Rising Life Volume 1, Chapter 3

Episode 3 The Mysterious Glasses

「Glasses?」

　Stopping in front of an empty white stall, Kian tilted his head.

『Indeed, I am a glasses.』

「......! The glasses talked!?」

　He looked at the crowd behind him with wide eyes.

　Everyone was busy coming and going without paying attention to them.

　It was the last bustle before the store closed.

『No one is using ventriloquism. I am speaking directly to your brain. So there is no danger of others eavesdropping.』

「Is it a kind of spell? It looks like a pair of ...... ordinary glasses.」

　Kian narrowed his eyes and peered at the unadorned glasses on the shelf.

　Despite their simple appearance, the glasses are somehow fascinating.

　Perhaps there is a slight curse of fascination on them.

『Hoho, you are correct. I have the blessing of fascination, and intelligent beings are generally attracted to me.』

(Did she read my thoughts!? ...... No, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. She said earlier that she was talking to my brain. I guess it's some kind of byproduct of the art of telepathy.)

『It's been a boring journey, but I finally found something that looks interesting. How about you, my friend? Why don't you buy me? If I do say so myself, it's a good buy for the price.』

　He looked at the price tag without thinking and saw that it was for five iron coins.

　Cheap.

　A skewer of meat and vegetables cost three iron coins, so it was about the price of an expensive dinner.

　Kian took out his wallet from his pocket.

　There were two copper coins in it.

　If he gives one of them to the shopkeeper, they'll give him back five iron coins in change.

「Unfortunately, even you are a lot of money to me right now. Please find another owner.」

『Are you sure you want to miss your chance to be a winner?』

「Come again?」

　He starts to walk away, but his feet pull him back.

　The sounds of the crowd around him became distant, and his attention drifted to the telepathic glasses.

『From the looks of it, you're a dull, broke, and unpopular third-rate adventurer, aren't you? If you continue as you are now, you'll surely end up rotting on the side of the road somewhere.』

「......!」

『But if you use me, you can awaken the great talent that lies within you and live a completely different life than before.』

「I feel like I'm being scammed.」

『It's not a scam. You have the power to do that. You are a healer who received a proper education at an early age, correct? In addition, the magic power you carry is surprisingly weak. You have almost no Tachyonian cells. No one is more compatible with me than I am with you.』

(What are these glasses saying ......)

　When Kian finally raised his eyebrows, a figure came out from behind the stall.

　It was a man of mature age.

　He might have come from the East, and his hair and skin were the same color as Kian's.

「Stone to iron, lead to gold, obsidian to rose. Welcome to my store, my guest. What can I do for you?」

「N-no. I...」

『Buy me. Kian Vid.』

「Oh.」

　The older man touched the white turban around his head and walked out of the darkness into the setting sun.

　The man had a strange gaze.

　His black eyes, like a bottomless swamp, caught Kian's from the front.

「Are you looking for these glasses?」

「No, that's why I'm not――」

「These glasses are a prank tool created by a famous alchemist. They are enchanted with the magic of fascination. When you wear it, you'll become very stylish and more attractive as a man. If you wear it to a party, everyone will look at you. You'll be the center of the party.」

「...... Are you saying that's a joke item?」

「Yes, that's correct.」

「But those glasses do talk, right?」

　When Kian asked this, the shopkeeper looked back at the glasses and blinked.

「It talks? These glasses?」

「Yes.」

「Hahahahahaha! No way! These glasses are just a prank that does exactly what I said before. Nothing more, nothing less.」

「But sure enough, ......」

「Hmph. If the glasses can talk, then maybe they have God in them. Yeah, in my country, they say that things that have passed the years have lived in it. It's called "Tsukumogami".」

「Tsukumogami ......」

「Aahh. I'm sure these glasses would love to be bought by you. ...... Yes, I'll sell them to you for a special price of one iron coin. I've been having a hard time selling this one too. It's made of glass, so I can't even handle it properly. I had to be very careful every time.」

『I am so strong that even the magic sword is surprised.』

「A piece of the iron coin: ......」

「What do you think? It won't add much to your stomach, but I think it's a very interesting item. Especially for you... it suits you well.」

　The man then took the glasses and held them up in front of Kian's face for him to see.

　Just then, a stall at the back of the store started to sell off the bargain before it closed.

　He could have written off the bargain and assumed that the glasses came as a bonus.

「――」

　After a few seconds of hesitation, Kian.

「If you show that much generosity, ....... All right. I'll buy it.」

　He decided to buy those funny glasses.

　　× x x x

　Oddly enough, the glasses, which were supposed to be made of iron, were as light as a feather.

　After buying a skewer of chicken at a skewer shop, Kian sat down on a nearby pile of bricks to observe the strange glasses.

『What's the matter? Are you going to try it on?」

「No, I'm glad I bought it, but I'm just too scared. ......You don't think you’re going to take over my consciousness the moment I try it?」

『Do you really think I have that much magic in me?』

「I have less magic power than most people, so I have very little resistance to magic - almost no resistance to magic. Even a childish toy could be a serious thing.」

『Don't make it worse. I'm just trying to enlighten you a bit, and in return, you'll have some adventures. I want you to see and hear all kinds of things in all sorts of places that I can't go.』

「Adventure ....... Certainly, you're a thing and you can't go anywhere by yourself. It's a legitimate desire.」

『Wrong.』

「What?」

　The glasses took a beat before continuing.

『Not just an adventure, but a great adventure. It's a future full of glory that will be passed down to the bards as a legend. You can do it. You have the power to do it.』

「I'm just........a 9th class adventurer with little magic. No, I'm not even an adventurer anymore. There are plenty of replacements for those bastards.」

『You sure? From what I've seen, I'd say you're one of the most difficult species of humans to acquire.』

「You're right, there aren't many people with less magic than me.」

『The first thing you need to do is change your loser attitude. If you've finished eating the meat skewer, Kian, then quickly use me. If you do, your life will change dramatically.』

(What's going to change?)

　With this in mind, Kian stood up and returned the skewers to the basket by the stall.

『Everything you can think of will change. Dramatically, for the better.』

「............」

『What do you think? Don't you want to bet on it? If you don't want to bet, you can immediately go to the merchant and return me to him. You will get one iron coin back, and tomorrow you will continue your life of extreme poverty as if nothing had happened.』

(Extreme poverty ....... I see. I'm stuck in any case.)

　Kian thought to himself as he walked through the crowded streets.

　He has nowhere to go and no money.

　Soon he'll be sent to work in a coal mine or on the Great Ice Wall as a laborer, work like an ant while his body wears out, and die like a piece of trash.

　Then...

　It's not going to change anything even if I go along with the nonsense of these glasses for a little while.

「............」

　Kian held the glasses up in front of his face

　And he put it on.

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