A Surprise Gift and Unforeseen Reactions
“Huh? Absorbing demonic energy increases my purification power? Is that even possible?”
The employee’s words made Irene jolt upright in her seat, startled.
Purification power had always been fixed in size from the very beginning.
Ever since the existence of purifiers had appeared in the world, that fact had never changed.
Those rare cases where a judgment flipped were all revealed to be errors.
That was why purification power had always been considered unchanging.
Yet now an artifact had appeared that shattered the most fundamental assumption of all.
The conditions were surprisingly simple.
“If one absorbs demonic energy, purification power rises.” That meant the owner’s power grew stronger the more often they attempted purification.
“Wait, just a moment. I’ll go report this!”
The employee cried out in alarm, his face paling. He had witnessed countless artifacts here before.
Artifacts that could create a fireball the size of a bathtub in one hand. Artifacts that melted bone with a mere touch. Even artifacts that could interfere with time despite difficult activation conditions.
To an outsider, these would seem far more extraordinary.
But someone who had worked here for years knew the truth.
The ring with the name already given would soon affect not just the fortress but the entire continent.
* * *
“Hah…”
Irene sat in her chair and let out a long sigh.
Her gaze drifted to the ring on her right ring finger.
It had been three days since she received the ring from Michael.
During those three days, the fortress had been turned upside down.
*‘I thought it was impossible when I heard the ability description, but I never expected such a ruckus.’*
Until now, countless artifacts had appeared, yet none had directly affected purification power.
As a result, every purifier in the fortress—along with the staff—had been so distracted by Irene’s mere passing that their minds were elsewhere.
Of course, staring was only part of it.
“An artifact like that? Impossible!”
“May I touch it once?”
“Boundless artifact? You’re lying because you don’t want to be robbed, right?”
People reacted in a dozen different ways to the artifact.
But the one fortunate thing was that those who were envious were not all simply jealous of Irene.
“Count Michael goes on dungeon raids more than anyone else. If he purifies that often, he’ll absorb even more demonic energy…”
“…Could he become a 1st-rank purifier? Or perhaps even higher.”
The moment those words spread, the people around Irene began treating her with unusual warmth.
Of course, such attention could not be pleasant.
*‘I only wanted to stay quiet and leave, but this chaos…’*
Above all else, what troubled Irene most was that none of this had existed in her previous life.
*‘What on earth will change because of this?’*
First, the unstable dungeon itself had not appeared in her previous life.
Dungeons could appear at will, but even without that, the relationships that would be affected by obtaining this ring were not something she could even guess.
Moreover, another reason Irene found herself troubled was Michael’s attitude.
*‘I thought he’d be flustered, but he’s so calm about it.’*
Due to custom, he had given her the ring without a second thought, yet it was far too extraordinary. She almost felt sorry for him.
If he had put it up for auction instead of giving it to her, it would have fetched an enormous price. That would have been a huge help to the Temple’s chronically tight budget, so perhaps the one truly regretting it was Michael.
Because of that, Irene had been unable to sit still and was desperately searching for a way to remove the Boundless effect.
“Is there no way to remove the Boundless attribute? Or perhaps an artifact that counters it exists in the Temple…”
“There is no such artifact.”
“Don’t be so hasty. If you look for a method…”
“There won’t be one. So please stop worrying. Also, this artifact has nothing to do with purification power. I believe the item has simply returned to its rightful place.”
As he spoke, the employee stared at the ring on Irene’s hand for a long time. His eyes held a satisfied glint, and Irene could not bring herself to say more.
Just as she was about to close her eyes from exhaustion, she heard a voice.
“Irene!”
She frowned unconsciously at the voice coming from outside.
It belonged to Wilhelmina.
Irene stood from her seat and checked the dungeon report she had received that morning, confirming the date.
*‘Today…’*
Today was the day Princess Cecilia had invited her to a gathering.
At first, Irene had considered refusing the invitation again.
*‘But I have to face it once anyway.’*
In that case, it would be better to finish it quickly and return.
Thinking this, Irene stood up.
* * *
Princess Cecilia’s residence stood on the opposite side of the building from where Irene was staying.
The top floor, offering an excellent view of the fortress.
In her previous life, the moment she entered this building, Irene had never been able to lift her head. But this time, even after entering the princess’s quarters, she felt no particular emotion.
Wilhelmina beside her, watching the room with a bored expression, looked increasingly anxious.
*‘Has it all gone mad?’*
No matter how she claimed to be Michael’s pair, Irene was still only a 9th-rank purifier at best.
Yet the 1st-rank princess had personally invited her to the gathering. For purifiers inside the fortress, nothing could be more glorious than this.
*‘Then I should bring a gift, right?’*
In most cases, one either brought something decent from dungeon rewards or, if not, luxury goods purchased at high prices from the fortress.
Cecilia had even sent a list of what she liked—special tea leaves—asking her to prepare something in advance.
“I didn’t have time to prepare anything because I was so busy. Besides, since the princess already has everything, if I clumsily prepared something, she might find it funny and laugh.”
The hesitant tone was nothing like the old Irene.
But the attitude afterward was different.
“So perhaps it’s better to just go as I am. With my limited insight, I probably can’t prepare a gift worthy of pleasing the princess. It might be better to learn her refined taste this time.”
It was subtly belittling… yet oddly unsettling.
Especially the way she was acting as if it was nothing to stand in front of the princess’s residence.
And the fact that she had come without bringing any gift and still behaved so casually.
As Irene and Wilhelmina stepped inside, the gazes of those who had arrived earlier focused on them.
More precisely, they were fixed on Irene.
“Welcome, Lady Irene Rodiam.”
Princess Cecilia rose from her seat with a smile.
In her previous life, Irene had been overwhelmed and simply bowed. But now, it was different.
“Thank you for inviting me, Your Highness Cecilia.”
This time, thanks to the slight bow, she could clearly see the cold, sharp glint in Cecilia’s eyes—quite different from her gentle voice.
“……”
“……”
A brief silence fell. Cecilia stood quietly smiling as if waiting for Irene’s reply.
Then her eyes widened in surprise when they landed on the empty hand that had held the ring.
In the end, Wilhelmina stepped forward between them.
“Your Highness, Irene says she hasn’t prepared a gift because she doesn’t know much about the gathering yet.”
The other purifiers sitting nearby began whispering, as if they had been waiting for this.
“Even if the countess raised her, it seems she wasn’t properly taught proper etiquette.”
“But the other low-ranking purifiers aren’t rude like this… Isn’t bringing a gift to an invitation the basic rule?”
Watching the whispers directed at her made Irene recall her old self.
Back then, she would have trembled at every sharp word.
But now…
*‘It doesn’t bother me at all.’*
No, it was worse than not bothering her. It was almost amusing how loudly the others were talking.
They were gathered just to mock her.
And the only attack they had was words.
Irene deliberately put on a slightly embarrassed expression, then deliberately raised her ring-adorned hand forward and said,
“Now, where is my seat?”
At that moment, Cecilia’s gaze turned to her hand.
At the same time, the conversations of the others fell silent.
All eyes were fixed on the ring in Irene’s hand.
“……Here, come sit next to me. Irene.”
A moment later, Cecilia pointed to the seat right beside her with a raised hand.
Irene bowed once more in gratitude and took the seat.
All eyes continued to follow the ring.
Irene glanced down at the ring on her hand.
*‘With just this one item, the treatment has changed so dramatically.’*
Since receiving the ring, she had felt heavy with the weight of the changed future. But at this moment, she forgot those worries for a while and could only smile at the changed attitudes of those around her.