"So how are we going to find it now?" Reina asked, brushing bits of broken tree bark from her shoulder.
Her voice sounded like a mildly irritated young nobleman and that was because she was going to be forced to stay with him until they found the Unique Item… which didn't exist.
She had overheard her father and Rowan talking yesterday and there was one thing she could understand: their fathers had obviously planned this as an excuse to dump their sons in the wilderness so they could drink beer and soak in hot water like oversized babies.
But she didn't know for sure… and Ren wasn't exactly dependable enough for her to trust his instinct. He had practically told her she belonged to him now… who in the fuck said that?
"The others should be far ahead of us."
"Well," Ren said as he stretched his neck until it cracked, "just because they're ahead doesn't mean they'll find it."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
Ren shrugged. "Even if they find it first, there's two of us. We can just beat them and get the item."
Reina blinked.
Beat them?
As in, fight the strongest heirs of the ten noble clans? She had barely managed to beat Jerry, how was she going to fight the others?
She rubbed her forehead. "That honestly sounds like the most Crowhurst strategy possible."
"That means it'll work." Ren replied confidently.
Despite how stupid it sounded… it wasn't the worst idea.
Considering how competitive these rich idiots were, most of them would probably fight each other instead of working together anyway.
Reina let out a long sigh. "…Okay."
Then she looked at him…
"What?" Ren asked. "Start walking."
She froze, then slowly her eyes darkened with a look that said she was three seconds from biting him.
"What do you want to do? Be staring at my ass?" she snapped, pulling her clothes tight around her hips like he was a pervert. Even though she was like a man right now, it didn't help her feel better.
Ren didn't even blink. "Your ass is as flat as mine."
She clutched her chest in horror. "H-HOW DARE—?!"
Ren walked past her. "Don't get mad. It's true."
『"Reina Dawnlarke"'s affection points have decreased to 13.』
Reina puffed her cheeks and stomped forward, muttering threats under her breath about castration though she couldn't do it.
Ren ignored her and opened his System tab while following her.
'I wonder if I can use the shop feature…' he thought.
What he really needed was a tracking skill, but the problem with tracking skills was that you needed to know what the hell you were tracking.
He didn't even know what the Unique Item looked like.
'It's not like it's going to pop up right beside us—'
They passed a strange tree.
It had a white trunk and pink petals… that was not how the normal tree looked like and that made Reina stop abruptly.
"Doesn't this tree look weird to you?" she asked.
Ren turned toward it and furrowed his brows. "…Yes, it looks really weird."
"It seems fake," she said, stepping closer.
"Fake?"
"Ah. I forgot you don't study about trees…" she said with a dramatic sigh, pressing her hand against the bark.
Ren stared at her.
'Who on earth has tree-studying as a hobby?'
"My hobbies are reading about trees, how they grow, and magical creatures." She knocked lightly on the trunk. "This thing's hollow."
Ren blinked. "That sounds like a nice way to pass the time."
A chime sounded.
『"Reina Dawnlarke"'s affection points have decreased to 12. She thinks you're being sarcastic』
'How? I was being NICE.' Ren thought. 'She doesn't even appreciate nice things?'
Reina reared her fist back and…
BANG!!
punched straight through the tree's trunk like it was wet paper.
Ren stared. "…Okay, never mind, you're terrifying too."
She ignored him and yanked something out from inside the hollow trunk:
A small carved box adorned with six beads, each one gave off a lot of mana.
Reina's eyebrows shot up. "This… this looks expensive."
Ren nodded slowly.
He could feel the mana from where he was standing.
"Should I open it? Or take it back to the springs for appraisal?" Reina asked.
Her voice softened with hesitation. "It feels too valuable."
"Open it," Ren said immediately. He wanted to test if the System would auto-appraise items like the ones of every other protagonist.
Reina opened the box.
Inside was a necklace with six luminous beads arranged on a delicate chain. It was simple but elegant… the kind of thing nobility would kill for.
Ren's vision flashed.
『The Item is being appraised…』
『Item Name: Necklace of Beauty』
『Rank: Unique』
『Description: Automatically maxes out the Charm stat of the wearer upon wearing.』
Ren blinked.
'That's it? That's the whole Unique effect? My charm is already maxed! This is useless to me!'
He sighed internally.
'I guess I could give it to Stella… or Alina… or MAYBE her.'
He glanced at Reina.
No.
If he gave it to her, she'd probably think he was insulting her natural beauty or something insane like that.
"Alright, give it here," Ren said, holding out his hand.
Reina tightened her grip on the necklace box instinctively.
She actually didn't want to give it up.
She liked it… the design, the beads and the craftsmanship.
But she also knew Ren could ruin her secret with a single sentence.
"…Fine," she muttered and tossed it to him.
Ren caught it easily.
But the moment he did…
FWIP!
A thread shot from the bushes and wrapped around the box, yanking it hard.
Ren's grip tightened instantly, stopping it from being stolen.
He jerked backward, tugging the thread's owner right into view.
Several nobles stepped out from between the trees.
"Oh wow," Ren said dryly. "The circus has arrived."
The Whitelocke heir stepped forward. "Just stand down and it doesn't have to be bloody! We can even let you two walk away afterward. There are a lot of us and only two of you."
'I wish I could.' Ren shook his head, this was a mission after all and since this was his job… he needed to finish his missions with flying colors.
He tightened the thread and yanked, pulling the noble who had been tugging on it straight toward him like a hooked fish.
Before the guy could even scream…
CRACK!
Ren's fist smashed into his face, launching him backward like a rocket… right into the Whitelocke heir, knocking them both into a mound of wet leaves.
Ren smiled, lowering his fist.
"There's one less of you."