IHDOE Ch 35

What was an Entry Pass to the Golden Room?

Long, long ago, a vast empire had ruled the continent. It was said to be so unfathomably wealthy that its castles were built of solid gold and its rivers carved from diamonds. Possessing advanced magitech and boundless treasures unimaginable by modern standards, the empire vanished abruptly one day.

People dismissed the ancient realm as mere legend until an adventurer discovered old texts while exploring a dungeon. Scholars examined the gold coins buried alongside the documents, confirming their imperial origins.

The ancient empire actually existed!

The realization ignited a feverish obsession across the land. Anyone who located its ruins would instantly become one of the wealthiest figures in the realm.

Books like Mastering Ancient Imperial History in 30 Days, Where Is the Golden Empire? Featuring Commentary from Adventurer A!, and Turn Your Life Around: You Too Can Find the Empire! became instant best-sellers. Adventurers set out in droves, yet decades passed without a single discovery.

Doubts gradually cooled the craze.

Does the ancient empire even exist? Could scholars have misanalyzed the coins? What if the adventurer forged the document?

Adventurers abandoned the search, and tales of the golden empire reverted to mere folklore, buried once more in the sands of history.

Except that the ancient empire is real.

Satina clenched her fist. An Entry Pass to the Golden Room granted access to the ancient emperor's private treasury. While anyone else would have to wander the continent to locate it, she already knew the treasury lay in the western region.

The Entry Pass to the Golden Room is a late-game item. I never expected it as a reward for a sudden quest, when unlocking it usually requires clearing several brutal quests.

She was determined to complete the quest and claim the pass.

Though it certainly won't be easy.

Satina examined the student sitting before her.

Seventeen-year-old Blin lived in the slums with her father and younger sibling. Though not an orphan, severe poverty had forced her family to rely on the temple orphanage.

She had been obedient as a child, but adolescence brought a wild, rebellious streak that led to assault, fraud, and a turbulent youth.

She rarely showed her face at the orphanage now, and supposedly Sophia was the only teacher capable of keeping her in check.

I never imagined I'd meet her here.

In one game ending, the heroine became the Saintess while "Satina" was imprisoned in the temple. Blin had appeared as a maid tending to the captive villainess, ultimately dying while helping Satina escape.

While the other teachers offered sympathy when Satina took on Blin, she was secretly delighted to encounter a character she had always been fond of.

Swinging her crossed leg, Blin offered a sharp scowl.

[Blin] "I don't care about lessons or whatever. I'm busy, so let's wrap this up fast. Ugh, I only came by to grab dinner—how did I end up trapped here?"

Affection could be a funny thing. Despite Blin's straying path, the teachers regularly invited her back to ensure she ate a decent meal.

[Stella] "I'd love to let you go, but the director pleaded with me. Open your book."

[Blin] "No thanks."

She spat directly onto the textbook resting on the desk.

[Blin] "What's the point of learning this junk? Does studying put money in my pocket or food on my plate?"

[Stella] "If I let you go without a lesson, what do you plan to do instead?"

[Blin] "I have plenty to do. Picking drunk men's pockets pays nicely, and selling fake booze makes decent coin too."

[Stella] "And gambling, right? Word is you've been caught cheating at cards more than once or twice."

[Blin] "That's...!"

A slight smirk touched Satina's lips as she looked at the spit-stained book.

[Stella] "I don't care how you ended up in those places, but... from where I'm standing, you lack any talent for it. Wouldn't studying hard to enter the Imperial Academy be better than getting caught scamming people and paying fines?"

[Blin] "Pfft! Pahaha! The Imperial Academy? Are you out of your mind?"

She burst into laughter, slamming her palm onto the desk.

[Blin] "Ah, that's hilarious. Sure, going to the Imperial Academy would be great. Only elite nobles go there, and graduating sets you up for life! But a dummy like me at the Imperial Academy? Pfft."

She snickered, tapping her fingers against the wood.

[Blin] "Are you some ruined noblewoman or something? Why speak like you don't know how the world works? I know my limits. If trash like us wants money, trying to compete with noble lords using our useless brains is stupid. Gambling for a jackpot at the card tables is the only real answer."

She kicked the desk, snarling.

[Blin] "So if you really want to help me, stop trying to teach me this useless junk and give me money for cards instead."

Satina remained composed through the outburst, gazing back calmly. She was well accustomed to such scenes.

Perhaps due to her upbringing by the orphanage teachers, Blin still maintained polite honorifics throughout her rant, making her seem remarkably docile—almost cute—compared to her younger stepsister back home.

Experience had taught Satina how to deal with someone like this. Gentle coaxing was useless; she needed to lay down the law with firm authority.

[Stella] "Fine. Since you love card games so much, let's make a bet."

[Blin] "Huh?"

[Stella] "You claim you can make money playing cards, but from where I sit, you'll never earn a single copper that way."

Blin flinched slightly in surprise. Satina looked like a refined, delicate young lady who would run away in terror at the first sign of hostility, yet she was pressing forward without hesitation.

[Stella] "Play as many rounds as you like. You won't defeat me even once."

[Blin] "You've never played cards in your life, have you? Do you think a top player could lose every single hand? Or do you think that God of yours will magically save you if you pray?"

Smiling with composed confidence, Satina met her gaze.

[Stella] "Exactly. So let's test it out."

[Stella] "In exchange, if you fail to beat me even a single time, you give up card games for good and start preparing for the Imperial Academy entrance exam with me."

---

Across the five card games that followed, Blin lost every single round.

At first, she attributed it to beginner's luck. On the second loss, she blamed bad luck. By the third, she was stunned. By the fourth, all desire to continue playing vanished completely.

This is impossible.

Gazing at Satina in disbelief, she spoke up.

[Blin] "Are you some kind of professional card shark?"

[Stella] "No."

Blin carefully inspected Satina's sleeves, but found no hidden cards.

She's playing as if my entire hand is laid bare before her. This makes no sense.

Satina gathered the cards. Her awkward shuffling confirmed she was a novice with little card-playing experience, yet Blin had been utterly crushed by a beginner.

[Blin] "Do... do you plan to team up with me and conquer the gambling dens?!"

[Stella] "No."

[Blin] "Why not?!"

Satina offered a serene smile.

[Stella] "Because I must work diligently according to God's will."

Frequenting gambling dens would ruin her reputation, but there was no need to admit that out loud.

[Blin] "Did you really not use a trick?"

[Stella] "What if I did?"

She had used a trick, of course: the AI system.

[Blin] "Teach me too!"

[Stella] "I'm joking."

Blin's shoulders slumped.

[Stella] "In any case, if you run into someone like me again, you won't make a fortune—you'll lose the shirt off your back. So starting today, let's study earnestly and prepare for the Imperial Academy."

[Blin] "The Imperial Academy is still totally absurd."

[Stella] "Still, learning something will make it much easier to find work, wouldn't it?"

Satina had her sit down and began the lesson. Though Blin appeared utterly unmotivated, her occasional nods indicated she was at least listening.

[Stella] "That's all for today. I'll assign your homework, so complete it and see me tomorrow."

[Blin] "Ugh…"

Shaking her head in disgust, Blin slipped out of the classroom.

Satina exhaled a long sigh.

[Stella] "Liv, no matter how I look at it, this quest feels impossible."

[Liv] "Negative. Liv provides only optimal quests tailored to the target character's current circumstances. Liv always prioritizes the Player. Impossible quests are never assigned."

Satina gave a skeptical look.

[Stella] "Really?"

[Liv] "Of course. Liv trusts that you will resolve this matter flawlessly, as you always do. You possess more than enough capability."

Satina passively dismissed Liv's assurances, lost in thought.

I should figure out how to arrange a backdoor admission first.

Can I get into the Imperial Academy if I donate enough gold to pave their lawn?

---

The following day, Satina checked Blin's homework before starting the lesson.

She actually completed it. I can see why the other teachers said she wasn't entirely hopeless.

Still, to arrange backdoor admission, I'll need... Huh?

Having resigned herself to illegal entry, she casually reviewed the completed assignment, only to scrutinize the answered problems once more.

This one is correct. And this one too. Wait... this problem is exceptionally difficult…

She got every single one right?

---

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