🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 6
I frowned brazenly and placed my hand on Pyan’s cheek. Slowly infusing magic, the scar on the boy’s face disappeared.
“If I were lying, I couldn’t do something like this.”
“…Where is the fairy world? Is it in the Beliana Empire?”
“If you want to put it simply, it is within the Beliana Empire.”
When Pyan grows up later and recalls today’s conversation, how ridiculous will he think I was?
Would he remember me as some weird girl suffering from “fairy syndrome,” a mass-produced version of princess syndrome?
No, would he even remember me at all?
“Tell me your name. I want to call you by it.”
I shook my head. Even if I wanted to tell him, I couldn’t.
One of a dragon’s deceptive abilities is tracking someone’s location through their name.
That was how, no matter how much Pyan hid Helen, Paris—who knew her full name—was able to track her down like a ghost.
Personally, while reading novels, I had always thought that ability was the true ultimate dragon weapon—far more than controlling fire and wind or even stealth.
“Then take this.”
Pyan took a small box from his pocket and handed it to me.
A gift? How thoughtful.
Anyway, since I had spent about a month with my favorite character, maybe I should take it as a memory.
I opened the box…
“….”
I swallowed hard as I looked at the blue stone glowing on its own.
It was a magic stone with a binding property—if split into two and each person took one half, they could summon each other.
In other words, Pyan had just given me a GPS tracking device disguised as a gift.
I looked at Pyan with uneasy eyes. This was also an item that, in the original story, Paris had subtly given Helen while obsessing over her.
Pyan, you were prepared to give this to me too…?
Just by slightly changing the original story, had I altered even the personality of the sub male lead?
“Next time we meet, I’ll accept it then.”
I forced my most harmless smile and placed the box back into Pyan’s hands.
Pyan let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair. Then he stared at me for a long moment.
Slowly, Pyan raised his hand. As if asking permission, he gently placed it on my cheek.
The boy moved his fingers slowly, caressing my cheek as if I were something precious.
“I will definitely find you.”
It sounded like a vow he made to himself.
I took a small step back and smiled awkwardly.
“Yeah, let’s meet again someday. Until then, be happy.”
“Happy….”
As if the word was unfamiliar, Pyan carefully repeated it.
I closed my eyes and gave him a real farewell.
“Goodbye, Pyan. Take care.”
After that, his voice faded away. Unfortunately, I couldn’t understand what he said, but I assumed it meant “take care,” and accepted his farewell gladly.
I did care about Pyan, but I had no intention of getting involved in the main story.
I had obtained overpowered abilities comparable to a protagonist—there was no reason to hide them and live as an extra.
Having received a second chance, I intended to waste my life to the fullest.
Several months later
The sign at the entrance of Noel’s finest jewelry shop was, as always, set to “Open.”
Chandeliers sparkled, and soft music filled the hall.
The manager, neatly adjusting his tie, walked around inspecting the displays. Nervous employees carefully arranged champagne glasses and polished decorations.
Ding—
At the sound of the door opening, the staff bowed respectfully.
A young girl in a luxurious dress walked in arrogantly. The manager quickly stepped beside her to escort her.
“We have something you might be interested in today. This is the soul of a sea witch, taken from the legendary Atlantis. A black pearl said to contain her essence. A very rare item.”
Clack.
The girl stopped walking.
“Is she interested!”
The manager’s eyes lit up. But following her gaze, he realized she wasn’t looking at the display cases.
More precisely, her eyes were fixed on a white grand piano placed in the center of the hall.
She pointed at it with a small finger.
“I want to buy that.”
The manager’s eyes widened. Did she mean the performer?
“I’m sorry, but the performer is not for sale. If you wish, I can connect you with a reputable slave merchant.”
“No.”
The girl frowned.
“The piano. I said I want to buy the piano. Why would I buy a person? I didn’t think you were like that, but you’re scary, lady.”
The manager’s smile cracked. A piano… not a person?
“Pianos are items you can acquire anywhere. Instead, we have more valuable—”
“I’ll take that too.”
“Pardon?”
“Say whatever you want.”
Her relaxed smile didn’t look like something a child should have. It felt almost like a demon demanding souls under the guise of granting wishes.
“The sea witch’s soul I just mentioned….”
“I’ll take it.”
“The ruby from the Rose Mountains of the Kingdom of Glory….”
“I’ll take it.”
“The royal treasure, Blue Tear, from the Mare Kingdom….”
“I’ll take it.”
“My love….”
“Sorry.”
The manager, who had been smiling brightly, quickly closed his mouth and composed his expression. In his mind, unimaginable commission numbers flashed by.
“Thank you very much. I’ll give you the piano as a gift.”
“No, I’ll pay for that too.”
Seeing the manager’s confused expression, the girl smiled softly.
“It’s the commission you earned through your hard work. Don’t lose money because of me.”
Twitch.
“And don’t feel pressured because of this.”
She took a blank check from her bag and gracefully wrote an amount with a quill pen before handing it over.
“I only have money, after all.”
Why did he feel like calling this young lady “sister”?
Holding the blank check, the manager bowed sincerely as she left.
“I look forward to seeing you again.”
From that moment on, a strange rumor began circulating in Noel.
That meeting a silver-haired girl with violet eyes would change your life.
Somewhere in Noel’s snowy mountains
Snow piled high over the land of Noel.
Deep in the mountains, a yellow light leaked from a black wooden building.
Located on the border between the Kailon Empire and the Beliana Empire, Noel was a border town where goods from across the continent flowed in.
Some were officially traded goods, others were illegal items from the black market.
And that small wooden building was the black market.
At first glance it looked like a house, but beneath it was said to be a massive underground market.
I checked the invitation in my hand once again.
It had been a year since I came to Noel.
I had spent so much money that, somehow, merchants from all over the continent came to my estate offering goods. And every time, I ended up seduced by their sales talk and spent gold coins recklessly.
I think I’ve bought everything except people.
Eventually, I must have become known as a big spender among them, because yesterday the black market administrator came to me.
The black market traded not only weapons, mana stones, medicines, and ships, but also forbidden ancient books.
I clenched my fist with determination. I needed to see as many new items and books as possible.
There was a reason I shopped like a madwoman—my magic had limits.
Only after leaving the imperial palace did I realize my magic was not all-powerful.
The first limitation was that I could only create objects I had seen before.
No matter how vividly I imagined something I had never seen, I couldn’t properly manifest it.
That applied even to things from my previous life. I had once wanted to create a smartphone… and was devastated when I learned that limitation.
My hard-earned “paid” items from my past life… gone.
Because I had never seen most modern objects through Laila’s eyes, I couldn’t recreate them.
Laila, who lived confined in an annex palace, had seen very little, so her magic creation ability was limited.
So I mostly created gold coins. If I saw a pretty house, I bought it. If I saw pretty clothes, I bought them. If I tasted good food, I bought the restaurant.
But there still wasn’t enough “data” to freely create things.
And now—the black market! A place where every object on the continent gathers!
I could massively accumulate creation data.
Lately I had been overspending, causing strange rumors, but I felt relieved knowing I could lay low for a while.
I should also buy geography books while I’m here.
Geography books were hard to find in normal markets. In this era of frequent wars, geographical information was classified state intelligence.
If I had known this, I would have made copies of imperial geography books before leaving.
I had even considered sneaking back into the palace for them—that’s how desperate I was.
The reason I was obsessed with geography was my second limitation.
To use teleportation magic, I needed exact knowledge of a place.
“Basement torture chamber of the High Eld Duke’s manor,” or “Beliana Empire annex palace”—it had to be precise.
If I thought vaguely of a “pretty beach,” I once ended up falling into a monster-infested sea and nearly died.
A black market like this must have tons of geography books.
My mouth curled into a grin.
I should travel everywhere too. Visit beautiful beaches, go to cheese-famous towns, and eat every kind of cheese.
“Do you have an invitation?”
The guard looked down at me with a stern expression.
I steadied my excited heart and handed it over.
The guard placed a magic stone over the invitation to verify its authenticity, then opened the door for me.
