Prestige had no sun. Therefore, day and night didn’t exist. Rachel woke up around 8 A.M. and was the only one awake inside the English Royal Court guild’s hideout. The other 6 members still slept from the rough day yesterday. They had spent the day hunting undead monsters after buying their citizenships.

Together, they hunted 157 Lv.1 undead and 78 Lv.2 undead. Rachel had achieved almost 30% of this by herself. Her light elemental, Lux, played a big role.

“Huu…”

They made 375 TP and still had enough of Kim Hajin’s deer meat to last another week, so they didn’t need to spend money on food. As such, Rachel felt refreshed despite her slight soreness. She stretched and opened the community.

— Does anyone want to go down to the 2nd floor to get food? — The food situation here is hell. Fuck, how can they call this place a residential area? — Argh -.- I can’t go down because I already bought my citizenship. Fuck, don’t buy the citizenship, everyone. It screws you over if you want to go back down. — I made a group for an undead hunting party. Click on the link to join or ask questions.

Many players expressed their dissatisfaction. However, players on the 2nd floor wouldn’t know anything about it since the community couldn’t be used on mission floors.

Rachel scrolled through the angry posts for useful information. After a few minutes, an interesting one caught her eye.

[There’s a Lv.3 longsword being sold outside the inner wall.]

It had a screenshot attached as well.

— Brother and sister NPCs are running the shop. This shop looks important. It’s selling items Lv.2 and above.

The post even contained a list of items sold at the shop. Lv.3 Decent Steel Longsword, Lv.2 Red Crystal Axe, Lv.2 Bear Leather Jacket… Rachel rummaged through her pockets after looking through the list.

“Oh, this place grew famous quick.”

A guild member’s voice rang out from behind her. Rachel felt startled, but turned around and pretended to be unfazed.

“Do you know about it?”

“Yeah.”

Devel, a male member 4 years older than her, was quite the celebrity in England thanks to his handsome looks.

“I think this post went up 2 days ago, but even the cheapest item costs 700 TP. We can only watch for now.”

“Ah…”

Rachel coughed and glanced at her inventory. Lv.3 Gargoyle’s Leather Armor. Was it a waste to buy this? N-No. Undead monsters couldn’t hurt her thanks to this armor. Rachel quickly got rid of the doubt in her heart.

“First, let’s eat. Wake everyone up. Today will be just as busy as yesterday.”

“Yes!”

Devel quickly woke up the other members while Rachel began to cook Kim Hajin’s deer meat on a frying pan. The members sat around and ate breakfast.

“Thank god for this. We would have been screwed without it.”

“We’d either be starving or buying the player shop’s emergency bento box.”

“Vice leader, I have the utmost respect for you.”

“It’s nothing.”

The deer meat had a Lv.2 satisfaction effect, so eating just a little made them full. No one complained since it also tasted delicious. They only felt extremely grateful towards Rachel.

“Oh right, will those two be okay? They’re both magicians and it didn’t look like they brought any food.”

A member suddenly asked about Aileen and Yi Yongha, who left them yesterday.

“They should have food,” Rachel firmly spoke.

“They asked me if I learned the dismantling technique.”

— Kid, did you learn the dismantling technique?

Rachel recalled Aileen’s child-like voice.

“Dismantling technique?”

“Yes.”

One needed to properly dismantle a monster with their own hands to obtain the technique. Aileen and Yi Yongha would probably struggle to obtain the technique since they never experienced such a thing on Earth.

“I think they have monster corpses in their inventory. It wastes a lot of space, but the inventory can fit 1-2 corpses.”

“Oh, as expected, vice leader has great insight.”

Speak of the devil, a system alert popped up.

[Player WorldsStrongestMagicHero has sent you a friend request.]

Rachel could guess who it was from the nickname. For now, she delayed accepting it.

“Why don’t we visit this famous shop after we finish eating?”

“Pft.”

Other members began to laugh.

Rachel narrowed her eyes and glared at them.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Nothing!”

“Forming a close relationship with a shop is very important, you know.”

“Yes, of course. Let’s go! Get ready, you guys!”

***

I spent my time with Evandel for 2 days. We went to the Disneyland in America with Haeyeon and Hayang, toured 3-star Michelin restaurants, and personally watched Evandel’s display of spirit magic.

Evandel had grown exponentially. I might be slightly exaggerating, but her ghost army could probably fight Shin Jonghak evenly.

“You’re leaving her with me again?”

I returned home after having fun without regrets. Yun Seung-Ah visited because she wanted to tell me something.

“Yes, I don’t have any other choice.”

Evandel slept soundly on my lap. I stroked her head and bitterly smiled.

“Evandel didn’t cause you any problems, did she?”

“Not at all. She even helped me do laundry when I said she didn’t need to. Oppa adores her too.”

“That’s great to hear.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

“But um… I think we’re going to sell the place soon.”

Yun Seung-Ah brought up something concerning.

“This one too?”

“Yeah, I don’t think oppa’s work is going well either. I came to tell you that.”

“Ah…”

“Don’t worry about Evandel. I’ll take good care of—”

“Then I’ll buy it.”

“Her…” Yun Seung-Ah’s eyes widened in shock.

“I’ll buy your house and you can keep living here. It’ll be my way of paying you back for all the trouble I caused. You don’t need to pay rent or anything either.”

“Erm… You’re that rich? It’s expensive to live around here, you know.”

I simply smiled. I hadn’t checked my account recently with all the mercenary work and the tower, but I jumped in surprise when I checked today. I owned 5% of Essential Armory’s stocks, 15% of SH Agency’s, 15% of Essential Pharmacy’s, and other stocks belonging to Essence of the Strait’s businesses. Just the dividends from them came out to 30 billion won. That amount jumped to 50 billion with what I made as Fenrir.

“As you know, I’m Fenrir.”

“Still, aren’t bullets expensive? The apartment costs quite a lot too. We refused to sell it at 13 billion, but finally decided after being offered 20 billion.”

That much for a 165-200 square meter apartment might sound expensive, but Seoul was the safest place on Earth. The cost of living in Seoul would only increase with time.

“I can buy it, so don’t worry. Is this why you haven’t been looking well?”

“Me?” Yun Seung-Ah smirked.

“I’m fine. I can just sleep in my office if I don’t have a house. The problem is, well… the entrance ticket.”

“The Tower of Wish entrance ticket?” I tilted my head.

“Yeah, those things are no joke. Do you know how much they’re going for right now?”

I didn’t. Even if I did, they would’ve surely changed by now.

“Green tickets cost 200 million each, yellow tickets cost 400 million, orange costs 700 million, reds cost 1.5 billion, and black is practically a blank check.”

“Then…”

My face darkened and I suddenly had a bad feeling. If Yun Seung-Ah couldn’t get a ticket for Suho…

“We wanted to enter the tower too! Those damned loan sharks!”

Yun Seung-Ah slammed her fist on the table.

“I don’t know how, but they found out about every ticket we obtained and seized them!”

My heart sank, but my brain spun quicker in urgent situations. I had gained this skill from working as a mercenary. Thankfully, I came up with a solution. With the Book of Truth, I should be able to find one with a day of hard work.

“You don’t have any left?”

“Haha, who do you think I am?”

It seemed that wouldn’t be necessary. Yun Seung-Ah grinned and held up her index finger.

“I have one. Plus, it’s the best ticket you could get, a black ticket.”

“Oh, I’m glad. That’s for Suho, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the least I can do for him.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. Kim Suho should find one hidden piece after another in the tower and successfully resurrect Creator’s Sacred Grace.

“Oh, before I go…”

I checked my gift.

▷Young Dwarf’s Dexterity [Intermediate rank] [Illusion attribute] [Evolving – grade 7] [Growth EXP: 3%]

As I thought, it didn’t revert. I could return to Earth with my new gifts and improved ranks as long as I didn’t die in the tower. To think it would be intermediate rank at just grade 7… It might even reach master rank at grade 1.

“Before you go back, what?”

“Oh, um, I have a gift for Suho. With a black ticket, you can bring up to 3 pieces of equipment into the tower, but I doubt his equipment is top-class.”

“…”

Yun Seung-Ah flinched and felt guilty. Currently, Kim Suho should only have Misteltein. Normally, guilds sponsored their members’ equipment, but Creator’s Sacred Grace couldn’t provide top-class equipment right now.

“W-We can still provide low-intermediate rank artifacts… like a wrist protector.”

I lightly laughed and looked at my hand. With this new gift, everything I made would become a lasting artifact for the ages. I ordered a few items as soon as I returned: a high-intermediate rank, grade 1 mountain tyrant’s leather and a suppressed magic stone. With these, I should be able to craft an item rivaling an intermediate rank artifact.

“Uh, okay. If you say so. Ah! I just got called in! I’ll see you later!”

Yun Seung-Ah ran out of the apartment at 11 P.M. Koong, kwang. Her footsteps rang out before everything became quiet again.

“Nnng…”

Evandel tossed around because of the noise. I carefully picked her up and placed her on the bed. Then I sat at the edge.

“Huu…”

The clock continued to tick in the silent room. I looked down at Evandel sleeping soundly and suddenly thought of Boss.

“I hope she’s doing okay.”

I didn’t know why Boss overlapped with Evandel, but I knew what kind of a life she had lived. Perhaps I knew more about it than anyone else. Obviously, I had created her background story. A child who walked a path of sadness and pain more than anyone else, hated by everything in the world, a monster who grew up with betrayal. She suppressed the monster within her by abandoning her name. There were still too many things in this world I didn’t know. I opened the Book of Truth and used all 4 streaks of stigma.

“Tell me Boss’ past that I don’t know about.”

However, the Book of Truth couldn’t even reveal Chundong’s past.

[You do not have enough stigma.]

Was it because a person’s past contained too much information? Or was it simply because 4 streaks of stigma couldn’t handle it?

“Tell me what Boss was doing and where between January 1, 2020 and January 3, 2020.”

[You do not have enough stigma.]

It remained the same.

“What do you know?”

This time, it consumed 0.1 streaks of stigma. That wasn’t even a real question…

[Everything. It is your ability that is lacking.]

“… I guess you’re right.”

I scratched my neck and closed the Book of Truth.

***

I prepared to head back to the tower in the early morning. I knelt in front of Evandel, who came to see me off. However, she refused to look me in the eyes.

“I’ll be back soon.”

She didn’t say anything as she stared at the floor. She simply hugged a rag doll that I made to look just like me.

“Evandel?”

“When are you coming back?” she asked with a trembling voice.

“I’ll come back in a month.”

“…”

Evandel pouted and shook her head. Then she expressed her sadness in a tiny voice.

“Earlier.”

Something rose from the bottom of my heart. Did my parents feel the same when they raised me? I tightly embraced her.

“Okay. You can order anything you want to eat and have fun with Hayang and Haeyeon. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“…”

“I put some sandwiches and hamburger patties in the fridge, so you can eat those too. Ask Haeyeon’s parents to cook the patties. They’ll taste delicious.”

“Un.”

Our long, yet short hug ended as I stood up. Hayang walked up to Evandel as if to console her. She scratched Evandel’s leg and seemed to be telling her to do something. Evandel teared up, but didn’t cry and waved at me.

“Come home safe.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

I left the apartment, but I had to meet one more person before returning to the tower. I didn’t need to visit her myself. A limousine waited for me when I came out to the front. Its window rolled down and Yoo Yeonha peeked out.

“You’re back.”

I smiled and sat next to her. Yoo Yeonha stared at my face before suddenly asking.

“Did you cry?”

“No. Anyways, you must be busy. You’re working even when you’re in a car?”

I glanced at the documents on a table inside the limousine.

“I’ve been frequently driving around because of our businesses and the Tower of Wish.”

“Mm. Oh right, here.”

I handed her a plastic bag.

“What is it?”

“A handmade burger. I just made it and brought one in case you felt hungry.”

“…”

Yoo Yeonha blinked and thought about what to say. After a brief moment, she nodded and took the bag.

“… I haven’t had time to properly eat. Thank you.”

The hamburger’s smell rose from the bag. Yoo Yeonha peeked inside and swallowed her saliva. She obviously looked forward to eating it and licked her lips.

“How are things going inside the tower?”

“I’m doing fine, but your informants probably won’t come out. TP is extremely important in the earlier stages. They won’t have any to spare.”

“I heard. The return ticket is 1000 TP and the re-entrance ticket is also 1000 TP, correct?”

I nodded and stretched.

“Yeah. Aaah.”

“Um, the tower is one thing, but…”

She peeked at me and carefully brought up another topic.

“It’s… about that furniture. The chair you gifted me.”

“Oh, the chair? It’s amazing, right?’

“…”

Yoo Yeonha silently nodded.

“I just thought, um, I’d like to ask the maker for a bed…”

“You liked it?”

“… Yes.”

Yoo Yeonha muttered. Did she think she was a loser if she liked something?

“So um, can you ask him?”

“I can, but it’ll be expensive.”

“Oh? How much is it?”

She crossed her arms as if there wasn’t anything she couldn’t buy, a look worthy of Seoul’s queen.

“A billion, I guess?”

“That’s nothing at all. If the bed is the same quality as the chair—"

“But it’ll be a used bed.”

“Eh?”

“It won’t be a new one.”

I didn’t have time to make one for her. A bed was the most difficult piece of furniture. I needed at least half a day to make one even at my current skill level. However, I could send her my bed. I didn’t mind too much since I planned to make a new one with Dwarf’s Dexterity.

“A used one?”

“Yeah, I can give you mine.”

“Eeeh?” Yoo Yeonha screamed.

“W-What, what do you mean!”

“It’s not dirty or anything, so don’t worry. It might smell like me, but it’ll do the job. Oh, I guess it might smell like cigarettes.”

“S-Smell…”

“I promise you won’t even think about other beds once you sleep in it.”

Yoo Yeonha’s face slowly grew red as she glared at me. It looked like she had something to say, but nothing came out. As her face changed from an unripe strawberry to a tomato on the brink of exploding…

“Are, are, are you crazy—!”

She screamed loud enough to shake the entire limousine. However, I simply shrugged.

“I mean, I can’t just whip out furniture of that level in a flash.”

“B-But you can just tell me the maker’s contact address.”

“The maker doesn’t have time. Don’t worry, the bed is clean.”

“…”

Yoo Yeonha looked anguished. I could practically see her internal conflict.

“Huu… okay. So, where is this bed?”

She finally came to a decision. I grinned. If a clean freak like Yoo Yeonha wanted it that badly… well, I guess all the work exhausted her. Objectively speaking, my bed worked wonders on the mind and body.

“Just tell me the address you want it sent to. I’ll handle it.”

Evandel would be surprised if I gave her the one in my apartment, so I decided to give her the one I used in the Chameleon Troupe’s hideout.

“I’ll pay for it immediately.”

“Okay. Oh, but that wasn’t why I wanted to meet you.”

I put on a serious expression since we ended up off-topic because of the bed.

“I want to ask for a favor.”

“A favor?”

“Yeah.”

I wanted to make a rather simple request. The Book of Truth couldn’t tell me anything about Chundong’s past. I tried to investigate on my own, but couldn’t do it alone. Chundong’s existence felt like dust, befitting of a true extra.

“You know that I’m an orphan, right?”

“…”

Yoo Yeonha’s face turned cold. She remained silent before quietly replying.

“I do.”

“It’s related to that. I’m wondering, cough, what happened to my biological parents. To be more exact, I want to know how they died.”

Chundong’s biological parents had passed away. That was the one thing I found out from the Book of Truth and that took 3 streaks of stigma.

“I need you to investigate for me. I don’t think I can do it alone anymore. I don’t have the time either.”

“…”

Yoo Yeonha didn’t say anything. She simply looked down and took deep breaths. I couldn’t see her face either because her hair had grown longer.

“Well, it’s not a number one priority. I’m only asking because I’m curio—”

“Okay.” She suddenly interrupted me and looked into my eyes.

“I’ll give it my best.”

She seemed determined, yet hesitant. Her eyes appeared firm, but her fingers nervously wriggled on her knees. I nodded at the conflicting Yoo Yeonha.