Chapter 74: You Guys Are So Upset

“Haah.”

Dan Minha furrowed her brow at the throbbing headache that surged up once again today.

It had already been half a year since she began acting as regent.

The political landscape was still as precarious as thin ice.

From her mother, the Empress, who constantly tested her and threatened to lock her away in a dungeon if she stepped out of line, to the upstart lizards who had somehow gained the Emperor’s trust and risen to become the dominant force in the palace overnight.

If it weren’t for the few loyal ministers who stood by her side, she would have been purged long ago.

And today’s agenda had particularly grated on her nerves.

Your Majesty, you must enforce a prohibition to restore order in the capital!

“Restore order in the capital? What a joke.”

The so-called “order” was just an excuse. 

The real issue was the cheap, headache-inducing rice wine that flooded the market. 

With new foreign goods entering the capital, these people were quick to advocate for isolationism, shutting the doors on progress.

How dare they try to interfere with the business of the man the Princess had taken an interest in.

She wanted to crush them immediately, but unfortunately, Dan Minha lacked the justification to do so.

The prohibitionists had come up with a clever slogan:

“Let’s drink the alcohol we make ourselves. Long live domestic alcohol! Opposing this is treason.”

It was a trap she couldn’t easily refute.

“Those bastards are the ones selling out the country…”

Crack.

Lately, the lizards—especially those who had grown into full-blown dinosaurs—had been acting suspiciously.

She had sent her spies to investigate, but so far, there had been no significant findings.

“Your Highness, a request for an audience has arrived from Lord Ark.”

“!”

Speak of the devil. 

The creases on Dan Minha’s forehead smoothed out as she quickly checked her reflection in the mirror, adjusting her attire to ensure nothing was out of place.

Though she couldn’t see her feet, she still fussed over her appearance, her heart racing.

“Let him in.”

She forced her voice to sound as dignified as possible.

The door creaked open.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

The polite voice, adhering strictly to palace etiquette, made her heart skip a beat.

“Indeed.”

She wanted nothing more than to kick off her shoes, run over, grab his arm, and drag him to the basement to keep him all to herself. 

But she was the First Princess of the Empire, the legitimate heir to the throne. 

She couldn’t afford to act on such impulses and risk political fallout.

But as she steeled her resolve…

“Your Highness, I have been wronged…”

The genuine sorrow in his voice, paired with his deer-like eyes, caused one of the chains binding Dan Minha’s self-control to snap with a loud *crack*.

* * *

At first, I hadn’t planned to cling to power and whine my way into the Princess’s favor.

My shop, unofficially known as “Ark’s General Store No. 2” and officially as the “Starry Night Tavern,” had been bustling for three days straight. 

Even if business slowed down a bit, I could handle it.

I bought vodka from Celestia, marked it up several times, and sold it in Neo Hanyang. 

It was basic international trade, but without tariffs and in a market with no price transparency, it was incredibly profitable.

If the prohibition was just a passing fad, I believed I could wait it out.

“Haha, as expected of His Majesty the Emperor!”

“Indeed. How can some unknown, rootless alcohol become popular in the capital? It’s absurd!”

I thought so too, until I saw a tavern openly selling alcohol that was supposedly banned.

What’s this? 

People living above the law?

Not that I’m jealous. 

I’m a law-abiding citizen, after all.

I quickly ran to a nearby constable to report it.

“Excuse me, isn’t that alcohol being sold? How can they sell alcohol when a prohibition has been declared?”

But the constable, the so-called “staff of the people,” just snorted at my report.

“Sir, that’s not alcohol. It’s grain tea.”

“…?”

I was speechless at the absurd excuse, something even a monk would find ridiculous.

The tavern owner even came out and said, “Yes, yes! It’s grain tea made from rice, boiled until thick! Hehe, would you like a bowl?”

“Hmm, I’m busy with official duties, but listening to the people is also part of my job. Let me try a bowl of this grain tea.”

The constable and the owner walked arm-in-arm into the tavern, leaving me stunned.

This was collusion between officials and civilians!

A sense of justice burned within me.

And now, back to the present.

The angelic Princess, who had listened to my grievances about discrimination against outsiders with utmost seriousness, whispered like starlight.

Even if I was an outsider, such insidious discrimination should not exist. 

And under the sacred law of the land, even if it was made from rice, there could be no exceptions to the prohibition. 

Unless it wasn’t made from rice, of course.

Her words were absolutely right.

“Hehehe.”

And then, I obtained a single document.

[Certificate of Monopoly Rights]

This would bring normalization to Neo Hanyang.

* * *

That day.

“Ah, sir! Why are you doing this?”

“Hmph. This is official business. Confiscate everything!”

Most of the makgeolli brewed with such care in Neo Hanyang’s taverns was confiscated.

The barrels of alcohol, carefully stored, were sucked into the Ministry of Justice’s warehouse, where they aged and developed their flavor.

There’s always an “angel’s share” in aged alcohol.

The nameless angels in the Ministry of Justice secretly siphoned off some of the confiscated alcohol, enjoying their happiness and shouting, “Long live the Princess!”

But no one dared to curse the Princess, a direct descendant of the imperial family. 

Doing so would mean their body might suddenly find itself inside a dungeon.

Instead.

“That outsider, Ark or whatever, is the problem.”

“Stealing alcohol from people? He deserves divine punishment!”

In just three days, this pretty-faced upstart had taken control of the country, and loyal ministers everywhere lamented.

They had struck first with the prohibition, but people tend to forget when they’re at a disadvantage.

“That outsider is getting too arrogant.”

The bourgeois class, who owned about half of Neo Hanyang’s taverns, grew uneasy.

The dinosaurs were restless.

* * *

Happiness doubles when shared; misfortune is halved when divided.

Though my new shop, “Starry Night,” had to temporarily close, the “side income” I earned from a quick tour around Hanyang was substantial enough to keep me afloat for a while.

Salary? 

Why pay a salary when there’s no work?

Ingredients? 

If customers don’t eat them, Rena will.

Electricity? 

Haha. 

This shop is under the direct jurisdiction of the First Princess. 

There’s no way I’d have to pay utilities.

Minimizing the losses that self-employed people usually suffer, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Huh? Sleeping here tonight?”

“Meow!”

The heroes freely traveled between Celestia and Neo Hanyang. 

Though my minimalist interior didn’t seem to appeal to them, and the guild house in Celestia was more popular, there were still some who chose to sleep in Neo Hanyang, like Tina.

Of course, there were also heroes like me who had settled here.

“The aura around Juin is getting darker, meow…”

Rumi, who would follow me even if I opened a shop in hell, was lately raising her tail at some inexplicable intuition.

“Hehe. Ark? I’ve brewed some tonic for you.”

“Is it a stimulant? I’m not drinking it.”

“As expected, Ark, you have a keen eye.”

Ellis, usually kind and gentle, became desperate to feed me some dubious concoction at night.

Aside from them, Johanna occasionally appeared to establish order, and Saha, having forgotten all shame, sometimes popped up in a bikini.

But tonight was relatively quiet.

Just Rumi, Ellis, and Tina. Four, if you included Renatel, who had gone out for a walk because she couldn’t sleep.

Well, whatever.

It was already 3 a.m. I decided to have a glass of vodka and lie down, but as I got up from the sofa…

[A new branch has been triggered based on the relationship between the Seeker’s actions and the characters.]

“…?”

A window I had never seen before popped up.

And that wasn’t all.

[An event has occurred. Forced entry into the tower.]

[The number of heroes in the guild house is insufficient. Party formation is automatic.]

[Party 1: Rumi, Ellis, Tina, Renatel]

[Party 2: Vacant]

“Huh?”

Before I could fully understand the message, I felt my body being pulled somewhere.

The sensation of entering the tower swept over me.

And then.

Though my vision remained unchanged—

[Entering the 23rd Floor of the Tower of Wishes, Area 1.]

[Tower of Wishes, 23rd Floor – Neo Hanyang, Area 1]

[★☆☆: Survive.]

[★★☆: Win without anyone falling.]

[★★★: Uncover the mastermind behind the attack.]

For the first time, I had entered the tower’s area against my will.

A strange sense of foreboding crept up my spine.

“Juin! Are you okay, meow?”

“What’s going on?”

“Oh my… Surely, Ark hasn’t entered the tower, has he?”

The three heroes burst into my room, question marks floating above their heads.

At the same time.

The outside suddenly brightened as if it were noon, and the sound of a crowd gathering echoed.

“……”

This is bad.

I have too many suspicions.

I don’t even know who’s behind this…!