<Wasn’t This a Strategy Game? Episode 90>

Eden felt the tone of his voice had lightened up as she dared to lift her gaze towards Jepar.

Jepar was smiling gently, as if he had forgotten everything and forgiven her.

“So, there’s no need for you to apologize to me.”

In fact, those words made Eden feel truly guilty.

Jepar was actually someone with a big heart and kindness, but despite it being for the game, she felt like she had taken too much advantage of such a person, causing her to feel uneasy.

The Solar Episode was particularly unrelated to the Quest, making it even more so.

“Grand Duke, I promise,” she said earnestly.

“…….”

“If there ever comes a time when I truly need you, I will definitely repay your kindness.”

That promise was heartfelt.

She wondered if a time would ever come when she might need someone like Jepar, who had everything already, but if he genuinely needed her, she wanted to help him wholeheartedly then.

“If you ever need information about Monsters… or… um… you know, like Chupi and those little monster types, just let me know if you need the power to defeat them!”

Jepar smiled slightly at those words.

“I will do that…”

The clean smile he wore seemed to hold no hidden feelings, and only then did Eden feel relieved.

“If there ever comes a time when I need a Priest, I will not hesitate to ask.”

With that answer, Eden finally felt at ease, and she smiled back, pulling something out from her robe.

“I have this, it’s nothing big, but…”

Jepar raised an eyebrow as he looked at the fancy gift box. Eden carefully placed it on the table.

“What is this?”

“It’s nothing much. I thought of you when I went to a gift shop…”

Hearing that, his big hand reached for the box. He skillfully unwrapped it and opened it.

“There must be better things out there, though.”

Jepar’s azure gaze was glued to the brooch inside the box. It was a brooch embedded with a blue magic stone that seemed like it could reveal why Eden thought of him.

Of course, compared to the expensive brooches she owned, it was certainly a cheaper one, but for a Priest’s salary, it would have been a burdensome gift.

“It’s nothing grand, but it has a simple magic on it that can store Magical Power or Divine Power.”

Jepar lifted his gaze to Eden.

“So I infused a bit of my Divine Power into it. It should help you if you have sudden headaches.”

At those words, Jepar’s eyes suddenly hardened. For a moment, he stared at Eden, then he opened his dry lips.

“…How did you know?”

His voice was icy, starkly contrasting with the kindness from before.

“Huh?”

Eden, taken aback by the sudden change, looked at him with confusion.

Jepar’s face was serious. A sudden headache was a common ailment, but the headaches she experienced were on an entirely different level.

Yet Jepar had never shown any signs of that in front of others until now.

“Ah… it seems like you’re uncomfortable sometimes… I also feel muscle tension in my neck when I have a headache.”

Eden explained carefully, still flustered.

Sometimes, when she was with Jepar, his gaze would suddenly turn icy, and upon closer inspection, she had guessed it might be linked to his headaches.

She had no money to buy a gift that was worth more than what he already owned, and she thought she was being considerate, but his overly sensitive reaction caught her off guard.

Jepar was staring at the brooch with an intensity that was almost frightening.

‘Crap, I shouldn’t have meddled.’

Just as she thought she might have done something foolish, Jepar parted his dry lips.

“…I see.”

He returned to his calm demeanor from earlier.

“You really are…”

He let out a sigh-laden laugh as if in disbelief.

“An interesting person.”

Saying that, he raised his head and gave a gentle smile.

“I’ll find a good use for this gift.”

With Jepar closing the box with his usual relaxed expression, Eden finally felt relieved. Apparently, it wasn’t something he disliked.

Well, there was nothing else she could do if it ended up collecting dust. Jepar must have plenty of such items lying around.

Suddenly, Eden glanced at the clock on the table and was taken aback, quickly rising from her seat.

“Oh no, I need to return to the Temple! I have cleaning duty at the library starting today!”

“Yes, please do.”

After seeing Eden off to the front of the mansion, Jepar returned inside.

His expression was now far colder than before, making the mansion’s staff too intimidated to even greet him.

“……”

Seated, Jepar lingered on a thought for a while before picking up the box from the table again.

He was good at handling his emotions and knew precisely what was filling his chest.

His icy blue eyes gleamed with intensity.

“…This makes it hard not to desire, doesn’t it, Priest?”

A tingling sensation of possession tinged his words.

“Huh…”

Eden sighed as she organized the books in the library. She could definitely feel that more people were supporting Asmun since the Solar Episode.

She’d just got hold of some momentum, but now was just the beginning.

‘I hope Hagen’ti is doing okay…’

With a worried expression, Eden continued to shelve the books one by one.

Ever since Eden was chosen as the Priest, there was a minor debate in the Great Temple about formally promoting her. However, Eden rejected it first.

She didn’t think it was a good idea to attract any more unwanted attention.

So today, Eden was still fulfilling her duties as an Apprentice Priest, organizing the library’s books.

“Hagen’ti is back.”

The reason she even mentioned it to Asmun was to prepare him so he wouldn’t be surprised when Hagen’ti suddenly appeared at crucial times, but also because she envisioned them running towards their clear together, with the boundaries breaking down.

And Silverstone, she thought.

Surely, Hagen’ti’s abilities would be incredibly useful in searching for the thing they didn’t even know where to begin looking for.

Of course, it ended up being a tragic failure.

“I can find it without any outdated Mage like him.”

Hagen’ti had replied similarly. His suggestion to stay at Asmun’s mansion was firmly rejected.

“But then, where is it supposed to be? I can’t find it if I don’t even know where it is. Why don’t you just return to the Castle? I’ll definitely come looking for it.”

Hearing that, Hagen’ti stared at Eden for a long moment before answering.

“No, not anymore.”

His response was firm, and his eyes were darker than Eden had ever seen.

“…I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

At that quiet reply, Eden couldn’t retort. She shivered at her own cruelty.

To tell him to return to the Castle, after having been alone for fifty years.

“Don’t worry. I’ll come back. Not too late.”

Hagen’ti made a gentle promise, then disappeared again.

After making Asmun the Emperor, Hagen’ti firmly believed that Eden would be by his side. Asmun himself kept confirming that she would stay with him until the very end.

“……”

Both of them reaching a favorability of 90, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the game was heading in a strange direction.

‘Could it be that this is actually a dating sim disguised as a strategy game…? Or why is there suddenly a favorability system?’

If it really were like that, she wondered if she had to raise someone’s favorability to 100% like in typical dating sims.

While it now felt like it would be easy, the problem was…

‘It’s not just one person.’

Right now, Eden couldn’t give up on either Asmun or Hagen’ti. Both were essential for her clear, and—

‘I wasn’t supposed to get so attached…’

For different reasons, both were giving her affection. To think that such heartfelt feelings were pointed at her from two different people.

“It’s nice, but…”

Letting out a frazzled sigh, Eden stood on her tiptoes to shelve a thick book on the high bookshelf when—

“Of course, His Highness the 3rd Prince has emerged as a strong candidate for succession, so you must be quite pleased.”

Out of nowhere, Ibthan appeared and snatched the book from Eden’s hands, perfectly slotting it into place.

Startled, Eden turned around. This was the library of the Temple, and it was the first time Ibthan had come all the way to the Temple.

“Chancellor.”

It was the first face she had seen since the Solar Episode. Ibthan had his usual expressionless face, but Eden could now read his mood.

‘Again with the suspicion.’

Sure enough, he immediately began to interrogate her.

“How did you know?”

It was a curt question that was half-formed. Still, Eden understood what he was getting at.

He was asking how she knew something would happen during the Solar Episode.

Someone of Ibthan’s caliber would notice that Eden was involved from the control of the square to Asmun’s actions without a doubt.

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

Eden retorted lightly, picking up the remaining books one by one to organize them again.

“I will judge.”

Ibthan seemed to be both angry and insulted. He felt upset for not having known about such a major incident.

But there was nothing he could do. No matter how smart and capable Ibthan was, he was, after all, just human.

“You don’t believe in gods, do you?”

“Are you saying you received some divine revelation?”

Ibthan followed Eden, relentlessly questioning as she organized the books.

“If that’s the case, would you believe it?”

“Do you possess a Holy Stone?”

“Must it be visible to believe?”

“Believing in something that cannot be verified is precisely what we should be wary of.”

“So, if you had a Holy Stone, you would believe, would you? Even though you don’t believe in the gods.”

That seemed to deepen the seriousness on Ibthan’s face.

“I have not been able to confirm the existence of a god. But I have confirmed the existence of Divine Power multiple times. I merely doubt where that power originates from.”

Eden internally sighed. She didn’t have the confidence to explain everything to Ibthan. She certainly didn’t plan to.

After organizing the last book, she turned to face the insistently close Ibthan.

“I can’t explain, but I can promise you this.”