Chapter 85
“They say you refused the original protective gear at the palace because it was too heavy. That’s why you never even tried to look for it. I didn’t expect such a pathetic reason.”
“Wait… I originally had protective gear?”
Elizia Semperion. In the game, her character never fought, so she hadn’t known. Could it be true that she originally did have protective gear? While Elizia was mulling over those words, Howell cut in.
“And even after we made you a new one, you didn’t seem to care enough to look for it. You would’ve walked around not even knowing it existed, so we had no choice but to tell you.”
“Of course I didn’t know, you never told me!”
Elizia almost shouted that inwardly—but then froze. Wait. Thinking about it carefully… did that mean they had already made a new protective set just for her?
“When on earth did they make it?”
The only time she’d said protective gear was cumbersome was during her spar with the Crown Prince. That wasn’t long ago. If rumors had spread to the Ducal House afterward, then for them to have finished it already would’ve been on an extremely tight schedule. Now that she thought of it, even the box holding the gear smelled strongly of natural adhesive, as if it had been hastily finished.
So… had they been planning to give it to her once the box was properly done, but rushed it out because the Crown Prince had given her his gift first?
Still suspicious, Elizia shifted her gaze to the sword.
Ding!
Item: Semperion’s Conviction
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Attack Power: +70
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Durability: 900
One of the famous blades handed down in the Semperion Ducal House.
“Wait—it has better stats than the Crown Prince’s gift!”
On top of that, it was a Semperion heirloom sword. That was in my family this whole time?
When Elizia lifted it, marveling, Howell added an explanation.
“Better, isn’t it? You’ve been nagging for it since you were a kid, saying it had to be yours. Father says now you finally look strong enough to wield it, so he gave permission.”
“Past me had a good eye, huh.”
Apparently, young Elizia had laid claim to the best sword in the collection. Maybe she hadn’t only been picky about jewelry and luxury items—maybe she also knew how to judge weapons?
Either way, since it was something she had wanted since childhood, it was probably appropriate to look moved. Carefully, she turned to the Duke.
“You’re really giving this to me?”
“You kept throwing tantrums that you’d run away from home if I didn’t.”
“……”
“Forgot, did you? Anyway, you’ve got it now. So hold off on the running away for a while.”
“Wait—don’t tell me I was threatening to run away even as a child?!”
Well, she wasn’t one to talk, since running away had practically become routine for her. Still, it seemed little Elizia had been just as stubborn.
Since she had nothing to say, she stayed quiet. Howell added,
“You can’t bring it into the temple or the palace, but next time take it with you if you can. Last time in the forest, you were fighting with a branch, weren’t you?”
“…Better than a branch, at least.”
Elizia nodded seriously. Branches could break at any moment, and she’d had to fight while worrying about durability. This sword, though, didn’t pose that problem—she liked it a lot. She offered a sincere thanks.
“Thank you, Father.”
For the gift, and for defending her earlier in front of the High Priest.
She hadn’t expected either.
The Duke didn’t respond—just turned away. With his back to Howell and Elizia, he spoke again.
“Now, Howell. You’ve delivered what you came for. Leave us.”
“What? But Father…”
Howell looked wronged. He had come along to corner Elizia with questions, yet after handing over the sword and gear, he was being kicked out. But the Duke was unyielding.
“Next time.”
“…Understood.”
Resigned, Howell left. Once it was just the Duke and Elizia, he spoke.
“About the temple intrusion.”
“Here it comes.”
Elizia swallowed hard. She had wondered when this would come up. The intruder incident at the temple had coincided with her latest runaway—and the High Priest had even accused her.
Anyone would find that suspicious. The Duke would be right to. Tense, she waited for his next words.
After a long silence, he asked:
“What do you think about it?”
“……”
What do I think?
Outwardly, it sounded like he was only asking her opinion. But his tone carried weight: Say something. Make an excuse. Tell the truth.
Elizia sighed inwardly.
“That night…”
Where was she supposed to start? That she had no choice but to go there because of a quest? That she got caught by the High Priest, stumbled on the suspicious underground?
Would the Duke even understand? How angry would he get…?
“…No.”
She stopped. Honestly—what was she even afraid of?
“Am I scared of him getting angry?”
No. If she’d been the type to cower at his anger, she wouldn’t have lived like this all along. She’d always done as she pleased, regardless. What really bothered her was—
“I just… don’t want him to know.”
She didn’t want to drag him into it. Dangerous things like the system, or the temple’s secrets.
Maybe it was just that she didn’t want an NPC—someone unrelated to the “game”—to be dragged into this.
Shaking her head, Elizia finally answered.
“…I don’t really know.”
“Hmph.”
The Duke’s voice grew sharper.
“Then you should at least have learned something from this. Stop behaving suspiciously. You’re lucky this passed over quietly—but do you realize how much trouble it could’ve caused?”
“I’m sorry.”
“And stop making excuses to go out so often. How long has it been since your poisoning attempt, or the monster invasion? Yet you claim to be the Saintess’s teacher and keep visiting the temple regularly?”
“I understand. I’ll restrain myself. But…”
Elizia tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.
“Isn’t becoming the Saintess’s teacher an honor for our house?”
For once, it was pure curiosity. She honestly didn’t get why the Duke and Howell were against it. Any noble house would’ve celebrated such an opportunity.
But the Duke only frowned, as if she’d said something foolish.
“That depends. If you were to make a grave mistake in the temple, do you realize the consequences? That’s not a place our family can protect you.”
His last words carried weight.
So even the great House Semperion couldn’t shield her from the temple. No wonder he found her frequent trips burdensome.
The Duke turned back, handing her the box with the sword and gear.
“So, Elizia Semperion. From now on, you must truly keep your head straight.”
His tone was as sharp as ever, but also heavy and serious. The box in her arms seemed to press down with more than just weight.
“He really did shove it in the corner.”
Elizia let out a small laugh, staring at the Crown Prince’s gift bundle tucked in the wardrobe corner. She didn’t have anywhere else to put it, true—but after what the Duke had said, it looked amusing. She inspected the gifts again.
“It does look expensive.”
Even sitting still, it gleamed. The decorations must’ve cost a fortune.
“But gold is a pretty soft metal.”
Its durability was disappointing. Heavy, too. That’s why gold wasn’t commonly used in weapon or armor crafting in Seiros Saga. Still, the fine craftsmanship showed great effort. Just… inefficient.
“At least the sword’s good.”
She had actually received one of the royal family’s famous swords—a stroke of pure luck. And it happened to be the exact sword she’d been eyeing! That much she liked.
“And this… the Semperion sword and gear.”
As said, far stronger in both attack power and durability. In Seiros Saga, it was extremely difficult to be granted such weapons.
The gear, too—though less ornate, it was clearly lighter and thinner, something she could even wear under a dress. Elizia opened both boxes wide, then turned to face her broadcast screen.
“Everyone, which gift do you prefer? The Crown Prince’s or my father’s?”
She wondered what her viewers thought. But just then, something unusual popped up beside the chat window.
A tiny, easily overlooked icon shaped like an envelope.
“…What’s this?”
She clicked it.
Ding!
You’ve received a new mail!
“…Mail?”
There was a mail function?
As if answering her doubt, another message appeared:
Due to administrator suspension, some services are no longer available to you, Elizia.
Therefore, AI-1348351 has determined that you must manually check certain functions.
From now on, you will be the one to check channel inquiry mails in place of the former administrator.
Check for sponsorships, advertisements, business inquiries, and more!
“Sponsorships?”
Now that she thought about it, big YouTubers or influencers often wrote, ‘For sponsorships and business inquiries, contact me via email.’ So her channel had a contact address too? And the admin had been managing it all along?
“Guess I’d better check. Mailbox!”
Shhhk!
Light flared, and a new window appeared.
Inbox
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▶ Sponsorship Inquiry: Cosmetics
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▶ We are Program 000 seeking the truth. Requesting an interview regarding your possession case.
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▶ Ad Model Offer: Used by 1 million people! App 000.
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▶ Invitation to Influencer Gathering 000. We usually only accept creators with 200k+ followers…
“…Huh?”
Elizia froze, stunned. These mails had been coming all along? So the admin had been handling not only her channel management but also checking and replying to inquiries?
“…How am I supposed to answer these?”
Sponsorships and advertisements. She never imagined she’d get inquiries like those.
“Wait—does this mean I can actually reply? To real-world companies and influencers?”
If so, then she could write to people in the outside world, too. Maybe even find a way…
With that thought, she quickly hit “Compose Mail.” And then—
Ding!
Shhhhhh!
“…Huh?”
The screen shifted in an instant. Elizia’s face froze in shock.
