104. Noona Eats Too Much (3)
104. Noona Eats Too Much (3)
Smack!
"Eek!"
I delivered a disciplinary flick to the forehead of this immature noona who was shouting 'Magic Stone Copy!'
"Ow....... That hurt......."
Maybe the impact was stronger than I thought, because tears were welling up at the corners of Im Ga-eul's eyes.
"Of course, if it's you, hoobae, I don't mind being hit....... But at least tell me why you did it."
She asked, rubbing her bright red forehead.
"You're asking because you don't know?"
'Jeez, what an idiot.'
"You deserve it, sunbae. We still don't even know where to get a Magic Stone Charger."
"......Really?"
"Yes, and even if we do get one, it takes about 2 weeks to fully charge just one highest-grade Magic Stone."
"......2 weeks? I think 2 weeks might be enough?"
I gave her a flat look.
Since it took about a week to use up one highest-grade Magic Stone this time,
she was probably thinking that if she used it sparingly, it could last about 2 weeks.
But I knew all too well that would never happen.
Because the way she was running her hope circuits at full throttle right now perfectly overlapped with my own past self from long ago.
— Hoo, I have to pull it this time. I saved up a truckload from attendance rewards. If I just pull from this stash, it's basically free.
Velvet School Life was a pretty-girl gacha game.
You had to pull characters and items through the gacha, and theoretically, you could leisurely enjoy pulling with just the attendance rewards.
— Last time I pulled it on the 80th pull. So this time, let's get it on the 40th! Please come home!
But as if things ever go that smoothly.
Human desire was never that rational. It was closer to a wild beast.
— ......Uh, hm. I used up all the attendance rewards? Ha, I admit it, trying to pull with only free draws was a crime against conscience from the start.
A 100-pull.
A 200-pull.
A 300-pull.......
A runaway locomotive that had already started rolling.
The meager savings I had scraped together, bit by bit, from a paycheck that was already small and cute at just 200.
My impoverished wallet grew thin in the literal blink of an eye.
— Hoo, b-but, it's still fine. If I pull now, I'm basically buying it at cost. The expected value was originally 500,000 won......! It's not a loss! Not a loss!
— I already burned 700,000 won, I can't stop here. Let's just go up to exactly a million won and try.
— I've already spent this much, I can't give up now....... Even if I win I'm an idiot, and if I lose I'm an idiot, so I have to be the idiot who wins!
— Fucking trash game....... Don't fuck with me. Don't fuck with me!!!
The sheer sense of emptiness when you've dumped your entire monthly salary in an instant like that.
Right now, the way Im Ga-eul was burning through one highest-grade Magic Stone in a week and shouting 'One more!' looked no different from me back then.
'Hmm, but then again, it doesn't seem like this is entirely a bad thing......?'
The first button might have been buttoned wrong, but what was Im Ga-eul's original character trait?
They were precisely 'Gentleness', 'Acceptance', and 'Receptivity'.
From what I'd heard, Im Ga-eul was currently addicted to 'helping others'.
Suddenly gaining power, being able to pay back everyone who ignored her, and strut around taking all the advantages—yet actively using it to help others instead, well, how should I put it.
It was, truly, very like her.......
'And I bet she really doesn't plan on sponging off me forever.'
She probably figured that if she couldn't pay it back with Magic Stones, she could just pay it back with money in the end.
She was what you'd call a silver-spoon kid in her own region, so she likely got a pretty hefty allowance from home.
"Sunbae, you do know that highest-grade Magic Stones aren't just common jewels you can get all the time, right?"
"Mm-hm, I know....... I tried to get some stock, but there just wasn't any......."
Since Magic Stone inflation hadn't hit yet, highest-grade Magic Stones currently weren't items you could just buy even if you had the money.
In the end, I was the only supplier, which meant I could instantly cut off this addiction of hers by simply 'not giving them to her'.
But I had decided to use this 'desire' of hers instead.
"Alright, I'll give them to you."
"......Huh!? Really?"
Perhaps not expecting me to agree so easily, Im Ga-eul's slit eyes even flashed wide open as she spoke.
"Of course, I can't give them to you right this second."
"Hmph."
She immediately put on a sullen expression again.
I let out a short laugh.
"First, during our official activities, I'll provide the highest-grade Magic Stones. And when the activity is over, I'll take them back."
Her ability was needed during dungeon clearing, combat, and Live Gate Training.
This was also a bait.
If I cut her off entirely, there'd come a moment where she'd think, 'Hmm, I must have been out of my mind for a bit. Surprisingly, low-grade Magic Stones are quite bearable too, aren't they?'
So, by letting her use a highest-grade Magic Stone once a week, I made her constantly feel that thirst.
"......Then what about regular times."
"Endure it with sheer guts and low-grade Magic Stones."
At that, she made a resigned face, as if she had no choice.
Hey, you've got to hear a person out until the end.
"And, I'll give you one highest-grade Magic Stone based on your performance, Ga-eul sunbae."
"......Performance?"
I pulled the corners of my lips up into a grin.
The reason I laid down these conditions.
Originally, Im Ga-eul had a gentle and receptive personality, so she generally had a laid-back and easygoing disposition.
'But you can't exactly say that's entirely good.'
Gukbap was a character who had never neglected training and self-improvement from the start.
As for Kang Do-hee, well, if you just put her in a rival position, she was the type who grew rapidly on her own, burning with competitive spirit.
And Shin Se-hee managed herself perfectly well too, as long as I just took care of her mental state from the side.
But in Im Ga-eul's case, she was considerably lacking in the drive or willpower department.
In other words, that meant her training efficiency was pretty low!
On top of that, for the other party members, I was able to set their growth direction by arranging their timetables,
but I couldn't touch the schedule of an upperclassman a year above me.
'So, I'm disciplining that easygoing personality into becoming desire-driven.'
I had been pondering how to raise this noona anyway,
and this method seemed like it could definitely be effective.
"Yes. Every time the total sum of your Stats in the Status Window goes up by 10, I'll give you one highest-grade Magic Stone. Ah, excluding Mana, of course."
"!"
I can get Magic Stones just by raising my Stats!?
"Hoo, hoobae. That's way too good....... Why are you going so far for me......? As you said, those aren't just common jewels."
Im Ga-eul asked with a bewildered face.
The same woman who had been shouting 'Magic Stone Copy' just moments ago now hesitated when I actually offered to give them to her.
Why did she dislike just getting something for free?
"Hmm, in the Utopia Party, Ga-eul sunbae holds a critical role since you're in charge of the dungeon conquest speed. Enough that investing highest-grade Magic Stones in you isn't a waste."
"......Then shouldn't I just raise my Skill Mastery like I am now?"
What a clueless thing to say.
I shook my head.
"If you only raise your skill ability, the party members' conquest speed will get even faster—can you keep up with us? You had a pretty hard time just chasing us this time too, you know."
Even in this Thorn Grasslands Dungeon, unlike Gukbap or Kang Do-hee, who are backed by their base stamina, she, as a Support, had put a lot of strain on herself just trying to keep up from behind.
"So, what sunbae needs to raise right now isn't Skill Mastery, it's your base Stats."
"......Ah."
"Pay me back with effort instead of money. What do you think, pretty reasonable, right?"
Im Ga-eul nodded her head as if it had a motor attached.
"Yeah, yeah! I'll do my best!"
"Cheers then?"
I lifted my beer glass and lightly clinked it against her empty one.
* * *
One glass.
Two glasses.
The drinking session we'd lightly started, just the two of us, went on for quite a long time.
Glug, glug─
Empty glasses piled up in front of Im Ga-eul.
Eheheh.
Hmm, this noona has drunk way more than I thought.
You eat a lot of other things besides Magic Stones, huh?
"Hoobae, these days, I really feel like I'm dreaming~"
Im Ga-eul, seemingly in a good mood, sat beside me and spoke in a relaxed voice.
"I'm so, so happy to have such a cute hoobae! I'm so happy! I never even imagined a day like this would come!"
Pat.
She stopped mid-drink and grabbed both my cheeks with her hands.
"You know, I was originally nothing but a burden to everyone."
"......Sunbae?"
"I got scolded in class, I got scolded in training, and whenever I got put in the same group with someone, they all sighed first....... I could see everyone avoiding me, and the only thing I could say back was that I was sorry."
A sudden drunk confession is fine and all, but I wish she'd let go of my cheeks first.
People are staring, sunbae.
"But, thanks to you, hoobae, I learned about my own ability, and now I can use this ability to help others....... I feel like I've become useful too, and that just makes me so, so incredibly happy."
"Uhm, all I did was inform you of the ability you already had."
Even if I hadn't told her, Im Ga-eul probably would have figured out how to utilize Magic Stones on her own.
Even in the character gacha, she appeared using Magic Stones.
"No, this is all thanks to you."
But Im Ga-eul shook her head as if that wasn't the case.
"Thank you so much, hoobae."
Saying that, she suddenly pulled my head into an embrace.
Soft.
My face was buried in her chest.
"Mmph!"
I tried to escape somehow, but the grip of her arms wrapped around my head was stronger than I expected.
"Honestly, I've been wanting to tell you I'm grateful. If it wasn't for you, hoobae, I would've been useless again, just like I was in my first year....... I would've been treated like a nuisance, right?"
"Mmph mmph!"
"Hmmm, and then, I probably wouldn't have lasted and would've gone back to my hometown and lived a life just baking bread. Of course, I enjoy baking bread too, but I really wanted to be a Hunter who can directly help people."
I twisted my face to create some breathing room.
"Like I told you, I really didn't do much......."
Squeeze─
"Pwah!"
"You say you didn't do anything, but. Hmph, that's wrong. If it wasn't for you, hoobae, I probably would have never known my ability in my entire life. Do you know how huge a help that is, telling me that?"
Pwah─!
I finally escaped from her chest and gasped for air.
At that, Im Ga-eul made a slightly disappointed face.
Then, with a serious voice, she said to me,
"Thank you....... Hoobae, for looking after a useless sunbae like this. Honestly, that's why I called you out today, to tell you that."
"......Ga-eul sunbae."
I stared straight into her eyes.
"You came to get Magic Stones. Don't start setting the mood now."
"Ah."