Show Me Your Stats!-Chapter 126

Ayra had already suspected that Gretel had run off out of fear of the dragon, so she tried everything she could to shake Janus off. But no matter how much she reasoned or coaxed, he let her words go in one ear and out the other, trailing behind her regardless. Even when they’d been lovers, he’d never shown this level of obsession. It was honestly overwhelming—like carrying around a ticking time bomb whose detonation could level a city at any moment.

Unable to do anything about it, Ayra headed to Gretel’s house with the walking bomb in tow. The city still felt a little unsettled—understandably so, given the emergency evacuation two nights prior.

The Ran family’s residence was located near the mouth of the Senau River. It was a fairly large home, owning a decent spread of farmland and livestock—a sign of considerable wealth in Solar. Several pink-haired people, the [N O V E L I G H T] unmistakable mark of the Ran bloodline, recognized Ayra and looked surprised. Ayra approached them and spoke directly.

"Is Lord Gretel home?"

"G-greetings, my lord! Yes, he’s home. Please, allow me to show you in!"

The guilt of their head’s past crimes must have been heavy—their posture practically scraped the ground. Someone must have rushed off to announce Ayra’s arrival, because Lord Graffni came hurrying out, drenched in cold sweat. He’d clearly been through a rough time lately—the once-plump man had visibly thinned.

"Oh, my lord. I’ll fetch my son right away. Please, have a seat... Ah! Would you care for some tea?"

Flustered, yes, but not afraid—the man’s gentle demeanor held no fear whatsoever. It seemed Gretel hadn’t told his family anything about the dragon.

While tea was being served, Graffni kept glancing with curiosity at the red-haired man beside Ayra, clearly dying to ask who he was, but not daring to. Ayra and Janus sat side by side, sipping the bitter tea. Janus took one sip, made a face, and set it down. Ayra, meanwhile, calmly observed the tasteful antique decorations around the house. Some of the artifacts looked quite old.

By the time Lord Graffni returned with Gretel, Janus had already devoured five plates of dried fruit and nuts. The runaway administrator appeared, shoulders hunched—and the moment he saw Janus, he froze. With a choked squeak, he began hiccupping.

"M-my l-lord, hic, Lord Ayra—hic!"

"How are you feeling, Gretel?"

Ayra spoke first, cutting off whatever the young man had been about to say. There were simply too many ears and eyes around. After all, this was a household of no fewer than fourteen members.

"You look well-rested to me. Do you have time? You do? Then how about we take a short walk outside?"

Despite the string of questions, Ayra hadn’t cast any magic—but Gretel was already gaping, pale and speechless. Ayra stood up and casually slung an arm around his shoulders. Gretel flinched, but didn’t resist as he was practically dragged along, feet shuffling.

Once they’d put some distance between themselves and the house, Gretel abruptly dropped to his knees. Clasping his hands tightly, he pleaded to Janus with a desperate look in his eyes.

"I—I—I’m really not tasty! Honest! I—I don’t have much meat—"

"True. You humans don’t taste all that good. Chickens and pigs are much better. But I guess you’d be a decent snack once in a while."

As Janus spoke, Gretel trembled like a leaf, looking ready to faint on the spot.

And this is why I didn’t want to bring him along...

It sounded like a joke, but the fact that he was a dragon made it all too believable. Ayra shot a glance at Pebble—who flashed a big "No" in response. Thank goodness.

As Ayra looked down, Pebble scurried out onto Gretel’s head, narrowed its eyes, and placed one tiny hand where his temple presumably was. Janus watched the spirit closely, but when Pebble began sweating nervous little droplets, it discreetly relocated to the back of Gretel’s head.

"It was a joke, so don’t worry about it. And hey, the ground’s cold—no need to stay on your knees."

Ayra helped the still-trembling Gretel to his feet, keeping the conversation going while Pebble loaded up the deep-mind analysis.

"You sure have a big family, Lord Gretel."

"Y-yes. I live with my aunts, uncles, and their families, so..."

He was clearly trying hard to keep his voice steady while keeping a wary eye on Janus. Ayra shifted her body slightly to block Gretel’s line of sight to him.

"They seem like a warm, loving family. I’m envious."

"Ah..."

Maybe he’d remembered Ayra returning home from the Labyrinth only to find her family had all perished. Whatever it was, he couldn’t find the words to respond.

Gently sowing a sense of guilt, Ayra smiled.

"I understand how you feel. If I had such a close-knit family, I’d be terrified of losing them too."

"My lord..."

Touched, Gretel’s eyes welled with tears as Ayra patted his shoulder. Janus, already bored with the conversation, let out a long yawn and turned his hungry eyes toward a shaggy pig snorting inside a pen. If nothing else, it was clear Janus preferred pigs to humans.

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"You haven’t been an administrator long, and what happened the other day must’ve been overwhelming. You have so many mouths to feed... it’s only natural your family would weigh heavily on your mind."

"Y-yes! That’s exactly it... my lord, I... I really..."

Moved by Ayra’s understanding, Gretel choked up. Moments later, a system message popped up.

[Ran Gretel's favorability has increased by 8!]

Current favorability: 52♡

That kind of reaction was probably what you’d expect from an average person. Jinas and Bloom either had no family or very few loved ones—and were fiercely loyal to the Solar household. Hera, for her part, had the courage and bold personality that let her trust in her own strength. But Gretel... not only was he timid, he had no fewer than fourteen family members. Including the kids playing outside just now, that number came to seventeen.

Forcing someone without resolve into a leadership role can do more harm than good.

Ayra had seriously considered dismissing him. A few frightened soldiers were one thing—but a commander showing fear would rattle everyone beneath them. Jinas had said as much himself: Gretel hadn’t helped the evacuation; he’d hindered it.

Still, there was a reason she hadn’t fired him yet. Ayra opened the Stat Window again.

HP: 2,489

MP: 1,322

Physical Attack: 187

Magic Attack: ???

Favorability: 52♡

[View Details]

Title: Fresh-Faced Administrator

Occupation: ???

Strength: ???

Intelligence: 305

Skills: Speed Reading, Administrative Management, Mediation

Owned Titles: Fresh-Faced Administrator, That Administrator’s Son

Related Persons: ??? [Click!]

Current Thoughts: Unlocked upon reaching Spirit GM’s final level

His Intelligence was exceptionally high for this territory—almost absurdly so. And it had increased slightly since she last checked, despite being notoriously hard to raise. It was a waste to let him go. Ayra gently patted his back as Pebble finished loading.

[Ran Gretel’s Deep Analysis Complete!]

Ayra skimmed the sparkling data under the analysis banner and quickly reached her conclusion. She spoke as gently as possible.

"You can drag a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. But given what your father did..."

She paused, sighing deliberately. Gretel squirmed in guilt and bowed his head. Ayra looked down at the mop of pink hair and briefly wondered if that shade was dominant—how could everyone in the family have it?

"You’ll take your family and leave Solar for now. You’ll work outside the territory to repay your family’s debt."

Eyes wide, Gretel immediately bowed low, forehead nearly brushing the dirt.

"Th-thank you! Truly, thank you, my lord...!"

Ayra hadn’t been pleased with Gretel running away. The administrators of the manor lived off taxes, enjoying privileges and benefits—so in return, they were duty-bound to protect the people. Gretel had inherited the title unexpectedly from his father, yes—but that didn’t exempt him. Not to mention, his father’s sentence had been commuted to house arrest. That alone was generous.

Still, he really is young to bear the burden of protecting a territory from a dragon...

With the mind of someone who’d lived forty years across two lifetimes, Ayra clucked her tongue. If this had been her previous life, Gretel would’ve barely finished a convenience store part-time job. No wonder he wanted to run.

She was about to forgive him and leave when Gretel, bowing repeatedly, suddenly took a deep breath and looked up. Pale-faced, lips trembling, he declared with trembling resolution:

"A-after I escort my family out... I’ll return. I promise, I’ll come back to the manor."

His voice trembled like a baby goat, but it didn’t sound ridiculous. Ayra didn’t even need Pebble to tell—she could see it clearly: he’d mustered every drop of courage he had. Her lips curled upward.

"I’ll be waiting."

"Thank you again... and I’m so sorry, my lord...!"

Overcome with emotion, Gretel began sobbing again. Ayra, moved despite herself, pulled out a handkerchief.

She thought, I won’t say ‘never,’ but if you do come back—when that lizard starts rampaging again—I’ll at least try to keep you from dying first...

“Oh, right. Lord Gretel, do you happen to know the road that goes around the lakeside ruins?”

“Y-yes! You mean the ceremonial lakeside village from the Uglov Dynasty, around year 127, correct?”

As expected of someone with such a high Intelligence stat—he responded instantly with historical context. Smiling internally, Ayra gave him a solemn nod.

“When I fought the dragon, a lot of places were damaged. The other routes are in bad shape due to the aftermath of the battle, so when you leave Solar, make sure to use that path. It should be safe enough to take a carriage through.”

Gretel’s eyes welled up again at the genuine concern in Ayra’s voice. He bowed deeply once more, forehead nearly touching the ground.

“Th-thank you for your care, my lord. I will never forget this kindness.”

[Ran Gretel’s favorability has increased by 6!]

Current favorability: 58♡

Seeing the new system message, Ayra smiled gently and kindly patted the weeping administrator on the back.