Chapter 113

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: A Series of Fortunate Events
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A moment later.

Romeo returned to his room, saying he was going to send a letter to Griffith.

It seemed they still kept in touch using the same fountain pens from their childhood.

Calix, however, was still in the drawing room of Lellia’s suite. Claiming he was tired from waking up early, he had stretched out on the sofa and fallen asleep.

*‘Now’s my chance.’*

Lellia took advantage of the quiet moment to open her item inventory.

She wanted to use the item she had received as a reward earlier.

Lellia’s main objective was an item called the ‘Quest Jumping Coin.’

If she was lucky, she could advance Calix’s quest to its final stage.

When she commanded the item to be used, a small window appeared.

[A magical coin that can jump your quest story progress by a maximum of 10~50% (~˘▾˘)~♫•*¨*•.¸¸♪]

Below the text, numbers from 10 to 50 flashed by rapidly, with a ‘Stop’ button in the center.

Lellia swallowed hard and pressed the button.

*‘Please be 50%, please, please!’*

She clasped her hands together and prayed in front of the soundly sleeping Calix.

[Congratulations! 50% applied!! ｡*ﾟ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ｡*ﾟ The quest progress for special affection target will jump by 50%!]

※ For automatically jumped quests, only ‘Recipe Puzzle Pieces’ will be provided as rewards.

So for the quests she was supposed to clear, she would only get the recipe pieces…

It was a bit cheap of them, but it didn’t matter since the recipe pieces were all she needed anyway.

The very next quest appeared.

Seeing the text glow red, it seemed to be the final quest.

[Raise the affection of special affection target to 95 or higher!! (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑]

※ Quest Story Progress: 90%

Just like with the customers in the ‘Alchemy Lottery’ game, raising affection from 90 to 100 was always the most difficult part.

Lellia immediately pressed accept.

*‘By the way, what’s the reward?’*

She tapped it again to check, and there was only one reward item.

∙ Special Recipe Key

Since she had collected all the pieces, did that mean she needed a key for the final step?

Lellia narrowed her eyes and looked at Calix.

*‘Still… I have to raise it to 95. What’s his affection level now?’*

As soon as she had the thought, a speech bubble appeared.

[Would you like to check the affection level of special affection target ? (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧]

*‘Yes, let’s check.’*

[1 Affection Check Ticket will be used!]

The question mark floating above Calix’s head changed into a number.

[87]

*‘It’s higher than I thought.’*

She had expected it to be high after seeing him nag her like a real younger brother, but this number was even higher than she’d anticipated.

*‘Perfect.’*

Lellia smiled to herself and entered her item inventory.

After receiving all the rewards from the jumped quests, she had collected 25 puzzle pieces.

Huh? But now the item description had a button that wasn’t there before: ‘Combine Pieces.’

When she pressed it, the puzzle pieces assembled themselves into a treasure chest.

It seemed that collecting 25 pieces allowed you to create the box.

*‘So that’s why the final quest reward is a key.’*

What kind of recipe could it be? As she wondered, the help mode displayed a speech bubble.

[Curious about the contents of the special recipe? Would you like to check it right now? ୧(•̀ᴗ•́) A preview will cost 200 crystals!]

Lellia blinked.

*‘That’s cheaper than I expected.’*

200 crystals was 200,000 shillings.

Was it worth checking? It was so much cheaper than usual that she suspected it might be a scam.

Of course, she would have to complete the final quest to get the recipe anyway, but she wanted to know in advance.

Lellia decided to check the recipe immediately. Just what kind of recipe had made her go through so much trouble?

Of course, her goal was to clear it no matter what the recipe was.

She had to clear all the recipes to be able to craft the ‘Philosopher’s Stone.’

Waiting with a sense of indifference, a speech bubble appeared.

Lellia’s expression hardened as she read the contents.

*‘Oh…!’*

[Special Recipe: Immortal Vision Restoration Potion]

※ A miracle cure created by the god ‘Heojum’! A potent medicine that grants superior eyesight. Is your world dark? We’ll make you see the light! Meet the legendary panacea, available now! ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪

“Wow!”

After reading the description again, Lellia shot up from her seat.

She had cried out without realizing it. She was just so shocked…

‘Heojum’ was an NPC in the ‘Alchemy Lottery’ game, a ‘tiger’ character who would occasionally visit the protagonist’s shop.

A physician who wandered the world, he would sell various mystical medicines and ingredients to the protagonist.

*‘This is huge.’*

Lellia covered her mouth and paced back and forth. Her heart was pounding.

It seemed the special recipe was meant for the special quest target.

*‘So for Calix’s…’*

Lellia tried to calm her racing heart.

“Hey, what’s going on…?”

The sound of her frantic pacing had woken Calix up. He glared at Lellia, his face deeply creased in a frown.

His eyes were unfocused, giving them a peculiar look. Calix tapped the side of his head and blinked.

Seeing him like that, Lellia felt a sudden urge to cry.

It was just a guess, but it seemed Calix’s eyesight worsened every time he had one of his periodic seizures.

It appeared to be particularly bad when he woke up from sleep.

“…Brother!”

Lellia rushed over and threw her arms around Calix as he groggily sat up. She was so happy and so heartbroken that her emotions overwhelmed her.

“Wh-what the!”

Startled by the sudden embrace, Calix pushed Lellia away.

Despite that, Lellia was purely joyful, hopping up and down on the spot.

“…Has he lost his mind?”

Calix frowned as he watched her.

*What’s with her?*

Just then.

Calix gasped and pressed a hand to his chest.

*‘What was that?’*

His heart was suddenly beating far too quickly. Was it because of his eyes?

Just as Lellia had guessed, his vision was especially dark when he first woke up.

But right now, he had no time to worry about that.

When that kid had hugged him just now. Suddenly, the feeling… it was strange and peculiar, in a way he couldn’t describe.

To feel something strange for a guy who he knew was a man, a guy who was even built similarly to himself.

It was probably because of that incredibly feminine face of his.

*‘Ugh, gives me the creeps.’*

Calix shuddered, recalling the brief, strange tickle in his heart.

Until now, Lellia had always believed that misfortunes came all at once, while happiness arrived sporadically. It had always been that way.

But it turned out that wasn't always the case.

One good thing had happened, and another followed right after.

“Sir Raymond, Princess Yuriana has accepted my confession!”

Listening to Lute, who had come to visit late in the evening, Lellia was filled with elation.

She was so happy she wanted to scream.

She was so overjoyed she had almost hugged the insufferable Lute.

“That’s—that’s wonderful! Truly wonderful, Sir Lute!”

“I’m glad to see you so happy, as if it were your own accomplishment! This is all thanks to you, Sir Raymond.”

*Right, it’s thanks to me.* She felt the urge to punch him out of sheer satisfaction, but Lellia held back.

Instead, Lellia smiled brightly and congratulated him.

Honestly, she didn’t know what had possessed Yuriana to accept Lute’s confession after she had suddenly shown up and slapped him, but… that wasn’t her problem.

“Thank you, Sir Raymond.”

“Of course.”

Lellia smiled as she stared intently at him.

“……”

“……”

As Lellia stared, Lute looked puzzled for a moment before exclaiming, “Ah!”

“Ah! Sir Raymond. As a token of my gratitude for your help, I’d like to give you a gift.”

“……!”

Finally.

Lellia swallowed and held her breath, waiting for Lute’s next words.

“This is… a very precious item to me.”

Lute said as he took something out from inside his coat. Lellia’s eyes lit up.

It was the other half of the holy relic.

He fiddled with the pocket watch, which had only one hand, before holding it out to Lellia.

“It’s a holy relic from the temple that granted my wish when I was a child. It’s something precious that I’ve always carried with me, but I want to give it to you.”

“……”

Lellia slowly extended her hand.

She tried to take it immediately, but Lute’s hand tightened around it.

It seemed he was having second thoughts now that it was time to give it away.

The fingertips of both people holding the holy relic trembled slightly.

“…I was originally going to give it to Princess Yuriana, but I feel it’s right to give it to you. You’ve helped me so much, so it’s only proper that you should have it.”

“Thank you.”

With those words, Lute finally relaxed his grip on the holy relic.

Lellia was at last able to take the pocket watch from him.

At the same moment, a square window popped up.

[Sub-quest complete! ٩(๑•̀o•́๑)و You have obtained the young man’s !]

[System: Special Shop System Unlocked]

*‘Finally!!!’*

Feeling a thrill that made her fingertips tingle, Lellia quickly tucked the holy relic into her inner pocket.

Just in case Lute asked for it back.

And just as she expected, Lute hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“…And Sir Raymond. If possible, could I ask you for one more favor?”

“…What is it?”

As long as it wasn’t him asking for the holy relic back…

Lellia looked at Lute, deciding she might as well hear him out.

“Well… Princess Yuriana and I have decided to meet in secret for the time being. She said there could be big trouble if His Majesty the Emperor and the princes find out.”

“Ah, I see.”

Not her problem.

“So, what I mean is. Could you help me get on the good side of His Majesty and their highnesses, the princes? And if you could also help with a formal proposal…!”

Also not her problem.

“I’m sorry, Sir Lute. What should I do?”

“What’s wrong?”

Lellia put on a deeply regretful expression and said.

“Unfortunately, it seems I’ll be returning to my home country soon.”

“Ah… Wh-when would that be?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but I’ll be leaving as soon as possible. I received an urgent summons. I’ll help you until I leave, of course… but it will be difficult to help as proactively as before.”

“…If that’s the case, then it can’t be helped.”

Lute gave her a slightly resentful look.

Lellia inwardly clicked her tongue.

He really was a man who could change his tune faster than anyone.

Although she had said she would help until she left, she planned to ignore Lute from now on, claiming she was too busy.

She felt like a cheap person for getting what she wanted and then feigning ignorance, but Lellia hadn’t forgotten how Lute had insulted Calix.

If she had her way, she would have told him that the favor he owed her was to take a good punch.

But he might ask for the holy relic back, so it was best to endure for now.

“……”

Lute mumbled, looking at Lellia with a very disappointed expression.

Feeling uneasy, Lellia made an excuse about suddenly feeling unwell and went back into her room.