“Master? You look a bit more haggard than earlier?”
“…This place is really an idiot’s paradise.”
Jeong Ahyeon was diligently polishing the statue of the Heavenly Demon when she turned her head to speak to me.
I didn’t agree to it, but as a result, magical power tattoos were inscribed on my hands and the tops of my feet.
Contrary to the grueling process.
The inscribed tattoo was simply a circle without any particular design.
[But didn’t you gain something?]
“Hey, didn’t you say you were off to find a different protagonist?”
[…I tried splitting it up with the constellation concept, but most novels already have their spots filled.]
“So, did you at least get something?”
“…Not entirely.”
The woman who inscribed the tattoo apologized and drew additional patterns on the tattoo on my hand.
Small triangles were drawn clockwise around the red circle tattoo on my hand.
From a distance, the tattoo resembled a simplified sun.
“No way! Master has finally become a tattoo addict?”
“……You saying that suddenly makes me crave a bowl of soup.”
[Can’t you use it at the convenience store, too?]
‘Where do I use it? To flex when I ask someone to swipe my card?’
Jeong Ahyeon examined the tattoo on my hand closely and asked,
“It looks a bit different from a regular tattoo. What are the triangles around it for?”
“It’s simple. They allow me to manifest weapons with magical power.”
To prove it, I focused my magical power at the 1 o’clock direction based on my hand.
Thanks to the tattoo, magical power was filling my right hand automatically, so it wasn’t hard.
Then, the triangle in the 1 o’clock direction lit up brightly, and a translucent long sword made of magical power appeared in my hand.
It even felt like the weight I was accustomed to, but.
When I broke my focus, it vanished in an instant.
“Oh wow! Looks like you can manifest different weapons based on direction!”
“That’s right. But once you manifest it, the cooldown time is pretty long.”
Moreover, the duration was shorter than expected.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a problem for a single battle.
But in consecutive fights, it could surprisingly become an issue.
At that moment, the woman standing behind me spoke with a blank expression.
“That probably means your overall magical power has increased significantly.”
“…Why did your expression go back to normal again?”
“I only feel exhilaration when I’m inscribing tattoos.”
[They usually say people like her ruin their expressions in bed.]
‘She gets turned on when she’s all ‘female:emotionless’.’
Anyway, gaining more magical power was an unexpected success.
If things go well, the ammunition for the Cheonma Repulsor may have increased too.
Then, I realized Elcia was missing, so I asked Jeong Ahyeon.
“Hey, Jeong Ahyeon. Where’s Elcia?”
“……I don’t know. Don’t ask me.”
Jeong Ahyeon turned her gaze away awkwardly.
For a moment, I questioned why.
From far away, Elcia’s complaining voice reached my ears.
“Give me more!!! More!!!”
Following the sound, we arrived at the guild’s rest area.
There, Elcia was seated with a haughty expression, crossing her legs, while a martial artist next to her was flustered.
“Elcia, what’s going on?”
“Master! This is truly ridiculous!”
Elcia stood up and walked over, showing me a small box.
Inside was a bit of snack wrapper.
“Did you finish it all? Why?”
“They said that’s all there is! Does this make sense? With so many people in the guild?!”
“Really? That’s it?”
Listening to Elcia, I examined the snack wrapper.
While it was slightly too much for one person, it was incredibly insufficient if everyone had even one.
Indeed, there was a problem, just as Elcia said.
But it was nonsensical that this large guild only had this little snack available.
However, Elcia’s protests didn’t stop.
“Yes! Moreover, the types of snacks are a problem!”
“Really?”
As I heard Elcia’s words, I inspected the snack wrapper one by one.
Red ginseng candy, rice cakes, traditional sweets, etc.
It was mainly composed of snacks that felt a bit old-fashioned.
“Is this the Heavenly Demon’s taste? Was it not good?”
“I can eat it, but it feels bad! Excuse me! Are you mocking my age?”
“Not at all! That’s just all that’s available here.”
After all, Elcia was a high elf and a representative to greet the World Tree.
It was a position that had a slight distance for common people to approach.
The martial artist displayed an expression of helplessness.
“Due to the Guild Master’s order, all the snacks in the guild are limited to what the Heavenly Demon likes.”
“Then why is it so scarce! Is it possible there’s no more snacks?!”
“Snacks are only for the Heavenly Demon.”
“Then bring me whatever other snacks you have!”
“I’m sorry. The Heavenly Demon absolutely doesn’t allow for other snacks. So excluding what you’ve just consumed, there are no more snacks in the guild.”
In the end, what the martial artist said was that the Heavenly Demon’s preferred snacks were eaten only by him.
And there were simply no additional snacks at all.
But I could definitely smell it.
The faint scent of sugar lingering from that martial artist’s mouth.
‘That’s the smell of someone lying?’
[…How the hell do you know that!]
I calmed Elcia down and began rummaging through the pantry with her.
However, there was nothing of note.
In that moment, doubting if my nose was broken, Elcia approached me to complain.
“What kind of lousy guild is this! There was just one string in the pantry!”
At that moment, something flashed in my mind.
I grabbed Elcia, who was about to leave, and said.
“Elcia, do you know which pantry had that string?”
“Yes! Why do you ask?”
“Pull that string.”
Elcia obeyed my words, albeit skeptically.
The moment Elcia pulled the string with all her might, a small clack echoed from the other pantry.
When I opened the pantry where the sound came from, a multitude of snacks and food greeted my eyes.
That’s right.
It was the martial artists’ secret space.
“Uh… how…”
The martial artist watching this sighed helplessly and sat down in his place.
Ignoring the martial artist’s dazed expression, I began to check the secret space.
It was a considerably cool space that seemed to have air conditioning.
Plus, it was filled with splendid goods.
The excellent snacks were incomparable to what Elcia had eaten earlier.
Moreover, cakes, chocolates, meal kits, various desserts, and even fine liquor were included.
It was a treasure trove itself.
I put my arm around the martial artist’s shoulder.
And I began to speak quietly so that only the martial artist could hear.
“My martial artist guild member, did you perhaps hide this?”
“Ah, no!”
“Then right now, we ‘just happened’ to find these items that someone was keeping?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s a relief. I thought you were intentionally hiding them.”
“Of course not… haha…”
An awkward smile rose on the martial artist’s face.
It oddly looked like he was about to cry.
“Then there shouldn’t be a problem if we eat it all?”
“Ah, no, that’s a bit…”
“Then I guess I have no choice, I’ll inform the Heavenly Demon.”
“No! These aren’t anyone’s, so they belong to the person who finds them!”
“Good attitude.”
I released my arm from his shoulder and asked the martial artist to prepare a bag that could hold something.
His expression soured even more than before, but he could do nothing but quietly leave.
There were simply no choices.
After the martial artist left the rest area,
I said to Elcia.
“Elcia, I’ll hold the string. Let’s pull out everything in here.”
“Thank you, Master!!”
“Ah! Don’t let go early! My hand got stuck, fuck!”
I swapped with Elcia, holding the string while she began pulling out all the items inside.
Soon, Elcia started to gorge herself on the mountain of loot stacked high.
The moment I tasted the sweetness of the loot, Piece asked me.
[My dear, how did you know to use that string?]
‘I learned it from the fat guy’s secret box.’
When Elcia had nearly eaten all the snacks, I received a large bag from the martial artist too.
“Master! Why the bag?”
“I’m eating. Let me pack the rest.”
“I’ll help!”
While I could eat the snacks immediately,
there were also some things we couldn’t eat right away on the spot.
Elcia started to manifest butterflies and transfer various alcohol and meal kits into the bag.
While in the midst of that, she didn’t stop eating the snacks.
When the bag was filled, Elcia finished her snacks.
Then Elcia started to peek at the bag.
It seemed like she was concerned about the food inside.
[Even after eating like that, your greed is still considerable.]
‘Eugh, this piglet.’
I patted Elcia on the shoulder and said.
“I’ll give it to you later, so just wait a bit.”
“Master! Thank you! Are you giving me everything?”
“……Give me the alcohol.”
“Yes! Got it!”
After eating the snacks, the leftover trash was put back into the secret space.
I was about to throw it in the trash when a better idea struck me.
Since our business was finished, we were going back to the academy.
Since Jeong Ahyeon said that the cleaning wasn’t done yet, only Elcia and I were set to go.
As soon as Elcia and I stood in front of the gate, the Heavenly Demon appeared before us.
It seemed he had come to send us off.
“Hand over the photo.”
“Oh right.”
He didn’t come to send us off but to collect the photo instead.
I handed over the photo, and suddenly remembered a plan I was laying out, so I pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to the Heavenly Demon.
“Heavenly Demon, could you sign here?”
“What’s this about?”
As the Heavenly Demon read the paper I handed him, he wore a troubled expression.
“I’m not really good with things like this, but are you sure my signature is needed?”
“It has no effect unless it’s someone of your standing.”
“Hmm… I think it’s a bit risky to tie my name to something like this.”
He seemed slightly hesitant.
After all, he likely didn’t want to take on any risks himself.
But as soon as he heard my next words.
“I’ll give you Ryu Kang-hyuk’s home address.”
“Walking a dangerous path is the Heavenly Demon’s way!!”
He was adamant about shouldering the risks.
[Is that the Heavenly Demon or Udyr?]
‘His transformation speed is really fast.’
Even though I was holding a pen, the Heavenly Demon bit his thumb and signed with blood.
I thought about acting all cheeky, but I immediately dismissed that thought.
His eyes were filled with an unknown madness.
As soon as I confirmed that the signature was complete, I quietly handed over the home address.
And just as we were about to leave the Martial Artist Concept Guild, I recalled what happened in the rest area, turning back to speak to the Heavenly Demon.
“Heavenly Demon! I thoroughly enjoyed the snacks!”
“Did you enjoy them!”
“Did you eat everything?!”
The Heavenly Demon began to tear his hair out.
Then he let out a resigned sigh.
“Ha. But still, you and I share similar tastes!”
“I didn’t expect your taste to be like that. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the cake and macarons.”
“…What? Say that again.”
The Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened as he stared at me.
Feigning ignorance, I responded.
“Huh? Weren’t the snacks inside the pantry all yours?”
“……How dare those martial artists?!”
In an instant, the Heavenly Demon vanished, and suddenly a loud crash echoed from the rest area.
Soon, we could vaguely hear the Heavenly Demon’s furious voice, but we casually returned to the academy through the gate.
After all, the martial artists would surely handle the aftermath.
As soon as we returned to the academy, Piece asked in a voice full of resignation.
[…I’m tired of asking. Why didn’t you keep that a secret?]
‘Well, we won’t be coming back again, and things like that weaken the martial artists’ morale.’
[……I’m moving to a different novel’s constellations, just so you know.]
‘You’ll be reappearing in the next chapter anyway, so just give it up.’
[I can’t believe I got caught up with this idiot…]
Piece’s sigh today seemed deeper than usual.
