Mirena let out a long, heavy sigh.

As she walked toward the pharmacy, her mind kept circling back to what had just happened.

To be honest, with her current strength, she really could have saved those two Elves.

But the problem was what came after—

If she saved them and took them away by force… what would happen to her mother then?

“This really can’t be helped… it’s something I just can’t change.”

She used that sort of irresponsible line to comfort herself.

But no matter how she tried to talk herself around it, the fact that she’d let someone die right in front of her wouldn’t change.

After several minutes of walking,

Mirena finally arrived outside the shop marked with a red cross on the map in her head.

She looked up, staring straight at the red glowing cross above.

“The pharmacy should be here… right?”

Being able to find it just by looking at a map felt just like playing an RPG.

Mirena showed a helpless little smile.

In fact, she was literally inside an RPG game she herself had made.

Everything here had been created step by step by Mirena’s own hands.

Yet as the one who created this world—

She was far too weak.

She couldn’t do anything.

A sense of powerlessness filled her heart.

The hood on her head hid her blue hair.

Then Mirena pushed open the door. The chime rang with a clear jingle-jingle.

“Welcome. What can I get you?”

Hearing the crisp bell, a young Vampire stepped out from the back of the shop.

He greeted Mirena with the practiced tone of a shopkeeper.

But his experienced eyes immediately dropped to the clothes she was wearing.

He sized her up. The kid’s clothes were all torn and ragged.

At first glance, she didn’t look like the wealthy kind of customer.

His enthusiasm for serving her dropped by more than half.

“Sorry, little miss, we’re just about to close for the day. If you’re not—”

“Boss, can I trade these coins for some medicine?”

“Huh? Coins? What coins? Let me see.”

Mirena reached into the money pouch at her waist and took out a few green Elven ore stones, placing them on the counter.

The moment he saw those stones, his eyes lit up.

They looked pretty plain on the surface.

But these Elf Stones were incredibly valuable.

Just one piece could be worth a fortune.

In fact, the reason the Vampire upper ranks had decided to attack the Elvenfolk territory

was completely because of these Elf Stones.

Stones that could completely restore mana, and could also be used as a power source for cities.

Not just for Vampires—these were an insanely rare resource for every race on the map.

So these ore stones were—

Extremely precious.

Humans on the other side were also mining Elf Stones.

But humans had only one reason for collecting them:

to use Elf Stones as an energy source to power their weapons—magitek dolls.

Actually, on the far side of the map, there were rich ore deposits of this stone.

But here, without a doubt, it was a resource beyond rare.

Only Vampire nobles and the upper class were allowed to own it.

So this girl… had her master sent her out to buy medicine?

Highly possible.

You could tell just from those tattered clothes.

Still, that had nothing to do with him.

A merchant’s rule was to focus on profit.

As long as these stones held value for him, he’d take them.

Judging from what the girl had said—

She probably didn’t know the value of Elf Stones.

“Kiddo, these pieces of ore you’ve got don’t seem to be worth that much…”

“But these three stones are all I’ve got left…”

“It’s fine, I’ll be nice and do you a favor. I’ll trade these three Elf Stones for three rolls of bandages, three painkillers, and three bottles of alcohol. I’m being really generous here…”

“Generous? I don’t think you’re being generous. You’re trying to cheat me.

Please don’t treat me like a three-year-old.

When it comes to prices, I doubt there’s anyone in this world who understands them better than I do…”

Mirena completely dropped the innocent tone she’d been using, and spoke to the shopkeeper in a voice even more seasoned than his.

But in the next moment, she switched back to that pure, childlike tone.

“Everything I just said is what my master taught me to say. But my master didn’t want that many things anyway. She only asked Mirena to bring back all the bandages and all the painkillers from big brother’s shop~”

Mirena tilted her head, her bright, watery blue eyes staring right at the boss.

She spoke to the young Vampire shopkeeper in a cutesy voice that even she found nauseating.

What made Mirena feel like throwing up was the fact that she was actually forcing herself to act cute for a few bandages and a few boxes of painkillers.

But in the shopkeeper’s eyes, she was just an adorable little girl putting on a cute act.

“A-all… all of my medicine… for just these three Elf Stones? That’s a bit much…”

“Of course Mirena won’t ask for too much~ She just hopes you can give as much as you possibly can~”

“I see, I see. How about twenty rolls of bandages and thirty bottles of painkillers?”

If he didn’t count the stock in the warehouse, that was probably almost half of the medicine out front.

Mirena thought it over quietly.

“Then Mirena will trade just one Elf Stone for all that~”

“Uh… kid, are you serious?”

The shopkeeper watched Mirena calmly put the other two Elf Stones back into her belt pouch, looking absolutely serious.

“Ara, do you want Mirena’s master to come talk to you herself?

If Mirena’s master finds out you tried to cheat her, what do you think is going to happen?”

In reality, Mirena was just bluffing.

But she noticed the shopkeeper did show some wariness at the mention of her master.

After all, only nobles and the upper ranks were qualified to own this kind of magic stone.

So of course he was a little scared.

The royal family definitely wouldn’t show up in a place like this, but he was afraid her master was a Vampire noble.

And if she was a noble, then there was a very good chance—

Plus, Mirena was dressed like someone who didn’t want to be recognized.

So in the end, rather than chasing more profit, he chose the safer path—

“F-fine. I’ll do the trade…”

Honestly, even trading all that for one Elf Stone was still a win for him.

As long as he sold that Elf Stone to a race outside the outer walls—

He could get double, or even more.

“Thank you for your patronage. Come again soon…”

The chime rang again with a jingle-jingle.

Clutching her Elf Stone, Mirena pushed the door open and bolted out of the shop.

The shopkeeper picked up the Elf Stone again, staring at the green crystal that could bring him infinite wealth.

But as he rubbed the ore between his fingers,

green powder flaked off.

“!?”

It was just a rock!? He’d actually been duped by a little girl!?

Mirena pulled out the stone she had originally handed to the shopkeeper.

She really did have three Elf Stones.

But the ones she’d passed over weren’t all real Elf Stones.

She’d mixed in a few ordinary rocks coated with glowing dye.

At the end, she’d swapped in a fake stone at high speed.

That crooked merchant was probably exploding with rage right about now.

Thinking that, Mirena’s footsteps grew even lighter.

“I need to hurry back and treat Mother…”

As she hopped her way down the road home, she accidentally bumped into a man.

The Elf Stone in Mirena’s hand slipped and scattered on the ground.

The man bent down and picked up the green Elf Stone that had fallen.

He rolled the green crystal in his gloved fingers.

He wore a black coat, gray gloves, and thick, heavy-framed glasses.

Turning the Elf Stone in his hand, the man began speaking smoothly and without pause.

“Elf Stones, also called Elven ore. After being mined by Vampires, they usually only end up in the hands of Vampire nobles, or the royal family. Other ‘slaves’ shouldn’t be carrying something this valuable. Which means there’s another possibility…”

Behind those thick frames, his eyes shone with a practiced, knowing light.

The moment Mirena saw his eyes, fear flashed across her own.

On top of that, after the impact just now,

her hood had slipped back off her head.

“Before the Vampires invaded and built this city of blood, there were rumors that an Elven Princess of the royal family escaped.

Didn’t think I’d run into you here.

Ah… so you’re one of those ‘wild’ slaves.

No, to be precise… you’re the runaway Elven Princess, Your Highness.”