Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: How to Gain Fame
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“Suri! Attack!”
Swishhh!
CRASH—!!
The Lizardman colony crumbled in an instant under the combined assault of Ophelia, Suri, and Minium.
There were at least thirty of them, yet they were utterly annihilated in less than ten minutes.
There were even two elite specimens, but with a few flicks of Ophelia's hands, they were sliced to pieces.
“Wow... Ophelia is strong...”
“She definitely looks like an A-rank.”
“Hmph, the Team Leader has been desperate for talent.”
Nova has been aggressively recruiting lately. The reason is an unrated, high-level entry-type gate that appeared near the West Sea.
There must be something valuable inside, because they're in a fierce ownership dispute with a Chinese Hunter guild and are desperate to gather more Hunters.
“The Team Leader would go crazy if she saw this.”
“I know, right?”
The gate took longer than expected, about an hour to explore, but the haul was also much larger than anticipated. This was partly thanks to Suri's mobility and long-range detection abilities.
And also because Ophelia wiped out every group of Lizardmen she found. They took down about 100 monsters in an hour, which is an absurd achievement when you think about it—more than one per minute.
“I don't think we need to split the loot. Let's just have Eve take all of this.”
“What!? Is that really okay...?”
“Well, Ophelia did most of the work.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Eight low-grade magic stones, totaling about 2.2 kg. Compared to the highest-grade magic stone that went into Ophelia, the performance difference per gram is about a thousandfold, but still.
Even this much is a huge amount.
“Ophelia, do you eat too?”
“I can replenish a certain amount of magic power through the act of consumption.”
“Even though you're a robot?”
“I am different from ordinary machines.”
It seemed Ophelia could eat food. Not just mimicking the action, but actually replenishing her magic power.
I wondered what her insides were like to be able to digest food. It was fascinating. This was also the first time I learned she needed magic power.
“While I primarily operate on the Princess's magic power, this is one of the ways to lessen the burden on you.”
“I had no idea I was using my magic power.”
“That is because my magic consumption is extremely low.”
“That's amazing, for an A-rank to use so little magic.”
According to Ophelia, Suri, Minium, and Doggo were also continuously drawing magic power, albeit in much, much smaller amounts than her.
But even the combined drain of all four was less than my natural magic recovery rate.
“Then you must be the amazing one, Eve.”
“Because you are the Princess's vessel.”
“E-ehem...”
I felt my shoulders straighten with pride. We ate at the Nova Guild's hotel. We arrived around 6 PM, and Jong-ho had already made reservations.
“Ah, perfect. Eve, let's take a picture.”
“Huh? A picture...?”
“Yeah. You don't want to? Take a picture with your big sis?”
Chae-ah was the type of person who absolutely had to take pictures when food was served. After snapping a ton of food photos, she took one of me, too...
“Y-you can't post this anywhere else...”
“Whyyy? Then what's the point of taking pictures~!”
“W-well... I...”
I subtly glanced at Ophelia. Was it okay for my face to be plastered everywhere?
If I'm a princess, shouldn't my every move be a state secret or something?
“Are you planning to upload this to a social media account?”
“That's the plan. Is that not allowed?”
If she just posts it on something like Instagram, it could be dangerous. Surely Ophelia wouldn't want that, right...?
“I have just created an account for the Princess. Please tag her.”
“Oh my, really? Don't worry, hehe.”
“O-Ophelia...?”
Ophelia looked at me and nodded. Wait, I'm supposed to be a princess. Is it really okay for my face to be spread around so casually?
“I will explain the reason later, Princess. For now, please enjoy your meal.”
“Ah, okay...”
“Ophelia. Should we take a picture with you too?”
“Are you referring to me?”
“You're pretty too, Ophelia, so it'd be great to get a picture. No, wait, I should take a video of you eating.”
Kim Chae-ah gushed beside me, exclaiming how Ophelia ate like a noble.
To be honest, I kind of saw it too. How should I put it... she used her fork and knife with incredible expertise.
“Ehehe. This will get a huge reaction on my Story. Aren't you going to make an account, Ophelia?”
“My own account is unnecessary. It is the Princess's account that is needed.”
“Aha, I see.”
Well, Ophelia isn't the type to make rash decisions. I'll trust her for now....
“Ophelia, how's the food?”
“Indeed. So this is the cuisine of Korea's finest hotel.”
Ophelia's first meal eating out was at The Shilla Hotel. I wasn't sure if she could make an objective judgment... I worried her standards would become so high she'd faint if she ate anywhere else.
“Eve, you remember Hunter Yoo Chae-rin, right?”
“Yes, I remember her.”
“She said she'll stop by to say hello. Would that be uncomfortable for you?”
“Ah, no. It's fine.”
Just as Jong-ho said, Yoo Chae-rin arrived during the meal.
Eve didn't know it, but Yoo Chae-rin had already received the full video combat report of Ophelia, filmed by a drone cam. She was here to negotiate with Eve, and by extension, Ophelia.
“You must be Ophelia. It's a pleasure to meet you.”
Ophelia instantly scanned the internet, finished her assessment of the person named Yoo Chae-rin, and then replied.
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Ophelia, Princess Eve's dedicated maid.”
“I'm relieved that Eve has found a trustworthy guardian. There have been many incidents lately that threaten the safety of civilian Awakened.”
“You are concerned for the Princess's well-being.”
“Because Eve may very well be an important treasure for Korea.”
Ophelia slowly nodded at Yoo Chae-rin's words.
“Indeed. You are as competent and wise as your reputation suggests.”
“I'm glad to have made a good impression on you, Ophelia.”
The two continued their highly formal conversation, while Han Do-hee shook her head from the side.
Kim Chae-ah didn't seem to react much, as if she'd met Yoo Chae-rin a few times before.
“Well then... I will arrange a meeting for a later date. Please contact me at your convenience.”
They spoke at a slight distance from our table, and their conversation ended with Ophelia accepting Yoo Chae-rin's business card. Ophelia nodded, returned to her seat, and continued her meal....
‘What on earth did they talk about...?’
“Ophelia, you worked so hard today.”
“Thank you. However, as this body was not built for combat, my performance was somewhat lacking.”
“Really...? I thought you fought incredibly well...”
Ophelia definitely seemed to have the combat power of an A-rank. She had practically steamrolled through the Lizardman swamp.
According to Ophelia, Minium had the highest combat potential. But for now, due to a lack of materials, Ophelia was slightly stronger. I needed to earn money to buy things for Minium...
“Ophelia, do you know about... the stock market?”
“The stock market, you mean? I am currently engaged in it.”
“R-really!?”
Come to think of it, I hadn't checked my bank account since Ophelia was created. To think she was earning money too.
“H-how much money do we have right now...?”
“Approximately 28 million won.”
“What.”
An amount of money I'd never held in my entire life. It was only a few days ago that I'd even had ten million won. And now we'd earned nearly thirty million.
Was the growth so fast because we had a lot of seed money?
“Then... should we buy something for Minium?”
Minium, who had been listening from the side, scampered over and nodded its head as soon as its name was called.
“Indeed, Minium is a worthy investment. There is an alternative solution. Would you care to hear it?”
“An alternative solution?”
“At present, we cannot afford to spend a large sum of money. The highest priority is relocating the Princess's residence.”
“Ah, a house...?”
True, my place was a bit rundown... Minium, Suri, and Doggo weren't massive, so it had been fine, but with Ophelia here now, it definitely felt cramped.
Two people living in a one-room apartment is a bit much. I don't have many belongings, but the place is dilapidated in many ways.
“I am currently gathering real estate information from the internet to find a suitable residence for the Princess. Therefore, it is an inappropriate time to spend money carelessly.”
“I see... What kind of house are you looking for...”
“Nothing has been decided yet. Prices fluctuate greatly, and it is not a matter to be settled overnight.”
“Hmm...”
Moving is like that. It's not like we'd only live there for a year or two, and I imagined any house Ophelia was considering would be incredibly expensive. As long as she doesn't insist on buying a castle in some foreign country because a 'princess should live there,' it should be fine.
“Unfortunately, there are no plans to relocate overseas.”
“That's a relief.”
“For that reason, there is a way to increase Minium's combat power without spending a large sum of money.”
“What is it?”
“I recommend exchanging a portion of the rare metal that constitutes my body with the hairdryer you used to create Minium. I have judged that it would be better for me to perform the task of drying the Princess's hair.”
“Aha.”
Was that even possible? Come to think of it, could I change things I'd already made into golems? Maybe I could just swap out a part?
“I will set a goal to exchange approximately 1 kg of my rare metal with Minium's hairdryer.”
“Should we try it right now?”
“It will likely not be easy, as the Princess's skill level is low.”
“Then... what should I do...?”
“It may be possible by tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Is something happening tomorrow?”
Around 3 AM.
A time when Eve was sleeping so soundly that she wouldn't notice even if someone carried her away.
Ting!
[You have reclaimed a portion of the Princess's dignity.]
[The rank of 'Issue Command' has increased.]
[Issue Command: F+ -> E]
Unbeknownst to the sleeping Eve, the rank of Issue Command had risen.
“Just as planned.”
Ophelia slowly nodded.