The Magic City and the Great Detective
"Don't worry. We'll definitely find Mr. Gigglesworth for you!"
"Thank you..."
Leaving the grateful woman behind, Seong-il brought Charlotte over and began discussing the case with her.
"Hmm. Should we start by checking the surrounding area? Since there are two of us, splitting up and searching separately might be more efficient."
"Oh! That's a wonderful idea, Seong-il!"
'Please just leave already. I'll handle this properly...'
Hiding his true feelings, Seong-il nodded in agreement.
"Then let's head in opposite directions from here. I'll go that way!"
Seong-il pointed to the right as he spoke to Charlotte. She nodded after watching him.
"Understood! See you in a bit!"
"Yep!"
Charlotte dashed off briskly, leaving Seong-il behind.
'Why is she running...?'
With a sigh and a shake of his head, Seong-il activated his Induction ability.
'First off... according to the game, Mr. Gigglesworth was secretly taken by the little girl from the house across the street, right?'
With that thought, Seong-il headed to the neighboring house.
"Hello there, little lady?"
"W-who are you?"
A cute young girl with a guilty expression on her face. Seong-il gently reassured her and began asking questions in a soft, calm voice.
"Hmm! Do you know the big sister Yuna who lives right here?"
"..."
The little girl rolled her eyes, clearly avoiding the question. Seong-il pulled out a lollipop he'd prepared in advance and offered it to her.
"This is a present. If you answer my questions nicely, I'll give you lots more candy besides this one."
"Whoa!!"
The girl let out a delighted squeal and snatched the lollipop with lightning speed. She quickly unwrapped it, popped it in her mouth, and began sucking on it while mumbling.
"Wow! This is so yummy, mister!"
Seong-il smiled at the adorable sight and continued his questions.
"Really? That's great! So, can you answer what I asked earlier?"
As he spoke, he showed her the bundle of candies tucked inside his coat. The girl's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Yes! You'll really give me candy, right?"
"Of course."
"Then ask away!"
"Have you seen a brown-furred cat anywhere?"
"..."
Once again, the child avoided answering Seong-il's question. He gently coaxed her.
"Hmm! That big sister only has her family cat. But the cat disappeared, and she's so heartbroken about it..."
"...!"
The little lady flinched visibly at his words. Seeing her reaction, Seong-il pressed on with growing confidence.
"If someone took it and tells the truth, not only will she forgive them, but she'll invite them over anytime to play with the cat... You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you...?"
"I'm sorry..."
Tears welled up in the little girl's eyes. Seong-il stroked her head gently as he replied.
"It's okay. Cute cats are friends to all children, so it's understandable. If you just return the cat to her, she'll forgive you. And of course, she'll let you play with it whenever you want!"
"...Really?"
"Absolutely!"
Seong-il pulled a whole bag of candy from his pocket and handed it to her. The girl's face lit up with a bright smile, as if she'd never been crying at all. She grabbed the bag and answered.
"Follow me!"
Seong-il followed the little girl. As they entered the shabby house, an attractive brown-furred cat approached her and rubbed its face against her leg.
"Meow!"
"Hi there, kitty!"
The girl scooped the cat into her arms.
'Found it!'
Sensing the quest was complete, Seong-il returned to Yuna with the child.
"Ah! Seong-il!"
'Ugh... did she swallow a train whistle or something? Why is her voice so loud?'
After letting out a sigh, Seong-il quickly composed his expression as if he'd never been annoyed and looked at her.
"Ooh! So that's Mr. Gigglesworth!"
"Yes. I happened to find him. The little girl from next door was 'protecting' him."
Seong-il carefully chose his words to prevent the child from being scolded. Charlotte responded enthusiastically.
"Ooh! Wonderful news! Let's bring the kitty back right away!"
The three of them entered Yuna's workshop.
"Mr. Gigglesworth!!"
Yuna greeted the cat with overwhelming joy. As Seong-il took the cat from the little girl and reached out to hand it to her...
"Hiss!!"
Startled by the stranger's touch, Mr. Gigglesworth scratched Seong-il and leaped into Yuna's arms.
"Ow!"
"Oh dear! Are you alright?"
Yuna panicked at the sight of blood dripping from Seong-il's hand. He waved it off casually.
"Ah, I'm fine. I have medicine..."
He pulled out one of the potions he always carried and applied it to the wound. The cut healed instantly thanks to the potion's power.
"Huh?!"
Yuna let out a shocked gasp at the potion's miraculous effect. She immediately began bombarding him with questions.
"What on earth is that potion? How did it heal the wound so quickly?!"
'Oops!'
Seong-il realized he'd done something incredibly stupid by using it without thinking and quickly answered.
"Ah... well... it's a secret medicine my parents made."
"Whoa!!! That's incredible!!!"
"Haha... thank you."
Seong-il quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, it looks like our Charlotte Detective Agency has completed the request. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Ah! Now that you mention it!"
Yuna realized she had gotten so distracted by the potion that she'd forgotten to offer proper thanks. She hurriedly apologized and pulled out the reward, handing it to Charlotte.
"I'm so sorry! I'm just so curious about things...!"
"Oh ho ho! Think nothing of it! If you'll just sign here on the confirmation..."
"Of course!!"
After completing the simple paperwork and officially closing the case, Yuna immediately rushed over to Seong-il and resumed her questioning about the potion.
"That! Potion! Just what!!! Is its principle?!!!?"
"?!?!"
Seong-il was taken aback by Yuna's near-maniacal behavior.
'Hmm... what should I do? Just brush it off vaguely.'
"Um... I don't really know the principle since my parents left it to me..."
"!!!"
"I'm sorry."
"Not at all! Then do you know how to make it? If not, could you possibly ask your parents?!"
"Well... I don't know the recipe, and my parents have passed away."
"Ah....."
Yuna's face fell with deep disappointment. After sighing, a sudden idea seemed to strike her, and she asked Seong-il another question.
"What if! Could you possibly sell that potion to me?"
"!"
"That... might be difficult."
Since the potions were precious to him too, Seong-il felt reluctant and expressed his refusal. Seeing his response, Yuna pleaded even more desperately.
"Please don't say that...! If we can analyze its components and mass-produce that potion, it would be such a tremendous help to the world!"
"Hmm..."
Seong-il let out a thoughtful hum. Taking this as a sign of possibility, Yuna began courting him more aggressively.
"Come on~! If you don't need money, I can trade you for other items..."
"Ugh... I don't really need anything in particular."
"Hmm. Nothing at all?"
"Yeah... no particular items..."
"Um... didn't you say you do physical labor?"
"Yes, that's right..."
"In that case, have you ever gotten a Magic Engraving?"
"!!!"
Seong-il was startled when the exact answer he'd been hoping for from Yuna suddenly popped out. He calmed his racing heart and replied as steadily as he could.
"No... Magic Engravings are so expensive that I never even considered it..."
"Then shall I do one for you?"
"What?! I thought only archmages could do Magic Engravings..."
"Hehe... the research I'm doing in this workshop is precisely to solve that problem!"
"Ooh?!"
Although Seong-il already knew everything about her research in advance, he feigned maximum surprise to naturally draw out her explanation.
"If you give me that potion, I'll give you one of the Magic Engravings I'm currently experimenting with as compensation! Don't worry about side effects! I've already tested it on myself and confirmed there are none!"
"Ooooh!!"
"Of course... it's still in the early stages, so I can only do Strength and Haste engravings for now..."
'Haste?!'
Seong-il still vividly remembered the humiliation he'd suffered from the lack of light footwork when facing the Xuanwu Sect Leader recently. The Haste that Yuna mentioned filled him with tremendous excitement.
"Ooh!! That alone would be incredibly satisfying! If you'll do it, I'll give you this potion!"
"Really?!"
"Of course! Being able to use Haste would be a huge help for my assistant detective work going forward."
Charlotte also grew excited at Seong-il's words.
"Indeed! If Seong-il can cast Haste, it will bring tremendous benefits to our detective work!"
"Exactly!!"
Gaining confidence from their reactions, Yuna urged him on.
"Then let's make it official: I'll perform the Magic Engraving for you in exchange for the potion! Do you agree?"
"Yes, yes!!"
Watching their exchange, Charlotte nodded and added.
"If Seong-il gets stronger, it'll make things easier for me too! I'm completely in favor!"
Yuna smiled at her words.
"Perfect! However, the initial engraving takes a total of five days, with about two hours needed each day. Will that be alright...?"
"I'm fine with it... what about you, Miss Charlotte?"
"No problem at all! I'll make sure to set aside time for you every day, so feel free to come and go as needed!"
"Thank you!!"
"In that case! I'll head back first. See you at the office!"
"Yessir!!"
Yuna smiled brightly at the pair. Once Charlotte left, she swiftly snatched the potion from Seong-il's hand.
"Right! Let's get started right away!"
"Yes!!"
Following her guidance, Seong-il headed down to the basement workshop to receive his Magic Engraving.
'This feels less like a mage's workshop and more like an engineer's lab...'
Seong-il looked at the pervasive smell of oil and the gears scattered across the floor. Noticing his expression, Yuna blushed.
"I-it's a bit messy, isn't it?"
"Not at all! It feels like a room full of passion!"
"Haha..."
Yuna laughed to cover her embarrassment. She quickly swept the items on the floor aside with a broom and said to Seong-il.
"Could you come this way? Just take off your top and lie down. It won't hurt, so don't worry!"
"Yes! Yes ma'am!!"
Seong-il was bursting with excitement at the thought of finally being able to use magic. He quickly stripped off his shirt in front of Yuna and moved to the table.
"Oh... you have a nice body...?"
After training in both sexual techniques and martial arts, Seong-il's body had developed a powerfully masculine, muscular physique. Yuna's face flushed as she looked at it.
"Huh? Ah... thank you. Haha..."
After giving that awkward reply, Seong-il lay down on the table. Once he was settled, Yuna said.
"I'll begin now!"
Then he felt a cold sensation on his back.
'Hmm. A wet towel?'
It seemed Yuna was wiping away any foreign substances on his back before starting the engraving. After meticulously cleaning his back for quite some time, she brought over a strange machine and began the procedure.
'It's getting warm.'
It wasn't particularly painful, but the hot sensation like ultraviolet rays sweeping across his back made Seong-il unconsciously frown. Seeing this, Yuna spoke up.
"Hmm! It's best if you can endure any discomfort! But if you really can't bear it, you must tell me right away!"
"Yes, yes! Understood!"
"Good! I'll continue then~"
After working for quite a while, she finally finished.
"Then! I'll see you tomorrow! You'll come around noon, right?"
"Yes! I'll come after lunch!"
"Hehe... sounds good! See you tomorrow!"
After finishing his session with Yuna, Seong-il returned to the Charlotte Detective Agency in high spirits.
"Oh... the second-floor room is pretty nice...?"
Seong-il had simply opened the door and dropped off his luggage during the day. Now, unpacking properly after work, he looked around the interior and let out an admiring sigh at how good the place was.
"Wow... at two shillings a week, this is definitely not a bad deal...?"
Although he'd thrown out the number randomly just to impress Charlotte, Seong-il was pleased that his choice had turned out to be correct. After cleaning the house, he had a light dinner with a sandwich he'd bought outside and went to sleep.
"Then! Miss Charlotte! I'll be going now!!"
"Yes! Have a good day!!"
By the third day, Seong-il had grown somewhat accustomed to Charlotte's childlike way of speaking. After bidding her farewell, he headed to Yuna's workshop.