Pillar Root
Pillar Root
Hong Yeon-hwa poked her upper body through the gap in the door and gave an awkward smile. Her eyes, which had been flitting about as she clutched a bag, landed on my face.
At the same moment, her expression hardened. Her pupils trembled as if an earthquake had hit, raking over my face inch by inch. Soon the corners of her lips quivered.
"What... what's with your face?"
'?'
Thud— The bag dropped limply to the floor. Hong Yeon-hwa rushed over and pressed both hands firmly against my cheeks. My lips puckered forward, making me look like an idiot.
Hong Yeon-hwa looked like her world was crumbling down. Her voice trembled as she went on.
"No way... what is this, your face. Half his face is gone..."
—Squish... squish...
As if it were unbearably sad, Hong Yeon-hwa wore a teary expression and kept pressing my cheeks. Warm body heat seeped through the palms against my face.
Before I could react, Hong Yeon-hwa let out an "Ah—" and sprang to her feet. She snatched up the bag she'd just dropped, rummaged through it, and began thrusting things at me one after another.
"Here, fatigue recovery and general tonic... simple things that aren't a burden to take. I brought them as a hospital visit gift, so make sure you take them."
In a world where supernatural powers like mana and magic exist, the kind of overhyped supplement marketing from the real world actually delivers here.
Take it and your focus improves. Fatigue vanishes and vitality returns... medicines like that really are produced through alchemy.
They may not be at the level of spirit medicine, but among remedies blended from various ingredients, quite a few are genuinely helpful.
The free semester probably includes a few hours on the basics of alchemy.
The things Hong Yeon-hwa held out were that kind of medicine. I listened to the explanation in a daze and accepted one of the offered bottles.
While scanning the label with my spatial perception, I flinched when I spotted a familiar brand.
Anĭmovĭgor.
A product in short supply because a top-tier alchemist pours painstaking effort into each one. One thing was certain — each one cost a damn fortune.
I remembered the price range being out of reach for a player at this point in time. Hands trembling, I tapped on my smartwatch.
[Aren't these all expensive?]
"Huh? No, no. I only brought reasonable ones in case you'd feel burdened. It's fine, so take all of them."
...Really? I could've sworn that brand was the one.
Is it different from the original? I tilted my head. Hong Yeon-hwa placed the supplements back in the bag, set it on the bedside table, and looked at me.
"Hoo..."
She checked my face again with a quick glance. Letting out a deep sigh, she reached out once more and cupped my cheek.
"What happened to make your face look like this... hm?"
I genuinely wondered what was so bad about my complexion for her to keep reacting like that. Examining myself with spatial perception, nothing seemed particularly wrong.
Sure, I'd thinned out a bit lately because my condition was poor, but it wasn't anything worth worrying over.
After hearing a brief summary of the situation, Hong Yeon-hwa kneaded my cheeks with an even more doleful expression.
'Mm...'
My cheeks were squished and played with for a good while.
It was a hard feeling to describe. One thing was certain—it wasn't a bad feeling.
Hong Yeon-hwa's body temperature is high by setting. It's because of her unique ability, Calamity Flame. Her mana could be described as possessing fire energy, and her body has grown to suit it.
Because of that, the warmth flowing from her palm was incredibly pleasant. The sensation of a soft palm constantly kneading and stroking my cheek felt good too.
As I sat there quietly being squished, I felt like I was floating. If I had my way, I'd stay like this forever.
"...Ah!"
The touch vanished. Looking somewhat dazed, Hong Yeon-hwa — who had been kneading my face with both hands for who knows how long — let out a startled cry and hurriedly pulled her hands back.
The sensation and warmth disappeared. The hands cupping my cheeks were gone, and the comparatively cool air rushed into the space they left.
My mouth fell open in disappointment. Why pull away when I'd been enjoying it so much? I felt like something given to me had been snatched back.
But I didn't have enough nerve to ask her to keep kneading, so I closed my mouth again.
"Ahem."
After a few awkward coughs, Hong Yeon-hwa glanced at the time. Lunch was long past.
She hesitated a moment, then spoke up.
"...Want me to stay with you for a bit?"
[I'm okay. I'm feeling better now, so I was about to head out too.]
That wasn't a lie. Being squished by Hong Yeon-hwa had improved my condition considerably.
Hong Yeon-hwa scrutinized my face in detail. She seemed to be judging whether it was a lie, then nodded.
.
.
.
* * *
Hong Yeon-hwa watched Lee Ha-yul's retreating figure with eyes full of lingering regret.
As if sensing her gaze, Lee Ha-yul tilted his head, scratched the back of it, and walked brusquely into the library.
"Haa..."
A sigh escaped on its own. Just thinking about it was unbearably disappointing. If only it hadn't been for that alarm, she'd been about to ask if she could stay with him a little longer...
Hong Yeon-hwa glared at the innocent smartwatch. She jabbed at the hologram keyboard with a dose of misplaced resentment.
[Connecting call to contact 'Mrs. Choi Ji-yeon']
—Brring... brring... click.
Before long, the connection tone cut off. Soon a woman's voice rang in Hong Yeon-hwa's ear.
[What's the occasion? A daughter who never calls.]
It was a voice similar to Hong Yeon-hwa's, yet more mature and self-assured.
Choi Ji-yeon.
Hong Yeon-hwa's mother let her delight show as she continued.
[I figured I wouldn't hear from you until you were a second-year.]
"What, like I never call."
[Ever think about your mother's position, having to hear about her daughter's life from other people these days?]
"No, anyway, forget that. I called because I have something to ask."
[You unfilial brat.]
After a bit of trivial bickering, Hong Yeon-hwa got to the point.
"You know that spirit medicine I took last time. Do you have another one just like it left? If there's one left, send it to me."
Spirit medicine is broadly divided into two types.
Natural elixirs, which form in nature and complete themselves as spirit medicines over time, and artificial elixirs, crafted through the blending and processing of various materials.
The medicine Hong Yeon-hwa mentioned was a natural elixir. To be precise, a processed natural elixir.
Natural elixirs are generally hard to obtain, but their efficacy matches the difficulty. There's even a saying that for the genuine natural elixirs, you won't catch so much as a glimpse of their shadow even if your family has accumulated virtue for three generations.
But the problem is that their potency is so extreme that gulping one down recklessly can send you straight to the next world.
For that reason, natural elixirs are often processed so they can be ingested 'safely.'
It isn't easy work. There are only a handful of people in the world skilled enough to dare take apart and rework a spirit medicine formed according to the principles of nature.
The alchemist commissioned by the Calamity Flame family was one of those few. Thanks to that, Hong Yeon-hwa had frequent access to processed natural elixirs.
Still, overusing them would burden the body and wasn't purely beneficial for improving one's abilities, so there were quite a few elixirs piling up in storage.
Anyway, it's a stockpile she'll eventually burn through, and they're already designated as her share.
The authority to take them or sell them rested with Hong Yeon-hwa.
With that meaning in mind, what followed was silence from the other end of the line.
'Huh?'
Puzzled, Hong Yeon-hwa checked the call. It was still connected. She was just about to speak again, thinking the line might have dropped for a second.
Sound came through from the other end. Unlike her usual confident self, the voice carried a tremor.
[So... you've already built up enough of a relationship with your sort-of-boyfriend that you're trying to pull out the family pillar for him...?]
"What the hell does that even mean, Mom...!"
Hong Yeon-hwa recoiled and shouted.