Kanai and the Eight-Colored Jewels 16

"Well then, let's get going, young lady."

Ark spoke up once only large ripples remained on the water's surface.

"I'm used to the ventilation ducts, so leave it to me."

"And the reconnaissance is perfect, too."

The two mice patted their chests and began to walk in front of Kanai. Kanai got down on all fours and followed the mice. The inside of the ventilation duct was dark, and she could only see as far as her own hand could reach. Even so, there were many straight paths, and the mice waited for her at every fork, so she never got lost.

"The hole we came in through is on the first basement floor. The young master's room is on the third floor. It's going to be quite a climb, but do your best to keep up."

Just as Ark said, Kanai and the others climbed more slopes than she could count on one hand. They repeated flat paths and uphill slopes over and over again. Even so, each slope was short, so Kanai never even got out of breath.

She didn't get tired, but just as Kanai was starting to get bored of the monotonous path, she finally began to see light. As she went further, she reached a dead end, and light was leaking through a gap in the wall.

"This is the room given to the young master."

Kanai peered into the room through the gap, but she could only see the ceiling. Oak pushed the tip of her nose with his small hand.

"Yes, move aside, move aside. The ends of the ventilation ducts are all blocked off to keep mice out. It doesn't mean anything to us, though."

Oak moved his chipped ear while touching the red stone hanging from his neck.

"This is the power of the red stone."

When Oak pushed the wall at the dead end, it fell to the other side quite easily.

"The red stone is a stone of power. And the blue stone is a stone of levitation. Though, all it does is make you float in place and fall while swaying like a leaf. For some reason, the blue stone has particularly big drawbacks. I can only say that God must have been slacking off."

Ark placed his hand on the shoulder of Oak, who was shaking his head with his palms facing the ceiling.

"God can fly with his own wings, so he didn't understand how precious a power levitation is. It's not suited for travel, and the drawback is that you can't land where you want to. But it's very useful for getting down from high places. Now, young lady. Put me on your hand."

Kanai did as she was told and placed Ark on her hand.

"Then, follow me."


Oak stepped out to the other side of the hole. Oak descended while dancing through the air to the right and left like a flower petal. Kanai, who had been watching Oak, swallowed hard as she saw the distance from the hole to the floor.

"Is it really okay with such a small stone?"

Ark winked at Kanai, whose face had turned pale.

"It's fine. The Creator shared power equally among all the jewels, and the jewels allow everyone to use that power equally. Although there are restrictions, like having to touch them depending on the color, or time limits."

Kanai took one deep breath. The mouse on her hand pressed a small blue stone against Kanai's hand. Kanai placed one hand on the hole and, making up her mind, pushed her body out. Kanai's body floated up softly and moved to under the light where ten candles were stuck.

"I, I floated."

When Kanai looked down, she met the eyes of Shuri, who had his eyes wide open. Shuri was wearing a long-sleeved white jacket and black trousers that reached his ankles. The white jacket seemed to be made of a material that faintly reflected light, and its hue changed like waves every time Kanai danced left and right. Shuri's silver hair looked like it had been neatly brushed, and it sparkled lustrously.

Kanai landed in front of Shuri and smiled.

"You look like a prince, Shuri."

Shuri blushed slightly and shook his head. The white stone hanging from his neck swayed at the same time.

"Kanai, you've made new friends. I was surprised that you came in through the ventilation duct."

"They said it's a mouse path. They helped me with a lot of things."

Shuri, who had been looking at the mouse standing on Kanai's hand, frowned and looked at Kanai's feet.

"Huh? Kanai, your hem is wet, what happened? Shouldn't you change your clothes?"

Kanai couldn't help but imagine the clothes in this castle. The long trousers that Shuri and Shiark wore? The iron armor the guards wore? The long skirt that reached the toes that Shuri's mother wore? All of them looked hard to move in, and Kanai grimaced.

"Hmm, I'll pass. I should just go back to my original world soon anyway."

The mouse that had been on her hand crawled up Kanai's arm to her shoulder. Conversely, Chichi, who had been perched on her shoulder, flapped his wings and flew over Shuri's head.

"Sorry, Shuri. I'm borrowing this."

Kanai stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Shuri's neck. Shuri usually smelled of the sun, but now he smelled of blooming flowers. Kanai held her breath and snatched the white stone from Shuri's neck.

Kanai, holding the white stone, took a step back from Shuri. Even so, Shuri didn't move.

"I'm really, really sorry."

Not just for stealing the white stone. For relying on Shuri for everything, but taking it for granted without even thanking him. For truly wishing that she didn't have to return to this world. It was a 'sorry' that held many meanings.

Kanai turned her back on Shuri and ran out of the room and down the hallway. A single tear ran down her cheek, and Kanai wiped her cheek hard.

After a while, Chichi and the mouse riding on Chichi caught up. The reason Shuri couldn't move was because Oak had been using the power of the black stone.

"Thanks for earlier. Thanks to you, it was easy to get."

Kanai showed the white stone in her hand to Oak. Oak rubbed the tip of his nose with his small hand.

"That was an easy task. More importantly, you're not good at running long distances, right? I heard it from this little one."

Ark, who was on Kanai's shoulder, looked up at Oak, who was petting Chichi's head.

"That's a problem. We have to climb the stairs two more times to get to the storage room... Oh, that's right. Young lady, go into the door on the right in front of you."

Thinking it might be a mouse shortcut, Kanai opened the door on the right. When she entered the room, it was Shuri's mother's room. Shuri's mother didn't know what was happening and was opening and closing her mouth.

"Hmm. Actually, Shiark would have been appropriate, but it can't be helped."

Ark flew off Kanai's shoulder and descended to the floor with the help of the blue stone's power. He ran across the carpet, which had such a long pile that the mouse's feet were hidden, and stood in front of Shuri's mother. Shuri's mother let out a short scream and stepped back half a step.

"Sorry, but I'm going to borrow your appearance for a moment."

Ark held the purple stone in his hand and closed the distance to Shuri's mother. The purple stone was pressed against her feet, which she couldn't escape with. Immediately, purple light spilled out from the stone.

"Huh, what happened?"

When Kanai looked up at Chichi, who was perched on the coat rack, Oak, who was on Chichi's back, winked.

"The power of the purple stone has been activated. Just watch."