Chapter 73
[Name: Sasha Winchester (LV.8)]
[Class: Sprout Savior]
[Trait: Key of Mekius]
[Stats: Health 28 / Strength 20 / Ability 10 / Intelligence 41 / Vitality 31]
[Skills: Black Domination (LV.5/SS), Damage Reflection (LV.3/A)]
[Inventory: Healing Potion, 490 Ruby]
I had turned eight years old and grown to level 8.
Jin, who now clearly showed signs of adolescence, was pressing on with the heir training, but he would still occasionally glance at me with a sharpness that caught my attention. Since he no longer treated me harshly, my skill levels had barely increased.
I earned a fair amount of rubies from miscellaneous quests like “Acquire Knowledge of Ancient Monsters” and “Guard Dog Training,” which helped raise my stats moderately.
I occasionally chatted with Othello, who had returned to the Taelarus family, in Rune.
As for Evan, he was almost invisible to me.
There were rumors that he had been appearing at Othello’s training grounds and focusing solely on ability training. There were also unverified stories that Recardo was supporting Evan considerably.
“Hmm…”
Ah, the transparent mushroom, Sariya, had restored my vitality to 31.
That incident prompted me to spend a year in the library, even digging through ancient books, compiling a list of items that might be useful to me. I also referred to the contents of the books Jin had given me.
The five most powerful items in the world were:
-
Sariya (already consumed)
-
Essence of the Divine Tree – collected from the honey of the Divine Tree, which grows once every thousand years by the sacrifice of the noble.
-
Horn of the Black Dragon – a masterpiece made by the Archmage of Akada; a pair existed, but both were lost fifty years ago.
-
Variation of Seven Souls – a forbidden spell from 300 years ago, requiring the death of seven people; both the spell and ritual method have been lost.
-
Dried Scales of the Earth Dragon
And… besides these, there was something not in the books but which I considered my only hope: the “Elixir.”
“…Today, I’ll give it a try.”
Completing the quest “Explore Treasure Information” gave me 50 rubies, bringing my total to 540 rubies, enough to purchase what I wanted.
Of course, it wasn’t the Elixir.
“Purchase complete!”
[Purchased ‘Dried Scales of the Earth Dragon’ for 500 rubies.]
[Remaining Rubies: 40]
Unlike a year ago, I could now use the shop as a reward for manifesting abilities.
The shop had thousands of items: tools, magical devices, and potions usable in reality. Luckily, the Dried Scales of the Earth Dragon were within my purchasing range.
It felt good to finally spend the rubies I had saved.
A halo of light appeared in my hand, and a scale about the size of a finger materialized.
Ugh… it looks unappetizing. But I guess I have to eat it.
I took a deep breath and swallowed the dried scale with water.
[Vitality increased. +15]
Oh, it seemed to work.
From a healthy vitality range of 30–70, 46 wasn’t very high, but it was something.
I had set rules for myself to preserve my long, thin life for the time being.
[Character Info]
-
Recardo Winchester
Title: Ruler of Black Flames
Fate Rate: 20% -
Jin Winchester
Fate Rate: 22% -
Othello Winchester
Fate Rate: 24% -
Chenoa Taelarus
Title: Ruler of Clarity
Fate Rate: N/A -
Evan Taelarus
Title: 28th Time Looper
Fate Rate: 19% -
Fermetis Winchester
Title: None
Fate Rate: N/A -
Hector Winchester
Title: Guardian of Black Flames
Fate Rate: N/A
After manifesting my abilities, my fate rate with Othello increased significantly.
Bonus: the rate with Evan also rose alarmingly.
It seemed my abilities could only affect targets with whom I had a fate connection, and the stronger the connection, the more powerful the effect.
But using my abilities drained my vitality. So, my first rule was… never use them.
Othello had already left for the Taelarus family, and even if my fate rate with Evan reached 50%, I wouldn’t test it.
I also continued searching for items that could boost my vitality.
“Miss, you look quite rosy today,” Maya said, bringing purée and bread.
“Today, I think I can take a walk. The breeze is getting warm.”
“No, you can’t,” Maya said with a stern expression.
“It’s still cold. The doctor told you to be careful, didn’t he?”
“Today will be different,” I said confidently.
A while later, the doctor came for my morning checkup and concluded that my body had recovered to a normal condition.
Because of my innate frailty, I had to be careful, but a light walk was fine.
Maya gave me a hesitant look and nodded.
“That’s a relief, Miss. But promise me you won’t overdo it.”
“Okay, promise.”
“Fermetis is growing more beautiful by the day.”
“Even so, she can’t compare to Miss Sasha. She’ll probably become the most beautiful in the empire.”
“But Fermetis is strong and healthy. A marriage with one of the two young masters seems inevitable.”
“We’ll see about that. Do you always have to say annoying things?”
I heard two maids whispering while pruning trees in the lush garden.
Maya asked me with a troubled expression:
“Should I give them a scolding? How dare they speak of you like that… and compare anyone to our Miss?”
At eight, I was indeed growing very beautifully—doll-like, in fact.
“No, it’s fine,” I said. No need to get upset over everything.
At the mansion entrance, Fermetis’ carriage was parked.
Family members requested that children from collateral lines, like Fermetis, be admitted into the mansion.
Rumors said that Grandfather Hector’s return would intensify these demands.
It was customary to educate all children, from direct to collateral lines, while Hector was the head of the family.
There weren’t many collateral children; of the eight, only four requested placement.
Three aimed to become Jin’s right or left hand in the future, and the remaining one, Fermetis, likely sought a position as the family’s daughter-in-law.
When Bashron brought Fermetis previously, Recardo refused, but they came again.
Their help was needed for a land development project, so many predicted this visit was unavoidable.
Even if Fermetis, who openly opposed me, came, I wasn’t worried.
[Skills: Black Domination (LV.5/SS), Damage Reflection (LV.3/A)]
Jin believed I would be stronger than Fermetis. A secret only between us.
“Arachnis burned and trampled like that… managing a mansion without a lady must be hard, huh?”
Fermetis, linking arms with Jin, approached the garden.
She might think herself mature for her age, but she still hadn’t learned to hide her black heart.
“If Lady Quern hadn’t passed away…” she said, casting a sorrowful look at me.
She wanted to provoke me in front of Jin.
But I didn’t need to show displeasure at her obvious ploy.
“Don’t worry, Brother. While Perri is here, I’ll make the garden beautiful.”
Fermetis smiled faintly.
Damn it… I told myself not to get agitated, but irritation surged.
“Sasha, Fermetis, Neville, and Barmont will receive education at our mansion for now. Simon is suffering from measles, so he can’t participate.”
Following Jin’s announcement, Fermetis spoke:
“Let’s get along, Sasha. Let’s forget the past.”
Forget the past? That was ridiculous.
“Now we have to be in the same mansion,” I reminded her.
Fermetis remained brazen.
“Yeah, but I hope you don’t meddle with the garden,” I said clearly, smiling like her.
“What?”
Fermetis’ eyes twitched slightly.
“To call that a trampled Arachnis… Honestly, your taste in flowers is abysmal.”
“Hah! That’s rude, Sasha!”
I used a softening phrase, but it didn’t work. Her eyes burned, and she struggled to control her anger.
“Rude? Isn’t it more rude to criticize the mansion and garden without even recognizing the sprouts of a growing Arachnis?”
Arachnis would revive from where it was trampled. Its seeds would sprout again, likely covering the area in bright yellow by summer.
“Sprouts… you mean… that?”
It was a plant full of life and beauty.
“And honestly, calling this the same mansion might be a stretch, don’t you think? Our mansion, I mean.”
I predicted that Recardo would assign the East Annex to unwelcome guests—a space reconstructed during winter, comfortable yet once used as servant quarters, enough to bruise Fermetis’ pride.
“…!”
Hit where it hurt; Fermetis could only glare and tremble with clenched fists.
“Ah, my bad. Sorry,” I said with a final smile, declaring victory in this mental duel.
Fermetis’ eyebrows shot up, and she spun around in anger.
Jin smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth.
“You’re mischievous, Sasha.”
“Aren’t you going to calm her down?”
“Why should I?”
Jin, growing taller day by day, placed a hand on my head and spoke.
“The girl you were curious about—I took this chance to invite her to the foster education program.”
I looked at Jin, puzzled. Curious about her?
“There was some trouble because of different families, but I used Elysion Akada’s curiosity,” he explained.
“Akada?”
“Cassillion Akada.”
My eyes widened.
He was Evan Taelarus’ companion across multiple loops and the creator of the Elixir that cured all ailments.
He was someone I would eventually have to find.
