I pushed myself up into a sitting position. Looking closely, even the food that remained wasn’t very appetizing.
Half-filled sacks of flour and only a few pieces of cheese. Pasta strands dried stiff with age.
An old bed and dirty blankets. I’d expected it from the watery soup they distributed as meals, but the Rebels seemed to be suffering serious financial hardship.
And yet they had offered every bit of food they had for the dying monsters.
Seeing the meager pantry made me feel guilty for rolling in and adding another mouth to feed when they were already struggling.
I looked down at Varen, still lying there.
“Varen, I think we should pay for our meals.”
“Alright. How much?”
“You’ll cover the others too?”
“Of course.”
“Ohhh, the Prince of Dravergh looks cool.”
“...Really?”
At my words, Varen sprang up and immediately rummaged through the pocket at his waistband. From the pocket connected by spatial magic to the Dravergh treasury, gold coins poured out endlessly.
After piling a mound of gold before me, Varen looked at me with shining, expectant eyes.
Like a third-generation chaebol who only had money and tried to solve everything with it.
I snickered and patted Varen’s head. Then I counted the coins one by one.
“But is it really okay to use this? It’s from the treasury.”
“Human currency is nothing more than a souvenir to a dragon. If you want, I can bring out jewels instead.”
“No, this is enough. Let’s put the rest back.”
I separated exactly ten coins from the mountain of gold.
Though he looked confused, Varen returned the rest to his pocket.
I gathered the ten coins beside my pillow and lay down. The jingling golden sound made the corner of my mouth curl up.
Varen had called war a contest of firepower, and Morpha had called it a contest of information. Both were correct — but there was one more thing dragons overlooked.
War was fought with money.
And the gold Varen offered was only a tiny fraction of what filled the Dravergh treasury. Even half of it could buy all the weapons and supplies needed.
But there was no reason to lay all my cards on the table at once.
***
Clink— ten gold coins spread across the table with a clear sound.
Noance swallowed visibly, eyes shaking. Theo instantly wore a face full of desire.
And Adeline, as expected of a leader, remained composed. She only smiled gently, seemingly uninterested in the gold.
I leaned back in my chair with folded arms. I even crossed one leg over the other.
“Thinking about it, freeloading felt shameless. From now on we’ll pay lodging expenses for our party.”
Ten gold coins, by this world’s value, was enough for five people to stay at a hotel for a week.
The Rebel base offered creaking narrow beds, overcrowded communal lodging, watery soup and dry bread — but it was worth more than that, so I paid an appropriate amount.
After briefly freezing, the two quickly returned to normal expressions. Noance cleared his throat while Theo promptly collected the ten coins.
“Glad you’re more decent than expected. I’ll go see Martin for a moment.”
Theo spoke in his usual tone but failed to hide his excitement.
A small laugh slipped out.
He’d been born into a noble house — he must once have lived well. Yet he chose a harsh road for his beliefs and ended up starving. Seeing him thrilled over a few coins was almost cute.
Theo quickly left the tent. Curious what he’d buy first, I listened to his presence.
Once he’d moved some distance, he spoke excitedly with someone.
“What luck! Martin, we can finally go to the market! Let’s have a meat feast tonight!”
“Ten gold coins... we won’t starve for a while! But we can’t waste it. Careful spending keeps you alive.”
“Don’t worry, Martin. I’ve got a proper patron now — I’ll squeeze them dry.”
“Kahaha! As expected of the alchemist!”
That bastard.
The brief moment I found Theo cute was immediately revoked. I wanted to chase him out shouting who’s your patron?! but only glared toward the tent.
I was already under suspicion — I didn’t want them knowing I could hear conversations from far away.
Relaxing my stiff expression into a smile, Noance leaned forward, eyes sparkling.
“Hey... going to infiltrate the Litmus family means travel costs to the capital are pretty high.”
“Don’t worry. My pocket is generous.”
Morpha leaned back in the same posture as ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) me, lifting their chin slightly as they looked down at Noance.
Considering they’d called giving gold unnecessary, they seemed to be enjoying this situation.
Well — one souvenir piled in Beljena was more effective than a hundred words. Morpha had gained quite a weapon.
Then Adeline, who’d remained calm, lowered her clasped hands onto the table.
“I should thank you first. We were short on food.”
Beneath the gratitude lay a subtle reproach.
I tapped my fingers against my arm.
As soon as word spread the captive monsters were critical, the Rebels had brought food without hesitation. I’d been deeply moved watching them sincerely care.
Yet their leader seemed to regret it. Now that I looked closely, hunger hid behind her gentle smile.
Used to her ambiguous expression, I smiled back at Adeline.
“Even if food is scarce, the leader’s meals wouldn’t have been poor.”
“You think so? I’m the hungriest person here.”
I poked with the same tone, but Adeline’s smile didn’t break. Only my eyes narrowed.
It felt like more than a good poker face — there was a strange dissonance in that consistent expression. I’d never said it aloud, but sometimes Adeline felt not just uncomfortable but unpleasant.
Sensing the subtle tension, Morpha stood to end it.
“We have much to do, so we’ll take our leave. Adeline, you should rest.”
“Thank you, Morpha. Perhaps because I’m hungry, I’ve been especially tired lately.”
Adeline left that lingering remark and entered the bedroom.
Then Morpha turned to me and Varen.
“I still have things to discuss with you two. Follow me.”
With their blunt expression, I felt scolded in advance despite not doing anything wrong.
Since we couldn’t run, Varen and I trailed behind.
But the moment we left Adeline’s tent, Morpha abruptly turned around and spoke in a firmer, louder voice than usual.
“Theo, Noance, and I will depart immediately. Therefore, you two—”
Their expression was polite, but their eyes flickered with killing intent.
“It would be best if you quietly wait here until I return.”
“......”
“You were planning to visit the House of Aylos right away, weren’t you?”
Damn. Caught.
I’d actually planned to leave tonight with Margon guiding me after leaving Kallen here.
We had no information on how far King Laskar’s experiment had progressed — I wanted to move even a day sooner.
“Even I couldn’t find information about the House of Aylos. From what I hear, the only Aylos known publicly is you, Ceryl.”
“......”
“And by your own words, House of Aylos is the only place that successfully experimented on the army of death. You cannot charge in without preparation.”
“......”
“I repeat. Until I return, quietly wait here.”
“......”
“Answer.”
Morpha delivered the last blow, each syllable struck in staccato.
Varen and I glanced at each other, then nodded.
“Alright, Morpha. Come back safely.”
I answered in a shrinking voice, but Morpha still looked unconvinced. After glaring at me, they sighed deeply as if there was no helping it.
“It would take a week at human pace, but we’ll return in a day. Please — just stay quietly for one day.”
“I said I understand. Don’t worry—”
“Noance and I will be gone only today. We’ll return by morning, so don’t worry.”
Though I agreed, Morpha repeated it several times — unusual for someone who didn’t add unnecessary words.
“You understand? Noance and I will be gone only today.”
