TVMS 37

CHAPTER 37

“Aris…”

Zikren tried to speak again, but in that moment, he froze as if briefly suspended in time.

It seemed that while absorbing the power of the emerald, all his bodily functions focused solely on that task. It only lasted a short while, but still.

‘Good to know.’

I pretended not to care, but stored that information in my head.

After all the light was absorbed, the emerald dropped to the ground with a thud, leaving only the shell behind…

Only then did Zikren stretch his shoulders as if waking up. I asked him,

“How is it? No problem with the item, right?”

“Yeah. It’s great.”

He pressed firmly on the spot where his wound had been, confirming it had healed completely. Then he glanced at me.

“Just so you know, I wasn’t embarrassed or anything. I just didn’t want to show the wound. For transcendents like us, revealing a wound is a weakness.”

“I know. No need to say it out loud. Who in this empire doesn’t know you’re the type who enjoys showing skin?”

I replied,

“And in case you misunderstood, I definitely wasn’t staring because I wanted to see your body. I actually hate muscles.”

“You hate muscles?”

“Yep.”

“…Why?”

“They just make me feel uncomfortable. I don’t like being around people who are too strong—man or woman. I prefer everyone to be weak. Weak enough that I could overpower them with just one finger. Anyway, I hate muscles.”

So don’t worry I’ll fall for you and chase you around. No need to eliminate me preemptively.

‘Even though I unintentionally witnessed your shirtless moment, I swear I’m not going to follow you around.’

Whether he understood my true intentions or not, Zikren went silent.

“Well then.”

I spun around.

“Now that the item’s proven to be in perfect condition, let’s get to work.”

“Ah… right.”

Zikren followed me a beat later.

With him watching, I began harvesting the emeralds from the wall.

One, two, three… fifteen in total.

“How are we supposed to carry these?”

“There’s a box here.”

Zikren retrieved a wooden box left behind by a previous worker. I put all fifteen emeralds inside it.

Feeling quite satisfied, we left the mine together.

As soon as we exited the magic-imbued area, the transparent barrier separating us from the rest of the world vanished.

Thunk.

The wooden contract token, which had disappeared earlier, returned to my hand. Almost immediately, the noisy sounds came rushing back.

“This way! Careful, someone’s coming through behind you!”

“Push! One, two, three!”

The miners were still busily at work. No one seemed to have noticed that we had briefly vanished like invisible people.

‘Magic really is something else.’

Having gotten what I came for, there was nothing left to do here.

“All gather up!”

I called over the knights who had been watching the surroundings.

Conscious of onlookers, we did a quick lap around the mining zone before climbing into the carriage.

As soon as we returned to the palace, word came that Aldensis had been waiting.

Zikren asked the attendant,

“Where’s my brother now?”

“This way, sir.”

The attendant led us to the Crown Prince’s private garden.

When the white door engraved with vine patterns opened, we saw Aldensis standing by the railing.

Clad in a flowing ivory robe embroidered with gold, he looked like an ancient elf from a long-lost race. A bluebird perched on his hand completed the picture.

It was one of those moments when his identity as a transcendent felt especially real.

“We greet Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

As Zikren and I bowed, the bird fluttered away.

“Second Prince, Lady.”

Aldensis dipped his head elegantly, then looked at Zikren.

“No issues?”

“None. Here you go.”

Zikren handed his older brother the box containing the emeralds.

“Let’s see.”

Aldensis opened the lid and picked one up.

With long white fingers, he held the transparent gem up to the sunlight—it looked like a painting.

‘But don’t be fooled.’

Under my skeptical gaze, Aldensis carefully examined the gem, then lowered his hand.

“You already tested it?”

“Of course.”

Zikren tapped the spot where he had been wounded.

“Good. Then I’ll try it too.”

Aldensis lightly tossed the emerald, letting it float above his fingertips.

There wasn’t as intense a reaction as there had been with Zikren. But the gem spun rapidly, emitting a brilliant light.

In less than a minute, all the radiance was drawn into Aldensis’ fingers. He placed the empty shell on the table.

“Truly excellent, Lady.”

“Oh, is that so?”

I asked, brightening.

“Then you’ll be making a purchase?”

“Of course. I’ll buy all the items you brought.”

At his signal, attendants brought in a heavy safe. Watching them open it, I suddenly had a question.

“By the way.”

As I spoke up, both brothers turned to look at me at the same time.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Is something the matter?”

Why do they look at me like that? Did I give off the impression that I was going to say something huge? Well, I guess this is kind of important…

“Are you including the two we used for testing in the payment?”

“…”

They were silent for a moment.

“Of course,” Aldensis replied.

Oh. At least he’s not stingy about that.

I quickly did the math.

That’s 16 in total. At 25 million per gem, that’s 400 million perls.

“….”

Thank goodness for my stiff facial muscles—I managed to keep a straight face. Otherwise, my cheekbones would’ve shot to the sky.

To earn this much in just half a day…!

Transportation was free, and there were no other expenses. This is pure profit for our merchant group.

‘With results like this, our rating is bound to go up. Escaping F-rank is guaranteed, right?’

If I could just knock those arrogant side branches down a peg, I’d be satisfied. At least now they won’t be able to ignore me like before.

‘What kind of business is this amazing?’

Now I understood why the Great Spirit sought out a slave of capitalism.

Apparently, as the contractor grows more accustomed to the work, the World Tree allows access to more emeralds.

Imagine a steady income of this sweet profit. No way I’m letting go of this.

“…”

While I was happily rejoicing with a straight face, Aldensis and Zikren took cash out of the safe.

All 400 million perls—pure cash. I guess checks or bank transfers aren’t befitting of royal dignity?

“It’ll be hard for you to carry this, Lady, so we’ll send it to your merchant office.”

“Sure.”

I replied with a bright business smile.

“Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness. I look forward to working with you.”

“As do we.”

Aldensis responded with a warm smile.

The deal was done. Just like that, I had secured one of the stable sources of funding that would help me survive going forward.

Now only one other objective remained. The real point of today.

‘Once the business is done, they’ll probably tell me to leave—but before that, I need to naturally bring up the phantom thief operation.’

I glanced at Aldensis. But he just sat there calmly, unbothered.

I deliberately lifted my skirt hem with both hands.

“Your Highness, if our business is concluded, you should tell me not to linger and go home. That’s my cue to leave.”

“Hm?”

Aldensis looked at me. Then—

“Excuse me.”

Palace attendants arrived, pushing a cart. With a large teapot, and… three teacups?

I was surprised.

‘Three cups?’

That wasn’t all. One attendant cautiously asked,

“Was it three hours of no disturbances?”

What? Three hours?

I stared at Aldensis. Zikren, eyes wide, did the same.

“Did we have something scheduled like that?”

Aldensis stood abruptly.

“I gave no such order. They must have assumed the Lady would be staying for a while.”

He sounded like he was reading from a textbook.

The high and aloof air from earlier was gone, replaced by a clunky wind-up doll.

I couldn’t help but look at him with suspicion.

‘No matter how you look at it… this totally feels like we just caught him red-handed trying to trap me here for three hours.’

Narrowing my eyes, I said,

“Well, since meetings with Your Highness usually drag on for hours, it’s not surprising they misunderstood. You’re not flustered, are you?”

“Of course not.”

He replied calmly, picking up a leaf instead of a teacup—then immediately set it down again.

“I’ll have to get used to these shorter visits in the future.”

“Well, since the tea’s here, we should at least drink it.”

Zikren’s simple words led us to each pick up our cups.

After taking a sip, Aldensis said,

“I actually heard something very interesting from Zikren. That the Lady offered a great suggestion and actively cooperated on the phantom thief operation?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Finally, the topic I’d been waiting for.

I set my teacup down and looked at Aldensis.

“His Highness and the Chief of Security were discussing the issue in front of me, so I offered what little insight I could.”

“So I heard.”

Aldensis nodded.

“I wanted to talk about that too. But seeing how eager you were to leave, I wondered if you actually had little interest in the matter.”

“No! I’m very interested. I heard you’re preparing quite the terrifying trap?”

“Well…”

Aldensis shrugged.

“It will be very difficult to escape.”

“Really?”