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Chapter 70
Elegia crossed her arms and muttered in a displeased voice.
“Librarian… I don’t think organizing books is usually called magic.”
“But you shouldn’t underestimate book organization, my lady. I’ve also learned various kinds of magic while handling different books.”
Pin smiled mischievously at Elegia’s remark. Hearing his response, Elegia thought for a moment.
‘Now that I hear it… it’s not entirely unreasonable.’
Even the offensive magic she had just seen was a skill that officially didn’t exist in the Seiros saga. Healing magic wasn’t the type most players learned either. Not to mention the fact that he was an “extra,” a character with no information available.
…Pin, in many ways, was outside the standard framework of this game.
Elegia looked again at the fallen beast. Following the habits she had developed from countless hours of gameplay, her mind ran through several analyses: unexpected attack power, overwhelming presence, nonexistent skills, and rare skill trees.
‘Is he really an extra after all? If he were truly a patch-intended or hidden character…’
“Lady Semperion.”
“…!”
Startled by the voice, Elegia quickly lifted her head. Pin was looking at her with a serious expression, as if he had noticed something.
“Wait, don’t move.”
“Yes?”
“….”
Curious, Elegia repeated her question. Pin stepped closer and, with a firm expression, took a handkerchief from his pocket and held it near her cheek.
“The beast’s bodily fluids got on you. There may be poison, so I’ll wipe it off.”
She felt the soft cloth touch her cheek. Instinctively, Elegia held her breath, partly to ensure there was no poison and partly because Pin’s face was very close.
His serious, focused expression and meticulous movements caused her to avert her gaze slightly.
‘B-But there’s no poison alert!’
This beast didn’t even seem poisonous!
She muttered anxiously to herself.
“W-wait a moment. I don’t feel any pain, so I think… there’s no poison.”
“Hmm…”
Yet Pin didn’t back away. Instead, he added slowly:
“I’ve always felt that you, my lady, are somewhat indifferent to dangers around you.”
“Me?”
“Last time, you refused treatment, saying it wasn’t life-threatening.”
“….”
“And this time, because it doesn’t hurt immediately, you’re not taking care of yourself.”
“….”
Pin’s gaze was now fixed directly on her. Meeting his eyes at such close range, Elegia looked away again, muttering an excuse.
“It’s just… more efficient this way.”
Even if her health dropped, she wouldn’t die. No poison alert, and even if poisoned, it wouldn’t kill her. Using healing magic or divine power on herself would be inefficient.
Perhaps it was a habit formed from years of gaming—calculating resources like level-up points, quests, or items. In games, characters don’t panic when their health drops slightly; once they determine ‘I won’t die from this,’ it’s better to defeat monsters first.
As Elegia quietly reflected on her past actions, Pin interjected.
“But Lady Semperion, you’re human. Efficiency is good, but sometimes, it’s okay to waste.”
“Waste?”
Surprised, Elegia looked at him with curiosity. Pin, as if he hadn’t just been serious, now wore a bold, cheeky expression. He added nonchalantly:
“For example, allowing me to use healing magic freely, excessively, if I wanted?”
As soon as he said that, a bright light spread around Elegia.
It was healing magic.
‘No, this time I really wasn’t hurt!?’
As Elegia panicked, Pin laughed.
“You look surprised again, like ‘I’m not hurt!’”
“…!”
“Now you seem to be thinking, ‘How did he know?’”
“Don’t tease me!”
Despite her outburst, Pin’s laughter didn’t stop. Elegia observed his smiling face. It wasn’t mere mischief; there was genuine excitement there, and she couldn’t bring herself to be angry. Instead, she chose another approach.
“Um, Mr. Pin?”
“Yes?”
“Your advice just now was really good—about wasting sometimes. So… about that…”
Elegia pointed to the distant, broken carriage.
“…Would this count as waste too?”
“….”
Then she pointed to her dress hem, stripped of most of its originally attached gemstones.
“Well, most of the magic stones that were attached are gone… seems like I’ve wasted a bit… is that okay? Really okay?”
“Well…”
Just as Pin was about to reply—
“Elegia Semperion!”
A loud voice rang from afar.
Startled, Elegia turned. She saw a group pushing through the forest—armed knights and what seemed to be mages.
At the front stood none other than the Duke of Semperion himself. He didn’t even seem to notice others around him, shouting urgently:
“How… how are you here?!”
‘Father, how did you get here so fast?’
Even with the carriage’s emergency signal turned off, somehow he knew. Could Pin have secretly contacted him? Elegia glared at Pin, feeling betrayed, but he shook his head as if protesting.
“It wasn’t me, my lady. It seems the carriage’s destruction automatically sent a rescue signal to nearby mages.”
Even with the emergency signal off, damage of that level couldn’t be hidden. Besides, with surrounding beasts killed and magic stone bombs exploding, it was impossible for no one to notice.
Elegia glanced at Jerome standing beside the Duke, who avoided her gaze awkwardly. Perhaps he had heard the news and came with the Duke—or the Duke arrived directly after hearing it from Jerome.
The Duke, now close enough for his expression to be visible, grabbed Elegia’s shoulder firmly.
“I specifically told you not to interfere in matters that don’t concern you!”
“Ah, wait, Father!”
Whether he intended to pull her away or check her condition, his grip hurt. As Elegia tried to assess his face, spears suddenly appeared, obstructing her view.
Ding!
Duke’s disappointment has increased by ???%!
Duke’s disappointment has decreased by ?!$%!
Duke’s disappointment increased? decreased? increased-decreased-increased…
‘W-what?’
An error? Or maybe he’s so angry that the notification system can’t measure properly. Flustered, Elegia shouted:
“Father, calm down! The beasts are all dead! We’re completely fine, both Ende and I… The carriage and my dress were damaged, though.”
Pin, as if to help, added:
“Yes, Lady Semperion is perfectly fine. I even confirmed it with healing magic, just in case.”
‘That’s not the point, is it?’
The Duke probably wasn’t concerned about her safety; he’d already seen she was fine. What mattered was whether the situation was fully resolved. Maybe he’d be angry about the carriage being damaged, or about why she got involved in the first place.
As Elegia held her throbbing forehead—
Ding!
Calculation complete! Thank you for waiting for measurement delay.
Duke’s disappointment decreased.
Disappointment: 357%
‘…Huh? Still lower than I thought.’
She’d feared it might exceed 500%. Perhaps the error caused it to drop suddenly. Maybe he’s slightly less angry.
Just as Elegia looked hopefully at the Duke’s face—
“Explain, Elegia. Why are you here when you said you were going to the banquet?”
Anger hadn’t subsided; instead, a stormy glare pierced her. Avoiding his sharp eyes, Elegia muttered an excuse:
“You told me not to go to the banquet… so it’s actually better I didn’t?”
“Is that an explanation?!”
“Uhm…”
Now explaining was tricky. She had come because of the unexpected beast attack, worried and curious. But she couldn’t say that outright.
‘Wait… what exactly was I worried about? That the original story would be disrupted? Or that people connected to me might be there?’
“You left without telling me anything. I was worried about that.”
“What…?”
The Duke sighed, seemingly incredulous, then spoke sharply:
“This beast attack had nothing to do with you, and it was even more wrong for you to interfere. Who told you to come?”
He glared disapprovingly at Pin.
“Could it be Sir Ende…?”
“Sir Ende isn’t at fault!”
Elegia quickly shook her head. Ende had been honest and merely lent her the carriage at her request; he hadn’t interfered beyond that.
“I just took control of the carriage myself and came here. It looked like you were heading this way…”
“What?”
“What did you say?”
Jerome, now beside them, looked shocked and exclaimed in an almost ecstatic tone:
“My lady, did you really operate the magical carriage alone? Wasn’t this your first time riding it?”
It wasn’t interrogation—it was admiration. Jerome’s eyes sparkled as he exclaimed:
“Driving a magical carriage on your first ride… Lady Semperion, you truly are a genius…!”
“Sir Plumen, I’m sorry, but save those trivial remarks for later.”
The Duke cut him off, exasperated, looking like he was about to lose his patience completely.
