Lea raised her head, a look of suspicion clouding her face.

“What… do you mean by that?”

“If it’s a punishment, you should do something you dislike. Lea, do you want to open a Random Box?”

“Absolutely not!”

An immediate answer came without a second’s hesitation.

“So wouldn’t that make it the perfect punishment for you?”

When Shin Jungho asked with a beaming smile, Lea trembled violently and bowed her head once more.

“Lord! If I were to draw a magic stone, I believe I would end myself! I beg you to reconsider this Random Box execution!”

Hmm…

That would be a bit problematic.

A Random Box execution, she calls it.

“Then I’ll give you a different punishment.”

“I will gladly accept whatever punishment you see fit!”

You just refused one because you didn’t want it.

Even when forgiven, you say you don’t want it.

And when given a punishment, you put your own life on the line.

Hmm…

What kind of punishment am I supposed to give?

…Oh?

“Try expressing your apology in modern terms.”

“What do you mean…?”

Lea raised her head again, eyes full of puzzlement.

Shin Jungho replied, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

“Lea, you’ve watched plenty of modern Korean dramas. Tell me—how does the female lead usually apologize in situations like this? That’s your punishment.”

“Th…that…!”

Lea’s body trembled like a leaf in the wind.

“First, straighten your back. I don’t think the female lead in modern dramas apologizes quite like that, do you? Do I really have to spell it out this much?”

When Shin Jungho pressed a bit more firmly, Lea snapped her back straight at once.

“R-right, of course!”

Good, she’s standing straight now.

“Now, go ahead and try.”

Lea clenched her fists as if bracing against a meteor’s shockwave and began steeling herself.

…Was it really that big a deal?

She looked at the floor.

She looked at Shin Jungho.

She turned her gaze to the side.

Then, as if she’d finally made up her mind—

Huup!

After drawing in a deep breath—

She spread both hands and pressed them against her flushed cheeks—

As if embarrassed, as if shy, as if repentant, as if grateful—

Amidst a whirlpool of countless emotions, she gently parted her trembling lips.

“Op…pa… please… forgive… meee…!”

…Keok.

“Kullok, kullok, kullok!”

Shin Jungho choked so badly he had to cough for a good while before he could catch his breath.

“Op…pa… are you… okay?”

Stop, please.

This might kill him in an entirely different way.

“Kullok! Kullok! Keuheum! Keum! Haa…! Lea, I’m fine now—I mean, I’ve forgiven you, so you don’t have to do that anymore.”

“…T-thank you, Lord!”

Lea answered with her face buried low, looking as though it might explode at any moment.

She’d probably need to stay in that position for a good while to calm herself down.

Ah… that was a genuine culture shock.

To think she wouldn’t just say ‘please’ but would drawl it out like ‘pleease’…!

Still, seeing that different side of Lea was absolutely delightful.

A blonde beauty who only loved fighting, suddenly blushing like a fresh-faced teenage girl, cupping her cheeks in her hands and begging for forgiveness…!

…Keuk.

Just imagining it nearly made him choke again.

To calm his racing heart, Shin Jungho finally turned his attention to check on Maya.

And—

His fluffy, buoyant mood instantly

sank like a bitter winter wind.

She must have pushed herself too hard maintaining the Barrier of Atmosphere from behind.

Bright red blood was streaming from one corner of Maya’s mouth.

Tuduk. Tuduk.

Still.

Maya had one hand cupped to catch the blood so it wouldn’t drip onto the floor.

But that wasn’t what mattered.

“Maya, give me your staff and go wash up in the bathroom right now.”

Even while bleeding, Maya beamed and replied before moving just as Shin Jungho instructed.

A short while later, Maya emerged after freshening up and gave a slight bow.

“Your Highness, this humble girl has shown you an unsightly appearance. I pray you do not concern yourself with it.”

Hah…!

This one’s loyalty was something else entirely!

“Maya, from now on, when something like this happens, don’t wait for my orders—act immediately.”

“I understand. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for Your Highness’s profound consideration.”

Phew!

Calling an obvious duty ‘consideration’!

They should think of themselves first for once.

“I’m sorry, Maya.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“You were in such a difficult situation, and I didn’t notice sooner.”

Maya replied with a serene smile.

“This humble girl is infinitely grateful just to share the same space as Your Highness. Moreover, Dame Lea’s condition was more critical, so Your Highness did what was necessary.”

Really…

When she put it like that, there was nothing to say.

“Still, I’m sorry. For not noticing sooner, and for not having the skills to heal you right now.”

“Your Highness. This humble girl is nothing but a tool at Your Highness’s command. If you continue to concern yourself with a tool, it may hinder your greater affairs. So please, do not trouble yourself over me any longer.”

She wasn’t wrong, so Shin Jungho decided to settle his feelings there.

He’d have to treat Maya better going forward.

Should he bring back lots of delicious cake from the cafe?

While deliberating, one task caught his eye.

Dung dung.

The Random Box, seemingly crying out to be opened.

Right, this was still here.

“Maya, would you like to open that Random Box?”

“Me?”

“Yes, Lea already opened one. Would you like to try, Maya? Oh, if you don’t want to, you can decline.”

“…I shall do so, following Your Highness’s wishes.”

Maya approached the Random Box with modest grace.

She held the box gently with both hands and stood still for a moment, her eyes offering a silent prayer.

Then she reached out one hand and softly pulled the knot of the Random Box.

Paeng!

[You have obtained the Dragon Scale Shield (Lea Exclusive).]

It was a massive shield covered in green scales on its front that looked harder than steel.

Roughly twice the size of the shield Lea currently carried.

But… Lea Exclusive?

[Dragon Scale Shield]

– Usage Restriction: Summoned Being Lea

– Reduces impact applied to the shield.

– Enables use of Dragon’s Tenacity.

– Description: A shield believed to have been used by Lea. It contains a dragon’s blessing, reducing all physical and magical damage applied to the shield. Additionally, using Dragon’s Tenacity prevents the user from being pushed back from their position for a certain duration.

Our Lea…

Was she a Dragon Slayer?

But what’s with ‘believed to have been used’?

If it was, it was; if not, it wasn’t.

Regardless, the performance was impressive.

It reduced both magical and physical damage and came with a skill called Dragon’s Tenacity.

“Lea, take this. Apparently you used it before?”

Lea’s eyes widened as she received the Dragon Scale Shield.

“No wonder… this shield feels so familiar…!”

Lea swung it this way and that while holding it equipped.

“With this… if I have this Dragon Scale Shield, I believe I could block even that devastating attack from earlier!”

Lea rejoiced as if she’d just received a Christmas present, practically bouncing with joy.

“If you’re that happy, you should thank Maya first.”

“Maya! Thank you so much for drawing such an incredible item for me! I will definitely repay this debt of gratitude!”

“In the end, it’s something that helps Your Highness, so I’m simply grateful as well.”

“I’ve thanked her, Lord!”

She scored a great item and completely came back to life, huh?

Shin Jungho also found Lea’s enthusiasm endearing.

Even though it wasn’t an item for himself.

After all, the one standing at the forefront blocking the meteor’s shockwave was none other than Lea.

So the stronger Lea became, the better it was for him too.

Bigger…!

More powerful…!

Meteors he could slam down!

…Ah, maybe that’s not right?

“Lord! Let us challenge the next floor at once!”

Shin Jungho left Lea behind, her eyes sparkling with excitement, and turned to check on Maya.

“Maya, you’re having a rough time, aren’t you?”

Maya answered with a smile as if it were nothing.

“This humble girl would carry out any task Your Highness commands, even if my heart were to burst.”

These two would lay down their lives the moment you asked them anything.

“Don’t talk about putting your lives on the line anymore. That goes for you too, Lea.”

“This humble girl is nothing but Your Highness’s hands and feet. Please do not trouble yourself.”

“Indeed, Lord! It is my joy and my reason for living to serve you with all my body and soul!”

Their loyalty was something that couldn’t easily be broken.

Shin Jungho shifted his line of thinking.

“Maya. If that last clear was 100% of your full power, how much can you output now? Tell me precisely.”

Maya paused for a moment, then answered with a wistful smile.

“Regrettably, 49.43…4…5…6…7…”

The number kept climbing past the second decimal place.

She wasn’t making this easy either, huh.

“That’s enough. So roughly 50%, right? Then Maya definitely needs to rest.”

“Even so, I believe gathering monsters is still within my capabilities.”

“Lord! I too have obtained the Dragon Scale Shield, so I believe I can block that fearsome shockwave alone without Maya’s help!”

Maya’s High-Speed Flight was 4th circle and Gale Tsunami was 3rd circle, so it might not put too much strain on her body.

And with Lea’s defense dramatically increased, she might indeed be able to block the shockwave on her own, as she claimed.

But.

All of that was just speculation.

What if they challenged the floor based on uncertain assumptions and broke the 21-consecutive Amazing Achievement record?

So this was the right answer here.

“I’m going to re-clear the 21st floor.”

Using one Tower Entry Ticket on a re-clear rather than a new top-floor challenge was a waste.

But he’d gained 2 more this time, giving him 5 tickets.

And ending today’s climbing here would leave him with regrets too.

Just how strong was the Dragon Scale Shield’s defense that Lea had obtained?

He had to re-clear at least to verify that.

From one perspective, it could be seen as wasting a Tower Entry Ticket just to buy another day.

But the thrill of racing through the Tower earlier—

and seeing Lea, who had been half-dead from the meteor impact, now bouncing with energy after scoring a great item—he wanted to indulge that enthusiasm as her summoner.

Besides, a whopping 2 tickets had dropped this time too.

Was it really possible that not a single Tower Entry Ticket would drop while climbing 8 more floors?

His mind was made up.

“Maya, would you like to rest this time?”

Surprisingly, Maya complied obediently.

“I shall do so. While Your Highness is away, I will guard your chambers without a single gap, so please go with peace of mind.”

Ooh.

As expected of a mage, she was definitely different from Lea.

He’d been planning to ask exactly that if she insisted on coming along.

When doing a fastest-time clear, the run would be over in mere minutes.

But this re-clear was expected to take longer, so he needed someone to watch the place.

How did she read his inner thoughts and volunteer first!

He’d have to ask if there was anything else she wanted besides cake later.

Macarons?

“Lea, then are you ready?”

“I shall summon a hundredfold courage and strive to fill even Maya’s absence!”

Look at that excited face.

“Maya, get plenty of rest then.”

“I shall remain here and pray earnestly for Your Highness’s safe return.”

Shin Jungho gave a bright smile, then re-entered the 21st floor of the Tower with only Lea selected.

* * *

Left alone in the studio apartment, Maya quietly fell into thought.

Lea, whom she had considered her rival.

The sight of her throwing her entire body into protecting Shin Jungho was truly impressive.

It was the very model of a loyal knight.

She too had poured everything into her defensive magic, but compared to Lea’s devotion, it was a drop in the ocean.

That was why Shin Jungho tending to Lea first had stung a little, but she couldn’t say a word.

Because Lea had performed admirably enough in this battle to deserve His Highness’s care.

Still, the way His Highness later showed consideration and looked after her was the very picture of a true wise ruler.

So how could she not be satisfied, serving such a lord?

Maya knew full well.

Lea was Lea.

And she had her own different role to fulfill.

There was nothing for her to do in this 21st floor re-clear.

She judged that guarding the real-world safety His Highness worried about took priority.

Still.

That despicable wretch Kim Taemin was still out there.

And as long as the Summoning Stone wasn’t perfectly hidden, situations that could expose his identity could arise at any time.

Preventing such incidents before they happened was exactly the role of a mage like herself.

And she resolved once more.

She may have lost decisively to Lea this time.

But next time, she would perform so brilliantly that she’d be the first to receive His Highness’s care!!

…

Probably once they passed the major section around the 20th floor—

Around the 31st floor!