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Adventurers on a Remote Island – Part 04

Biltappo el Debab, a single-story wooden inn with ten rooms, was situated just a minute’s walk away from the sandy beach. Surrounded by nothing but a forest, it exuded a peaceful ambiance that instantly appealed to Hikaru.

“Hey there, folks. Welcome back,” said a mellow voice. “Your meal’s ready.”

It was the young boy who had rowed the boat they took after disembarking from the ferry. This inn belonged to his family, and he would call out to potential guests while working on the boat.

“You guys looked loaded,” Daigo had said with a smile. He looked to be around ten years old, but already carried an air of wisdom.

“Did you have fun at the beach? I bet you’re starving. Dig in!”

Unlike Daigo, the female innkeeper, a tanned, broad-shouldered woman, greeted them with a voice so loud it seemed her volume control switch was permanently set to high.

“Whoa, if you eat too much, your stomachs will burst. About half will do.”

“Oh, quit being cheap.”

“More like wisdom that runs deep.”

“Ugh, not another one of your lame puns.”

The burly man stirring a pot in the kitchen was the husband. He looked grumpy, but he possessed a charming side where he often cracked jokes, blending it with a composed rationality. Daigo bore a striking resemblance to his father, though both his parents had dog ears.

The meal served in the inn’s dining hall consisted of a generous portion of mashed potatoes piled onto wooden plates. Boiled and mashed large potatoes were a staple on Southleaf Island, and each household had its own unique sauce. The sauce at Biltappo el Debab featured a delightful blend of sweet and salty, infused with chopped root vegetables. Hikaru couldn’t resist devouring the potatoes slathered in the sauce.

The other dishes primarily consisted of deep-fried delicacies cooked in palm oil. In the rainy climate of Southleaf Island, food had a tendency to spoil quickly, so they had developed a habit of frying everything—fish, meat, vegetables. They even fried sweet buns and dim sum.

The only downside was that the meals tended to be greasy, but there was an abundance of fruits to cleanse the palate—some green, mango-shaped fruit, bananas, coconuts, dragon fruits. According to Daigo, they grew all over the place, so they should be readily available for cheap.

“I’m so full,” Lavia said.

“I’m feeling a little sleepy,” Paula added.

They both decided to retreat to their room for a nap.

“What about you, Hikaru?”

“I’ll go gather some information about the Maze of Magic Locks.”

“Okay. Sorry we can’t help.”

“This is my graduation exam anyway. Besides, soon you’ll have the endurance to keep up with me.”

“I’ll do my best… But today, I’m going to bed,” Lavia said drowsily.

“I’ll leave the item by the bedside. Take it with you if you have to go outside.”

Hikaru stroked Lavia’s head and left the inn alone. Daigo, who had returned from shopping, was in front of the inn.

“Oh, hey. Going out?” he asked.

“Yeah. I thought I’d check out the town.”

“I can be your guide if you need one.”

“Nah, I’m goo—” Hikaru paused and reconsidered. Instead of walking blindly in an unfamiliar place, having a guide would be handy in various ways. “I would appreciate that. Here’s the fee.” He took out a silver coin from his pocket.

“No, I can’t accept that,” Daigo said.

“I want to compensate you fairly for the job. In return, I want unbiased and honest information.”

“I see. You don’t want the guide and gift shop in cahoots. Fair enough.” Nodding firmly, Daigo took the silver coin with both hands and carefully put it in a leather bag in his pocket. He was a meticulous kid. “So, is there any place you want to go?”

“There is, actually.”

Hikaru told Daigo about the reason he came here—the Maze of Magic Locks. He also mentioned that he needed to earn a certain amount of money through dungeon exploration.

“And then… Oh, one more thing. I need a large elemental magic stone.”

Hikaru had another reason for choosing the Maze of Magic Locks—to obtain an elemental magic stone.

“You can get those in the dungeon,” Daigo said. “How big of a size are you thinking?”

“At least twenty centimeters in diameter.”

“That’s huge!”

The elemental magic stones used for common magic items were the size of a fingertip, and even large magic items were powered by stones only about the size of a fist. Hikaru wanted an elemental magic stone the size of a handball, preferably a basketball, which were quite rare.

“I’m aware I’m being unreasonable,” Hikaru said.

Hikaru recalled the events from over a month ago.

---

It was after the death of the King of Ponsonia and the subsequent announcement of Crown Prince Austrin’s suicide.

“Roland was trying to establish a method for traveling between worlds based on the connection between souls,” said Kujastria the young queen. “Since that method relies on these invisible thing called souls, it is difficult to objectively confirm its effectiveness. Roland’s research was hailed as progressive, but it also had its limits. That limit was, namely, connecting only to the afterlife of another world.”

Hikaru had met Roland after he died in a traffic accident. If it hadn’t been after his death, he would have refused to go to another world. Who would believe such a dubious proposal?

“It’s extremely difficult to prove his research. Even if someone claims to have brought a person from another world, there’s no guarantee that person isn’t lying.”

Hikaru felt the urge to say that he was from a different world, but he stopped himself. If he started talking, it would lead to revealing everything to Kujastria. He couldn’t take off the Silver Face mask just yet, and he didn’t completely trust Kujastria either.

“However, his theory for linking worlds was truly remarkable. The world is like a fluctuation, and if the wavelengths of those fluctuations match, worlds will be connected. Roland’s idea was to limit the range of those fluctuations to souls to enable travel between worlds, and I came up with a method to change it from souls to space instead.”

The subject Kujastria delved into afterward was highly technical, filled with references to sorcery and magic items that would be difficult to grasp without prior knowledge. Hikaru could only understand about half of it, but he could sense the genuine dedication she had in the research.

As their conversation neared its end, Kujastria said, “Silver Face, as per your request, I have lifted the wanted status on Count Morgstadt’s daughter. Now it’s your turn to fulfill your end of the bargain. I need a high-output elemental magic stone. The element doesn’t matter. I just need one with a high output. Can you procure it for me? If you can, I can execute the spell for crossing worlds.”

It meant connecting spaces across different worlds. Hikaru might be able to return to Japan.

---

“Hey, dude? Was I being too intrusive? I’m sorry.”

“No, I was just thinking about something. Are there any shops in town that sell elemental magic stones obtained from the Maze of Magic Locks?

“Of course.”

Daigo led Hikaru to a sorcery shop in town that sold magic catalysts and actual magic items. Daigo and the shopkeeper appeared to be acquainted, allowing Hikaru to freely browse the items.

“Oh… this…”

Elemental magic stones were displayed on a shelf covered with a black cloth. These stones resembled ordinary rocks, but they emitted a shimmering light, evidence of the mana stored in them.

An elemental magic stone referred to a rock that had accumulated magicules and was infused with one of the four elemental attributes. A fire attribute stone appeared red, while a water attribute stone appeared blue. With his Mana Detection, Hikaru could clearly see their properties, but even without it, one could still faintly perceive them.

The elemental magic stones on display were at their largest the size of ping pong balls, but they still cost 200,000 gilans in kingdom currency, which amounted to approximately two million Japanese yen.

Hikaru couldn’t help but wonder how much a stone twenty centimeters in diameter would cost. The thought was daunting.

“How were these large magic stones excavated?” Hikaru asked.

“They’re quite rare, occasionally appearing when killing large monsters.”

“So they’re drops.”

“Unfortunately, there are no stones bigger than what they have here. You could say that the exploration of the Maze of Magic Locks has reached a standstill. Few new adventurers have visited in the past decade.”

“I see.”

Hikaru thought back to the rampaging monsters in Cotton-elka. The monsters he had killed in the Forest of Deception turned to ashes, leaving behind elemental magic stones and gems as drops. The magic stones, if he recalled, were no larger than fingertips.

He had conducted prior research on the Maze of Magic Locks. There were no reports of treasure chests, and adventurers relied on drops for their income.

There might be treasure chests, but if the adventurers who obtained them remained silent, their existence wouldn’t come to light.