Having made up her mind, Claire went to seek the Great Elders' opinions. With nothing else to do, Shade followed along.
Although Elder Harald hesitated over the matter, it concerned his own granddaughter after all, so he quickly agreed:
"But you need all the Great Elders to agree. My approval alone is useless."
Elder Ursa and Elder Vilda were also in town. Compared to Elder Harald, they were clearly more hesitant. But after Shade said he would trade a favor for it, they said there was no need:
"If it is for this island, then we agree as well."
Although Elder Solin and Elder Ule were not in town, with three of the Eleventh Ring Great Elders already agreeing, they probably would not refuse either. Claire was delighted and even urged her grandfather to prepare the ritual as soon as possible.
"Preparing the materials will probably take two or three days. It should be ready by next Thursday."
Of course, Claire continued crafting the gemstone for Shade's custom staff head. That evening, while Shade was still thinking about the reply from the tavern in the city, Matilda, who had just returned from Snow Mountain, was sent by Claire to fetch him.
When Shade arrived at the underground Alchemy Workshop, Claire showed him a perfectly round gemstone. One side was silver and the other gold, but neither formed a regular semicircle.
The gemstone looked seamless, but with a gentle exertion of force from Claire, the two halves separated.
The golden gemstone was now filled with a warm glow, pure sunlight. The silver gemstone also glimmered faintly, but compared to the golden one, Shade could clearly sense that it was "empty."
"It's finished."
The platinum-haired witch was quite pleased with her craftsmanship:
"I completed the final step on the sun half during