Sir Dominic stood speechless before the clothes draped on a mannequin on the scale.

The brilliant platinum light.

A snow-white shirt and an elegant dark brown coat without gloss.

A neck guard and breastplate covered in brass and gold, shining brilliantly.

Long leather boots with high heels for easy horseback riding, studded with metal.

And all of these were finished with golden strings that made movements appear more dynamic.

To Dominic, this elegant knight’s ceremonial attire before his eyes felt like treasure.

Suddenly, he was reminded of a minstrel’s song who made a living telling stories in taverns.

‘The brave knight receives the king’s order and advances.’

‘He pushes through fierce giants and terrible monsters.’

‘At last, he finds the brilliant treasure and holds it in his hand.’

Yes. Just as that knight endured all kinds of hardships to grasp the treasure, hadn’t Sir Dominic also endured hardships among the shops?

Finally, Sir Dominic reached out toward that treasure.

The clothes were so attractive that he wanted to wear them right away.

[Warning! Tier Evaluation is in progress. You already have registered attire. If you wish to wear new attire, please complete the Tier Evaluation first.]

A status window appeared as soon as he touched the clothes.

Sir Dominic tried to grab the clothes ignoring the warning window, but his efforts were repeatedly blocked by the warning.

“Well, this is something I’ve never seen before.”

The baron grumbled.

“Those Executive branch fellows have no flexibility. Why on earth can’t you change clothes during an evaluation?”

“Can’t be helped. It’s because of the proxy test issue.”

Sir Dominic couldn’t understand what was happening.

“What is this about…?”

“It’s because of the evaluation.”

The baroness explained to Sir Dominic.

“In the past, you could change clothes as much as you wanted during evaluations, but regulations were strengthened after someone who was stuck in a Tier Evaluation wore someone else’s clothes and took the test for them.”

The baroness was quite knowledgeable about current affairs.

In fact, these were stories she had picked up at salons where noble ladies gathered.

“But I can wear this, can’t I?”

Sir Dominic grabbed and held out a T-shirt that said ‘This is a T-shirt.’

“That’s included in the basic outfit.”

“There is a regulation that requires wearing it even if you take off your equipment in the all-ages version.”

The baron nodded in agreement with the baroness’s words.

“So, I still can’t wear these clothes?”

“Not yet. You’ll be able to wear them after the evaluation is over. But it’s strange. It says you’re being evaluated even though you’re not in an evaluation. Do you know anything about this?”

Sir Dominic had no idea, but soon he had some suspicions.

‘If you need an additional evaluation and it’s urgent, please contact the Executive branch evaluation team and say “I want to be evaluated by Mister Nova.” Then I’ll re-evaluate you anytime.’

It seemed that the preparation period for re-evaluation was also considered part of the evaluation process.

Sir Dominic remembered the latter part of the minstrel’s song he had thought of earlier.

‘The treasure said, you are not qualified!’

‘No matter how much you want, you cannot handle me!’

It seemed that today, Sir Dominic felt like the knight in that song.

…

“Wow, you really came for a re-evaluation.”

Sir Dominic had hurriedly washed his old clothes at a coin laundry the baroness had introduced him to.

Although he fumbled with this unfamiliar modern convenience, the pictorial instructions were helpful.

Anyway, in Mister Nova’s personal office inside the Executive branch.

Mister Nova, still a blonde man with three cone-shaped spikes and straight mustache, smiled as brightly as a star.

“You’re the third person to get a re-evaluation this year. Out of so many people.”

“It’s nice to see that you’re so sincere about Gachaland,” Mister Nova said, flashing his remarkably white teeth.

Sir Dominic held out a metal piece to Mister Nova, but Mister Nova returned the USB as if he already knew everything.

When Sir Dominic was about to say something, Mister Nova spoke first.

“I know. The Enchant you appeared in has spread by word of mouth. Wow, I tried it briefly through the review committee, but it had the fun of an indie game.”

Though I died in the first stage. Why are games these days so difficult? Mister Nova grumbled quietly.

“Anyway, as your videos are frequently seen on GachaTube, we’ve concluded that the expandability is certain. We had tentatively decided to promote you as soon as a re-evaluation came in.”

Mister Nova took out a stamp from his pocket that was as iridescent as a rainbow and as sparkling as stars.

And after stamping something indescribable, like light kneaded with darkness, onto the stamp’s pattern, he stamped it on Sir Dominic’s card with a thud.

[★★☆☆☆ Sir Dominic][3 Cost]

Another star was engraved on Sir Dominic’s card.

“With this, your promotion is complete. Any questions?”

Sir Dominic, looking at the star whose ink had not yet dried, brought up things he had been curious about at Mister Nova’s words.

“What’s good about becoming 2-tier?”

“Oh my. Starting from there?”

Mister Nova touched his temple as if troubled and smiled brightly.

“Well, your performance improves a bit. Other than that, I can only express it as being treated a bit better.”

“Treated better?”

“That’s right. The difference between 1-tier and 2-tier is just one star, but between them is the difference between ‘not used at all’ and ‘worth using occasionally.'”

Sir Dominic nodded.

If that’s the difference between 1-tier and 2-tier, then the value difference between 2-tier and 3-tier, and between 3-tier and 4-tier must be even greater.

“Above all.”

Mister Nova said with a smile as wide as the Milky Way.

“From 2-tier, there’s a possibility of occasionally being included in the pickup list.”

Pickup list?

What could this be?

Sir Dominic wanted to ask about this new term, but Mister Nova spoke first.

“Unfortunately, the time I can allocate has run out. I have another appointment now, so you’ll have to go.”

Mister Nova smiled as he saw off Sir Dominic, who looked disappointed.

“I hope to see you in an even more splendid form at the next evaluation, Sir Dominic.”

With a bang, Mister Nova’s office door closed.

After leaving the Executive branch building, Sir Dominic took out his card in the parking lot in front of the Executive branch.

[★★☆☆☆ Sir Dominic][3 Cost]

Two stars.

Sir Dominic didn’t feel any difference from becoming 2-tier, but he was quite happy just having one more star.

A visible sense of achievement.

Unlike when he fought in Feralant and wondered if what he was doing was really for himself, Sir Dominic was becoming happy just by the fact that he could know immediately.

“Ah, right.”

Sir Dominic took out a shopping bag from his inventory.

‘I’ll wrap it for now, so try it on when the evaluation is over. If you like it, please visit again. How wonderful that would be!’

Inside the shopping bag were the new clothes he had just purchased.

Sir Dominic changed clothes in a nearby park restroom.

He thought about how convenient it would be if clothes could change with just a flick of the hand, but Gachaland was strangely realistic in places like this.

Finally, after changing clothes, Sir Dominic looked at the glass in the bathroom sink.

When wearing just knight’s clothes, Sir Dominic just looked like a knight.

But Sir Dominic in ceremonial attire seemed to have the appearance of an elite, like seeing the royal guard or imperial guard.

Of course, this might be an illusion, just as we think ourselves handsome when looking in the mirror, but Sir Dominic was thinking, “This is quite good,” as he groomed his hair.

Should I get a new hairstyle? Or change my eye patch?

It seems Sir Dominic has opened his eyes to the world of fashion.

Sir Dominic’s steps were confident as he left the restroom.

His upright posture and measured gait, showing the dignity of a knight, revealed how happy and confident Sir Dominic was.

The feeling that everyone in the world was looking at him.

Of course, it was groundless confidence, like a soldier showing off when on leave.

While walking, Sir Dominic suddenly looked at his reflection in a well-polished store window.

Indeed, I look great. Sir Dominic looked at his reflection in the glass with a confident expression and struck a somewhat cool pose.

He was so absorbed in this act that he didn’t notice someone coming beside him.

There was someone next to Sir Dominic, also looking through the glass window.

A height barely reaching Sir Dominic’s knee.

An uncommon 2:1 body ratio.

Purplish, long hair that dragged on the ground, and two black horns that looked bigger than her body which reached high into the sky.

Sir Dominic was now considering how to trim his hair to look better, stroking his chin with his hand, when he finally noticed the person who had approached.

Sir Dominic knew this little friend who was intently looking at something through the glass window beside him.

“!”

It was Princess Teu Le Vante, Demon Lord of Evil Eyes.