Suspicious Top-Tier Prospect! Kim Yang's Unmatched Singles List

The suspiciously premium listing! The unmatched singles list that Kim Yang brought. It was clearly just an ordinary file folder, yet it felt strangely heavy.

'Holy shit, this is chaos.'

If there was such a thing as the world's disorder incarnate, wouldn't it be this list? I chuckled and handed it back to Raichen.

"We're consulting with the customer who arrived first, so why don't you take a look at this list while you wait?"

Raichen nodded as he took the list and sat in the waiting area under Kim Yang's guidance. We hadn't had a waiting area originally, but with more customers lately, we'd bought a few chairs.

I closed the consultation room door again, and Ophelia stood there with her arms crossed, her expression clearly displeased.

"Ahem, sorry about that, ma'am. We weren't expecting you to drop by so suddenly."

"No, it's fine. I just don't like that guy."

"Pardon? You mean Raichen?"

Both were mages, so maybe they knew each other? Come to think of it, I suddenly recalled Ophelia showing resentment toward Raichen at the Tower Marriage White Rose banquet.

"Raichen Spilcold. Disciple of the great archmage Gellawind, right?"

"That's right."

Gellawind, a great archmage with influence rivaling the top in the magical academia. An old man who could rightly be called a living legend. These days, he'd stepped back from active duty to focus on grooming successors.

"It was largely because of him that the Abyss Research Club was disbanded. The academy refused to recognize what we created as proper magic and stripped us of our qualifications."

"......"

"Isn't that reason enough to hate him? My guaranteed path as a mage was cut off, forcing me down to the 3rd Floor to do office work."

"I see. I understand."

I'd hate it too if I were her.

"Be careful with that man. He's the disciple of a stubborn old coot who doesn't scruple at means or methods for their goals. It's suspicious that a Sovereign-rank is acting so desperate."

I'd thought about it myself. From our first meeting, he hadn't seemed genuinely desperate for marriage. So what was his real reason for seeking a match?

Questions arose, but now wasn't the time.

"Anyway, got it. Let's finish up with you first, Ophelia."

In the end, he was just another customer to me.

Ophelia flipped Raichen off over his back as she left.

"......"

"......"

Kim Yang and Renea, who'd watched from the side, looked baffled, but Raichen entered the consultation room with his usual stoic demeanor.

He might know, or he might not. Either way, he'd have reacted the same.

Raichen sat in the chair Ophelia had just vacated. Seeing the unmatched singles list in his hand brought a smile to my face.

"So, what do you think, Raichen? If any catch your eye, I can pull up their profile right away."

"Anyone will do. As soon as possible would be ideal."

"Really? Just a moment then—"

I stood, opened the door, and called out.

"Renea, over here."

"Huing?"

Renea, caught off guard by the sudden summons, scurried over. I quickly straightened her hair and brushed off the dust from her earlier cleaning.

"Fighting. Don't be nervous. Okay?"

"Euing?"

"No weird noises. Get it together."

I led her inside right away. Like a home shopping host in a drama, I launched straight into promoting her.

"Here we have none other than a former Elf Queen! Elf-like stunning beauty! A bubbly personality and positive mindset! And lately, she's even developing independence. She's learning real-life skills through part-time work—a top-shelf prospect."

"This lady?!"

Renea jumped in surprise. I shot her a shut-up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glare, then smiled at Raichen.

"Truth is, among the ladies on that list, she's the one you could meet fastest—and the one with the fewest conditions. Most of them demand proof you're better than they are."

"......"

Raichen glanced over the list again at my words.

"This lady... is a top-shelf prospect after all! So the boss really thought that!"

I ignored Renea's pleased mutter from the side and asked Raichen.

"What do you say? Want to meet her right now?"

"Very well."

Raichen accepted. I beamed and congratulated Renea.

"Congrats, Renea! First up, a date—"

"This lady doesn't want to?"

......

............

................

"Pardon?"

My brain froze. For a split second, it refused to process her words. But my eyes and ears clearly showed me reality.

"W-What did you just say?"

"This lady said no. Didn't I tell you last time? No introductions for a while—"

I grabbed Renea's wrist and dragged her outside. Pulling her to a corner of the office, I urgently locked eyes and whispered.

"Are you insane right now? Do you think top-shelf prospects like this drop by anytime? He's a guaranteed S-rank catch. For an F-rank like you, getting introduced to a guy like that is a literal miracle from the heavens. No joke—if this gets out, the Consumer Protection Agency or Fair Trade Commission could haul me away."

"I-I know! I know, but—"

"Know my ass! You act like you've got dementia from old age—snap out of it!"

Slap! I grabbed both her cheeks with both hands.

Her face squished as she yelped in shock.

"Eumut?!"

"Right now. Go back in there. And please. Tell him you'll meet him."

"Sh-Sure!"

This girl—!

"Why?! I'm setting you up for marriage! You were grumbling about wanting to get married after seeing Hyo-jae's wedding!"

"Th-This lady might not want a matchmaking marriage!"

"What?!"

She'd been mumbling about marriage nonstop earlier, and now this? I let go, and she rubbed her reddened cheeks, grumbling.

"This lady's in the middle of finding herself right now. And that man's the farthest from the marriage ideal this lady wants."

"......Finding yourself at 1,900 years old."

Renea and Han Hyo-jae's first meeting. They'd parted after realizing they didn't suit each other after just minutes of business-like marriage talk. Raichen seemed even more extreme than Hyo-jae—far colder and more calculating.

"So you're kicking away this golden opportunity?"

"It might be a good opportunity, but not the one this lady wants."

"Haa."

A sigh escaped me. She'd convinced me. No matter how much of a problem stock she was, I couldn't force it if she didn't want it. Besides, what Renea truly wanted was a real 'married life'—not a transactional marriage, but one with genuine affection.

"......Fine. But no complaining later, got it?"

"No worries—euaang?!"

I flicked her forehead and pondered briefly.

'To call someone right now, they need to be on the 3rd Floor—'

"Owaang! That hurts!"

"Ho, hoo! Hoo!"

I ignored the two making a fuss beside me and pulled out my phone. The call was to Ryu Seram.

- Hello? What's up?

"Hey, Seram. You busy by any chance?"

- Right now? Ngh, kinda? Pretending to work at the company while secretly watching baseball reruns?

Not busy. I could even hear her getting up, as if she'd known I'd call.

- What's the deal?

"Got a killer match for you—wanna—"

- Fuck off.

"I'm with a client right now, can't drop trou."

- Piss off.

The call cut off with the sound of her sitting back down. Looked like right now was impossible, so I sighed and cautiously returned to the consultation room. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Raichen waited with the same unchanged expression.

'Like a game character they couldn't be bothered to animate.'

Seemed like he had only one facial expression slot.

"Ahem, sorry, Raichen. You saw an unsightly side of us unintentionally."

"No matter. Rather—"

Raichen handed me the list and shook his head.

"These people on the list seem difficult."

"Pardon? Oh, no. They might be picky, but for someone like you, Raichen, they'd be—"

"I prefer someone I can meet right away. The Elf Queen just now would have been ideal, but since that's not happening, I need someone else available immediately."

"......Right this instant?"

"Yes, right this instant."

I quietly closed the door and sat down. It was getting hard to treat him purely hospitably now.

"Raichen, if you push like this, I can't just close my eyes and introduce anyone."

"......"

"That list was people who wouldn't budge even for someone like you."

Fruit too luscious could arouse suspicion instead. A guy with such prime specs suddenly desperate for marriage? Suspicious as hell, no matter who you ask.

"Of course, we do have customers available right now. But I have a responsibility to introduce you to the right person."

Obviously. What if the match I set up suddenly turns robber, or tries to kidnap someone for human experiments?

"Tower Marriage Sovereign-rank. Impressive, sure, but for Meracle's trust, I can't arrange an immediate meeting without proper consultation and certainty."

No matter what.

"Even if you're known as a top-tier prospect in the marriage market."

Raichen fell silent at my words. But the atmosphere told me he'd accepted it.

"Then how about this."

What he pulled from his pocket was a heptagram badge. Issued by the Magic Tower, it denoted mages from the Lazesta Continent—something as vital as their life to a mage. From Triangle Star to Enneagram. It graded their rank.

"I know I'm being unreasonable. So I'll make an unreasonable pledge."

"......"

"My Heptagram. And I swear here and now: if I harm the person you introduce or cause them injury—"

He glanced ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at Renea rubbing her head outside the door and declared.

"The Elf Queen's arrow may pierce my heart."

"......You're serious?"

Staking a mage's honor and life?

"Yes, deadly serious."

This wasn't some gamble. He was going all-in, so something was definitely up. But his expression remained coldly impassive, his sealed lips uttering no more.

"Hoo."

Felt like I'd gotten tangled in something complicated. I rubbed my temple, pondered, then nodded.

"Understood. But I'll explain the situation to your match first. And if she accepts, I'll make the introduction. How's that?"

My bare minimum condition. No matter his mage's pride or life on the line, I had to look out for my customers.

Refuse, and we're done. At my firm stance, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Raichen slowly bowed at the waist.

"Thank you."