Cough

I cleared my throat and forcibly changed the subject.

“More importantly… Remia-san. I’d like you to take a look at this.”

“Hmm?”

While Remia tilted her head in confusion, I pulled out the “Jet-Black Gem” from my pocket.

This was thought to be the cause of the frequent monster outbreaks happening in various places.

“…”

Remia’s face changed instantly as she saw the gem, and she focused intently on it with a serious expression.

“Arios, may I hold this?”

“Yes.”

I responded while handing her the gem.

“Hmm, I see. This means… I see, so this is the type of magical circuit that’s been created, huh…”

The skilled magical tool artisan immediately entered her own world. Mumbling to herself, she stared at the gem for a while.

“…To activate this, in other words… Wait!?”

In an instant, the gem emitted a jet-black wave, casting a dark hue over the entire laboratory.

This ominous presence.

Could it be—

“Woaaahhh!!”

As expected, a few White Wolves appeared out of nowhere. Just a moment ago, there had been no sign of monsters at all.

“Arios!”

“Ah.”

Responding to Remia’s call, I quickly placed my hand on the hilt of my sword. In an instant, I swept through the White Wolves with a series of sword strikes.

“Wh… What the…?! You killed the White Wolves instantly…”

Remia blinked in surprise, gazing up at me with wide eyes.

“You… No, Arios-dono, are you not too strong?”

“No, no, not at all.”

“Heh. Don’t be modest. You don’t seem to have a bad personality either… So how about living here?”

“Haha, I respectfully decline.”

“Instant answer. What a disappointment.”

I didn’t want to live in such an unpredictable place, especially since I wasn’t a magical tool artisan.

“Now then, Arios-dono. Regarding the analysis of the gem…”

Remia tightened her expression and returned to the main topic.

“To get to the point, it’s impossible to analyze it with current methods. It’s far beyond my expertise.”

“…Eh?”

Seriously?

Even a skilled magical tool artisan can’t analyze it… What does that even mean?

“I suspect that this gem activates its circuit when a certain amount of magical energy is infused into it, allowing it to exhibit its power. Until that point, it’s not too different from an ordinary magical tool… However, summoning monsters just by doing that is utterly abnormal.”

“I see…”

Well, that makes sense.

I’ve never heard of a tool that summons monsters. There are tools that attract monsters through scent or other means, but this gem is actually teleporting monsters here.

“To put it bluntly, it could be an ancient relic… Perhaps a miraculous artifact left behind by the gods.”

“Left behind by the gods…”

At this point, that sounded far-fetched.

Sure, this gem possesses extraordinary power, but gods and ancient relics? This isn’t a fairy tale.

At that moment…

WOOOOOOOON…

The jet-black gem made a strange sound and began to emit another wave, once again darkening the room.

“No, impossible! I didn’t alter the circuit at all!”

Remia’s eyes widened in shock.

――――――

Completion. Completion.

The goddess Diees has granted her will.

Activation in progress.

Activation in progress.

――――――

A mysterious message appeared in my vision.

“Ugh…”

And then—my consciousness faded.