Exclusive Magic, What Did You Say?

“Whoa! So this actually raises my EXP.”

To my surprise, just crafting Party Bears was enough to send my level climbing steadily. I had only used about a tenth of the materials the Joel family provided, yet the pace was already ridiculous.

Only about twenty Party Bears so far.

“Status window.”

Roughly upper C-class. Not a bad growth rate at all—especially considering that not long ago I had barely managed to take down a handful of ghouls.

What about skills?

The Party Bear Crafting skill had risen quickly. The higher the rank, the stronger the units I could produce. In other words, the bears I made today were already tougher than yesterday’s batch. Once I hit the highest rank, I would probably be able to mass-produce B-class units. Most of the ones I had faced in my previous life had been B-class, after all.

But there was one problem…

Production costs, damn it.

For now I could still use cheap materials, but higher ranks would demand higher-quality supplies. At the top rank I would probably need high-grade Mana Cloth… or, if I was unlucky, top-grade. Building a massive army like the Pecia of my previous life would require selling off an entire country. Of course, that version of me had been more than five years further down the timeline. Given the same amount of time, I could probably raise a pretty formidable force myself.

But…

There was no telling when the Academy Incident would explode. And before the monsters, I had to weed out the human traitors first.

I checked the message from Kang Jiye.

So they really appeared, huh?

I hadn’t been completely certain when I said it. I had simply guessed based on the story where spies had turned up at the Seoul Branch. In short, these people were cultists who worshipped the monsters as gods. They were major villains in Gate Apocalypse—the kind of cockroaches who survived all the way until the final boss appeared. They had been involved in every gate break and terrorist attack that made life hell for the protagonist’s party, so of course they would be mixed up in the Academy Incident too.

…In that case, this is actually convenient.

One silver lining: I could reverse mind control on anyone who had been affected. I had the Hypnosis skill, after all. Once I identified the enemy, everything after that was simply a matter of how I handled myself.

I typed a reply to Kang Jiye.

In other words, the spell reacted to environmental changes as if it were alive. The moment the host thought “I’m under suspicion,” a sub-spell would activate to help them dodge it. Definitely a high-class mind-control skill.

Kang Jiye’s reply came instantly.

If we arrested them right away, the caster who planted the spell would notice something had gone wrong. They would also figure out that Kang Jiye was the one interfering with their plans—which would put not only the Incheon Branch of the Hunter Administration but also her family, including Yena, in danger.

There were two main ways to handle it: either figure out the trigger that activated the spell and turn it against them, or overwrite it with a higher-tier skill. I was betting on the second option.

Let’s see. The real problem is how to train the Hypnosis skill.

Wasn’t there some job where I could make money and freely spam Hypnosis at the same time?

“Ah!”

I was idly scrolling through my phone when something clicked. Come to think of it, there was someone I could ask for advice.

“Waaah—thanks for coming, Pecia!”

The moment I stepped through the gate, Elaine latched onto my arm. I stood there with my mouth hanging open at the sheer grandeur of the mansion.

This kid was loaded!

The garden alone was the size of a decent high-school athletic field. Neatly trimmed lawns stretched out under carefully tended trees and flower beds, while a fountain in the center proudly shot streams of water from the little cherub statues. Beyond that rose a magnificent two-story mansion.

No wonder something had felt off. Even as the student representative, threatening a prestigious hunter family with “I’m not letting this slide” was no small feat. Whether it was possible or not, most people’s hearts would be pounding too hard to even try.

So she comes from a pretty well-off family… and one with real roots, at that.

“Well? First time visiting a magic house?”

“A magic house?”

Elaine blinked.

“Yeah. Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

“Uh…”

Had there been something like that? When I played, I had just lumped everything under “hunter houses.”

Elaine’s eyes went round.

“Oh my gosh, look at you. You really didn’t know?”

I asked back, still confused.

“Isn’t a hunter house just a hunter house? This is the first I’ve heard of magic houses existing in Korea.”

“What are you talking about? You really came to Korea without knowing anything, didn’t you?”

Elaine raised one finger.

“Of course there are magic houses in Korea. And among them, ours is considered the best in the entire country. The magic house of Ispellen. You’ve seriously never heard of us?”

“Nope.”

“What about the fact that the Academy was founded by the magic houses?”

“I-I didn’t know that either.”

“…….”

Elaine blinked again. The “What is this girl?” look was written all over her face. But I thought I understood why I hadn’t known about them.

If the magic houses had founded the Academy, the answer was obvious. They had all been wiped out. On the day Aegis Academy turned to ash, they would have been the first ones to send reinforcements. Their own children had been attending classes, their own people had been teaching, and some of their family heads had been serving as security. The moment they heard the news, their eyes would have gone bloodshot. They would have charged in without thinking twice to try to save everyone.

The fall of the powerful houses. The reason Korea had to establish a new military regime.

The pieces were starting to fit together.

“Ahem! Well, I guess it’s possible not to know.”

Elaine cleared her throat. Her pride had clearly taken a scratch, but that wasn’t my problem.

I told her, “Sorry for not recognizing you. But you were going to explain everything anyway, right?”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

She nodded, then paused for a moment before asking, “But hey.”

“Yeah?”

“So you scolded Adriel without even knowing I was from a magic house?”

“That’s right.”

“But you knew Adriel was from a hunter house.”

“Yep.”

When I had played, the Joel family had still been going strong. They had also been one of the factions most cooperative with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the protagonist.

Elaine narrowed her eyes. “Why did you do it, then?”

“Huh? What do you mean, why?”

“I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. What kind of person would pick a fight with a hunter house without any backing?”

I tilted my head. “…Is that really so strange?”

“Of course it is!”

What was so weird about it? I thought it over carefully before answering.

“At the entrance exam, the one who cursed and hit people—the one who acted completely unreasonably—was Kang Jihun… Adriel, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Then the person who stopped him—me—should be described as having acted completely reasonably, shouldn’t she?”

“…….”

Elaine’s mouth fell open. Had I shocked her? I wasn’t sure, but she just stared off into the distance with an incredulous smile. Then she nodded in satisfaction.

“Good. If you’re my friend, you should at least do that much. But you know… when danger comes, leaning on a knight a little is also part of a lady’s refinement.”

“I’m not a lady.”

“If you’re not a lady, then you’re a little kid? Well, I like that too. Coochie-coo, my little baby.”

“…….”

Maybe I should just leave.

I had come because I needed Elaine’s help, but this felt wrong. Even if I could tolerate a kid much younger than me treating me like a child, if she kept clinging to me like this I was going to start feeling guilty and wouldn’t be able to go through with it.

Yeah, better to handle this alone. It’s a scam either way.

In the end, though, I was dragged inside the mansion. Elaine had sensed my urge to flee with uncanny accuracy and refused to let go of my arm. I was starting to find this leech-like girl genuinely terrifying.

“Mother, I brought her! This is the friend I told you about before.”

“Ah, welcome.”

Elaine’s mother was an elegant woman of Caucasian descent. She wore a red dress that reached her ankles, and her hair ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was piled up in a sensual, intricate style—like a goddess straight out of Greek mythology. I had always thought Elaine looked almost too exotic and beautiful; apparently her mother’s genes had mixed in just right.

“Let me introduce her again. This is Pecia von Chiffonside, a friend I met at the Academy.”

Elaine’s mother nodded with a gentle smile.

“Edina Ispellen. You can just call me Edina.”

I bowed my head as well.

“I’m Pecia. Nice to meet you, Miss Edina.”

Honestly, I had agonized over whether to call her Madam Ispellen or just Edina. I had a habit of skipping all the useless dialogue, so I never really knew how these people addressed each other. Fortunately, Edina answered with a smile.

“I heard you protected my daughter at the Academy. Thank you.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t—wait, what?”

“I was told you bravely stood up to a hunter house. I was deeply moved. How frightened must a girl who hasn’t even learned mana yet have been?”

…What was this now?

“U-um, just a moment. I don’t have the power to protect your daughter… I didn’t protect her.”

For the record, Elaine’s arm strength was no joke. I knew because I was currently being held captive by it. She could crack the skulls of D-class monsters ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with her bare fists. She didn’t need anyone’s help.

But Edina replied meaningfully, “Protecting someone isn’t only about mana or physical strength. Condemning another person’s malice is part of it as well.”

At that, Elaine nodded and stepped forward confidently.

“That’s right. And Pecia didn’t even know I was from a magic house!”

Edina paused. She looked slightly surprised as she asked again, “Is that true?”

“Yes. That’s why I told you it wasn’t just me playing both sides!”

“Hmm, I see…?”

Edina began studying me carefully. Then, without warning, she grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. This woman had ridiculous strength too.

“Come, sit over here.”

“Pardon?”

“Elaine, what did you say Pecia came for today? Magic, was it?”

“Yes! She wants to earn her tuition by putting on magic performances. I promised to check her level and arrange some shows for her. She’s also going to sell dolls as souvenirs.”

“Dolls, you say. Should we buy some? It might be nice if we set the price range first.”

“That sounds great, Mother.”

???