Volume 17 Chapter 1 Light Magic Tool
One evening in early March, Al visited the border city of Lester to check on Orson's foot treatment. Previously, Orson had heard from Guildmaster Levy that it would be around March or April.
He might have come earlier, but he had been busy not only learning spells but also starting to build a base on the new land he received and making magic tools for that purpose, which took up his time.
"Hello. Is there a room available?"
When Al arrived at his usual inn, the Red-Faced Sheep, he called out to Iris, who was cleaning in front of the shop. She looked a bit surprised, and when she recognized it was Al, her cheeks turned slightly red.
"Mr. Al!! Of course, we have a room! I'll clean it up right away. Papa! Mama! Brother! Mr. Al is back!"
With a broom in hand, Iris hurried into the back of the shop. "I knew it," Al murmured quietly. After Iris ran off, he entered the dining hall.
It seemed to be still early, as there were no customers yet.
Thinking it was just right, Al floated lightly with the Fly spell and began to look around the beams near the ceiling.
"Oh, Mr. Al. You took a bit longer this time. How have you been?"
"What are you doing, Al?"
It seemed that Russ, the owner of the Red-Faced Sheep and Iris's father, along with his brother Tally, had come out from the kitchen where they were preparing food. They looked up at Al, who was up near the ceiling.
"Mr. Russ. Long time no see. Mr. Tally, yeah, a little. Can I hammer a small nail here?"
"Sure, but..."
The two watched with interest as Al worked. He took out a palm-sized, round, flat object from a pouch on his belt and fixed it to the ceiling with a nail through a hole on its edge.
"What is that?"
Tally asked curiously.
"Oh, it's a prototype of a light magic tool. I want to see if it works."
"Wait, a magic tool? Something so expensive... here?"
Both Russ and Tally exclaimed in surprise. Al shook his head at their words.
"You've been keeping a room open for me, right? This is a thank you for that."
Since Al started his activities in the border city of Lester, he had always used the Red-Faced Sheep as his base.
Not just today, but many times before, he had returned earlier than planned or suddenly dropped by, and there had never been a time when there wasn't a room available for him to stay in.
Al had always found it a bit strange, and since he arrived a little earlier today, he had been hiding in front of the shop for a while to observe.
Iris, who was cleaning in front of the store, had been turning away customers who wanted to stay multiple nights, saying there were no rooms available.
Wondering about this, Al waited for the customer to leave before appearing and asking Iris. However, Iris replied, just like before, that there were rooms available.
"No, no, that's..."
Russ stumbled over his words. Tally was watching Russ's face with a wry smile.
It was just as Al had thought. He continued to work on fixing the magic tool he had brought with him, feeling certain about it.
When he had stayed here long-term before, Al had improved his skills as a magician and suggested using the 'Light' spell to provide light instead of lamps.
As a result, the dining hall of the (Red-Faced Sheep) inn had less of the smell from the oil used in lamps, and the deliciousness of the food became well-known, attracting more customers. Since the oil costs were reduced, they had even offered him free lodging as thanks.
Up to that point, Al had been happy and felt it was reasonable to accept their kindness.
However, for the past 4 months, he had mostly been around the border city of Parker and the research tower, hardly coming to the border city of Lester. The (Red-Faced Sheep) inn was not that big.
Keeping a room open all the time must be quite a burden.
"No, really, you don't have to keep a room open for me. I feel a bit bad about that. If there's no room, I can just stay somewhere else for a night..."
"Well... you saved my life, so it's not that much of a burden since I usually use a regular single room as a storage space..."
Russ pouted, looking unconvinced. Tally opened his mouth, glancing at him.
"Hey, Al. I'll talk to my dad about it. But while I appreciate your feelings, having a magic tool here is a bit..."
Indeed, magic tools are expensive.
The light from Al's 'Light' spell has no physical form, so there's no worry about it being stolen, and since it's a shop often used by adventurers, there hasn't been any theft incidents so far.
However, if a regular town dining hall used a magic tool for lighting all the time, there's no telling if someone might try to sneak in and steal it.
Even without that, people might think they have a lot of money, which could raise security concerns. It seemed Tally was worried about that.
"Ah, yeah. That should probably be fine. This is my original magic tool, and it's designed not to react to magic. Plus, it regularly creates a light orb in a specified place, just like I used the 'Light' spell."
"Wow, I don't really get it, but you've thought a lot about it. Hmm..."
Tally crossed his arms and pondered.
"This is something I made while practicing, so it's not expensive. Mr. Russ and Mr. Tally don't need to worry about it."
Saying that, Al finished fixing the magic tool, touched it, and whispered the command word.
Then, just like Al always used the 'Light' spell to brighten the room, glowing orbs lit up 4 spots on the ceiling of the dining hall all at once.
"Wow, that's amazing..."
Tally couldn't help but murmur in admiration. Russ was still mumbling something, not fully convinced. He probably felt that Al had saved his life and was grateful for the room he had secured for them.
While it was something to be thankful for, it also made him feel a bit guilty.
This magic tool felt a bit pushy, but it would help save on oil costs for a while, and it would make up for the fact that he had left the room empty for 3 months.
"By the way, where's Orson?"
"Oh, he said he was going to the border area for a couple of nights to get some hides for work. He should be back tomorrow."
Russ replied. It seemed he would make it in time for his foot treatment. He could ask for more details tomorrow evening.
"Speaking of which, here's a souvenir. It's not processed or anything, but..."
Saying this, Al spread a cloth on the inn's table and tipped a small leather pouch. Four pieces of amethyst, about 3 centimeters in diameter, rolled out.
"Wow, they're beautiful."
"Are they gems?"
As Russ and Tally leaned in closer to look, Ms. Louren, Russ' wife, and Iris came out from the back. They seemed a bit happy to notice the room lit by the 'Light' spell instead of a lamp.
"I bought these in the border city of Parker. I think they're probably amethyst. They weren't too expensive, but I thought they could be used for decoration if processed well."
Of course, these amethysts weren't bought; Al had found them in a crack in the mountain with Saari before coming here.
However, he couldn't reveal that yet, so he just made up a story.
"Wow, they're lovely..."
Iris picked one up and began to gaze at it, holding it up to the light.
"The shop I bought them from was like a market stall, so they might be a real find. Please don't spread the word too much."
According to Saari, they might not be very valuable, but they were still gems. He wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any trouble if there was a misunderstanding.
"Okay!"
Iris was absorbed in comparing the 4 pieces of amethyst, trying to figure out which one was the prettiest.
"To give such expensive things as a souvenir..."
Russ kept feeling embarrassed.
"No, no, really, don't worry about it. Well then, I still have some time until sunset, so I think I'll drop off my stuff and wander around the city a bit. Ms. Iris, is the room ready for use?"
Al said this and placed his bag in the assigned room, then left the (Red-Faced Sheep) inn.
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