Yesterday, my right hand—the one I used to drive off the Great-Scaled Beast in the forest—still trembles a little. Koko gripped the mixing brush again in the atelier's workshop. The light moss in the leather pouch glowed a soft blue from the corner of the shelf. One down. Three to go. Today was the day to get ancient mineral powder. Oruo stood at the entrance, folding a map. "[serious]We'll check Mirte Market directly. There are several shops that deal in antiques." "[excited]Leave it to me! I know the market roads like the back of my hand!" Oruo paused for a moment. "……The paths are wider than the forest, at least." "That's a jab, isn't it?" "It's a fact." Koko huffed, threw on her coat, and started walking. ―　―　― Mirte Market was bustling from morning. An open-air market sprawling at the foot of a hill. Over a hundred stalls lined the square, the scent of dried herbs mixing with roasted beans. Merchants' calls echoed from every direction. Koko stepped on the cobblestones, scanning the stall signs. Dried goods, minerals, mixing materials, antiques… "[serious]The antique shops are in the back row." "Yeah, ah——" A mountain of herbs was walking toward them. More precisely, a person with both arms full of herb bundles was stumbling forward with zero visibility. Dried leaves scattered around their face, and they should've been able to see only their feet—yet somehow they didn't stop walking. "[serious]……That one can't see where they're going." "[excited]Agu!" The herb mountain collapsed with a thud. Several bundles fell to the cobblestones with a soft, dry rustle. Between the herbs, golden eyes and a thick, messy green head appeared. "……What, it's you, Koko." "Don't say it like that. You bought way too much, didn't you?" "Radiche got in new dried Nobile grass. He's particular about it, so I'm taking the whole stock at once." "How many bundles is that?" "Fourteen." "Fourteen!?" Agu didn't answer, just started gathering the scattered herbs. He was tall with long arms, so he picked them up quickly. The herb scent spread through the air, and passing customers wrinkled their noses and turned to look. That's when a voice came from the neighboring stall. "Amazing!" A head of light blue long hair swayed. A girl had leaned too close to the shelves of an ink materials stall and bumped her forehead against the edge. She rubbed her forehead and stepped back, her silver eyes blinking rapidly. "[laughing]Tete! Are you okay?" "[excited]I'm fine! But look—they just got in new Muscari bee antenna powder, and I think if I mix it into ink, the luminescence duration will extend—let me try it!" "We don't have time for that right now——" "[excited]Huh? What do you mean?" And in front of the candy stall "Sorbetta," a fluffy red head was visible. Riche, holding three honey pies at once, chewing happily with a blissful expression. Her yellow right eye and green left eye turned toward them with a blink. "[gentle]Oh, Koko. The honey pies are sweeter today than yesterday." "No, um, come here for a second!" The four of them gathered in a corner of the alley. Oruo leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Agu stood with his feet planted firmly, the herb bundles on the ground. Tete wiped the ink from her fingertips on her clothes, her silver eyes sparkling. Riche still held one honey pie, chewing away. Koko took a deep breath. This time she'd tell them in order. "So, there's actually a strange mark on the atelier's outer wall——" "「「「I/I/I」」」 All three started talking at once. "I need to check the herb inventory——" "[excited]I discovered it this morning, but the Muscari bee——" "[gentle]The crust on these honey pies is different from last year——" "[angry]Quiet." His voice was soft. All three fell silent at once. Koko froze too, startled. Oruo sighed. "[serious]Koko. One more time. From the beginning, in order." Koko nodded. This time she'd tell them properly. "A strange magical mark appeared on the atelier's outer wall. I checked the texts, and it said the mark will activate in seven days and the atelier will disappear. To stop it, we need four materials. We already got the light moss. Today we came to find the third material—ancient mineral powder. Four days left." Silence. Agu put his hand to his forehead. "[angry]Why didn't you say anything until now?" "I was looking for the right time to——" "[angry]You tell people about something like that first thing." Tete's eyes lit up. "[excited]Show me that mark when we get back! The system being different means it might not be normal drawing magic—amazing, I want to research it!" "Right now solving it comes before research——" Riche stood up, honey pie still in hand. "[serious]Wait a second. If the atelier disappears, that means……the snack shelf disappears too?" "Yeah, that's right." Riche's face went pale. "[serious]That's absolutely not allowed. We have to solve this." Koko looked toward Oruo. A look that said: help me. Oruo narrowed his eyes, then quietly returned the look. A look that said: you pull this together. Koko took a deep breath. "[serious]So we're looking for ancient mineral powder. I think we can find it at an antique shop. Will you all come with me?" Agu grabbed all the herb bundles. "[serious]I'll leave them." "You're taking all fourteen bundles!?" "Leaving them with the old man." Agu went back to Radiche's shop and set all the bundles on the counter. The taciturn shopkeeper Pippo looked confused, but Agu was already walking away. Tete pointed down the alley—this way, this way. Riche shoved the honey pie in her mouth and ran after them. The five of them headed deeper into the market. ―　―　― One of the antique shops was at the dead end of an alley. The sign read "Quarto's Antiquities." Opening the door released the scent of old ink and wood. Shelves held aged mixing tools, vessels with unreadable script, and dusty bottles of minerals. An elderly man with white hair emerged from the back. His back was slightly bent, his eyes small but sharp. "[gentle]Welcome. What can I do for you?" "[serious]We're looking for ancient mineral powder." The old man—Quarto—went into the back of the shelves and checked several bottles. He shook his head. "[serious]It sold three days ago. It was the last bag we had. A young man bought it—an apprentice from an atelier connected to the Council. His name was Galen. He said it was for research and took the whole bag without question." Oruo said quietly. "[cold]……I'd heard rumors about hoarding." Koko remembered those words. The talk about how only a small portion was available in Mirte Market, and people connected to the Council bought them up for research—that story Oruo had mentioned. "That time……" Oruo didn't nod. He just quietly looked at the ancient mineral powder line on the plan. Agu stepped forward. "[angry]Where is this Galen's atelier?" Tete quickly looked around and checked the bulletin board at the corner of the alley. "[excited]Over here, over here—it's the second alley down from the Passo Street entrance!" "Let's go." Agu was already walking. Tete led the way into the alley. Riche chased after them, shoving the last honey pie in her mouth. Koko and Oruo followed. The five of them moved. Scattered. Yet in the same direction. ―　―　― Galen's atelier was a calm stone building. When they knocked, the door opened immediately. A tall young man stood there. Black hair neatly combed, clothes clean. His eyes were narrow, his gaze cold as water. Probably eighteen or nineteen. He looked Koko up and down, then glanced at the four behind her, then returned his gaze to the front. "Five apprentices. What's your business?" "[serious]A mark appeared on our atelier's outer wall, and we need ancient mineral powder to prevent it from disappearing. We heard you bought some three days ago—could you spare some for us?" Galen thought for two seconds. "[cold]No." "Could you tell us why?" "[cold]I'm using it for my research. I have no reason to help apprentices." "But if the atelier disappears——" Galen laughed a little. The laugh wasn't warm at all. "[sarcastic]Does anyone care if it disappears? Your master Kifa is barely there anyway. An old workshop with just four apprentices—if it vanishes, the Council's territory just gets a little bigger. Nobody loses anything." Koko opened her mouth. She tried to say something. No words came. It felt like he'd stated something precious with perfect accuracy, and her mind went blank. The smell of the atelier, the light moss glowing on the shelf, the Tramont River visible from the library window—all of it, called "nobody loses anything," and she couldn't find words to argue back. Agu stepped forward. "[angry]Your research isn't worth a single blade of grass." Galen snorted. "[sarcastic]I don't care what some herb-only apprentice thinks." He turned and went back inside. The door closed quietly. Only a soft click remained on the cobblestones. ―　―　― The five of them walked back toward the market. No one spoke. Koko walked looking at the stones. She could feel her feet moving. But she couldn't think about anything. Galen's words kept spinning in her head. Does anyone care if it disappears? Nobody loses anything. (If I'd told everyone on the first day…) That's what she thought. She'd carried it alone for three days. In those three days, the ancient mineral powder sold out. If they'd moved faster, maybe… Agu was muttering something. She couldn't quite hear it, but it sounded like complaining. Tete seemed to be organizing substitute materials in her head, counting something on her fingers. Riche was saying quietly that "the honey pie doesn't taste sweet," even though there was still some in her mouth. When they returned to the atelier, the mark on the outer wall caught her eye. It glowed brighter than this morning. The pulsing rhythm was faster. Just looking at it, she could feel that time was really running out. They went inside the workshop. All five stood in silence. Oruo spread out the plan. He picked up a pencil. Slowly, deliberately, he drew a large X through the ancient mineral powder line. The sound was so quiet it seemed like the ink might dry. "[serious]Can we substitute another material?" "[cold]The texts list only these four materials." Tete fell silent. Koko looked at the mark on the wall. Four days left. Without ancient mineral powder, they couldn't draw the overwrite magic circle. Without all the materials, the mark couldn't be stopped. If it couldn't be stopped——the atelier would disappear. (What do I do?) Only that phrase spun in her head. But she couldn't say it out loud right now. The mark pulsed quietly once more.