Based on what he said, Luca was apparently unaware of the poison flowing in his body because of the unknown potion. Besides, the poison didn’t seem to be causing him any harm. Moreover, other than with Sylvia, he had never kissed nor shared bodily fluids with anyone else before.
The gift had protected Luca from poison and assassins, while its side effect accidentally preserved his chastity.

‘Luca’s brother must’ve done it to keep his younger brother safe… Did he not anticipate that there would be side effects?’

Whether he knew about the side effects or not, Luca’s brother had inadvertently interfered with Sylvia.
Sylvia, who was about to blame Luca’s brother inwardly, became stern as she recalled her conversation with Luca.

‘Ah, so that’s why in the valley earlier, he didn’t answer when I asked if he was an only child. His gaze also grew distant as he spoke of his older brother, who had an interest in potions, as if he were recounting the past…’

Perhaps Luca’s older brother was no longer in this world. Realizing it too late, Sylvia briefly felt sorry for Luca.
She decided not to bother confirming that assumption. Sometimes, asking about facts that weren’t brought up first might reopen wounds. She may be living well, but she didn’t have a hobby of unnecessarily sympathizing with someone’s misfortune.
As she was lost in thought, Luca continued to look through his telescope and calmly resumed the conversation.

“Anyway, rest assured. No matter how I looked at it, you didn’t seem like an ordinary person, so I just wanted to know your situation. I understand all about you now.”
“Yes. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”
“No, it must’ve been difficult to explain. But thanks to you, I can return my family’s island to its original state, and you can do what you need to do. It’s a win-win.”

Sylvia nodded, eliciting a soft laugh from Luca.
Then, he tilted his head and asked her.

“Still, what kind of god would make you suffer like this? It looks like you’re having a hard time making money. I don’t think he gave you divine power either… What power did you receive?”
“Well, I did receive power, but it wasn’t a divine power. This… Yeah, well, I guess you could say it’s like a trial given by god. Suffering is part of faith.”

To be precise, she was doing her best to clear the game so that she could avoid going to hell. However, since she couldn’t just admit that without making things more complicated, she decided to say that she received an oracle.
It was also difficult to explain what kind of skill she had to make money. After all, while she did receive skills, it was gradual, each under specific conditions. Moreover, if she used them excessively, she would get side effects called ‘status abnormalities,’ so she couldn’t just use them to make money.

‘Besides, making money isn’t the main objective of this game. Until now, my schedule has been centered around the capture targets and dungeons, so I haven’t thought about using my skills. I’m also afraid that if I overuse my skills to earn profit, I’ll suddenly end up with a lot of karma.’

Although there were many things she could do with her skills, she was reluctant to try them. How could she explain that to Luca? ‘I have skills, but I can’t use them’?
In fact, the most important skill of all was ‘acquiring skills by capturing virgin handsome men.’ But when Sylvia tried to talk about such an obscene ability, she could feel her lips drying up.
When she hesitated to speak, Luca paused, then spoke.

“If you’re having a hard time, tell me. You can stay with me at my house. Tell that dark-haired butler to go somewhere else.”
“Thank you, but I think that will be difficult. I have to do it on my own for it to have meaning.”

Luca felt dejected by her answer, but she didn’t notice because her head was down.
The line may be cool, but Sylvia had other reasons for rejecting his offer. She was afraid that if she trusted Luca too much, it would become difficult for her to capture other characters. Moreover, whenever she got involved with Luca, her karma increased. If she mindlessly accepted all his offers, she might end up accumulating a lot of karma all at once.

‘Now that I think about it, Luca said he would buy me clothes when we got back. Depending on the situation, I might have to refuse. It’d be troublesome if karma piled up for no reason when Mr. Noel isn’t around.’

Still, she felt relieved after getting the complicated things out of her chest. After a momentary silence, Luca handed over the telescope. As she climbed onto the wide rock on the cliff and peered through the telescope, Luca stood behind her to help.

“Look over there. Do you see another small island?”
“Yes.”
“Right now, we can’t cross the island because it’s filled with seawater. Had we been earlier, we would be able to cross since it was low tide. I didn’t cross because I thought I’d go with you. Low tide is from 9am to 3pm, so let’s go there tomorrow morning. The first warehouse is on that island.”

Luca moved the telescope that Sylvia was holding from place to place and explained the inside of the island. It was nice to be able to see the exact condition of the island through the telescope.
Sylvia was looking through the telescope when she suddenly exclaimed in surprise. The reason was because she discovered people loitering on the small island across from there.

“Huh? There’s someone there.”
“I saw them earlier too.”
“But why are they naked like that? They look like natives.”

They were mostly naked, revealing their upper bodies with palm leaves covering their lower halves. They were also holding long tree branches in their hands. Seeing that, ‘they look like natives’ was the only way Sylvia could describe them.
Sylvia’s pupils fluttered wildly at the sight of the Amazon or African natives she had only ever seen in documentaries.
The natives captured by the telescope wandered along the beach and soon disappeared from sight.
Since the distance was so far, she could only vaguely make out that they were people, and couldn’t even see their faces in detail.

“Oh, they went inside! Do indigenous people live here too?”
“No. This is originally an uninhabited island. Our men should be the only ones who entered this island. Someone might be trespassing on this island by stealing the temporary seal I gave to my subordinates… I’ll have to meet them in person to find out.”
“Do you think those natives will come here?”
“They might. If the situation demands it, I’ll fight. Worst case scenario, we can always go back through the return gate in Warehouse 1, or here. We’ll have to steal the ship anchored on that island and run away.”

Luca lifted his hand and moved the position of the telescope, allowing her to see several ships anchored in the corner of the island over there.
By the way, a return gate. After discovering that there was turbo driving, she wondered if there was a common gate in the game world other than the passage to the secret store, and it turned out that there was.

“There’s a gate?”
“Of course. How can there be a barrier but not a return gate? I told you, my family has been a family of mages for generations.”

Luca swept over his bangs and smiled victoriously.
Apparently, the〈Return Gate〉was invented by Luca’s ancestor, who was famous throughout the continent beyond the Elishers Empire. Luca didn’t forget to boast about his family, saying that most of the few gates remaining in the empire were built by his ancestors. He also mentioned that money alone couldn’t upkeep a gate; maintenance was feasible only because they were a family of mages.

As Sylvia took her eyes off the telescope, Luca cleared his throat and said a few more words, as if demanding her attention.

“A-ahem! Whoever gets to marry me, the heir of such a prosperous family, is truly blessed! I not only hail from a wealthy and well-established family, but am also handsome to boot!”

Nevertheless, Sylvia was too preoccupied to fully comprehend his words.

‘Thank God. I was anxious because I had used the 〈Return Scroll〉. Once the dungeon is cleared, I’ll just return to the gate or the ship.’

“I guess so.”

Although she wasn’t really listening, she answered curtly to please Luca.
At her unexpectedly harsh response, Luca was disappointed. However, he soon judged that she didn’t listen to him properly because she was nervous about the upcoming dungeon raid.
After all, if she did, she would’ve hugged him with expectant eyes. Then, as she looked up at him, he would’ve taken advantage of the mood and done what he had done earlier. Luca clicked his tongue in dismay.

Sylvia calmly spoke while handing over the telescope.

“You said the structure hasn’t changed much, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Still, something may have changed, so we should take a look around the island together before it gets dark.”

She couldn’t let the day go to waste. Like the〈Forgotten Temple〉, there will definitely be monsters there that could be defeated to level up. She had to level up as much as possible before setting out to Warehouse 1.

‘About Luca and I… I’ll have to postpone it until tonight. First of all, I need to find the monsters.’

Sylvia may be a pervert, but she knew her priorities. Thus, she decided against flirting with Luca in broad daylight. She had also confirmed that his favorability level had increased, and judging by his reaction earlier, he was likely to approve if she flirted at night.
On the other hand, Luca seemed to be keeping it together on the surface, but inside, he was dying to pick up where they had left off. He didn’t know what he didn’t know, but now that he had a taste, only perverted thoughts raced in his head. Compared to how aggressive she was in the valley, Sylvia was now calm, which made him upset.

‘Was my kiss not as good as I thought? Or was she overwhelmed by my display of love? No way. Did my breath stink? …No, it didn’t. It doesn’t smell like anything.’

Luca blew on his palm and shook his head. However, if he recklessly confronted her about it, he might be seen as a lecherous guy. Thus, he suppressed his desire by poking his thigh.

The two decided to go to the second warehouse as shown on the map. The first warehouse was on the opposite island, whereas according to the map, the second warehouse was in the middle of the island.
On the way, Sylvia picked up several palm leaves that had fallen on the ground, handing some to Luca and keeping some for herself. When Luca was unsure of what to do, she explained about what had happened at the 〈Forgotten Temple〉. He then shuddered and quietly accepted the leaves.

“Dress up like a native, is it? Got it. I guess I should follow the words of the experienced. Even though I have been to regular dungeons, I have only heard of the contaminated dungeons and never went to one, so I don’t know much about them.”

Sylvia briefly entertained the thought of getting naked and only covering her breasts and crotch with leaves. But then, she concluded, ‘I may be a pervert, but let’s not be a filthy one.’ Then, she wove the leaves and draped them over her dress. Since her dress was very durable, she didn’t want to remove it since it would aid her in battle.
On the other hand, Luca casually took off his top.

*T/N: Annica here! I’m taking over this series from now on.
E/N: Hi, this is Miki, the previous translator for this novel! I had to step down from translating this, but will instead continue as Annica’s editor, so I’m not gone! I’m also still doing my other novels, so you can check them out~ I hope you will continue enjoying reading this, and thank you so much for being on this journey with us ❤

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