So, Jiro. What was that girl you were talking about?　I ran towards the city, but I'd never seen her around here before.

　By the way, before I explained the magic map to Rebecca, I was left with that bear and woozy before I explained the magic map to her.
　However, I'm not sure who the girl is either.

　Deanna, who has been watching silently as the girl runs off, opens her mouth.

'...... That was a genie. As soon as the master took the fruit, the spirit power around her shaped that girl. I've never seen this phenomenon before, and I don't know much about it in detail .......

　Oh. So it's a spirit for quests, I guess.
　I'm glad that I was able to complete the quest as a result, but I don't understand it.
　Was this magic map quest prepared by a great spirit in the past?
　But Efta said he tried it and couldn't complete it. I think he said it was a quest to collect minerals or plants or something like that.
　If the quest was still alive, Efta would have been able to complete the quest as well. No, he couldn't find the mineral or plant that he wanted in the first place.

　...... Well, you can't think too much more than you should about the wonders of this world.
　A fantasy world is not good for your mental health if you don't dismiss it as "just so and so".



　◇◆◆◆◇



Ladies and gentlemen!　You're safe!

　A blonde girl comes running up the hill with a huff and a puff.
　She suddenly appeared in her priest's uniform, with her hair hanging down at the sides, her hair up and her priest hat on her head.
　This is an unannounced visit by the ultra-cute priestess.

It's a good thing that you're a priestess. I'm not sure what's wrong with you, but I'd like to know what's going on here all of a sudden.

　This is the first time I've seen a priestess outside, come to think of it.
　This is another fresh cutie.
　I can't believe she's a BBA who's over 100 years old (presumably).
　As expected of a different world. It's "so and so"!
　It doesn't matter if you're 100 years old or 1,000 years old, what's cute is cute.

I called him.

　Deanna says siree.
　'Come to think of it, we've been through this before.

''Yes. I flew in because Deanna-sama requested an emergency rescue via spirit communication ....... You were able to get through safely - is that what you mean?

Well, yes. I managed to beat it just in time. I'm glad you came all the way over to .......

　It looks like Deanna summoned them out of temper.
　In fact, it was a paper-thin fight, and if there was a priestess who could use spirit magic properly, unlike someone else, I'm sure it would have helped a lot.
　But I'm sorry, how sorry I am.
　I'm sorry my slave is sorry, really.

''Did you find such a powerful thing here?　Shero, Rebecca, did you guys get one that even you would struggle with?　There's still a day before the Hitotsugi.

　No wonder the priestess wondered.
　According to Shero-san, that bear was as strong as the one in the last episode of Hitotsutsuzuki.
　In a place where the weakest class of monsters are mainly skeletons, it's an unusual situation for such a powerful monster to spring up.

　Well, .......
　It was the magic map that made them spring up, though!

'Priest, look at this. It wasn't an ordinary demon, was it?

　Deanna is huffing and puffing as she shows the head-sized demon crystal from the bear to Priestess.

''What ...... is this, a demon core?　Wow, I've never seen one this big before: ......

　The priestesses marvel at its size.
　Even for a priestess who has lived for so many years (I don't know her actual age), this size seems to be a first for her.

It's big and shiny and black. Is it still rare to see one of this size?

　I'm not s*xually harassing you.

'Maybe it's because I'm holed up in the temple, I see spirit stones a lot, but seeing a demon core is a malleable thing. However, I've seen them in their own right: ....... I've never experienced anything of this size.

Haha. Never seen anything this big before?

　It's definitely not s*xual harassment.

''Yes. But with a magic core of this size, wouldn't it have been quite strong?''

'Of course I was a strong opponent. We were lucky to win, that's all I can say.

　In fact, it's like a piece of thin-skinned luck won.

"But, Deanna. If you've called the priest, please tell him I called him. If you did, you might have fought a little differently ....... You know, stall for time and all that.

　I wasn't in a situation where I could stall for time, though.

　But that's it, that's it.
　It's good to know all the circumstances.
　And I'm sure it's a completely different thing to fight knowing that you have reinforcements and fighting without them.

...... I'm not used to being a monster.

　Deanna mutters in a huff.

'Hmm?　I'm not used to it either.

　It's the second one I've seen since the Skeleton.
　And it's that big.
　I'm not so much worried about the monster as I am about the creature. It's a beast!

Jirou. That's not good. The existence of a monster made up of a lump of magic element itself is something that can damage the environment for elves. And Deanna-sama is a genuine elf. If an existence with such a demonic core had sprung up nearby, the spirit power in the surroundings would have become quite diluted. Perhaps even I would have lost my composure.

　That's how it works.
　I'm pretty sure he seemed unusually freaked out when the bear sprung up: .......

'The depletion of the surrounding spirit power for elves. It is said to be similar to the feeling of the air suddenly becoming thinner, if one were to compare it with humans. For the elven race, it can be said to be their single and greatest weakness.

So that's what happened.
It was that way.

　If that's the way it's supposed to be, I can't help it.
　So, yes, it is.

...... By the way, Mr. Jiro. Can I have a hand, please?

　The priestess holds out her right hand as if to say, "I'll see your palm, here, give me your hand.
　When I hold out my hand, she wraps it in both hands and closes her eyes, just as she did when I gave her the blessing long ago.

'...... What's going on? Priestess ......?

　The place has a strange air about it.
　Deanna paces up to me.
　She gives off an eerie aura, says something and closes her mouth again a few times.
　What do you want, Priestess, and Deanna?

It's great ...... I knew it. That's great, Jiro. I can feel the budding of a new vocation. In my long life as a priest, I have only counted the number of people who have reached this point. Congratulations, Krasche--
'Priest!　That's what I was going to do. I won't allow it.

　Deanna interrupts.

'Dear Deanna. But as a priestess in these matters, I'm the one who--'

'No, I'll do it, I want to do it. ...... I was going to keep quiet and do it when it was just the two of us.

'I beg your pardon for that. I don't mean to disturb Lady Deanna.

All you need to know is: ......

　And then the two elves start to argue about something.

''I don't know what it is, but Deanna acts strangely high and mighty to the priestess, doesn't she?

　I'm somewhat curious and spill the polo on it.

'Huh?　Could it be that you don't know about this, Jiro-san?

I don't know.

　According to what the priestess replied to me with a clear face, the High Elves are what the priests of Le Baraka would call the Great Spirit's representatives, a symbolic presence above all the priests.
　If I were to say it, it would be like the emperor in Shinto.

　I was joking about the princess, but she might be an existence that goes far beyond that.




　◇◆◆◆◇



　Since the priestess came to me, I asked her about the clan.

'Clan ......?　Cranklan: ....... I'm sure I've heard of it somewhere: ....... Sorry, I can't remember a bit. I seem to remember hearing about it when I took over with my predecessor: ......

Don't you understand, Priest?

'I think we can find out if we contact the Great Temple of the Imperial City. May I take a moment?

Yes, please.

　I don't know why we get all this incomprehensible guidance.
　I wish they'd come up with something simpler.
"Let's collect the herbs! Or something.
　You know.

　By the way, the guidance you're getting now.

　So I pulled up the vocation board and found a new one.

　"Let's class up 0/1."

　Ah, this. What the priestess-chan was referring to was "Class Che ......".
　It clearly says "class up", but I wonder if that's what Priestess Chan was going to say.　It's a subtle difference, but I guess it's the same thing.

　But a class upgrade!　I don't know which vocation is going to be up, but I'm soooo excited about it.
　I'd love to have it done right away, but I hear Deanna's going to do it for me.
　Do I need to do some kind of preparation or something?　In the first place, he said that he can only use spirit magic on a limited basis, but he can't?

　When I say class up, it's supposed to be the thing that makes your profession rank higher in games. A swordsman becomes a warrior (fighter) or a samurai or a ninja, I guess. I'm sure.

　Oh, I see.
　The reason why Priestess went with "change" is because dividing them up and down would create a hierarchy of vocation, and she didn't want to do that.
　It's only the idea of change and the vocation changes.
　Well, it's a sophistry.

　Now, the guidance that's currently out there is--

　"Let's class up 0/1.
　"Let's register for the clan 1/2
　"Let's do business with the errand boys 2/3
　"Let's go to the mining town 0/3
　"Let's go to Lakeside Street 0/3
　"Get your own home 0/1
　"The Great Wheel of Fate" (? -??????) 9/10

　I suppose it's partly because I wasn't very positive about the guidance, but I noticed that I've accumulated a lot of it.
　There are seven of them.

　The only thing I seem to be able to clear quickly, though, is the class upgrade.

　As for clan registration, it's unclear how to register, it's up to the priestess to investigate.

　The deal with the errand merchants can be cleared by just dealing with, well, Efta or maybe Hetty-san. However, this will be an excuse to sell Efta something expensive, so I want to warm up a bit more.

　The mining town would be the city at the foot of the mine called Luclaera, which is relatively close to Elishe. I've been thinking about going to this one soon, but I'm 0/3 of the way through my progress.
　This means that it could be a rather tricky guide. Even if we go to Lucraella, it's not clear if we'll do it until the achievement.

　The lakeside town is a scenic spot where eels are famous for eels, such as Helipair. For now, I don't have any plans to go there. It's a place we'd all like to go to at some point, though. And I want to eat eel!

　As for getting my own home, I really don't know why it's not clear. I wonder if that mansion isn't good enough.

　I haven't heard anything about the big wheel of fate, either, with one last line left.



　But what on earth is the purpose of clearing the guidance?

　It goes without saying. It's for the spirit stone.

　It can fully recover a dying person, give special effects to goods, and rejuvenate them.
　The spirit stone is a miracle stone.
　The value here is about 20 gold coins, which is about 3 million yen, but I can't even imagine how much it would be worth on earth.

　It is said that a single spirit stone can rejuvenate a person's age by about one year.
　If you have ten of them, you will be ten years younger.
　Thirty of them would rejuvenate you for thirty years.

　All the richest people in the world would pay as much as they could.
　Well, if it's not for the elves, it's just a stone. ......

　A bit off topic.
　The bottom line is that spirit stones are very good, but they can be bought with gold.
　Twenty gold coins is a lot of money.
　But right now I have enough income to buy them every other month or so if I want to.
　It's a good thing that you're able to get a good deal more business from now on, because it's more efficient and more reliable to buy a spirit stone with the money you've got, rather than trying to force the guidance.

　--It's not a good idea to go to the trouble of providing guidance, it's just like a hobby for me.

''I wonder if we can sell this magic crystal. It's a good idea to have a good idea of how to prepare the equipment for the knights. It's a very good idea to buy a spirit stone and let Diana have it.

'You can buy the Demon Crystal from Toby's place. But are you sure?　You don't get this size by trying to get it, you know?

Yeah, well. I don't even know what the use of ...... is.

''Demonic crystals are the same as spirit stones. It's a lump of demonic elements. There's no demon race around here, so you can't just use it right away. ......

　A demon?　Another indescribable word popped up.

I've been told that the demon race is a minority race living in the south. It's a very good at handling elemental magic, and they are very good at summoning magic. I fought against them in the past, and they were very troublesome.

　Something like the elves: ......?
　Elves are skilled in handling spirit power, being able to extract and use power from spirit stones and excel in spirit magic. They are also similar in that they have high combat power.

　If that's the case, then this demonic crystal can be considered a spirit stone dodecapitator?
　Then I guess I should keep it.

　But I need to repair the armor that the bear took out on Marina, and I need to get some armor. Rebecca-san doesn't have proper equipment either, and I want to get Elepippi's weapons and armor.
　It would have been nice to have a sum of money available, though I can't afford to buy it, even with what I've earned from my business.

　Hmmm .......
　Oh, by the way, I remember there was also a reward for completing quests.
　It was like 50 gold or something, which is really shabby and makes me cry, but I think it had about 5 gold coins in it. I felt like I was holding the bag, and it looked like there were only about 5 pieces in it.

　I look into the bag of quest rewards and sure enough, there are about 5 coins in it.
　I take one out.
　It's not a gold coin. Despite the name "gold" or something like that, they were white coins.
　It looked like a coin-shaped candy made of rum that was sold in a candy store in the past.
　It has a heavy weight, and it can't be a candy.

Hmmm?　That's not gold. Here. Do you recognize it, Rebecca?

'...... gi, jiro ......?　Hey. Hey, can I have a look at that?

Okay, you know what?

　I give one to Rebecca.

'...... Ugh, wow. Wawa, sh, Shinkan-sama, this, this, this.

　Rebecca looked at the coin and giggled and panicked.

'What's the matter with you, Rebecca? A good woman should never be in a panic, that much ....... 'Ugh?　...... wow!　Pi, pi pi, pusel spirit coins!

'Shh, Priestess. Hon. ......?

It's a real thing: ....... Jirou, where on earth did you get this ......?

　It seems to be something amazing.
　Come to think of it, it's a reward for clearing quests 1,000 years ago, so it could be quite valuable today.

　I'll give you a quick explanation of how he got it.
　Priestess-chan listened adorably with a huff, and then let out a breath.

''Jiro-san. This is money that is said to have been used in the spirit culture era a long time ago, and it's called a Pucelle spirit coin. Despite the fact that there are records of it being in general circulation at the time, there are few extant ...... very valuable ones.

　I see. So it's a cultural heritage site.

Value. Can they sell it for a lot of money?

　Right now, it's more cash than cultural heritage. You'll be lucky if you can sell it for a good price.

'Yes. Probably about fifty gold coins for a piece.

　Huh?

　Fifty?

　Wait, really?
　One gold coin is worth about 150,000 yen. That means a coin like this is worth 7.5 million yen!
　When I say it's worth it, I don't mean the old 10 gold.

　That's five of them, so, let's see, ...... 37.5 million .......
　Aww.

　All I can say for now is that I don't have to sell the Demon Crystals to get rid of the gold. ......

　Alright, let's sell about 3 of them.
　And I'll proceed with one of your instructions.
　We're going to the mining town of Luclaera to buy equipment and take a consolation prize trip.