Chapter 45
“Eh?”
I looked up at Bernard’s face. His expression was always playful, so it was hard to tell whether he was joking as usual or making a pointed remark.
Ricky added brightly,
“Just so you know, this is a place where even the captain’s favorites usually don’t get permission to enter.”
‘Wait… why am I in a place this intimidating…?’
I had some idea why Kin had given me this room.
‘He must feel some gratitude toward my family since we lived here long ago!’
He had even gone so far as to collect my family’s remains later on, showing he felt thankful toward them.
‘But that’s between Kin and me. From everyone else’s perspective, this could easily be misunderstood.’
I didn’t want to draw attention like this.
There were many in the castle who liked me, but some were not fond of a meddling, amateur sorceress like me. For example, Obal—Obal—Obal!
‘A cunning astrologer bewitched her lord.’
This was exactly the kind of situation that would make them dislike me.
‘If Obal finds out about this, he might actually try to assassinate me.’
I was determined to resolve the room issue to save my life.
Knock knock knock.
The door suddenly swung open.
‘Who’s there?’
The rude intruder was none other than…
“…Lord?”
It was Kin, the lord of the gray fortress. Behind him was my nemesis, Obal.
I frowned quietly when I spotted Obal.
‘Why has that guy been staying in the fortress so long these days?’
As soon as Kin noticed me sitting on the bed, he raised his brow.
“You’re awake, I see.”
“Captain! You came?”
Ricky cheerfully welcomed him.
“Ash just woke up. And the moment she did, she didn’t even thank the captain and immediately started making a fuss about where she was.”
“Not pleased with this place?”
At that, Obal’s eyebrows behind Kin shot up at an almost comical angle.
Ah, that guy! He’s really giving me a look!
“Ah… no. It’s nice, but it feels a little too much for me…”
“It’s not too much. It’s barely enough for you.”
Immediately, I heard a grinding sound somewhere. Probably from behind Kin.
‘Kin, is he provoking Obal on purpose?’
I clicked my tongue silently as Kin looked at me with concern.
“Ash, your face doesn’t look well. You fainted for no reason. Was it because of what happened that day?”
Ricky’s eyes widened. Obal’s expression also changed strangely.
Why are they reacting like that? I replied casually.
“Well… hmm. Maybe I used too much power that day? Or maybe it was accumulated fatigue.”
I had my suspicions about why I had collapsed, but I couldn’t say the truth, so I explained it as overexertion from using my abilities too much.
Kin’s expression grew serious.
“You’re right. Overusing your power can strain the body… perhaps it was too much for you.”
Suddenly, Obal, Ricky, and even Bernard all had strange expressions.
‘Are they really jealous that Kin is worrying about me?’
I shrugged as if to calm the situation.
“I’m fine now that I’ve rested, so don’t worry… ah?”
Suddenly, a large hand pressed down over my eyes.
“Stay still.”
A cold energy flowed from Kin’s palm as it touched me. My head cleared slowly, and my body felt refreshed.
‘Did he use some kind of ability?’
Curiously, I looked at him. Kin nodded slightly and removed his hand from my forehead.
Then he turned as if his business here was done.
“Well, I have other things to attend to.”
“Uh? Uh… okay… goodbye…?”
He left the room before I could even finish my greeting.
-Thunk!
After Kin left, I pressed my fingers to the spot where he had touched me.
‘What… is this strange feeling?’
As I tilted my head, puzzled, Ricky suddenly shouted.
“Ash! What incredible thing did you do last night? And the captain called you by a nickname? You got really close! I’m so jealous!”
Ricky bounced around my bed like a puppy, making a fuss.
The point was: Kin had healing abilities, but he didn’t use them on just anyone.
‘That’s strange. Kin should have an awakening power related to poison.’
His awakening was called the “Desperate Poison Snake.”
It didn’t sound like something that would save lives at all.
‘Hmm, the name’s harsh, but maybe it has a good application.’
I wondered for a moment but soon lost interest. Ricky kept pestering me, asking what kind of mission I had done.
“Huh? Teach me just this once!”
Ricky grabbed my hand tightly, his eyes sparkling.
“No, really, there’s nothing to tell…”
While looking at Ricky’s eager eyes, letters suddenly appeared in front of me.
It looked like a wanted poster-style information screen, but the content was slightly different from what I usually saw.
「Stamina: Medium / Strength: Low-Medium / Agility: High
Magic: Very Low / Intelligence: High-Medium
Status: High favor and curiosity toward the other person」
‘…Huh? What’s this?’
It was a status screen showing the current state of someone.
‘It’s literally a status window!’
I was so surprised I shook Ricky’s hand off. The status screen dissolved into thin air.
‘Could it be…?’
Curious, I grabbed Ricky’s hand again and focused. The status screen appeared.
「Stamina: Medium / Strength: Low-Medium / Agility: High
Magic: Very Low / Intelligence: High-Medium
Status: High favor, curiosity」
‘It appeared when I held hands with Ricky!’
To confirm my hypothesis, I grabbed Bernard’s arm.
“Ah! Miss! What are you doing! I don’t want to be with someone already taken!”
“What are you talking about? I’m not doing anything bad, just wait a moment.”
When I looked into Bernard’s eyes, sure enough, a status screen appeared.
「Stamina: Low-Medium / Strength: Medium / Agility: Low-Medium
Magic: Very Low / Intelligence: High-Medium
Status: Suspicious, embarrassed, reluctant」
‘My theory was right!’
When I make contact with someone and look at them, I can see their status screen.
It shows five traits and their current state.
It’s not detailed, but it’s very useful for understanding someone.
‘Especially the status! That’s amazing!’
I couldn’t contain my joy and laughed aloud.
“Miss Esmeralda, what’s going on?”
“Has Ash lost her mind?”
I didn’t care at all about Bernard and Ricky whispering beside me.
“Ahaha, I’m invincible now.”
They say you can know the depth of water, but not the depth of a person’s mind. Now I can even read that… I’m not afraid of anything!
After coming down from the thrill of my new ability, I finally thought about its source.
“…I think this is the power the rabbit doll guy gave me.”
I picked up the stone from the bedside table to examine it. Its information appeared:
「Name: Gift left to Ash by a soul
Feature: Stone」
The part that read “ability enhancement” was gone, leaving just “stone.”
“It must have strengthened my power when I absorbed it.”
Perhaps the fainting was a side effect of that.
“Because of that, Kin probably saw me as a weakling who faints using her power… but it doesn’t matter. I gained more.”
“Then, let’s test my new ability!”
To get good information from someone… I’d need trial and error.
“Starting today!”
…That’s what happened this very morning.
