# Chapter 70
At the far corner of the antique shop, Bunny crouched in front of the bottom-most shelf of a display case and pulled something out.
“A marble?”
“A transparent marble!”
“Indeed, it’s a transparent marble.”
Bunny blinked once, holding the object in her hands as she examined it closely.
The marble had a price tag attached to it.
“Noel, how much is this?”
“Huh?
Um...
Ten million rosts...
Ten million rosts?!”
Noel's eyes widened in shock.
It was an ordinary marble, with nothing special about it.
There wasn’t even a hint of magical energy emanating from it—it looked entirely plain.
While ten million rosts wasn’t a significant amount of money for Noel, common sense dictated that such a sum shouldn’t be spent on what appeared to be a toy or less.
This was Bunny’s idea to come to the shop, but Noel hadn’t expected it to be such a rip-off.
‘No, wait, everything else here is reasonably priced…’
He couldn’t fathom why this particular item had such an outrageous price tag.
Frowning, Noel glanced toward the shopkeeper.
“Ten million!”
Found it!
The transparent marble of my dreams!
Bunny’s eyes sparkled.
“I want to buy this.”
“What?
Wait.
Bunny, this is way too expensive for what it is—”
Bunny beamed and raised the marble high.
Her radiant smile stopped Noel mid-sentence.
Then, he sighed, pulling a heavy pouch from inside his robe.
“Bunny, is there anything else you’d like?
I could buy everything from here to there for you.”
Looking at her dazzling smile, Noel thought she was adorable enough to make him want to buy this whole store if she desired.
He even decided that he’d purchase the best-quality camera as soon as they returned home, just to capture such moments.
Bunny blinked at him.
“No, Bunny will buy it.
It’s a gift for Dad.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep.”
The marble was slightly bigger than Bunny’s palm.
Clutching it, Bunny approached the counter, standing on her tiptoes to place it atop the surface.
“I want this, please.”
“Hm?
This is…”
The elderly shopkeeper scratched his chin, looking at the marble Bunny had brought with a conflicted expression before giving an awkward smile.
This item was marked for sale at ten million rosts, and he wasn’t authorized to sell it otherwise.
“I’m sorry, little one.
This costs ten million rosts.
It might be too difficult for you to buy.”
“Nope!
Bunny has money!
I have a bracelet!”
Bunny stretched her hand out confidently.
The old man glanced at the bracelet on her wrist and let out a short sigh.
The silver bracelet was unmistakably an account bracelet issued by the Sacred Bank.
With the Sacred Bank’s embedded payment crystal, funds could be transferred directly from an account if sufficient money was available.
“This item was placed here under consignment.
The payment is fine, but there’s only one condition—the selling price must be exactly ten million rosts.
If no one buys it, that’s fine too.”
The shopkeeper seemed to recall a woman in a deeply drawn hood who had visited many years ago.
“Do you really want to buy this?
Little one, this is just…”
“This!!”
Bunny stomped a foot for emphasis and declared firmly.
“It’s for Dad’s gift.”
The determination in her young eyes left no room for doubt.
The old man adjusted his slipping monocle and slowly nodded.
“If you’re paying ten million rosts, I’ll sell it to you.”
“Yes!”
Bunny extended her bracelet.
The shopkeeper retrieved a payment crystal from a drawer, holding it against her bracelet.
The crystal flashed green, signaling a successful transaction.
“Would you like it gift-wrapped?”
“Yes, please!”
The shopkeeper nodded, carefully placing the marble into a small box and meticulously wrapping it in pastel pink paper.
As he tied a red silk ribbon around the box, Noel spoke.
“Shopkeeper, is this a magic artifact of some kind?”
“No, as far as I was told, it’s just an ordinary marble.”
“But how could an ordinary marble cost ten million rosts?”
“My shop also handles consignment sales.
Decades ago, a noblewoman came and left this item, insisting it be sold at ten million rosts.
She even paid a commission of one million rosts upfront.
Her sole condition was that it must sell for exactly ten million.”
Handing the small, wrapped box to Bunny, the shopkeeper offered a final word of caution.
“Here you go, little one.
Be careful—it’s just a glass marble.”
“Thank you!”
Bunny took the box carefully with both hands, then plopped down onto the floor.
“Oh dear.”
“Bunny?”
The old man widened his eyes in surprise.
Ignoring him, Bunny placed the box into her bag, zipped it closed, and stood up.
The bulging shape of the bag made it obvious that something was inside.
“Goodbye!”
Having completed her task, Bunny politely bowed and left the shop without further interest.
The bustling city, livelier now than it had been in the morning, greeted them as they stepped outside.
‘So many people.’
The scent of delicious food wafted through the air, and lines of people stood at various stalls.
Bunny’s eyes sparkled as she was about to head toward one of them when—
“Bunny!”
A hand grabbed her shoulder.
“Noel?”
“It’s Noel—wait, no, it’s Roel!
Don’t wander off alone.
What if you get lost?
And... what if there are dangerous people…”
Blushing slightly, Roel muttered under his breath and gently held Bunny’s wrist.
Bunny tilted her head, looking at him from below, before slipping her wrist free from his grip.
“Huh?”
Before Roel could react, Bunny reached out and firmly held his hand instead.
Roel’s eyes widened, his face turning red.
Struggling to hide his flustered expression, he bit his lip and tightened his grip on her hand.
“L-let’s go!
I’ll guide you around the city.”
“Okay.”
The two children, hand in hand, disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Meanwhile, not far from the antique shop, a rough-looking man leaning in a dark alley narrowed his eyes as he watched them leave.
“Hey, am I imagining things, or is that blue-haired kid the one with a bounty?”
“The bounty?
Oh, you mean the one who supposedly summoned something for immortality?
A phoenix or something?
Now that you mention it, they do look alike.
But weren’t they supposed to be in the Duchy of Eudia?”
The man let out a sly grin.
“The bounty’s five billion.
What do you say?”