The Fire Elemental Stone

With the Giant Centipede slain, silence settled over the area.

For Azu, this was a decisive victory over a terror from her past.

She seemed a little worked up, which was unusual for her.

I patted her head, and she smiled happily.

Still, to think they could bring down a monster that enormous…

It felt like a distant memory, when all I'd hoped for was that they'd build up a decent level of skill.

Azu and I approached the red object in the back.

It appeared to be a stone.

A red stone, seated on a pedestal.

I reached out to touch it, but Alexia's hand caught my arm.

"That's careless. Don't touch it without thinking."

"My bad."

"What is it?"

"An Elemental Stone, I'd guess."

Elza offered this while studying the red stone.

"Most likely, yes. A Fire Elemental Stone, I'd say."

"So this is an Elemental Stone…"

The red stone was translucent and gave off a subtle warmth.

Alexia slowly extended her hand toward it.

Just as her fingers were about to touch it, the Fire Elemental Stone reacted and repelled her hand.

"Ow… Even I can't touch it."

"Doesn't seem like I can either."

Neither Alexia nor Elza could touch it.

If those two couldn't manage, I'd probably have burned myself trying.

Azu went to try next, but her hand stopped just short.

She looked at me apologetically.

"The Water Elemental says it doesn't want me to. Apparently, the Fire Elemental hasn't opened its heart."

Its heart, huh.

A prize right in front of us and we couldn't take it home. How frustrating.

"Um…"

Orleans tugged at my sleeve.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"May I try touching it?"

"Go ahead and give it a shot. If it seems dangerous, back off."

"Yes."

Orleans said this and gently approached the Fire Elemental Stone.

The stone reacted in a way it hadn't before.

Its glow intensified, sparkling like a gemstone.

"This is…"

When Orleans's hand finally made contact, the same radiance appeared on the crest on her back.

As if they were resonating with each other.

"Doesn't it burn?"

"No. It's a little warm."

Orleans lifted the Fire Elemental Stone.

She didn't seem to feel any weight, either.

I brought my fingertip close and touched it again.

Instantly, I was reminded of the time I'd touched a pot that had been heated to its limit.

I yanked my hand back reflexively.

Fortunately no burn, but the heat on contact had been staggering.

It seemed no one besides Orleans could handle the thing.

"Hold onto it for now."

"Yes."

Why was Orleans the only one who could touch it…

It had to be connected to the crest branded on her back.

There was nothing more here. We moved on.

I had no desire to go near the centipede's carcass.

Too large to transport, and nobody wanted to butcher it.

I could order them to, but it'd be miserable work, so I let it go.

The villagers might find it useful.

Not to dump the problem on them, exactly, but per the quest terms, they could process it on their end.

The door had stayed open.

No other monsters remained, and we exited the dead labyrinth.

Most likely, the labyrinth had become a shrine for the Fire Elemental Stone after it went dead.

Then more time passed and it was forgotten entirely.

In any case, I was tired. Might as well leave the centipede carcass to them. We'd let the village handle the monsters we killed inside.

Before heading back to the inn, we stopped by Edgar's house.

A hunter would know the local history. Hopefully he'd have some answers.

When we arrived, Edgar was already outside doing maintenance on his bow, eager to get back to hunting.

He bent the bow deftly, strung it, and adjusted the tension to the right draw weight.

"Oh, hey. You're back. Looks like you're in one piece."

"Yes. I had a few things I wanted to ask, actually."

"What's up?"

I gave him a condensed version of what had happened in the labyrinth.

I left out the finer details, though.

Edgar listened quietly.

"That mural's a fine piece of work, isn't it."

"It is."

"That was painted by the people who used to live around here, from what I've been told. They worshipped the Fire Elemental. Never knew about any hidden mechanism, though."

"What happened to those people?"

"They were all rounded up when the Empire expanded its territory. What became of them after that, I couldn't say. My parents' generation settled the empty land, and here we are."

"I see."

I nodded at Edgar's account.

So the people from the manor were descendants of those who had lived here before the Empire's conquest.

They'd been chained to that estate ever since.

The Empire's prosperity was not built on glory alone.

"Still, the mural opening up like that… Was there some kind of trigger?"

"Our mage used fire magic and it opened, so that might have been it."

"Huh. But you came out empty-handed after fighting that big one? Tough break."

"It happens to everyone."

"That it does."

I told him there had been nothing in the hidden area.

I kept Orleans's involvement out of it, too.

You never knew where information might leak, and the Fire Elemental Stone we'd obtained was extraordinarily valuable.

After all, an entire city had nearly been destroyed over a Water Elemental Stone once.

That was an extreme case, but simply possessing one of these was dangerous if word got out.

"Well, leave the rest to me. If there aren't any monsters in there, the carcasses won't get scavenged. I'll round up some of the younger guys and take care of it."

"Much appreciated. We're a bit short on manpower."

"Ha! Nothing but pretty girls. I'm jealous."

Edgar agreed to handle the salvage work inside the labyrinth.

That wrapped up the quest for this village.

The pelts alone made for a solid haul, and even setting the Elemental Stone aside, the results were more than satisfactory.

I'd need to think about what to do with the Elemental Stone later.

At least after Orleans touched it, Azu became able to touch it as well, though it didn't react to her in any special way.

Selling it off… probably wasn't a good idea. That seemed like a path to nothing good.