Chapter 51

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It goes without saying—I don’t need to make money by selling things anymore.

I’ve got a wealthy Guild Master backing me up…!

It was well past midnight.

Yet the lights in Dante’s office were still on.

He’s awake, right?

I knocked carefully on the door.

Knock, knock—

“Come in.”

The reply came at once. Just as Lycian had said—Dante really was nocturnal.

I stepped inside and greeted him with a bright smile.

“Good evening, Mr. Dante. Sorry to bother you so late.”

“Not at all. No need to apologize. I usually go to sleep around five in the morning.”

Five? That’s practically sunrise… He really is a night owl.

Chuckling awkwardly, I glanced over his desk.

A sheet of paper lay spread out—something that looked like a floor plan for a building.

“Ah, this….”

Noticing my gaze, Dante gave an embarrassed smile.

“I’m drafting a map of the dungeon that appeared this time. I’m drawing it in stages, starting with the areas that have already been explored.”

“I see! I thought it looked pretty massive.”

Dungeons were often far larger inside than they appeared from the outside.

For example, a structure that looked like nothing more than a small bell tower could turn out to be as vast as a metropolitan city once you stepped inside.

And the interiors were usually labyrinthine. That made mapping them an essential part of any dungeon raid.

Usually, a capable guild takes the initiative to create the map, then sells it to other guilds for a hefty sum.

I was starting to understand why the Veratis Guild had so much money. So this was how they earned it.

Curious, I moved closer to the desk and tilted my head slightly.

“Do you explore the dungeon yourself to make the map, Mr. Dante? Or does another guild member do it?”

“Oh, we don’t send living people into dungeon exploration.”

“…?”

Then how—?

When I stared at him, wide-eyed, Dante tugged up one corner of his mouth in a crooked smile.

“We send dolls.”

“Dolls…?”

Come to think of it, I’d heard that in the Grastea Empire—where magitech was highly advanced—there were dolls powered by magic.

They were used in various fields, especially for tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans.

Of course, crafting such intricate dolls required a magitech engineer of extraordinary skill.

“Are you… a magitech engineer, Mr. Dante?”

“Well, yes. Nothing that impressive, though.”

It didn’t sound like humility. More like the words of someone who was never satisfied with his own abilities—always striving for more.

“If one of my dolls were here, I would’ve shown you. Unfortunately, it’s in the dungeon at the moment. Once it completes its exploration and returns, I’ll let you see it.”

“I’d love that! I’m looking forward to it.”

I’d never seen a magitech doll before, and I couldn’t help feeling excited. I beamed at Dante.

For a split second, he seemed to freeze—then he smiled gently in return.

That was when Lycian slid up beside me.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me snug against him, glaring sharply at Dante.

“…?”

Dante arched a brow, then let out an incredulous look.

“Ha. Seriously.”

He gave a low scoff and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

“I smiled because she’s cute. Because she’s cute.”

“……”

“No ulterior motives!”

…What is this conversation?

I blinked in confusion as Dante stood up.

He skillfully brewed some tea and invited us to sit on the sofa.

“Since I’m the only nocturnal one here, I prepared something good for sleep. Please, help yourselves.”

“Thank you.”

I sat down and lifted the teacup. The scent told me it was rooibos.

After taking a sip, Dante asked from across the table,

“So, what brings you here? I heard you were shut up in the workshop all day, Ms. Muriel.”

“Mm… Yes. I spent the entire day making potions.”

Once I finished answering, I pulled every potion from my inventory and placed them on the table.

Dante flinched. His eyes widened as he muttered,

“Teleportation magic?”

“Not exactly… It’s one of my abilities. Something similar to teleportation magic, I suppose.”

“…Now that I look at it, it seems you have more than just one or two abilities, Ms. Muriel.”

“Well… that’s true. Haha….”

We were practically living under the same roof now. There wasn’t much point in hiding my abilities.

Besides, Dante had likely already realized I possessed more than just purification.

You couldn’t farm with purification alone. Anyone who thought about it for even a moment would know that.

Especially crops out of season.

Dante was sharp. The very day he heard the story from Allen and the others, he must have started asking questions.

“Very well. We can gradually learn more about your abilities later. As for these potions….”

Dante swept his gaze over the table full of potions, eyes gleaming.

Then he asked in astonishment,

“Did you make all of these in a single day?”

“…I was in particularly good condition today.”

I scratched my cheek sheepishly.

Truthfully, it wasn’t my condition—it was luck.

Perhaps the system deity pitied how hard I was working, because it granted me this buff.

Thanks to that, today—no, technically yesterday, since it was past midnight—I had made a total of 350 potions.

Production levels worthy of a full-fledged potion factory.

“……”

For some reason, Dante fell into a long silence. Then, suddenly, he grabbed my hands. His amethyst eyes sparkled as he spoke, deeply moved.

“Ms. Muriel…! Thank you for joining the Veratis Guild! Please, stay with us forever—no, for eternity!”

“A l-lifetime contract…?”

“If that’s what you want, a lifetime contract would be wonderful!”

No, that’s a bit much.

Looking closer, that wasn’t “sparkling”—it was mania. I gave an awkward smile and tried to pull my hand away, but Lycian sharply smacked Dante’s wrist.

Dante yelped theatrically and clutched his wrist as he stepped back.

Lycian shot him an icy glare and snapped coldly,

“Don’t touch her so carelessly.”

Dante shot Lycian a flat, sideways look and shook his head.

“It’s an illness. Truly…. Anyway, Ms. Muriel. Since you’ve made this many potions, I should return the favor, shouldn’t I?”

With a faint smile, he stood and walked over to the bookshelf.

Among the countless volumes, he tapped a navy-blue book with his left hand.

The bookshelf slid aside on its own, revealing a hidden space. Dante slipped inside.

A moment later—

He returned holding a large money pouch.

Thud.

When he set it down on the table, it landed with a heavy sound.

“Seven thousand rubels. Will that suffice?”

My eyes flew wide.

Whoa, more than enough…!!

Seven thousand rubels—that was roughly 9.7 million won in Korean currency. Nearly ten million!

I nodded enthusiastically, feeling like I’d hit the jackpot.

Watching me, Dante smirked and pushed the pouch toward me.

I snatched it up and cracked it open just enough to peek inside. It was brimming with glittering gold coins.

One, two, three, four….

A quick count put it at around seventy coins.

Each gold coin was worth 100 rubels.

I took one out and held it up under the indoor light. Its surface gleamed, spotless—not even a fingerprint on it.

It’s dazzling….

Gold really is something else….

After returning to my room with Lycian, I moved on to the next step immediately.

Exchanging 3,800 rubels into coins.

I quickly pressed ‘YES.’

At once, the sound of coins pouring out rang in my ears, and a new window popped up.

And then, a follow-up notification.

Done….

Now I could go to the hidden shop and buy ‘Fate Distortion’!

I glanced at the clock on the wall.

Current time: 12:42 a.m.

I should’ve been tired and sleepy—but strangely, my mind was sharp and my body felt wide awake.

Was my adrenaline surging?

Thump, thump—

Finally….

The membership card slipped softly out of my inventory, floating through the air as it scattered golden dust.

I clenched my fists tight. Steadied my breathing. Set my jaw. My eyelids trembled faintly.

When I slowly closed my eyes and opened them again, a pristine white arched door came into view.

It swung open wide on both sides.

As if welcoming me.

Brilliant light poured out from beyond.

“……”

As if in a trance, I took a step forward.