The Villainess is a Millionaire Solver - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 26

The moment I stepped into the outer space, my entire body was enveloped in dazzling light.

That light was coming from my bag. The merchant guild leader’s bag I’d been carrying to protect my head from falling debris.

What?

I opened the bag in bewilderment.

Among the bills, coins, and miscellaneous belongings, one object was emitting a brilliant radiance.

A piece of wood. The lumber sample I’d barely obtained after spending 100 million on those troublesome Elven Faith fanatics.

It was strange.

‘What?’

I squinted and took out the wood piece.

At that moment, the radiance spread in all directions like a laser show, and simultaneously the earthquake stopped.

“…?”

A humming sound came from somewhere.

It changed into a sound like a mother gently humming while holding a baby, then soon became a song.

A beautiful and mystical song that seemed to be sung by real elves, not some fake Elven Faith.

The melody painted a scene before my eyes.

An ancient forest where sunlight poured through moss-covered trees. Within it, the wood piece in my hand began to slowly change.

“Hm?”

I looked down at it in surprise.

The smooth, processed surface of the maple walnut lumber writhed, and from it emerged vine patterns so intricate and delicate they seemed otherworldly.

Everything intertwined organically, gathering toward the center, and accordingly, the radiance the wood piece had been emitting was also drawn toward the center.

Eventually, only one thin crack remained in the center, the trace of everything converging into one…

That crack suddenly split open.

And a clear, transparent emerald revealed itself, opening wide like an eyeball.

At that moment.

One verse of the song in an incomprehensible language suddenly flowed into my ears with meaning.

「The contract that has continued since ancient times…」

Thud.

A powerful vibration swallowed the song, and the faintly trembling ground completely stopped.

What?

I finally came to my senses.

The strangely changed space had returned to normal.

“Queen Aunt!”

I called out, but there was no answer.

“Are you alright? Queen Aunt!”

I hurried down the corridor with the wood piece still in my hand. Then I discovered someone standing tall in the hall of the pavilion mansion.

It wasn’t Queen Aunt. It was a white-haired old man.

Hm?

The closer I got, the more familiar he looked, and sure enough, I was shocked when I saw his face.

“Old man?”

The stubborn owner of the lumber merchant’s shop. It was definitely the old man I’d wrestled with over the contract.

Why is he here?

“Hahaha…”

The old man saw me and threw his head back, bursting into laughter. Something was visible behind him. It was a wall of illusions like surveillance camera screens gathered together.

Each screen was showing people collapsed throughout this pavilion mansion. They were the S-rank, A-rank, and B-rank merchant guild leaders who had participated in this competition.

I was horrified.

“Don’t tell me you killed them?”

“That’s right.”

The old man replied. But immediately changed his words.

“Just kidding!”

“What?”

“What an imaginative princess. Those participants just fainted by themselves for a moment. That fellow secretly stole and forged a contract even though I refused to sell him wood. That fellow brought a different wood disguised as maple walnut. In short, you could say they brought it on themselves.”

I stared blankly at the old man.

I could sense it.

He wasn’t the mastermind who killed everyone, but he wasn’t an ordinary lumber merchant either.

According to the experience I’d gained from working various jobs, this atmosphere, this tone, and this expression were definitely…

“A CEO who disguised himself as a regular customer to evaluate the store.”

My intuition was telling me that.

“That’s your real identity, isn’t it, old man?”

“Haha. Close enough.”

“What’s your position?”

“Oh, Great Spirit.”

…What?

My mouth fell open at his casual reply.

What did you say?

“Princess, surprised?”

From behind the old man who revealed himself as the Great Spirit, Queen Aunt, whom I’d been searching for so desperately, appeared with a chuckle.

“You looked like you wouldn’t bleed even if pricked with a needle, yet you searched for me so earnestly. It was unexpected. I’m really sorry for deceiving such a princess.”

“Deceiving me means…”

“Actually, finding a guild to sell my music box was a lie. We staged this to find the Great Spirit’s new contractor.”

“What?”

“Originally that contractor was me, but at seventy, I’m not what I used to be. Worried that I might endanger the Crown Prince brothers, I hastily arranged this test.”

“What are you saying?”

I could only repeat like a parrot. I could clearly hear the words, but I couldn’t understand any of it. Like my brain was overloaded.

“Come, sit down. I’ll explain everything step by step.”

The Great Spirit and Queen Aunt grabbed the dazed me from both sides and sat me in a chair.

“Princess, you know about the curse suffered by those who inherit dragon blood. The first emperor tried everything and prepared countermeasures, one of which is ‘that thing’.”

“To maintain secrecy, we call it by many names, but its true name is ‘World Tree’s Lullaby’.”

Following their explanation, a vision appeared before my eyes. It was a vision of a baby dragon sleeping with its head against a giant world tree.

‘Gold Dragon?’

With its big eyes tightly closed, breathing peacefully in deep sleep, it looked cute and comfortable.

As twilight gently spread over its golden scales, a beautiful song echoed.

It was that elven song from before.

“No wonder it sounded like a mother humming to her baby – it really was a lullaby?”

I said that while looking at the old man.

“Old man, you’re the Great Spirit of the World Tree.”

“That’s right.”

The Great Spirit smiled and nodded.

“I accepted the first emperor’s request to help for world peace, and granted the mysterious substance called ‘World Tree’s Lullaby’ to successors who inherited dragon blood.”

When he raised one hand, a round, transparent emerald emerged from the center of his palm.

It was like watching tree sap form and harden in real time.

‘It’s similar to what appeared on my lumber sample?’

When I looked back and forth between them with wonder, the Great Spirit lightly waved his hand.

“This is just an illusion. ‘World Tree’s Lullaby’ must be extracted through mines connected to the World Tree’s roots, as its name suggests. Direct trade between spirits and dragons is impossible by law, and a human must be involved as an intermediary.”

“But the problem is that most contractors entrusted with that mission became corrupted. Either falling in love with transcendents and trying to possess them somehow, or trying to manipulate transcendents to seize power. They hid such dark intentions while taking the contractor position, ultimately bringing disaster.”

The Great Spirit nodded at Queen Aunt’s words.

“After experiencing various trials and errors and collecting diverse cases, I finally reached a conclusion. What kind of human could perform this duty best for the longest time. That is…”

He spoke solemnly.

“Someone who doesn’t want to possess transcendents through contracts or gain power… Someone who coldly calculates and contracts purely for stable profit, a pure money-grubber steeped in clear and innocent greed for money!”

The Great Spirit’s finger pointed at me.

In other words, that’s me…?

Is this a compliment or an insult?

“According to statistics, it’s exactly those kinds of people who successfully complete their contractor duties to the end. Lady Peruvian here is also an excellent example.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Queen Aunt chimed in.

“Decades ago, I took and passed the exact same test. Preliminary, main, and final examinations. The Princess abandoned the imperial palace ball, ignored Prince Zikren whom we set up as a decoy, recognized the excellent business prospects I put in the pamphlet and applied, easily passing the preliminary round.”

“And she found me, the Great Spirit, and won in a confrontation against me as I drove away candidates with forced excuses.”

The Great Spirit said with a broad smile.

“For reference, I wasn’t acting back then. I was genuinely furious and nearly went crazy. Like the lumber merchant, but even more so, the Great Spirit despises the Elven Faith. Those bastards dare to sell my name around!”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“No. What matters is that you won anyway.”

Queen Aunt waved her hand.

“After the Princess passed the main examination like that, she finally passed even the final examination with flying colors by safely awakening the World Tree fragment. Even though she had already safely escaped, she risked danger and came out to save others! The Princess’s choice pleased the deeply sleeping World Tree fragment so much that it opened its eyes wide.”

I was just trying to save my precious interviewer.

“Absolutely perfect!”

“Perfect indeed!”

The Great Spirit and Queen Aunt high-fived in the air, rejoicing.

‘Completely fooled.’

I thought blankly.

Now things seemed to be slowly falling into place.

“So all the hardships I experienced were obstacles set by the organizers, and I destroyed all the obstacles solely with the determination to win the business contract… Wait, hold on.”

As I traced back through the explanation I’d just heard, I got stuck on one part.

“You said you selected money-grubbing insects driven by pure, clear financial desire, not those seeking to get involved with transcendents through contracts or to seize power…”

I looked at the Great Spirit and Queen Aunt.

“Then you two are acknowledging it, right? The fact that I truly intended to pursue only business with pure motives, without any desire to get along well with His Highness the Crown Prince. Could you perhaps testify to that before my father or His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Testify?”

The two asked back as if dumbfounded.

“Why would we testify?”

“Ah, is that difficult for you? I was just so desperate that I…”

“There’s no need for testimony! That’s the very first thing I filter out. If the Princess had any ambition like dreaming of becoming Crown Princess, she wouldn’t have been able to see me in the first place. In fact, there were quite a few guild masters who came to the shop last night but couldn’t see me and just left.”

The Great Spirit said with a hearty laugh.

“But Young Lady saw me perfectly fine and came inside, had a confrontation, and is having this conversation with us now, isn’t she? Without needing to testify or anything, that itself is solid proof. The fact that the Princess doesn’t want to form ties with any member of the Imperial Family…”

Right at that moment.

The sound of footsteps rushing down the corridor outside, as if to break the floor, echoed.

“What? Who did you say the final winner was?”

Along with a flustered voice, the hall door burst open.

Aldensis and Zikren.

The two stood tall there. Before the sight of me conversing with the Great Spirit, both froze, unable to say a word.

“…?”

Their expressions showed they couldn’t possibly believe what their eyes were showing them.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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