“Uh, Master? Your motivation…!”
“No, th-this doesn’t mean I’m trying to pull something so outrageous. I just thought that if there’s a technique that can create defense harder than steel even with gear like that, then depending on the draw, I might be able to get something even better!”
At this very moment, her mouth had outpaced her brain.
Now that she had blurted it out, it even sounded somewhat convincing.
“Th-that kind of outrageous armor will absolutely not appear! The chest! The abs! They’d be completely exposed! I wouldn’t even make Radelk wear something like that!”
“Yes. Even if it did appear… wearing it would be a bit… difficult.”
“…!”
At that moment, her motivation began to drop rapidly. A message even popped up.
―Warning, motivation is decreasing sharply. If this state continues, you may fall into the debuff state of lethargy.
“Um… Master?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just doing some mind control to stay calm before the draw.”
Radelk had no idea what exactly she was denying, but he thought it was for the best. She had been trying very hard to maintain her composure.
“It seems the tea helped.”
“…Yes, the scent of black tea is very calming.”
She smiled brightly and took a sip. Yes, this feeling. With this, it felt like she could succeed in the draw.
Her mind was becoming peaceful, without even a trace of expectation.
After finishing the tea, she placed the ticket into the rabbit’s mouth and stood before its front paws. What did it matter what she got? If Radelk didn’t wear it, that was the end of it.
‘No matter how sacred it is, if it’s not Spartan clothing, it’s meaningless.’
The people of the ancient polis knew what was important. That attire itself was a symbol of honesty and bravery. Was the spirit of that militaristic oligarchic system, contained within those clothes, now gone forever?
‘Kgh… how sorrowful, leader of Greece.’
With that thought, she pressed the paw.
Click—
The rabbit’s belly spun and began to glow. Soon, a voice rang out.
[Super Ultra Rare—!]
The rabbit’s belly opened. A velvet box appeared.
[3-Star Ancient Weapon Appears—!]
As expected, 5-star items didn’t come out just anytime. Her disappointment was brief, and she shook her head, thinking that even a 3-star item was quite impressive.
‘If it’s not imbued with the spirit of Greece, it’s useless anyway.’
What’s the point if he won’t wear it even if given! As she opened the box, the rabbit disappeared, leaving behind a line about meeting again next time.
“A whip?”
Inside the box was a beautifully crafted whip, shaped like snakes and grapevines.
[Divine High Priestess’s Leather Whip ★★★]
Strength +30
Vitality +50
Agility +30
Special Skills
Whip of Discipline: When striking an ally, all stats increase by 15% for 1 hour
When striking an enemy, all stats decrease by 10% for 1 hour
Doctrine of Non-Lethality: No matter how much damage is dealt, HP will not drop below 1
A whip passed down through generations by the High Priestess of the Goddess of Dominion, Admonia. Lost in ancient times, it has been summoned here by divine miracle.
(Female-only weapon)
Set Items: Divine High Priestess’s Leather Dress, Divine High Priestess’s Leather Whip, Divine High Priestess’s High Heels
“Th-this is…”
Her body froze.
If she struck an ally, all stats increased by 15%. A-and on top of that, the set items were a leather dress and high heels.
‘…What exactly does this so-called High Priestess even do?’
She looked at the whip, then at Radelk, then back at the whip again. And she imagined it.
A dark underground dungeon, herself whipping Radelk’s muscular shoulders, saying she was boosting his stats. Radelk groaning in pain, yet gradually breathing more heavily as he was stimulated by the rising stats…
‘What the hell is the God of Beauty even doing?’
To put something like this into the draw. She began to question the very ideology of the gods.
Radelk spoke.
“Hm, this is…”
“Do you know something about it?”
“Admonia, the Goddess of Dominion. She governs the concept of control. She is quite a high-ranking deity. Her religion is also very widespread, especially among soldiers and nobles.”
Just how does the High Priestess of that religion live? Wearing a leather dress and striking believers with a whip? Stepping on them with high heels?
“The faith of the God of Beauty may also be difficult for others to understand. These things are simply differences in culture.”
Truly a fantasy world. On a completely different level from Earth.
“Th-then, how strong is a 3-star treasure?”
“A 1-star is the treasure of a village, 2-star of a region, 3-star of a nation, 4-star of a continent, and 5-star of the world.”
The 5-star, world-class treasure hero butler said,
“It becomes more incredible the higher it goes, but in any case, a national-level treasure is still amazing, right?”
“Of course. It’s not like national treasures are common. Even having around ten in a single country is considered a lot.”
“Wooow…”
To think this vicious whip was a national-level treasure.
“If you complete the full set, you will gain a set effect, transforming it into a 5-star level item.”
What a terrible game. It was provoking the urge to spend.
‘A must-have feature of a terrible game: set items.’
Spend, spend, and spend more, combine items, and gain enormous stat boosts. That was the specialty of such games.
“Even as it is, it’s already remarkable. A 15% stat increase for an hour… if used on a 5-star ancient hero like myself, it would demonstrate tremendous power.”
“Tremendous power?”
“Well… if we use my old friend, a great mage, as a reference, a single spell that could kill ten thousand would instead kill eleven thousand five hundred… so perhaps it would allow an extra fifteen hundred kills.”
The butler-shaped killing machine said this, but it didn’t really help her understand.
‘So… like a modern fighter jet? Thinking about it, against a jet, it doesn’t matter if thousands or tens of thousands of unarmed people charge at it. It’s in the sky.’
Thinking that way sent chills down her spine.
‘It’s only hitting me now.’
A world where such things were said so casually. A world of swords and magic…
She shook her head.
‘It’s a world where orcs decorate themselves with human heads on the front mountain, and ogres raid villages from the back mountain, killing adults and eating children.’
Even if her territory was declining, she was still a countess and a lady. And beside her stood Radelk, her loyal hero butler.
‘Phew, I need to stay sharp.’
There was a reason the God of Beauty had set death as the penalty for failing quests. This was a place where human lives were as fragile as flies.
“By the way, I wanted to draw an item for Radelk, but I got something like this.”
“You can use it yourself, Master.”
“What?!”
Her eyes widened.
‘Me whipping Radelk’s back, saying hyah, hyah?! N-no, I can’t do that!’
She shook her head.
“No, I’m not into that sort of thing… and more importantly, no matter how good the performance is, I can’t do that.”
“Isn’t it also advantageous for attacking enemies? Though the Doctrine of Non-Lethality is a bit unfortunate, at 1 HP they would usually be unconscious. And it applies a debuff as well.”
As she hesitated, Radelk added,
“In emergencies, shouldn’t you also be able to protect your own life, Master? I will always protect you, of course, but you should still learn basic self-defense.”
She thought about it.
‘Right, thinking about it in a strange way just means my mind is the problem. The fact that I can’t kill people is actually an advantage for me.’
Even if her body belonged to this world, her mind was still that of someone from Earth. That might change later, but at least for now, even if the opponent was evil, killing them was too much.
“Then… I’ll use it well.”
“I will teach you how to use the whip.”
She nodded. There was nothing wrong with learning something new.
“Then what should we do about this quest?”
“I will handle it. A butler is originally responsible for both estate management and administrative work.”
Now that she thought about it, there had been something like that in Radelk’s skill description.
―Butler (SSS): Skilled in various household tasks as well as accounting and documentation, and possesses a variety of additional skills to assist the master.
Back then, she had only focused on magic, swordsmanship, and martial arts, and hadn’t paid much attention to the butler skills.
‘This was actually the most necessary thing.’
His combat power was already overflowing. In that case, these kinds of support abilities were far more essential.
“A butler does quite a lot.”
“Yes. A butler manages the estate, oversees the servants, handles finances, and depending on the situation, may even command various administrators. This is usually the case in smaller territories. Larger territories appoint separate officials.”
She nodded.
“A butler really has a lot to do.”
At her words, Radelk smiled. Most nobles would scoff and say, “It’s all work for the lower servants anyway,” but she was different.
To have one’s efforts recognized by the person one serves was a very gratifying thing. So he replied with pride,
“Yes, it’s not a job just anyone can do.”
Few people know that stopping a three-year-old young master from crying is harder than slaying a giant monster. On top of that, setting wages for the household staff, managing account books, and even serving tea to the master or lady are all difficult tasks.
“First, we should check the tax ledgers and confiscate the assets of those who embezzled. Most of the soldiers are probably implicated. We should arrest them and—”
She interrupted him.
“Wait, I have an idea for that.”
His lady never let go of the reins. Perhaps because she came from another world, she struck at angles he hadn’t even considered.
“What are you thinking?”
Her gaze drifted into the distance. The memories of her body and soul slowly blended together like creamer in coffee.
“First, find out who embezzled how much.”
“…Understood. I will proceed accordingly. In the meantime…”
He muttered a short incantation. A barrier swelled up within the room.
“This barrier will protect you, my lady.”
“A barrier?”
“There’s a chance an assassin might come. Though it seems very unlikely right now… but one can never be too careful.”
If they had intended to kill her, they would have done it long ago. Would arresting a captain and intimidating a few village heads really change things now? Still, she nodded.
‘Better safe than sorry.’
Radelk laid her down on the bed and placed a warm honey milk tea in her hands.
“For now, it is late. You should rest.”
The milk tea was as comforting as Radelk himself. After a few sips, she quickly yawned.
Today had been an exhausting day.
