Chapter 8
When Elize gestured to the surrounding magicians, they rose from their positions and left the room.
The magical veil-like barrier surrounding the box instantly vanished.
At that moment, Baeksan unconsciously stepped back.
‘Wow. Insane.’
Even Baeksan, who had never experienced sleep paralysis in her life, could tell.
This was ominous.
Such an aura began emanating from the box.
“…This is no joke.”
Just looking at the box made her feel like the protagonist of a horror movie being chased.
“What the… I mean, where did you purchase something like this?”
“Sophs Guild maintains connections with many people. You may examine it up close. Though I recommend not touching it. If you touch it…”
“You go insane?”
Elize paused, then nodded.
“Yes. The initial discoverer and anyone who touched the box without protection all went insane.”
“Terrifying.”
Baeksan muttered softly as she opened the wooden door and entered the room.
Immediately, a red window appeared before her eyes:
[You have entered a dangerous area.]
[Adjusting difficulty.]
.
.
.
[A mere curse dares not challenge the Player.]
[Danger has been neutralized.]
The window disappeared. The oppressive feeling that had been crushing her lungs also vanished completely.
From the description, it seemed she, summoned from outside this world, was recognized as a higher level of calamity than this world’s curses.
‘Not sure if I should be happy or sad about that.’
Baeksan approached the box impassively.
The box remained there, silent and ominous. Its description unchanged.
“Hmm…”
Baeksan tilted her head.
‘The descriptions change according to my thoughts and intentions. Then…’
How about this?
Baeksan concentrated on the ‘ominous thing’ part of the box’s description.
Another information window appeared:
[Ghost King’s Sacred Jewel]
The sacred jewel of King ‘Tigris Colossus’ who pulled down the divine.
Those unworthy who touch it contract plague. Its bearer is cursed by the gods and driven mad. The land holding the jewel withers and dies.
[Tigris Colossus]
The last king of Lutie. Killed hundreds of divine beasts and was abandoned by the Goddess of the Heights.
‘I knew it!’
A smile appeared on her lips.
‘Every single sentence is ominous though.’
Just then, Elize asked from outside the room.
“How is it? Is it too difficult after all?”
Belatedly, Baeksan shook her head.
“It’s the ‘Ghost King’s Sacred Jewel.’ The sacred jewel of ‘Tigris Colossus.'”
“…!”
Elize’s eyes widened.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. If someone unworthy touches it, they’ll contract a disease…”
<QUEST>
Bury Tigris Colossus’s sacred jewel in the capital’s center to pollute the land and make it forsaken by the goddess.
-Success: 113,000 gold
-Failure: None
“…and whoever possesses it goes mad from divine curse, so don’t touch it carelessly. And though this probably won’t happen, don’t bury it anywhere either.”
“T-then can you also tell what kind of magic is cast on it?!”
Elize asked urgently.
‘Will it work?’
This time, Baeksan concentrated on the ‘7 intersecting spells’ part of the box’s description.
Fortunately, an information window appeared.
“The first spell’s formula uses fang, wheel, candle…”
“Wait!”
Elize screamed.
Behind her, the magicians frantically began scribbling something on paper.
After writing down everything Baeksan dictated, they suddenly slapped their foreheads.
“So that’s what it was!”
“Of course! That era’s formula would have used this method!”
“This is revolutionary! We can use this to analyze Tigris Colossus’s formulas!”
“Then for the formula breakdown—”
Elize shouted.
“It seems possible!”
The magicians exclaimed solemnly.
Before she could react, Baeksan was pushed out by the magicians who had re-entered the room.
They raised their staves and drew something luminous in the air. All their faces were extremely tense.
Finally, when the floating formula disappeared in a flash of light.
‘Oh?’
[Ominous Box]
A box containing something ominous. 6 of the 7 intersecting spells protecting the box remain.
The box’s description had changed.
Before Baeksan could explain, the magicians burst into cheers.
“Success, Miss Elize!”
“We’ve removed one protection spell!”
“Is that really true?!”
Even Elize, who had seemed composed, let out a joy-filled scream.
“Oh gods! To think I’d see such a moment!”
“Congratulations, Deputy Guild Master! What amazing insight you had!”
“That’s right! Honestly, when you said you’d buy that thing, I thought you’d finally lost your mind!”
“Thank you! It’s all thanks to everyone! How many magicians have fainted trying to discover this box’s identity… Ah!”
Everyone seemed overjoyed.
Only Baeksan stood there blankly.
‘Why are they acting like this?’
She asked Elize, who looked ready to dance.
“Um, why is this such a big deal? It’s cursed…”
At those words, Elize’s eyes glinted like gold coins.
“That’s exactly why it’s such a big deal! Do you know how many eccentric nobles there are who collect only cursed items!”
Elize, who had been answering excitedly, belatedly remembered that Baeksan was also nobility and cleared her throat.
“I got a bit excited. Anyway, it’s cursed AND it’s the famous Tigris Colossus’s sacred jewel! This is priceless. When we put it up for auction at Gahasu, it’ll definitely set a new record.”
“Is that so?”
Baeksan looked back at the box.
The description had changed slightly:
[Ghost King’s Sacred Jewel]
The sacred jewel of King Tigris Colossus who pulled down the divine. An extremely rare item worth at least 2,000,000 gold.
2 million gold, so that means…
“…20 billion?!”
Why are billions so common in this neighborhood?
It was enough to make her dizzy.
Plus, with the word ‘minimum’ attached, it could sell for even more.
‘I guess it’s like how cursed violins are more expensive and stuff like that.’
As she was letting out a hollow laugh, Elize suddenly grabbed Baeksan’s hands.
“By the way, Lady Minervina!”
“Yes?”
“Please start work tomorrow!”
Baeksan blinked while her hands were held.
After a moment, a fresh smile spread across her face.
“Isn’t there something we need to do first?”
“Pardon?”
Baeksan made a circle with her finger and smiled brightly.
“Salary negotiations.”
* * *
‘I’ve been cleaned out…’
Elize collapsed onto the sofa, trembling like white burnt ashes.
Maintaining a neat and precise attitude was her duty as Sophs’ Deputy Guild Master.
Elize had always maintained this, but this time it was difficult.
It was because of Minervina Rethor’s salary negotiations.
‘Wasn’t she supposed to be a well-bred young lady? I thought I could get a favorable contract with a bit of pressure.’
Of course, Sophs was conscientious about employee wages. They hadn’t intended to completely exploit Minervina. They just wanted a contract more favorable to Sophs.
‘But nothing worked…’
As soon as Minervina sat at the negotiation table, she became a different person.
‘Miss Barrett. I look forward to working with you.’
Her gentle willow-leaf eyes had turned sharp as blades.
When they quoted a slightly lower salary:
‘So Sophs values my abilities at only that much.’
When they pressured her saying she wouldn’t get such treatment anywhere else in the industry:
‘Miss Barrett, you won’t find an appraiser like me anywhere else either. Above all, since I’m not a magician, I’m not limited in how many appraisals I can do per day.’
When they tried to add a clause about occasional overtime or business trips just before finalizing the contract:
‘I’m sorry, but let’s forget about the contract. I won’t compromise on overtime.’
None of Elize’s strategies worked.
“How does a young noble lady know how to be so stern…”
Though Elize had met all sorts of shrewd nobles, Minervina was different.
