"Don't worry, sir. I'm absolutely certain."
"Those two."
Alderp stood there, stunned.
Why the hell would the Cursed Sword Hero and the Princess show up in Axel just to join the chaos?
Was it because of that guy?
A divine weapon capable of resisting high-tier magic...
No matter which of them ends up getting involved, it's bad news for me.
Alderp gritted his teeth. "Go on."
He set his wine glass down.
Then waved over a maid to clean the wine that spilled on his robe.
"Which of the two ended up with the props that kid made?"
The informant hesitated.
He stared at his intel notebook, trying to figure out how to phrase it…
"Tsk…"
Alderp's patience wore thin. "Why are you stalling? Spit it out."
"W-Well… it wasn't either of them, actually!"
The man flinched.
"S-Sir…"
"In fact… neither of them got it."
Alderp raised his head, the hand that had been toying with the maid now frozen mid-air.
"Huh?"
The man gulped. "The Cursed Sword Hero got crushed in an arm-wrestling match… by a little girl."
"Iris fared even worse…"
"That candidate hero wiped the floor with her—thirty consecutive rounds."
"Thirty to zero. Not a single win. In the end… she ran off crying…"
Alderp: "Huuuuuuuh?!"
"What the hell?!"
His eyes bulged as he turned around, incredulous.
The Cursed Sword Hero and the Kingdom's Princess.
One got wrecked. The other… ran away in tears???
What the hell is up with that brat?!
Does he not realize that Her Royal Highness's birthday party is just around the corner?!
And this is what he pulls?!
Alderp stood there, dumbfounded.
Then suddenly, he let out a laugh.
"Heh… hahaha…"
A half-smile spread across his face.
"I can't tell if that boy's brilliant or an idiot."
"Either way, this birthday party's shaping up to be one hell of a show."
He glanced instinctively at the artifact in his arms.
Maybe... just maybe... this could be the opening he needed for a body-swap.
---
By the time they returned to the Labyrinth, it was already past midnight.
Chishiya collapsed into bed, exhausted.
That guy Vanir just came along to spectate…
So in the end—
Chishiya picked him anyway.
Everyone was confused.
But hey, they were successfully fooled in the end…
Chishiya sat up.
Opened his account balance.
He needed to sort through his finances to see if he could finally upgrade the Labyrinth.
Level 2 still felt pretty barebones.
The size was lacking.
During the partnership with the Dwarf King, he'd received a 100 gold coin deposit.
Add to that the passive income from Vanir a while back.
After deducting the basic expenses and employee benefits, his account panel looked like this:
---
[Chishiya Shuntaro]
[Account Balance: 250 million Eris (100:1 Reputation Points)
100 Gold Coins (1:10,000 Reputation Points)]
[Remaining Reputation Points: 200,000]
---
'Exchange 150 million Eris and 50 gold coins for reputation points.'
[Exchange in progress...]
[Exchange complete]
[Current Reputation Points: 2.2 million]
[Remaining Balance: 100 million Eris, 50 gold coins]
Chishiya rubbed his chin.
2.2 million reputation points. Should be more than enough.
[Upgrading Labyrinth to Level 3 requires 1 million reputation points.]
Oh come on…
Chishiya winced.
Level 2 cost half a million. Now Level 3 jumps to a full million?
Just admit you're robbing me.
If I don't start turning profits, I'll go bankrupt at this rate!
'Confirm upgrade.'
[Confirmed. 1 million reputation points consumed. Labyrinth is upgrading.]
[Remaining Reputation Points: 1.2 million]
With the system chime, countless light screens opened in front of Chishiya.
---
[Labyrinth is upgrading…]
[Expanded to 30 floors]
[Magic concentration increased. Resource tiers upgraded.]
[Iron Ore upgraded to Magic Steel Ore
(Hardness dozens of times greater than regular alloys. Contains high mana. Gear crafted from it has growth potential.)]
[Medicinal herbs upgraded in potency]
[Certain monsters enhanced]
---
[Level 3 Labyrinth unlocked new feature]
[Cross-World Promotion!]
[Your Labyrinth has achieved global recognition upon reaching Level 3.]
[Automatic promotional ads will now be broadcast to nearby worlds.]
[Current promotion range: Local]
---
New feature detected!
Chishiya raised an eyebrow.
Cross-world publicity?
He opened the starmap.
A green indicator lit up in the nearby world: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.
So the promotion's already running?
The Labyrinth's influence is still low, so the reach is limited for now.
But once it grows, the promotional radius will expand too.
…Honestly? That sounds kinda fun.
Chishiya closed the starmap.
Another feature unlocked.
There was still the system shop waiting.
His thoughts shifted.
[Unlocking Level 3 Labyrinth Shop costs 200,000 reputation points.]
'Unlock.'
Based on the value of the Sound Transmission Beads from last time, unlocking the shop was a no-brainer.
[Unlocked successfully.]
[Remaining Reputation Points: 1 million]
---
[Level 3 Shop Items]
• [Blank Magic Book – 1,000 reputation points]
• [Useless Magic Book – 50 reputation points]
• [Library of All Worlds – Blueprint (Wonder) – 500,000 reputation points]
---
Wait… wait…
What even are these?!
Okay, the blank magic book makes sense...
But what the hell is this "useless" magic book?
Only 50 points?
That cheap?
Chishiya felt vaguely insulted.
Then his eyes landed on the last item.
Chishiya's eyes sparkled.
---
[Library of All Worlds (Wonder)]
[Greatly boosts the learning capacity, magic ceiling, and skill growth of all Labyrinth-affiliated members.]
---
Oh wow…
Chishiya blinked.
A full team-wide buff?
That's… a little busted.
'Exchange!'
No hesitation!
He was absolutely getting that blueprint!
Wonders, baby!
What guy wouldn't get hyped about that?
Sliding down the screen, Chishiya checked out the other listings.
---
[Blank Magic Book]
[Records a skill you've mastered and allows others to learn it.]
"…???"
Isn't that just a skill book?
Chishiya raised an eyebrow and kept scrolling.
---
[Useless Magic Book]
[The blank book currently in use has recorded "useless" magic with zero combat value.]
"Useless" magic?
Out of sheer curiosity, he bought a few.
Only 50 reputation points each. Dirt cheap compared to everything else.
---
• [Magic to remove alcohol from wine]
• [Magic to make your body smell good]
• [Magic to clean stubborn stains off dishes]
• [Magic to make you taller]
---
Chishiya: "?"
…You know what?
These little tricks are kind of hilarious.
(To be continued.)
***
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