Chapter 131 — The Strange Stone in the Drawer
S.C. 1511 — Late February
Hidden Island — Cliffside Base (Main Storage Room)
Ren sat cross-legged on the cool stone floor of his storage room, surrounded by crates, jars, folded cloth, and labeled containers. After finishing the first multi-village trade route, he finally had time to clean, organize, and calculate his remaining supplies.
Zemo lay beside him, tail flicking lazily every time Ren shifted something.
Ren opened the lowest drawer of the crate shelf. Inside were assorted oddities he'd collected:
old shells
pieces of driftwood
shards of broken pottery
small jars filled with unknown powders
and a few stones with unusual textures
He reached inside to rearrange the jars… and his fingers brushed against something cold.
A fist-sized, dull-black stone lay wedged between two old rope coils.
Ren blinked.
"…When did I put this in here?"
Zemo lifted his head immediately, ears perked.
Ren picked it up and realized—it wasn't a smooth stone. It had tiny veins, faintly metallic, running over the surface. Nothing glowing. Nothing warm. Nothing unusual in smell or texture.
Just… strange.
A weird souvenir.
Ren turned to Zemo.
"Did you bring this? From the forest or the sea?"
Zemo barked once, confidently.
Ren smiled faintly.
"So you did bring it."
He held the stone closer to the lantern. No sparks. No shimmer. No cracks. Just a heavy, odd-looking rock.
"Looks like some kind of ore. Maybe iron mixed with something else?"
He tapped it lightly on the table.
Tok.
Dense.
"Feels heavier than normal stone… maybe high mineral concentration."
Zemo hopped closer and sniffed it again, tail wagging.
"You really like your shiny and weird stones, don't you?"
Ren weighed it in his hand. Definitely denser than average. The faint metallic veins made it seem useful.
"Maybe it can help in alloy tests. I can crush a bit and mix it with the next sample batch."
He set the stone aside on the table, next to:
powdered charcoal
a jar of crushed sea salt
plant extract concentrate
drying herbs
a few new soil samples from the island
He was planning new experiments:
adrenaline stimulant prototype
blood-oxygen enhancer
plant-extract solvent
high-concentration Compound X tests
The stone could simply be another material to analyze.
Ren nodded to himself.
"Tomorrow I'll shave off a corner and see how it behaves with heat."
No urgency.
No suspicion.
Just another item on the list.
He closed the drawer, finished re-stacking the jars, and hung a fresh tarp over the shelf.
Outside, the evening tide crashed softly against the cove.
Ren exhaled, stretching his stiff shoulders.
"Inventory done. Experiments tomorrow."
Zemo yawned loudly in agreement.
Ren smiled, grabbed the strange stone again, and placed it into his satchel for tomorrow's lab session.
Just another rock.
Nothing more.
For now.
---
End of Chapter 131