Chapter 112

* * *

My office occupies the entire top floor of the Guardian headquarters, the eighth floor.

Sitting alone in my office, which felt exceptionally empty today, I furrowed my brow.

The chat window was still embroiled in a heated debate over Dante’s inhuman regenerative abilities.

– Anonymous Constellation: I know a creature like that. Its body heals even if you cut it in half.

– Anonymous Constellation: What is it?

– Anonymous Constellation: A parasite.

– Anonymous Constellation: Well, with that face, I’d even accept a roundworm. What does it matter?

– Anonymous Constellation: Batman has tons of girlfriends. You don’t need to know who he is to have a little something-something.

– Anonymous Constellation: Excuse me, Astell’s type is our Johan, okay? Don’t you dare try to ship her with someone else.

– Anonymous Constellation: Exactly! They’re not even putting up a mission, so why are they so loud? If you don’t have the points, just stay out of it.

– Anonymous Constellation: ……You all just wait.

[Mission: Receive a sincere confession from Dante. (10,000,000 points)]

[Accept] / [Decline]

‘T-Ten million points? Damn, long live dating sims!’

Having stumbled upon a windfall, I broke into a wide smile.

Of course, the mission itself was impossible. Getting a sincere confession from Dante? Was that even plausible?

But it was by no means a bad mission. When a mission’s reward was set this high, it raised the limit for other missions as well.

I looked fondly at the chat window, a chaotic mess for the first time in a while, split between Team Johan and Team Dante.

Why did this dumpster fire of a chat window suddenly seem so lovely?

“The folks pushing for Kaiel are awfully quiet, aren’t they? Did your Kaiel stocks turn into worthless paper?”

– Anonymous Constellation: Nah, we’re just waiting for them to fight amongst themselves and self-destruct.

– Anonymous Constellation: Is there really a need to make such a fuss? So low-rank.

– Anonymous Constellation: We trust you to make a rational and logical decision.

‘Hmm… It seems Kaiel’s side plans to just observe the situation. A shame.’

The personalities of the constellations varied slightly depending on who they supported.

Those who rooted for Johan were relatively polite, those for Dante were a bit unhinged, and those for Kaiel were cynical.

“I’ll decline this mission. Honestly, it doesn’t make any sense. What’s that? Are you asking if I lack confidence? Wow, you guys are really trying to provoke my competitive spirit… Don’t you know I’m the definition of confidence? You want me to show you? Huh?”

I confidently accepted the mission. After all, there was no penalty for failure.

“Shall I drop by the research lab?”

As I tidied my desk and stood up, Zenia entered at that very moment with a tea set.

“Guild Master, are you going somewhere?”

“I was thinking of heading down to the research lab… But what’s that?”

“Pastry Chef Jean sent over a few things he made.”

Today was the monumental day of Jean’s first day at work.

“Oh, right. How does he like the workshop?”

“He absolutely loves it. He said it’s even better than his own shop.”

I had been eagerly anticipating when I’d get to taste Jean’s creations.

The savory smell of bread had been filling the Guardian headquarters.

I silently swallowed the saliva that had pooled in my mouth and sat back down.

“…I don’t think I need to go all the way down to the lab. Just ask Johan to come up.”

“Understood.”

Zenia placed the tray on the table.

Earl Grey madeleines, apple tarts, fresh chocolate buns, and over ten different kinds of cookies.

I felt a sense of pride. I’m glad I splurged on the bakery workshop.

“Tell Jean to let me know anytime if there’s anything inconvenient.”

“This is just my impression, but he seemed a bit flustered by how much free time he has. Since he’s your personal pastry chef, he has much less to do than at a cafe.”

“So the problem is he’s too idle…”

“It can’t be helped for people who have worked busily their whole lives. They get anxious when they rest.”

I knew that feeling all too well. I was the same in my past life.

“Tell him to bake as much as he wants.”

“Are you planning to give it away to the guild members for free?”

“What are you talking about? Of course, we’re going to sell it.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Decorate the first-floor lobby like a cafe. Let Jean decide the menu, but tell him not to set any prices.”

“Why not?”

“We’ll accept points instead of money.”

“Ah, if it’s points, the guild members will use it often. Please, go ahead and eat.”

I took a large bite of the fresh chocolate bun. The rich flavor of the ganache coating the bun made my eyes close on their own.

‘Ah… so soft.’

As I slowly chewed with my eyes gently closed, I felt a sweet and sour, jam-like texture within the soft, savory bun.

“Chocolate strawberry jam? Damn, he’s a genius.”

“You have to eat lunch, so just have a little taste. Also, I heard from Mr. Burman. He said the items you won at the auction will arrive at the mansion sometime this week.”

“Alright.”

“Then I’ll go contact the research lab.”

“Okay.”

I gave a half-hearted reply and focused on the desserts. In the blink of an eye, I had devoured all the pastries, leaving only about three cookies.

“Hm?”

Along with a strange feeling, the teleportation magic circle drawn in the center of my office began to glow faintly.

“Princess.”

“Guild Master! We’re here!”

It was Kaiel and Yulia. The two of them stopped short as they approached the sofa.

“…Are you in the middle of a meal?”

“Oh my! Our Guild Master is so cute, isn’t she? Look at her cheeks, all puffed up!”

I forced down the cookies crammed in my mouth.

‘From now on, let’s not stuff five in at once, even if no one is watching.’

Feeling embarrassed, I took a sip of black tea and…

“Is the Second Prince dead?”

I nearly spat it all out.

“*Cough*… Who told you that?”

“The constellations mentioned it yesterday. They said the Second Prince had stopped breathing.”

Dante did stop breathing for a moment. But I immediately performed CPR, and he started breathing again.

‘Is that why they were mistaken?’

I tilted my head.

“His Highness is very much alive. I saw him this morning.”

“…Is that so?”

‘He still seems skeptical…’

Well, in a world without CPR, it might be hard to believe.

I dismissed it as unimportant and spoke to Yulia.

“Yulia, thank you for yesterday. I’ll be sure to repay this debt.”

“What are you talking about? A debt between ussss!”

…Aren’t we just colleagues?

Though I couldn’t relate at all, I comforted the teary-eyed Yulia.

“Calm down.”

“Then please don’t say such sad things again.”

“…Alright.”

“Hehe, I like you so much, Guild Master.”

I gently pushed away Yulia, who was expressing her affection by linking her arm with mine.

“How far along is the pocket barrier?”

“We’ve succeeded in inserting the formula into the core. Here, this is the result.”

Kaiel took out a black sphere engraved with complex characters. It seemed to be a set of three.

“This is perfect. Not too big, and the number is just right.”

“I’ve enabled human entry. I figured it would be easier to check if it’s working properly that way. We plan to modify it later, once its performance is confirmed.”

“First, a gate needs to open, I suppose. You’ve truly worked hard. I hope you didn’t overdo it.”

Yulia waved her hands with a fed-up expression.

“Oh, don’t even mention it. You’d be shocked if you heard how much the Master of the Magic Tower nagged the elders and me.”

“Yulia.”

“…My apologies.”

Yulia fell silent at Kaiel’s warning tone.

I hadn’t said it was urgent, nor had I offered a reward for shortening the time.

And yet, he had put in the effort for no apparent reason. A man like Kaiel, who so thoroughly pursues profit…

As I looked at Kaiel with admiration, he made an excuse in a tone as cold as ice.

“I simply wanted to see the results quickly.”

“Still, I’m touched. Thank you.”

After a moment of silence, Kaiel changed the subject.

“What happened with the gate pre-detection artifact?”

“I’m curious about that too. In fact, Johan is on his way up, so let’s hear it together.”

I offered one of the three remaining cookies to Yulia. Kaiel refused, so I was about to eat the last two at once.

Just then, Johan entered with a bright smile.

“Astell! Ah, Master of the Magic Tower, you’re here as well?”

I narrowed my eyes. For a moment, it felt as if the office had brightened.

His golden hair radiated light like the sun, and his fair skin glowed. His vivid blue eyes sparkled like glass beads.

‘His looks are really working overtime today.’

The last time I saw him, he looked so down that I was worried, but seeing him so radiant brightened my own mood.

“Johan, do you have some good news?”

“I’ve succeeded!”

“…Surely you’re not talking about the gate detection artifact?”

“That’s the one!”

“Really?”

I threw my arms around Johan and jumped up and down.

Even in my past life, where science was so advanced, it had taken two years. And that was with the formula.

But to create it in just a few days!

Even in a world so accustomed to supernatural forces like divine power and mana, it was still astonishing.

“Um… Guild Master, I think the Paladin’s face is about to explode.”

“What?”

Just as Yulia said, Johan’s face was so red it looked like it might burst.

My senses snapped back, and I hastily let go of him.

“S-Sorry. I was just so happy.”

“N-No. It’s alright…”

I neatened Johan’s slightly disheveled hair.

“Your hair is a mess.”

Johan fiddled with the hair I had touched and lowered his gaze. His long, dense golden eyelashes were captivating.

‘Even his eyelashes look just like my Shinwoo’s.’

For some reason, I couldn’t keep looking at him and turned my head away.

“Well… it’s a shame we can’t confirm it until a gate opens.”

“That’s my concern as well. There’s no way to know if it’s working properly… Ah, hot!”

Johan suddenly stopped talking, took off his uniform jacket, and shook it vigorously.

Something fell out of his pocket.

“It’s a brooch.”

“Sir Louis sent it over, so I tried making one, but there’s a problem. It’s too hot. I think I need to reduce the amount of divine power…”

Johan trailed off.

The fact that the gate detection artifact had just activated meant that a gate was about to open somewhere nearby.

But even after a while, there was no news. If a gate had been detected, the detection team would have come to report it.

‘Was it a failure?’

Just as I was thinking that and glancing at Johan, the door burst open and a guild member rushed in.

“Guild Master! A gate has been detected in the Gray Forest!”

“What’s its rank?”

“It’s S-rank!”

This was the first S-rank gate since the Dark Knight.

“I’ll clear it.”

“Yes! I’ll relay the message!”

As I finished speaking and stood up, Kaiel, Johan, and Yulia all stood up with me.

“Why are you all getting up?”

Yulia quickly latched onto my left arm. She was practically glued to me.

“I’m your one and only party member, Guild Master!”

“Ah…”

I remembered agreeing after she had begged me to let her join the party. I figured a summoner would be useful someday.

“And you, Kaiel?”

“I need to check the pocket barrier.”

“Johan?”

“Because you’re going, Astell.”

“…”

I looked back and forth between the three of them and let out a sigh.

“Let’s go.”