Chapter 54 — The Affinity System
Chapter 54 — The Affinity System
Translation: Godtl
"……."
Just then, uninvited guests appeared between the two.
"What are you doing here, Julianna?"
It was Princes Cedric and Damian.
Moreover….
"…Y-Your Majesty."
Lute was flustered but showed proper etiquette upon seeing the Emperor's face that appeared afterward.
"What were you talking about?"
Prince Damian asked with sensitive eyes. Julianna laughed and answered.
"We were talking about the ones who are the topic among the noble ladies, Brother."
"Ah… those guys?"
At those words, Cedric and Damian immediately looked to one side.
There was Kalix with his cravat undone like a scoundrel, and Griffith with his usual sullen expression.
"Why are they alone? Those sinister guys."
"My, what do you mean sinister?"
Julianna looked at Damian with surprised eyes. Damian smirked and said.
"Those guys. Do you know why they came here? To see you."
At Damian's words, Lute felt like his vision went dark in that moment. Damn it, it was really true?
"What nonsense is that?"
It wasn't just Lute who was surprised by those words. Emperor Perseus, who was watching, also frowned deeply.
"It's certain. I always showed off Julianna's portrait on the battlefield, and they saw it and came. To see Julianna in person."
When Damian explained properly, Julianna blushed and muttered.
"…That's ridiculous."
"Why is it ridiculous?"
At Julianna's denial, Cedric was rather confident.
"How about it, Julianna? If all of those guys propose, who will you marry?"
Damian asked playfully. At those words, the gazes of Emperor Perseus, Cedric, and Lute pierced Julianna's face.
"I… um…."
Julianna hesitated for a moment and stole a glance at Lute's face very briefly.
"I should issue a marriage prohibition decree."
Emperor Perseus said with narrowed eyes.
"I agree, Father."
"Me too."
When Cedric and Damian followed, Julianna burst into laughter. It was a flawless, beautiful laugh.
Emperor Perseus smiled slightly as he watched Julianna.
The moment she trembled and called him Dad for the first time felt like just yesterday, yet before he knew it, she had become an adult.
Though not his biological daughter by blood, Emperor Perseus had never once thought of her as anything but his own daughter.
To him, Julianna was that precious a existence.
His late wife, whom he failed to protect, remained as a wound in his heart. His precious daughter, who had a smile as warm as hers.
Though it might be a sad fact for someone, Emperor Perseus had erased the very existence of Lelia from his mind.
He had tried to find the child immediately after she went missing, but soon felt it was futile.
He did not want to torment the child as revenge against his sister who had tormented his wife.
Since the child had left the Imperial City on her own, he rather let her go to live freely, forgiving her.
"I agree too. I'm going to live with my family without marrying for the rest of my life anyway!"
Julianna answered with a bright smile.
At those words, Emperor Perseus, Cedric, and Damian laughed as if they owned the world.
Meanwhile, Lute smiled forcibly and swallowed a bitter laugh inside.
In the end, the four of them—Kalix, Oscar, Griffith, and Romeo—stormed out midway through the banquet.
They judged that showing their faces this much would be enough to avoid suspicion.
Their destination was the western hall of the Imperial Palace, where VIP guests resided.
Since the banquet was still in full swing, no one else was in the VIP quarters.
The moment they entered Romeo's room, they locked the door, and Griffith asked,
"So we have a lead?"
"Yeah, but it's a bit..."
Romeo tilted his head.
"Why?"
"...It seems like they're not far away?"
"...What?"
Oscar tilted his head, wondering if he had misheard.
Kalix and Griffith also wore blank expressions.
"If my guess is correct... no, I'm certain. Whether it's the one who stole the fountain pen or the one who killed Leo."
"......"
"They're in the capital. Very close by."
The eyes of all three turned toward Romeo.
Beneath their gazes, Romeo raised one corner of his mouth in a smile.
"Let's go."
It was the early dawn of D-Day, three days before the final day of the banquet.
A time so early that even merchants who opened their shops bright and early had yet to stir.
Beneath the dark blue sky, four men in black robes stopped before a building.
It was the inn where Lelia was staying.
"Is this the place?"
"That's right. For now... we should wait. One of the people coming and going from here today must be our target."
Late morning.
Lelia crawled out of bed, sluggishly.
After washing up as slowly as a lazy person might, the first thing she did was open the 'Alchemy Lottery' screen.
"Hmm... they've gathered quite a lot."
Lelia checked the materials the dragons had collected overnight.
Then she hurriedly entered the crafting screen and pressed the craft button with the gathered materials.
"Finally, the end! The residents' Bond Affinity."
Currently, the rabbit residents' affinity was at 99.999%.
If she just handed over this item, the bond affinity work would be complete as of today.
With a light heart, Lelia pressed the completion button.
[Master! Congratulations! The residents' Bond Affinity has all reached the maximum! ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭*✩ As a reward, we're offering 100,000 Crystals at a 20% discount!(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑]
'I was wondering why it hadn't appeared. This scoundrel of a system....'
The payment time limit was two hours.
Lelia decided to pay coolly. After all, you could never have too many Crystals.
As soon as she charged the Crystals, another speech bubble appeared.
[Congratulations, Master! Now Special Affinity, Hidden Quests, and Special Recipes have been unlocked!٩(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و To commemorate, we're offering 50,000 Crystals at a 20% discount!]
"Hey..."
Lelia clutched the back of her neck for a moment. But she soon calmed herself and purchased Crystals once more.
Returning to the main screen, she saw that buttons for Special Affinity and Special Recipes had newly appeared.
Curious about what they looked like, she pressed them, but only a large [?] floated on a gray screen.
"I don't know. I'm hungry, so let's eat first."
Lelia threw on a robe, grabbed some money, and slipped out of her room.
Then she headed to a brunch place she'd scouted out nearby.
It was a place you had to pass through narrow alleys for quite a while to reach, but it was an incredibly famous restaurant.
Lelia walked there humming to herself as if on a stroll.
However, it was after she'd turned a couple of alley corners.
*Ding ding.*
Suddenly, a notification sound rang out. Lelia looked around briefly, then pressed the gem of her necklace to bring up the screen.
On the screen, she saw the alchemy tool with a bright expression. Soon after, a speech bubble appeared.