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Chapter 12
“50%?”
That was the completion rate required by the quest!
Reaching that number at last, Elijia almost let out a joyful scream—but swallowed it back.
The moment she checked the window and her eyes widened ever so slightly, Jerome opened his mouth after a brief silence.
“…Very well, Lady Sempherion. I’ll be honest with you.”
Polite tone. Serious face.
It was a complete shift from the guarded and probing demeanor he had shown earlier.
“I originally came here in a hurry after detecting a signal that magical beasts would appear in this area.”
Jerome looked straight at Elijia as he spoke.
Unlike before—when he had eyed her stone suspiciously and doubted every word—now he spoke as if he was delivering critical information to someone from the esteemed Sempherion Duchy.
And that was… a little bitter.
Because it meant he hadn’t viewed Elijia as someone worthy of the Sempherion name until now.
Matching his change in attitude, Elijia also listened seriously.
Jerome pointed toward the defeated Hellhound and continued in a low voice.
“As you can see, a Hellhound did appear. I was worried it would bring serious harm not only to the Duchy but also to nearby civilians, so I rushed here to stop it.”
“Hm.”
It was a reasonable explanation. Even if this was duchy land, people’s safety came first.
‘But something feels off.’
Tilting her head, Elijia asked:
“All right. Let’s say it was an emergency now. But were you planning to inform our house about this afterward?”
“Of course.”
‘That’s strange.’
Jerome claimed he would have informed the Duchy about the Hellhound’s appearance—but as far as Elijia knew, this event never occurred in the game Remegol.
‘A whole swarm of Hellhounds showed up, and nothing ever happened in the game?’
When the Hellhounds first appeared, the chat window had blown up in panic. Even the male leads couldn’t defeat these monsters—so why were they here?
If Jerome had come to this forest alone in the original Remegol timeline, it would’ve been a big deal. He wouldn’t have been able to handle the Hellhounds alone, and both the duchy and nearby villages would have suffered. The incident would’ve reached the royal family. It could’ve left behind a long-lasting rumor.
What’s going on here?
Elijia narrowed her eyes, deep in thought.
“It’s true. Please believe me. I was planning to report the Hellhound appearance to the Imperial Court, the Temple, and His Grace the Duke. If my sudden arrival offended you, please view it as a matter between the Mage Tower and the Duchy.”
Even while explaining, Jerome kept going. With a serious expression, he added,
“And, Lady Sempherion.”
“Yes?”
“You’ll need to visit our Mage Tower as well.”
“Me? Why?”
Elijia raised an eyebrow. He wanted her to visit the Tower even though she hadn’t used magic? Not a welcome invitation.
‘And I already maxed out his Affection Level.’
Exactly. She had no more business with Jerome. It would be much more logical to move on to another male lead to raise affection points. But—
“No, you must come. You saw the flow of mana just now.”
Jerome was persistent. He sounded excited, as if he’d stumbled upon a huge research topic.
“And you even took down a Hellhound! With that kind of combat power…! I need to do further tests, but I suspect you have a natural talent for magic. Don’t you want to develop it?”
“Nope.”
“…”
A curt, blade-sharp reply.
Jerome’s sparkling eyes froze awkwardly.
“Wh-why not? You don’t want to learn magic at all?”
“Nope.”
“But why…”
Jerome squinted in disbelief.
Normally, any sane person would be thrilled to be invited to the Mage Tower. There were so many who wished to study magic—even just once in their life. They’d beg the Tower to recognize their talent.
But she was flat-out rejecting it?
That, in itself, was unusual.
“…I didn’t want to say this, but…”
Jerome sighed and shook his head.
“This isn’t a request. It’s mandatory. Hiding one’s combat abilities is a serious crime under Imperial law. You’re required to voluntarily undergo an inspection.”
‘Ah, I didn’t know that.’
Well, it made sense. This was a class-based society. If someone secretly powerful committed treason, it would be a disaster. So the Imperial family had to monitor such individuals.
“According to the law, you must be examined by the Mage Tower, and the results must be submitted to the Empire.”
“…”
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Did you hide it on purpose? Could it be that the Sempherion household intentionally concealed your powers?”
Jerome eyed her suspiciously. Come to think of it, everyone in the Sempherion family—except for Elijia—was rumored to be gifted in swordsmanship or magic.
Looking back, it was a little suspicious that only Elijia was supposedly talentless.
‘Don’t tell me… I was so powerful, they had to hide it?’
Maybe she was a secret weapon. Maybe there was a reason to keep her power hidden. But—
“Huh? No. My father doesn’t even know I’m strong.”
Elijia answered cheerfully.
“…He doesn’t know?”
“I just found out today too.”
“What?!”
Elijia shrugged nonchalantly.
She wasn’t even lying. Today really was the first time she discovered her stats and skills were this high. Judging by Jerome’s shocked expression, his lie detection magic was probably confirming her honesty.
‘Not a bad excuse, if I say so myself.’
Better to act clueless than risk being labeled a criminal who hid power from the Empire or Temple.
Elijia innocently pointed at the Hellhound.
“It’s true. This is my first time fighting a magical beast.”
“…What?!”
“Isn’t that just what happens when you throw a rock? I thought that was normal. Was it really that dangerous?”
“O-of course it was! This is a Hellhound we’re talking about!”
“You keep going on about Hellhounds… is it really that big of a deal? Are you sure you’re not just exaggerating?”
“No! I mean—really—it’s super dangerous…”
Jerome, now swept up in Elijia’s rhythm, found himself stumbling over his words.
He hadn’t realized it, but Elijia was deliberately framing her responses as questions—like, “Was that powerful?” Questions that the lie-detection spell couldn’t verify as true or false. With vague phrasing, it was easy to trigger a “true” result.
Of course, Elijia did have insanely high stats, so she genuinely didn’t find the Hellhound all that threatening. So technically, she wasn’t lying either.
Eventually, Jerome rubbed his forehead in frustration.
‘Fine. If she’s truly a beginner, maybe she really doesn’t know how strong Hellhounds are…’
Trying to explain would just be pointless.
He deactivated his lie-detection magic and spoke with a serious tone.
“Understood. Lady Elijia, let’s stop this unproductive conversation. Regardless, you’ll need to undergo further investigation. The Mage Tower will formally request a visit to the Duchy, and we ask that you comply.”
“Hmm… Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”
Elijia nodded without complaint. On second thought, this wasn’t a bad deal for her.
‘If the Mage Tower is requesting me, the Duke can’t refuse.’
If not, it could look like the Duchy was covering up her powers from the Empire. So he’d have to let her go.
And that meant… a legal excuse to go outside!
‘Perfect. I’ll pretend I’m headed to the Mage Tower, then snoop around wherever I want.’
Hehehe.
While Elijia was scheming, Jerome continued.
“Also, I’ll need to report this to the Imperial family. I’d like you to accompany me as a witness.”
“To the Imperial Palace?”
“Yes. I’m thinking it would be best to speak directly to His Highness.”
“Oho~?”
Elijia’s lips curled up into a grin. She nodded eagerly.
“Well then, of course I’ll go.”
‘Is this how it works out?’
Her outing was banned. Her meeting with the Crown Prince had been canceled. She’d been wondering how to see him again.
“Well, worst-case scenario, I was just going to break into the palace.”
LOL, that’s literally a palace break-in!
High treason!!!
All to get the Crown Prince’s attention…
She’s definitely a villainess, but something’s off here In any case, she’d now secured a peaceful method of seeing him. Elijia nodded with a bright smile.
“So, Vice Tower Master, when do you plan to report this to the Imperial Palace?”
“Pardon? I was thinking… maybe tomorrow, since you’ll be accompanying—”
“No. Let’s go now.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let’s go now.”
She replied firmly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“What? A magical beast just appeared, and you were going to wait until tomorrow morning to inform the palace? That’s dereliction of duty!”
“I just thought… Lady Elijia might need some time to rest, so I was trying to be considerate…”
“There’s no need for such consideration in a situation this serious. We must report it immediately.”
“…Haven’t you lost sleep?”
“Well, my stats—uh, I mean… my stamina’s pretty good.”
Elijia glanced at her stamina stat and mumbled. Thanks to her absurdly high numbers, losing sleep didn’t affect her. She was ready to head to the palace now in top condition.
After a moment of thought, Elijia bent down and picked up a pebble.
‘All right. While I’m at it, I’ll raise the Crown Prince’s Affection too.’
“Two birds with one stone, right? This is the ideal strategy.”
…But why are you holding a real stone???
LOLOLOL Jerome, noticing her pick up the rock, asked cautiously:
“Pardon me, Lady Elijia, but may I ask why you picked up that stone?”
“For self-defense.”
“You can’t bring weapons into the palace.”
“C’mon, this tiny pebble? You call this a weapon? That’s ridiculous.”
“Well… it’s technically not classified as a weapon, but…”
Still, it feels dangerous… when you’re holding it…
Jerome averted his eyes, suppressing a shiver.
