Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Favorability
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“Customer number 17, 【Elixir of Vitality】 sold! Congratulations!”
The auctioneer shouted until his mouth went dry.
“Oh… vitality… what’s vitality, nya?”
Neru asked, her eyes sparkling.
[It's a mental strength kind of thing.]
…Well, that wasn’t the whole story, but there was no need to explain more to this cat.
She probably wouldn’t get it anyway, even if I told her.
“Ooh… mental strength! That’s cool, nya!”
Neru exclaimed in pure admiration before asking again.
“Then is Adel good at vitality, nya?”
[Obviously.]
I answered very confidently.
My hand had moved way too fast for this moment.
“Ooh… amazing, nya. As expected of the friend I chose!”
She seemed to be misunderstanding something, but I didn’t bother correcting her.
No, correcting her might lead to even weirder misunderstandings.
“My vitality is burning, nya…!!”
[That’s just a fever.]
What knowledge base does this cat even draw from?
Her uniquely vague reactions—somehow understanding yet not—left me flustered.
“Hmm~ So that’s what it is. Adel knows hard words too, nya.”
[You’re too pure, Neru.]
“Nyahaha.”
Why did her cat laugh make me feel unnecessarily guilty?
Meanwhile, the auction swiftly moved to the next item.
“Now, right away, the next item!”
The auction house lights brightened again, revealing the product.
“It’s 【Caramel’s Herb】!”
At those words, the entire auction house buzzed.
“Caramel? That Caramel?”
“That weirdo?”
“The freak who’s always picking up weird stuff to make things?”
Weirdo.
Freak.
Not a single term naming her was flattering.
‘It was not wrong, though.’
I admitted it.
Caramel was a weirdo.
‘No, a girl… a weird girl.’
But.
‘You’ll regret this later.’
That weird girl, the freak called Caramel, would soon become the gray zone’s top alchemist.
She was mocked now, but just knowing her would become a deadly connection later.
And.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Caramel’s Herb】
Grade: Uncommon
A mysterious weed improved by Caramel!
: Consuming it raises one random stat by 1.
It’s extremely bitter! Hard to swallow without tears.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
‘Look at this?’
Was this the effect from a mere weed?
‘And she made this as a joke.’
Caramel tossed this herb into the black market just because “it’d be fun,” and now it was up for auction.
“We’ll start bidding at one gold coin!”
“Keek, just one gold coin.”
“Who’d buy that crap?”
‘I’ll recruit her when I have time later.’
Ignoring the contempt and mockery, I added her name to my mental notes.
“Customer 333, one gold coin!”
I raised the number plate I was holding.
“Ha, you're buying that? For real?”
“Throwing money away creatively.”
Some sent blatant ridicule my way.
But I didn’t care, as usual.
They had no idea the value of that item.
[See, Neru? This is an investment.]
Not an adventure—an investment.
“Investing in something that disappears after one bite, nya?”
“…”
This cat was sharp when it suited her.
[Eating that boosts vitality.]
I added a simple example on the whiteboard.
[(oﾟvﾟ)ノ]
“Oh… I don’t get it, but it looks promising, nya.”
[You don’t need to.]
“If I don’t need to, why explain, nya?”
“…”
Why was talking to her so tough today?
“Customer 333, sold! Congratulations!”
Man… sweet deal.
Raising a stat for just one gold coin.
Was there sweeter loot in the world?
“Then, right on to the next!”
The auctioneer paused dramatically.
“【Tuttarai’s Churu】!!”
At that moment.
The auction house buzzed once more.
“What?! That Tuttarai?!!”
“Oh god.”
“The legendary chef Tuttarai’s churu?”
“But… why churu of all things?”
“Churu’s churu! That’s mine, hands off!!”
Of course, there was a reason.
Tuttarai.
His cooking was said to transcend gourmet realms into mythic heights.
How mythic?
“Waaah!!! Adel! Tuttarai…!! Tuttaraiiiik!!”
The cat next to me was having a fit.
Her tail was stiff, and she was jumping on her hind legs, howling.
“Quick…! Buy that quick, nya!! Adel! Put the churu in my paws!!”
[Wait a sec.]
“Churu!! Churu I couldn’t even taste in my past life!!!”
Hey, cat… did you just say past life?
“The savior of cat beastkin! Ancestor of all churu…!!”
[Not really.]
“Legend says… one bite makes your soul dance, body tremble! Paws clasp in prayer automatically, nya!!”
I didn’t know about legends, but I got that this cat was losing it like a dog.
***
“Customer 333! Sold for 57 gold coins! Congratulations!”
…There was no need to congratulate me.
“He… hehe.”
Neru next to me was out of it.
“Churu… Tuttarai… churu….”
Eyes rolled back, drool dripping—pure ecstasy.
‘…Ah. My money.’
Money I scraped together.
By grinding nobles’ backs raw.
‘It’s fine… it’s an investment. An investment….’
It felt more like a crash than a bull market, though.
But ignoring my sorrow, the auction continued.
“Now, straight to the final item of today’s auction!”
Finally.
The main item I’d been waiting for.
“It’s 【Pretty Glasses】!”
The auction house fell silent.
“What?”
“Pretty glasses?”
“Just… glasses?”
“It doesn’t even seem like an artifact.”
“Ha, I've lost interest. I’m heading out.”
“Me too. I hate wasting money.”
Rustle.
People began leaving with disappointed faces.
Even in this gray zone where hundreds of gold changed hands, everyone turned away from these ‘pretty glasses.’
‘Fair enough.’
It looked exactly like ‘pretty glasses’ on the surface.
Real glasses, not an artifact or magic tool.
But. No one knew it was player-exclusive gear.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Cupid’s Glasses】
Grade: Epic
Want to know how much someone loves you?
: View targets’ favorability as a numerical value.
Love might hurt to see sometimes.
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Favorability.
Useless on the surface.
But its true value shines in the late game.
‘Called the Cupid 3-set.’
【Cupid’s Glasses】 to quantify favorability.
【Cupid’s Bracelet】 to see rough status and condition.
And 【Cupid’s Ring】 to read true feelings.
Combine the three, process with a craftsman for the final form.
They would be reborn as 【Cupid’s Arrow】 earrings.
‘All effects were enhanced.’
No one wants it now—great timing.
“Pretty glasses, the bidding starts. Five gold coins…”
I raised my number plate without hesitation.
“…Yes, customer 333 sold! Congratulations!”
This was the power of information.
***
“Yes… 63 gold coins. Confirmed.”
With the auction over, I paid up.
【Caramel’s Herb】, 【Tuttarai’s Churu】, 【Cupid’s Glasses】.
I got everything I wanted.
‘But it was kinda disappointing.’
Only one elixir: 【Caramel’s Herb】.
I would’ve loved more, but…
“Hahaha! 300 gold? Think of it as a donation!”
“If my son’s this happy, I’m satisfied!”
The rest was swept by rich nobles.
‘Tch….’
What can you do.
I can’t go bankrupt for a few stats.
“Thank you sincerely for using the black market. Masked gentleman,, stylish cat.”
“See you next time.”
The staff bowed politely, opening the exit.
“Adel quick!! Churu!!! Churuchuruchuru!!”
[Hold on]
“Kwaaaang!! Give me the churu, nya!!”
I pulled out 【Caramel’s Herb】 first.
The weed that boosted stats.
‘It has no smell at all.’
It has bland visuals and scent, surprisingly.
I put it in my mouth.
And.
‘…Ugh! Fuck!!’
My eyes bulged, my body swayed, I dropped the churu in my hand.
“Churu!!!”
Neru leaped, barely snatching 【Tuttarai’s Churu】 before it hit the ground.
‘…Shouldn’t I come first?’
Churu’s packaged, Neru.
My stomach’s churning now.
“Churu…!”
Neru hugged the churu with her whole body, eyes quivering.
‘Sigh… fine.’
Grimacing hard, I opened my status window.
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[ Adel ]
Stats
: Vitality : 11 (D)
: Strength : 1 (F)
: Intelligence : 27 (B)
: Mental Strength : 30 (A)
: Magic Power : ■ ()
Talents
: 【All talents fixed at ‘Lowest’ due to 「Stigma」.】
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
‘…My vitality went up?’
I've escaped the below average E-rank to D.
‘Strength would’ve been nice.’
Sighing, I pulled out 【Cupid’s Glasses】.
‘But how do I use this?’
【Mask of Silence】 was already on my face.
Glasses over it seemed impossible, but…
[ ! ]
[ Equip 【Cupid’s Glasses】? ]
[ Y / N ]
‘Oh….’
I selected yes.
The glasses vanished from my hand.
[ 【Cupid’s Glasses】 equipped and now transparent. ]
‘Good?’
I tested on Neru.
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[ Neru ]
Favorability: 【Friend】
Status: 【Positive】
■■■■■□□□□□ (5/10)
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‘Oh… it works fine.’
I sneakily snatched the 【Tuttarai’s Churu】 from her arms.
- Swoosh.
“Waaak?!!!”
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Neru ]
Favorability: 【Bad Friend】
Status: 【Negative】
■■■■■■■■■■ (-10/10)
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
‘Gasp.’
The status turned 【Negative】.
The gauge even maxed out.
I hurriedly tore the churu packaging and offered it.
“Wak!!!”
Neru pounced, biting the churu.
“Omnomnom.”
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Neru ]
Favorability: 【Friend】
Status: 【Positive】
■■■■■■■■■■ (10/10)
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
And in just 3 seconds, favorability maxed out.