Vol 3 Chapter 31

"Aiagas... Soul..."

Kapros's voice trembled unusually due to his extreme surprise. The Superior brooch, no, Aiagas's abilities alone were already enough to make one's stats soar, but the grade word attached to it had also changed from the original Unique to Soul. He knew that some items could change their grade word later, but he never expected this brooch to do so. Despite being a quest item, its overpowered special abilities and skills were a bonus.

While Kapros was in a daze, Kran approached him with trembling hands, holding up the yellow gem pendant.

"Kap. It says this is Soul grade..."

"Mine too."

"It's a grade word I've never seen before. Just how amazing is it?"

"I don't think you need to be that surprised. Mine is Soul too. Mine changed a while ago, though..."

Un-o, who had been watching the situation with interest, interjected, causing Kran to gape in even greater surprise.

"What? You too?!"

Un-o quietly raised his right hand. On that hand was a slightly thick, dark green archery glove that covered only the second and third fingers, leaving the rest exposed. And in the center of the back of his hand, a diamond-like white and transparent gem sparkled...

"Ah."

At that point, Kapros realized.

'So that's Un-o's Lord Piece.'

Noticing Kapros's gaze, Un-o nodded.

"This is mine. It was originally Unique grade, but an NPC I met during the quest changed it to Soul grade."

"Ah... So it's not just ours that changed. We got all worked up for nothing?"

Kapros nodded at Kran's words as he laughed sheepishly.

"Yours, the descendant of the Bright Light, is a bit different from the others'."

Ilumine opened her mouth towards them.

"Pardon?"

"It seems you haven't checked it yet, so come here."

Ilumine, smiling mischievously for a moment, beckoned them over. Kran approached with an uneasy expression and handed the pendant back to her. Ilumine took the pendant and inserted her fingernail into the gap between the front and back sides, which had never been opened before.

"Ah!"

Not only Kran, who cried out, but Kapros also realized what this meant.

Kran's pendant, which originally couldn't be opened. Ilumine was now attempting to open it. With her fingernail inserted, she furrowed her brow as she applied force, and soon showed a triumphant expression as the pendant's lid opened with difficulty, as if proving it hadn't been opened for a long time.

"Why are you so surprised?"

"That thing never opened before."

Kapros briefly answered Un-o's quiet question. As Un-o nodded at his words, Ilumine said, "It's done," and looked down at the open pendant.

While everyone waited curiously, a moment of silence passed, and then Ilumine spoke.

"As I expected..."

'Ilumine...?'

Suddenly feeling her voice tremble, Kapros narrowed his eyes in surprise. Ilumine finally held out the pendant to Kran, her shoulders shaking delicately.

"Uh... ah... this...?!"

And Kran, who received it in a fluster, also froze with his eyes fixed on the inside of the pendant.

"..."

"...Kran?"

How should one interpret this situation where one person was trembling without showing their face, and the other had turned pale? After much deliberation, when Kapros lightly tapped Kran's shoulder, as if it were a signal, a loud burst of laughter erupted.

"It's so stupid! How could it be exactly what I expected?"

"Ilumine..."

"K-Kap... Look at this."

As if the trembling with her head down had been a prelude to that laughter, ignoring Ilumine who was laughing in stark contrast to the serious atmosphere, Kran finally showed the inside of the pendant.

The pendant opened sideways, and inside was a small portrait. A man with red hair flowing like a tail and confident eyes. Though his appearance could be mistaken for a woman, he was clearly a man.

And Kapros knew all too well who he was.

"...Lord Superior."

Kapros turned his head at the muttering voice beside him, and Un-o nodded. As a quest performer, he naturally wouldn't fail to recognize him. The confident archmage with red hair and an excessively beautiful appearance, yet not at all intimidated by that fact.

"Why is Lord Superior in that pendant..."

That pendant was clearly supposed to be the Shine Knight's from 500 years ago according to the setting. Wouldn't a knight usually keep a portrait of family or a loved one in a cherished pendant?

'Could it be...'

Though it seemed unlikely, it was true that the relationships between the heroes in the quest had seemed exceptionally deep so far. Until now, Kapros had just thought of it as a strong friendship, but... was there a possibility it wasn't?

"Kap..."

Perhaps Kapros's expression had changed just as strangely, as Kran looked at his face and quietly closed the pendant. Un-o placed his hand on the hem of Kapros's robe, and when Kapros looked at him, he showed a slightly embarrassed expression. Though it was said to be embarrassed, his furrowed brow would have seemed grumpy to others, but Kapros, who had seen Un-o when he was truly sharp, could tell the subtle difference.

And only then did Ilumine, who had been laughing hard, seem to come to her senses and raise her head to look at them.

"Ah... I almost died."

"What's so funny? I just got goosebumps."

At Kran's grumbling question, Ilumine slightly covered her mouth with one hand as if she might burst into laughter again.

"It's so like him. I suspected it, but I didn't know he really carried around Lord's portrait. Though he pretended otherwise, indeed..."

Her voice seemed to become slightly serious at the end, but as soon as her eyes fell on the pendant, Ilumine wiped away the tears that had formed at the corners of her eyes from laughing with her delicate fingertips.

"Keep that safe. Who knows? That crystallization of obsession might grant your wish."

"Ob... Obsession crystallization?"

For a moment, Kran made a strange expression and tried his best to keep the hand with the pendant as far from himself as possible. But since he couldn't detach his arm, his flailing about only looked comical.