< 36 : The Demon (1) >
It had been three days since I received the incomprehensible message that an item had dropped.
Of course, the enjoyable weekend had also come to an end, and the weekdays that required me to repeat the same routine of going to work had returned.
The weekdays that followed the sweet break were always exhausting.
After a hard day at the office, I collapsed on the floor as soon as I arrived home.
I dumped the items in my pocket and looked at the screen of my smartphone that was lying on the floor.
The memories of the last weekend flashed through my mind as I stared at the dark screen.
“I wonder if they have finished fixing the data glitches by now.”
The excuse that an item had dropped was absurd in the first place.
It would have made some sense if they had used that expression to preserve the game’s concept.
But it had been three days since the message appeared, so they should have wrapped up the maintenance by now.
After a tiring day, I felt a sudden urge to try my luck with the gacha.
I picked up my phone that was shaking on the floor with a renewed interest in the gacha.
“Nothing beats seeing new skills and new characters in a game.”
The games that were commonly called bonsai games were especially appealing in that aspect.
You could level up and use new skills.
Or you could spin the gacha and get new characters.
Those were the things that made the game fun to play.
I hadn’t seen much of Eben’s performance yet, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to pull more gacha.
As soon as the game loading was completed, I pressed the shop button and entered the <Paid Currency Shop>.
“Did they raise the price while I was away?”
The first thing I checked when I entered the shop was the price of the 10-pull gacha, as usual.
I had lost all trust in the game’s management.
I couldn’t just press the button without checking the price, or I might end up paying a much higher amount than before.
Fortunately, there was no change in the gacha price in the past few days.
I felt relieved and touched the gacha button.
“Please, let me get a magic book.”
Click.
As I pressed the button, a bright light flowed out and the gacha screen unfolded.
This time, it didn’t show me the ridiculous maintenance message that there were no items left.
The results of the gacha flashed by quickly in front of my eyes, shining brightly.
-You have acquired [Stylish Tunic].
-You have acquired [Baguette].
-You have acquired [Baguette].
-You have acquired [Stylish Tunic].
-You have acquired [Stylish Tunic].
-You have acquired [Baguette].
-You have acquired [Sponge Cake].
-You have acquired [Hard Rye Bread].
-You have acquired [Magic Book: Creature Maker].
-You have acquired [Stylish Tunic].
As before, most of the gacha results were useless junk items.
To make matters worse, I even got a [Hard Rye Bread] instead of a [Baguette].
If it had been the time when Eutania was starving, it might have been different.
But now, I didn’t think she would be satisfied with such hard bread.
I would rather have gotten some clothes that I could give to the cult members.
“I got one magic book.”
The only thing that seemed useful among the items was a magic book called [Magic Book: Creature Maker].
Creature Maker.
The name suggested that it had something to do with the pets or familiars in the game.
I clicked on the Creature Maker that had entered my inventory and checked the description.
I wanted to see if it had any value to give to Eutania before using it.
“What? There’s a limit on how many times I can use it?”
According to the description of [Magic Book: Creature Maker] in my inventory, I could create a creature up to five times.
A skill that could only be used five times.
Considering the cost of pulling the magic book, the limit was not a pleasant factor.
I had always been reluctant to buy items that had a duration or a limit.
It was too late to do anything about it since I already got the item, but I usually didn’t value these kinds of consumable skills.
They made me hesitate to use them.
“Sigh… I guess I have no choice.”
But I couldn’t give an item with a limit to Eutania either.
There was a risk that it might disappear unlike the other items.
This magic book was something that I had to use myself.
I sighed for a moment and then moved my finger to touch the magic book.
Click.
As soon as I pressed the magic book with my finger, a pop-up window appeared asking me if I wanted to use it.
-Do you want to learn the <Creature Maker> skill?
-The magic book will disappear when you learn it.
-Yes / No
There was no point in thinking about it any longer.
I pressed the ‘Yes’ button without hesitation and used the magic book.
The magic book disappeared from my inventory and a new skill button appeared at the bottom of the screen.
-You have learned <Creature Maker(Lv.MAX)>.
-You can now create creatures by consuming mana.
-The creatures you create with mana are living beings that can grow well without your help.
-<Creature Maker> can be used up to five times.
A new skill called <Creature Maker> that used the magic book was created.
As it was written in the item description in my inventory, <Creature Maker> was a skill that could only be used five times.
It meant that I could only make up to five creatures with this skill.
Considering the limit, it would be better to use it as efficiently as possible.
“Creatures. What kind of creatures should I make?”
And it was also a skill that had a relatively high degree of freedom compared to other skills.
What kind of creatures would be most effective to create with this skill?
That would be the dilemma that I had to think about from now on.
I looked at the <Creature Maker> skill and continued my serious contemplation.
I kept thinking until my stomach growled from skipping dinner.
***
The trade city of Lituania-Centurius, the center of the Centurius region.
Shuron, who was standing in line at the city gate, looked back with a worried expression.
Behind Shuron, there was a carriage that was decorated extravagantly.
It was the cult members who had modified the ordinary carriage to that extent.
Although the interior structure was quite horrible, it looked like a noble’s carriage from the outside.
The carriage procession was also lavish enough to resemble a noble’s entourage.
Above all, the person who was riding in the carriage looked like a noble herself.
“It’s so boring.”
Eutania, who was sitting in the carriage wearing a frilly dress, opened the window and muttered.
She looked like a flawless young lady of a noble family to anyone who saw her.
Archbishop Roan had also told her to act like a noble, but it was a very burdensome task for Shuron.
Claiming to be a noble was a risky act that could have serious consequences.
And he had to do it in front of the city guards.
Shuron was trembling with fear at the thought.
“Please wait a little longer.”
Of course, regardless of whether Eutania was really a young lady of a noble family or not, Shuron had no choice but to be careful around her.
Even Archbishop Roan, who oversaw the cult, followed her every whim.
It was only natural for Shuron to watch his words and actions in front of her.
Shuron got off the horse and approached the guard as he looked at him.
“What’s this? It’s not your turn yet.”
“Well, our young lady is very bored right now.”
“Your young lady?”
“She’s the daughter of Count Eysalia from the kingdom. She came along with us on our business trip with a knight and a servant.”
The guard looked at him with suspicion after hearing his words.
If he thought about the usual noble processions, the guard’s doubt was very reasonable.
If there had been an agreement between the noble families beforehand, there would have been no need to waste time like this.
But Shuron had come to the city without any notice.
“We didn’t hear anything from the guard station.”
“It wasn’t on our schedule originally. She said she would visit and greet you later.”
“Hmm…”
“Don’t you think it would be troublesome for both of us if our young lady gets angry? I don’t want to get scolded by her either. Please let us pass quickly for the sake of our count’s reputation.”
Shuron handed him a money pouch.
It contained several times more coins than he usually used.
The guard’s eyes changed as he received the pouch from Shuron.
He felt the weight of the pouch in his hand and then glanced at his colleague and said.
“It seems like our young lady is having a hard time.”
“What should we do?”
“She sure has some presence as a count’s daughter. We better be nice to her if we don’t want to get in trouble.”
“I need to clear the queue first.”
The guard turned his head back to Shuron after finishing his conversation with his colleague.
He gave Shuron an awkward smile and said,
“Did you say you were with the lady?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll go and apologize to her. If you want, I can also report this to the main office.”
Shuron recalled what the archbishop had told him earlier as he heard the guard’s words.
The only one who had a connection with the church was the first son of the count’s family.
That was what Roan had told Shuron.
Shuron nodded at the guard and told him his request.
“Then please contact the first son for me.”
“The first son, sir? I’ll report that as soon as possible.”
“Here is the carriage that the lady is riding in.”
Shuron and the guard arrived at the side of a splendidly modified carriage.
There, Eutenia opened the window and looked down at Shuron and the guard.
She had a noble appearance and demeanor that anyone could recognize.
The guard bowed his head to her without any doubt and said,
“I’m sorry for making you wait. I’ll escort you inside right away.”
“Is this boring time finally over?”
“I’ll handle it as quickly as possible. I’ll also report that you’re looking for the first son, sir.”
“That’s good.”
Eutenia gave a faint smile at the guard’s words.
She seemed satisfied with the guard’s attitude.
There was nothing suspicious about them, except for the fact that their group was relatively small.
The guard looked up at Eutenia and asked her about the escort.
“Do you need any escort…?”
“Escort? I have Sir Evan with me, so I don’t think it matters…”
Evan and the guard’s eyes met through the window.
The guard lowered his head again after facing Evan’s cold gaze.
A trained physique. And a sharp aura.
He was clearly an experienced knight.
The guard realized that he had nothing to worry about after seeing the knight.
“I understand! Then I’ll just report about the knight, sir!”
“I’d like to go inside now.”
“Pass! Let the carriage and the whole queue pass!”
The road that blocked Shuron’s group was completely opened with the guard’s order.
No one doubted the carriage that entered with Shuron at the front.
The guard who guided them also disappeared into the castle for his report.
It was the moment when the church entered the city.
