Chapter 118: Interesting
Chapter 118: Interesting
Hayeon said she was fine, but I walked her to her door. Back in the modern world, if I spent the night with a woman, we’d often wake up and have breakfast together. There's a saying that even a chance encounter is a form of fate, and I felt it was rude to just leave without a word. Of course, that was only possible because I still had some untainted innocence back then. And now, this was the only kind of gesture I could offer Hayeon.
After seeing her into her room, I walked over to the suite I would be using for work. Just as I was about to touch the doorknob, the door swung open.
“Ah, Leader.”
The man standing before me, wearing glasses, was Shin Sangyong. His face was a little flushed, and he looked slightly surprised to see me at the door.
“Are you done looking around?”
“Ah, no. Haha. I have to grab something on my master’s orders.”
“Ah… I see.”
“Yes. W-well, I’ll let you two talk.”
Whatever it was, it seemed urgent, as Shin Sangyong bowed his head and hurried past me. I couldn’t help but wonder what they had been talking about to make the usually quiet Shin Sangyong act like that. Filled with curiosity, I entered the room and saw Vivian nodding to herself as she looked around. Sensing my presence, she turned her head toward the door.
“Kim Soohyun?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you done talking?”
“I am… Anyway, what do you think of the room? Can it be converted into a workshop? We’ll have to keep demolition in mind, of course. We can’t go damaging some poor inn.”
“Hmm…”
Vivian hummed at my question, then began to cautiously gauge my reaction. I narrowed my eyes, wondering what she was up to, when she reached into her clothes and pulled out an object with long legs. I stared, dumbfounded, as Vivian put the long object on her face.
“You… what is that?”
“Huh? You don't know what this is? According to Shin Sangyong, it's called a pair of glasses.”
I wanted to say, “Glasses? You've got to be kidding me,” but I instinctively shut my mouth when I saw the pride filling her eyes.
“R-right. But how do you have those?”
“How? Did you forget my class? I can make something as simple as this with my eyes closed. Wh-what do you think?”
It was true that some items from the modern world could be replicated in the Hall Plain. Even so, what Vivian was wearing was, frankly, too crude to be called glasses. Sensing my strange expression, Vivian puffed out her cheeks and spoke.
“Hmph. What’s wrong with these glasses? They suit me, don’t they?”
“I didn’t say anything. But are you really making useless things just because they ‘suit you’? You’re not a child.”
Vivian shot back at my criticism, her face flushing.
“It’s not like they’re harmful to my body. Alchemists are naturally full of curiosity, you know?”
“You look like some foreigner. It doesn't suit you.”
“None of your business!”
Vivian screamed and roughly took off the glasses, her face contorted. She panted for a moment before letting out a deep sigh and shaking her head. Is she rebelling right now?
“…Haa. Anyway, let’s talk. What kind of favor are you asking that requires building a workshop?”
Just as I was considering whether I should put her in her place for the first time in a while, I heard Vivian’s weary voice. Since the glasses weren’t the important thing right now, I obediently reached into my coat and took out two items.
The moment she saw what I was holding, Vivian’s eyes lit up.
“Kim Soohyun. This is…”
Vivian’s eye as an alchemist was certainly useful. She gulped the moment she saw the two items I’d brought out. I held them up one by one and explained.
“Right. One is the Demonkin Heart extracted from Belphegor’s body at the laboratory. The other is a kind of spiritual core that served as the central nexus inside your body. Come to think of it… Shin Sangyong-ssi is not here.”
“I told him to go get something I need… Kim Soohyun. Don’t tell me you’re…”
Vivian, who had been answering calmly, trailed off as the mention of Shin Sangyong seemed to make something click. I gave a single nod of affirmation, and her expression turned to one of shock. She closed her eyes, instantly retreating into a world of her own. I waited patiently.
Mages and alchemists often did this because of their profession. It was one of the reasons I preferred talking to them—they understood things right away without needing a long-winded explanation. Of course, it would be a problem if she went off on a complete tangent, but for now, I decided to wait quietly for her to speak.
Though her eyes were closed, Vivian’s mouth was moving rapidly. I leaned in closer to hear her muttering.
“…There is certainly a possibility. But the Demonkin Heart contains far too much demonic energy… Ah. It would be different if Kim Soohyun could purify it as he did before. Yes. That might work. Mine is of a slightly lower grade, but it cannot be considered a simple mana stone after channeling mana for so many years. If we assume the two will not clash, the difference in grade becomes irrelevant. The efficiency would fall drastically, though. Right. That is why we need Shin Sangyong. His Magic Square of Harmony might solve both problems at once… Yes. It is not impossible….”
Vivian’s brow furrowed deeper as her thoughts grew more complex. After muttering rapidly with a serious expression, she finally opened her eyes and spoke to me.
“You want to process them through Shin Sangyong’s Magic Square of Harmony, correct?”
“Correct.”
“It’s definitely… Ugh, it’s a bit much to say ‘definitely.’ Ah, but this is really tricky.”
“Let’s just give it a try. I won’t blame you if it fails.”
At my words, Vivian’s pride seemed wounded. She tapped her lips with a slender finger and shook her head firmly.
“Kim Soohyun. I think it would be better to put the workshop construction on hold.”
“Huh? No… why?”
Her refusal was completely unexpected, and I was genuinely taken aback. Seeing my reaction, Vivian sighed and began to explain calmly.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t do it, just that we should postpone it. Simply put, this place is too crude. It might be fine for one or two simple potions, but with materials of that quality, the process you’re thinking of can’t be realized here. I mean, we could do it if we absolutely had to. But the maximum potential would be far too low. No, I mean… I acknowledge the possibility. I know I’m being a bit incoherent, but I’m a little confused right now. In any case, I personally don’t want to do it now. It’s not like you need it urgently, right?”
“In other words… you’re saying it’s a waste of materials?”
Vivian nodded solemnly at my question.
“Yes. Of course, alchemists always challenge the impossible to bring a sliver of possibility into reality, but that’s only when materials aren’t a concern. It’s too much of a waste to use such high-potential, high-quality materials in a place like this inn. It would be tricky even in a professionally built workshop… So, if we wait until we have the proper facilities and add more materials to the process, we can dramatically increase the probability of success.”
“Hmm…”
“If you insist on proceeding despite all these unfavorable conditions, I will follow your orders. But if you’re asking for Alchemist Vivian’s opinion, I want to postpone it for now. Please, just listen to me this once.”
Unlike before, Vivian’s words were logical and unwavering. The issue wasn’t whether it could be done, but the probability of success. And since she said she would do it without complaint if I ordered her to, I didn’t have much to say. I smacked my lips and made my decision.
“Well, there’s a saying that haste makes waste.”
“I’ve never heard that, but it’s a good saying. You’ve made the right choice. Hoho.”
Vivian smiled beautifully, pleased that I had listened to her. I watched her, a faint smile on my own lips. The more I looked at her, the more her old personality seemed to be fading away. While that wasn’t a bad thing considering what was to come, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
I sighed and put the two items back in my coat. Thinking about it, I had been a bit too hasty, blinded by the prospect of stamina points. As I looked at Vivian, who was watching me as if I’d done something commendable, I asked in a suspicious voice.
“But… this isn’t like the usual Vivian. It’s almost suspicious.”
Vivian snorted at my suspicion and let out a smirk. For some reason, that got on my nerves. It wasn’t a situation to get angry about, but I felt strangely irritated. Vivian sighed dramatically and rattled on in a teasing voice.
“Good grief… Kim Soohyun. My name is Vivian la Classidus. My house may have fallen, but I once lived with immense pride in that name. Now that I have returned to being human, I am recovering my former reason. So do not assume I will keep behaving as childishly as I did before. Even I find those memories embarrassing. And by human standards, I am twenty-four, you know? I would appreciate being treated in a manner appropriate to my age.”
She explained all this to me calmly, but I didn’t like her tone or attitude. After tilting my head for a moment, I stepped closer to her and raised my hand. Despite my rather threatening posture, Vivian just scoffed.
“Pfft. Stop that. How long are you going to see me as the same as the kids? I was a pretty skilled alchemist, you know. No matter what you do…”
As she spoke, I drew the power of the Eternal Flame into my hand. At the crackle of fire and the sight of a clear flame blooming over my palm, Vivian fell silent for a moment. She soon continued with a composed expression, but I had seen it clearly: fear had entered her eyes the instant I summoned the Eternal Flame.
“…You think I’ll even blink? Now that you mention it, back in the day, I was so…”
Letting her prattle on, I casually flicked my finger.
“Hyaat?”
A flick echoed through the room as a flame attached itself to Vivian’s hair. Of course, I had no real intention of harming her. As a myth-rank Authority, I could control the intent and withdrawal of the power. It was just her hair catching fire, but there was no way Vivian would know that.
“Aah! Aaaah! Aaaaaah! You really did it! You actually did it! Aaaaaaaaah!”
She shrieked and ran around the room. She rubbed her head on the bed, then hopped up and down frantically. Seeing Vivian abandon her intellectual demeanor in a single instant and start to wriggle and dance, I raised my hand again.
Her reaction was immediate.
“Hnnng. Don’t… Stop bullying me… Uwaah…”
“Hmm… I see. It really is Vivian. I thought you were someone else.”
I muttered to myself in a calm voice, then flicked my finger again and extinguished the Eternal Flame clinging to her hair. Vivian hurriedly checked her head like an animal that had been stung. Finding her jet-black hair completely unharmed, she ground her teeth.
“You…! What do you think you’re doing! No, before that, what was that you said!”
“Ah. I thought you were a doppelgänger. So if you were a monster, I was going to catch you…”
“Hey! You call that an excuse! You rotten bastard! What on earth did I do wrong! If you keep acting like this, I’ll…!”
“Hoh.”
At her outburst, I took out the contract I always kept with me and waved it gently. The moment she saw it, Vivian stopped talking, a look of utter disbelief on her face. She stared at me, speechless for a moment, before her eyes began to well up with tears. She forced a smile, her lips trembling. Her eyes were about to cry, but her mouth was smiling. It was a little pitiful, but from my perspective, it was actually quite funny.
I suppressed the laugh that was about to burst out and spoke in a carefully composed voice.
“You’ll… what?”
“H-huh? Wh-what about me?”
“A rotten… what?”
When I drawled, “I think you said ‘bastard,’” Vivian’s face went pale. She took a deep breath, but it seemed she couldn’t hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. And yet, she smiled.
“Hoho… hohoho… hohohoho. I-I must have been… hic, out of my… sob, m-mind… hic… hoho… ho… Hwaaah… Hwaaaaaah…”
In the end, unable to contain her surging sorrow, the forced smile on Vivian’s face finally broke, and she burst into tears. As she began to wail loudly, I quickly started to console her.