Chapter 124: Sage and Reward

H, hey, calm down.

You’re a sage, right?

—Yup, I’m a SAGE.

Sage Mode, activate!

By the way, Sage Mode was nothing but a phrase to set my mood, it was not really a skill or anything . I used it when I needed a change of phase or if I had to focus.

Alright, I was a bit calm now.

I might attack if I kept on staring at her in point-blank range, so I managed to finally move my body away from Luna.

“S, sorry, Luna.”

I stood up, away from Luna.

“No... you protected me from hurting myself during the fall, right? Thank you very much.”

She gripped my extended hand as she stood up. Her hand was small and soft.

U, ugh, my Sage Mode’s crumbling.

“Where is this place?”

Luna stared all around her restlessly, oblivious to my inner conflict.

Glowing stone walls surrounded the four corners of the room, and there’s no entrance or exit.

If this is the transferred hero’s perks room, then Tina said it would be easy to go out, though….

In that case, then why was Luna taken here?

Eh, don’t tell me Luna’s teleported, or perhaps a transmigrator, or maybe she was a reincarnator?

But Luna already showed us her status board.

Her occupation was Auxiliary Enchanter apprentice, something common in this world.

People who got teleported or reincarnated by this world’s deities had their occupations fixed at the tertiary level.

That was why the possibility of Luna being one was quite low.

But then, if Luna wasn’t one, then this room wasn’t a privilege room, so it was probable that we would have to solve something to go out.

I was worried whether to ask Luna if she was a reincarnated person, or not. If she was one, then I’d get the reason why she was teleported to this place. However, at the same time, I would have to reveal that I was also a reincarnator.

Well, there was no problem in getting found out, and I was pretty sure Luna would keep mum about it if I asked.

Anyway, it was not yet decided how we could get out. Maybe there was a normal way out from here.

We should explore this place first.

“I don’t know where we are, too. Anyway, let’s look around first.”

“I...I understand.”

Those four pedestals were the first things I noticed.

Three of them didn’t have anything on top of it.

There was a relatively ancient looking book casually placed on top of the last one. Something was written on the cover, but I couldn’t read it.

I grabbed the book and opened it, but I couldn’t make sense of the letters written in it.

“Would it be alright if I look at it?”

Luna took the book from me. She was capable of fluently reading ancient runes, so maybe she could read this too.

Luna flipped through the pages.

Eh?

She looked like she was reading it normally….

Halfway through, her hand stopped, and her face turned beet red. Then she stared at that page very seriously.

“Luna?”

“Hyaah!? Eh, Ah, what is it?”

She jumped in shock when I called out to her.

Luna had been really immersed in reading, huh.

What was written in there for her to be this serious about it?

That made me really curious, now.

“Luna, can you read this?”

“Y-yes. This book is a grimoire, it seems.”

“Grimoire?”

“It’s use is forbidden, and there are incantations that are long forgotten because of being banned. There are also instructions on making medicines that are highly effective.”

Luna then gently hugged the book, as if it was a treasure.

“Ahm...can I have this book?”

“Hmm, it’s okay, I think? It’s not like we got it inside the boss’s room, and Luna’s the only one who can read this, probably.”

I could also read ancient runes, and Tina and Leaffa had been teaching me Elvish, so I could remember some of the Elf letters now.

Those two languages were considered very difficult to learn in this world.

I could read them fairly well, but this one was completely unintelligible for me.

Maybe it was a special and superior language than those.

“Thank you very much!”

It was the first time I saw Luna smile that way.

She was really, really pretty.

I was kind of bothered why Luna wanted this book that much, but it didn’t matter now that I had seen how happy she was .

After that, Luna resumed reading. She was still poring over that page that made her blush furiously.

It really made me curious……

Should I use that forbidden thing?

I switched my mind reading skill on.

Luna’s thoughts were transmitted to me right away.

(— and, Fire Blown Grass, as well as Dragon Claws, huh. I think Fire Blown Grass is cultivated at the academy. Dragon Claws...if I asked Ryuushin, maybe he’ll give some to me?)

What was this… ingredients for making a magical tool?

Not sure what she’s gonna make, but since she needed Dragon Claws, then maybe she’s gonna use the nails of Ryuushin since he’s a dragonoid?

Is that okay?

Doing that kind of thing.

(Anyway, I think I can get all the ingredients. But how do I make him drink this?)

Eh?

S, so this is a drink!?

Not sure who’s gonna drink that, but definitely I won’t drink that, Ryuushin’s nails would be in there, you know.

Should I stop Luna?

What on earth is she trying to make?

(Hmm, it’s really surprising that you can make a love potion that’s difficult to trace with just these ingredients. And it’s written here that it’s overwhelmingly effective. W- what should I do if he suddenly attacked me after… I should prepare myself before making him drink it.)

Whoa, seriously…

Luna was trying to make a love potion, huh.

And she was making super high level, super strong one that was written in a superior ancient language on a grimoire, to boot —

Hey, hey, Luna-san, have you seen yourself in a mirror? If it was you, ANY guy would fall for you even without that love potion, you know!?

(The body fluids of the target and the maker should be mixed together to create the catalyst, and the efficacy would increase further during training — that’s what’s written here….So now’s my chance, huh)

Luna peeked at me.

“Hm?”

“Ah, no, nothing.”

(I, impossible… How should I request it then? Please give me your body fluids — there’s no way I could say that!)

Eh? D, don’t tell me… Target.. Is me?

W- why is it ME!?

(And what’s with this body ‘fluids’? Is it saliva? Mixing the target and the maker’s body fluids, doesn’t that refer to...K, kiss, is it fine if we kissed!?)

No no no, there’s a whole lot of others, right!?

Like sweat, or even blood.

(B, but it’s really rare for Halt and I to be together, just the two of us, so I’ll be depressed if I let this chance go.)

Seriously… It’s really me?

For a beauty like Luna to go out of her way, making a love potion just to get along with me.. It somehow made me happy.

Well, Youko’s temptation didn’t work on me, so I doubt that love potion would work, though.

(I mean, since Halt and I are all alone now, rather than thinking about how to make this love potion, isn’t talking with Halt a lot so that's better. We could be great friends, instead?)

Yep, that’s right. That’s the way to go.

Don’t make me drink something that has Ryuushin’s nails in it.

“A, ahm…..”

Luna looked at me.

“What is it?”

“N, no, really, there’s nothing!”

(I’m too conscious of Halt, so talking to him while facing him…. I can’t)

Please do your best.

Alright, in this case —

“Luna, can we talk for a bit?”

“W, what is it?”

“Didn’t you do your best in the Maid and Butler teahouse that I planned for the school festival back then? It was a huge success, thanks to you guys. I thanked everyone with a gift, so what do you want, Luna?”

Luna’s jaw dropped.

Was it too abrupt?

“Anything’s fine, you know? I know there’s some things that are difficult to say, so I asked each of them. I already granted the requests of Leaffa, Merdie and the rest. I don’t really have a lot of chances to talk with Luna only, so it’s been late, sorry for that.”

I took Luke, Ryuushin and Ryuka to a high-end restaurant. Let’s leave the rewards at that.

“Is anything really fine?”

“Yup. For example, I made a meal, did a massage…there’s also patting on the head. Also –-”

“Kiss.”

“Yup, yup, kiss, too –- Eh?”

“Eh”