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That is what I got after using Appraisal.

‘Just who is writing these descriptions? The status is created automatically, so is this thing the same? I have no damn clue.’

I didn’t think it was worth calling God over something like this, but I decided to still ask him about it the next time I called. First, I had to do something about this device and save the spirit.

◇◇◇

‘Hmph… Hmmm… Hhhhmmmm… God, this is so annoying!’

It was way more annoying compared to making that key. It was like trying to play an action game on a one-hit kill difficulty. The moment I lost my concentration, I’d fail to open the cage.

Destroying it would be faster, but that would create a lot of noise, and I’d be found out. Besides, it would likely be easier to destroy the castle itself than the cage.

Additionally, I feared that if I smacked it hard enough to destroy it, I’d also end up killing the spirit inside. The tricky part about opening this cage was also that I couldn’t save my progress.

Luckily, there was no limit on retries. Even if I failed to open it, the castle wouldn’t be alerted, nor would it make cracking it any harder afterward.

I just had to crack it in one go. Could I really do something like that? Given I was a Demigod now, I’d certainly be able to do it, but it’d take me a whole day.

And although I tried to coat it with game terms, this was not a game, so my motivation was hitting rock bottom. Come what may, I couldn’t just give up. Just as I resolved myself, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

I immediately used the Stealth skill and hid by standing atop the window’s edge. Though I wouldn’t say I was exactly hidden. By good fortune, this place was quite high up, so by just using Stealth, I wouldn’t be found out.

After some time, the queen, whom I’d seen yesterday, appeared. She approached the crystal without any worry whatsoever and placed her hand atop it.

‘I see. So the cage uses Mana as energy to continue working. Hmph. I guess it would’ve been impossible for such a complex cage to work without an energy source. And I doubt there’s something that can provide it with an unlimited Mana supply.’

In any case, I could speculate that the Mana stored in the cage was quite ample and it consumes less Mana than typical Magic Tools. With its current amount, I suspected it could last about 100 years before running dry. The world would perish before it ran out.

However, an amount of Mana that could support it for close to 100 years was not something that a person could manage by themselves. Regardless, this was not good. It wasn’t good for me at all.

It was possible that the queen came here every day, and I’d need a full day to open the cage. I’d have to start immediately after she left. But there was also the chance she could come earlier tomorrow. Then again, I might finish earlier, too.

Still, if I were interrupted just as I was about to crack it, I’d probably lose the will to try again. It’s like spending an entire day lining up dominoes only to have them knocked over right before you’re done.

Except with dominoes, you don’t have to start all over from scratch. But here, there was no such mercy. If I got interrupted, I’d have to start back at square one. By that point, I’d feel like giving up entirely. My motivation would be drained.

So, I’d likely need to learn the queen’s schedule. Of course, it was also possible that the king could show up if the queen was busy. After all, the spirit was more important to the kingdom than the royal family itself.

That’s why it was reasonable to assume that only a select few people even knew of its existence. Most likely, only the royal family—the king and queen—were aware of it.

This meant that I’d have plenty of time if I found a moment when both were absent. Like during the hero unveiling.

I still had to gather more information about that, but it was undoubtedly the perfect time to strike. It hadn’t worked out last time, but now I was alone. I was confident that I’d take control of the Fraus Kingdom with a single, well-timed move.

After the queen left, I waited a little while, just to be safe, before climbing down from the window.

What remained for today was to check the royal family’s schedule regarding the hero unveiling and then sneak in the day before the ceremony.

As I was about to leave the room, I felt something call out to me. At first, I thought I was imagining it, but if something had really reached out to me, it could only be one thing.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back. Or… is it that you don’t want me to come back?”

I said, looking at the yellow light, but received no response.

Seeing that I wasn’t going to get one, I decided to talk anyway. If what I’d heard was just my imagination, this would be my most embarrassing moment as a Demigod.

“You see, I’ve been told to bring back the spirits. I’m afraid I can’t leave you here. It must be hard, but please hold on for me.”

No matter how exhausted the spirits were, all I had to do was return them to God. That’s why I hoped they’d endure until the end.

Even though I said that, at a glance, this spirit still had about 50 years left in it. But considering that spirits had existed since the beginning of the world, 50 years was just a blink of an eye to them.

In that sense, a few more days would feel like mere seconds. It seemed reasonable to ask it to wait just a little longer.

“I’ll come again.” I said and turned to leave the room. Before I left, I thought I sensed the spirit feeling happy.