“Hmm······.”
*Bzzz bzzz*
The ringing resounded from the ring.
The Crown Prince, with the ring on his ring finger, let out a sorrowful groan and slumped over his desk.
How long has this ring been ringing for months?
At this point, he suspected that Schlus had not just summoned a soul but had revived it entirely.
“Han Ah-reum······ Han Ah-reum······.”
He had ordered a more detailed investigation about that name.
But every time it was a dead end.
He couldn’t find such a name among humans, let alone among subhumans or elves.
Even secretly tailing Schlus yielded little information.
If there was any lead, it was that the maidens at the Lichtenburg Mansion, which he often visited, seemed to know something.
“Should I let go of my pride······.”
There was a way.
It was to make a deal with Lichtenburg.
However, if the Crown Prince were to negotiate on equal footing with a noble family for such a trivial matter, there was a risk of tarnishing the dignity of the royal family.
On the other hand, if he made demands unilaterally, the proud Lichtenburg might hold out for a price.
‘Isn’t this a significant matter?’
Information regarding the national hero, Schlus Hainkel, should be important, no matter how trivial.
Moreover, since it pertained to someone he was infatuated with, it might prove useful later on.
As the Crown Prince rationalized this, he nodded and suddenly sprang up.
“Huh?”
He felt a strange sensation in his left hand.
No, to be precise, the sensation that should have been there had vanished.
Turning his head to look at his ring finger, he realized the ring’s vibration had completely ceased.
The soul Schlus had summoned had vanished.
“Now what······?”
A sense of emptiness flashed across the Crown Prince’s face.
.
.
.
Julia’s condition improved at a frightening speed.
She, who always seemed tired, quickly regained her vigor and began to go outside often, a place she used to dread.
At this rate, she might even start walking unaided.
‘That nightmare was quite a serious illness······.’
When Julia’s state was worsening, it had been gradual enough that she didn’t notice.
But now, as her condition improved, it seemed as if she was realizing just how grave it had been.
Erica felt a dizzying thrill at nearly losing her sister, accompanied by a pang of guilt.
It was strange.
The soul that had forcefully possessed her sister’s body was summoned by Schlus, and it was also Schlus who eliminated it.
So, there should be no reason for her to feel sorry, yet her heart began to feel uneasy.
*Woosh!*
“Huh?”
Startled by the sound of a horse whinnying, Erica peered outside.
Schlus was standing in front of the main gate, mounted on a black horse.
Before the maids could react, Erica had opened the door and rushed out.
“Hah······ hah······. That’s! Isn’t that the horse from the South?”
“Right. I got it as a gift. I ride it occasionally to not forget my face, and it just happened to pass by here.”
“······.”
Liar.
He intentionally sought her out.
Erica forced herself to play along and opened the gate.
As soon as the door swung open, the horse tilted its head and tried to lick Erica.
“This guy······. Can’t control himself around beauties.”
“B-beauty?!”
“If you’re not a beauty, then who is?”
“······.”
Schlus was saying it nonchalantly.
Watching him hand the reins to the butler as he passed by, Erica felt slightly annoyed.
It seemed like she was the only one flustered.
“Did you come to see Julia today too?”
“I told you, I just stopped by while passing through.”
“Oh, right. That’s what it was.”
“Since I’m here, should I just take a quick look at her?”
“Sure. She’s probably in the back garden now.”
“Thanks.”
*Peck.*
Playfully, Schlus picked up his hand and kissed the back of it, smiling as he headed toward the back of the mansion.
It was a natural stride.
How many days had he come here using such excuses to see Julia?
Even knowing there was no longer a spirit within her, he continued to visit Julia.
He must be looking for that deceased person within her.
He had let go but couldn’t shake off the lingering attachment.
He must be seeing Julia as a substitute for that person.
“Hah······.”
Erica felt a mix of understanding and pity towards those feelings while feeling frustrated.
For some reason, it made her a bit irritated.
*
There were indeed many pressing issues.
The Emperor’s purging was a major problem, and the “crisis” that Roman had warned me about was certainly something to be cautious about.
Not to mention the tyranny of the Asylum chaps who were wreaking havoc across the Empire······.
But among these problems, the one that posed the greatest threat to me was none other than-
“I’m so doomed······.”
The final exam.
I had neglected my studies, becoming too preoccupied with other matters.
Especially with Ludwig’s class—after missing a beat, I couldn’t keep up with the lectures, having to review everything at home instead.
Still, I managed to do well in quizzes and surprise tests.
Since I had dominated the midterms, as long as I placed adequately in the finals, I could still secure the top spot for the semester······.
“This isn’t going to cut it.”
All I felt was an ominous premonition.
While the midterms thankfully aligned with the original story, there was no guarantee the finals would as well.
Without a clue about the content, I couldn’t think up any tricks.
In the end, I was facing the unprecedented challenge of taking the Imperial University exam based solely on my own abilities.
Right amidst the greatest geniuses of the Empire.
“Now it’s really just the elixir······.”
I had no other support.
The most certain way to boost my adaptability was to increase my stats.
Fortunately, I had a means to rapidly elevate my stats at my disposal.
[Forbidden Elixir]
[Cost: 5 Shop Coins]
[Epic Item: It defies the laws of this world and cannot be replicated or reproduced.]
[Description: Drinking it randomly increases a stat by 10 permanently. Tastes awful.]
Though I was a bit concerned that I couldn’t specify which stat would increase, it was still acceptable.
I had an abundance of shop coins right now.
[Shop]
[You can purchase items using Shop Coins.]
[Coins Held: 34]
Having nearly forgotten the existence of the shop, I found that my coins had piled up to 34.
The cost of the Forbidden Elixir increased by 1 each time I bought it.
That meant I could buy a total of 4 elixirs.
That would translate to a whopping 40 stat points increasing all at once.
If that were evenly split between strength, vitality, and physical power, I would become as strong as Trie in one go.
‘Let’s not get my hopes up.’
But how was reality?
If luck were on my side, something absurd might occur, like pouring all the boosts into computational power.
Those desired stats would never go up.
‘Stat window.’
[Displaying Stats.]
[Vitality: 19]
[Strength: 14]
[Agility: 12]
[Physical Power: 8]
[Mana: 1]
[Mana Sensitivity: 1]
[Mana Sensitivity: 75]
[Computational Power: 48]
I opened the stat window to check my pre-change stats.
It felt like my vitality, strength, and agility had increased, but it could just be my imagination.
I couldn’t remember what they were last time I checked, so I couldn’t be sure.
[You purchased 4 Forbidden Elixirs.]
I immediately bought 4 elixirs.
Suddenly, four glass vials appeared before me and landed on the training room floor, shining with light.
The sight of those vials suddenly made my stomach churn.
My body remembered that horrendous taste.
“Ugh!”
There was no time to hesitate.
I promptly opened a vial and poured the entire contents into my stomach.
My stomach contracted suddenly, and it felt like my insides were twisting, but I couldn’t stop.
I knew I had to finish it all; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to consume it all.
Without stopping, I downed all four vials into my belly.
“Oof······. Uuugh······.”
In terms of volume, it was like drinking 1.5 liters of water all at once, yet strangely, I felt no sense of fullness.
Did it dissolve inside right after I drank it?
But that awful taste didn’t leave my mouth and continued to linger.
After downing four vials at once, my tongue was practically numb and tingling.
But I had to confirm the results.
‘Stat window.’
[Displaying Stats.]
[Vitality: 19]
[Strength: 14]
[Agility: 12]
[Physical Power: 8]
[Mana: 1]
[Mana Sensitivity: 41]
[Mana Sensitivity: 75]
[Computational Power: 48]
What the hell.
Vitality, strength, agility, physical power, and mana all remained the same?
What exactly changed?
“Ah, for real, please don’t joke with me······.”
I wished I had misread it.
I earnestly wished for it.
But no matter how many times I checked the stat window again, the results were the same.
[Mana Sensitivity: 41]
All 40 of those stat points went into mana sensitivity.
41, a stat that was four times that of an average person.
Now I could convert mana into mana energy or the other way around far more freely than before.
In the past, I would’ve jumped for joy at this.
It was an overpowered stat that would allow me to change all the mana that Schlus’ internal circuit emitted into mana energy.
But now, it didn’t feel quite so great.
After all, I could just let the mana energy that the internal circuit generated flow straight to Vafe.
“So it’s just the same······.”
Essentially, it meant that a stat that was meaningless had merely increased.
If computational power had increased instead, I’d acquire an unrivaled spell deployment ability that no majin could touch.
I was incredibly resentful of my luck.
