My Childhood Friends Are Trying To Kill Me
Chapter 48

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“Emperor Perseus is completely obsessed with his adopted daughter. I think, even if it’s the throne, he would give it to her.”

“That fellow… I shouldn’t have sent Elizabeth to him in the first place!”

The old Duke’s eyes were filled with anger and resentment. Carius also gritted his teeth, to the point that his clenched jaws were clearly visible.

“Yes, Father. Emperor Perseus is not qualified to be her biological parent! Not only did he not recognize Lelia, but he even made her run away…”

“That’s right!”

“Do you know what he did in the castle?”

“…Did Lelia tell you?”

The Duke’s brows furrowed. He knew the reason why Lelia didn’t talk about her wounds. She must have been worried that her old grandfather might get offended by it.

Her heart and mind was too caring, for a mere ten-year-old.

He was heartbroken. She was forced to grow up so fast. Because she knew how the world treated her.

“Yes, she told me everything. But I won’t tell you, Father.”

“…What?”

The Duke’s expression became more distorted. Carius raised his chin cheekily and said,

“Lelia told me not to tell you. You’ll be heartbroken.”

“Then, why bring it up in the first place? Are you making fun of me?”

“I’m just saying. I think Lelia knows too. I’m her favourite family member, after all.”

“No, you son of a….”

Carius stopped making fun of his father and spoke in a serious voice again,”That’s not the point right now. Did you know that Lelia had a talent for alchemy?”

“…Alchemy?”

The Duke’s expression became serious.

Alchemy was widely perceived as heresy, but not everyone thought so. Only those who had no deep faith in Creutzism.

In other words, people who did not believe that God rated alchemy differently.

The Duke, who looked into alchemy for fixing his wife, was one of them.

Alchemy did not help him, but his perception itself was not negative. It leaned more to the positive side.

The two began to discuss the matter with serene looks on their faces.

If Lelia wanted to, the two would let her do whatever she wanted.

However, for the safety of the child, this talent must not be exposed to the temple.

In the midst of a long talk about alchemy, Carius suddenly slammed the table with his fist.

He now remembered what Lelia had been through.

“The more I think about it, the more I get angry! Emperor Perseus… Cedric, Damien, these men….”

When Carius grinded his teeth, the Duke squinted his eyes and said, “Why? Did they bother Lelia?”

“…”

“No, no. She must definitely have suffered a lot…”

The Duke felt foolish to not have thought of it earlier.

Carius said worriedly, “It’s not just that. Those guys are just like their father. Obsessed with their new little sister… Those three rich siblings threw tantrums and made a big fuss.”

“…….”

The two of them sighed deeply. It was truly a lamentable fact.

If they did tell the truth that, “Lelia is actually your daughter”, Emperor Perseus would definitely not stay still.

If he knew Elizabeth’s daughter was alive…

He would somehow manage to take Lelia back to the Imperial Palace.

“We will never let Lelia go back to the Imperial Palace.”

“I agree.”

“Cedric and Damien. If they say they’re coming to visit the estate, please stop them.”

“…Yes.”

Cedric and Damien were valuable to both. They were Elizabeth’s sons. That was why Carius was so frustrated.

Lelia, who was their real sister, was hated by these men who didn’t recognize her, and they even troubled her so much.

“If they both were in front of me, I would have at least kicked them in the a**…”

It was then.

Umff!

Suddenly, the Duke of Superion gave a clout to Carius’ head. Carius gripped his head in sudden pain.

“Oh, come on, Father!”

“Come, let’s talk. They’ve all been so mean to Lelia, and you just realised!”

“Oh, stop hitting me! What an embarrassment of an old man!”

“This son of mine!”

***

Meanwhile, after Carius left, Lelia immediately opened the Alchemy Lottery screen and pressed “crystal charge”.

[How long has it been….]

Originally, she was one of the people who thought the flower of the game was hard work. But cash was also an indispensable attraction for the game. As soon as she pressed charge, the alchemy tool floated a speech balloon.

• Charge the crystal? ( • •́•́) و

“Yes!”

• How much do you want to charge?(*°▽°*)]

Just in case, Lelia took out one gold coin and 100,000 shillings as emergency money and put the rest on the table.

“All of this.”

• [Wow! Charging is ongoing!]✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡]

Lelia’s eyes narrowed. The alchemy tool seemed to be particularly excited… Or was it just her intuition?

A short time later, a speech balloon appeared followed by a system window.

• [Master! 4,000 Crystal Charging is complete!400 bonus crystals are added!]

• [System: 4,400 Crystal charging complete!]

At the same time, the gold coins on the table disappeared like fog. Lelia looked at the scene without blinking.

“…”

For some reason, it seemed unfair and wasteful, but the important thing was to collect the ingredients. She lacked money, but when she saw a full-fledged crystal, she felt reassured.

[Okay… I’m going to make a lot more money than I’ve invested.]

Lelia’s fighting spirit was fueled as she expanded her inventory. The general ingredients were on full display.

She first activated the flame ash, a magical substance that could cure her grandmother’s Alzheimer’s.

The Gold Dragon appeared with a sound effect and flew away. It started collecting materials.

Good.

[Starting today, I’m going to clear the recipes like crazy and collect ingredients.]

Was it because Carius had not only raised questions about her life, but also tended to her past wounds? She felt more energized than before.

As she expanded her inventory and opened up the ingredients, the crystal was almost out.

[What do I do to make more money…?]

It was fortunate that she was able to make items and bring them out into reality. That would help her recover the money that went into this.

Lelia had plenty of ingredients, so she started looking for items that could be mass produced.

Then, after the production began, she looked at the corner.

Originally, the story of the “Alchemy Lottery” game was about the main character running a lottery shop, but he changed his business to an alchemy lottery.

In short, it was a business game that sold alchemy products and tools.

But now the business system was deadlocked.

The customers who traded in the game were villagers, but there were also beastmen, elves, and humans.

He always gave them quests like a robbery, but the things he got from their gratitude, ‘favorability’, were pretty cool.

But now the favorability system with residents could not be put to use either.

[The problem is special materials…]

The method for obtaining special materials included: compensation for business performance and favorability system.

[When would this open?]

And now, again, a speech bubble appeared in front of her without permission.

• Master! Do you want to revitalize the ‘Business’ system and the ‘Relationship favorability’ system? If so, you must clear at least 50% of the newly added recipes!=͟͟͞͞(๑•̀д•́๑)]

“…”

Wait a minute. What did it just say?!

There seemed to be approximately 300 recipes newly added in this world. And she only cleared about 20 of them in her spare time…

There are some that are not made by collecting the ingredients, so if she counted them, the total would be about 30.

Well, then…

“… But if new recipes keep coming… Don’t new ones get added every time I get to a new area?”

Then, should she never go to another area or would she never be able to clear those recipes?

In other words, she had to choose one option.

• [◔ ̯◔…]

“Are you kidding me now? You’re telling me to only collect ingredients for the rest of my life! Then, open all recipes that may be added in the future at once!”

• [Open all hidden recipes?] 10,000 crystals are required for all recipes to be released!(•···’)]

“If it’s crystal… Ten million shillings… ten million won? You swindler!”

• [ =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪ ‧̣̥̇) ]

“What in the dog’s name do you mean by 10 million won? Is this real?!… ”

• When all recipes are released, the ‘Special Favorability’ and ‘Special Recipe’ systems will be unlocked even if you do not clear 50% or more! ୧(๑•̀⌄•́๑)૭

“A special affinity? A special recipe? What else… I’m getting mad that these things are getting added over and over again…”

She had to think properly.

Even while considering the final item, the Philosopher’s Stone, it was important to open all recipes. In addition, it was necessary to have favorable relationships and business performance with residents in order to obtain special materials that could be obtained even by paying. This was a situation where she had to clear all recipes.

[Besides, it’s an advantage because I don’t have to make them all at once and clear them.]

[If I don’t like that, I’ll have to travel all over the world on my own.]

Thinking about it that way, it didn’t seem that expensive.

However, one thing was certain, although the value of the won and the shilling were similar… the value of the crystals had increased compared to her previous life.

• [Shall we charge the crystal?( •̀ᴗ•́ )و ̑̑]

“I don’t have money…”

First of all, she had to make and sell items by using the ingredients she had collected before.

[I should ask Grandfather for a place to sell…]

Lelia sighed deeply.

There was so much to do.

“…”

Suddenly, Lelia turned her head and looked out at the view.

It was winter when she went back to the Imperial Palace from the temple. Spring had arrived before she knew it.

Yes, let’s cheer up and make money first.

Lelia approached the window and observed the scenery of spring approaching with joy.

[I’m grateful for the fact that there’s a place where I can live comfortably, but I also have a family that cares about me. In addition, the wish from my previous life came true, so it couldn’t be any better. I’ll keep up the good work. Until I can meet my friends…]

The scenery outside the window changed swiftly.

Summer came, relentless rain, leaves fell and snowflakes fluttered. In the meantime, Lelia faced a season that was busier than anyone else.

She hoped that the flow of the season would be repeated several times. Before she knew it, Lelia was thirteen years old.

It was finally the time when the battle against the Light Dragon had begun in earnest.

After sending her affectionate uncle to the battlefield, Lelia prayed for her friends, Uncle, and everyone else.

May everyone come back safely.

***

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