Show Me Your Stats!-Chapter 171

When the tide comes in, row with all your might. After a simple meal, Ayra immediately sprang into action. She mobilized the full administrative power of the estate to begin promoting Bloom.

First, she put the red flower Bloom had brought back—no, the Sacred Flame—and the bloodstained crimson cape on display in the plaza. With her restored mana, she even crafted an ice sculpture of Bloom and erected it there. Once winter passed, a carefully carved stone statue by a sculptor would take its place. She also hired a few skilled storytellers, gave them money, and had them passionately recount the battle in vivid detail on the spot.

While she was at it, Ayra even gave the cave a name. She dubbed it Bloomroad. Come to think of it, “Bloom” also meant flower in her previous life’s language, so Ayra thought the name was quite fitting. However, when Gretel heard it, he quickly lowered his head, twitching his lips, and Jinas commented with a subtly amused smile that Sir Bloom would surely love it.

She also drew up plans to found a village near Bloomroad. It was still barren wilderness for now, but given time, Bloomroad would undoubtedly flourish as a tourist hotspot with a booming local economy. She imagined lodging facilities, a solemn prayer center, souvenir shops, and even the second branch of Wolf’s steamed bun bakery—and the thought made her quite happy.

After a day of busy planning, Ayra opened the Territory Window to check her progress.

Territory Name: Solar

Lord: Solar Sing Ayra

Area: Approximately 2,300 Jenta

Population: 158,238 (Some prisoners from Sobletz are assimilating.)

Debt: 35,000 Cell from Bolni (Monthly interest: 150 Cell)

Administration Level 4 (Funds sufficient to hire additional personnel.)

Heroes: Jinas (★★★★★), Gretel (★★★★)

Military Level 5 (Hero Bloom has awakened and transcended. Soldier morale greatly increased!)

Heroes: Bloom (★★★★), Hera (★★★★)

Knights: 87

Soldiers: 1,513

Security Level 4

Guard discipline strictly enforced.

The city is now safe from thugs and hoodlums.

Hero Hera leads the Skinhead Vigilante Corps.

Commerce Level 5

Trade: Skit Silk playing a vital role. Boost in employment!

Tourism: The foundation of a holy site is forming around Bloomroad!

Quarrying: Exports increasing due to Bolni’s reconstruction project.

Approval Rating: 73% (Support strong across all regions.)

Religion Level 6

A minority of believers, led by former High Priest Theon, are hostile to the lord.

Relic: Residents receive increased support due to the sacred relic Sacred Flame.

Saint: Priests gain additional boost from devotion to Saint Bloom.

Sacred Master: Additional approval boost applied.

Special Note:

Days until destruction: 42

One-line Review: Congratulations! Now this is finally starting to look like a real territory. Let’s keep rolling until D-Day! :D♥

+ Additional Feature Unlocked: Territory Upgrade Required

A whopping 73% approval rating.

It wouldn’t have been possible to raise it this high using normal methods. But this time was different. To the devout followers of Morunka, Bloom’s solitary battle must have felt like witnessing a living legend with their own eyes. Most of the citizens saw this as divine proof that Morunka was protecting Solar.

And that wasn’t the only benefit. The defeated Orseng had taken a devastating blow—one he likely wouldn’t recover from easily.

According to Gretel, Orseng was already under fire from the merchant class who mainly supported him after the Skit Silk price crash.

And now, on top of that, he was being slandered with vicious rumors and had started a war only to lose most of his troops. Bolni’s enraged forces hounded the fleeing stragglers like hunting dogs, and Orseng had barely managed to escape back to his estate, severely wounded and in total disgrace. It was absolutely delightful news.

Naturally, Ayra didn’t plan to stop here. Just as Nilma Argan had allied with Solar out of revenge for his father and relentlessly hunted Orseng, Ayra also intended to exact her own family’s revenge—by ending Orseng’s life.

“That aside... only 42 days left until D-Day?”

It had been 234 days at the start. She could hardly believe how quickly time had flown. And along with that came a heavy sense of dread. The fact that the countdown remained, even though she was clearly Janus’s fated one, likely meant that this destruction wasn’t something even Janus’s power could stop.

She snapped her head around to look at Janus. He was lounging on the sofa, demolishing a whole basket of nuts and dried fruits, and looked up lazily when their eyes met. Ayra furrowed her brows and pressed him.

“Janus. Be honest. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° There’s another dragon in the area besides you, isn’t there?”

The dragon rolled his eyes lazily, then shrugged and casually nodded with a “Yeah.” Her suspicion confirmed, Ayra rushed over and snatched the nearly empty snack basket from his hands. She glared at him as he licked his lips and asked, voice sharpening.

“How strong is that dragon? So strong you can’t beat him? Is he in Sobletz?”

“What are you talking about? He’s nothing. I could eat him in a single bite.”

Janus boasted as he slowly tugged Ayra to sit beside him. Ayra, still thinking it through, asked again.

“You went to fight the Sobletz dragon the night before the Bolni earthquake, didn’t you?”

“More or less.”

He answered carelessly while fiddling with Ayra’s hand. Since she’d taken away the snacks, he now gazed at her hungrily—his eyes sliding from her fingers to her wrist, and then, like flowing water, over her shoulder and down to her chest.

Maybe that “single bite” claim wasn’t so exaggerated. If he’d managed to chase the Sobletz dragon out of Solar... But the problem was, ever since Ayra had given him that mana stone fragment, Janus was no longer in top shape. Even as the starving dragon began undressing her, Ayra stayed lost in thought until she pressed him again.

“Seriously—why didn’t you tell me there was another dragon?”

Janus paused, halfway through undressing her, and stared straight at her.

“Knowing your taste, do you think I’d tell you about another dragon? Just for the record, if I get jealous, there’s no way Solar comes out of it unscathed.”

Ayra opened her mouth to argue, then hesitated. Janus had her figured out way too well. And what’s more, his face was frighteningly sincere, his eyes gleaming. His wariness toward other dragons was blatantly obvious. In a solemn voice, Ayra declared:

“There’s no dragon for me except you.”

“Swear it on Solar, and I’ll believe you.”

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“How could you ask me to swear on Solar? That’s too much.”

“Too much? Really? And you’re saying I’m the one being unreasonable?”

“....”

With a slightly trembling voice, Ayra finally swore on Solar that Janus would be the only dragon in her life. Then she returned the confiscated snack basket. Just then, the Main Quest window she’d glimpsed briefly during the mission to rescue Bloom from Bolni popped up again.

<Main Quest!>

[The Woman Wandering the Forest (1)]

Find the woman wandering the forests of Bolni, hear her story, and help her. (Not Achieved)

Reward: Linked Quest – The Woman Wandering the Forest (2)

Main Quest! Ayra’s eyes lit up. She quickly reopened her very first main quest window.

<Main Quest!>

[Territory Survival: Preparing for Catastrophe]

Save your territory before time runs out (D-42)

Achieve at least 60% approval rating (73/60)

Recruit 5 loyal vassals (4/5)

Raise Spirit GM to final level (Not Achieved)

Reward: ??% Survival Rate for Territory Population

It wasn’t a leveling quest, and the approval goal had already been met, so this new quest was clearly tied to the final vassal recruitment. As she reviewed the Main Quest, Ayra grew uneasy. The threat of destruction was drawing uncomfortably close. She sighed softly, and then—along with a cheerful alert sound—a new system window popped up.

[Back-to-back quest success! Special bonus for our hardworking user!

Bonus opens in 24 hours :D

(Time remaining: 00:00:00)]

Apparently, a full 24 hours had passed since her last reward without her noticing. Curious about what kind of bonus it would be, she watched as Pebble appeared, struggling to carry a large virtual gift box. Pebble rapidly beat on a small drum, and with a dramatic pop, the box opened and a new system window burst out.

[☆★※Stat: "Related Characters" Unlocked!※★☆]

Ayra’s eyes widened. Thanks to the spike in approval, she’d unlocked a stat without completing a leveling quest. Pebble now had only one final step left to reach max level.

Wait... “Related Characters” means I can now see how Janus feels about the people around him, doesn’t it?

She immediately opened Janus’s Stat Window. Ayra’s eyes grew even wider. A little excited, she turned toward him—then flinched. At some point, her clothes had been entirely removed, and Janus was gazing at her with a ravenous look, as if ready to devour her whole. His fangs gleamed between slightly parted lips as he grinned and murmured:

“I love it when you’re deep in thought. You don’t notice anything. Not when you bump your head, not when you trip over your own feet... and best of all, not when I’m undressing you.”

Ayra barely managed to gasp out his name—“Janus!”—before she let out a yelp, and the hungry dragon began devouring her with relish.

Pebble, who had been quietly watching, puckered its lips in surprise and discreetly closed Janus’s Stat Window.

And from outside the window, one other presence had been secretly watching the whole time. But though Janus briefly paused, tossing a suspicious glance toward the window, he simply tilted his head—and ultimately, no one noticed.