Aozaki Aoko Case File [211]

The next town wasn't very far from Aoko and her companions. After breakfast, they followed a merchant caravan and reached their destination after about three hours. Along the way, they even earned some money as bodyguards, since they helped the caravan deal with some roadside bandits (not from the Dragon Fang Bandit Gang). The caravan leader was very grateful for their assistance and paid them a reward.

Aoko initially wanted to eliminate the bandits, but both Lina and the caravan leader opposed the idea. They argued that if these bandits were killed, another group would simply take their place. It was better to let them go for now and negotiate again if they ran into them in the future.

Aoko didn't particularly care about this sort of thing. After all, she wasn't afraid of bandits herself. If the victims didn't mind letting the bandits off the hook to continue their misdeeds, she wouldn't insist on playing the hero.

They set off at 9 a.m. and arrived at the new town around noon.

This town was noticeably larger than the previous one, with many shops lining the streets. Aoko, Lina, and Gourry found a sufficiently large magic shop in the commercial district, where Lina planned to sell the treasures they had taken from the bandits' hideout.

"Wait a second," Lina grabbed Gourry, who was about to enter the store. "I need to process the goods first to make them easier to sell... Hmm, let's use that abandoned church over there."

Lina left Gourry at the shop entrance to wander around, then took Aoko into the empty, abandoned church.

They found a relatively clean room, spread a cloth on the ground, and began laying out the items for sorting and appraisal.

Aoko had long suspected that Lina carried a lot of treasures on her, but out of politeness, she hadn't used magic detection or clairvoyance to verify it. Now, she finally saw Lina in action.

Lina undid several clasps inside her cloak, revealing a large number of small pouches hidden in the lining. She dumped them onto the cloth with a clatter.

"This one looks like a cursed weapon," Lina said, picking up a short dagger and examining it closely. "Miss Aoko, what do you think? Can this fetch a good price?"

Aoko took the dagger, examined it for a moment, and concentrated her internal mana as she unsheathed the blade.

"There's a vengeful spirit trapped inside," Aoko said after swinging the dagger a few times. "It's constantly trying to take control of my body. It's probably too dangerous for an ordinary person to use, but too weak for someone who can resist curses. Honestly, it's a rather niche magic weapon. Do you want me to remove the curse?"

"Hmm…" Lina rubbed her forehead in thought. "Let's show it to the shopkeeper first. Some collectors enjoy collecting odd cursed weapons. Maybe it'll fetch a decent price."

Ignoring the vengeful spirit's incessant whining, Aoko sheathed the dagger with a snap and set it back on the cloth, then continued watching Lina sort through the rest of the loot.

"This is an orichalcum statue of a goddess," Lina said excitedly, tapping the statue to confirm its quality. "This thing is worth a fortune!"

Aoko was also intrigued by the statue. Orichalcum was a legendary mineral mentioned in Earth's myths and was also known as mountain copper. It was one of the three great magical minerals alongside mithril and crystal.

In the magical world, mithril was rare but still circulated in small quantities, mostly as remnants from ancient times. However, orichalcum only existed in ancient Greek classics, with no evidence of its actual existence.

Aoko picked up the statue and examined it closely. She discovered that, like mithril, orichalcum was an excellent conductor of magic, significantly better than ordinary silver. This likely contributed to its high value. Moreover, she noticed that when her mana entered the statue, it didn't dissipate outward. This was a property she hadn't encountered in Earth's legends.

However, Aoko couldn't shake the feeling that the statue held a secret... It seemed to be hollow.

"Lina, I think you shouldn't sell this statue just yet," Aoko said after some thought.

"Huh? Why not?" Lina asked, puzzled. "This thing could earn me a lot of money. You know how expensive being a sorceress is!"

"There's something inside it," Aoko said, tapping the statue's base. "I haven't figured out how to open it yet, and it would be a shame to damage it before we do. I suggest keeping it for now. Who knows—there might be a treasure hidden inside."

"Really?!" Lina took the orichalcum statue, held it in her hands, and closed her eyes to focus. Aoko could feel Lina channeling her mana.

"It's true!" Lina exclaimed, opening her eyes in surprise. She began inspecting the statue's details. "There's a space inside, but no visible way to open it... Was the cavity intentionally left during casting?"

"Since you have plenty of other treasures, I suggest holding onto this one for now. If what's inside turns out to be valuable, selling it prematurely would be a huge loss," Aoko advised sincerely.

"You're right!" Lina, being a smart woman, quickly made her decision. She decided to keep the Orichalcum goddess statue for the time being. "If I can't figure out its secret later, I can always sell it then!"

"If you do uncover its secret, sell the orichalcum casing to me," Aoko said with a cheerful smile. "Orichalcum doesn't exist in my world, so I'm quite interested in it."

"Oh? My prices aren't cheap, you know?" Lina smirked mischievously at Aoko. "But fine! Once I figure out what's inside, I'll sell it to you first. Just make sure you have enough money ready!"

"Deal!" Aoko was confident in her ability to earn money. If necessary, she could always sell a few enchanted items to make up the difference.

"Wow, what a find! Look at these coins—aren't they from the ancient Kingdom of Letidius?!" Lina's attention quickly shifted back to her loot as she examined some gold coins.

"Is the gold content particularly high?" Aoko asked curiously.

"Not at all!" Lina explained. "It's just that the ancient Kingdom of Letidius was destroyed five hundred years ago, so its currency is highly valuable among collectors."

Ah, so they were antiques.

"Alright, next up are the gemstones. Time to sort them…" Lina began sorting the gemstones into different categories, separating the flawless ones from those with imperfections.

"Flawed gems need some work, but the flawless ones can be sold as is," Lina said as she worked.

"I understand," Aoko nodded. "In my world, gemstones are also crucial for magic. High-quality gems are valuable components for spellcasting and mana storage. Some magical families even fell into decline after exhausting their supply of gems in battles."

Lina found Aoko's insights interesting but remained focused on her task, as there was still much work to be done.