Boris muttered, scratching the back of his head, wondering if it was because of his mood, and then got up from his seat.
"Now, I will inject you with the movement coordinates and magical power. Then, the magical wave will activate, and when the ship passes through the gate, it will teleport to the Magic Tower. Please remain still and sit upright."
"Are there any side effects?"
As the cold air rose from the lake, Endymion took off his outer garment and placed it over Julia's shoulders, asking him. It seemed that he was wary because it was an unfamiliar method.
Boris was about to say there was no such thing, but he snapped his fingers.
"That's right! Those who experience the gate for the first time sometimes experience hallucinations. This is because of the strong magical waves. Most say that the saddest or most painful memories of their lives unfold as if they were real."
"Why are you saying that now?"
Endymion pointed out coldly and protected Julia with his arm like a shield. He seemed worried that she might experience hallucinations on top of her already unwell condition.
Julia burst into laughter as she watched Endymion treat her like a newborn baby bird.
"I, I forgot. I only have a small memory of crying because the cookies I had secretly hidden went bad when I was little..."
Boris scratched his cheek and made excuses.
"It's just a minor hallucination, so it'll end soon anyway. In that case, should I cast a protective spell on you?"
Boris was a low-level wizard, so he could only use magic that was true to its basic purpose. Still, it was effective enough to block the Gate's side effects.
"I would appreciate it if you could do that."
As Julia spoke softly, Boris immediately cast a spell. The lime-green magic was absorbed into Julia.
"Yes, then I'll go now."
"Oh. You didn't do it for Mion?"
Julia said innocently, tugging at Boris's clothes. Boris, who was trying to sneak past the annoying Endymion, reluctantly cast a spell on him as well.
"It's done. This is a magic that protects your mind, so you two will be able to pass through the gate without any hallucinations."
"Is there no chance of it being released?"
Endymion asked suspiciously.
"Not at all! Unless you're a great wizard who is so powerful that other people's magic doesn't work on you at all!"
Boris dismissed the idea, boasting that there was no need to worry. He said that the only people like that were the god Dynamis and the first Magic Tower Lord.
Julia nodded with a curious expression, and Endymion asked in a lowered voice.
"You?"
"Huh? Oh, it's okay. When I was young, there was a time when Lord Oberon's strength was inferior to mine."
When she was five, the golden apple she had made disappeared due to Killian's magic. Looking at that, there was no way she could be the great wizard of legend. Julia also whispered softly.
"Aren't you overestimating me?"
Endymion was restless and couldn't take his eyes off her, as if she were a child, perhaps because of the moonlight. And yet, it was contradictory to think of her as a powerful great wizard.
'If this is good, is it serious?'
She remembered the image of them kissing each other until the end, even though they were very longing for each other last night. Julia's lips naturally turned up, and she whispered softly into Endymion's ear.
"Don't worry and concentrate, Your Majesty."
"..."
As her breath reached his ears, Endymion stared at her with his clouded, sunken eyes. His eyes were dangerous, as if he was about to attack her at any moment. Julia cried out in a stinging voice.
"I'm ready, Boris!"
"Yes. Are you done with your lovey-dovey activities? Then I'll start it."
"Huh? Oh, that's not it!"
Julia denied it with her cheeks flushed red. But while the two were whispering, Boris, who had become a lonely screen, simply raised his hand with a forlorn look in his eyes.
Phew.
A green magic flowed out from Boris' palm and shot down in an arch shape. The magic was suspended in the air, but soon, strangely enough, it created ripples as if it had hit the water's surface.
"Yes, then I'll see you at the Magic Tower later."
Boris snapped his fingers with an excited expression on his face. The boat slid powerfully across the water.
Julia waited, a little nervously. The bow of the dinghy reached the gate, and soon the three of them passed through the swaying lime-green magic.
Jiling-!
With a slight vibration, it felt like passing through peaceful water. Julia closed her eyes slightly, feeling amazed.
'It's not that special, is it? Since it's a teleportation spell, I thought it would feel like being sucked into somewhere...'
"Oh, this can't be happening!"
Julia opened her eyes wide and saw Boris with his mouth wide open, his face pensive.
"Uh?"
Julia looked around in confusion.
The boat they were on passed through the arched branches and floated smoothly to the other side. It didn't feel like they were gliding through peaceful waters, it was literally gliding across the lake!
"Why, why didn't the gate work?!"
Boris turned the ship around again in a panic. However, even after passing through the other side, the gate was silent. Even though Boris's lime-green magic was clearly pooling like a wave.
"This is definitely right! It came like this the other time, and I locked it with my own hands!"
Boris stretched out his arm and touched the gate urgently. The still-stalled magic greeted its owner with a thud, but the magic did not work.
"I think it's broken."
Endymion muttered, his eyebrows furrowed. Boris shook his head, saying that it couldn't be true.
"No, that's ridiculous! This is a gate that the lord of the Tower himself built. It can't possibly break..!"
Boris, who had been madly groping the gate, suddenly stopped moving. Julia cautiously opened her mouth, seeing him frozen as if he had turned into a stone statue.
"Boris, what's the problem?"
"Yes?"
"The Magic Stone! The Magic Stone is gone!"
Ugh! Boris screamed and pointed somewhere.
Julia quickly turned her gaze. Boris's finger was pointing to a large hole in the base of a thick tree.
"The magic stone over there is the core that operates the gate! Someone took it away!"
Boris cried, saying that it was definitely there, but it was gone.
"Without that, I can't get to the Magic Tower. What should I do? The communication port is broken, so I can't even contact it!"
Boris stamped his feet with a face that looked like he was about to cry.
Julia was puzzled as to what was going on, but she went looking for it anyway. Endymion also looked around, but the magic stone was nowhere to be seen.
"Search thoroughly and find it."
"Yes!"
In the end, they even called in the Royal Knights who were nearby. However, even though they searched the area around the lake like they were catching mice and even searched inside the lake, they couldn't find even a single Magic Stone.
Eventually, the three of them got back in the carriage and returned to the city of Rumar.
"Oh, this is happening. This can't be happening! The gate itself has a background magic applied to it, so no one knows that it's the Magic Tower Gate. And the lake is an unowned public property, so no one cares..."
Endymion asked, listening to Boris's soliloquy, who was now very tired.
"Did you put background magic on the magic stone? If it's so beautiful, there must be someone who wants it."
Then Boris turned his head with a jerk. Julia blinked as his dull expression became unusually clear.
Hmm, that's definitely a look that hits the nail on the head.
"...That, that, I arrived at Rumar and replaced the magic stone. It hadn't been working for a long time, so I received instructions from my superiors to replace it with a new one..."
"You forgot to enchant the new magic stone."
Boris shut his mouth tightly at the sharp criticism. He was shocked by the fact that he was the one who caused this major accident, and he even broke out in a cold sweat.
"I guess someone passed by and found it and took it."
Julia concluded with an awkward laugh. Boris clutched his head in despair.
"I... I'm definitely going to go mining now! Oh my, what should I do! They say it'll take at least 10 years if I go there! What's going to happen to my research?"
"I think you should be worried about being fired, not going to the mines."
Endymion spoke in a sarcastic tone. At that, Boris's face became devastated.
"Mion."
Julia frowned as she spoke resentfully. Endymion quickly changed his stance.
"First, find the magic stone."
Boris jumped to his feet as if his mind had suddenly come to him.
"Yes, yes!"
If it were normal, she would have complained that his words were harsh, but the situation seemed urgent. Julia also stood up and suggested that they go to the market.
"Because it's a place where a lot of people gather, it would be a good idea to go to a jewelry store or a pawn shop that handles stolen goods."
"Ah! I see. Let's go right now!"
Boris, who had been acting like a sloth, saying he hated exercise, ran at full speed. Julia and Endymion also headed to the same place.
"Do you have any deep blue gems?"
"Are you talking about this sapphire?"
The jeweler took out a gem the size of a fingernail and showed it to me. When she shook her head and said it wasn't, he showed her various blue gems, but none of them were magic stones.
"Sigh, what should I do?"
Julia left the jeweler's shop. The boulevard was lined with tents and stalls for the special festivities and ball that were to take place that evening.
"Your Majesty, have you found it?!"
Boris, who had entered the bakery next to the jewelry store, came running in, out of breath. Julia shushed him and shook her head, drawing attention to her title.
"No."
The owner of the largest jeweler in Rumar seemed to know nothing. Julia described his appearance in as much detail as possible and gave him hints that he might be hiding something.
It would have been much easier to find if it had been sold through legal channels, but unfortunately, it appears to have been sold as stolen goods.
'If you're really unlucky, someone might own it privately.'
Julia began to speculate intently about the whereabouts of the magic stone.
Semele was the country that produced the most high-quality and precious gemstones on the continent. Thanks to this, Julia had been learning gemology as a Queen's education since she was young.
Not only trends and designs but also which gems are of good quality, how they are produced, and even how they are processed and distributed.
Thanks to this, Julia had a reputation for having the most refined jewelry sense in society. Luckily, she also had knowledge other than fashion, which came in handy at this time.
"...First of all, if it's a jewel, an appraisal certificate is needed."
Since the general public did not know much about magic stones, they were likely to treat them as jewels. And jewel owners would always keep documents proving the value of their jewels.
In that case, the person who found the magic stone would have also received an appraisal certificate. And the only people who can issue a gem appraisal certificate are professionals with proven experience.
Most valuable items like jewels have associations established in each region to share information. But if the legal experts at the biggest stores in the region don't know...
'I guess you're talking about an illegal expert.'
Julia, her eyes sparkling, pointed somewhere.
"I guess I should go there."
"Yes?"
The place the thin finger was pointing to was an old pawn shop inside the alley on the other side.
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