A short while later.
Romeo said he would send a letter to Griffith and returned to his room.
It seemed they still corresponded with each other using the fountain pens from their childhood.
Meanwhile, Calix was still in the reception room of Lelia's quarters, having lain down on the sofa and fallen asleep, claiming he was tired from waking up early.
'Now's my chance.'
Lelia used this opportunity to enter the item inventory.
She intended to use the item she had received as a reward earlier.
Lelia's main objective was an item called the 'Quest Jumping Coin.'
If she was lucky, she could advance Calix's quest to the very end.
Upon commanding the item's use, a small window appeared.
[A magic coin that can jump quest story progress by a maximum of 10~50%(~˘▾˘)~♫•*¨*•.¸¸♪]
Below it, numbers from 10 to 50 rapidly scrolled past, with a 'Stop' button in the center.
Lelia gulped and pressed the button.
'Please be 50%, please, please!'
She clasped her hands together and prayed in front of the soundly sleeping Calix.
[Congratulations! 50% applied!! ｡*ﾟ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ｡*ﾟSpecial Affection Target
※ For automatically jumped quests, only 'Recipe Puzzle Pieces' are given as rewards.
So the rewards for quests that should have been cleared only gave recipe pieces....
While that was a bit cheap of the system, it didn't matter since she only needed the recipe pieces anyway.
The next quest immediately appeared.
Seeing the letters glowing red, it seemed to be the final quest.
[Try to raise Special Affection Target
※ Quest Story Progress: 90%
Just like with customer affection in the 'Alchemy Lottery' game, raising affection from 90 to 100 was always the most extreme difficulty level.
Lelia pressed accept without hesitation.
'Come to think of it, what's the reward?'
Checking again, there was exactly one reward item.
∙ Special Recipe Key
Since she had collected all the pieces, she must need the final key?
Lelia narrowed her eyes and looked at Calix.
'Anyway... I need to raise it to 95. What's the current affection?'
As soon as she thought that, a speech bubble appeared.
[Would you like to check Special Affection Target
'Yes, let's check.'
[1 Affection Check Ticket will be used!]
The question mark floating above Calix's head changed to a number.
[87]
'Higher than I thought?'
She had expected it to be high after seeing him treat her like a younger sibling and nag her earlier... but this was even higher than anticipated.
'Good.'
Lelia smiled inwardly and entered the item inventory.
After receiving all the rewards from the jumped quests, she had collected 25 puzzle pieces.
Hm? But there was a 'Collect Pieces' button in the item description that hadn't been there before.
When she pressed the button to proceed, the puzzle pieces gathered together and formed a treasure chest.
It seemed collecting 25 pieces allowed her to create a chest.
'So that's why the final quest reward is a key?'
What kind of recipe could it be? As she wondered, the help mode floated a speech bubble.
[Are you curious about the Special Recipe's contents? Would you like to check right now? ୧(•̀ᴗ•́) Preview costs 200 crystals!]
Lelia blinked.
'That's cheaper than I thought?'
200 crystals was 200,000 shillings.
That was worth checking, wasn't it? It was cheaper than usual, suspiciously so.
Of course, she'd have to complete the final quest to obtain the recipe anyway, but she wanted to know in advance.
Lelia decided to check the recipe immediately. Just what kind of recipe had made her suffer so much.
Of course, whatever the recipe was, clearing it was the goal.
She had to clear all the recipes to create the 'Philosopher's Stone.'
As she waited listlessly, a speech bubble appeared.
Lelia's expression stiffened after checking the contents.
'Ah...!'
[Special Recipe: Immortal Vision Restoration Potion]
※ A famous medicine created by the god 'Heojum'! A miraculous medicine that grants heightened vision. Is everything dark before your eyes? We'll make you see immediately! The legendary special remedy, meet it now!♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪
"Wow!"
Lelia, confirming the contents once more, shot up from her spot.
She made a sound without realizing it. She was just that surprised....
'Heojum' was an NPC from the 'Alchemy Lottery' game, a 'tiger' character customer who occasionally visited the protagonist's shop.
A wandering physician of the world, he used to sell various mysterious medicines and ingredients to the protagonist.
'Jackpot.'
Lelia covered her mouth and paced back and forth. Her heart pounded thunderously.
The Special Recipe appeared to be a recipe specifically for the Special Quest target.
'So for Calix's...'
Lelia calmed her heart, pounding with excitement.
"Hey, what is this...?"
Calix woke up from the noise of her pacing back and forth. He glared at Lelia with a deeply furrowed brow.
His two pupils weren't properly focused, making his gaze ambiguous. Calix tapped the side of his head and blinked.
Seeing that sight, Lelia felt like tears might burst forth at any moment.
It was just a guess, but it seemed Calix's vision was worsening each time he had one of his periodic episodes.
Especially severe when waking from sleep.
"...Brother!"
Lelia suddenly threw her arms around the groggily rising Calix. She was so happy and heartbroken that emotions overwhelmed her.
"W-what!"
On the other hand, Calix was startled by the sudden embrace and pushed Lelia away.
Even so, Lelia continued to rejoice, hopping around excitedly.
"...Is he crazy?"
Calix frowned as he watched Lelia.
What was this? Why was he acting like that?
It was then.
Calix was startled and brought his palm to his chest.
'What is this?'
His heart was suddenly beating too fast. Was it because of his eyes?
As Lelia predicted, his vision was especially dark when he woke up.
But right now, he didn't have the presence of mind to worry about that.
Just moments ago when that kid hugged him. Suddenly, his mood felt... strangely and indescribably peculiar.
Knowing it was a man, feeling strange emotions toward a guy who even had a similar build to himself.
It must be because of that appearance that really did look like a woman's.
'Ugh, gives me chills.'
Recalling how his heart had tingled with that peculiar emotion for a moment, Calix shuddered.
Until now, Lelia had thought that misfortune came all at once, but happiness came sporadically. It had always been that way.
But that wasn't always the case.
When one good thing happened, another followed in succession.
"Lord Raymond, Princess Juliana has accepted my confession!"
Listening to Lute's words, who had visited late in the evening, Lelia filled with ecstasy.
She was so happy she wanted to shout for joy.
She was so happy she almost hugged that detestable Lute.
"T-that's wonderful! Truly wonderful, Sir Lute!"
"I'm glad you're rejoicing as if it were your own affair! This is all thanks to Lord Raymond."
Yes, it's all thanks to me. She wanted to punch him while she felt satisfied, but Lelia held back.
Instead, Lelia smiled brightly and congratulated him.
Honestly, she didn't know what Juliana was thinking, accepting Lute's confession when she had slapped him and left, but... that wasn't her concern.
"Thank you, Lord Raymond."
"Yes."
Lelia smiled and stared at him.
"...."
"...."
As Lelia stared at him, Lute made a puzzled expression, then went "Ah!" and spoke.
"Ah! Lord Raymond. As a token of gratitude for helping me, I'd like to give you a gift."
"...!"
Finally.
Lelia gulped and held her breath, waiting for Lute's next words.
"This is... something very precious to me."
Lute said this as he pulled something from inside his clothes. Lelia's eyes lit up.
It was the other half of the holy relic.
He fiddled with the pocket watch that had only one hand, then held it out to Lelia.
"It's a holy relic from the temple that granted my childhood wish. It's something precious I've always carried with me, but I want to give it to you."
"...."
Lelia slowly reached out her hand.
She tried to receive it right away, but Lute's hand tensed up.
It seemed he was reluctant to part with it after all.
The fingertips of both people holding the holy relic trembled.
"...Originally I was going to give it to Princess Juliana, but it seems right to give it to you. You've helped me greatly, so I think you deserve it."
"Thank you."
With those words, Lute released the tension in his hand that had been gripping the holy relic.
Only then was Lelia finally able to receive the pocket watch from Lute.
At the same time, a square window appeared.
[Sub-quest Complete! ٩(๑•̀o•́๑)و Acquiring the youth's
[System: Special Shop System Open]
'Finally!!!'
Lelia felt a tingling sensation to her fingertips and hurriedly stuffed the holy relic into her inner pocket.
Lute might ask for it back.
Sure enough, Lute hesitated, then spoke.
"...And Lord Raymond. If possible, could I ask one more favor?"
"...What is it?"
As long as it wasn't asking for the holy relic back...
Lelia looked at Lute, prepared to listen.
"Well... Princess Juliana and I agreed to meet in secret for the time being. If His Majesty the Emperor and the Princes find out, it could mean big trouble."
"Ah, yes."
Not her concern.
"So, I was wondering... could you help me get in the good graces of His Majesty the Emperor and the Princes? And if you could help with a formal proposal too...!"
This wasn't her concern either.
"I'm sorry, Sir Lute. What should we do about this?"
"Why do you say that?"
Lelia put on a deeply regretful expression.
"Unfortunately, it seems I'll be returning to my home country before long."
"Ah... w-when do you mean?"
"It's not certain, but I'll be leaving as soon as possible. I received an urgent message calling me back. I'll help you until I depart, but... it will be difficult to help as actively as before."
"...If that's the case, it can't be helped."
Lute cast a slightly resentful gaze.
Lelia clicked her tongue inwardly.
As expected, he was quicker than anyone at changing his attitude.
Though she said she'd help until she left, she planned to ignore Lute by claiming to be busy from now on.
She felt like she'd become a shameless person who took what she wanted and then feigned ignorance, but Lelia hadn't forgotten how Lute had insulted Calix before.
If it were up to her heart, she'd like to make him get punched once for the favor she supposedly granted.
But since he might ask for the holy relic back, it seemed best to endure it for now.
"...."
Lute looked at Lelia with an extremely disappointed expression and mumbled.
Feeling anxious, Lelia made an excuse about suddenly feeling unwell and retreated to her room.