Chapter 4
In the workshop, an unprocessed night-glowstone was enshrined. On the rock's rugged surface, there were crystals with a high degree of transparency, like gla.s.s, and that closely resembled beryl.
In order to make these into amulets, first, you needed to remove the crystals, then you needed to treat it with a very high heat.
Because of the contained iron, the amount of blue increased, and if all went well, the murkiness was removed. Rather than just an aquamarine blue, it was a deep blue that was extremely close to that of a Santa Maria aquamarine.
The "Santa Maria Africana" was said to be a rare stone with a value that could surpa.s.s that of a diamond, but since the night-glowstone's color was caused by manufacturing "enhancement," it was viewed as commonplace.
In addition, the crystal's hardness was a 7.5, while its relative density was a 2.7 with no cleaving.
—– That's why, if it were just these characteristics, night glowstone's true form would be beryl.
But night-glowstone was luminescent and had phosph.o.r.escent properties that caused it to glow in the dark.
In addition, compared to manmade glow-in-the-dark paint, its lifespan was frighteningly long.
Its properties of phosph.o.r.escence were enough to disprove it being beryl, but then, what exactly was it?
As of now, he couldn't find anything that fit perfectly, and now stood thinking, what a mysterious stone, as he looked at a stone s.h.i.+ning in the sunlight that had filtered in through the entrance of the workshop.
(All right, this time the color is good, and there isn't any murkiness!)
He rolled the finished amulet around on top of his gloved hand with a satisfied smile.
(Putting a hole in this would be waste… Maybe I'll wrap it in some hemp cord or something)
His felt like an accessory designer, envisioning the stone dangling from the neck of a sun-tanned girl. Suga had received a picture of Kanzaki s.h.i.+ori in middle school. A slender chain probably wouldn't suit this energetic girl who a smile suited best.
Thinking that he should have had a notebook of designs, he cast his eyes over to the shelf, but right in front of it there stood a presence of a person, which was transparent enough to see through but definitely there, just like a heat haze.
With his straw sandals and leggings, navy trousers and a short tight-sleeved kimono, his antique-looking appearance made him seem as though he was some kind of pilgrim. He had a normal build, with hair pulled back into a tail and with amber eyes that were rare for a j.a.panese, which matched the impression the sharpness of his eyes gave, making it difficult to tell whether he was in his twenties or his forties——- Since the day they had met until now, neither his age nor appearance had changed.
The one who was looking down on him was the G.o.d of the night glowstone, Is.h.i.+mori-sama.
"…..Well, seems like you're working hard. But lately you haven't been showing your face here, what happened to that eagerness of yours before?" Is.h.i.+mori said as he peered at Suga's hands.
"(There was a lot going on. I'm sorry.)"
With Is.h.i.+mori, there wasn't any need to have a written conversation. If he just thought hard enough it somehow got through. As could be expected of
"………That's right, the previous Ogami-san died. ……For something like that to shake you, you're pretty delicate huh? Well, if things have calmed down I'll let it pa.s.s for now…"
Is.h.i.+mori spoke with an exceedingly self-righteous tone, without a trace of sympathy.
Suga's opinion of him was reinforced. ——-Even though it had been two and a half years had since his death. Since then, a lot of other things had happened. That's why he had been visiting less often, but Is.h.i.+mori's tone showed that he had forgotten all about it.
The fact he could say something like that was kind of shameless. Even though it's supposed to be his duty to protect the village's children as the night glowstone G.o.d.
(Wait, that wasn't quite right. Even though he was a G.o.d, Kenji said that he was actually a "curse G.o.d"….)
That's why thinking like this was wrong. Correcting his thoughts, Suga showed him a smile.
"(Thanks to you. I've finally been able to sort out my thoughts.)"
"Hmm, is that so. ……As usual, you're a girly little boy, aren't you?"
Though he didn't know what was funny, Is.h.i.+mori chuckled. With admirable effort, Suga bowed his head, saying 'please take care of me from now on as well' and Is.h.i.+mori, as if satisfied, disappeared from sight.
Suga reflexively heaved a sigh of relief.
(….. He hasn't changed at all. As usual, what an unpleasant guy….)
However, even so, it wouldn't do to lose his manners in front of Is.h.i.+mori.
Is.h.i.+mori was an emotional person with strong self-consciousness. Just based on his feelings at the time, the night-glowstone crystals could easily —— They would lose their color and become ordinary rocks in what could be considered a G.o.dly miracle.
(Kenji said that usually, if the heat treatment went well then it should be fine from there, but…)
Suga sighed and rolled the gla.s.s...o...b..like protective charm around on his hand.
(…..For a Santa Maria aquamarine, its color is kind of thin….)
When Suga closed his hands around it and peeked in through the gap, he could see the telltale pale blue glow. Unfortunately, this glow meant that he could never take it back outside. If he did, the world would become interested in this interesting gemstone and there would be a huge rush of demand, ending up with even the consecrated stones being stolen.
(They're also brittle. They're always getting broken by the children ghosts before even starting to lose their glow…)
Suga had seen the protective charms break into shards after being touched by a ghost of a child many times.
It really seemed that the more time he spent on it and the more beautiful it turned out, the more brittle and fleeting the stones became. Every time they broke, Suga felt that some soft place in his heart was getting hurt. Not because something that he had made was cruelly broken, but rather because he felt that the path to save s.h.i.+ori was being denied to him.
(…..It's okay. I'm not wrong. Kenji even praised me…)
"It's said that unprocessed night-glowstones absorb the emotions of the stone worker. Do you think I'm pulling your leg? But really, a worker's mental state affects the end product."
This was something that the ex-stone worker, Kanzaki Kenji, said with dead honesty.
"Think of it as a mirror that will reflect the state of your heart. …..You'll be fine. If it's you, you'll probably be able to do well even under that Is.h.i.+mori…."
Suga's hand returned to that Santa Maria blue amulet. That day, Kenji had said that he wanted to see Suga's work, so he showed him one that had turned out particularly well. Looking back now, those stories seemed pretty questionable.
But—– Kenji had told him that s.h.i.+ori's memories hadn't returned. When used by an Ogami-san, night-glowstone had a power that gave it the name "stone of oblivion." That's why, no matter how far-fetched the stories seemed, it wouldn't do to laugh it off.
Suga took a breath and decided to stop thinking about all of these different things and finish the next accessory at the archive. Pocketing the stone and briskly putting the tools away, he left the workshop.
The sky above was perfectly clear, and the sunlight was strong. Summer was coming.
(….It's been two years since gramps died…)
The event that happened ——that had called Kenji back at that time ——-
Suddenly remembering, Suga turned and looked back at the forest.
There were no abnormalities in the usual voices from the forest. Rea.s.sured, he once again turned to walk back to the historical archive.
During the time he was in the workshop, children might sneak off into the forest. In reality he'd like to work on the stones at night, but for "various reasons" he couldn't do that.
That's why he thought that early mornings until noon would be fine, but —— Suga's feet stopped.
At the edge of his vision, a familiar silhouette of a small person ran towards the museum. A short while later, the entrance door opened, followed by the sound of it shutting with a bang.
There were only two visitors he could think of, with the small figure in the middle school uniform being the one which caused his "various reasons."
(….Maybe that kid knows my daily routines…..)
In an instant, he was taken aback. It was a weekday, and the local middle school wasn't in summer vacation yet.
That meant truancy, and while skipping cla.s.s meant that he might be supposed to take her into protective custody, he could also just call the local police station.
(…..The real problem is if Mochizuki is at the station today…..)
He had heard that the police station was on a three-s.h.i.+ft system. Mochizuki, who worked at the police station that had jurisdiction over Azakawa Village, and who treated his work like a hobby, would always respond to Suga's silent phone calls.
(…But, it might not be good to rely on him too much….)
After sighing again for what seemed like the 100th time today, he thought about what sort of snacks from his stockpile he should bring out for Mochizuki when he came around as he hurried back to the archives.