Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Microwave (9)
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250,000 imperial gold coins.
This was the amount Lehel had won over six days at 'Golden Love,' the largest casino in the empire, located in Uzet.
Clink! Clink!
Money poured out from the slot machine, the pinnacle of magitech engineering and once the empire's most popular game.
Every time she pulled the lever, the wooden panels aligned perfectly, and for the first time in her life, Lehel felt a twinge of alarm that she might actually get buried and crushed under all this cash.
"Lehel, are you insane? Just a little while ago, you were talking about heading north, and now you show up out of nowhere saying you've won big at gambling?"
"H-Haha... Did I say that? Anyway, what's the big deal? Even I can win some money now and then!"
"My god, is the world ending tomorrow or something...?"
"If Lehel's the one who won it, anything's possible. Guess I should head to the temple tonight and say a prayer."
Basking in her old friends' stunned stares, she felt her mood soar.
Worried that piling up any more winnings might draw unwanted attention from the casino staff, she moved spots with her friends.
A slightly rundown tavern.
But it was the familiar place where they always drank.
"Drinks are on me today."
"For real? Then we're ordering the expensive stuff."
"Order whatever you want~."
"Who'd have thought I'd Liv to see the day Lehel Darad buys me a round... Anyway, cheers."
To some, it might have been remnants of memories.
Or echoes of bygone times.
Lehel wasn't particularly attached to such things.
She knew how to Liv in the moment.
She let the inevitable flow away like river water and knew when to discard things that wore out over time.
There were only a few precious items she bothered to hold onto—
Everything else? She paid them as much mind as if someone had flipped the cutoff switch on a circuit.
As she sipped with her friends and watched the sun set outside, Lehel suddenly remembered her promise with Louis.
If I make a ton of money, I'll go brag to him about it.
"Oh yeah, Ian."
"Yeah?"
"Can you pack up some booze, snacks, and fruit in a basket here?"
"What, got a gift for someone?"
Flashing her usual innocent smile, she grabbed a pouch of gold coins and stood from her seat.
"Just... gonna step out for a bit!"
After sneaking out of Marquis Elvin's mansion, I escorted Erzebet to a safe house.
The marquis would come looking once he regained his senses, but it shouldn't be too dangerous.
No deaths, I'd smashed his key forces—the armored soldiers and iron hounds—and like with Estelle, a mage feels extreme shame when their own spells are broken.
He wouldn't ask for outside help, and causing a scene on his own birthday would be even harder.
I grabbed her belongings from the hotel, erased the last traces, and checked the time.
It was already evening, and my meetup with Liv was fast approaching.
In the midst of all that hustle, something was bothering me.
Adella's ice duck familiar, practically her spitting image.
"Piiiii—!"
"I gotta go out, okay? You gonna keep attacking everyone I meet?"
"Piyaaaaang—!"
It puffed up like it would never let me leave, channeling Adella's intense jealousy toward Liv in particular.
If it were Adella herself, I could sweet-talk her, but this beast didn't understand words. Tricky.
As I pondered how to handle it, a brilliant idea struck.
I called a bellboy and asked where the hotel's bakery section was.
Then I headed straight there and dumped all my remaining gold, saying,
"Use this to give me everything in there?"
"You mean everything in the storeroom? That's way too much money."
"Then just rent me the whole storeroom. Go on, play to your heart's content."
"Pii?"
It froze in surprise for a second, then charged excitedly at the mountain of bread.
"Piyaaaaak!!"
Leaving that behind, I finally slipped out of the hotel.
"Sure thing."
Liv nodded without a hint of hesitation at my suggestion to pull the armored soldier blueprints from the first-class library archive and hand them to Erzebet.
Frankly, I'd prepared a secret weapon to persuade her if needed, so it was a bit deflating.
"You really okay with this?"
"She won't have much time there anyway. Better to memorize the whole manual on manufacturing armored soldiers than to comb through magic books line by line for something useful."
And once she gets royal recognition, snagging a title and the archduke position will be a breeze~ she added, popping some stir-fried host into her mouth.
Lev, slicing meat beside her, chimed in.
"Sounds like a solid plan to me. It'll help the kingdom too. Commercializing armored soldiers means fewer soldier casualties. Of course, if the princess wields them as her personal weapon, that's another story..."
"No worries since you're arranging it personally, boss."
Luckily, everything seemed to be falling into place.
Liv would gain a strong foothold for royal recognition and support as an archduke.
Erzebet would restore her declining reputation since enrolling at the academy and take a step closer to the throne.
Now I just need to worry about Caroline.
"By the way, boss."
"Yeah?"
Liv nudged my leg under the table.
Then, with a pouty expression, she and Lev asked together.
"What's your deal with the princess?"
"What's your relationship with the princess?"
Two identical faces saying the exact same thing was a little creepy, but I had zero qualms on this front.
Confirming no other academy students in the restaurant, I opened up.
"I'm her godfather."
"You're... the princess's...?"
"Yeah. We made that promise a long time ago."
Liv knew who I was, so no point in dodging.
It was right before leaving Thessaly—I'd flat-out rejected the engagement proposal, then promised a worried Baor III.
"It's a secret from the princess herself. Told her to figure it out on her own."
"Oh, got it. Whew, that's a relief then."
"Yeah, total relief. Really, really, really reassuring."
Were they scared Erzebet would lord over the academy with invincible power once she had the armored soldiers?
Liv and Lev nodded vigorously at each other, smiles tugging at their lips.
"Then let's schedule things after we get back to Pharenchia. Our training program's basically wrapped up. You do everything you planned?"
"Yeah, pretty much... all done."
Pretty much?
As Liv trailed off and hesitated, Lev tugged her arm.
"What're you doing? Spill it already."
"But..."
"Something up?"
"N-No, nothing like that. Um, boss? Whatever happened to that ice duck I gave you before?"
Lev's out-of-left-field question about its whereabouts had me tilting my head.
"Probably in duck heaven by now."
"Oh, perfect! All done eating? Let's head out."
Even at our meetup restaurant, and now out on the street, I drew stares nonstop.
Obviously because of Liv.
Strolling with two identical beauties flanking me naturally pulled eyes.
"So, what were you gonna say earlier?"
"Oh, that? Cup your ear for a sec."
One side flushed red and bowed her head.
The other clung to my arm playfully.
"We're heading back to Scandall tomorrow, so it'll be hard to be alone in Pharenchia after that."
"Three's company, though... Yeah, fair enough."
"And the chance to get a ring from you might vanish too."
"...You knew?"
Liv nodded affirmatively from the other side.
I'd planned a more atmospheric handover, but this kinda deflated the moment.
Still, since Lev shared Liv's personality, it was basically her saying she wanted the ring ASAP.
As expected, Liv's face lit up when I pulled out the ring I'd bought earlier.
"Was gonna give it to you anyway. Thanks for sticking by my side."
"Boss...!"
She swallowed tears, holding the ring I'd slipped on her ring finger up to the streetlamp.
The purple gem sparkled gorgeously.
"There's a spell on it. Not a top-tier artifact or anything, just basic stuff..."
"No, I'm truly grateful. I'll treasure it."
"That all you wanted to say?"
"Hey, spit it out already!"
"Eek, well..."
Frustrated watching from the side, Lev shoved Liv toward me from behind and said,
"Boss, our Liv here's been waiting since she got back from the magic tower for you to hold her again. But at the canteen, you only fuss over Adella, and during break you tinker with weird stuff, and even alone in the library you don't lay a hand on her—and if you just leave today, she'll be super disappointed."
"I-I didn't think it was that bad!"
"Liar~. Sometimes she'd linger forever in front of the naughty books in the library, sneaking peeks when no one was looking and reaching for the shelves."
"N-No! I never did that!"
"Perfect timing too—she went nuts studying today since it's a safe day, finished all her magic books, but splitting up here would be such a letdown. Right?"
"S-Stop, stooop...!"
Liv floundered, face beet red, as her clone spilled all her true feelings.
I'd been so busy and focused, I hadn't noticed how needy she'd gotten.
"That true?"
"N-No way, absolutely not! Must've been some magic glitch! That's not me at all..."
"Even the safe day part?"
"Eek...!?"
My hand touched her belly.
The surefire way to get the truth from dishonest Liv.
As expected, her steps slowed, and she mumbled in a voice tiny as an ant.
"That part... is true..."
Lehel packed the booze and snacks her friends prepared into a basket and headed to the hotel address Louis had given her before.
It was similar to the setup at the inn in Sandalphonia where he'd stayed after winning big at the auction house.
"Let's see, Hotel Meriats... West Wing, Room 1508...?"
The second she spotted the room at the end of the long hallway, she picked up speed.
"Boss! Boss! Boooooss~! I finally won some mo—Hweh?!"