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Chapter 44
“So who is it, then?!”
The Duke and Howell raised their voices, their curiosity about the secret partner too intense to suppress. The Duke pressed Elijia with a heavy voice when she didn’t answer.
“Tell me now before I reinstate your ban on going out, Elijia.”
“Come on, Father… Isn’t it a bit much to switch gears so quickly?”
Elijia looked puzzled, clearly not expecting that reaction.
“What’s the problem? Wasn’t your only condition that it not be His Highness? Politically, there’s no issue, and he’s not someone who’ll cause a scandal.”
“That’s…”
The Duke faltered, unable to find a counterargument. Elijia seized the opportunity and proudly declared,
“There’s nothing to worry about, Father! He’s a trustworthy man. Even Sir Plumen, the sub-tower master of the Mage Tower, said he’s a good person! He’s a promising mage. I think his name was Finn?”
“What?”
At her words, the Duke’s expression darkened further. Howell, equally stunned, blurted out,
“Wait, so the partner isn’t even Sir Plumen?! He’s someone Plumen recommended? Finn? What’s his surname? Is he even a noble?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure… If you’re that curious, ask Sir Plumen.”
“When the heck… Was it when we visited the Mage Tower last time?”
“Well, something like that.”
In truth, it was when she had snuck out at night, but her family seemed to assume it had happened during her magic aptitude test. That worked out just fine. As Elijia looked out at the scenery outside the carriage, which had arrived in front of the mansion, she yawned.
“Ah, we’re home. I’ll be heading to my room now—I’m exhausted!”
“Elijia, wait a—!”
“Have a good night, Father!”
Before he could stop her, Elijia had already leapt out of the carriage and disappeared into the mansion.
Howell, watching the scene unfold helplessly, muttered,
“…Father, what do you think about reinstating the curfew?”
“……”
The Duke silently buried his face in his hands. He looked more worn out than ever.
“Good thing I escaped quickly. Looked like they were about to throw a fit.”
Nodding to herself, Elijia ran swiftly down the corridor. She had slipped away just in case her father shouted, “You’re grounded again!” — which, in hindsight, had been an excellent decision. As she reached her bedroom door and grabbed the handle—
“Young Lady!”
She had expected the room to be empty, but the maids waiting inside jumped to their feet the moment she entered.
“You’re back from the ball? Y-You’re not hurt, are you?”
“…I’m fine. I even ate a great meal!”
She had received a prophecy, eaten well, and even got her curfew lifted! The outing had been far more rewarding than she’d imagined.
“But… were you all waiting for me this whole time?”
“Of course! We were so worried!”
Worried?
Elijia wasn’t entirely sure how sincere their concern was, but these were the same maids who had helped her climb out the window rather than alert the guards. There was still the possibility that a traitor had snuck poison into her food, but… not everyone hated her. Probably.
With that thought, Elijia cautiously chose her next words.
“Thank you. You all must’ve been really startled today.”
“…We were,” one maid admitted, letting out a breathless laugh, pressing a hand to her chest. Their faces showed relief, and Elijia offered them an apologetic smile.
“You’ve all had a rough day because of me, haven’t you? Go get some rest. I’m going to be quiet and sleep now, I promise. No need to worry anymore—just go sleep.”
“You must be tired too, Young Lady. Please rest well.”
At last, the maids began to retreat.
“Oh, but we need to help you out of your dress… Wait—Young Lady, when did you take this dress with you?”
One maid, who had clearly been dying to ask, glanced at Elijia’s gown.
She wasn’t alone—every maid in the room had been eyeing the outfit since she returned.
“You left empty-handed… And how did you even know this dress was here…?”
“I told you—it’s magic.”
Elijia raised a finger to her lips. Since she couldn’t reveal the existence of her inventory, it was best to brush it off vaguely.
“No worries—I took care of the dress with magic!”
“If you say so…”
Though they accepted her explanation, the maids looked unconvinced as they took the gown to hang it up. They kept tilting their heads in confusion.
“When did she pack this?”
“She left alone, didn’t she? But she returned with someone… Maybe she reconciled with the Duke…?”
“Still, it really is beautiful. Such a stunning dress. I’m not saying this just because she’s our mistress—the Duke truly has good taste.”
“It must’ve cost a fortune… I bet there’s nothing this expensive anywhere else in the Empire. Oh! Be careful not to damage it!”
The maids whispered as they tidied up and then quickly left the room.
Now finally alone, Elijia opened her game system screen.
“Phew, I really did put off a lot.”
From the moment she stepped into the ballroom, she hadn’t had a chance to check the game screen. The Crown Prince, the High Priest, her father—actual people had been popping up nonstop.
“I can finally look at this.”
With a satisfied sigh, Elijia checked the golden system messages in front of her.
Daily Quest Completed!
Main Quest 1 Completed!
She had cleared two quests!
Confusing 50 people in the imperial palace, and increasing the male leads’ affection to 50%!
“Since the quests are done, it’s time to claim the rewards!”
Finally, time to open the good stuff!
“I’ve been waiting for this moment—let’s press that button!”
Elijia rapidly tapped the confirmation buttons on the quest completion screens.
With a cheerful sound effect, new pop-ups appeared.
Ding! Ding!
Daily Quest Completed!
→ Administrator break is now over.
Main Quest 1 Completed!
→ You’ve received: 1 Skill Unlock Ticket!
“Oh ho…”
The reward messages caused a frenzy in the chat window.
OMG Skill Unlock Ticket!!!
Sis METEORMETEORMETEORRRRR!!!!!!!
“What?! Meteor?!”
Meteor was indeed a powerful spell. But honestly, unlocking it now might not help her in a critical moment.
“I’d rather save this for the future…”
Most skills could be unlocked with money anyway. But what if she suddenly needed something obscure and essential?
She didn’t want to waste the unlock ticket on the most expensive or flashy spell.
“…Sorry to the viewers, but I’m going to save this for later.”
After some serious thought, Elijia stored the Skill Unlock Ticket in her inventory with a solemn face.
If she says it like that, I guess we have no choice…
Ugh but I was looking forward to it…
“You were?” Elijia smirked as she read the chat.
“Well, I suppose it is time I showed you something fun. So how about this instead?”
Excited, she declared to her viewers,
“Everyone! Tomorrow, I’m going to go find the heroine—I mean, invite the heroine! I’m going to officially head out!”
…EXCUSE ME?!?!
Oh right, your curfew was lifted lololol
“That’s right. You all saw the second quest, didn’t you? I have to interrupt the heroine and the male leads’ first meeting. So I’m making the first move.”
But didn’t you promise to report to your dad first? LOL
What are you even going to tell him???
The Duke’s gonna regret lifting the ban after just one day The chat exploded in laughter, many anticipating the Duke’s inevitable meltdown.
But a few comments expressed concern.
Sis… where exactly are you going?
Shouldn’t you know where the heroine will appear first?? Are you just gonna wing it???
Where exactly would Frillian descend?
“Of course, I’ve thought of that too.”
Elijia focused on her status window. In truth, she had gained something even more important than the skill ticket. It might’ve seemed minor as a “daily quest” reward, but—
With a confident voice, she shouted,
“Administrator! Customer Service!! Your break is over now—get over here!”
!!! Summoning Administrator !!!
Please wait a moment…
One of her quest rewards had been to lift the Administrator Break!
And it seemed to be working—a new window appeared.
Loading…
“How long is this going to load? Why aren’t they showing up?”
Elijia frowned as the screen lagged longer than expected.
“Don’t tell me they’re ghosting me again! If they do this, I swear I’ll just quit the game—”
Administrator: N-No!
Administrator: I’m here, I’m here!!
Apparently hearing her muttering, the administrator’s message finally popped up. Elijia, both relieved and amused, spoke with a bright tone.
“Your break’s over. So what exactly were you doing this whole time?”
Administrator: Uh, well…
Administrator: Warning. Non-game-related questions may not be answered. Please proceed with a different question.
“What?”
Elijia scowled at the abrupt popup.
She had a mountain of things to ask the administrator! There was no way she’d let it slide.
She pressed on.
“You have been trying to get me out of here, right? Did you at least talk to your boss?”
Administrator: About that…
Administrator: This is confidential, but our CEO won’t be returning for a while… We can’t even reach him…
“What? What does that mean—?!”
Just as Elijia was about to demand answers, a frantic message popped up.
Administrator: Wait! Please calm down!
Administrator: But please don’t tell anyone! If the company starts wobbling, the game server could collapse—then your world, Elijia, could disappear too!
“…Haaah.”
Well, that made sense. If word got out the CEO was missing, the company might go under. And she had heard that even player inquiries to the devs were going unanswered. Maybe something really had happened at the company.
Administrator: Still! I’m doing everything I can to help!
Administrator: I’ve also been managing the MyTube channel for you!
“That was you uploading those videos?”
So the edited and regularly posted videos on her channel were the administrator’s doing. No wonder the views were decent.
That must’ve taken effort. Elijia’s expression softened.
Administrator: Yes! Even if I can’t help much otherwise, I’ll keep doing my best with the channel and editing…
Administrator: Do you have any other requests?
“Hm.”
She did.
There was something important—urgent, even—that she had to ask. She had summoned the administrator for this very reason. Who knew when another ‘vacation’ might strike?
With a clear mind, Elijia asked,
“Yes. Since you mentioned it—let’s get to the point. I have a question about the game. The heroine, Frillian—when and where does she appear, in game time?”
Administrator: Um… Why are you asking that…?
“Obviously because I need to go catch her—I mean, meet her… to complete the quest, of course.”
Administrator: WHAAAAAT?!?!
Staring at Elijia’s radiant smile, the administrator nearly fainted.
