"Wait here, please," I'll call you in a minute."

　Guided into what appears to be a living room, Elena sits down on a nearby sofa and exhales.

"Squeak?"

　You must have been curious about that Elena. Yellow, who was sitting on his left shoulder, leaned his head slightly and cried.

"Phew, don't worry. the last house in charge of Egzil I was just wondering what kind of person the head of the family was. ...if possible, I would have liked to join Ray in stripping the materials."

　When I received an invitation from the Maaschel family, I honestly hesitated quite a bit. But he is originally the head of the Maaschel family, which is said to be rarely seen in public. The desire to see him once won if we could, and he and I had come to the Maaschel family alone... no, alone.

(Schaffner has not been caught missing. Of course, the Levisor family is not going to be ruined by it, and its successor is taking over. But the Levisor family will be close to a puppet of the Silwa family, considering the circumstances. the only salvation is that, after all, Bossk is unlikely to do anything about the Levisor family for his own personal gain.)

　I met Bosque a few times and understood him, if not completely. What I felt at the time was that he was certainly a problematic person -- a good example of what happened when he first met Elena -- but that his feelings for the city of Egzil were still genuine.
　That's probably why they're working so hard to find out the existence of an abnormal species, and they're using the Silwa family's own money to collect and obtain information on the bodies of the abnormal species.
　Of course, it is because it is in the interest of the Silwa family... ...and in the long run, it is in the interest of the labyrinthine city of Egzil.

"Squeak, squeak.

　As Elena ponders, Yero reaches for the cookie on the plate, moving from her left shoulder to the table, biting with her little mouth.
　Reaching for a cup of tea that was also on the table, feeling the warmth of the scene.

"Eating pretty, huh?"
"Squeak!"

　Elena muttered over a cup of tea, and Yero answered, eating cookies, yelling and wagging her tail.
　I spent a few minutes in a relaxed manner that I didn't think I was in the house of the enemy... ...when I heard the knock on the door, I turned my eyes to that way.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Elena Kerebel," My name is Pri Maaschel, the head of the Maaschel family. Thank you for accepting my invitation today."

　It was a middle-aged woman in her 40s who appeared as she spoke. I wear rings, bracelets, collars, ankles, earrings and hair ornaments all over my body, and it's painful to look at.
　But Elena, who is also educated as a daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Quelevel, nods softly without showing her true feelings.

"I had hoped to see the Marcher family, myself. In that sense, it was the right time."
"Well, it was worth my while to invite you if you could say so."

　Pri says so with a big smile on her face, but Elena can sense that the smile is not the same as the word.

(But they are governing this labyrinthine city.) Is it natural that I should have something in mind?）

"I have heard that you seldom appear in public," Is there any reason?"
"There's no particular reason, but I don't really like to appear in public. If you're going to do such a thing, I think it's more meaningful to study magic."

　Elena nods and opens her mouth with an admiring smile at the word research.

"...what? Come to think of it, the Marscher family has a wizard as their ancestor among the parties that found the dungeon here." If you don't mind, could you tell me what you are doing?"

　As I asked, it was only natural that it passed Elena's mind about an abnormal species.
　The Levisor case came to light, and by the time the Silwa family left for the institute, all the researchers at the institute had already been killed. From this point alone, it is clear that the Levisor family was not the only one responsible for the abnormalities, and for Elena it was Pri, the head of the Maaschel family, who was in front of her as the frontrunner.

"I don't want to make it public, but... I don't mind telling you if you're from the Duke of Quevel." Actually, I've been doing some research on how to contain magic in jewelry."
"Gems with magic?"
"Yes. For example, Elena is famous for being a wizard of wind, but I hope that she can create something like that that that will work instantly when the user uses it to contain magic like Wind Arrow. If my research bears fruit, it will be a great help to adventurers who have few wizards."

　Ellena nods, though Pri responds as if she had no intention of doing so.

"But there are magic items that have a similar effect, right? They have a magical effect through magic."

　Passing Elena's mind was Ray's flowing dagger and thorn spear.
　As for running water dagger, I only use it for drinking water because of Ray's magical powers, but if it's compatible, it's a magic item with a powerful effect like a water whip or a water sword.
　As for thorn spears, they have an egregious effect in a way that when they pierce the enemy, they produce thorns from their bodies and entangle their movements.
　Of course, that's not all. Elena's Slapnil shoes have the effect of walking in the air, and the connecting sword is freely manipulated by magic.
　Pri shakes her head to Elena, who asks, "Isn't that the effect on jewelry?"

"No, indeed, they have magical effects, as Mr. Elena said. But basically it's a very expensive item, and even if you're a high-ranking adventurer, you can't afford it. But my research has largely shown that it will be available to the low-ranked adventurer to some extent."
"Well, it would be a great study if it were true,"

　Elena nodded, but the next moment she looked sharp and fixed her eyes on Pri.

"By the way, by the way... do you know about the recent discovery of a monster in a dungeon called an abnormal species?"

　Pri sighs regretfully before nodding to Elena, who asks if she will forgive her lies.

"Yes, of course. I'm still the head of the Maaschel family. The information from the guild is coming in properly. "Why did Schaffner do this, too?" I honestly find it hard to understand."
"The Schaffner is still missing. Do you have any idea where it is hidden?"
"Unfortunately, as a ruler of Egidil, I wish he would catch me soon and make amends for my sins."
"...I see. If you don't know, you can't help it."

　Elena nodded in Pri's words, but inside she was abhorrent.
　As far as we can tell, there is nothing suspicious about it. But Elena's own intuition is that the person in front of her is somehow involved in the uproar that's going on in Egzil.
　However, there was no way we could do anything about it without any evidence, and all we could do was check and check by words.

"Yes, I am very sorry,"and Schaffner was a respectable man who had already served as the head of the Levisor family when I became head of the Maaschel family."

　Pri gently reaches out to the jewelry at the tip of the necklace, making a facial expression of regret at least on the surface.
　He loves jewels with a laugh at the poor old man who has fallen prey to his desires in his heart.

"That jewel...?"

　Looking at Pri, Elena looks at the jewel at the tip of her necklace.
　As long as you feel the magic, it's definitely a magic item. That's pretty powerful, too.

"Oh, dear Elena, you have a good eye. This gem is just a new one, and it's beautiful, isn't it? It's a deep green that attracts my attention."
"Is it by any chance the result of the research I mentioned?"Elena asks, as she sees Yero's gaze, which must have been eating cookies next to her, directed for some reason at Pri's jewelry.

"Yes. But we are still in the research stage, so we can only put magic into jewels with high purity and magical elements."
"Perhaps the jewel is..."

　make an excuse and stop one's
　I knew the size and shape of the jewel, but it was definitely different in color. The jewel Elena knew, which was embedded in the back of Jewel Sniper, was red, not green.

(Mistake? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

　Thinking like that, Pri caresses the jewelry affectionately with a smile around her mouth.
　The smile is more than just the form I mentioned earlier. It's definitely a hearty smile.

"No, I think it's a pretty fine gem. If you don't mind, could you show me a little?"

　For Elena, it was just a few words.
　If you love jewelry that much, you might slip your tongue to brag about it.
　though…

"What!? You're going to steal the jewelry from me!"

　The reaction caused by Elena's words was almost dramatic.
　The smile on his face was gone, and his murderous gaze, as if staring at his parents' enemies, was directed at Elena.
　The ring-shaped magic item on its finger is so magical that it can be invoked at any time, that if Elena approaches Pri even one step, the battle will definitely begin.

"Calm down! I'm not going to steal your jewels. I just wanted it to look good."
"Cute! Cute!"

　Her half-eye tells her to calm down the bleeding Pri, and next to her, Yero also cries out that Elena is right.
　They stare at each other silently for about a minute. Perhaps Elena has finally decided that she is not trying to steal the jewelry she has, the sharpness is coming out of Pri's face.
　Then bow down as if you had noticed something.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Elena," This is what happens to me when it comes to jewelry."
"...can you be the head of the Maaschel family?"
"Yes, I can manage it," ...I'm ashamed to say that I don't have many relatives in my house right now. There are only a few children of distant relatives, and perhaps one of them will eventually succeed the Maaschel family. So now I have to do my best."

　The murmuring face is undoubtedly sad.
　The sadness was as painful as the average person could feel, but from Elena's point of view it was somewhat faint as the smile she had just had.

(In that sense, perhaps the anger he had when he asked me to show him the jewels was the real expression on his face.)

　He nods without expressing his expression, even though he thinks like that inside.

"Well, that was a pity. Is it sick or something?"
"No. It's like an accident."

　It was Pri who replied that way before Elena's words, but to Elena, who is already suspicious of the word itself, even the word accident seems suspicious.

(However, it doesn't seem that he's obsessed with power.) If so, there should be more to be seen in public. Then there's some reason. ...is it natural to think so?)

　Elena kept talking for about half an hour, shaking things up and down, but Pri never got on it.
　And...

"Oh, Mr. Elena," I'm sorry, but it seems like it's about time, so let's call it a day. I still have work to do as the head of the Maaschel family."
"Well, I see. Now that you say that, it's only a hindrance for me to stay here any longer. ...Yero, I'm going home soon."
"Squeak!"

　At Elena's words, the yellow stops short on her left shoulder.
　After a few words, the maid leaves the room with Elena.
　Pri saw Elena off with a smile, but her expression changes the moment the door closes.
　No, it's the same as a smile, but it's a deep smile that seems to express my true feelings.

"You're sharp, after all," What do you think, as the head of the Levisor family, who has supported Egidil for many years?"

　muttering and gently caressing the jewels on the necklace, he continued.

"Yes, it may be so," But after meeting in person like this, I found out. I'm sure she'll be the best material. That's the kind of material that's been used for hundreds of years, once every few thousand years.

　He smiled like a madman and stroked the jewels.