Chapter 68: My Treasure (13)

“Believe me, this is truly a good thing!”

“Look at the design, look at the material, look at the pattern… absolutely perfect for opening!”

Herbert persistently persuaded, trying to make Valentina accept this gift filled with sincere intent.

Just take it!

Stop tearing it! It’s for the child!

Valentina, who had already grown wary, showed little interest; after one glance, she turned her gaze away.

“Hmph.”

She let out a soft hum and continued chewing the food in her mouth.

(Chew chew chew)

Do you think this kind of thing can buy me over?

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

“Mmmmm!” (“I don’t want it!”)

She chewed contentedly, completely unaware that she had already been won over by the food.

(Chew chew chew chew chew)

Herbert pleaded for a long time, but seeing she still refused, he could only sigh and shake his head.

“Sigh.”

He sighed, helplessly picking up the Ring of Austerity and stroking the large gem embedded in it.

“Forget everything else—just tell me, isn’t this gem here absolutely top-tier?”

Gem?

Valentina’s chewing paused sharply; her gaze involuntarily drifted toward it.

It really was a gem!

And a high-purity, exquisitely cut sapphire.

Perhaps because she had never possessed a proper dragon hoard of her own, her fondness for treasure wasn’t as strong as other dragons’.

Those things over there might be beautiful, but they couldn’t be carried on one’s person.

Yet if you asked whether her dragon blood truly liked them, she probably still did.

Gulp.

She pretended to be discreet as she swallowed, then painfully turned her head away.

But she had already thrown down her ultimatum—Valentina would never lower her proud head now!

Dragons never bow!

Click.

The faint sound made Valentina’s ears twitch; she stole a glance back and saw Herbert placing the Ring of Austerity before the bars.

“...I said I don’t want it.”

Valentina hesitated, then muttered unhappily: “Take it away. Take it away quickly.”

Quickly take it away!

Otherwise, I… I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold out.

The more she looked, the more her heart felt like it was bleeding.

“I won’t take it. If you want to throw it away, do it yourself, haha.”

Herbert chuckled, turned, and walked away without looking back: “I gave it to you—I won’t take it back.”

“Alright, eat first. I’ll go check on the other prisoners.”

Herbert left.

Valentina was certain—he was gone; his scent had vanished from here.

“...”

She glanced around furtively, then slowly, inch by inch, shifted her hips over to the Ring of Austerity.

Mine!

She instinctively reached out to grab it, then suddenly remembered something—her hand froze mid-air.

After a moment’s hesitation, Valentina blew gently on her palm, exhaling a small flame.

Hiss—

The flame vanished; her fair skin suffered no harm, and the grease clinging to it was instantly burned clean.

If Herbert saw this, he would be moved to tears.

Family, my dog finally learned to wash her paws after eating!

After washing her hands, Valentina moved with extreme care, gently lifting the Ring of Austerity with her fingers.

She gazed at the magical artifact and its sapphire, her smile gradually softening as she rubbed her cheek against the gem, grinning foolishly.

“...Hehe.”

Treasure.

My treasure!

As a solitary dragon, rejected by her own kind, this was the first time she had truly owned something of her own.

More importantly, this treasure wasn’t stolen from someone else.

It was given to her—voluntarily!

Before this, she had never received a gift from anyone—of course, the offerings from lowly demons she had enslaved with her dragon aura didn’t count.

She had never expected anyone to give her anything.

Valentina had always been alone, and would always remain alone.

She had accepted this truth, and had no intention of fighting it.

The strong are always alone—it’s normal.

But now.

In her most wretched, pitiful moment, a man appeared before her, hoping to become her friend.

He brought her food, chatted with her, joked and played with her, gave her a gift…

Will I still remain alone?

Valentina didn’t know.

But in this moment, she hoped her future… wouldn’t be as lonely as her past!

If she could, Valentina wished she would never lose this annoying yet always joyful… friend.

“Ah, by the way.”

At that moment, Valentina suddenly remembered what her former female sorcerer subordinate had said.

“When you accept a gift, you have to… pay back? No, that’s not quite it.”

Her uncorrupted mind, untouched by formal education, grew confused; she strained to recall what the woman had told her.

“An eye for an eye? A tooth for a tooth? That doesn’t sound right either.”

“Tch! What was it again…?”

On the other side, Herbert had indeed left the Infinite Labyrinth.

But this time, he didn’t enter the Deep Water Prison; instead, he wandered longer within the labyrinth until he stood before an unfamiliar door.

After a moment’s hesitation, Herbert pushed the door open and stepped into a pitch-black space.

In the darkness, Herbert smiled silently, nodding in delight.

“Heh, I was right!”

Third Law’s Domain, Third Zone: The Prison of No Light!

“So the Infinite Labyrinth isn’t just about changing scenery on the surface…”

After receiving the Grand Archbishop’s permission, Herbert gained the abilities of the demon maidens.

But this wasn’t merely a single upgrade—it was a direct unlocking of higher permissions.

Herbert’s Warden permissions had significantly increased!

If total permissions were ranked nine levels, he had risen from level three to approximately level five.

Power just over half—enough to make discretionary decisions, but not enough to cause major disasters.

Promotion!

From a lowly laborer to a mid-level manager.

This level-five permission granted him not only the ability to easily alter prison cell specifications, but also additional functions.

Most other abilities still needed exploration, but this one was the most direct and practical—he could now enter any of the first five zones directly from the Infinite Labyrinth.

That’s right, this ability is…

The Gate of Anywhere!

Thank you to patrons 20220906201059036 and EvilWhisper for their support.

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(End of Chapter)