Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi

up with the smaller diamonds.
Ruslan-san was quite enthusiastic about all of them.

“Huhu, the quality of dungeon products is very different to regular gems.” he explained.

“Are they really so different?” I couldn't tell myself, of course.

“Yes.
First, there are few flaws if any in gems collected from a dungeon and they have clear colours with no turbidity or distortion.
They are always of the the highest quality in my experience.'' Ah, I thought they were only valuable since they were gems but it seemed that dungeon gems were higher quality and presumably worth more.
I recalled that Ugor-san had said that skins from the dungeon were more highly prized than those resulting from monster subjugations — was it something about Dungeon-san's methods of producing such items? I wondered.

“Next is a diamond ring from a treasure chest.” I took it from my Item Box and handed it to Ruslan-san.

“Huhu, these stones are already mounted in a ring.” He turned the ring in his fingers, examining it closely though his loupe.
“The design is a little old-fashioned but the diamonds are, again, very good quality.'' It seemed the dungeon didn't keep up with the latest fashion trends when it came to jewellery and the like.

“Next is a tanzanite necklace.
This also came out of a treasure chest.”

“Again this is a rather old design,” Ruslan-san said as he examined the necklace.
“But tanzanite is a rare gem.
It has a slightly purplish blue that is different from a blue sapphire, a colour unique to tanzanite in my experience.
Wonderful.”

“And this is the last one.” I said.
I had held this gemstone back since I thought it was possibly the most valuable gem of them all.
Of course I knew very little about such things but…
“It’s a yellow diamond from a treasure chest we found on the 29th level.” I presented the large yellow diamond cut in a teardrop shape to Ruslan-san.

“Th-This is…” Ruslan-san took the stone from me with shaking fingers.

“R- Ruslan-san?” Adriano-san said, looking anxiously at his subordinate.  Was Ruslan-san crying? The old man paused for a moment to wipe his eyes.

“I'm sorry, I was overcome for a moment.” he said, fixing his gaze on the stone in his hands.
“I'm an old man, I never expected to see something like this in the time I have left, that's all.” He swallowed, then continued, his voice firming up as his professionalism came to the fore.

“First of all, there's the rarity of coloured diamonds.
They're very uncommon to start with.” Ruslan-san held the diamond up to the light, turning it this way and that.
“Moreover, this stone has a strong even yellow tint and excellent transparency.
The yellowish-golden shade is, like the Imperial Topaz, popular with many buyers and it will be in great demand.” He hefted the large diamond in the palm of his hand.

“To add to that, the size is exceptional.
Such large diamonds rarely appear on the market coloured or not, and the teardrop cut is also excellent, its shape is pleasing to the eye and the brilliant facets catch the light perfectly.
The most skilled craftsman I know of could manage to cut a diamond like this, perhaps but no-one else.” He put the diamond down beside the others gems on the table, his eyes remaining fixed on it, and sighed.

“I've been around gemstones and jewellery all my long life, I've seen and appraised many top-quality items.
I can honestly say that I've never seen a gem as fine as this one before today.” He pointed at the diamond.
“In my expert opinion,” he stopped and swallowed again, “and please don't think I'm exaggerating, this may well be the finest gemstone in the world.” He looked up at Adriano-san and spoke firmly.
“I, Ruslan personally guarantee this stone's quality.”

…the finest gemstone in the world? What? I looked at the diamond lying on the cloth, trying to see what Ruslan-san saw in it.
Sure it was big and yellow and glittery but, I scrabbled to comprehend, it was like a large piece of coloured glass to me, sparklier perhaps but…
Looking up again I saw Ugor-san exchange a look with Adriano-san who nodded before standing up.

“So, please wait a moment, Mukouda-san, Ugor-san.” Adriano-san said.
“We'll leave you for a brief time to discuss what we wish to buy from you but I promise we'll return shortly.” He gestured for Ruslan-san to follow him.
The old man kept glancing back to the table and the gems littering the black cloth as he left the room trailing the Guild Master.

I started to say something about the gems to Ugor-san but he put a finger to his lips, glancing around the room.
It dawned on me that anything we said here could well be overheard and it was likely Adriano-san would be briefed on the contents of our conversation before he returned.
Instead we waited in silence until staff members of the Merchants Guild appeared to serve us tea.

I took a sip of the aromatic black tea and had to restrain myself from exclaiming out loud.
It tasted wonderful, something like a Darjeeling and definitely not made from a tea bag.
It was the sort of expensive tea you'd bring back from a trip abroad as a gift, something to butter up your boss or make nice with your in-laws.
Ugor-san smiled over the rim of his own teacup, obviously amused by my reaction.

“The Merchants Guild always serve the finest tea, as you might expect.'' He took another sip.
“Ahhh.
This makes coming to this den of thieves almost worthwhile.”

“Oh, is this the finest grade of tea?” I asked, taking another sip myself.
It was delightful.

“Yes, it can only be harvested in the Doolin region of the ​​Erman Kingdom.
It’s called Doolin tea.”

Oh, is that so? I sipped some more Doolin tea while we waited for Adriano-san to return.