Norman was about to fall asleep when he remembered he had magic. Right now seemed like a great time to make use of it since he didn’t have any pressing issues currently. After making sure Pail and Pretty were asleep (Rowboat was in the room next door for obvious reasons), he decided to experiment. After looking for his glasses on the nightstand for an embarrassingly long time, he checked his status for the first time in a long time.

  The skill that stood out to him the most was his [GOLDEN EYE] skill. It was completely worthless as it was now, but if he figured out how to level it up to display accurate numbers, then being scammed or lowballed would be a thing of the past. Norman had no idea how leveling up worked, so he asked the most trustworthy person he knew. Well, he would have if they didn’t read his thoughts and responded before he could even open his mouth.

  [MAGICAL SKILLS WORK THE SAME AS ANY OTHER SKILL. YOU GET BETTER AT THEM THE MORE YOU USE THEM.]

  To be honest, Norman hadn’t expected it to be that simple. He thought he had to fight monsters or consume gems to level up since that seemed to be the standard for the genre of novel he was in. But this wasn’t an adventure novel. It was a novel about an accountant doing business. If he had to delve into dungeons or slay dragons to level up, then he’d instantly die, and the story wouldn’t progress.

  Doing as he was told, Norman focused on the nearest object with his [GOLDEN EYE] skill. He zoned in on the dagger on Pail’s nightstand, the one he had told him to put away in his bag way more times than he could count. Just like last time, golden mana gathered around the item until it was completely surrounded like an aura. Then, the golden textbox appeared above it.

  [LOW QUALITY CHILDREN’S SURVIVAL DAGGER - 8 LAPIS]

  Yeah, that seemed correct… sort of. He’d paid 5 Lapis for it, so he figured that he paid the right amount if he discounted the margin of error. Norman felt some of his energy leave his body as he cast the spell. He figured that it was the MP being spent and that he would probably pass out if he used all of his MP. That wasn’t a problem right now that he was in bed, though. With that in mind, he cast the same spell on the pillow he was leaning against.

  [STRAW FILLED BURLAP PILLOW - 2 LAPIS]

  Norman felt another rush of energy leave his body as he silently judged the innkeepers for making people pay for such cheap pillows. He spent his last MP to cast [GOLDEN EYE] on the chamberpot in the corner of the room, but before he could get the result, the last bit of energy left his body, and he fell asleep.

  +1 MP

  GOLDEN EYE (LVL 1) → GOLDEN EYE (LVL 2)

  GOLDEN EYE (LVL 2)

  By focusing on an item, you can instantly know its current market value with a 40% margin of error

  Cooldown: N/A — MP: 1

  Norman woke up to not one but two pairs of legs kicking him in the ribs. He was used to Pail crawling into his bed at this point, but unless he went through some sort of overnight mutation, the boy shouldn’t have four legs. Norman sat up in bed, and his mind struggled to comprehend what he was witnessing. Pail was spread out awkwardly in his sleep as usual, but the figure on the other side of the bed was so unusual that he didn’t know how to react.

  A little girl wrapped in his spare clothes with short blue hair, pale skin, and chubby cheeks was curled up next to him. Norman would have thought someone left her here on accident if the little girl didn’t have suspiciously Pretty shaped ears on her head and a long misty tail protruding from her waist. The now way too big collar around her neck didn’t help matters either. She looked to be about three years old, and her face bore a striking resemblance to his own. If he wasn’t as pure as a sheet of paper, he might’ve thought that she was his long lost daughter.

  Norman vaguely gestured to the girl in disbelief. He felt like Savant owed him some sort of explanation for this, or at least an apology for not warning him that this could happen. A fox was inconvenient, sure, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as a child he needed to feed, clothe, and bathe.

  [HULI JING TRANSFORM TO RESEMBLE THE HUMAN THEY FEEL THE SAFEST WITH AND HAVE THE STRONGEST CONNECTION TO.]

  Norman sighed heavily. He should have expected this when Savant told him that the spirit fox could transform. Considering the fox’s large size, he had hoped that they would transform into an independent person who could take care of Pail when they went their own ways, but of course, she had to be even younger than the boy. It still didn’t make sense why she transformed into looking like him, though. She had the closest connection with Pail; they were practically glued to each other.

  [SHE IS A YOUNG ONE. BARELY EVEN WEANED. IT IS NATURAL THAT SHE HAS DEVELOPED A PARENTAL ATTACHMENT TO YOU.]

  Norman wondered what about him might possibly come across as fatherly. He was about as affectionate as a brick wall with the personality of a customer service chatbot. His parents had the same personality as him, and while he loved them, when he was a child, he saw them more as roommates than parents because of the way they acted. They provided for him, and they went to every single one of his award ceremonies and events, but he couldn’t remember a single time when they read him a bedtime story or patted his head.

  He couldn’t help but feel a tinge of pity for the little girl. She had to be really desperate for affection if she saw warmth and safety in a man like him. Norman would have to figure out what to do about her later. Right now, he would have to sneak out to get her a change of clothes and proper human supplies before the children woke up.