The Magician Queen's Costume

"...You got found out? By the Director?"

"Yes, but this time it wasn't my fault. They figured it out on their own first."

"Come home first and we'll talk. Don't go wandering off anywhere — come straight in and wait for me. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Hearing how calm Kang Jiye's voice had become, it seemed her anger had genuinely settled.

Even though the Deputy Director of the Incheon Branch getting suspected of raising a magical beast would put her in a pretty awkward position... well, of course our auntie was the best.

Damn it. What gift should I bring her.

Don't worry. I'm not an idiot.

Obviously Kang Jiye was only forcing herself to stay composed. By now she was probably clutching her head, completely unable to focus on her work.

The reason she'd hung up so quickly was probably because her head was spinning.

If things went south, every past mess I'd caused could get bundled together into one giant scolding, so I decided to prepare something that would put her in a better mood.

...!

A brilliant idea suddenly struck me, and I headed straight for the general store.

I was going to make clothes — but this time they weren't for me, so I didn't need high-grade materials.

As long as the craftsman's skill was good enough, even low-grade items could turn out surprisingly decent.

The moment I stepped into the general store near home, the owner lit up and greeted me with sparkling eyes.

"Well if it isn't young Pecia. Didn't you say you'd enrolled at the Academy?"

"I plan to stop by home on weekends now and then. Do you happen to have any low-grade Mana Cloth?"

"Oh, of course I do. How much do you need?"

"Just a little. Enough to make one set of clothes for an elementary schooler."

The owner pulled a single sheet of white Mana Cloth from the shelf behind the counter.

"Will this do?"

I eyed it with mild dissatisfaction.

"Hmm... I need a little of each color, actually. You don't sell it that way, do you?"

"Nothing smaller than this."

"Then I'll just buy several of the same size. Black, red, yellow, gold, and white. And throw in some Golden Lumenium while you're at it."

I also picked out a miniaturization artifact for carrying the costume around.

The owner nodded and cheerfully started ringing everything up — then his hands suddenly paused mid-calculation.

"..."

He looked over at me.

"Kid, why don't you just use dye instead? No need to buy this many sheets."

The faintly apologetic look on his face suggested his conscience was bothering him, like he felt he was overcharging me.

Probably because I'd once helped cover his son's surgery costs.

But I shook my head.

"Dyeing is just a hassle. And whatever's left over, I can always use later."

His expression brightened right up.

"Then I'll just bag it all?"

"Yep."

Back in full merchant mode, the owner swiped my card without a shred of mercy. Watching him look that happy every single time he sold something, regardless of the amount, I had to admit — a merchant really was a merchant.

I'd privately hoped he might throw in a freebie, and all I could do was snicker to myself.

When I casually asked after his son, he let out a heavy, complicated sigh.

"Thanks to you, the kid's fine now, but..."

"Yeah?"

"Now he's going on about becoming a hunter again. That's the problem. After surviving a brush with death like that and still not learning his lesson — it makes my blood boil, honestly."

If the kid at least had talent, I might've cheered him on for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠being manly about it. But apparently that wasn't the case either.

Because of that, even his fiancée — they were about to get married — had a lot to say on the matter. Both families were pressuring him to just inherit the shop, and he was ignoring all of it to keep poking around gates.

He's lost his mind.

That son of his was clearly so blessed he'd gone completely insane.

Sitting still and selling merchandise? That was something any normal person should welcome with both arms wide open.

The shop was on the first floor and the owner's house was on the second, which meant his workplace was literally within ten steps. No fretting about being late, no bowing and scraping to anyone — a perfect job.

"Aigoo, tsk tsk — what a frustrating son who doesn't understand his parents' hearts."

The owner reacted with intense agreement.

"Right? You think so too, kid?"

"Yes. Inheriting a shop like this isn't exactly easy, you know. Other people would kill for the chance and still couldn't get it! Just hearing about it makes me want to tear my hair out. Hang in there, mister. Seriously."

The owner quietly pulled me into a hug and patted my back.

"Come by often, kid. Often."

"Hehe."

"Oh, right. Speaking of which, there was something I meant to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Well, some clean-cut guys ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in nice clothes came around asking if I knew you."

...The Hunter Administration, maybe?

But their internal affairs shouldn't have been sorted out yet.

The owner roughly described their appearance and demeanor, but they were complete unknowns to me.

When I tilted my head and said I had no idea, the owner's face crumpled with clear displeasure.

"I told them I didn't know you. They didn't even show ID, so how was I supposed to know what they were after? Then those bastards claimed they were your fan club."

"..."

Novel concept.

I'd barely done any magician work, and somehow I already had a fan club.

"They clearly knew you shop here. Ugh, if they were total strangers I should've reported them right then."

"Don't bother with that."

"Hm?"

"I don't know for sure, but I have a few guesses. I'll handle it myself — so if they come back, just keep playing dumb, or just give them my contact info."

Truth was, I knew absolutely nothing.

The protest ringleaders might be up to something, but beyond them, there were plenty of people who might be after me.

What was certain was that if those guys weren't simple thugs or stalkers, the shop owner could find himself in danger in an instant.

Better to just go along with their demands and let me deal with them directly — a hundred times better.

I thanked the owner for telling me, then opened a gate in a secluded spot and came back out carrying a few Party Bears.

Things could get dangerous, so I needed to post a lookout.

"This is a thank-you. And a get-well gift for your son, too!"

"Oh my, what's all this? This is way too much, kid!"

"For the record, these are all golems, so..."

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

"I said thank you."

"Aww... I'm fiiine."

Somehow I'd ended up receiving a mountain of miscellaneous junk from the owner.

Apparently he felt bad accepting free golems that cost at least several million won each.

Aside from dozens of magic scrolls and a hundred ordinary enhancement stones, most of it was slow-moving inventory — but the price tags were still quietly expensive.

Considering a golem was a magical beast that cost less than a million won to produce, I'd walked away with more than five times the profit.

On top of that, the owner personally hauled all the junk over to my house, so it wasn't even a hassle.

"Yenaaa!"

The moment I opened the door, a clattering racket erupted, and a tiny girl in pajamas came barreling out.

"Unnie! It's Pecia unnie!"

I scooped her up with a heave as she leaped at me. Yena nuzzled her face against my shoulder like an overjoyed puppy who couldn't contain herself.

"I missed you so much, unnie!"

"Aww, did you really?"

After dealing with the chaotic Academy students, meeting Yena felt like pure healing. The Party Bears trailing behind me almost looked envious.

Yena held out the tablet in her hands, and on the screen was a drawing of Kang Jiye and me. The title — Family Outing — was quietly touching.

Granted, there were also five little teddy bears and Eldrisa in the picture, but I decided to ignore that. Where there's a main cast, there are always supporting characters.

In high spirits, I decided to ride the momentum and make her costume right away. I still needed to check my mana condition, but this was one thing I didn't want to put off.

"Yena, want to go to the amusement park for the first time in a while?"

"Yeah! Oh wait, I should ask Risa unnie first... Risa unnie?"

When no answer came, we went into Yena's room and found Eldrisa face-down on the bed with the world's most miserable expression.

"What are you doing...? If I'm home, you should at least say hello."

"I lost."

"Lost what."

"I lost an arm-wrestling match to Yena. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠How am I supposed to protect anything like this? Being this uselessly weak."

"..."

I looked at Yena for an explanation.

Apparently the two of them had been playing tug-of-war with Eldrisa's broom, and Yena had won.

Huh?

You might write it off as a size difference, but Eldrisa had roughly D-class strength.

An adult man with some combat training was generally considered about E-class combat power... so you can imagine how absurd this was.

Just in case, I took Yena's hand and gently let a trickle of mana flow through.

"Oh my. Would you look at that?"

To my surprise, I could feel mana.

And not a small amount — a quiet, dormant power equivalent to roughly D-class.

What on earth had happened in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the two weeks I'd been gone?

She hadn't done any particular training, and yet at this rate she had the talent to reach at least high B-class someday. Or if she got truly lucky, maybe even S-class.

"Risa unnie kept flying around, so I tried to copy her, and then suddenly it was like this."

...So playing around had turned into awakening practice. That meant they'd been playing pretty roughly. I'd have to interrogate them about that later.

"Does Auntie... know?"

"I told her, but she just laughed and patted my head."

She didn't believe it.

She must have assumed Eldrisa had thrown the match.

Of course, every person's mana had its own unique characteristics.

Some were explosive but leaked heavily; others were quiet yet capable of fine, precise control.

Occasionally there were cases where the mana didn't show at all unless you properly exerted force — and Yena was exactly that type.

Well, well. Looks like I picked the right gift after all.

"First, let's go to the amusement park. Unnie will make you something fun."

"Yay!"

"Teddy-bearies, I'm heeere!"

"Beep!"

The moment Yena appeared through the gate, the Party Bears swarmed her in a stampede.

Yena threw both arms wide open, dove into the middle of the pack, and started dancing.

"One little teddy, two little teddy, three little teddy Indians, four little teddy, five little teddy..."

The Party Bears bobbed along to Yena's rhythm.

Among them, one was shaking its hips front to back in a full-on sexy dance. I grabbed that one by the ear and hurled it with all my might.

"Beeeeep...!" The brown Party Bear went flying and smashed into the Ferris wheel.

Crazy bastard.

I scanned the rest for any other weird behavior, then carried the box of Mana Cloth over and settled onto a bench.

Ding—

"Yenaaa, Mommy's hooome! Pecia!"

Kang Jiye entered through the gate as usual.

The earlier phone call still had her on the verge of losing her mind, but since it wasn't a problem she could solve right this second, she'd decided to force herself to stay calm.

Peace of mind. Peace of mind.

And it was working a little — home really was the best place after all.

"Mom!"

"Yena? Where are you?"

"Over here!"

She looked up, and...

Yena, dressed in a full magician's costume, was waving from the top of the Fairy Tale Castle wall.

A fond smile spread across Kang Jiye's lips.

Hehe, how adorable. Did Pecia dress her up?

From more than ten meters up, Yena threw herself off the wall just like that.

"Mooom!"

"...!!!"