Lumi already had a plan. "Can you make them into rings? Just a bunch of rings for magicians. The three of us have tons of empty fingers."

Merath considered it. "That’s a good use for them. I can do that. It will take about a week."

"That’s fine." Lumi said. Then he added, "I’d like the rings upgraded as much as possible."

Merath’s expression shifted immediately. His eye began to twitch. The last few dozen years he had lived had been in exceptional peace.

All he did was maintain some seals, keep a look out on any suspicious activity, study magic, and take in nominal disciples. These past few weeks have been the most chaos he’s endured in quite some time.

In a minor way, it reminded him of the old days when he fought the forces of evil alongside the heroes of old. It was... nostalgic.

Despite the nostalgia, there was something that was bothering him.

Yes, it was true that they were working together for a good cause.

Yes, he understood the importance of their mission.

But he was being treated as free labor by people he had frankly, met extremely recently. It was one time to be casual with him, but you couldn’t just ask him to use his time and resources for free. Materials for upgrading weren’t cheap. His time wasn’t cheap. His expertise wasn’t cheap.

His gaze lightly shifted. "I realize I offered, but I’d like to mention something. Making magical artifacts isn’t effortless, even for me. Not to mention, I have to use several supplementary materials which are very expensive."

Lumi heard Merath, and found his words very reasonable. They had already been pushing their luck by threatening Merath as a man they could come to for anything. They even broke through his window. Twice.

He turned, and was about to offer payment.

But Lena beat him to it.

"Three million Ems!" Lena exclaimed, pulling out a massive pouch of coins. "Will that cover it?"

Merath blinked. He hadn’t expected an immediate offer of payment, much less that much. He took a moment to process the offer.

Three million was... more than sufficient. In fact, it was excessive.

He calmed down. "I will take payment, but not all three million. Only what’s appropriate for the materials and labor involved."

Lena shook her head firmly. "No! Take it all!"

"That’s too much." Merath protested.

"Then just make sure to make everything as good as possible!" Lena pushed the pouch toward him. "Use the extra to get better materials or whatever you need!"

Merath looked at the pouch, then at Lena’s determined expression.

He sighed. "Fine. I’ll accept the full payment and ensure everything is crafted to the highest possible standard."

"Yay!" Lena clapped her hands together. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

With the matter of the rings covered, everyone’s gaze shifted to the last item remaining. The carefully preserved and displayed legendary pixie wing.

After just a few moments of examining the item, Lumi and Merath stepped back from the item. Their eyes met briefly, and a silent understanding passed between them.

They both knew what this should be used for.

There was only one thing that made sense.

Turn it into a pair of wings for flight.

Merath spoke first. "I believe we’re thinking the same thing."

"Wings." Lumi confirmed.

Lena’s eyes went wide. "Wait, wait! Isn’t this a legendary artifact?"

"Yes." Both Lumi and Merath said simultaneously.

"Then..." Lena gestured at it. "Shouldn’t we use it for something more impressive? Like, I don’t know what it does, but like... I’m confused."

"It depends on the Pixies innate abilities in life," Lumi began explaining. "But yes, it has other properties that could turn it into a proper weapon."

Merath stroked his beard. "Judging by the state of this wing, it can inflict a death curse upon people. If we wanted to turn it into a weapon, we could do that. The wing has that capability."

"But." Lumi continued the thought. "That’s a power that can be outclassed."

Lena frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Cursing someone to death is useful." Lumi explained. "But it’s not unique. There are other ways to kill people. Most importantly, if we really did try to capitalize on that ability, it would take the form of an external item which functions independently of the user. Meaning, even if I get stronger, the curse from the item won’t. Eventually, we’ll encounter enemies who the curse won’t be as useful against."

He gestured at the wing. "Flight, however, is useful forever. Mobility is one of the most valuable assets in combat and travel. And using a legendary artifact as the base material will create some of the best wings possible."

Merath nodded in agreement. "The wing’s legendary properties will partially transfer to the crafted item. You’ll have wings that are not only functional but also carry the inherent power of their source material."

Lena thought about it for a moment. "I guess that makes sense. I was thinking of it from the perspective of, well, if it’s a legendary artifact..."

"The ability for a human to fly," Merath lightly corrected. "Is already a power some may consider legendary."

"It’s the smart choice." Lumi said firmly.

"Okay, okay." Lena relented. "Make the wings."

Merath carefully set the wing aside with the other materials he’d be working on.

The entire time this conversation had been happening, Eden stood off to the side feeling completely out of his league.

The others had been talking about some legendary artifacts. Permanent strengthening potions. Three million Ems being thrown around casually. High-grade mana crystals.

These were things far beyond his understanding or experience. He was just a farmer. What was he doing here?

"Scree! Chir chir chirp!" Sol chirped in his arms.

Eden looked down at his phoenix. His arms trembled lightly as the phoenix moved, no longer merely cradled in Eden’s arms but putting a claw on eden’s arm to stand on, then the second claw.

It turned around, facing Eden. "Chir! Chirp chirp chirp! Chir chir chirp!" It moved its head to the side, eyeing Eden. "Chir chirp!"

"Um..." Eden felt extremely awkward. What was he supposed to do? Was the phoenix just being a phoenix, or was it trying to tell him something? "You okay, buddy?"

Click-

Sol clicked his beak together, and creened his head down. He bobbed it up and down, gesturing something at Eden. Staring into Eden’s nonresponsive expression, it grew annoyed. "SCREEE!"

"Buddy..." Eden couldn’t understand in the slightest. Clearly, he was being told something. Or at least, there was a possibility of that? He wasn’t thinking that Sol was a mere beast or animal. He had been explicitly told by magicians far greater than him that Sol was an intelligent being.

However, there was a different train of thought going through his head. Sol was still a hatching. Even if Sol was as intelligent as a human, which he fully believed was the case, Sol was the equivalent of a baby.

Was Sol have the mind of a baby, or were Imperial Phoenix’s so impressive that even as a hatchling, their minds were years beyond?

"Buddy, I’m sorry." Eden apologized to the agitated phoenix. "I don’t know what you’re telling me, partner."

Sol froze, and its expression was visibly annoyed. After a moment, it puffed its chest up, and gently began feeling its wings as it half unfolded them, getting used to them.

"...sol?"

Sol suddenly jumped down from his arms.

"H-HEY!" Eden panicked as he brought his hands back down quickly in an attempt to catch the falling bird before it hit the floor. Yet, it was entirely unnecessary as Sol ended up attached to his pants. Sol Stuck his head into the belt, grabbing the wand in its beak and throwing it onto the floor.

"H-hey!" Eden wanted to go grab the wand, but he was afraid that doing such an abrupt movement might make Sol fall, so he stayed in place. "Sol, please. Look, buddy, I don’t know what’s wrong, but I’ll ask my seniors. Surely they can figure this out, alright?"

He gently cupped his hands around Sol. "May I pick you up, buddy?"

Sol slowly let go of his beg, letting himself be gently picked up and cradled against his arms once more.

"Alright, my wand..." Eden crouched down, reaching for his wand. As soon as he wrapped his hand around the wand, a sudden strange sensation ran through his body. "Ah!" he was startled, letting go of the wand.

"What was..."

The commotion attracted the attention of the others. Lumi came closer. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Eden replied, gently shaking his hand. "Sol was trying to tell me something. Can you figure it out?"

He looked back down at the wand still on the ground. "He even dropped my wand to the floor." He couched down once more, picking it up. This time, he did not let go, despite the strange sensation.

He was feeling something physical... yet it was not on his body. He was feeling... what Sol was feeling? A sensation that wasn’t on his body, but Sol’s. He felt it through the necklace.

His eyes went wide. "I understand it now."