Roel had been keeping a close eye on the Affection Point Exchange Shop over the past few years as he would often find things that were beneficial to the governance of the Ascart Fiefdom there. If he had to compile a list of meritorious subjects who had contributed greatly to the current swiftly economic development of the fiefdom, the Affection Point Exchange Shop was ranked in the first few places.

  That being said, while Roel had exchanged quite a few stuff there, most of his purchases were deliberate and intentional. To be more exact, he only bought things he understood and needed, like the incinerator, wooden bricks, and such. These were things he knew that he could definitely put to good use.

  There were items that were labeled with incomprehensible names and descriptions in the Affection Point Exchange Shop too, and he tended to stay away from them. In the dregs of his distant memories, he could still faintly recall the deep disappointment he felt when he purchased an item known as ‘Skeleton Pallbearer Army’.

  ‘Till I know what it’s for, I shouldn’t waste my money on it’, that was the lesson Roel walked away from that experience.

  Due to that, whenever he saw abstract item names such as ‘Convene of Glory’ and such, his first reaction was to simply overlook it. Not understanding what these items were used for was one thing, but they tended to be darnedly expensive too.

  In his experience, he came to realize that those with incomprehensibly abstract names tended to be ridiculously expensive, easily costing hundreds of thousands of Affection Points. While the Alicia Mine did produce huge harvests of Affection Points, still, he couldn’t just squander it away just like that!

  Fortunately, Roel’s popularity had been rocketing over the last few years due to his work as the good work he was doing managing the fiefdom. Just by taking a stroll around the city each day, he could easily rake in a huge amount of Affection Points. If he really was in need of more, he could even hold ‘Meet Your Fief Lord’ sessions. In name, it was an event to gather the opinions of the civilians and understand their needs, but there was no rule stating that a proxy fief lord couldn’t harvest Affection Points while uncovering and solving problems.

  While Alicia individually provided a huge deal of Affection Points to him, the truth was that Roel had already found an even more efficient method. However, just like how the human body could temporarily abstain from food but couldn’t stop breathing, he had his own philosophy regarding this matter too.

  I can earn Affections Points whenever I want, but I can’t miss my daily intake of Aliciatonin.

  Due to this line of thought, Roel ended up not earning as much Affection Points as he potentially could have. Fortunately, it was still enough to purchase most things that he needed, and he even managed to save up 200,000 in his account…… though 80,000 of it came from the frightening, explosive outburst from Charlotte a while back.

  And today, Roel unexpectedly found something in the Affection Point Exchange Shop that caught his attention.

  【Bell of Protection

  Calming tolls of the bell grants one serenity; the blessing of protection bestows one peace.

  Price: 500,000 Affection Points】


  【Monthly Discount

  % off selected goods in the Affection Points Shop!……

  Bell of Protection

  Discounted Price: 250,000 Affection Points】


  “.……”


  Roel was overjoyed when he first saw this item.

  The System’s shops would refresh every month, so there was a chance he might find the Lobor serums in the shop next month. However, he was reluctant to slow down the advancement of his transcendent abilities right now, especially not after he became aware of some of the threats looming above him.

  But after a short moment of excitement, doubts began surfacing in his mind.

  Will it really work? How effective will it be?

  After much consideration, Roel decided to get double layers of insurance. While the Bell of Protection was expensive, it was currently discounted and was barely affordable to him. He was more than willing to invest Affection Points for his own safety. At the same time, he could also treat this as an experiment for ‘items with abstract names’ and use this as a gauge in the future.

  As for the other layer of insurance, it was basically normal advancement serum.

  Advancement serums had always existed on the Sia Continent, be it in the ancient era or the current era. Roel was currently sitting in the heart of commerce of the Sia Continent, the prosperous Rosa; as long as he was willing fork out the money, he should be able to acquire a top quality advancement serum without any problem.

  Admittedly though, the pharmaceutical industry seemed to be rather underdeveloped in the current era, so even if he purchased the best advancement serum there was out there, its effectiveness probably wouldn’t come close to that of the Lobor serums.

  Roel had no idea how good his double layers of insurance would work out, but this was the best plan he could come up with at the moment. Having made up his mind, he finally rose from the bathtub and stepped ashore……

  After the ‘fighting incident’ was concluded as an accident, both Charlotte and Alicia were taken away by their fathers. While Bruce and Carter had chosen to overlook the matter in public for the sake of maintaining friendly ties, it didn’t mean that the girls would go unpunished for their folly. Nora was fortunate that there was no one to lecture her there, but after what had happened here, she chose to obediently return for the time being.

  So, at least for today, Roel was able to get some peace.

  From how Roel had taken the initiative to take the blame for the incident, Bruce was able to get a grasp on the personality of his prospective son-in-law. Perhaps due to that, when the servants delivered an exquisite box containing an elaborately carved glass bottle, they didn’t speak a word about the price at all. It was only when Roel picked up the bottle and asked about it that they finally answered as such.

  “Young master Roel, you’re an esteemed guest of our Sorofya House. It’s our honor to be able to attend to your needs during your stay in the Hundred Birds Gallery. Please feel free to ask anything of us.”


  Leaving behind such words, the smiling maid took her leave.

  Roel sighed helplessly. After some consideration, he decided to accept the Sorofyas’ goodwill. It would appear rude and distant of him if he were to turn down their kind intention here. It was not as if the Sorofyas lacked money anyway.

  Having thoughts things through, Roel began examining the transparent fluid inside the glass bottle carefully. Maybe it was because it had come from the Sorofyas, but this serum clearly screamed of ‘high-quality good’. It was yellowish-orange in color, resembling alcohol a little. It had a light delicate smell that wasn’t too pungent. In terms of appearance, it was definitely way better than the Lobor serums.

  It was just that appearances were of secondary importance when it came to serums.

  Roel turned his sight toward the System and stared at the Bell of Protection hesitantly for a moment. A long while later, he finally tapped on the ‘Purchase’ button with gritted teeth.

  With a flash of light, the super item that cost a whopping 250,000 Affection Points finally made its appearance! Roel thought that the Bell of Protection would be huge from its description, but it was unexpectedly small.

  It was a small black bell that had a traditional appearance. It was roughly half the size of Roel’s palm, allowing him to easily hold it in a single hand. Despite it smaller size though, it had elaborate carvings that resembled runes on it.

  Staring at this old, mysterious little bell, Roel felt a little more reassured. He placed the two items on the table before looking out of the window. He had finally recovered from his deficiency in life force and the side effect of occasional chills, so the only side effect that continued to plague him was his condition of undead reanimation. Since that was the case, there was only one last thing he needed to do now.

  It was time to share a long-awaited dinner with Little Miss Angel.