Chapter 96

Gambling isn’t something you do.

It’s important, so I’ll say it twice. Gambling is not something you do!

“Hmm, a hamster…. Cute. I’m rather fond of them myself.”

“…….”

In front of me, a mountain of hamster merchandise had piled up.

Hamster-shaped earrings. A hamster pendant necklace. Hamster hairpins….

‘Are you actually kidding me?! Why is it nothing but this stuff?!’

Eighty-five boxes left.

Surely another hamster item wouldn’t pop out…. Trembling, I opened the sixteenth box.

Fwaaah!

As always, the item inside rose into the air, wrapped in a brilliant glow.

This time, it was….

…Right. I should go fishing in the lake inside my subspace sometime.

That lake was probably purified by now, too.

‘I’ll check later.’

Making plans in my head, I opened the next box….

“…….”

A buy-one-get-one is nice and all, but couldn’t I get a rare item instead?

‘Damn it, is my luck stat in the negatives or what…!’

This wasn’t working.

There were still plenty of boxes left, but—

‘Not me. I’ll have Lycian open them!’

His luck stat was way higher than mine.

Which meant his odds of pulling a rare item from a random box were higher too.

I whipped around to face him.

“Want to try? Just ten for now…!”

Lycian nodded without hesitation.

“Alright.”

Among the boxes of various colors, he picked up a mint-green one.

He stared down at it for a moment, a faint smile tugging at his lips, then lifted the lid. Instantly—

“…….”

“Wow, Muriel. Should we wear these to bed?”

“Open the next one. Before I make you wear it.”

“Yes, Master.”

Lycian snickered, clearly amused by my reaction. I crossed my arms and glared at him.

The second box he opened contained….

“…!”

Finally!

Something worth proposing a trade for!

I immediately snatched the floating item out of the air and examined it closely.

The Miniature Garden of Desire was—

“…Huh?”

It looked like a planet. One identical to Earth, where I used to live.

Small enough to fit in both my palms. It felt like holding a glass marble.

‘Why does it look like Earth? That’s weird.’

And why was this called a “Miniature Garden of Desire”?

I didn’t understand it at all, but it was undeniably a rare-grade item.

Holding it carefully, I approached Morpheus.

“Um, Lord Morpheus. Would it be possible to trade this item for the Elixir ingredients?”

The King of Dreams answered without even pretending to deliberate.

“Very well.”

Huh?

Just like that…?

“However, there are two additional conditions.”

“…!”

Of course there are!

I tensed.

“W-What conditions?”

Morpheus replied solemnly.

“First… hand over the remaining boxes.”

“Ah…? That’s easy! You can have all of them!”

“I’ve been wanting to try it myself. The draws.”

“…….”

“Second, put on the hamster pajamas. Right here. In front of me.”

“…Pardon?”

For a moment, I thought I’d misheard.

But his firm voice came again.

“If you refuse, then give up on the Elixir ingredients.”

Morpheus blew lightly on the starlight resting at his fingertips, sending it drifting into the sky.

I stared blankly at his calm, composed face, unable to believe what I was hearing.

“I have to… wear the hamster pajamas? Me?”

“That’s correct.”

“W-Why?”

“Because I want to see it.”

“…….”

As I stood there frozen and speechless, Lycian slipped in smoothly from the side.

“If that’s all it takes, it’s not a bad deal, is it?”

This sly fox was absolutely trying to satisfy his own ulterior motives.

Trembling, I resisted the overwhelming urge to flick him on the forehead and forced myself to speak.

“My apologies, Lord Morpheus. Do I really have to wear the hamster pajamas?”

“You’re surprisingly stubborn.”

But no matter how stubborn I was, I couldn’t possibly defy a divine being.

In the end, I was forcibly pushed into the hamster pajamas….

Soft white fur. Tiny ears perked upright.

And a small, adorable tail attached near the waist….

“Pfft… Khahaha!”

“Kh—.”

At the sight of me, Morpheus burst into loud laughter, while Lycian tried to hold it in—only for the occasional snicker to slip through his teeth.

I wanted to flick both of them on the forehead.

Instead, I just thunk! hit Lycian’s head.

No matter how furious I was, I had no desire to die for disrespecting a god.

“Yes, yes. That was quite the spectacle. Kh—khehe.”

“…….”

“You see, when I encounter a cute creature… I suffer from a condition. I simply cannot restrain myself.”

…Oh?

Was that why he hired animal spirits as attendants in this shop?

‘Are there capybara or quokka attendants too?’

In Australia, you’d get fined for touching a quokka. But here, you could probably pet one all you wanted.

A hamster attendant, though…

…would be so tiny it probably couldn’t even do its job properly.

“Very well, then… here. Take them. The Elixir ingredients.”

“…! Th-Thank you!”

In any case, I’d succeeded in obtaining the Elixir ingredients.

I hurriedly grabbed the ‘Glasir Sapling’ and the ‘Last Drop of Blood Shed by the Savior’ as they floated toward me and stuffed them into my inventory.

I half-expected him to change his mind and snatch them back.

“Um, then… we’ll be on our way.”

I took Lycian’s hand and bowed politely.

Just then, Morpheus—who had been examining the ‘Miniature Garden of Desire’—turned his gaze toward us.

“Wait.”

I flinched.

My body, which had been inching backward, stiffened on its own.

Forcing an awkward smile, I looked at the King of Dreams.

“Is there… something else?”

“There is something I wish to give you.”

“…To me?”

“Yes. Here.”

Morpheus summoned something into the air and sent it drifting toward me.

The object floated like it was dancing before settling into my palm.

A small, round shape—

‘…A marble?’

Inside the transparent glass sphere shimmered a starry night sky.

I looked up at him in confusion.

“It is a sacred relic imbued with my power.”

“A sacred relic…?”

“One of my divine authorities as the God of Dreams is the ability to freely alter form. I have instilled a very small fragment of that power into it.”

“…!”

No way.

If I used this marble, could I transform into whatever form I wanted…?!

“Then—!”

“If you use that marble, you will be able to transform into a hamster.”

“…Excuse me?”

“A hamster.”

“…….”

“Why? Do you object?”

“…Not at all.”

“Good. Off you go, then. And relax that expression.”

Clutching the marble tightly, trembling, I bowed deeply.

Watching me, Morpheus curled one corner of his lips into a faint, mocking smile.

“Customer! Milk will guide you back, woof!”

The white puppy guided us on the way out as well.

Milk trotted ahead slowly, whispering to me in a hushed voice.

“Customer, I’m so glad everything worked out, woof…! It seemed like Lord really took a liking to you, woof!”

“…Sure seemed that way.”

More accurately, it seemed like he just enjoyed teasing me.

A moment later, we passed through the door and returned to reality.

Waiting for us in the room were—

“Y-Your Grace!”

“Your Grace! Lady Muriel!”

Marian and Chelsea, their faces grave.

“…?”

Why the dramatic reaction?

Lycian had told them in advance we’d be away for a few days, hadn’t he?

Just then, the brown rabbit cradled in Chelsea’s arms shouted.

What?

‘Something terrible?’

As I stood there puzzled and Lycian frowned slightly, Marian stepped forward.

“It has been four days. The current time is just past two in the afternoon….”

Four days had passed? My eyes widened.

Marian continued.

“A guest has been here for two days.”

“A guest?”

Lycian asked sharply, his brows knitting.

Marian answered with visible discomfort.

“The Crown Prince of the Roblet Kingdom… His Highness Fabian.”

“…?”

Why would Crown Prince Fabian come here?

‘Did Lycian invite him? No, there’s no way.’

Judging by Lycian’s sour expression, the Crown Prince must have shown up uninvited.

‘With what kind of nerve….’

Marian glanced sideways at me before continuing.

“He said he came after hearing rumors about Lady Muriel. That he has something he absolutely must convey to you… no, something he must say….”