After preparing to go out, we moved to Querres and came to a jewelry store.

"Oh, is this the jewelry store I asked for?

That's the vibe.

'I was expecting a bigger place, but it's smaller,'

　When the Nors saw the jewelry store, they had the same reaction as me and Sisha did when we first arrived.
　And when we walked in, they had the same reaction to this as well.

''It's amazing!　The jewels are shining like stars in the night sky!

'That's an exaggeration ... but not by much. The one your brother gave you was beautiful, but all the jewelry here is beautiful.

　Just like before, colorful jewels sparkled in the dimly lit store.
　Noll excitedly bit into the display and looked at the jeweled ornaments.
　Estelle and Luna followed suit, gazing at the display and letting out exclamations of admiration.

''What do you think, Luna-san? Did you find anything that might be helpful to you?'

Hmmm, I'm torn. There are so many different types of brooches. I can see why Sisha and the others tried to get us to choose what's best for us.

''That's true. I used to look at it as a reference while Okura-san and I were visiting jewelry stores, but I've become less and less confident in my choice...

　Sisha called out to Luna, who was leaning a little taller and looking at the brooch while leaning against the display.
　She said the brooch was good for her, but she was still struggling to decide what kind of brooch she wanted in a design.
　Sisha was also looking at it so closely that it looked like there was going to be a hole in it because she wanted to use it as a reference.......
　The more I looked at it, though, the more I seemed to be stuck in the mire of wondering which one was better.

''Oh, you and your brother used to tour jewelry stores like this?

What? No, no, that's true, but... I mean, I've got nothing to be sorry about!

"Hmm, don't be so scared. I'm not just asking.

　Esther is looking at Sisha with a smile on her face.
　She doesn't look angry but.......Sisha seems to be subtly traumatized by the fact that she has stepped through mines many times and has been taken to her room.
　From what I can see, Esther doesn't seem to be particularly bothered by it this time.

　Noll and the others still seemed to want to look around the shop, so Sisha and I rang the bell at the counter to call them to talk to the waitress first.

''Yes - sorry to keep you waiting... oh, you're here as soon as possible.

Hi.

'I'm sorry it happened yesterday,'

　The first woman who responded to me came out of the room behind the counter.
　It looks like there are no male clerks today, after all.
　I told her that I was able to give it to her safely, and she called Esther and the others to discuss what kind of brooch and necklace to wear.
　Only Noll seems to be interested in the ornaments on display.
　You must have liked it very much.

'Were they gifts for these kids? You two are adorable kids, aren't you?''

　When I made Estelle and Luna sit down in a seat facing the clerk, the clerk looked a little surprised.
　Come to think of it, Estelle and Luna still look so young, so it's not surprising that they would be surprised to find out that these two are the ones who gave it to them from someone else's point of view.
　It's a good thing that you're able to get a good idea of what you're looking for, because it's not as if you're too young as you appear.

Oh, thank you.

Mmmm... thanks.

　Esther responded to the compliment with a smile, but Luna turned away and gave a short reply.
　Luna doesn't seem to be too used to it, since she doesn't even meet anyone else, let alone talk to them, except us.

'I'm really surprised at the beautiful jewelry. I heard that it was processed with magic, but I wonder how they do it.

We're very happy that you like it, too. But when it comes to processing, it's a bit...

'Oh, I'm sorry. I was just curious. I'm an important part of your business.

　When the clerk replied with an apologetic look, Esther also bowed her head lightly and apologized.
　Maybe it was because she was processing jewels with magic, but she was interested in it.
　Since that's how he does business, he wouldn't be able to tell me about it.
　

　Then we joined in the conversation and started discussing what kind of things we'd make.
　And then we agreed on some things, and then it was just them and the waitresses to decide.
　So I moved away from my seat and approached Noll, who had been wandering around the store since a while ago, in order to talk to her.

''Huhu........''

　Noor lets his voice trail off as he sticks to the display of hair clips.
　You're looking at it very intently. Do you have something you like that much?

What's wrong with your voice?

Oh, Okura-dono. Oh, Okura-dono, I'm fascinated by all the pretty things.

'It's going to rain spears after this that Noor is looking at anything other than food.

That's really rude!　I've always said I'm a damsel, haven't I!

'I don't think a damsel is something you should call yourself...'

　Noll is buzzing and waving his hands up and down to show me his physical protest.
　Showing a proper interest in these things.......even if the spear is an exaggeration, it looks like it's going to snow.
　But even outside of food and strange stuffed animals, I'm relieved to see that she seems to be interested in things that are properly girly.

'What kind of things does Nol want?'

Yes, that's right. A hair clip or a bracelet would be good.

　Whoa, as I expected with Sisha, you want a hair clip.
　I thought Noll would say something more outrageous, but it's rather decent.
　You have beautiful silver hair, so it looks good on you.

I see. You can't go there every day, but I'll do my best to find a gemstone that will satisfy you.

Yes, sir!

Oh, and while you're at it, I'll be hunting for some magic stones.

What? You haven't told me that!

　When I said there was a magic stone hunt, Noor grabbed me by both shoulders and shook me frantically.
　Haha, now Noor will join me and Sisha in the magic stone hunt.
　We weren't just collecting the original stones either, we were also collecting magic stones.
　It's a sacrifice we can't blame them for.

It's inevitable.

　We also decided on what to do with the ornaments and left the jewelry store.
　Estelle's necklace was designed with a ruby stuck in the center of what looked like a birdcage.
　Luna's brooch was designed in the shape of an animal resembling her hair ornament, a bat, with a handful of jewels in the center.
　Hmm, if we had thought of it, it definitely wouldn't have turned out that way.......

All right, now we have to go to the Society of Adventurers. Luna and the others can go home first.

Mm, thank God. Let's get Sis-ha home with us.

'Yes. Okura-san, it's okay, right?

I'll be fine. Just take it easy today, both of you.

　Luna seems to be in a good mood, so I'll let her relax with Sisha instead of hunting today.
　Lately, I've been hunting with Sisha all the time, so when I'm done with my business at the association, why don't I take Noor with me and go hunting?
　I already have over 1,000 magic stones, but I won't stop collecting them until I get to my inner goal of 2,000!
　It's a lot and I won't lose it, and if I don't get it, it'll be saved for the next mess.

　I was going to go to the association with Noor as usual, so I tried to send Luna, Sisha, and Esther home.......

''Brother, can I go with you to the association today?

　Estelle said she wanted to go too.

'What?　Oh no, it's just ... we're going to go talk to the association, okay?

'Yeah, fine. I haven't been walking around town with your brother lately, so why not sometimes?

　Hmmm, with Queres, Esther is prone to attracting attention, so I don't want to carry her around too much.......
　When I was troubled by that, Nol called out to me.

''Okura-dono, isn't it fine?　I don't go out much anymore, and Esther spends most of her time in her room reading. We were even thinking that it was time to bring her into Moffitt's hut so she could play with us.

'I'd rather not do that...'

　When Noll approaches Estelle with her arms out in front of her in a gesture of attack, she backs away with a drawn-out expression, holding her shoulders.
　If this is the case, let's put Estelle away in Moffat's shed, it's going to be done.
　Well, I guess it's okay to take her there once in a while. I don't think it's a good idea to just stay in your room reading a book.

'Hmmm.................... Alright, let's take Esther with us then.

Hmmm, you got it. Thanks, Noll.

No, no, no, it's not so much that I don't need to thank you for it.

　In response to my reply, Esther is happy with her hands gooing in front of her chest.
　Even though we're just going to the association, to be this happy.......I'm kind of happy.
　I quickly sent Sisha and Luna home, and me, Nol and Estelle headed to the Adventurers Association in Queles.

''Ah, Okura-san.''

Hi. Have you made any progress on the matter?

'Yes, I was going to tell you about it when you came in. I can't talk about it here, so come here for now.

　As I greeted her, the usual receptionist came out from the counter and led me to a private room in the association.
　Then we sat down facing each other at the desk that had been prepared for us.
　Going out of your way to talk in a private room.......could it be that this is serious?

So, what did you find out about that magic light stone?

'Yes, I haven't found out everything yet, but I've found out some of the magic that was contained in that magic light stone.

　Oh, you finally found out something about the magic light stone that Diabolus had.

''It's like it rapidly sucks up the magic element around it and then transforms it and releases it again.

"Suck it up and convert it.

What will it be converted into, sir?

'I'm sorry, but we don't know that much yet...'

　The receptionist's face is down, looking apologetic.
　
　I thought I had found out more specifics........

''In the meantime, I've given this report to the head of this association's association as well. He said he will also talk to the head of the association in the royal capital, so we may have to ask Okura-san and the others for more details in the future.

　With that said, the conversation in the private room was over.
　There wasn't much else to say, so we left the association as soon as we came in.

'Hmmm, I didn't realize that's all we've found out so far,'

It's not much of a stretch, is it?

Well, it's not like we're going through something that's fallen apart.

　It's been a good amount of time since I retrieved the demon elemental stone, but it hasn't been analyzed very well.
　I'm sure it's amazing enough that they were able to find out that much from the things that were shattered into pieces, but it's still not enough information.
　What in the world is it releasing when it absorbs the magic element....

''I think we have some idea of what we've learned today alone.

What, really?

Esther is as reliable as ever.

　What a surprise, it seems that Esther can predict some things just from that one.
　As expected of the smartest among us!

'Diabolus came out of Grandis, didn't he? And that magic light stone was in Diabolus' possession, wasn't it?

Yeah, that's right.

''You could have predicted the involvement of that magic light stone in generating Grandis, even if you didn't know what happened this time.

It is, isn't it?

'So, based on the information we've just heard there are two possibilities.

　You can predict the effect of the magic light stone just from that information alone.......so there are two of them.
　I could predict that it was somehow involved in generating a large defeat-class demon, but I don't know how exactly it's generating them.

'One is that Diabolus entered the demon's body and strengthened the demon. The other is that if you use that demon light stone, you can make it release the light that demons always see in the hunting grounds spring up. Moreover, the light that generates a large defeat class. I wonder if it's these two.

The former would be bad enough, but if it was the latter...

If that thing suddenly appeared in town, we wouldn't be in for a big fuss...

　That flying goblin-like guy is strengthening by going directly into a demon........
　Does the occurrence of Grandis mean that guy went into the torrent and strengthened it?
　So you're saying that that magic light stone absorbs the magic element and converts it into something to strengthen the demon and then ejects it?
　When I think about it, I can understand why there was a [temporary] next to my name when I saw it in the status app.
　But the reason for going all the way inside.......is it to control it?

　It's also bad, like the place where the demons spring up and release the light that they generate.
　The hunting grounds are deep in the forest and demons don't come out of there very often, so I'm fine with it, but if it starts to occur all over the town.......that's a nightmare.

'Considering that they were sneaking around deep in the forest, I think the first one is more intense. It would take longer for them to generate it out of nowhere, so maybe they were just hiding. It's an experiment, so it's possible that they were trying it out deep in the forest first.

Either way, if there's a culprit, it's going to be bad if we don't stop him.

I'd stop him, but at the end of the day, he has no clue where he is...

　I don't know what the purpose of doing that is, but to be able to make something that can strengthen a demon to the big defeat level, it's not just anyone.
　I was thinking that if we solve it, we'll get a magic stone, but is this a problem that we can solve.......
　We don't have a clue for now, and I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the association has to say.