It was 1:00 PM when Morax opened Saeko's display window.

On the screen, he saw her alone in a space that looked like a supermarket, but closer observation revealed it to be a convenience store. The more compact shelves and cozier layout were typical of a convenience store, contrasting with the vast space and variety of a supermarket.

Interestingly, she was the only one visible on the screen. Even after a few seconds of observation, there was no sign of anyone else.

What truly surprised Morax was not her solitude, but the fact that she was extracting all the food from the shelves. She moved agilely around the store, murmuring "Extract" at every step. With efficient gestures, she passed through shelves filled with canned food, biscuits, chocolates, and other typical convenience store items, using her power to extract one after the other. The scene was one of rapid and systematic collection of supplies amid the quietude of the deserted store.

Her EP steadily increased. Gradually, she reached 100 EP, and Morax saw her open the store's system and then purchase a katana.

As soon as Saeko held the katana, a unique sense of power and gravity enveloped her senses. It was an impeccable blade, with a dark sheen that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. The handle was wrapped in black fabric, offering a firm and comfortable grip. Intricate engravings adorned the sword's guard, designs that evoked a sense of mysticism and antiquity.

Handling it, Saeko felt an almost instant connection with the weapon. It was as if the katana was an extension of her own will, an appendage of her being. The exceptionally sharp blade cut through the air with a gentle whisper, promising lethal efficacy.

However, there was something more about that sword, an essence that Saeko couldn't see, but definitely felt. A subtle, almost imperceptible energy vibrated through the blade.

With a serenity that defied her internal turmoil, Saeko held the katana. "With this katana, my chances of survival increase," she murmured, her voice calm and meditative, echoing the discipline of bushido she rigorously followed. Her eyes subtly shone, not with joy, but with a quiet acceptance of her sadistic nature.

Morax telepathically said to her upon seeing her handle the katana: ["Oh? I'm surprised. You chose to buy with the 10% discount instead of getting the other 20% as well."]

"System-san, you're back," she murmured softly. "You're mistaken about something. It's not that I don't want the additional 20% discount, but rather, I don't want to use it on this purchase."

She then returned the katana to its sheath.

"Not bad," she murmured and continued from where she had left off, with a sharp look. "You yourself said, I would get a 20% discount on the sword purchase. Meaning, it doesn't necessarily have to be used on this katana. Moreover, you didn't stipulate the time I had to use these 20% off. So, I assume that, in the future, when a new, better, and more expensive sword appears, I can use these 20% off, am I right?"

["Oh? Yes, you caught me. I should have specified. Since it's my mistake, it will be as you said, you can save it and use it at another time you find more appropriate. By the way, how do you know whether or not there will be a better sword in the future?"]

"I just assumed," she replied softly as she walked and continued extracting items from the shelves. "I mean, if you yourself introduced a new Devil's Contract that gives me more power and usage time, it likely means that as long as I keep surviving and progressing in this chaotic world, you will continue to increase and improve the rewards, am I right?"

Morax readily admitted. After all, there was no point in hiding it from her.

["Yes, as you earn more EP, I will obviously upgrade the items for you every week upon reset. Of course, depending on my mood, I might even consider some suggestions from you for items you'd like to see in the system store in the future."]

"Oya? That's interesting," she murmured. "I can hardly wait for that chance..."

Hearing her murmur, Morax smiled a bit. He then analyzed through the system and saw why she was alone. In reality, she was with the rest, but at some point, she told them to go back first with the supplements while she stayed to do something, and as the leader, they were obliged to listen, although Shido was obviously irritated or even relieved, she completely ignored him.

'So that's it,' Morax astutely reflected. 'It was a smart move on her part to leave Rei Miyamoto as the acting leader in her absence. After all, with Miyamoto's disdain for Shido, she certainly wouldn't hesitate to act if he stepped out of line. In that scenario, even Takashi, with his questionable sense of morality in this chaotic reality, would be powerless to intervene...'

His interest in her grew even more as he observed Saeko's actions. Gradually, he began to ponder whether he should offer her the chance to become part of his peerage...

After some reflection, he opened the Character Attributes panel to check her current amount of EP. When he opened it, it was visible: [EP: 99...100... 101 ...].

Watching her EP increase as Saeko continued to extract items from the convenience store shelves, Morax didn't hesitate to consider his options. After all, the cheapest item in his store cost 10,000 EP!

"May I ask a question, System-san?"

Hearing her voice, Morax replied:

["Of course, ask."]

"The things I'm extracting, can I redeem them?" She asked softly.

["Try saying 'extracted items'."]

"Extracted items," she murmured, and a page similar to Morax's appeared before her, but hers exclusively showed the items she had extracted with her name above in the lower left corner.

Even if there were other system users in the future, she could only see the items she extracted, and the time she had to redeem them was shorter than Morax's. There was a chronological time of 9 hours and 50-something minutes for the most recent items. Some had already disappeared from her extraction panel, but were still on Morax's.

"Interesting," she murmured rhetorically. "So, I have 10 hours for each item I extract to be redeemed, if I want it back, right?"

In a sense, this was no different from a dimensional warehouse. Although she had to spend the EP earned from the extractions of the items, it was still worth it, as the interest she had to pay was 10%.

The 10% was Morax's profit. He saw the option to disable it, but he wasn't generous enough to do so. After all, wouldn't that make the system too convenient for future users and mostly unprofitable for him?

Just imagining a scenario where a user extracts several items within a 10-hour period and redeems them later... Wouldn't that represent a loss for him? After all, by redeeming the items, all the EP he would gain from the 10% would be automatically lost.

It took a few minutes until Saeko finished extracting most of the things. She still left a bit behind, but what she did was enough to accumulate a total of 899 EP. He himself was already at 189 EP.

Well, when Saeko starts buying more items from the System Store, he will receive her EP, so for him, the more EP she earns, the better.