The total area of the dungeon island was not as large as one might expect, and the distance between the school grounds and the downtown area was relatively close.
But since it was a rather cumbersome distance to walk, there was a shuttle bus that traveled between the two on a regular basis.
Just then, one pulled up in front of us and we stepped onto the bus.
There were plenty of empty seats inside.
There were barely ten students on the bus and all of them were upperclassmen from the second or third year.
Compared to the bustling schedule of a freshman, these students had more relaxed timetables, and most of them were not heading out for leisure like us but were on their way to complete some assignments.
For this reason, a few upperclassmen cast glances that seemed to say, “Are first-year students already heading downtown?” However, neither Seo Ye-in nor I were the type to care about others’ stares.
Seo Ye-in took the seat by the window and I settled next to the aisle. Shortly after we sat down next to each other, the shuttle bus started moving with the smoothness reminiscent of a luxury limousine.
“…..!”
Seo Ye-in leaned halfway out the window and gazed intently outside.
Gone was her usual sleepy-eyed expression. It was replaced by eyes that were clear and sparkling.
I took it as a sign of her excitement.
For now, rather than force her to talk, I decided to let her enjoy the scenery outside.
Meanwhile, I drifted into my own thoughts.
The night before.
I had met with Ahn Jeong-mi and we had a conversation.
***
As soon as Ahn Jeong-mi saw me, she started with words of gratitude.
“Thanks to you, Kim Ho-nim, this week’s mentoring was a success.”
She told me how Seo Ye-in had bravely kept up with her rigorous training and had also scored highly in the strategy battle of this week.
Pride and satisfaction were evident in An Jeong-mi’s expression.
And as always, I responded with humble words.
“I only told her to work hard; all the real effort was yours.”
“That’s not true at all. You don’t realize how much strength that simple encouragement gave to the young miss and to me.”
It seemed I had become something of a morale-boosting totem in An Jeong-mi’s eyes.
But her expressions of thanks did not end there.
“Thank you again on behalf of the Future Strategy Office for your unwavering support of the young miss’s growth.”
Her tone was more serious than usual which made me wait for her next words without interrupting the flow of conversation with my usual humble words.
Sure enough, Ahn Jeong-mi reached into her jacket pocket and said,
“After much thought on how to express our gratitude—”
She pulled out an elegant coupon and handed it to me.
[Coupon – Long Eared Magical Tool Shop (B)]
“—I prepared this. I hope you will accept it.”
This Long Eared Magical Tools Shop was located in the downtown area and they stock a variety of powerful magic items. But the prices for all of them were high which made it difficult for students to purchase anything there.
However, with this coupon, I could take any item equivalent to a B-rank from that Magical Tool shop.
It was far more useful to give me the choice rather than simply handing over a B-rank item.
As expected, if you give away, you get it all back again.
As I had anticipated even before our first meeting, the butler was a person who knew gratitude.
I did not refuse and accepted the coupon.
“I will gratefully accept it. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in need of many things.”
“I’m sure Kim Ho-nim will find it useful. Also, I have another request.”
“Yes, please tell me.”
Ahn Jeong-mi handed over another Long Eared coupon (B) and said,
“While you’re at it, I would appreciate it if you could also pick out some equipment for the lady.”
“That won’t be difficult. But… given the capabilities of the Hye-seong Group, I wonder if there’s really a need to use that particular shop.”
They could even effortlessly secure the highly coveted Feather Walk skill book, so would B-rank magic tools be a challenge?
I suspect that if they decided, they could aim for some A-rank items as well.
With such capabilities, was there really a need for the Hye-seong Group to use a shop in such a downtown area among the many available?
When I posed this question with such implications, An Jeong-mi’s face took on a complex expression.
“By now, Kim Ho-nim, I think you understand. It’s important that everything depends on the young miss’s own will.”
Despite So Ye-in possessing such dazzling talent,
And despite receiving the full backing of the Hye-seong Group,
She was only now beginning to build her basic skills and traits.
The reason for this was that she had absolutely no motivation to learn anything until now.
However, after enrolling in the Dragon Slayer Academy and meeting various people, including me, her desire to learn began to grow little by little.
“Given the flow of our conversation, she probably isn’t much interested in items either.”
“Yes, she generally doesn’t easily form attachments to any kind of object. But…”
An Jeong-mi’s face then changed in a different way.
“But… the cushion that Kim Ho-nim gifted her was different.”
It had emerged from a random box that was a reward for conquering the Feather Serpent Altar and it was a B-rank [Feather Cushion].
Though it was a surprisingly high-quality item, it was not very important to me since it belonged to the Life category, and it had features like fatigue relief and aiding deep sleep, which I thought would be more beneficial to So Ye-in so I had given it to her as a gift.
The [Shapeshifting Scroll – Life(B)] that came out of a random box a few days ago was similar.
“It seems she is using it well.”
“It’s not just that she uses it; she absolutely cherishes it.”
Hugging it tightly while sleeping was just the beginning. It was not easy to separate her from it under any ordinary circumstances.
The way Ahn Jeong-mi woke up Seo Ye-in each morning had changed slightly. Previously, she would gently shake Seo Ye-in while repeating, “Miss, it’s morning. Please wake up,” dozens of times. Recently, however, it seemed that simply removing the cushion was enough to wake her.
Of course, dealing with the aftermath was a separate issue but wasn’t that the very essence of a butler’s difficult job?
An Jeong-mi’s intention in giving me the coupon also became clear.
“If Kim Ho-nim personally chooses it, it might mean more to the young miss.”
Giving it directly from the Future Strategy Office and giving it through me might seem similar at a glance, but the feel was distinctly different.
If Seo Ye-in showed even half the attachment to the magical tool as she did to her cushion, it would be a success.
Moreover, as one of the few people who understood Seo Ye-in’s growth rate the best, I was ideally suited to select the right item.
There was no reason for me to refuse.
If it meant Seo Ye-in could acquire even one better piece of equipment, I was more than willing to cooperate.
Since I now had a coupon ticket in hand, the magical tool shop would be included in our destination anyway so we might as well choose something together.
“Understood. I’ll choose carefully.”
“Thank you again. And this is a small token of my appreciation.”
Then another coupon appeared from An Jeong-mi’s clothes.
Though it was similar to the magical tool coupon, this one was more quaint and cute in design.
Downtown bakery coupon.
The store that often brought strawberry cream cakes to the student cafeteria was right here.
It was one of the top three restaurants on this Dungeon Island, so it was extremely popular, and thus the cakes were available in very limited quantities. So not just anyone could buy them.
The same was true for other items as well.
However, the story was different with a coupon in hand.
“No need to wonder what to eat now. It’s not easy to get one of these; I’ll use it gratefully.”
“Compared to Kim Ho-nim’s efforts, this is just a minor thing. I’ll be cheering for you from afar.”
We smiled at each other.
***
While I was finishing reminiscing, something touched the back of my hand.
Next, my sleeve was gently tugged and when I turned my head, I saw Seo Ye-in who had been looking outside staring intently at my face.
Even the landscape sliding by outside the window had come to a stop.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Mhmm.”
We got off the shuttle bus and entered the downtown area.
The downtown area was crowded with people coming and going from the get-go as if to prove that this was an area with a large population.
After joining the flow of the crowd, I asked Seo Ye-in a question.
“Is there anywhere you want to go?”
—Shakes head—
As expected, it didn’t seem like Seo Ye-in had any special plans in mind.
If Ahn Jeong-mi had been involved, she would have meticulously planned our route from start to finish and made all the necessary reservations, but it seems she decided that such aggressive move was unnecessary since our main purpose for heading to the downtown area was to relax.
That’s why she gave us a few coupons and left the rest up to us.
I too had not made any specific plans beyond visiting a few key spots, including the magical tools shop.
I asked Seo Ye-in another question.
“You’re not very hungry yet?”
—Nods head—
So, the conclusion.
“Let’s just walk for now.”
“Mhmm.”
We’d roam wherever our interests and steps took us.
That alone would provide plenty to see.
“…….!”
Just like when we were on the shuttle bus, Seo Ye-in seemed more animated than I had ever seen her before.
If I were to rate the change in pace, it would have shifted from “extremely very slow” to “very slow”.
We walked leisurely, and whenever something intriguing caught her eye, she would slow down to gaze at it intently.
And if her interest in something unusual grew, she would gently tug at my sleeve.
“……!”
“What’s up?”
Then I would pretend not to be able to win and follow along and take a look at that amazing thing together.
We explored the line of street vendors,
shared a cotton candy,
and watched various street performances.
There were buskers, of course,
a dancer who hovered about an inch off the ground, presenting intricate dance moves,
and a magician who erected a pillar of ice and then sculpted a statue right there on the spot.
Among these, the magic show attracted the most spectators.
A gentleman wearing a mask climbed onto a small makeshift stage with exaggerated gestures.
Without speaking a word, he pointed to a pigeon perched on his hand and signaled, “I will make this pigeon disappear!”
After placing the pigeon into a magic hat, the masked gentleman vigorously crumpled it.
He gently shook the now fist-sized hat, which suddenly expanded and unfolded into a large cloth.
Then after smoothing it out over the ground, he abruptly pulled it back—
Snap!
Dozens of pigeons flew into the sky.
Clap clap—
The audience sent up a cheer along with their applause.
It was a show cleverly mixing magic and tricks.
“…….”
Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in remained unimpressed throughout.
Her gaze didn’t linger on the magic show but on the places where the tools, rabbits, and pigeons used in the tricks were concealed.
She does have sharp eyes.
She probably had figured out all the tricks this time too.
Just as her interest seemed to fade and she was about to turn away,
The masked gentleman on the makeshift stage suddenly appeared in front of her, blocked her path, and bowed politely in greeting.
Seo Ye-in stared back intently at him.
The masked gentleman silently communicated with her through hand gestures, and Seo Ye-in responded with nods and head shakes.
“……? ……!”
“……. …….”
It was impossible to understand them.
Anyway, it seemed they reached a silent conclusion after their non-verbal exchange.
The masked gentleman then pulled out a deck of playing cards,
Frrrrrr.
He fanned the cards out so their faces were visible and quickly gestured for Seo Ye-in to pick one.
When Seo Ye-in randomly selected a card,
The masked gentleman slipped it back into the deck,
then dazzled with a swift shuffle before splitting the cards into three piles and offering them back to her.
It was an invitation to guess where the card might be.
“…….”
However, Seo Ye-in did not even pretend to look at the piles of cards but instead focused on the gentleman’s suit pocket.
She got it right
During the shuffle, the gentleman had discreetly slipped the card out and hidden it, and Seo Ye-in had seen right through his trick.
And even more impressively, she knew exactly where he had hidden it.
“…….”
Realizing he was caught, the masked gentleman slapped his forehead in mock dismay and then sharply snapped his fingers toward the pocket where he had hidden the card.
Then, just as he had done when he first blocked our path, he bowed respectfully and returned to the makeshift stage.
— Clap clap—
And as the magic show resumed, we began to move away.
“……?”
But after walking a little, Seo Ye-in tilted her head in curiosity and stopped to rummage through her pocket.
Suddenly, the card she had picked earlier sprang out and it was twinkling beautifully.
It was the [Lucky Trump Card]. A hidden piece.
She really can get anything.
She effortlessly scooped up a hidden piece just by passing by. Seo Ye-in was really a true luck master.
Amidst this, one question remained in my head,
But why is that here in the downtown area?
When I turned back to look at the masked gentleman, it seemed as though the eyes behind the mask met mine and winked.
He wasn’t hostile, though…
But he was an event boss.
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