Chapter 679-2 An Item That Captivates The Heart
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Rena and I looked at each other and hummed in thought.
Mr. Waleerry, who had been listening quietly, turned his head and focused on a shelf lined with pouches and bags.
”Oh!” he suddenly said, rushing over to the shelf and pulling out a backpack.
”How about this one?”
The backpack he held out was just right for adventuring. Copper plates were fixed at the corners, each one carved with fine lines like lace. The leather was decorated with flowers, and when the light hit them, they seemed to move and shine—like something taken from a treasure chest deep inside a labyrinth.
”Wow! Mr. Waleerry, you always know exactly what girls like!”
My eyes sparkled as I shouted. Rena clapped her hands and jumped up.
”I want this one too! Right, right!? Is there another one?”
Mr. Waleerry smiled, his eyes playful. He winked like a magician about to show a trick.
Then he handed me the floral backpack and disappeared into the back of the store.
”Please wait just a moment!” he called out as he went.
Even from behind, he looked excited—like someone preparing a surprise.
After a little while, he came back. He was holding another backpack.
”This one’s a bit different. That one has flowers, but this one—”
He turned it around.
There was a feather design on the back! The feathers looked soft, as if floating in the wind.
”Wow! So cute!” Rena gasped, jumping up again.
”Rena *definitely* wants this one! Right, Kazumi, isn’t it great?”
”Yeah! I still like the flowers, though.”
The backpacks were expensive, but the designs were so lovely that we decided right away. It was worth it. Rena and I sparkled with excitement as we made our choice.
* * *
A little later…
”Oh? What is it, Lady Kazumi?”
Mr. Waleerry’s voice floated over, calm but curious. I had just handed the backpack I liked to a female clerk and paid for Rena’s. But then… something caught my attention.
I was staring—almost frozen—at something across the store. It felt like my eyes were pulled by an invisible string.
”That… is a staff, right?”
I pointed to it and asked. It stood in the middle of the store, in a small section decorated with “labyrinth excavation items.”
The staff had a deep brown wooden shaft and a clear crystal as big as a baseball on its top. The crystal gave off a soft light. It looked exactly like the staffs held by mages in the fantasy novels I loved.
I couldn’t take my eyes off it. My heart was racing.
”That was taken from the deep parts of a labyrinth in the imperial lands,” Mr. Waleerry said as he walked closer. “There’s no reaction to magical power. We don’t know what it was used for… Are you interested?”
His voice was calm, but something in it felt like a test. He reached out and picked up the staff.
”That staff is probably some kind of auxiliary equipment for magic. Of course, it’s from the ‘ancient civilization era’. It’s not necessary for modern magic.”
Rena leaned close to my ear and whispered softly.
”I thought so! Right? Magicians in this world don’t use staffs anymore, so it felt special.”
Her words made sense. I nodded slowly.
”Since we have time, I’ll teach you properly during the magic camp,” she said, smiling lightly and giving me a wink.
My chest felt full of hope and curiosity.
Magic in this world didn’t need chants. You gather magical energy inside your body, shape the image clearly in your mind, and say the name of the magic—then it activates. Staffs weren’t needed. Most were just decorations, or rare tools with a spell already stored inside.
But this staff was different. It came from an ancient time. Maybe the magic back then worked in another way.
Mr. Waleerry came back, holding the staff. Tilting his head slightly, he held it out to me.
”As a weapon, it’s not very strong. But… here, take it and see how it feels.”
He held it out with a slightly dramatic motion. I reached out and took it from him.
The moment my hand touched it, I felt a chill from the wood and the weight of the crystal.
It felt right, like it was meant to be there.
Like it was already a part of me.
”How much is this?”
I didn’t even notice I had spoken. My heart was already set.
Even if this staff had no use in modern magic, I felt it could still give me something.
Something important.
And I couldn’t stop the excitement building inside me.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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