the empire, and that butterfly was called the 'Butterfly of Fate,' said to have been sent by the gods.
And in modern times, the expression 'chosen by the Butterfly of Fate' is used to mean 'winner.'
Conversely, it also carries the ominous meaning of 'if you are not chosen, you will die.'
So, setting 'The Butterfly of Fate' as the code was a kind of warning to me.
'No way.'
I'm not going to be intimidated by such a warning, not when my life is already on the line.
'Anyway.'
I raised my head.
'Let's get back quickly.'
I hurried away.
* * *
Back at the antique shop, I was about to leave right away.
But at that moment, I suddenly remembered something from the original story.
'Come to think of it...'
I recalled the original work.
'The female lead definitely found a valuable treasure here, I think.'
It was the Rune Information Guild master's hobby to hide treasures among junk.
'She presents that treasure to the Emperor at the upcoming Emperor's birthday banquet and gains great trust.'
Ah, I remember now.
The Emperor, who barely survived Akaban poisoning, suffered from terrible headaches.
Celestina's divine power could alleviate the headaches, but they would return as soon as she was away from him.
For the sake of such an Emperor, Celestina visited this Rune Junk Shop with the Crown Prince—
"Found it."
I was able to easily find a dazzling ring.
'The aquamarine embedded in the center and the ancient characters engraved along the band.'
No doubt about it.
This is the treasure that Celestina presents to the Emperor.
'Thanks to this treasure, the Emperor's headaches are somewhat relieved.'
But...
'The real thing isn't this.'
I put down the ring and rummaged around.
And I found a ring that looked similar to the one from before, but it was rusty and unsightly.
But my expression was much brighter than when I found the dazzling ring.
'This is it!'
The two rings were made by the same alchemist.
The alchemist's daughter suffered from unexplained headaches her entire life, and this unsightly ring was made to ease her pain.
But on the day the ring was completed, the alchemist's daughter eventually died, and to prevent the ring made for his daughter from falling into the hands of the privileged, the alchemist created a fake that was less effective but much more beautiful in appearance.
That is the ring that Celestina offers to the Emperor.
'The truth about the ring is revealed in the epilogue after the main story is complete.'
So, no one knows the value of this ring right now.
'Will this be effective for Khadien too?'
Khadien's headache is not an ordinary headache.
It's a side effect of Magical Overload.
'It might have some effect, even if it's not a complete cure.'
Good.
I took the old ring and approached the employee.
"I'd like to buy this."
The employee said without even looking at the ring.
"Just take it."
"Huh? Isn't it for sale?"
"It is, but it's a gift from the boss."
The boss must be the guild master.
It's a bit unsettling that it's from that man, but...
'What's done is done.'
Later, after the ring's efficacy is revealed, it will be worth so much that you couldn't buy it for ten million gold.
I didn't refuse and took the ring.
"Then, thank you."
"Yes, please come again."
I left the shop, seeing off by the employee.
I was worried that I might be bothered on the way to the carriage, but fortunately, I arrived at the carriage without any incidents.
"You're here!"
The coachman, who spotted me, ran up to me in an instant.
His gaze scanned me. It seemed like he was checking to see if I was hurt anywhere.
I pretended not to notice his gaze and got into the carriage.
I wanted to hurry because there wasn't much time left until class.
As if he didn't want to stay any longer, the coachman quickly started the carriage.
I took in the sight of Sekrit Street 13 fading into the distance and then looked down at the ring I was holding tightly in my hand.
A grimy, old ring.
Compared to the value of this ring, the appearance doesn't matter at all.
The problem is.
'How do I give this to him?'
I went ahead and did it, but...
No matter how I think about it, it doesn't seem like he'll accept it if I just give it to him as a normal gift.
'In the first place, I haven't even created an opportunity to be with him yet.'
Ugh.
"...For now, let's keep it safe."
I put the ring deep inside my pocket.
And I looked out the window as we sped along.
Hoping the carriage would arrive soon.
* * *
"Master."
Kay, an employee of the Rune Junk Shop and the Rune Information Guild, entered the room and bowed his head.
The master, Lemon, turned to look at him, humming a tune.
"Did you see the guest off properly?"
"Yes, and she took a ring with her."
"A ring?"
Lemon asked back, and Kay nodded.
"That shabby ring that you picked up one day and just threw aside."
"What?"
At Kay's words, Lemon turned to look at him with a surprised expression.
"She certainly seems like a strange guest. Out of all the treasures, why would she choose such an old ring..."
But Kay couldn't continue speaking.
"Puhahaha!"
Kay stared at Lemon with a horrified expression as he suddenly grabbed his stomach and laughed.
After laughing for a long time, grabbing his stomach, Lemon wiped away his tears and muttered.
"Really, she's an interesting guest."
"...Are you alright, Master?"
Lemon nodded cheerfully at Kay's cautious question about his mental state.
"Of course."
Then, Kay followed Lemon with a puzzled expression as he grabbed his coat and left the room.
"You haven't been here long, where are you going?"
"I have outside work today."
He fluttered a piece of paper.
It was the paper that Livia had given him.
Lemon grinned.
"It seems like it will be interesting, so I'm going to take care of it as soon as possible."
"...Have a good trip."
"Yeah, take care of the shop. If any troublemakers come, kick them out."
Lemon waved his hand and left the shop with a light step.
'This will be fun.'
A smile filled his face as he imagined the future.
* * *
Fortunately, I returned without being late, gathered the materials, and headed to Vincent's room.
Arriving at the door, I took a deep breath for a moment and knocked, tap tap.
"Young master, it's me. I'm coming in."
Then, there was a loud crash inside, and soon the door opened.
"Oh, you're here!"
"Oh..."
I looked down at Vincent with slightly surprised eyes.
He was sweating, as if he had been doing something, and his face was also slightly flushed.
"Come in."
"Ah, yes."
Entering the room, I soon understood the reason.
'The room is incredibly clean?'
It was already a well-maintained and clean room, but today it seemed to shine exceptionally brightly.
'On the other hand, Vincent is tattered.'
I have a rough idea of what he was doing.
'He really cleaned hard because it's the first lesson.'
A smile naturally bloomed at his cuteness.
At the same time, a mischievous desire to tease him a little arose.
"Hmm~"
I put my hands behind my back and looked around the room, humming.
Vincent looked up at me, very nervous, but I pretended not to notice and said.
"The room seems somehow different today."
"...!"
Sparkle, sparkle. Vincent's ruby-colored eyes sparkled with anticipation.
And soon,
"Ah! I know, you changed the color of the curtains, right?"
