Chapter 296: Aura Birds

Sheila was staring intently at the aura birds, looking like she was wondering whether to buy one.

However, the fact that they were protected seemed to bother her, so she couldn’t bring herself to actually make the purchase.

“Are aura birds only beautiful?”

“I’ve heard they can store magic power and also have the ability to transfer that magic power to others.”

“I’ve heard the same. That’s exactly why they were apparently overhunted in large numbers.”

“Huh! These birds have an ability like that?”

If what Velvet and Sheila said was true, then they weren’t just cute, they were incredibly useful birds.

Milagros’s warp gate apparently needed magic power, so if we had several aura birds, they should be able to help with that.

Besides that, they could also reduce the burden on Moji and Helena when doing farm work with magic, and magic was also being used in Sid’s building construction.

My desire to buy them suddenly shot up, but the thing that bothered me too was the fact that they were “protected.”

“If they’re cute and have a useful ability, I would like to buy them, but… aura birds are protected, right?”

“Yes. If they were individuals from before they became protected, then selling or transferring them is allowed. But I think the ones being sold here are completely illegal.”

“I’ve been interested in aura birds for a while, but that’s why I’ve never been able to bring myself to buy one.”

“I know I’m the one who brought you to the east side, but I recommend not buying them.”

Sheila’s shoulders slumped heavily, and she seemed to give up on buying an aura bird.

If we bought one here, more aura birds would only end up being poached again.

I also gave up with great reluctance, and we decided to head to the next shop.

Since this street was a gray zone leaning heavily toward black, there were more things that caught my interest than in the market we visited yesterday.

Magic tools and artifacts were being sold openly, and the low prices were also one of the surprising points.

“This artifact can stop the movements of whoever you think of for an instant. The price is one platinum coin. You want it, don’t you?”

“That’s cheap. Is that price really okay?”

“It’s a special price. It’ll sell out quick—”

“Please tell us how you obtained that item.”

“That’s… a secret.”

“I see. Sato, let’s go.”

“Tch. If you’re just here to browse, then leave!”

Compared to other artifacts, it was cheap, and it had caught my attention, but Sheila practically dragged me away.

Judging from that exchange, just like the aura birds, I figured it was probably something better left untouched.

“Was that artifact no good?”

“Yes. It was far too suspicious. At best, it was a fake. At worst, I think it was stolen through robbery.”

“I did think it was cheap, but I guess being cheap is also a bad sign.”

“Good products will sell even at high prices. Sometimes someone may lower the price out of goodwill, but it’s safer to assume there’s a reason behind it.”

Things continued like that. There were items I wanted to buy, but I couldn’t bring myself to actually purchase them, which left me feeling frustrated.

We finished looking through the entire street, but in the end, we bought nothing.

Everything was just too suspicious to touch.

“None of you bought anything? Even if it’s a little shady, you should just buy it!”

“Given our positions, we can’t really do that. But thanks to you, Barnett, we were able to look around safely.”

“That’s true. We didn’t buy anything, but it was really fresh and interesting. Thank you very much, Barnett.”

I bowed deeply to Barnett, who had guarded us, and thanked him.

No one bothered us. In fact, they avoided us.

Thanks to Barnett, we were able to safely look around a dangerous place.

“It’s still too early to thank me! There’s another place after this! Since I accepted the job, I’ll see it through to the end. And the next place is somewhere you might actually be able to buy something!”

“Barnett, do you know where we’re going next?”

“Yeah! I requested it, just in case! …And speak of the devil, he’s back!”

I turned my gaze in the direction Barnett pointed and saw the black-hooded shopkeeper walking toward us.

“I got the appointment. They said you can freely look around before things get busy, so I’d like to head there right away. Is that fine?”

“That’s what I’m talking about! I was trying to act all cool, so I’m glad the negotiation didn’t fail!”

“Where are we going next?”

“That’s something to look forward to once we get there! Time’s limited, so let’s hurry up and go!”

We followed the highly enthusiastic Barnett and headed toward our next destination.

He wouldn’t tell us where we were going, but judging from how confident he was, I thought it was safe to expect something good.

The first street we visited had been interesting, so I followed after Barnett with excitement in my heart.