Chapter 38

The role of scissors is to cut things.

And yet, this item was strangely named “Distortion.” For reasons unknown.

Either way, I had to buy it. I had to use it to change Muriel’s fate.

‘There’s no price listed.’

I glanced back at Milk and asked,

“Do you know how much this item costs?”

“Yep! Please wait just a moment!”

Milk¹ pulled out the familiar scroll and unfurled it, scanning it before speaking again.

“The currency provided to customers is called ‘Coin’! The price of this item is 80,000 Coins!”

…How much?

Eighty thousand Coins?!

‘Are you insane? Why the hell is it so expensive?!’

I nearly jumped out of my skin. After asking Milk to give me a moment, I called up the status window and snapped at it.

‘Hey, you damn system! How am I supposed to scrape together 80,000 Coins? Muriel will be dead before I manage that!’

My temper got the better of me, but whatever. It was the system’s fault for not telling me the price upfront.

As if acknowledging its mistake, the system immediately popped up with a message.

‘…Exchange?’

The moment I frowned, the system hurriedly added another line.

In other words, it wanted me to go make money.

I threw a punch at the empty air.

‘So I have to grind all over again…!’

Ding!

Of course. The system tossed me another quest. I knew it.

‘So 3,800 Rubels equals 83,600 Coins. No idea how that calculation works, but….’

I let out a long sigh. 3,800 Rubels… It wasn’t an impossible amount. I could just sell the potions I’d made so far.

First, I accepted the quest. Then I turned back to Milk.

“Can I reserve this item? I absolutely need to buy it.”

“Of course! Your name is… Muriel, I see! I’ll reserve it under Muriel’s name!”

Milk spread the scroll again and scribbled something down.

“Fate Distortion has been reserved under Muriel’s name! The reservation period is one month! If you do not purchase it within that time, the reservation will be canceled!”

So… I had one month to earn 3,800 Rubels.

If business went well, it’d be easy. If not…

‘…I need to level up my Apothecary skill.’

Looks like I’d have to head to the Veratis Guild and squeeze out a contract advance—on the condition that I join as a guild alchemist.

“Oh! That reminds me, there’s something I need to give you!”

Milk’s ears perked up as something popped into the air with a poof.

It was a pure white card. Milk held it out to me and explained,

“This is a membership card for our shop! If you have it, you may enter freely whenever you wish!”

“Oh… thanks.”

I quickly accepted the card. It was about the size of a standard credit card, with a golden key engraved in the center.

As I ran my fingers lightly over its surface, Milk spoke again.

“Is there anything else you require? Please feel free to ask!”

“No, I’m good. I’ll be going now. Which way is the exit?”

“Just follow me!”

By the time I finished following Milk, we were back where I’d first arrived.

I held the card up to the keyhole in the pure white arched door. It burst into radiant light and swung open.

“Please come again, dear customer!”

Milk waved a front paw at me. The black jelly pads looked ridiculously soft.

‘So cute… I bet they even smell warm and toasty….’

It was a shame I couldn’t bury my hands in the fluffy white puppy, but I forced myself to let it go and stepped through the door.

The white haze clouding my vision gradually faded.

Blink. Blink.

After opening and closing my eyes a few times, I saw the familiar wooden floor of the room.

‘I’m back?’

The moment I looked up with a bright smile, someone yanked me forward with surprising force and pulled me into their arms.

A fresh, cool scent washed over me. I stiffened for a second—then relaxed at the familiar smell.

“Lycian.”

“Muriel….”

Lycian held me tight and drew in a deep breath. I hesitated, then gently patted his back.

“Sorry. Were you worried? I tried to come back quickly…”

“Waaahhh~! Masteeer~!!”

That was when the spirit burst in, latching onto my shoulder with a loud smack. She was crying so miserably it felt like she might flood the whole house.

“Nini, stop crying. You’re making the floor damp.”

“Waaah~! Master is such a T!”

Ever since I’d taught her about MBTI, Ninabel had been putting it to enthusiastic use.

I tried to pat the dewdrop rice cake, but Lycian was holding me so tightly I could barely lift my arms.

This one and that one… I was gone for a little while and they were acting like the world had ended.

‘Anyone would think I’d gone missing and just came back.’

I tapped Lycian’s back like I was knocking on a door.

“Can you let me go now? I’m starting to have trouble breathing.”

“……”

“Lycian? Hello?”

“……Ha.”

He exhaled slowly, as if forcing out a suffocating breath, and finally released me.

Only then did I get a proper look at his face. …His eyes were red. Like he’d been crying.

I blinked at him, dazed.

“…Did you cry?”

“I didn’t. I almost did.”

“No, but still….”

“Muriel, it’s been three days.”

“…What?”

My eyes widened at the unexpected words.

Three days? What was he talking about?

“That’s impossible. It felt like thirty minutes at most to me.”

“It’s true, Master! You didn’t come back for three whole days! Nini was so worried I thought I’d wither away and die~! Waaahhh~!!”

…Hard to believe, but apparently it was true. They weren’t the type to lie about something like that.

“Three days….”

Murmuring in disbelief, I walked to the sofa and dropped down onto it.

‘Why didn’t that damn system warn me ahead of time?’

I glared into the empty air, but no excuses came.

Closing my eyes, I let out a long sigh.

‘Was time flowing differently in that space?’

If I had to guess… ten minutes there equaled a full day here.

‘You do hear about cases like that in dungeons sometimes.’

Like when adventurers spend a single day exploring a dungeon, only to find ten years have passed in the outside world.

‘Still… I never thought I’d experience it myself.’

Three days was unexpected, but at least it wasn’t three months or three years. That would’ve been a real disaster.

I looked at Lycian and Ninabel and spoke seriously.

“I had no idea that much time would pass. I’m sorry for making you worry.”

Lycian stared at me with eyes that looked just slightly unhinged.

“Next time, we go together. I’ll follow you somehow. I don’t care what it takes.”

“Th-That… if possible.”

I tried to avert my gaze, but Lycian stepped closer, dropped to one knee, and looked up at me.

“I thought I was going insane. Wondering if something had happened to you.”

“That’s bad… If you go any more insane, we’ll be in trouble….”

“I agree. So next time, we go together.”

If I refused here, he looked fully prepared to pester me relentlessly until I gave in. That would be exhausting.

I didn’t even know if joint entry was possible, but for now, I nodded.

“Okay… We’ll go together if we can….”

Then I rubbed at my eyes and let out a big yawn, pretending to be tired. I wasn’t actually exhausted, but I did want to rest a bit.

Thankfully, Lycian didn’t push any further. Even the dewdrop rice cake, for once, picked up on the mood and quieted down.

I sipped the tea Lycian brewed for me and leisurely explained my next plan.

“I’m going to the dungeon hub city to sell things.”

“Has the divine given you a mission?”

“Uh… something like that. I need to earn 3,800 Rubels within a month.”

“That’s not an impossible sum.”

“Right?”

That evening, we spent hours with our heads together, discussing what items to sell and at what prices.

Friday night passed like that.

There were 75 days left until D-day.

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Footnotes

1. Woo-Yoo from previous chapter. Just updated to Milk since it’s the Korean word for milk. ↩