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On one day, when Ms. Whole Body Armor went outside to clean the eaves of the store, there was a person crouching outside.

But, this time, it didn’t seem like that sort of situation.

“Are you OK?”

It was a lady, crouched with a parasol.
Anemone began to recognize her as she stood up and looked about slowly.

“Oh, oh, it’s Ms. Anemone… Long time no see.” (tl: let the aras begin)

“How do you do?”

The woman smiled and gave a curtsey, nodding.

Anemone, who had left to clean, had apparently returned.

“Store Manager, it’s a customer.”

They looked to be in the middle of their twenties, and somewhat modest. It was Fujiwara’s first time seeing her, and she was carrying a sunshade and a small basket.
They looked somewhat like a magician, but more importantly like a window-shopper, just curious of his wares.

“Hello,” Fujiwara greeted her with his hands clasped and a polite bow.

“I see.”

“Oh?”

Her words left Fujiwara puzzled, with no idea her intention (tl: ?)

“Ooh, no worries, it was no problem.”

This was because Linne was a regular customer of the “Good Old Magician’s Shop”. She’s a fledgeling Seeker, who came to the store looking for a companion. After that, Fujiwara introduced her to Soarer, another customer. Apparently, her sister just came to say hello.
“I’m grateful for it, so…”

While Deneb said as much, she took her basket off of the counter and popped open its lid. The fragrant smell of an apple pie came out, which it removed from the backpack on a large plate.

“You should thank Soarer for Linne’s sake as well.”

Deneb is the eldest daughter of the Morgan family who was slated to take care of Linne, the youngest. It was no surprise she was happy over her growth, almost to the extent of the excitement over one’s own child. (tl: Morgan le Fay?)

While listening to Deneb’s joyful voice  cross the room, Anemone went and prepared for tea and coffee. Two cups of coffee for her and Fujiwara, and one cup of tea.
Deneb began putting chamomile in her own drink, her stomach couldn’t handle Café Au Lait. While Fujiwara insisted she ought to drink the Coffee, they had a wide range of tea.

Of course, in exchange for the tea, they got apple pie.
It was cut with the sharp nice she had prepared, the dough burnt to a shiny gold. It wasn’t out of shape or crushed in any way, and after the careful carving was finished, the pieces were put on small plates.

“This looks really good.”

“No need to exaggerate, now.”

Even though it was cooling down, served with some fresh cream and chocolate Anemone had heated up, the pie became so delicious that it was melting in her mouth. She decided to secretly snag leftovers.

Fujiwara clasped his hands as usual before snagging an apple pie with the tips of his fingers.

His expression was one that clearly signified being speechless.
“……”

“How was it, manager?” Anemone asked, seeing his reaction. He tilted his head and started at the small plate.
She wondered if there was any issue with the homemade pie. Her friend had made it for her many times before.

Deneb carried a piece from the plate to her mouth.
No objections to its cooking or chewiness. Casual vanilla fragrance, peculiar taste of cinnamon.

“…Mu.”

But, she noticed something oddly damp spreading in her mouth.

“Please throw it away! Just in case, please throw it away!”

Anemone swallowed hers with the help of the latte, her throat only hurting a little. No one had the courage to eat more.

However, the most disappointing point, is that the ingredients weren’t just apples and sugar.
It was undeniably salt.

Because there were still a few of the biscuits left, Anemone decided to take a few in exchange for the tea.

“Maybe… I was conceited, and… Possibly I should have taste tested…”

Deneb is a member of the Morgan family, who are descended from a famous Witch. The family, as a whole, is good at chores and cooking. It wasn’t boasting to say she had never committed this bad of a mistake.
Her muttering continued. “this’ll shame me until I’m marriageable… no, a lifetime… Umu…”

She exuded quite the scary, black aura.

“…Uum…”

She wanted to cheer up the depressed lady, but she couldn’t figure out what to say and didn’t want to irritate her.

She turned her eyes to Fujiwara, hoping for help, but he was silently staring at her. When she looked down his line of sight and at his unusually serious face, she gave a silent nod.

‘I see’, Anemone thought.

“Mrs. Deneb.”

Anemone approached the lady with an ‘Excuse me’, and clasped her thin, white hand slowly.

“Yes, Mr. Fujiwara?”

“Yes……?”

“I’ve been interested in this since you entered the store, but it’s quite fascinating. Based on the degradation, it’s a middle aged one, old enough for the ‘Time of Superior Mages’.”
Deneb’s face turned troubled.

Anemone had noticed.

The cause of his serious look, rather than the depressed Deneb, it was the thing on her finger.

“May I look at the ring?”

‘No, he’s not rude.

The man who can’t read the climate only had that to say, even with Deneb being troubled or depressed.

“First off…”

Although it looked normal, along with its casting process, the material’s coloration was near skin color. On the outside was a lightly painted maiden and finely crafted rubies that looked matched her rosy hair. In it, ‘For the beauty that was so pretty I could not breathe’.

At first glance, this looked like a Ring of Charm.

That’s the name of a granting tool that could give the wearer a beautiful appearance. The effect also worked for men, so the demand for such an item was extremely high in both genders, looking for marriage partners.
But, most of the time, the beauty only increased in simple ways.

“Uh…”
Fujiwara concentrated desperately with his ‘Spell of Remove Concealment’. The ring immediately reacted, eventually forming a pattern, almost like blue muscles on the surface of it. No doubt, this was a Magic Circuit.

“Indeed… This is definitely a Granting Tool.”

Many people misunderstood its effects in that it doesn’t truly increase beauty, it simply made those nearby feel more positive about the wearer, due to generating pheromone traces from the user.
But the smells from Deneb were only perfume, and there were no signs of any bodily changes, anyway. Therefore, Fujiwara felt it was another kind.

“Deneb, have you felt tired lately?”

“I see.

“I’ll appraise it a bit.”

She had been wearing this ring without appraising it.
This ‘Ring of Charm’ had been harming her, so most would think to take it to an appraiser, instead of wearing it around.

Fujiwara tied back his hair, and decided to begin appraisal right away

 


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