Chapter 42
“You can’t appraise it?”
“Yes. Precisely, I did appraise it… but…”
The clerk answered with a troubled expression and passed a sheet of paper on which the Hand of Appraisal had written. Irene reached for it. Her face twisted.
“This is… what language is it?”
“We confirmed it. It’s a tongue that has never existed on the continent. And before you ask, even if we try again, the Hand writes exactly the same.”
“Hah…”
Irene pressed her palm to her face.
A language that does not exist in this world. That meant decryption was impossible.
“At least there should be numbers.”
The language written by the Hand had no numbers, only characters. Numbers were unnecessary if the purpose of the item was unknown.
Since Irene could not interpret it, she could not even tell whether the object was an artifact or worthless junk.
She returned the appraisal with a dark expression.
“In that case, is there no discount for appraisal?”
* * *
“That’s right. It’s a human being who worked in the appraisal room of the Fortress. They won’t cut the price.”
Far from offering a discount, they said they would add a fee for using the Hand multiple times. Irene had no choice but to leave quickly without asking for more.
When she reached the room, she sat at the table and examined the appraisal sheet.
‘This kind of artifact doesn’t exist in my memory.’
Irene recalled every artifact record she had seen in her previous life. She remembered even the smallest ones. But she had no memory of this particular item.
‘The Remedy of the Nameless didn’t exist back then either.’
If both artifacts had appeared together, had they summoned this one?
They were both in her hands now, so there was no harm. But a strange worry began to grow: Would this pair of artifacts change the future in a major way?
Irene stared at the sheet for a long time, then sighed and looked at it again.
It was not exactly a dagger but a dagger and scabbard. The surface felt like metal with decorations, yet countless nicks made the original pattern impossible to identify.
“The blade is ruined.”
The edges had not rusted, but the teeth had been chipped in many places, so no edge could cut properly.
“What on earth is this…?”
Irene leaned over the table and spread her palm. The ring on her ring finger looked exactly as it always did, as if she had never twisted it.
“You’re alive, right? Can you see and think properly around you?”
She tried talking to the ring, but of course there was no response. After several tries, she turned her gaze back to the dagger.
‘What now?’
Like when she had appraised the Remedy of the Nameless, she had expected something enormous. So she left the appraisal to the Hand.
‘I was wrong to leave it when they said I could pay later.’
The staff in the auction house had been delighted when Irene brought the appraisal sheet. They had assumed it came from the dungeon she and Michael had entered.
When she explained it was from the box bought at the auction, their faces twisted.
“I’ve never seen anything good come from something like that. It’s all lies, lies.”
Even the auction staff were from the same alliance, but the appraisers treated them like street vendors.
“Anyway, it’s a complete loss…”
Even if she visited the auction house again tomorrow to settle the Quiet Stone’s balance, she would still be short of the 1,550 gold she owed Reina and the 10,000 gold appraisal fee.
‘When I found the Quiet Stone, I used the once-a-week dungeon access opportunity. For now, no money will come in.’
Still, it was fortunate that the Quiet Stone had confirmed her memories of the dungeons were not entirely wrong.
Irene recalled the other artifacts. Fortunately, there was a dungeon coming up in a few weeks that would yield usable items.
‘If I get them and sell them, I should make around 30,000 gold.’
Then she remembered Michael’s odd expression when he had received his artifact. He had spoken of “extraordinary luck,” but she was certain he had been suspicious of her.
What if another artifact appeared?
This time it would not be suspicion but absolute certainty.
‘Could he be dragged to the Holy Temple?’
Irene stood and went to the wardrobe. In the deepest corner of the bottom drawer, hidden behind other items, she pulled out a cloth-wrapped package.
The black metal she had clutched in her hand when she died. The same thing that had returned with her when she regressed.
“Nothing has changed.”
The metal felt the same. No rust, no color shift. The engraved pattern was identical.
Irene felt a sudden impulse. She wanted to show this to Michael and tell him she had died once and come back from the past. What would he say?
Everything had been going well since her return. But each time, joy mingled with an unknown fear that followed her like a shadow.
Would this last forever? Would everything turn chaotic again someday?
Would the people who had come to her then turn their backs?
If every memory she carried was false, would the current relationships continue?
If everything returned to the way it was before…
“…”
Irene stared at the metal, wrapped it again, and put it back in the drawer. Then she twisted the ring on her finger.
It stubbornly refused to slip off, but sometimes it slid away lightly.
Perhaps from using too much strength earlier.
Normally the Boundless Healing artifact should not have come off, but it slipped out easily this time.
Irene went to the bed, pulled the blanket over herself, and sat in the corner with her back against the wall.
Just like the old days, when she had spent entire days without speaking and stayed alone.
* * *
Creak.
“…”
Irene opened her eyes with effort at the sound of the door. The sunset had just begun when she fell asleep, but the room was already dark.
‘How long have I been asleep?’
She had curled up, and moving even a little caused pain everywhere in her body.
But she had no urge to get up.
Irene blinked slowly in the darkness, confused about what time it was now.
Had she been the one who had curled up alone in the small room of her previous life?
Or was she the one now lying in a wide room, surrounded by many people and feeling a pleasant drowsiness?
Before she could make sense of it, a large shadow moved in the darkness.
“…!”
Startled by the unauthorized intruder, she opened her mouth to scream.
“Irene.”
The voice called her name. Familiar, yet her heart pounded even more.
It was Michael’s voice.
He always asked permission quietly before entering. If she had not answered, he would have thought she was asleep and left. But he had entered without her permission.
Thud.
He collapsed in front of her as if he were about to retreat.
All that lit the room was the weak light from the window, so his face was hard to see. But even in the darkness, his eyes stood out clearly.
The deep blue irises that had approached her at the auction house. Yet they were now mixed with red.
The moment she recognized that red light, Irene froze.
It was the familiar red. The color unique to those addicted to demonic energy.
At first people might mistake it for excitement, but the stronger the addiction, the more the entire eyes turned red.
Fortunately, purifiers could see it clearly and notice the state of their Pair from afar, then attempt purification.
Irene had watched the addicted ones from a distance and knew how serious their condition was.
But right now, Michael…
“M-Michael…?”
Her voice calling his name trembled terribly.
In response, the eyes staring at her instantly turned completely red.
Irene wanted to scream.
In her previous life she had seen those who had been completely consumed by demonic energy and were no longer human.
Just before they turned into monsters, their eyes turned fully red.
And the eyes flashing before her now were the same color as those.
