"…How did you know?"

"That ye ain't an officer? That's because ye are not a…"

She suddenly became quiet, then shook her head and said, "Anyway, officer's a respected post. Folk don't just wake up an' become one overnight. Ye said yerself ye've been keepin' low till recently. That don't line up."

"…"

I remained silent.

What was she planning to do?

"Give me yer key."

I nodded.

The key answered my call immediately, manifesting in my palm. I handed it over without resistance.

I could summon the Key back to myself at any moment so this was fine.

She took it carefully, closed her eyes, and began muttering under her breath.

The key started to glow.

Light spread across its surface in thin lines, like veins filling with fire.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and pressed it back into my hand.

"There. Upgraded."

"You just—"

"Listen. Ye can leave Nautilus now. Proper leave, and return to this domain whenever ye want. Use this key. Hide somewhere else till things cool off.

"If ye don't run into the officers, they won't know ye were playin' pretend. No bounty will be placed. No chase will chase ye.

"Ye can come back on Nautilus when the situation calms down," she said.

I was genuinely surprised she was helping me.

She was an innkeeper. An employee of Nautilus.

Protecting an outsider from the ship's own officers was more than risky.

It was outright betrayal.

"And," she added quickly, face flushing, "I, uh… I added a wee function. So even if ye use the key outside Nautilus, ye can come back to any inn ye fancy. No resettin' yer entry point."

I blinked.

That wasn't a small favor. That was enormous.

'Her reaction and actions…'

'Did she fall for me?'

'Already?'

'I don't remember—'

'Ah.'

'That moment.'

When I shielded her body from Musashi's strike. When my body was trembling and I still protected her with my all.

"Ca… Caelum?" she said quietly. Her tentacles twisted together, fidgeting. "Ye'll come see me again, aye?"

Before I could answer, Yuna flew down in front of me.

"Lord of Shadows, say yes! You have to keep meeting her!"

My smile twitched.

'Yuna, you do realize I'm a child right now, right? I do not have time for romance. Not with a Cursed—'

"Lord of Shadows," Yuna cut in sharply.

That made me pause. She almost never interrupted like that.

She floated in front of me, expression serious.

"How many Soul Shards did you get from exorcising the Blackout Priest?"

'Ten million. Why? Are you excited to upgrade your abilities and spam the gacha?' I teased.

She didn't smile.

"Exorcising a Rank 4 Cursed Spirit yields fifty million Soul Shards. They were divided between f—"

Her voice glitched.

Static flickered across her voice.

Then she continued, "—our people. That is why you must keep an eye on this inn girl."

I blinked.

Something cold slid down my spine.

'Fifty million divided by four is ten million.'

The thought echoed.

'Fifty million divided by four is ten million.'

'Fifty million divided by four is ten million.'

'Fifty million divided by four is ten million.'

'Fifty million divided by four is ten million.'

'Fifty million divided by four is ten million.'

'Fifty million divided by four is ten million.'

I repeated it again.

And again.

The math was correct. There was nothing wrong with it.

So why did my chest feel tight?

'Fifty million divided by four is ten million.'

My body moved before I consciously decided to.

I reached out, took the inn girl's hand, and smiled.

"Yes. I'll come see you again. Every day."

Her eyes went wide.

"E-Every day?"

"Of course, every day. I told you I like you, Olivia. Every day is only reasonable. Unless you don't want that."

"N-No!" she said quickly. "I mean— I don't hate it. So… so ye can come!"

She yanked her hands back, face bright red, tentacles flaring in embarrassment.

Then she pointed at Saint Maverick and Judy, and spoke quickly to hide her embarrassment,

"Give 'em here. I'll take 'em with me. Their lot'll be at the inn, won't they?"

I nodded.

System Church would arrive soon. Others from Prime Five as well.

There people had died at Drinkin Whale Inn.

They would check what happened.

The Exorcist Union wouldn't stay quiet either.

"Tell Saint Maverick's people and Judy's friends they can meet me here," I said.

I tapped Judy's core lightly. "Judy. I know you're listening. Come see me tomorrow."

The inn girl nodded, then lifted Saint Maverick with surprising ease and secured Judy's core.

"I'll tell 'em ye had urgent business. Officers won't pry too hard."

She hesitated, then added softly, "Stay safe, aye?"

Then she was gone.

I stood there for a moment, alone in the alley, staring at the key in my hand.

"Each key can create one "save" point on the outside and inside the domain. The save point outside is where we enter the domain from while the save point inside is our inn room."

I turned the key slowly.

"But with this… I can set two on each side."

A small smile spread across my face.

This was powerful.

If I'd had this earlier, I could've escaped the Japanese Exorcist Branch without worrying about resetting my entry point away from home.

After storing the Navigation Flame, I slotted the key into a nearby door.

The world beyond the door folded.

I returned home and collapsed onto the bed the moment my head hit the pillow.

Sleep took me instantly.

I was exhausted.

A Rank 4 Cursed Spirit. A Vampire Prince. Musashi. All in one day.

'I even used up all my Positive Energy bullets.'

'Sigh.'

Still, when I thought about it again, everything had happened for the good.

'I got a lot of Soul Shards.'

'I got a way to enter America.'

'And I eliminated a Rank 4 Cursed Spirit.'

Dante was recovering slowly inside my spatial pocket.

His condition wasn't ideal, but it wasn't dangerous either.

His recovery rate was high, and if I left him alone, he should be fine within a week.

I could have given him a new body instantly by making someone look at him.

But after taking Musashi's attack head-on, Dante's existence itself had been weakened.

Forcing a reconstruction now would only make things worse in the long run.

'Rank 5 Exorcists are really monsters.'

'Well, even Rank 2 Exorcists trained by major Hidden Clans and the upper echelons of Prime Five are stronger than me right now.'

Comparing myself to Rank 5 Exorcists was pointless.

'I just need to focus on grinding.'

'I will eventually surpass all Rank 5 Exorcists.'

I had exorcised the Rank 4 Cursed Spirit known as the Blackout Priest. That was real. That was undeniable.

But I didn't let the success get to my head.

Every cursed spirit was different.

Some relied on brute force.

Some relied on concepts.

Some were nightmares if you lacked the right counter.

If I wanted to survive future encounters, and win them consistently, I needed to grow stronger. I needed reliable allies. And I needed powerful relics, which I planned to create myself and collect from around the world.

I closed my eyes, intending to sleep until night.

That was the plan.

It didn't last.

"You're getting a little sister, my little warrior!"

The door burst open.

Dad stormed into the room, his voice loud enough to shake the walls, his face split into the widest grin I had ever seen on him.

Before I could react, he scooped me up and rubbed his beard against my face.

I was too tired to stop him.

"Sister?" I asked.

"Yes! We just came back from the doctor. It's a girl!"

He was smiling so much that one would think he had become the world's richest man.

Infected by his smile, my exhaustion faded.

I smiled.

The rest of the day passed in a blur.

Laughter filled the house. Food kept appearing on the table faster than it could be eaten.

Mom smiled more than I had ever seen her smile.

Aunt Liora and Uncle Elias arrived not long after.

Aunt Liora, the provisional House Head, swept in like a storm.

She brought gifts. Too many gifts.

Dresses, blankets, charms, things meant for children who hadn't even been born yet.

And even maids to do housework.

Mom didn't know how to react.

She tried to refuse at first.

Back home, she had done most things herself. She wasn't used to being treated like fragile porcelain.

But Aunt Liora wouldn't hear it.

"These are my personal maids. From today on, they'll take care of you," she said firmly, gesturing to two women standing behind her.

Mom hesitated.

Dad backed Aunt Liora up immediately.

In the end, Mom caved, accepting the two maids with an awkward smile.

Uncle Elias watched the whole thing with a wry expression.

He had brought Melissa with him.

She was my cousin, a teenage girl who carried herself with dignity and pride. At least, that was how she looked at first.

Then she noticed me.

"Cute," she said softly.

A moment later, her hands were on my cheeks.

She squished them.

I protested hard. I really did.

But as the youngest in the room, it was my fate to be bullied by everyone.

Her composed expression cracked, her face melting into a genuine smile.

"Cute," she said again.

The day was hectic.

Thankfully, Uncle Elias took her back in the evening. I wasn't sure my cheeks could survive another hour.

Even Aunt Liora left eventually, despite Mom insisting she stay for dinner.

When the house finally quieted down, I returned to my room and collapsed onto the bed.

"You look happy, Lord of Shadows," Yuna said, hovering near the headboard.

I snorted lightly, and summoned the system interface.

The familiar blue glow filled my vision.

I checked my Soul Shards first.

Soul Shards: 10,050,002

'That's a good number,' I thought.

Then I opened Yuna's status screen.

…

Yunael Seraphine Veyra (Fallen Angel of the Goddess of Death)

.

Abilities:

1. Inspect (Rank ???)

2. Enchant (Rank 3, Level 4)

3. Heal (Rank 3, Level 3)

4. Lucky-O-Lucky (Rank 3, Level 1)

.

New Abilities Gacha:

One Spin Cost: 100,000 Soul Shards (Price increases 2x after each spin)

…

I rubbed my hands together.

'Yuna, it's time to upgrade your abilities.'

I began spending Soul Shards.

[600,000 Soul Shards Consumed.]

[Enchant: Level 4 → Level 10]

[700,000 Soul Shards Consumed.]

[Heal: Level 3 → Level 10]

[1,000,000 Soul Shards Consumed.]

[Lucky-O-Lucky: Level 1 → Level 10]

"Yes!" Yuna cheered, spinning in the air. "Finally! Some of my powers are returning!"

Enchant was crucial.

Alchemy depended a lot on materials.

If I was going to enter the System Church and show them my value, I needed to demonstrate real capability.

'I need to search for Carlotta's brother there.'

'And I need to build my own faction inside System Church, then use it to slowly take over the organization.'

Enchant was mandatory to show my worth, and create a footing for myself.

Heal didn't need explanation. It was survival insurance.

As for Lucky-O-Lucky, it was my trump card.

It had saved me a lot of times.

And thanks to the inn girl's curse, I had no bad luck for another few weeks.

This skill would only increase my good luck for now.

"Lord of Shadows," Yuna said after calming down, "now that all abilities are maxed at Rank 3, you'll need to rank them up to Rank 4 before upgrading further."

'How much?' I asked.

"One million Soul Shards per ability. That's quite expensive. I recommend using Gacha first. There's a chance we'll get something more immediately useful."

I nodded.

I checked my remaining balance.

Soul Shards: 7,750,002

'There is more than enough for Gacha.'

'Yuna, use the Gacha.'

A massive wheel appeared before my eyes.

It spun rapidly.

Symbols blurred together as it accelerated.

I caught glimpses of abilities as they passed.

Death God's Scythe.

Crown of Dread.

Resurrection.

The wheel slowed.

Each tick felt heavier than the last.

Finally, it stopped at…

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