IFGO 14

Chapter 14

After passing through several winding alleys, I saw a huge three-story building with a sign that read “Lloyd Trading Company.”

‘Lloyd.’

I remembered this name from the original novel very well. It was the name of the largest trading company in the empire, and also the name of one of the three male protagonists in the story—Cass Lloyd.

After all, he was the heir of this trading company.

Though he was called an heir, he had already inherited the company from his father, the grand merchant, and was practically the one running it as the actual head.

Of course, I had not come here to meet him. Among the three male protagonists, he was the only one who had no connection with Ariel, and I had no intention of creating one.

I was simply here because the Lloyd Trading Company purchased various rare items and employed many skilled appraisers. I intended to make use of that.

I needed to get the proper value for this dagger.

“How may I help you?”

As soon as I entered the first-floor lobby of the trading company, the receptionist asked politely.

“I have an item I would like to sell.”

I showed him the old dagger.

“If you go upstairs, there will be an appraiser. You may have the item evaluated first and then decide whether you wish to sell it.”

They really did seem to have a proper system in place.

I followed the directions and climbed the stairs, entering a large room connected to the upper floor.

Inside, an appraiser with dark exotic skin and a turban was sitting at a desk. After greeting him, I handed over the dagger.

“I would like to have this dagger appraised.”

“If you have it appraised but decide not to sell it afterward, there will be an appraisal fee of five francs. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

He placed the dagger in his hand and began examining it carefully.

The dagger held between his rough fingertips looked completely ordinary no matter how many times I looked at it, but I decided to trust Monde.

“……”

There were various tools on his desk, such as magnifying glasses and measuring devices. He used them to inspect the dagger several times.

It was a meticulous examination worth the five-franc appraisal fee.

“This is a fine item.”

His voice finally reached me.

My heart began to race.

Could this be the chance that would completely change my life?

The overseas auction stories I had seen on the news flashed through my mind.

“The purity of the dragon bone is exceptionally high.”

“I knew it.”

[The God of Art, Monde, proudly shrugs.]

I thought that if I made a lot of money, I should build a statue of Monde.

I asked:

“So, how much is it worth?”

The appraiser placed the dagger down on the desk and answered.

“The dagger itself is not particularly valuable because it is not very old. However, the dragon bone it contains is quite valuable. Considering the weight, we can offer up to 300 francs.”

“300 francs?”

I widened my eyes and asked again.

To be honest, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly disappointed.

But it wasn’t easy for some priceless masterpiece capable of changing someone’s life to appear at a charity auction.

Still, 300 francs was not a bad price.

“What would you like to do?”

I had bought this dagger for 100 francs, so selling it for 300 meant a 200-franc profit.

The 300 francs I had when I left would become 500 francs.

“I’ll sell it.”

I answered without hesitation.

The appraiser then took gold coins from a nearby pouch and handed them to me.

It was a very clean transaction.

The moment I accepted the money, a new blue window appeared.

[You have accumulated wealth through the help of a god.]

[The ‘Shop’ function has been unlocked.]

I was curious about what it meant, but the appraiser was right in front of me, and Dwayne was probably waiting outside.

So I pretended not to notice and put the money into my pocket.

“Let’s go back.”

I ordered Dwayne.

As we left the trading company building, Dwayne’s voice came from behind me.

“How did you know the value of that item?”

From his perspective, it probably looked like I already knew the dagger’s worth and acted accordingly.

It was only natural that he found it suspicious.

Ariel had a complicated background. Her mother was the daughter of a baron, while her father was a former servant.

Because of this, her family tried to hide her illegitimate birth. She grew up in the slums without ever knowing her mother’s face, and if Reyhas had not discovered her talent and chosen her as a saintess at the age of fifteen, she would probably be working at a tavern by now.

“God told me.”

I answered Dwayne with a shameless expression.

Actually, my words were the truth.

A god really had told me.

[The God of Art, Monde, is pleased with your honesty.]

‘Now all that’s left is to sweep up valuable auction items together with Monde.’

I would probably be able to save money several times faster than simply earning it normally.

If I continued receiving help from the gods, multiplying my earnings by dozens of times wouldn’t be difficult.

Imagining a future where I became rich in no time, I smiled with satisfaction.

My steps back to the temple felt incredibly light.

“Welcome back, Saintess.”

As soon as I entered the temple, Daisy greeted me with a bright smile while wearing the uniform of a trainee saintess.

Dwayne no longer followed me, and Daisy and I walked down the hallway toward my room.

“I spent the last five days receiving training so I could serve you, Saintess. I’m confident I can do well, so please entrust me with anything.”

Her face slightly flushed, she looked determined.

“Daisy, bring me violet cookies. And make the tea apple tea.”

At my words, Daisy stared at me blankly for a moment before flinching and lowering her head.

When she looked up again, her eyes were sparkling.

“Yes, Saintess! I’ll bring them immediately!”

“Okay.”

“Thank you… truly!”

Daisy seemed genuinely happy that I had given her something to do.

I let out a small laugh, nodded, and entered my room alone.

‘Well, raising a younger sister-like figure isn’t so bad.’

Soon, I sat down at the desk where sunlight poured in and opened the transparent window I had previously hidden.

[The ‘Shop’ function has been unlocked.]

This time, I needed to figure out exactly what this was.

After being possessed as the fake saintess of this novel, I organized everything I had discovered so far.

First, I had access to a function called [Divine Oracle], which worked similarly to an internet livestream. The gods could enter the oracle and give me advice or assistance.

The oracle had a capacity limit and levels.

It seemed that there were probably other gods who wanted to enter, but the space was already filled, preventing them from joining.

Among the types of assistance they could provide were ‘Resonance’ and ‘Blessing.’

I couldn’t use Resonance yet because my oracle level was too low, but receiving a Blessing temporarily increased the related stats of that god.

Also, for some unknown reason, all the gods inside the oracle were favorable toward me.

It felt strange because I had rarely received kindness from others before.

So I decided to use my oracle connection with the God of Art, Monde, to identify valuable artworks and make money.

In game terms, it was basically like having an absurdly powerful buff.

And now another function had been unlocked…

The ‘Shop.’

I quietly muttered:

“Shop.”

The blue window in front of me sparkled and expanded.

[You can now use the Shop function.]

When I first received the game-like oracle window, I had wondered if it was possible.

But even this existed!

Every game had a “shop” function.

It was an essential feature where you could buy and sell necessary items.

“Wow.”

A window resembling a game interface appeared before my eyes.

As expected, the currency was francs, and my balance showed:

500 francs.

Most of the items had lock icons on them, making them impossible to view.

I could see small health potions, holy power potions, and several material items in the miscellaneous category.

Those potions and simple materials were available for purchase even with my current oracle level of 1.

Nothing looked particularly useful, but perhaps because they came from the Shop, all of them contained a small amount of holy power.

‘Could this be called a ?’

I looked around the shop for a while before closing the function.

I didn’t have anything I needed to buy yet, but once my oracle level increased, more useful items would likely appear.

To survive and adapt in this completely unfamiliar world, the more advantages I had, the better.

[As a reward for opening the Shop, you have received the ‘Universal Pocket.’]

The moment I closed the shop, another message appeared.

I noticed a small red pouch resting in my hand.

It looked like a traditional lucky pouch from New Year’s celebrations, and there was something mysterious about it.

When I opened it, another blue window flashed before me.

Without hesitation, I placed all my francs inside.

The tiny pouch swallowed all 500 francs, and yet it didn’t feel like there was any money inside when I touched it from the outside.

However, the blue window changed.

[Money Owned: 500 francs]

Oh, nice.

After learning about the wallet function, I stared at the window with satisfaction.

‘Let’s keep going until the day this wallet is overflowing with my wealth.’

[The God of Art, Monde, shakes his head at your greed.]

“You’re a partner in crime. You can’t act like this.”

[The God of Art, Monde, insists that art cannot be judged solely by its material value.]

‘You were the most excited one during the auction.’

I pouted.

But then, at that moment, a new blue window appeared before me.

[The gods have activated a hidden mission after discussion.]

[Hidden Mission: Prove your faith through offering.]

[Reward: ???]

A hidden mission?

‘What is this supposed to mean?’

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the message.

“Monde? Hesed? Odyssey?!”

A new message appeared.

[Would you like to donate all the money stored inside the Universal Pocket?

(Yes / No)]

At those words, I jumped up.

“What?”

My hands trembled, and my lips instantly went dry.

No way.

How could they suddenly ask me to donate all the money I had worked so hard to earn?