Show Me Your Stats!

It was a deep, dreamless sleep.

Since the day she was born, Ayra had never felt this exhausted before. She had slept so soundly that it was almost as if she had passed out. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

"......?"

She blinked slowly, still unsure if she was dreaming. As her mind gradually cleared, she realized that the narrow space she was in was swaying slightly.

Is this... a moving room?

Then, as full wakefulness settled in, she recognized her surroundings.

I’m inside a carriage.

"You're finally awake."

Janus idly rolled two mana stones between his fingers as he spoke.

Only then did Ayra realize why she had been able to sleep so comfortably even inside a moving carriage—Janus had been holding her the entire time. As always, whenever he showed unexpected kindness, her heart fluttered erratically.

"Is this... a merchant’s carriage?"

"Yeah. You wouldn't wake up this morning no matter how many times I shook you, so I just brought you along."

Now that he mentioned it, Ayra vaguely recalled someone trying to wake her up a couple of times. Already exhausted, and combined with her usual habit of sleeping in until the afternoon, it seemed she had been completely unresponsive. Feeling a little embarrassed, she cleared her throat.

"You were the one saying we had to leave early. So that’s why you put me in the carriage, right?"

"That’s right. You should be thanking me."

"Yeah. Thanks for looking out for me."

If he hadn’t, she might have slept through the merchants' departure entirely.

Looking outside the carriage window, she saw that the two horses they had ridden before were also following along without issue. Feeling like she had leaned on him for too long, she made a half-hearted attempt to sit up—but Janus tightened his hold, pulling her back into the warmth of his embrace. Deciding not to resist, she let herself relax against him, resting in her own personal human heater.

Then, with her thoughts finally in order, she reviewed the current situation.

Alright, I’ve secured the funds for the most urgent interest payment, and I still have plenty of time left. And I’ve gathered proof that someone is not only targeting my estate but my life as well. Considering the high likelihood that they also killed my family...

It was clear as day—someone wanted to wipe out the Solar family to claim this land for themselves.

The most likely suspects were, of course, the neighboring estates. The moment she returned, she would need to investigate the political landscape surrounding Solar Estate.

With a deep sigh, Ayra buried her head against Janus’s broad shoulder.

When she had first rushed here upon hearing of her family's deaths, she had never imagined that the situation would be this dire.

Still... living here might not be so bad after all.

Despite the extreme cold and the countless problems plaguing the land, she was starting to grow attached to it.

As expected of a mage, Ayra had a strong attachment to things she considered her own. And this estate was the largest and most valuable possession she had ever owned.

It would take time, but once she paid off the debt, she could live alongside her vassals and the estate’s people. She could turn one of the many empty rooms in the lord’s castle into a research lab and continue her magic studies.

And every now and then, when she had some free time, she could come down to the city and spend time messing around with Janus.

Ayra idly entertained hopeful thoughts of the future.

Thanks to the roads being cleared in advance, the carriage moved swiftly without any obstacles.

The rest of the journey passed with Ayra either explaining mana control techniques to Janus, chatting about random nonsense, or dozing off intermittently.

By the time they neared the city, she was awoken by the sound of a checkpoint inspection. Peering outside the window, she frowned at the sight of the crumbling castle walls.

"Alright, this is where I get off."

As soon as the carriage passed through the city gates, Janus stuck his hand outside the window, signaling the driver to stop.

The moment he stepped out, he stretched his arms up high, cracking his back as his muscles bulged beneath his tight shirt. It was obvious he had grown stiff from sitting all day.

Without so much as a glance backward, he was about to leave when Ayra reached out and grabbed his clothes.

Janus turned with a questioning hum, and Ayra took the opportunity to express her gratitude.

"I really appreciate what you did for me this time."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure."

He brushed it off like it was nothing, but Ayra was genuinely thankful.

There had been more than a few situations where she would have struggled without him. Sure, even without Janus, she probably would have found a way to manage—but it definitely would have been a lot harder.

"So, are you staying at the mercenary office from now on?"

"Probably. If nothing else comes up, you’ll find me there. Drop by whenever you want."

Janus naturally reached out, cupping her cheek as he leaned in and kissed her.

Then, without another word, he turned and sauntered off with his usual lazy stride.

Ayra silently watched his retreating figure for a while before finally climbing back into the carriage. A slight furrow formed between her brows.

Raising favorability is harder than I thought...

The last time she checked, Janus’s favorability was still stuck at 3 and hadn’t increased at all.

She had thought spending the night together might raise it a little, but it remained utterly unmoved.

Every time she checked favorability, Ayra was reminded of why she had created an artificial spirit in the first place.

A system that disguised itself as a game mechanic but was really just a quantification of human emotions.

Ayra had a sinking feeling that if she ever truly fell for someone, that very system would only serve to hurt her.

How much would her favorability toward Janus be if it were displayed in numbers?

She wasn’t sure, but it was probably higher than the last time she checked.

A wry smile crept onto her lips.

I’m exhausted. When I get back to the castle, I need to grab a nice, warm leather pouch and take a nap.

Even though she had been dozing in the carriage, long rides only made fatigue accumulate rather than relieve it.

Her back ached, her legs felt stiff, and she just wanted to collapse into bed.

But before that, she had to go to the merchant’s office and make sure the payment was secured.

To her surprise, when she arrived, Jinas was already there.

His face was pale and haggard as he paced anxiously. But the moment he saw Ayra returning with the merchants, his face instantly brightened.

Before he could greet her as "Lord", Ayra quickly cut him off.

"Lord Administrator Jinas! You came all the way down here? Don’t worry, I’ve returned safely as per your orders, Hess."

Luckily, Jinas was sharp-witted. He immediately realized that Ayra was trying to keep her identity hidden.

He closed his mouth before the word "Lord" could escape.

Then, with a look that was difficult to describe, he gazed at her in silence.

For a moment, she wondered if he was displeased with her—but then, a notification window popped up.

[Hess Lu Jinas’s Favorability has increased by 10!]

Current Favorability: 16

That strange look must have been his way of expressing emotion.

Still, after all the effort she went through to earn money to save the estate, a mere 10-point increase in favorability... Should she be happy about it? Or disappointed?

Either way, it was still a good thing.

The two of them stood quietly as they watched the merchant finalize the payment process.

After deducting fees, only 200 Cell remained.

Since Jinas had already heard about what had happened, he didn’t blame Ayra for the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° lower amount.

Still, when they left the merchant’s office, his steps were slow and heavy, as if weighed down by something.

Both Ayra and Jinas mounted the horses Ayra had brought with her. The horses, exhausted from their round trip to Dalum Gorge, let out heavy snorts as they trudged along at a weary pace.

"Lord Jinas, don’t worry. I still have 100 Cell left. That makes it 300 Cell in total. It’s enough to cover the interest payment."

Ayra held up the mana stones in reassurance.

Since unrefined mana stones were nothing more than ordinary-looking rocks, Jinas eyed them with skepticism, inspecting them closely.

"These are unrefined mana stones? Where did you get these...? Don’t tell me you hunted magical beasts?"

"I didn’t, but the mercenary I was with took care of them for me. And since I can refine mana stones myself, I don’t have to pay any processing fees."

She deliberately kept her tone lighthearted, but Jinas wasn’t so easily convinced.

Though he looked relieved at the news that they had gathered 300 Cell, his expression quickly turned stern as he began pressing her for details about the mercenary who had accompanied her.

"A mana stone of this value means you didn’t just take down one or two low-grade magical beasts. What is the mercenary’s name? How much did you pay them? Are you already acquainted with this mercenary?"

His interrogative tone... Was he still suspicious of me?

Just as that thought crossed Ayra’s mind, a notification popped up.

[Tip: The administrator, who has a distrustful nature, is worried about the current lord’s lack of worldly experience.]

Ayra felt a mix of emotions.

On one hand, she was touched that Jinas was worried about her. On the other hand, it was a little embarrassing to know that he thought of her as an inexperienced, clueless lord.

However, explaining her relationship with Janus was even more complicated, so Ayra quickly changed the subject.

"Let’s talk about that once we return to the castle. More importantly, what about Sir Bloom? Did he handle the Lamam group properly? I’d like to hear a report on that."

Jinas seemed to pick up on her attempt to steer the conversation away but chose to let it slide, answering politely.

"The Lamam group has been dealt with successfully. In the process, we also managed to retrieve mana stones worth approximately 34 Cell. There were no casualties, but we did have three injured soldiers."

Ayra was slightly surprised that there had been three injuries just from dealing with Lamam.

Are the soldiers really that weak?

She sighed inwardly but soon found Jinas’s next words more understandable.

"If the castle walls had been intact, we wouldn’t have had any injured soldiers. The attack came before the wooden barricades were even finished, so we had no choice but to focus on protecting the villagers."

"Ugh, the castle walls... That’s a real problem. We need to fix that as soon as possible."

Ayra let out a deep sigh, pressing her throbbing temples.

Even as she mulled it over all the way back to the castle, she couldn’t think of any solutions other than painstakingly rebuilding the walls from scratch.

"For now, use the mana stones we retrieved to hold a banquet for the soldiers."

Even though they were in desperate need of money, there were some things that simply shouldn’t be skimped on.

Since the walls were in ruins, at the very least, the soldiers needed to be well-fed and well-equipped.

"Understood."

"And, there are a few things I need to tell you—"

Just as she was about to bring up the rockslide in Dalum Gorge, which had clearly been an attempt on her life, as well as what had happened in Dalum Village, they passed through the castle’s main gate.

At that moment, a soldier on horseback came galloping toward them, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A bad feeling crept over her.

"L-Lord Administrator! Lord Administrator!"

Since the soldier hadn’t yet memorized Ayra’s face, he only recognized Jinas.

Jumping off his horse, the soldier rushed forward, breathless.

Jinas, his face strict and composed, immediately corrected him.

"The lord is present. Now, what is this about?"

"H-Honored Lord!"

The soldier, flustered, barely managed to glance at Ayra before dropping to his knees.

He was drenched in sweat, his breathing ragged as he shouted out his urgent report.

"The enemy! The enemy forces are approaching!"

"......!"

The shocking news made Ayra question her own ears.

Enemy forces? Out of nowhere?!

Even Jinas’s eyes widened in shock.

The soldier, voice trembling with fear, continued.

"Their numbers are approximately 2,000, and judging by the banners, they appear to be troops sent by Bolni!"

"Wh-what...?"

Jinas’s face drained of color, and he nearly lost his balance in the saddle.

Ayra let out a breathless laugh, utterly dumbfounded.

She had just barely managed to secure the money for the interest payment, and now an army was invading?

It was absolutely ridiculous.

And then, at that moment—

Ding!

A Quest Window popped up in front of her eyes.

⚠ EMERGENCY QUEST! ⚠

[Crisis at the Lord’s Castle!]

✔ Repel the Bolni army (Incomplete)

✔ Convince Nilma Argan (Incomplete)

⚠ WARNING: Failure to complete this quest will result in loss of your lordship and the removal of the territory management function. :(