Chapter 100 (2/2)

The king waited patiently, but Seol Jihu didn't know what to say. This truly meant that the youth did not want anything other than what he requested before.

“You can take your time. The night is long.”

After saying so with benevolence….

“I will have to get going. I'm not the type of person who likes to procrastinate. It will take a few days for us to come up with a solid plan.”

He picked up the gold bar and got up.

“Father, you're leaving? You should stay a little longer.”

Teresa muttered as if she was asking how he could leave a pair of healthy man and woman alone at night. Prihi looked dumbfounded.

“Hoho, I have quite the vixen as my daughter. Don't say something you don't mean a tiny bit. The one who told me to look for an opportunity to leave was….”

He was mumbling with a wry chuckle….

“I came up with the perfect excuse to leave you two alone. How can you be so blind?”

Crack, crack- But he changed tune as soon as he heard the sound the bones cracking. Teresa, who was cracking her neck and knuckles, smiled brightly.

“Oh, this young lady misunderstood her father's intention. Please leave this to me and focus on state affairs.”

“My…. It's like I am entrusting a fish to a thieving cat.”

“Did you say something?”

“I'm going to risk my well-being and just say this. You can enter the storage, but don't touch anything from the royal treasury.”

“Geez, don't be such a worrywart. Besides, it's not like the royal treasury deserves to be called that.”

Teresa grumbled, and Prihi smiled bitterly.

“I'm just telling you not to empty out the way of living. I know that a married daughter is no better than a stranger, but have some self-restraint. When your older sister got married, she….”

“Eii, who do you think I am? I'm not like Older Sis. I'll leave the furniture and tableware at least.”

While saying that, Teresa stealthily avoided Prihi's gaze. By now, even a fool would realize what they were talking about, yet Seol Jihu was staring at them blankly with an innocent face.

Prihi clicked his tongue.

“Really, both in this world and that world, heroes are quite the peculiar group of people. Maybe it isn't a matter of genes, but some sort of outside interference.”

He mumbled regrettably before saying his farewell.

“That was an interesting story and an enjoyable meeting. It was a time well spent. I'll take my leave so you can enjoy at ease.”

Seol Jihu didn't know what he meant by enjoying at ease, but he quickly got up as well. However, Prihi placed his hand on his shoulder as if such motion was unnecessary and spoke.

“Also.”

His clear eyes stared at the young man, and a gentle smile spread across his face. It was the first smile he was showing since their meeting. Teresa's eyes widened.

“Thank you for saving my daughter.”

At that moment, the sense of incongruity Seol Jihu had been subtly feeling disappeared instantly. Should he say the distance between them had shortened drastically?

“I'm humbl-”

“Ah, please.”

“N-No problem.”

With a chuckle, Prihi tapped on his shoulders twice before leaving.

“…Well that was a surprise.”

Teresa also chuckled, seemingly caught off guard by her father.

“It's been a while since I've seen Father laugh.”

“Does His Majesty not laugh often?”

“Rather than that, he….”

Teresa was about to say something but swallowed her words back down. She felt like it was something she didn't need to mention.

“Anyways, why don't we go somewhere cozy and finish talking about your reward?”

“Oh, are we going to the storage?”

“Aii, geez, don't be in such a rush. Let's chat while we slowly eat some dessert. We have lots of time.”

'Dessert!'

Seol Jihu didn't have any reasons to refuse. He was nervous and full of tension while he was eating, so he could barely taste the food. Now that the talk had gone well and he was left with someone he was more comfortable around, his taste buds returned and were roaring to eat. He gulped.

“I'd love to try it.”

“You can look forward to it. Once you taste it once, you'll never be able to forget it.”

After announcing this confidently, Teresa got up.

“Alright, let's go!”

“Where?”

“My bedroom.”

“Huh? We're not eating it here?”

It was a justified question given that they were in the dining room. Teresa giggled.

“This dessert has to be eaten in a secluded place. Though, eating it where you can be found out would give it a special flavor as well.”

The youth tilted his head. Teresa made an alluring smile and wagged the bait seductively.

“Come on, get up. Hurry! Not anyone can eat this dessert, you know!”

“Wow, it must be really precious.”

Teresa looked as if that was obvious.

“Of course, it is. Father and Mother only made one in the world.”

The king and the queen personally made it?

“What is it called?”

“It's no fun if I tell you beforehand.”

“Eii, come on, tell me.”

Seol Jihu asked again, wondering how eating a dessert could be fun in the first place.

“Hn~ng.”

Teresa licked her lips before staring at him coyly. Then, she exclaimed.

“It's me.”

Seol Jihu refused vehemently, but when Teresa threatened to not give the reward, he bit the bullet and followed her to her bedroom. Thankfully, the dessert was a true delicacy. It was soft and flavorful, making him devour it eagerly, forgetting about saving face.

He enjoyed eating Teresa Hussey, and because the Princess got happy seeing him eat so tastily, he was able to return with all sorts of additional rewards she gave.

'Who would have thought there was a dessert like that?'

There really was a dessert called 'Teresa Hussey'. It was a cute, no, a refres.h.i.+ng strawberry-flavored pink cake. Apparently, the king and the queen had personally made it for their youngest daughter, who was a helpless sweet-tooth. The cake was then given Teresa's name as it was created on her birthday.

'That was great.'

He wanted to taste it again. Enjoying the cake's sweetness still lingering in his mouth, Seol Jihu returned to the office.

'It's a good thing I went.'

He felt like today was his lucky day. Not only was did he pay back the debt he owed the village head, but he was also able to care for the ghost saintess.

That wasn't all. Looking at the rewards he put on the office table, a feeling of satisfaction spread across his face. Although he didn't get to enter the nominal royal treasury, the items he received made him wonder if it was okay.

First was a metallic mace called '+2 Thorn of Steel'. Crafted by refining a meteorite, it boasted hardness that was ten times that of ordinary steel, and it was enchanted with magic that doubled its attack power when it successfully hit its target.

'Chohong should love it.'

He got it as a gift for Chohong, who was likely to become a High Ranker soon. He could only imagine how giddy she would be.

He also received a crucifix artifact. Although it wasn't as good as the Proof of Chast.i.ty, it was still an item that money couldn't buy. He was certain it would be an excellent bait to lure out Maria when he needed her.

When he was about to leave the palace's storage room, thinking just these two were enough, Teresa told him to wait before bringing him a black belt. The belt was enchanted with a permanent 'Pocket' magic, allowing it to store two bags' worth of items.

The one thing that bothered him was how she carefully looked around the area while telling him to hide it on his way out. When he asked if he could really take it, Teresa immediately exclaimed that she didn't steal it from the royal treasury. As Seol Jihu trusted her wholeheartedly, he took it at ease.

Finally, she handed him 500 silver coins, saying it was a 'small expression of grat.i.tude'.

“Ah~”

While he was happily looking at the items, he suddenly remembered the bracelet the ghost saintess gave him. He immediately took it out from his pocket.

'I wonder what effect it has.'

Since it was an item from the Empire, it was unlikely to be simple. Seol Jihu activated the Nine Eyes' color of General Observation and gazed at the golden bracelet.

Soon….

“…Hah?”

His smiling eyes opened wide.