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“I’m Leonid Kol. I’m seven years old, just like you,” Leonid introduced himself after asking all his questions. It seemed he was only interested in revealing his name once he received satisfactory answers. What an insufferable kid.

‘How did Servian Kol end up with a son like this?’ I wondered. Then again, maybe it made perfect sense. Only a child of Servian Kol could be this peculiar.

While I was mentally juxtaposing the faces of this odd father and son duo, Eugene hesitantly reached out and shook Leonid’s hand.

“I’m… Eugene,” he said.

“Let’s get along,” Leonid replied, shaking Eugene’s hand up and down twice in a very formal manner before letting go.

“A handshake should be two shakes, up and down. Some fools only shake once or more than three times, even though the definition of a handshake clearly states it should be two shakes.”

“Huh…?”

“If you get the number of shakes wrong, then it’s no longer a handshake, is it? It would have to be called a ‘one-time shake’ or a ‘three-time shake’ instead.”

“Uh…”

“Precision in terminology is the foundation of all scholarly pursuits, so it must be rigorously upheld.”

“Y-yeah…”

Eugene’s bewildered expression as he tried to keep up with Leonid’s bizarre logic was the same look I often wore when listening to him. 

‘So it’s not just me who doesn’t understand him?’ I thought, feeling a bit of relief. If even the smart Eugene couldn’t make sense of Leonid, then it was confirmed: Leonid was indeed an eccentric.

As Leonid continued to flaunt his oddities, the lesson began.

“Today we will discuss…”

But before the lesson could even get started, a loud ‘bang!’ came from outside, followed by a series of noisy commotions. Since the classrooms for students under ten were on the first floor, outside noises were easily heard.

The students began to murmur, unable to focus on the lesson with all the ruckus.

“What was that?”

“What’s going on?”

The scholar at the front of the class looked startled and glanced toward the window. At that moment, a young scholar’s voice reached the classroom.

“You can’t come in here! This is a restricted area!” the voice shouted.

‘That’s Dr. Lukas!’ I recognized the voice as the person who had overseen my entrance exam. He seemed to be in an argument with someone.

“This area is only accessible to those with proper authorization! Get the necessary permissions before entering!”

Although I couldn’t hear the other person, it was clear from Lukas’s protests that someone was trying to force their way into the Ivory Tower without permission.

Everyone knew that only students, scholars, and direct members of the Elpinard family could enter the Ivory Tower without special authorization.

‘What’s causing all this commotion?’ 

It wasn’t as if access to the Ivory Tower was entirely restricted; anyone with a legitimate reason could gain entry with special permission. But from Lukas’s increasingly agitated shouts, it became clear why the person outside was being so persistent.

“No matter if you’re a priest from the Central Temple of Kydsha, the rules are the rules!”

The Central Temple of Kydsha!

‘Noah mentioned this before,’ I recalled. The Central Temple was going to send someone, and their purpose was none other than to take me to Kydsha to assess whether I was truly a Saintess.

‘But how exactly do they determine if someone is a Saintess?’

If it was simply about whether or not I possessed holy power, they would likely conclude that I wasn’t a Saintess. After all, I didn’t have a single ounce of holy power.

‘Maybe it’s because I was a mage in my previous life, and holy power and magic don’t mix well.’

I began to wonder if I could buy holy power from the Heaven Market. It had been a while since I’d last browsed through the market.

‘Heaven Market!’

At my command, the familiar shop interface appeared before me with a soft ‘pop.’ The last time I had checked, I had been so shocked by the exorbitant prices that I quickly closed it and hadn’t looked again since.

The product listings hadn’t changed much since then. Some items that had been on sale were now back to their original prices, while others were now discounted.

‘Holy power… holy power…’

I narrowed my eyes as I searched through the listings, but there were so many items that it was hard to spot what I was looking for.

‘Is there a way to filter out only the items related to holy power?’

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, the Heaven Market interface flashed, and the product list rearranged itself, displaying only items with “holy power” in their names or descriptions.

‘Wow!’

The list dynamically adjusted to my request, making it much easier to browse.

I soon found what I was looking for:

〈Awakening Potion (Saintess) / Strawberry Flavor〉

– Description: A potion for a “Saintess” who has yet to awaken her true power. While it forcibly triggers awakening, leading to minor side effects, the results are guaranteed. A must-have item for a “Saintess” eager to wield overwhelming holy power to smite unbelievers!

– Price: 1,000,000

– Purchase Restriction: Only available to those with the title of Saintess.

‘A million coins…’ I quickly checked my current balance and the lifespan I had accumulated.

‘My reincarnation subscription period has about 2 years and 7 months left.’

Thanks to completing several quests, such as the “Four-Leaf Clover: A Symbol of Luck!” quest, I had managed to accumulate a decent amount of Heaven Coins.

Current Coins: 1,003,200

‘…’

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

The Awakening Potion for Saintesses was priced at exactly 1,000,000 coins. With my current balance of 1,003,200 coins, it felt like the market was watching me and adjusting the price to match my wallet. I could buy it, but doing so would empty out the coffers I had carefully filled.

‘I still have 2 years and 7 months of life left,’ I reminded myself. And there was always the “Four-Leaf Clover: A Symbol of Luck!” quest, a repeatable quest that, while modest in its rewards of 100 Heaven Coins each time, could slowly but steadily replenish my coin stash through sheer persistence.

Should I buy it or not? The thought of spending 1,000,000 coins—a sum that felt enormous, even if it wasn’t exactly hard-earned—made my hands tremble. It was the dilemma of a small-town person, instinctively cautious with money.

Should I save? But then again, there’s that old saying: “If you save too much, you might regret it later.” As I wavered in front of the screen, the commotion outside grew more intense.

“Ah!” I heard a thud and then Lukas’s scream. It sounded like the priests had forced their way in.

‘Are they priests or thugs?’ The Central Temple seemed determined to push through, and it didn’t look like I could wiggle my way out of this situation. I made up my mind.

‘I’ll buy it.’

Though I’d have to empty my pockets, I still had time to earn more coins. The steady income from “Four-Leaf Clover: A Symbol of Luck!” made the decision easier.

I purchased the “Awakening Potion (Saintess) / Strawberry Flavor.”

[Message from Heaven]

(Notice) You have purchased 〈Awakening Potion (Saintess) / Strawberry Flavor〉. Would you like to receive it now?

[Yes/No]

‘Yes!’

As soon as I confirmed, a small glass vial materialized out of thin air and fell towards the ground. It looked fragile, as if it would shatter into pieces if it hit the desk.

‘No way!’ I quickly reached out and caught it just before it could collide with the surface, my heart pounding at the thought of nearly wasting 1,000,000 Heaven Coins.

‘Damn Heaven Market…’