Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 62

The sky was still as bright as ever even in the late afternoon. Even though Ist was a colder region than the Royal Capital, it was still possible for anyone to spend their time comfortably here.

The flow of people in the Magic City of Ist was also quite high, and it was not only researchers who were in town. After all, this was a city of magic, a city where people who were skilled in magic gathered.

「Come take a look!」

「Please leave your tip here!」

Ainz was stunned when he saw it for the first time, but after walking around for a while, he got used to it.

According to Chris, this was not a common sight in the Royal Capital, but it seemed to be a common thing in other cities.

She said that in magic fields, where money was needed to do anything, they’d use everything they can to make money.

So, it was not uncommon to see people doing things like street performances for that purpose.

「...Wouldn’t it be more profitable for them to work as an adventurer?」

「Yes, just like what Ainz-sama says, it is more profitable to work as an adventurer. But it’s just a matter of choice between those who are willing to constantly risk their lives and those who are not. Everyone has a different way of making money」

「I see」

How many times had he asked that same question to Chris since they had arrived in Ist...

But it was the first time Ainz had had the chance to see so much magic around him, so he was constantly surprised.

There was a man who unleashed flames while waving his hands around, a woman who made water appear, form it, and then freeze it to create an ice statue... They were demonstrating their own magic in hope of a tip.

「I learned it in class, but magic was supposed to be the stronger attack, right? If that was the case, why do we use knights as our main force in the Royal Capital?」

「The correct term is an attack that uses magic power. Even if it is an ordinary sword technique, it will become stronger if it is covered with magic power. You know this too, don’t you, Ainz-sama?」

「Aah, now that you mention it... That’s certainly true」

「The rest is a matter of aptitude. In terms of magic types, there is no such thing as magic that is unsuitable for everyone. However, some types of magic are more suitable for some people and less suitable for others. ...And because of that, it is hard to make it usable in actual battle」

There was basically no such thing as an attribute among the five basic attributes that could not be used by anyone.

However, depending on whether one was suited to it or not, there were many situations where they could be useless.

「And magic power is difficult to cultivate, that is why it is difficult to train people to fight purely with magic」

As he listened to Chris’ explanation, a few questions came to his mind... Ainz had been wondering about something for a while now.

「What about people who use healing magic?」

「By that, I assume you mean other than healers who give first aid and help the body to recover?」

「Yeah. A healer is only a healer and not a magician, right?」

The healers were the ones who had helped Ainz a lot during the Sea Dragon incident. It was thanks to them that Ainz’s arm could recover quickly. But theirs was not magic, it was more like some kind of medical treatment.

They also sometimes used specialized magic tools and were more like doctors.

「For example, are there people who could use such an amazing treatment to make an arm grow back?」

But what Ainz was curious about was something even deeper. Since coming to Ishtalica, Ainz had never seen any magic that could grow arms or revive the dead. He was rather curious if there was such a thing.

「I can count those who could use healing magic with my own hand... And it was also hard to meet them because they don’t have a permanent residence anywhere」

「So maybe, they’re like adventurers or something?」

「You have a sharp mind, don’t you? Yes, you’re right. In Ishtalica, those who can use the most advanced healing magic are all working as adventurers. So, it’s not easy to call on them, and they don’t always respond to the call」

「We don’t have any of them employed by the state?」

「It would be best if we could do that... But that’s not that easy」

Chris explained to him that was just how they were. But how nice would it be if there were such people in the Royal Capital? ...But because there were not many of them, it was certainly not going to be easy to employ them.

「I’d like to meet those who can use that kind of magic someday」

He didn’t want to get injured, but he wanted to see how they healed the wounds with his own eyes.

「...By the way, I wondered how far Kadyma-sama and Dill have gone today」

「It seems that Dill has let himself become a sacrifice」

He really meant it when he said that Dill has let himself become a sacrifice... There was a reason for that.

When everyone woke up and gathered today, Kadyma asked to borrow Dill to look around some shops with her.

Ainz thought that it didn’t make any sense at all, why didn’t they all just go together anyway? However, Kadyma stubbornly insisted on going separately, and in the end, she did not give in.

Dill was probably more of a luggage carrier than an escort for her right now.

「S-sacrifice...?」

「Yes, I disagreed with Kadyma-san’s decision to split, but to be honest, it was nice that she was not around. This was thanks to Dill’s sacrifice, so let’s be grateful for that, Chris-san」

「Umm, as an escort myself, I was worried about letting Kadyma-sama split like this, but...」

――Kadyma didn’t say it verbally, but she was actually thinking about Chris when she did this.

Kadyma and Olivia both realized that her behavior had somehow been unusual ever since the Sea Dragon incident. They knew that Chris must like Ainz.

But at present, Ainz and Claune’s relationship was causing her a lot of frustration.

Neither Kadyma nor Olivia knew what they might think. But Ainz, as the Crown Prince and the future King, should take more than one wife.

One never knew what the future holds. There was a possibility that Ainz may make the same action as Sylvird.

So many things could be possible, but Kadyma still wanted to support Chris.

『...Well, what a bad taste to have an interest in Ainz, the mother-con who eats magic stones nya』

It was just Kadyma talking to herself when they split up. And her words never reached anyone’s ears.

From Kadyma’s point of view, Chris was the one who had been there for her since she was born. So, it was only natural for her to want to support her when she knew Chris had some kind of affection towards the opposite sex for the first time.

「But you know, I think those two are more compatible than I thought. Don’t you think so?」

「Are you talking about Kadyma-sama and Dill?」

「They’d make a good pair. And I think they’d be a good match personality-wise」

「Certainly... their compatibility is quite good」

Simply put, Dill was a thoughtful person who liked to be taken care of. And Kadyma, who was usually the one being taken care of, could also take care of others. The two of them didn’t seem to be a bad match.

it was not just a matter of a relationship between the opposite sex, but also a relationship between a person who protects and a person who was being protected.

「But thinking about it makes me imagine Dill being dragged along by Kadyma-sama throughout the day」

Chris put her hand over her mouth and chuckled quietly. Ainz also smiled seeing her like that.

「That’s what I like about Kadyma-san, she’s easy to imagine... Ah! I think I saw something interesting. Let’s go there, Chris-san!」

「Eh... W-wait for me, Ainz-sama!」

Chris followed Ainz, who suddenly started walking at a fast pace.

She might have imagined Dill being dragged around by Kadyma, but she had also forgotten that Ainz had a nature similar to Kadyma’s.

***

「Uwaah~ that was fun. As expected of Chris-san」

「J-jeez...! That was my first time doing something like that!」

「My bad. But it was cool, right?」

The interesting thing that Ainz spotted was a large wall of ice. If anyone could break the ice wall, which was made by magic, they would be awarded a prize. But they also had to pay 1000G as an entry fee.

And Ainz challenged Chris to participate.

「I-I never thought they’d praise me like that...!」

Chris cut the ice wall into two pieces with her excellent technique. And although what she used was just invisible Wind Magic, she had shown the spectators a magnificent technique.

This was the first time a Grand Marshal, though they were still hiding her identity with a magic tool, ever participated in such a thing in the long history of Ishtalica. So, they declined the prize and walked away quickly after that, but...

「...By the way, do you know where are we right now?」

Without noticing, they had taken a lot of turns and passed through lots of narrow streets as they continued to wander around.

‘Should we walk a little more?’ Ainz thought. He thought that they might be able to figure out where they were if they walked a little more, but to his surprise, they ended up in a place they didn’t recognize at all.

「If I had to make a complaint, Isn’t Ist’s streets were quite confusing?」

「...The design was quite unique, but I wonder why this city has a lot of narrow streets...」

「Well, it’s gonna be like an adventure for us, so I think, it wasn’t that bad」

With his words, Chris wondered who had been dragged around the most today, Dill or her.

They were now walking in a back alley and the place gave off somewhat of a slum-like atmosphere.

They also started to smell a faint smell of garbage that drifted through the air, and the air felt somewhat heavy.

As Ainz was thinking about what to do next, he suddenly heard the voices of people talking from a distance.

「I think I heard someone’s voice, let’s ask them for directions to get back」

「Yes. That sounds like a good idea」

They were not in a place that made them want to stay there any longer. So, they decided to ask for directions to get back. They then walked in the direction of the voice, which gradually became louder and louder.

「――can’t! You can’t!」

「Come on... just give that to me already!」

Along with the voice of a little girl, they also heard the voice of a man that didn’t seem to be in a calm mood.

「You can’t! This food is for me and my sister!」

「Like I care! Just shut up and give that to me!」

What they saw when they reached the source of the voice was a small girl that was desperately trying to protect her belongings. Just as Ainz had imagined, it seemed that this place was indeed a slum. From the girl’s words alone, they knew that the man was trying to take her food from her.

「Oi, you there... get away from that girl, take this」

Ainz threw a small amount of money in a small cloth pouch at the man. It would be easy to stop him with force, but he figured this would be easier than making a scene in this kind of place.

「Huh...? Who the hell are you!?」

「Just take a look at that pouch first」

「Who do you think you’re to act so big... O-Ooh! Y-young master... A-are you really giving this to me!?」

「Just take it and get away from here」

After checking the contents of the pouch, the man walked away with a smile on his face. There was only about 5.000G in change in the pouch, but it was probably a lot of money for him, especially since he was about to take food from the little girl.

「...Are you okay?」

「U-umm... T-thank you... v-very much...」

The suddenness of Ainz and Chris’s appearance made the girl confused about the situation. The girl was small, with dark brown hair and her clothes were quite dirty. She was probably about five years old.

「It’s not like I liked the idea of using money to solve a problem, but I’m glad that it worked for the better, right, Chris-san?」

「Yes. It was better than wasting our time and energy showing my strength. But if he asked for more, I would have had to draw my sword though...」

「Yeah, we’d have no choice but to do that if that happens... Well then, are you alone?」

Ainz crouched down to bring himself closer to the girl. Then, perhaps a little reassured by his gesture, the girl began to speak more fluently than before.

「M-my sister told me to wait here because she had work to do... she then went into a nearby house」

「Work, huh...? What kind of work does your sister do?」

In his own gentle way, Ainz continued the talk to help the girl calm down. He felt bad for asking her what kind of work her sister does, but the girl didn’t seem to care much about it and started to tell them about her sister.

「You see, you see~! My sister is amazing!」

Ainz thought that she was probably proud of her sister. When she spoke about her sister, she looked even more excited.

「We can’t get a proper meal here, and we often get sick too... But my sister is working to help them get better!」

Chris reacted with a twitch to her words and Ainz was also interested in it, but he decided to hear the rest of her story first.

「Isn’t that quite amazing!?... Does your sister could also heal injuries?」

「Yup! She could also heal the broken legs of those who do dangerous work!」

They both then thought that she may have a skill or magic related to healing.

「This is the first time Big Brother has ever heard of such a thing...! See, it’s not bad at all to get lost sometimes」

「Hmm...? Yup! My sister is amazing!」

The girl didn’t seem to understand what Ainz meant, but she understood that he was praising her sister. When Ainz said that, he glanced up at Chris.

「...Should we meet her?」

「Let’s wait here until her sister comes then. Don’t worry, we’ll protect you!」

「Really!? Thank you, big brother!」

Perhaps because of his help, Ainz was able to become friendly with the girl. He listened to her stories and even stroked her head once in a while.

...But behind him, Chris wore an expression as if she was being left out, but Ainz had no way of knowing that.

They wouldn’t know how real her story was until they met her sister in person. So, they both decided to wait for the girl’s sister for a few dozen minutes.

TLN Trivia: The title of this chapter “急がば回れ”(Isogaba Maware) “Haste makes waste“, was a proverb that meant “Sometimes an indirect route is the best way to reach your destination”