A Young Man Who Wants to Rest
"I didn't expect there to be no problems at all," Karnarov muttered, looking even more exhausted than before.
"So you're saying all the trouble you've caused so far was entirely spontaneous…"
"Shouldn't you be asking me about my background or something instead?"
"Why would I ask that? It's outside the Empire anyway. Meaningless. Only one thing matters — whether you're an enemy of humanity and the Empire."
"Of course I'm not."
"Indeed." Karnarov released the barrier. "All the grand magic I prepared turned out to be useless."
Hmph. It seemed even Karnarov needed some kind of preparation to use magic of that level. Still, his expression wasn't bad.
Phew. I'd really thought I'd have to bolt.
"About your eyes…"
"I don't know either."
I don't even properly understand what they are myself — I still need to ask Adrian about it. Though I've been making good use of them.
Karnarov hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "You know, have you ever considered working as an errand runner for the Karnarov family…"
"Huh?"
"No, forget it." Karnarov shook his head. "There's no way someone her age would also have individual combat capabilities."
Hmm? It sounded like a recruitment offer was about to come my way. Combat-wise, that's actually my main thing. But if I open my mouth, he'll probably put me to work, so I'd better keep it shut.
"Can I go now?"
"You may."
I slipped out of there quietly. I don't want to work right now. I want to put things off for as long as I possibly can. Someday I'll have to work, but at least that day won't be today.
"Whew. Still, I'm glad things ended on a decent note."
"Yeah, I guess so."
Of course, that didn't mean Karnarov's assignments were over. If anything, after I finished all of Magic Circles Chapter 1, he threw Chapter 2's practice problems at me. Still, attending Basic Attack Magic class had paid off. Chapter 2, which covered magic circle transformation patterns, was actually manageable to study.
But that doesn't make it any less annoying.
And then there was Isabel's homework. Memorizing all the combinations of herb essences and their antagonistic reactions. Before even worrying about suppressing antagonism while mixing herbs, the best strategy was to simply keep antagonistic herbs from touching each other. To make good potions, memorizing antagonistic combinations was essential. And I had to do this by the final exam…
"Ah, screw it. I'll just memorize as I brew."
I can see the antagonistic reactions with my eyes anyway. It's easier to just throw everything together and memorize which combinations clash.
"So tomorrow's a holiday. What are you going to do on your day off, Yumia?"
From tomorrow through the weekend, I had absolutely no schedule. Next week I'd have to attend classes, but at least this week was free.
Maybe I'll climb the tower real quick.
But before that, I had somewhere to go.
I went to the Western Forest and released my Dragon Eyes' mana. Then someone popped out from somewhere.
"Unnie!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's right, I'm your unnie."
Though honestly, if we're talking mental age, I'm not so sure.
"Why are you so late?!"
Adrian rushed at me the moment she saw me. Her dark blue gothic dress fluttered through the air. Poof — the luxurious fabric pressed against me. Her tail was wrapped around my leg.
"Huh? Your tail?"
Come to think of it, she also had her small wings out. They were beautiful wings, like dark blue silk.
"Ah, it's just more comfortable to keep them out. What do you think?"
"Yeah, yeah, cute, cute."
"Right! You get it, unnie! Whenever people see them, they all run away!"
"Why would they? I have no idea."
"Mmm. But… what's that mana?"
She smiled and stared into my eyes, then seemed to notice something. Her eyes were dangerous. Vertically slit pupils fixed on me intently.
"I smell another woman."
"I didn't meet anyone!"
Well, I did meet people. I met Aris, and I met Isera too. But I don't think that's what she meant.
"There's another bitch's mana in your eyes. What is this?"
[Dragon Eyes embrace dragon mana.]
I recalled the tower's message. Well, there's nothing to hide, so I told her the truth.
"Someone gave it to me, so I took it. I don't really know what it is."
"Whatever. I'll still be the first in the end."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Because I gave you the first vessel. Unnie has become a subject of the Winged King! More precisely, a favored subject of the king!"
"How many people are in this kingdom?"
"Just you and me! One below the king, above everyone else! Isn't that great?"
"Isn't that an unfair contract?"
"Do people usually call a contract that only benefits the other party unfair?"
"Well, no."
"Then it's not an unfair contract!"
Does that logic even work? I naturally pulled out some soju and took a shot.
"What, you're drinking that again? It wasn't bad, but… this time, let's drink this!"
Adrian pulled out a bottle that looked expensive at a glance. Wait. That looks familiar.
"Where'd you get that?"
"I bought it from Karnarov's magic tower!"
More accurately, she probably swiped it from the Karnarov estate. …Is it safe to drink that? If we get caught, we'll probably be hung upside down.
"Mmm? What's wrong?"
She uncorked the bottle and poured the liquor into a white glass. The five-colored shimmering liquid radiated a pure energy. An intoxicating aroma slammed into my head. Isn't this the kind of thing you'd risk dying once to try?
"Ah, screw it. I'll drink it and die!"
"Good thinking! Though I did pay a fair price for it, so you won't regret it."
"What was the fair price?"
"Three of my scales."
…? You can trade something that expensive-looking for just three scales?
"Why?"
"No, I just thought it'd be nice if I could sell my own shed skin too."
"Huh?"
Adrian tilted her head, not understanding what I meant. She's really cute when she acts like this. I took the glass she offered and drank.
A fragrance I'd never experienced in my life filled my nasal passages. Wait, does this also increase mana? Everything Adrian brings is like that, I guess. They're all elixirs in the end. That's exactly why I didn't bother using the Status Enhancement Ticket on mana.
"Now it's my turn."
I pulled out all the seasoned fried chicken and plain fried chicken. It had cooled a bit, but by inventory standards, less than a day had passed. For the record, I'd taken some out while studying with Aris for the exam. So the amount had decreased enough that if Adrian and I pushed ourselves, we could finish it all between the two of us.
"What's all this?"
"Seasoned chicken. Try some."
The seasoned chicken from this neighborhood was the type that tasted better when it cooled down. The crispy batter hardened slightly, just at that moment when it absorbed the sauce. Adrian tore into a piece of seasoned chicken. Her eyes went wide as she stared at me.
"Mmm… what's this? You brought something ridiculously delicious again?"
Adrian devoured three pieces on the spot.
"Mmm… but…" Adrian made a genuinely disappointed face.
"What?"
"It doesn't really go with this liquor, I think. Do you have anything else?"
She was right. The fragrant liquor and seasoned chicken didn't pair well. The sauce overpowered the liquor's aroma. But I wasn't unprepared for this. My fingers swept through the air. An icebox and two glasses appeared from nowhere.
"What's all this?"
"Hehe. Open it."
Adrian opened the icebox, and her expression soured slightly.
"Unnie, is this beer?"
"Yeah? Why?"
"Mmm… beer is kind of…"
Wait. "Do you think this beer is the same as the beer here?"
"Huh? Isn't it pretty much the same?"
Such blasphemy! "Try it first, then talk."
I opened a bottle of beer and handed it to Adrian.
"This… this is beer? It's completely different? It's this clean and delicious?"
"Where on earth did you drink beer before…"
"From a street vendor, obviously. I hid my identity, of course."
"Ha. Don't compare it to that kind of low-grade beer." I said, putting on my best impression of Robert. Beer hasn't developed much in this world, but back home, we brew on an industrial scale. I don't know about street-vendor beer, but the beer from B Restaurant was definitely undrinkable. Of course the quality would be better.
"This really is good. And it goes great with this chicken!"
Karnarov's liquor was pushed aside as we started tearing into the chicken.
"Give me another bottle."
Adrian, who'd downed a whole bottle of beer, asked for another. I handed her a bottle along with a bottle opener, but she only took the bottle.
"Ah, I think I can manage this."
Adrian slipped her fingernail under the cap and popped it right off. …How does that work? Don't normal fingernails break?
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
If she and Karnarov ever fought, who would win? Either way, if a fight breaks out, I'm running away because it'd be terrifying.
Adrian and I finished off the chicken and beer. Then we laid out some cheese on the ground and started drinking the Karnarov-sourced liquor. Honestly, it was delicious, but since I usually only drink cheap stuff, I couldn't really tell how good this liquor was. But I could feel my mana increasing with every sip.
"By the way, is dragon mana really that rare?"
"Huh? Rare? It's incredibly rare, yeah. Though I can provide as much as I want to you, unnie."
"Can't you use magic with dragon mana?"
"Mmm… can I see your eyes?"
"Sure."
"It's definitely grown."
"What has?"
"The vessel."