SPO 39

Chapter 39

[Izrael Lunaclyffe Affection: 20]

“Twenty? TWEENTY!?”
I couldn’t believe that after daring to steal Lena’s lips, his affection had only risen by seven.
It was absurdly lower than Aven, whose affection skyrocketed to thirty the moment he met Lena in person!
I clenched my fists and exhaled to calm my excitement.
It felt like my precious little girl had been snatched away by a scoundrel, and my blood boiled.
“Lena, I will never give you to Izrael.”

Izrael was dangerous.
Even if one somehow achieved the normal ending, his obsession with Lena and his inexplicable experiments would turn her into a test subject.
Moreover, I now even doubted his affection for Lena.
“After kissing her, can his affection really be this low?”

I could never accept it. Lena deserved to be with a man who cherished her dearly!
“Of course, I was thinking that, for the sake of stopping the world from ending, at least I should try to reach the normal ending first…”

The normal ending required an affection score of 70 or higher. The best ending demanded a full 100 points.
“My first goal is just to escape the bad ending.”

I stared at the status screen, still far from my goal, watching the sun climb high into the sky with sleepless eyes.

After the courage test, the school trip ended without major incidents.
The students crashed against the walls of the train and fell asleep as soon as they boarded.
Rehart, who was in the same carriage as Aven, was no exception.

“Rehart?”
After confirming that Rehart had fallen asleep, Aven carefully hugged the polar bear plush he had placed beside him.
The soft fur brushed against him, and a faint floral scent tickled his nose.

“A polar bear plush?”
Snowland could only be reached by boat.
Its temperatures were far lower than expected, and it was covered in snow 365 days a year. It was said to be filled with animals not found on the continent: birds that could not fly, seals swimming freely underwater like mermaids…
Among them, Aven loved polar bears the most.
The pure white, soft fur seemed to melt all his worries away with a touch.
And their large bodies with tiny eyes had an adorably foolish charm.

Q. Do you have a favorite animal?
A. Polar bears. Cute. Big body, small eyes are charming.

Recalling what he had written in the “Aven Reutters” book that Archel had gifted him, Aven pressed his lips to the plush bear’s head.
Feeling shy, he poked and kneaded its plump belly with his fingers, and a faint music box melody started playing from inside.
The familiar tune was a representative lullaby of the Terssen Empire.

“Archel probably made this after reading that I often stayed awake at night,” Aven thought.
Closing his eyelids, he pressed his ear against the bear’s face.
The more he listened, the more his long eyelashes trembled and fluttered.
After a while, he pressed the bear’s belly to stop the music box.
Only Rehart’s breathing and the train engine filled the quiet interior, and Aven quietly murmured,

“Something that cannot be valued.”

As the richest man in the empire, Aven had received countless congratulations and gifts throughout his life.
The gifts were impressive enough to make anyone envious, and the grand birthday parties held every year were the pinnacle of aristocratic social gatherings.
To Aven, all of this was ordinary, nothing stirred his heart.

Yet, surprisingly, the small birthday party he had at dawn felt more perfect than any other he had ever attended.
“It’s strange. It was rough, clumsy, and simple.”
Still, oddly, it made his heart flutter and warmed a corner of his chest.
He even felt… happy.

‘Archel said he wanted to cherish things that money can’t fully buy.’
Now, Aven finally felt he understood Archel’s words.
He wanted the smiles shared alongside the heartfelt efforts of others to remain pure, untouched by ulterior motives.
He wished that the warm time wouldn’t be spoiled by material value or political interests.

“Ah.”
A sudden realization escaped Aven. He blinked his large eyes a few times.
Now he understood. This…
“Cannot be given a value.”

Archel and his friends were precious in ways that could not be measured. Because…
“It’s so fulfilling.”

Aven placed his hand over his chest.
Normally, he felt nothing. But now, the pleasant heartbeat was vivid.
Blinking his thick eyelashes, he buried his lips deeply into the bear’s head again.
“I feel loved…”

Hearing his muffled voice, Aven tightly closed his eyes and rubbed his face against the soft fur.
Now he finally understood why the lavish birthdays he spent with his parents, despite their enormous cost, felt empty.

“If only the world would end…”
Then I wouldn’t have to work.
I muttered the blasphemous words in a slouchy pose.
“Why do we even have to work?”

Eventually, I pressed my forehead to the desk and spun my head around. After coming back from the school trip, I just didn’t feel like working.
‘Come to think of it, I didn’t even get to properly enjoy the trip. Between preparing for the courage test and other labor, it was nonstop work.’

Of course, I enjoyed myself to some degree, but labor is labor.
Still, there was a hope: the student council president would finish next year.
Once I became a sophomore, I’d naturally step down and could finally relax.
‘Once we stop the world from ending using Lena and the male candidates, my real life can begin.’

I stopped spinning my head and thought about what I should do next.
‘As a Yudea graduate, I can get a good job. After all, I was student council president.’

Wait a second.
Wasn’t I the one who previously called for liberation from labor?
Having lived a life of pure wage labor, I shook my head and sought a new direction.
‘Mood lamps!’

Not just mood lamps.
If the magical tools still in development sell well, I could use them as a lifelong pension.
‘Then I could travel the world without worrying about money, just like I’ve always dreamed.’

“Archel, there’s nothing to fix in the application form. Just catch the typos in the guide.”
“Mm, thanks.”

Snapped out of my thoughts, I received the draft application from Aven.
We were in the student council room, preparing materials for a charity event.
We had announced the event and schedule at the academy, and now it was time to act.
‘First, we need to recruit sponsors.’

I was preparing a notice and application form for recruitment, but unfortunately…
All the other students had run away.
‘Bad guys.’
I had said it was fine to skip because it wasn’t difficult work.
Yet, they ran off as if waiting for the chance!

‘Where’s Rehart?’
‘To the library. The exam is in less than two months.’
‘There’s still a month left.’
‘I have to beat you.’
‘Fine, go ahead.’

I waved them off casually.
‘Kasel, where are you going?’
‘I forgot to water Tanicaria today.’
‘You can do it after the meeting.’
‘No. Tanicaria has to be watered at the same time every day to bloom. I just started yesterday… only ten minutes left.’
‘Then what if we have meetings at this time in the future?’
‘I’ll carry the pot from tomorrow, so I can water it on time anytime.’

Impressed by their dedication, I let them go.

‘Lena? Izrael?’
Why did they get up at the same time?

‘I have a prior engagement, so today won’t work,’ Izrael said, smiling. I squinted at him.
‘Lena?’
‘Me too.’

‘What, are they going on a date together?’
‘…….’
‘Hahaha, Archel, you’re sharp-eyed.’
‘…What? They actually have a plan together?’

Shocked, I let them go.
Why, why, why Izrael of all people!?
I lost my mind and muttered the blasphemous lyrics about the world ending, collapsing in despair.
‘I’ll finish this life quickly and go far, far away.’

Since receiving the patent, the mood lamp business had been steadily progressing.
Designs, blueprints, manufacturers, distribution, and pricing—all advancing.
If I were alone, it would have been overwhelming, full of trial and error, but I had the reliable Aven Reutters.
I only needed to join Aven’s already successful business.

Imagining my long-awaited world trip, I asked Aven,
“How much money can we make from the mood lamps?”
Will it be enough to pay off the loans I used while at the academy?
What if I bought too many mana stones and can’t even repay the loan?
Will there be enough leftover to travel the world? Am I dreaming too wildly?

While turning over these possibilities in my mind, Aven answered firmly:
“You’re already rich, Archel.”
“…Me?”
Confused, I tilted my head.

Aven shrugged and said something incredible:
“You’re my friend.”
“Oh….”

“My money is your money, and your money is your money.”