Show Me Your Stats!

The cold atmosphere of the morning banquet showed no signs of recovering even as time passed. Being stuck in that oppressive mood made Ayra gradually lose her appetite. Wanting to at least allow the retainers to eat in peace, she rose early from her seat and left the banquet hall ahead of them. As she walked with slow, deliberate steps, she summoned the Quest Window.

[Let’s Level Up the Cute Pebble.]

✔ Check the stats of 10 people (10/10)
✔ Introduce the Cute Pebble to 10 people (10/10)
Reward: A New Stat Category Unlocked
Seeing the quest marked as complete, Ayra noticed the words “Level Up!” appearing on Pebble’s body. Her eyes widened.

“Level up? You can level up too?”
A brilliant light suddenly burst from Pebble’s body, dazzlingly bright. Ayra instinctively clasped her hands together in anticipation. In that moment, a certain childhood memory flashed through her mind—animated shows featuring pocket monsters or digital monsters.
Evolution? Could this be evolution?

Her heart pounded with excitement as she kept her hands pressed against her chest, watching intently. Finally, as the radiant glow faded, Pebble’s new form was revealed.
It was still a pebble.
A round, smooth, fist-sized stone, with two dots for eyes and a slight ‘ㅅ’-shaped mouth. The evolved Pebble looked almost identical to its previous form.

Except for the tiny hands it had now gained.
“Wow… W-wow.”
Seeing how Pebble spun around proudly, Ayra awkwardly clapped along, indulging its excitement.

“You… got hands!”
Pebble fluttered up and landed on her shoulder, lightly patting—no, kneading? Stroking? It was hard to tell. But still… as long as it was cute, that was all that mattered. Curious, Ayra poked Pebble’s tiny hands with her index finger. They were soft and slightly squishy, like jelly.
“Ayra.”

She was just contemplating whether to call these appendages actual hands or some sort of fragmented sub-units, when a voice called out behind her. Turning around, she saw Jinas approaching, having seemingly followed her out.
Since she had been wondering what kind of new stat category had been unlocked, Ayra decided to open the Stat Window. The moment she saw the newly revealed section, her brow instinctively furrowed—but she quickly schooled her expression, sneaking a glance at Jinas.
The young steward was highly perceptive. If she reacted too strongly, he might grow unnecessarily wary.
“Sir Jinas.”

“There is something I need to discuss regarding the succession ceremony.”
Ayra forced herself to look away from Jinas’s floating Stat Window and gave him a nod, signaling him to continue.
“Since it has not been long since the unfortunate passing of the previous lord, it would be best to take some time before holding the ceremony.”

“Yes, my father, mother, and elder brother passed away only recently, and I still have much to learn. Taking some additional time to mourn while preparing wouldn’t be a bad idea. Perhaps another two months?”
Her words also carried an implicit message—I’m in no rush to take the lord’s seat, so you don’t have to push yourself either.
However, at this suggestion, Jinas’s gray eyes flashed sharply, and he firmly shook his head.

“No. No matter what happens, the ceremony must take place within a month. I will ensure that you are formally seated as the lord as soon as possible.”
“Oh, uh… sure. Thanks…?”
Even as she said this, Ayra felt certain—Jinas’s determination had nothing to do with loyalty toward her. Something about his insistence, combined with the tense atmosphere at the banquet earlier, unsettled her.

Casually, she decided to test the waters.
“Well then, should I start handling estate matters in the meantime? With the lord’s seat vacant, work must be piling up.”
“My deepest apologies, Lady Ayra. The official documents and approval seals are kept in the study, but according to tradition, only the lord or their appointed proxy may enter.”

A polite but firm rejection. In other words—You are not allowed to interfere with estate affairs until you officially inherit the title.
Yet another red flag.
Was he simply a strict traditionalist, or was there another reason? Ayra had a strong suspicion it was the latter.

For a moment, she considered insisting—but then let it go. She didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot with such a key figure, nor was she eager to take on lordship responsibilities immediately.
And besides, no matter what problems might be brewing within the estate… it didn’t really matter.
Because no matter what, she would become the lord.

It wasn’t out of some deep sense of duty or responsibility. To Ayra, the estate was little more than a nostalgic memory from childhood. Her time in the Mage City: Labyrinth far outweighed her attachment to this place.
Her determination to claim the title came from a different reason altogether.
How likely was it that the deaths of the lord and his family were purely accidental?

The lord. His heir. And his wife.
If even one of them had survived, the estate would have continued functioning without issue. But the three of them had died together. Coincidentally.
And even their accompanying knights—every single one—had perished, leaving no witnesses.

The most unsettling part?
Her brother’s body had been torn in two—as if ripped apart.
No matter how badly a carriage tumbled down a cliff, could a corpse really end up in such a grotesque state?

If this was murder rather than misfortune…
Ayra’s eyes turned cold.
She had no intention of becoming an easy target.

And she had no intention of letting the perpetrator walk away unscathed.
“Well then, I’ll wait for the ceremony.”
“Yes. I will arrange for it to be held as soon as possible.”

“Alright. I’ll be counting on you, Sir Jinas.”
Just as she turned to leave, something crossed her mind, and she stopped mid-step. Turning back, she politely asked,
“Oh, by the way—would it be alright if I… removed a few bricks from the castle walls?”

Jinas, ever the composed and meticulous steward, momentarily froze—buffering, as if trying to process whether he had heard her correctly.
“…Excuse me?”
“If possible, I’d like to take a few bricks from the central wall of the main hall corridor. There’s something I want to check.”

“…And what exactly do you wish to check?”
“This castle has stayed so pristine and intact for such a long time—it’s obviously thanks to magic. I just want to take a quick look at how the magic circuits are structured—”
“You may not!”

Jinas cut her off with a sharp, horrified expression, as if she had just suggested committing an unspeakable atrocity. Before Ayra could even attempt to persuade him further, he doubled down, his tone even more resolute.
“Even after you become the lord, dismantling the historic walls of the main corridor is absolutely unacceptable.”
“If it’s just a matter of people seeing, I’ll do it secretly at night and restore everything afterward. A little bit of well-refined slime gland secretion will seal it up seamlessly—”

“My goodness! You’re planning to apply what?”
Jinas’s expression twisted in horror, his eyes practically screaming, Is this lunatic mage really our future lord?! Ayra’s confidence wavered slightly.
…Apparently, outside the Mage City: Labyrinth, slime gland secretions weren’t commonly used for repairs.

Am I unnecessarily causing conflict with an important official right from the start?
“If the corridor is an issue, then maybe somewhere else…”
“Every brick, every fragment of this estate holds the history of Solar. It would be absolutely improper anywhere.”

Jinas, perhaps fearing that Ayra might continue this absurd line of discussion, quickly bowed his head and scurried away. Watching his retreating figure with slight disappointment, Ayra turned and absently grabbed the floating Pebble. Stretching its body like kneading dough, she watched as its newly acquired hands flailed helplessly.
“All that, and all I got was a full name? Seriously?”
She scowled and gestured toward Jinas’s Stat Window, which remained visible even after his departure.

HP: ???
MP: ???
Physical Attack Power: ???
Magic Attack Power: ???
Favorability: ???♡
So that was it. The newly unlocked section only revealed that ‘Jinas’ was actually ‘Hess Lu Jinas.’ That was all.

As she continued to idly stretch and squish Pebble, Ayra mulled over the name.
“Hess… That’s the family that has managed the estate’s stewardship for generations, right?”
In Solar Estate’s naming conventions, noble families placed their surname first, followed by a shared generational syllable, and lastly, their given name.

For example, Solar Sing Ayra meant ‘Ayra of the Solar family, belonging to the Sing generational branch.’
“If this ability works as I think it does… It could be incredibly useful.”
Lost in thought, Ayra suddenly realized that she had flattened Pebble’s body like a pancake.

“Oh, crap.”
As soon as she released it, Pebble dramatically flopped around, its tiny hands clasped together in a desperate pleading motion. Apparently, while it enjoyed being squished and kneaded, it had limits—being pressed completely flat was not to its liking.
Before she could soothe the poor thing, a new Quest Window popped up.

[Let’s Level Up the Pitiful Pebble.]
✔ Check the stats of 300 people (0/300)

Reward: Unlock One Stat of the User’s Choice
Ayra blinked.
“…Three hundred?”

The difficulty had just skyrocketed.