episode_0040

“……”

Karen’s gaze, which had been fixed on me, slowly began to scan downward.

And the further down it went, the more violently her pupils trembled.

“Y-you…”

Having roughly anticipated what kind of future awaited, I closed my eyes and braced my stomach.

“Y-you… you damn pervert!!”

Yeah, I knew this was coming.

Though I don’t get why I’m the pervert when she was the one hugging me.

“Guh—!”

Cleanly kicked by Karen, I tumbled right off the bed.

It hurt. A lot.

Even for a protagonist, wasn’t that a bit too much force?

“Ugh… That’s gonna leave a bruise.”

“N-no. Wait, so why—whywhywhy was I hugging you? D-don’t tell me. Did we… that…….”

“We didn’t. At least, not that I remember.”

“T-then what the hell is this situation?!”

Karen peeked down at me from the bed, her voice shaking as she asked.

Even if I weren’t a mind reader, it was obvious she was seriously flustered right now.

Her reaction was amusing, but since she was clearly struggling, I figured I’d lighten the mood a little.

“No idea. I woke up and you were hugging me. Though I can think of one reason… Hmm, just one.”

“W-what is it?”

“I must’ve been so irresistibly attractive that you couldn’t help but hold me in your sleep. Yeah, that’s gotta be it.”

Muttering to myself, “Well, I am unusually handsome,” I nodded sagely. Karen just stared at me in silence.

And then—

“…You’re full of shit.”

She spat the words out cleanly and got up from the bed.

Without another word, she trudged off to the bathroom.

“…It’s not gonna bruise, right?”

Groaning, I checked the spot where Karen had kicked me as I forced myself up.

After that, without further incident, we cleaned up and checked out at 10 AM—neither too early nor too late.

“Did you enjoy your night?”

The innkeeper smirked slightly as he handed over the key, but I brushed it off and made a quick exit.

Later, as planned, we boarded a bus back to downtown Providence, marking the end of Karen’s and my dungeon conquest.

“I’m getting off here. Good work, today and yesterday.”

Rising from my seat, I tapped my card and waited for the bus to stop.

Then, as the doors slid open, I stepped right out—

—Tug.

Something suddenly grabbed my sleeve.

Turning back, I saw Karen holding onto it.

She looked just as surprised as I was, her eyes widening before she quickly let go.

“What? Something to say?”

At my question, Karen fidgeted for a moment before—

“…S-sorry. About this morning. A little.”

She apologized in a voice so quiet it was like an ant crawling by.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I stepped off the bus and replied,

“You’d make a great soccer player. That kick was something else.”

“You—!”

Her face twisted in outrage, but—

—Ssskrt.

Unfortunately, the bus doors closed before she could finish.

Through the window, I could see her mouthing something.

Probably telling me to take care, right?

“Don’t skip lunch.”

I waved at her with a smile.

Karen’s figure grew smaller in the distance.

“Sigh.”

Back home, I showered and changed into fresh clothes.

The crisp, clean fabric against my skin felt nice.

Then, I pulled out the 85%-finished curry I’d made two days ago from the fridge, reheated it, and had my meal.

“Phew.”

Sitting on the edge of my bed, I let out a small, controlled breath.

This was the nerve-wracking moment.

How could it not be?

The long-awaited time had finally come.

Breaking through the limit that had been holding back my growth.

Last time, I couldn’t clear it due to my lack of specs, but now, with a new skill in hand, things were different.

I reread the description of my newly acquired skill:

[Skill: Forced Promotion] – Designate one owned skill to forcibly promote it. – The promotion lasts for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, the promoted skill cannot be used for 1 hour.

It wasn’t a skill that directly strengthened me in combat.

The skills I had were few: [Persona Lease], [Shop], and the newly acquired [Worn-Out Mind] and [Forced Promotion].

Even if I used [Forced Promotion] on [Persona Lease], it wouldn’t mean much.

The odds of getting a 3★ Persona were already astronomically low, and even if I forced a promotion, it wasn’t certain I could bypass the limit break.

‘But this one’s different.’

I wasn’t planning to promote [Persona Lease].

I was going to promote [Shop].

[Shop] had a clear level—a tier system.

If I forcibly promoted it, the shop’s tier would naturally rise by one.

And with that, the previously available one-time purchase items would also change.

‘It was a [Random 2★ Persona Voucher] before.’

In a higher-tier shop, the limited item would most likely be a [Random 3★ Persona Voucher].

Meaning, I could get a 3★ Persona through the shop.

In other words, I’d break through a trial meant for 2★ Personas using a 3★ one.

Some might call it cheating, but hey, who cares? It’s how I’m gonna clear it.

It’s not like anyone’s watching anyway.

So then—

“Let’s give it a shot.”

Taking a short breath, I opened the [Shop] window.

It looked mostly the same as before.

Staring at it, I used [Forced Promotion] on [Shop].

And then—

—Bzzt!

Sparks flew across the shop window.

The characters and symbols composing it began rearranging themselves before revealing a flood of new information.

-@#^)#–&-%-

[Shop – LV: Novel] Fate Held: 1750

[Special Offer!] ○ 3% #ersona Ran$om Voucher (One-Time Purchase) (700 Fate → 400 Fate) ○ Low-Grade I# Poti@n (50 Fate → 30 Fate)

[Regular Items] ○ Bottled Water – 1 Fate ○ Low-Grade Mi#t %croll – 100 Fate ○ Ma@ic Bread – 2 Fate ….. … .

-@#^)#–&-%-

But something was off.

The text was glitched, as if corrupted by a virus.

And the occasional flickering distortions.

Just as I sensed something was wrong—

[The World protests against the Sage.] [Sage, this is a breach of contract.] [Even if it is a Seed, it cannot defy the natural orde—] [ ] [Unauthorized information.] [Message blocked.]

A flood of messages assaulted me without pause.

The World.

The Sage.

Contract.

Seed.

Each sentence was filled with words I couldn’t make sense of.

Yet, instinctively, I understood.

These messages were related to the divine being who had brought me into this world.

But that was all—I couldn’t grasp the deeper meaning.

From the context, it seemed I’d just violated some kind of contract.

But what did I do wrong?

Hell, I don’t even remember making a contract, let alone what it was.

What the hell is going on?

[…An error is being corrected by the World’s will.] [The promoted Shop will close in 10 seconds.] [10] [9]

Wait, what?

At the sudden announcement, I frantically scanned the shop.

I had to buy what I needed before it closed.

○ 3% #ersona Ran$om Voucher (One-Time Purchase)

[4] [3]

Amid the garbled text, I somehow found the item and immediately purchased it.

[2] [3★ Random Persona Voucher – Purchase Complete.] [1]

One second after the purchase, the shop window glitched out completely before collapsing.

“Phew. That was close.”

A narrow escape.

Just as I let out a sigh of relief—

[As of now, promoting the Shop via Forced Promotion is prohibited.]

A single message appeared before me, as if addressing me directly.

Seemed like the World and the Sage had some back-and-forth behind the scenes, and this was the result.

“Who do I even thank for this? Seriously.”

If the World was the one who called me out, did that make the Sage my ally?

Not sure if “ally” is the right word, but maybe the Sage was the one who brought me into this world.

Just a guess, though.

With no real clues beyond that brief exchange, it was hard to say for sure.

And honestly, it didn’t matter.

Whatever they were, it didn’t change my current situation.

The Quest had promised me.

When the time came, it would reveal the whole truth.

So there was no point wasting time on unsolvable mysteries now.

Instead, I focused on the fact that promoting the Shop via [Forced Promotion] was now banned.

“What a shame.”

I’d planned to keep cheesing trials this way, but now that path was cut off.

This was the only time the exploit would work.

But on the bright side, at least it worked this time.

Look on the positive side.

“3★.”

Closing my eyes slowly, I murmured the word.

A 3★ Persona would undoubtedly be on a whole different level from a 2★.

Please, let it be one suited for clearing the trial.

“Let’s go.”

I used the hard-earned [Random 3★ Persona Voucher].