I made up magic and taught a world-destroying witch?

Chapter 85 Storage, Starting with Feeding the Fish

"It doesn't look like an ordinary gemstone," Grace said softly.

That's a very tactful way of putting it. If it were just about making a fortune from ordinary tourist souvenirs, Joseph would be willing to bring back the gray-backed fish that Allen caught on the spot and enshrine it as his mentor, listening to it curse every morning and evening to cultivate his character.

Mia moved closer and stared at the black crystal for a while, her brows quickly furrowing.

"That's not right," she muttered to herself. "Karl's family shouldn't have much money. He used to want to do odd jobs at the docks, but I heard he got the job as an apprentice at the blacksmith's shop through his uncle. How could he have something like this?"

The more she talked, the more uneasy she felt, and her expression gradually became strange. Finally, Mia asked hesitantly, "It wasn't stolen, was it?"

Joseph: "————"

Thank you, Mia.

You've successfully escalated this from a regular nuisance to a suspected criminal case.

While Joseph did love money and deeply respected the importance of every gold coin to a person's happiness, he really didn't want to keep this black crystal of dubious origin that didn't look like a legitimate item.

What if this thing is filthy and hasn't even been washed? How is he going to explain that?

Is it said that this was a young believer who claimed to follow true magic, who bumped into him on the main floating bridge and forcibly stuffed it into his hand?

That sounds even scarier, okay?

If this gets out, people won't think he's a victim; they'll just think Professor Grantham has finally started developing his own underground organization behind the scenes!

Grace thought for a moment and said, "Sir, I can try to have it appraised. There are people in the palace who specialize in appraising jewelry and magical materials. I've seen them make basic assessments before. Although they may not be able to tell what it is, they can at least determine its approximate origin."

Joseph glanced at her; this suggestion was quite sound, truly befitting of Her Highness the Princess.

"Remember not to show it to too many people," Joseph cautioned.

"Are you worried someone is looking for it? I'll have someone deliver it in a private capacity, without mentioning your name."

He was worried that someone wanted him to have it, Joseph thought.

He covered the black crystal back with the tarpaulin; the more he looked at it, the less it seemed to have anything to do with the word "safety."

The things Karl just said didn't sound like someone trying to get rid of something they'd stolen; in fact, they didn't sound like something a normal person would say on the main pontoon bridge.

Joseph didn't think he had anything about him that would make someone like Carl follow him across regions.

The only time he could be considered to have had any contact with Karl was when Mia was comprehending the light of the furnace outside the blacksmith's shop, and Karl, as one of the onlookers, offered a few unpleasant words of nonsense.

If this is something to be followed, then isn't the standard for following someone in this world a bit too low?

Joseph's head was spinning. He had come to Crow Tide Bay to take his students on a low-intensity field trip, and to check out the perimeter of the Sea Eye Lighthouse, and at most to make reasonable use of some of the project funds.

  

As a result, on the very first day he stepped out the door, before the low-intensity practice had even begun, a suspected fanatical follower had already stuffed a black crystal into his hand.

"Sir, what should we do now?" Mia asked softly.

Joseph stared at the oilcloth bundle on the table and fell silent.

In the simplest way, he could actually repackage the item and throw it away somewhere when no one is looking.

Should he send it directly to the patrol or to the association? But who knows if this mysterious "follower" is just waiting for him to hand it over so he can yell that Professor Grantham has betrayed true magic—

Let's keep it for now and wait for Grace to have it identified.

He rewrapped the oilcloth bag, wrapping it several times to make sure the black crystal inside wouldn't fall out of the cracks, before pushing open the door and peeking outside.

Outside the room was a narrow wooden corridor, below which lay the swaying seawater. Right below the door was an inner crossbeam, within reach from the doorway but invisible from the main floating bridge.

It's perfect for temporarily dealing with things you don't want to keep in your room or on your person.

Joseph hung the oilcloth bag under the beam and tugged the rope hard to make sure it wouldn't suddenly fall. Of course, if it did fall on its own, he couldn't be blamed, since he had already tried his best to keep it safe.

If the fish really ate it, that would be even better; we could just pretend nothing happened today.

Anyway, there are even fish that can curse in this place called Yachao Bay. If a fish eats an extra piece of black crystal that doesn't look very clean, it should be considered part of the local natural ecology.

Mia lay beside her watching, her expression somewhat complicated.

"Sir, is this really alright?"

"This is called temporary isolation and storage," Joseph replied calmly.

Grace nodded thoughtfully and said, "Are you worried that it might be influenced by human magic after coming into contact with people?"

Joseph: "————" Actually, he was mainly worried about what might happen if he carried this thing on his person. However, Grace's explanation was very professional, and it sounded like the reason a proper professor would give. It seems that as long as a person is calm enough, even something as simple as hanging a pot outside the window can be described with a research-oriented spirit.

"Yes." Joseph nodded. "Don't touch it before you figure out what it is."

Grace looked at the oilcloth bag hanging outside the window, her expression becoming more serious, and Mia nodded in agreement.

The gentleman is indeed very adept at handling these unexpected troubles. If it were her, she would probably have only been thinking about whether she could crack it open to see what the internal structure was like.

After processing the black crystal, the sky outside gradually darkened. The sea breeze blew through the gaps in the wooden planks, and one by one, the stalls on the floating bridge lit up. With the swaying of the sea breeze, the lights reflected on the water's surface like shattered golden scales.

"Sir, it's so lively outside!" Mia was the first to peek out the window.

Grace also walked over and stood a little behind, looking at the swaying lights on the main pontoon bridge.

Yachao Bay was already chaotic during the day, but it transformed into something else entirely at night. The stalls on both sides of the pontoon bridge had changed their appearance and were now selling strange and unusual things. In the middle of the main pontoon bridge, there was a man who looked like a bard, holding an old lute and singing a melodramatic love song that was out of tune.

The lyrics are roughly about a captain who falls in love with a siren, a siren who falls in love with a prince, a prince who eventually falls in love with a widow who sells grilled fish cakes, and finally the widow discovers that her true love is the captain.

After listening for a couple of sentences, Joseph felt that the artistic level and the security situation in this place both maintained a very free and abstract spiritual state.

However, the people around seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. A drunken dockworker even hummed along, but he was even more off-key than the bard. A greyback fish in a bucket, being pushed along, suddenly opened its mouth and said, "Stop singing!"

A burst of laughter immediately erupted around them.

Mia's eyes lit up immediately, and she turned to ask, "Sir, may we go outside and take a look?"

>