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* * *

When we arrived at the entrance of the main building, a servant was already waiting to guide Eugene. Noticing the servant who respectfully bowed his head, Eugene let go of my hand and turned to bid me farewell.

“Thanks for guiding me, Reshi.”

“Guiding…? You found the way on your own…”

I looked at Eugene with a faintly skeptical expression, but he just chuckled softly and waved his hand.

“I’ll come by later to clean your desk, Reshi. Since we’re in the same building, it won’t be hard to find your room.”

“No, you don’t need to. My desk is always clean!”

Thanks to the diligent maids who took their duties very seriously, my desk was always spotless. The trio of maids who were named after flowers treated even a single speck of dust in my room as a crisis. There was no way Eugene’s clumsy help would be needed on a desk already tended to by professional hands.

At my firm refusal, Eugene’s shoulders slumped slightly.

“Reshi… do you not want me to visit your room?”

“Of course not. I’d welcome a visit, but not if you’re coming to clean.”

“Got it.”

Eugene smiled brightly, as if a major issue had been resolved.

“Then I’ll just come by for a visit.”

“Uh… sure…”

I agreed, but something about the exchange left me feeling oddly unsettled. It was as if I had fallen into Eugene’s trap without realizing it. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, still trying to shake off the vague unease, when Eugene suddenly burst out laughing.

“Haha. You were worried about me getting taken advantage of by others, but maybe it’s you who should be more careful, Reshi?”

Eugene reached out and gently stroked my cheek. The soft, slightly chubby flesh, still carrying a bit of baby fat, squished under his touch. This was the kind of gesture you’d use with a cute child, wasn’t it? 

Caught off guard by being treated like a child—especially by Eugene, whom I had always considered the younger one—I found myself blinking in confusion, unsure how to respond.

At that moment, the servant waiting for Eugene cleared his throat loudly, drawing our attention.

“Shall I escort you to your prepared room now?”

Eugene withdrew his hand from my cheek and gave the servant a polite nod.

“Of course. I shouldn’t keep Reshi here any longer, so I suppose it’s time to go.”

He then turned back to me with a bright smile and bid me farewell.

“See you later, Reshi.”

* * *

On my way back to the annex where Axel and Bael were staying.

“Hah…”

I couldn’t stop chuckling as I replayed the conversation with Eugene in my mind.

“Honestly…”

No matter how much I thought about it, the whole situation was just absurd.

I never imagined that Eugene, whom I thought was so naive, could have such a sly side to him.

‘Come to think of it, Leonid used to call Eugene a fox.’

Back then, I assumed Leonid was just teasing the kind-hearted Eugene. I dismissed his words, thinking he was unfairly accusing an innocent person.

‘Now that I think about it, his appearance has changed a lot too.’

The only thing that hasn’t changed is his dazzling good looks, which have always stood out. Other than that, Eugene from his childhood and Eugene now are practically two different people. Who could have predicted that the small, frail boy who first arrived at the Ivory Tower would grow so tall and strong? I always thought Eugene would remain smaller than me for the rest of his life. At some point, I realized how wrong that assumption was.

‘Boys grow so much, it’s almost unbelievable.’

I touched the spot on my cheek where Eugene’s hand had brushed against it. My own hand could barely cover my cheek, but Eugene’s hand had reached from my neck to my ear…

‘Ugh.’

Thinking about that moment made my face flush with heat. I quickly pulled my hand away from my cheek and shook my head as if trying to shake off the memory.

‘Now’s not the time to be thinking about this!’

Since I had completed the quest given by the ‘Goddess of Love,’ I needed to return one of my divine cards. If I let my mind wander and missed the time limit, I might end up losing a card I didn’t want to part with despite all my efforts. I quickly opened the window to check my list of divine cards.

– Intuitive Feeling! (Legendary): Greatly increases intuition

– Many Half-Half Coins (Mythic): 50% discount at the Heaven Market

– You Seem Likeable! (Heroic): Easily gain favor

– Do You Know the Way? (Legendary): Greatly increases persuasion

– Let’s Go! (Heroic): Strong encouragement effect

Initially, I had planned to return the ‘Let’s Go! (Heroic)’ card. Its rank was on the lower end, and I didn’t think I’d have much need for an encouragement effect in my life. However, after using it, I changed my mind. This card could be extremely useful in battle scenarios. When the prophesied day arrives and I have to fight the Mad Dragon again in a few years, this card could be a tremendous help. Although it has the downside of requiring some odd cheerleading methods, it seemed wise to keep it just in case.

‘Intuitive Feeling! (Legendary)’ and ‘Many Half-Half Coins (Mythic)’ are obviously cards I can’t afford to part with either.

‘So that leaves two…’

I deliberated between ‘You Seem Likeable! (Heroic)’ and ‘Do You Know the Way? (Legendary)’ and ultimately decided to return the ‘You Seem Likeable! (Heroic)’ card. Not only was it of a lower rank, but the effect of ‘easily gaining favor’ didn’t really appeal to me.

‘I’m not the type to care much about gaining others’ favor.’

If I were someone who worried about that, I wouldn’t have chosen the path of a dark mage in my previous life.

‘Besides…’

Even if I didn’t manage to win someone over, I figured I could always persuade them using the “Do You Know the Way? (Legendary)” card, so it wouldn’t be much of an issue. The card I chose to return turned into fine dust and disappeared from the list entirely. Now, I was left with four divine cards.

Although it wasn’t a particularly crucial card, seeing an empty slot in my previously full card inventory left me feeling oddly empty.

‘Maybe I should try completing a quest?’

I hadn’t really bothered with quests in a while. I already had an enormous amount of coins, so I didn’t feel the need to go out of my way to complete quests. After all, why bother with the effort when I was already wealthy?

‘But now, I’m starting to feel differently.’

Seeing a small empty space in my vault made me think, ‘Maybe I should fill that up?’ Was this why rich people kept wanting more money?

“Hmmm…”

I let out a contemplative hum, suddenly finding myself empathizing with the greed for wealth that I thought I’d never understand.

‘But now that I’ve decided to do a quest, it’s starting to feel like a hassle…’

Just as I was about to dismiss the brief spark of motivation, a new message popped up.

[Message from Heaven]

(Notification) ▷▶Special Event◀◁

During the quest completion encouragement week, receive one “Divine Card Draw Ticket” for every quest completed.

This is a golden opportunity to obtain divine cards without donating!

Open your quest list now and take advantage of the quest completion encouragement week!

– Event Duration: 1 week

※ Repeat quests are excluded from the event.

※ “Divine Card Draw Ticket” can yield Mythic cards. However, the probability is the same as donation reward draws, and the Blessing of Fortune does not apply.

※ There is no limit to the number of “Divine Card Draw Tickets” you can earn. However, your card inventory will still only hold 5 cards.

‘Oh…?’

It was as if Heaven had read my mind and urgently sent a message. 

‘Those heavenly folks really are reading my thoughts, aren’t they?’

I glanced suspiciously at the empty air, then returned my gaze to the message window. Completing quests to draw divine cards without needing to donate? 

‘Heaven must be desperate.’

Even so, the fine print that excluded repeat quests and disabled the Blessing of Fortune showed Heaven’s usual stinginess. 

‘But it’s still a tempting event.’

If I completed 10 quests, I could draw 10 times. If I completed 50 quests, I could draw 50 times. There was even a chance I could upgrade all my cards to Mythic level…!

The thought made me grin with anticipation.

‘Alright then, let’s take a look at the quest list after such a long time.’