I finished the buyback procedures for the decorative items and gems obtained in the ruins.
After a while, my name was called.
I received a small pouch filled with coins.
According to the inspector, they had added quite a generous bonus.
Apparently, the marquis had instructed them to do so.
Perhaps a celebratory gesture for discovering the Dragon-Eye Goblet.
Quite generous of him.
That said, I still didn't have a good sense of the market value for such treasures.
In any case, my wallet had grown comfortably warm again.
Enough to cover three days' lodging without issue.
"I should look into information on that egg at some point."
I could browse the Forbidden Arts Compendium later to see if there was anything about it.
"Hati-dono."
Just as I was about to leave the area in front of the ruins, Mist called out.
"I was watching from a distance, but it turned into quite a commotion."
"I'm not exactly comfortable with it. The one who truly deserves praise is you, Hati-dono."
Mist gave a wry smile.
I pointed to the pack containing the silver bone.
"I went into those ruins because I wanted this, not praise. Getting unnecessary things doesn't help me. So, what are your plans moving forward?"
"It seems I'll be receiving a formal reception tomorrow along with the reward handover."
As expected.
"I'd prefer to decline if possible, but they said the reward won't be released unless I attend."
"Well, the marquis seems like the type who's particular about formalities."
He might even try to recruit me as one of his private soldiers.
"As a result, it looks like I'll need to stay one more night here in Mills."
"What about lodging?"
"They offered to prepare a room at the marquis's mansion, but I declined."
"Then you'll book another room at an inn?"
"Yes. But tomorrow I'll receive 300 gold coins, so lodging expenses won't be a concern anymore."
"So you're free until tomorrow's reception?"
"That's right. However, I'll need to remain here for a little while longer."
Apparently, they were currently verifying the authenticity of the Dragon-Eye Goblet at the marquis's mansion.
I had some doubts about whether someone who had never seen the real thing could properly appraise it.
I took out my pocket watch.
"For now, how about we have that talk in my room at eight o'clock tonight? You probably want some rest at the inn too. We can each handle dinner separately."
"Understood."
With the appointment set, I parted from Mist and left the area in front of the ruins.
I had already gathered the tools needed to turn the bone powder into an enhancement potion.
I had purchased them earlier while shopping with Mist.
Some were fragile, so I had left part of them with the inspector before entering the ruins.
The Forbidden Arts Compendium also listed the necessary tools for preparing the potion.
Most could be substituted with similar items.
The preparation method itself turned out to be simpler than expected.
The biggest hurdle had been obtaining the material.
But I had successfully secured that as well.
There was just one thing I had forgotten to buy for a separate purpose.
Something I had overlooked amid the ruin conquest and potion preparation.
I headed to the main street to acquire it.
I entered the target shop.
They had plenty of stock.
No artificial scarcity tactics, it seemed...
There were several varieties.
The price varied depending on the level of detail.
After getting the shopkeeper's permission, I checked the contents.
Once confirmed, I handed my selection to the shopkeeper.
"Could I get one of these?"
I completed the purchase and left the shop.
I leaned my back against the outer wall right outside.
I untied the string and unfolded what I had bought.
"Let's see...this is the Yonato Duchy..."
What I had purchased was a world map.
This was what I had wanted.
The Urza Kingdom, where I currently was, was located in the southern part of the continent.
Mills was apparently the southernmost city in Urza.
Further south lay the dark-colored forest where the abandoned ruins were located.
At the center of the continent was the great ruin belt—known as the Golden Habitat Monster Zone.
To its north was the Magnal Kingdom.
"The northern Magnal Kingdom serves as the front line against the Great Demon Emperor, huh."
Magnal's territory stretched east to west.
On the map, it appeared as a wide, horizontally elongated country.
It occupied the upper portion of the continent.
The location of the fallen great fortress narrowed like a bottleneck.
Sharp mountain marks extended to the east and west of the fortress.
I see.
The flat terrain was probably limited to around that fortress.
Before its fall, it had blocked invaders from the far north.
In the southwest of the continent was marked the Mira Empire.
A country name I was hearing for the first time.
In the southeast was the Bakoss Empire.
And sandwiched between Urza and Bakoss was the Nea Holy Kingdom.
I had heard it surrendered quickly after being invaded by Bakoss...
This map apparently hadn't been updated yet.
And in the northwest of the continent was the Yonato Duchy.
The country Mist had mentioned she was heading toward.
"And then..."
I shifted my gaze to the upper right.
In the northeast of the continent lay the fateful Alion Kingdom.
The country where that shitty goddess resided.
North — Magnal Kingdom.
Northeast — Alion Kingdom.
Northwest — Yonato Duchy.
Center — Golden Habitat Monster Zone.
Southeast — Bakoss Empire.
Southwest — Mira Empire.
South — Urza Kingdom.
Excluding the Golden Habitat Monster Zone, six countries existed on the continent.
Good.
I now had a rough grasp of the countries' relative positions.
"..."
The information I wanted to confirm was now in hand.
I checked the time.
There was still quite a while until the appointed time.
In that case,
"I should head back to the inn and get started."
On preparing the monster enhancement potion.
▽
After informing the innkeeper, I began preparing the potion in my room.
Being able to make it with just one material was quite convenient.
I had quickly washed the tools earlier at the water station downstairs.
Pigi-maru was watching from atop the bed.
Silently swaying side to side.
I spread the tools out on a clean cloth.
Overall, they were compact equipment.
I had deliberately chosen the most compact versions possible.
To make them easy to carry while traveling.
Well, I might need them again in the future...
I rechecked the open Forbidden Arts Compendium beside me.
"Let's see, first——"
I began by finely crushing the bone.
Then I ground it into powder using a mortar.
*Grind, grind, grind...*
Next, I mixed the powder with water.
"Hm?"
The volume of water decreased significantly after mixing.
The color changed from silver to a translucent blue.
"Next..."
I poured the mixture into a glass container and heated it.
There was a dedicated tool for heating.
As it heated, the transparency of the blue bone-powder water increased.
Eventually, it became completely clear.
It felt somewhat like a science experiment.
"Now, through this filter——wait, first."
The filter had a crystal attached.
When I channeled magical essence into it, the crystal began to glow.
Apparently, it enabled perfectly clean filtration through some special power.
This and the heating tool had been fairly expensive.
Tools that used magical essence tended to be pricier.
They also had a limited lifespan based on usage, so they weren't infinite.
The first filtration of the bone-powder water finished.
I repeated the process until all the bone powder was used up.
And so,
"This should be it."
There had seemed to be a lot of bone powder at first...
"But mixing it with water reduces the volume so much that the final amount is only about enough to fill a coffee cup..."
At any rate, the monster enhancement potion was now complete.
Suddenly, sleepiness came over me.
I checked the time.
"I'll take a short nap..."
Sleep was important.
The fatigue accumulated in the Mills Ruins hadn't fully cleared yet.
I'd test the potion on Pigi-maru after waking up.
If I tested it and then immediately fell asleep only for something bad to happen, that would be trouble.
The effects were described in the Forbidden Arts Compendium, so it should be fine.
"Anyway, your enhancement will have to wait until later."
"Pi♪"
I asked Pigi-maru to wake me up, then settled into the soft bed and fell asleep.