MCFATTKM

27

Lelia felt like her heart was broken in half when she read the letters she had received before separating the magic stone from the fountain pen.

Heartbreak was what Lelia was feeling at the moment.

When the night came, she couldn't sleep properly.

The memories she had shared with her friends kept coming to her mind one by one.

[If I had known then, I would have been nicer to my friends...]

She didn't know at that time.

She never thought memories with those kids would be all she had.

For a long time, Lelia cried with her face buried in her knees.

***

A long time later.

By the time she looked up again, a large full moon was shining through the gap in the window.

The light was so beautiful and bright that it made Lelia squint her eyes.

That was when...

[...what's that?]

Something caught Lelia's eye while she was squatting on the floor.

Something was gently shining under the cabinet opposite to the bed.

[No way...]

Lelia slowly got up and approached the cabinet.

Then she squatted down again and checked.

It was not visible at all when she was standing, but it was clearly visible when someone crouched down on the floor.

In addition, even though it was not normally seen, it gave off a peculiar glow in the moonlight.

If Lelia's prediction was correct....

[It's a moonlight stone...]

It is said that moonlight stones have a unique power that is neither sacred, nor magical. So some wizards use their power to hide treasures.

Lelia slipped her hand into the narrow gap from which the light glowed.

At that very moment, she pressed her hand onto something.

Surprisingly, an ordinary wall cracked and a small door appeared. It was a very small room where things could be stored.

"..."

Lelia moved her trembling hand slowly to the handle. She opened the door, imagining all sorts of gold and silver treasures would be revealed.

"...!"

However, what appeared in the small space was unexpected.

[What is this?]

In the small secret storage room, there was only one round pocket watch.

The pocket watch, which had the color of old metal, looked very worn out.

Lelia paused for a moment to recall her memories of the novel she had read.

[...Maybe this is it? Did it look like this?]

There was one thing that came to mind. Half of the Holy Relic that Julianna obtained in the story. She didn't say specifically where she got it.

But when she read that Julianna later boasted to Emperor Perseus that she had obtained the treasure from her hut...

[Did you find it here?]