TVJA 40

Chapter 40

By the time I collected myself from Kim Sword’s touch and gathered my scattered emotions, I found my arms full of jewels.

The cave had gifted me more than I ever imagined.

It gave me the time to untangle the mess in my heart, the clarity to see what I must do next and the path I needed to follow.

Not to mention, the harvest was quite bountiful—besides the Level 3 emerald.

Ding—

{System: New mineral acquired. Sapphire Ore Lv. 3.}
{Current player funds: 53,500 Cash. Converted to real-world currency: ₩5,350,000.}

I turned in place, a satisfied grin tugging at my lips as I hugged the now-heavy leather pouch to my chest.

‘My precious babies!’

The fist-sized sapphire gleamed like a shard sliced from the ocean’s heart, and just gazing at it filled me with contentment.

As I giggled to myself with a sly, almost villainous smile, Kim Sword—who was leaning against the cave wall—slowly shook his head.

「…You’ve finally gone mad.」

“Oh, come on. You’re telling me this doesn’t move you at all?”

I pulled out a few large gems from the pouch and held them up before his eyes. They shimmered as they spilled into my hand, their crisp clinking echoing across the cave.

“Aren’t they beautiful? Lovely, right?”

「……」

“There’s no one on earth who dislikes sparkly things, you know.”

My confident declaration naturally drew his gaze to the jewels resting in my palm.

He slowly ran his eyes over the surface of the gem, savoring it.

「Yes, I admit—it’s beautiful.」

That single sentence felt like validation for all the hardship I’d endured.

“Right?!” I beamed brightly, a bashful laugh escaping my lips.

But then, something shifted.

For some reason, Kim Sword’s gaze left the gemstone. It wasn’t just my imagination—even in the cave’s dim lighting, I could tell.

「Not even Eltisha, the so-called Angel’s Heart, shines quite like this.」

His magenta eyes were now fixed directly on my face.

We returned to the mansion in the late afternoon.

Bathed in the soft rays of sunset, I let Sophie guide me to a chair, where I plopped down with a sigh.

“You went for a walk in the front garden, I heard?”

“Mm, sorry. I got a little carried away playing—ruined the dress.”

“As long as you’re not hurt, that’s all that matters.”

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to suspect I’d been anywhere near a cave.

“Wasn’t it your turn to water the garden today, Marie?”

A brown-haired girl nudged the maid beside her and whispered with a pout.

“You’re lucky. I wanted to see the lady playing too.”

“Huh? Mm, but… I didn’t see her in the garden the entire time…”

“She’s just so small—you probably missed her.”

The same went for the other staff, it seemed.

“……”

I could only stay silent at their accurate assumptions.

‘Well, obviously. I wasn’t even at the mansion.’

Ahem.

I coughed softly into my hand, and the startled maids scrambled away before they could even mutter an excuse.

Sophie, who had quietly been watching them retreat, spoke up calmly.

“Oh, Lady.”

“Hmm?”

“I sent the letter on your desk to the Grand Duke’s residence.”

As expected of Sophie. I hadn’t even needed to remind her.

“Thanks.”

“I heard there’s a backlog with all the ball season letters, but since it’s sealed with House Benestra’s crest, it should arrive sooner than most.”

‘Is this… abusing authority?’

I felt a bit bad for the other letters, but what could I do now? It was already sent.

I nodded with a small smile.

“That’s good, then.”

She reached out and gently combed her fingers through my hair.

“Shall I draw you a bath?”

“No, it’s fine. I just want to sleep.”

“Pardon? …But…”

Her deep brown eyes flicked to the dirt-stained hem of my sleeve.

“Ah, this?”

“……”

“I’ll change into my pajamas—it’ll be clean!”

I awkwardly smiled and tucked the dirty sleeve behind my back.

“I-I didn’t even sweat, really.”

Wow. I sound like a child whining to skip bath time.

Still, I had my reasons.

‘I had no idea tomorrow was Sophie’s birthday.’

If I hadn’t overheard the maids chatting earlier, I never would’ve known.

[Isn’t tomorrow Miss Sophie Marie’s birthday?]
[So what? She doesn’t exactly fit in with the other maids. No one’s going to wish her a happy birthday.]
[She’s barely said a word since that day…]
[Creeps me out! Being so close to the lady like it’s nothing.]
[She’s probably just waiting for the right moment to harm her while she sleeps!]
[I’d have quit already if I were her.]
[Poor Lady. She’s got no clue who she’s trusting.]

You know nothing.

[And the one she trusts most is that woman… tsk.]

You don’t know a damn thing about Sophie.

Crack—

I clenched the hem of my dress tightly, my face hardening.

“Lady?”

She must’ve noticed my sudden shift.

“Are you alright? You’re sweating…”

With a gentle touch, Sophie wiped the beads of sweat from my temple. When her fingers brushed my cheek—

“Sophie.”

I caught her hand, smiling brightly to mask my darkened expression.

“Would you mind leaving me alone for now?”

“……”

“I’m just tired, that’s all.”

And I really was. My head was pounding.

She blinked slowly, then gave a polite bow.

“Rest well, My Lady.”

Click.

Once she left and the room fell into silence, I let out a heavy sigh.

“Phew…”

「You’re about to sink the floor with that sigh.」

“Kim Sword?”

He popped into view and perched on the edge of the bed, giving me a pointed look.

「Is this about what those girls said earlier on the stairs?」

“…No.”

「Right. Sure it isn’t.」

He stood and walked toward the vanity I was seated at.

「You’ve never been good at hiding things, you know.」

“…Huh?”

「It’s written all over your face.」

His warm, large hand gently cupped my cheek.

「You look troubled.」

“……”

「Shall I erase them all?」

“…Who?”

This time, his brow twitched not in jest, but in genuine anger.

「The ones who slandered your maid.」

His grip tightened.

「If you want, I can erase their entire existence. It would take a few hundred days with your current mana, but…」

‘Mana’s increased recently anyway,’ he murmured, tapping his chin with a disturbingly serious look.

“Are you crazy?!”

I jumped up, shouting with a bright red face.

This sword… he’s talking like some prison escapee!

“I’d rather not become a murderer, thank you.”

「It’s not murder. Just… soul erasure.」

‘And what exactly is the difference?!’

Mumbling under my breath, I slumped forward with a sigh.

“Forget that and help me think of a birthday gift for Sophie.”

All the shops were likely closed by now, and giving her something I already owned felt thoughtless.

「Then what about that?」

His magenta eyes flicked to a corner of the room.

“What?”

My gaze followed his—and there, in the corner…

「Jewels.」

Yes, the very same ones I’d risked my life retrieving earlier.

Giving her gems wasn’t the problem.

The issue was—

“Wouldn’t it be strange to give her raw, uncut stones?”

Rough gems aren’t something noble ladies typically carry. Plus, they could easily scratch delicate skin.

「Then pick something from your accessories.」

“That feels too impersonal.”

He gave me a look as if I was being ridiculous.

「No to this, no to that. Then just crush the stones and make something new—」

His lips jutted forward in a sulky pout.

Crush the gems…

That’s when a brilliant idea sparked.

“Perfect.”

His eyes widened in disbelief as I smiled with delight.

「Wait, you’re serious—?」

“I said it’s a brilliant idea.”

I cut him off and grinned.

I knew exactly what I needed to do now.

Ignoring Kim Sword’s grumbling, I shoved him into my inventory and pulled up my wallet—without much expectation.

But then—

“…I saved up this much?”

Turns out, my funds were far better than I’d thought. My voice rose a pitch from excitement.

Understandable, since:

{System: …Current player balance: 53,500 Cash.}

With 500 cash for a full health potion and 2,900 for a map, 53,500 cash felt like a fortune.

‘Isn’t that enough to buy a house?’

They say dreams should always be big.

Heart pounding, I clicked the little red-roof shop icon—and was immediately disappointed.

{Due to difficulty increase, item prices have risen by 20%.}

‘Damn it.’

Of course they wouldn’t make it easy.

“…Haa.”

I sighed and lowered my gaze.

I only had one goal:

‘Buy a tool set to craft the jewels.’

The shop didn’t have premade necklaces or bracelets suited for Sophie. Well, not beautiful ones anyway.

There was a necklace—but it was a homing whistle for messenger birds.

Cute in theory, but…

‘Absolutely not.’

Who even uses birds these days? It felt useless for Sophie.

The store was packed with survival gear for players, so even though crafting tools weren’t common, I figured I could dig something up.

‘Let’s see…’

Luckily, the shop was neatly categorized. I clicked the tab labeled “Tools.”

Click-click—

And then—

“…Eh?”

I blinked in confusion.

Right there, in the upper left corner of the screen—was Kim Sword.

Or rather, his original body: the demon sword.

Priced at a staggering one million cash.

“Wait, what? Why is this even here…?”

Had he sulked and put himself back in the store?

Panicking, I accidentally clicked it—and screamed.

‘I don’t need two of him!’

Beep—

{Insufficient funds.}

A clear chime rang out, and I sighed in relief.

“……”

Thank goodness for my poor wallet.

I looked at the yellow warning window.

{Holy Sword can only be purchased before age 20.}

“…Huh?”

Wait a minute.

This was the holy sword?

Upon closer inspection, the gem in its center was yellow.

“…My demon sword has a blue one.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Same design—only the gem was different.

And why was the holy sword even in the shop?

Wasn’t that supposed to be the heroine’s exclusive weapon?

‘Right, Noel meets it around age 20.’

So they made it unavailable after that?

‘To protect the plot?’

I shook my head.

‘No, this isn’t important.’

What mattered now was getting jewel crafting tools.

Since I’d already bonded with a demon sword, a holy sword was pointless.

Not because I was broke.

Because double-contracting was… forbidden.

Yeah. That’s why.

As I scrolled further down, the prices dropped. 500k, 300k, 100k…

Eventually, I reached the 10,000 range.

And that’s when I found it.

“Yes! This is it!”

A simple toolset with tweezers, carving knife—and gemstone pliers.