Became the Owner of a Poor Estate
Chapter 12
- Special Quest!
You have completed the special quest to increase the affinity of the residents of Grace Territory (Village 1).
As a reward for successfully completing the quest, you may designate one location of your choice as an Activated Area.
Note: This is limited to locations the user has personally visited.
“What?”
Donghee, who had been imagining some world-renowned luxury jewelry gallery, felt her vision go dark at the condition that she could only designate a place she had actually been to.
“How many places have I even been to?”
Furthermore, a jewelry store was a place she had never even dreamed of entering.
It had been hard enough just to survive day to day; what reason would she have had to go buy things at a jewelry store?
Was it perhaps impossible to activate a jewelry store?
Suddenly, all the quests looming before her felt insurmountable.
Only this morning, she had been swelling with hope at the thought of opening a jewelry store every time the notification sound chimed.
“What do I do…?”
As she pondered where might have something worth money, ‘Borimdang’—the place she had gone to for a delivery back when she worked part-time at a restaurant—suddenly popped into her head.
“That’s right! I went to Borimdang for a delivery!”
She hadn't gone there to buy gold, but a visit was a visit. Since the status window hadn't specified a clause that she had to have bought gold there, she felt she could open it as an Activated Area regardless.
“I’ll open a jewelry store as the Activated Area.”
- Please state the exact name of the jewelry store you have visited. Please be advised that even a single character's error may have a negative impact on areas already activated.
Negative impact?
Donghee suddenly began to get confused—was it Borimdang or Boramdang?
“Argh, ugh! What do I do!”
She had never felt this much pressure, even right before a job interview.
After clutching her head and agonizing for a long while, Donghee suddenly snapped her head up and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Bo… rim… dang?”
Her heart hammered frantically with every syllable she uttered.
Please, please let it be right!
The moment Donghee spoke, the status window displayed a ‘Loading’ sign, and an arrow began to spin clockwise.
A few minutes passed. Just as Donghee’s patience was about to run out, the following words were etched clearly onto the status window.
- The user’s Activated Area level has increased by 0.5.
‘0.5 levels, not 1? Why? Was the name not exact?’
She stared at the blue status window with anxious eyes as if glaring at it, but the window showed no further changes.
As she waited with a heart mixed with half-excitement and half-worry, the updated status window finally revealed itself before Donghee.
[Status Window]
- User Name: Chloe Grace
- Occupation: Part-timer / Lord of Grace Territory
- Abilities: 0.5 / Power-Up Punch (When wearing gloves), Grace Terrain Information Level 1 (Limited to Morta Village).
- Activity Radius: 2.5 / Basement Studio, Convenience Store, Borimdang.
- Traits: 0.01 / A territory that is still dirt poor. (When on earth will the territorial revival begin?…) ★ Tends to be obsessed with chocolate rolls
- Resident Affinity: 2
- Inventory Level 4 / Basic Storage Capacity (0/400)
- MP: 75 / 86,400
“It worked!”
Donghee jumped up from her seat and shouted, thrusting both arms into the air.
Finally, a jewelry store had been added to the Activated Areas. It was a bit unsettling that the activity radius was 2.5 instead of 3, but for now, she was satisfied that the name was on the list of places she could go.
In that case, she had to go see it!
After confirming her inventory was empty, Donghee stood before the front door that still sat imposingly on one wall of the room. Her heart was beating so violently she felt like it might pop out of her mouth, so she clenched her lips tight.
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
The sound of the passcode being pressed felt exceptionally loud today. Even though she was just entering her own room, her mouth felt bone-dry as if she were going in to commit a robbery. At this rate, she felt like she might faint before even reaching the jewelry store.
Strictly speaking, it did feel a bit like robbery.
After steadying her breathing as much as possible, Donghee swung the front door wide and stepped into the studio apartment.
The first scene that met her eyes was the same as last time. Within the thick fog, the Convenience Store stood glowing with bright lights at the end of a short path, and right next to it, she saw Borimdang with its weathered purple sign.
Thump. Thump.
The sound of her heart beating wildly seemed to travel up her throat and echo in her head.
What if it was empty? What if the owner was standing right there? Then what would she say?
Donghee’s head spun with complicated thoughts even as she trudged toward Borimdang.
As she drew closer to Borimdang, the items displayed behind the glass wall gradually became clearer.
The jewelry in the display cases wasn't in designs popular among young people. However, being an old shop, it wasn't filled with lightweight accessories but with items that felt dignified and heavy.
Gold bracelets as thick as fingers, necklaces set with large gems, and sets of pearl necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that radiated a milky glow. On one side, colorful gemstone rings, the kind wealthy socialites might wear on every finger, were lined up, shining brilliantly under the lights.
Of course, the highlight of them all was—
“It’s the Golden Toads!”
There were Golden Toads ranging in size from a pinky nail to the size of a fist. The largest toad even had sparkling jewels embedded in its eyes.
Standing before the brightly lit Borimdang, Donghee pushed the glass door with a fluttering heart.
“Is anyone here?”
Feeling a bit scared, Donghee scanned the interior of Borimdang and called out in a thin, drawn-out voice.
- The user’s Earth is currently !@#$%@#$^$@%&%^* due to !@#%^&!@#$^&*) and is in the process of *^((^&%$%$#^%. As stated previously, no other living organisms exist in this space besides the user.
“Hey, I can see everything. If you're going to talk to yourself, at least make it invisible.”
Donghee snapped irritably at the words written at the very end, which were timid but clear.
Every time she came, she didn't want to be reminded that this was a space where no other living things existed. That was too frightening.
As soon as the status window heard Donghee’s voice, it slowly erased the letters.
Donghee glared until the last letter disappeared, then slowly looked around Borimdang again.
It was then.
- The Incompletely Activated Area where the user is currently staying will close in approximately 10 minutes. The time limit will disappear as the level increases. Shall the countdown begin now?
At the thunderous news, Donghee’s voice naturally rose.
“What?”
- Yes, understood. Starting the 10-minute countdown now.
“Hey!”
- 09:59
Donghee yelled out, but the status window had already switched to timer mode. Startled, Donghee stopped looking around and began opening the display cases, sweeping necklaces, rings, and gold pieces into her inventory.
“The big ones, the big ones!”
Since the inventory counted by item count rather than weight or volume, Donghee busily swept up substantial items like necklaces, bracelets, and Golden Toads rather than small rings or earrings.
She felt like the looters who broke into stores and grabbed everything during riots in America.
Donghee frantically swept up the gold while checking the status window frequently.
Time was dwindling fast.
- If you stay longer than the permitted time in an Incompletely Activated Area, the activation will be canceled, and the items the user has acquired will also disappear.
The text adding to Donghee’s anxiety flashed alternately with the blinking timer.
- 04:35
Perhaps because she moved so quickly, the 400 inventory slots were filled with two minutes to spare.
“Oh man, I'm so nervous I could die.”
Even her breathing was shaky, making her voice wobble like a goat's as she spoke.
- 01:45
She wanted to take more, but there was no space left in her inventory, and she didn't want to leave in a desperate rush.
After one final check that the inventory count was full at 400, Donghee swung the glass door open and stepped outside.
Only when the cold air hit her face did her frantically racing heart calm down a little.
Turning back to check inside the glass wall, she saw that, just as in the Convenience Store, the items she had put in her inventory were filling the display cases exactly as they had been at first.
“Amazing!”
A laugh escaped her naturally.
“I’m rich!”
* * *
The jeweler arrived at the estate sooner than expected. Scrooge the butler hurriedly escorted him into the drawing room, as the man blustered about how he just happened to be passing by and the timing was lucky.
Even before the Lord, he held his head high and stared leisurely at Donghee with an arrogant expression. Seeing the frown lines on his fleshy brow, he seemed displeased at being summoned to such a lackluster territory.
With his greased hair parted exactly in a two-eight split, thick dark brown eyebrows the same color as his hair, greedy amber eyes shining fiercely under heavy lids, and a blunt nose and thick lips, he was a man who looked exactly like the Golden Toad she had recently stolen from Borimdang.
