Chapter 45
“Of course.”
After awakening my characteristic, I immediately began using it. I flashed a bright smile.
“April will definitely protect her friends.”
Then, as if realizing something, my eyes widened.
“Oh no! The axe spear is gone!”
“You said you left it earlier, remember…?” Max responded while glancing at me, clearly unsure.
“Ah, that’s right. I’ll quickly go to the Floating Garden and bring it back.”
“Do you remember where it is?”
At Yeniel’s strange question, I smiled.
“Probably!”
I might as well search for the villain, Evelyn. I saw her heading west, so she’s either still in the west or has returned to the central area.
“With 1 hour and 47 minutes left until 5 PM, I have enough time.”
I entered the Floating Garden alone, with no one from Yeniel’s group following me.
The axe spear was exactly where I had left it, just as I thought.
“Hmm, the ground here is a bit dug up.”
The weight of the axe spear had damaged the floor. Just as I reached to grab it, I noticed a crowd gathering in the distance.
“What are they doing?”
A host was holding something up, and the crowd was either raising their hands or speaking.
“Ah, it’s an auction.”
It’s a system where items that increase favorability can be bought.
“I remember the prince from earlier, was it a low-quality humor book? Ah, a thousand-year-old humor book. I’m not buying that.”
It had such a bizarre name that I remembered it from before.
Meanwhile, an item that my brother was particularly fond of appeared in the auction.
“We have extra money, what should we buy? Oh, there’s chocolate.”
“No! Save the money and buy the Necklace of Life later. It’s a must-buy. It’s an OP item.”
The Necklace of Life.
At the auction, players could buy any item as long as they had the money.
One of the highest-priced items was the Necklace of Life, which increases the total health.
I had once seen it listed as Angel’s Life in the auction house due to a mistranslation and missed buying it. My brother had been very upset.
“Is that item really that valuable? What’s the point of increasing health?”
“It makes your health bar huge. That way, you can withstand hits.”
“Why take a hit? Don’t buy the necklace, just focus on dodging.”
“Ugh! You’re such a talent-focused person!”
Thinking about it now… it seems to fit with the Berserker trait?
It increases total health, and that definitely caught my attention.
Whether it’s 10 or 60 health per 1% makes a big difference.
Though, if it’s just 1 or 3 health per 1%, it’d probably be a waste of money.
I saw survivors exchanging goods or passing money in front of the auction house.
Among them, I spotted Evelyn with her dark purple hair.
“I found her. Evelyn is at the auction.”
I called out to her with a cheerful expression.
“Evelyn, my lady!”
Evelyn, clearly surprised as she hadn’t expected to be called, turned her head toward me and quickly composed her face.
I waved my arms energetically as soon as our eyes met.
Evelyn gave me a puzzled look, and as I continued waving, she seemed to grow uncomfortable.
Eventually, she awkwardly raised her left hand, giving a small wave before dropping it almost immediately.
At the same time, Duke Kyle, who had been focused on the auction, gave a smug, warm smile at the sight.
Of course, Evelyn glared at him, grinding her teeth.
I dashed and immediately positioned myself next to Evelyn.
“Evelyn, my lady!”
“…What? April, my lady?”
The brighter my eyes shone, the more uncomfortable Evelyn seemed to get.
It wasn’t because she disliked me, but because of the pressure and the obligation to reciprocate.
“Just saying hi! April is greeting Evelyn, my lady.”
“Is there something you need? If it’s about the reward I mentioned earlier…”
I smiled brightly, genuinely.
“There’s no reason to greet a friend, is there?”
“What?”
“My father also says that.”
I chattered as I continued speaking to Evelyn.
“Friends are really precious, and we must treat our friends well, according to our hearts!”
There was a reason for my babbling.
Evelyn is the typical type who seems tough on the outside but is soft on the inside, always assuming that others hate her.
Also, she doesn’t care if enemies dislike her, but if someone on her side shows even the slightest sign of dislike, she becomes very sensitive.
So, I thought it would be best to clarify my intentions quickly before she misunderstood that I disliked her.
…I was getting used to recalling game knowledge now.
Evelyn cautiously opened her mouth.
“…Did you mean it when you said I’m your friend?”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head.
There hadn’t been any notifications indicating that Evelyn’s suspicion level had increased yet.
Thinking I didn’t understand her, Evelyn stopped talking.
“Well, of course, you wouldn’t claim to be friends with someone you don’t really know, would you, April?”
“Isn’t that what Evelyn, my lady, is saying?”
At this moment, I expected Evelyn to make an awkward statement, just like others.
“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”
But Evelyn’s words defied my expectations.
“I’ll rephrase. What I meant was, I don’t think April, my lady, has any bad intentions like mine.”
“Bad intentions?”
“I was suspicious that people who came to me claiming to be friends might be pretending. I doubted whether you were truly coming to me as a friend. Just now, I almost thought you were pretending.”
It was the first time anyone apologized to April.
It was also the first time someone had said they would learn from their mistakes.
Usually, people would just think, “April doesn’t know,” and let it go.
However, this time, Evelyn recognized her mistake and apologized.
“Evelyn. You shouldn’t talk to Lady April for too long. She might not understand.”
Then Duke Kyle interrupted.
“Kyle.”
Evelyn frowned, clearly annoyed with him.
“April, my lady, Evelyn is apologizing to you,” Kyle explained to me.
Ah, this is what happens. When Evelyn says something, Duke Kyle often interprets it for her. I’ve seen this pattern with Yeniel too.
Some players even call Kyle “Evelyn’s Translator.”
Duke Kyle, true to his role, explained to me in detail.
“Evelyn misunderstood and thought you were pretending to be a friend. She’s embarrassed, so she spoke a lot awkwardly. She’s actually quite shy.”
“I see. Then I’ll accept Evelyn’s apology!”
I smiled brightly again.
Duke Kyle stopped, looking at me with a slightly stunned expression.
“Why? Don’t you realize what you’re accepting an apology for?”
“Well, April doesn’t really know, but it’s okay. And since Evelyn, my lady, said she was wrong, I want to forgive her. I forgive her.”
Evelyn’s violet eyes and Duke Kyle’s purple ones widened in surprise.
For a moment, it felt like I was facing two cats, and it was an awkward situation.
Evelyn’s favorability has greatly increased!
Duke Kyle’s favorability has greatly increased!
