Rimei

"So, where can I get Azure Spirit Stone?"

I walked alongside her toward the village, talking as we went.

"As far as I know, you can find it on the higher floors of the Tower, or in the Magnos Kingdom."

"Then why don't you just get it yourself? You're from Magnos, aren't you?"

She was an alchemist born in the Magnos Kingdom. The higher floors might be difficult, but if she could obtain it from her homeland, wouldn't that be faster?

The thought had barely formed when she scratched her head and spoke.

"There's a problem with that."

"What kind of problem?"

Her voice shrank to a mumble.

"I'm being chased."

"Chased? By who?"

The story she told me after that was utterly ridiculous.

Back in Magnos she had been known as a young eccentric, all because she had thrown herself completely into golem alchemy. Most alchemists made their living crafting everyday magic tools or refining special metals. The truly gifted among them moved on to weapons and armor. She, however, had outstanding grades yet cared only about golems. She kept pouring everything into that unprofitable research until the failures piled up, the material costs swallowed every last coin, and she finally turned to loans. Debt collectors hounded her until she fled into the Tower.

"Hey, then you should just do other alchemy and pay the debt off already."

At my scolding she stuck out her lower lip.

"I could have paid it off! But you destroyed them all!"

"Huh? Don't tell me…"

"If I had just sold Rock No. 2—the one I finally succeeded with this time—I could have cleared the debt! But my Rock No. 1 and No. 2…"

Ah. So that was it. Those golems had been her hope for a fresh start.

"How much?"

Hearing her circumstances left me feeling oddly guilty, so I asked the price. My inventory still held four gold coins and a handful of silver. Honestly I was the wronged party here, yet I had been the one who smashed the masterpieces she had built while on the run for over half a year. If it was only one or two gold, I figured I could grit my teeth and cover it once.

"Why? Are you going to buy them for me?"

"I'm just asking. How much?"

She fidgeted with her fingertips and carefully parted her lips.

"Thirty…"

"What? Thirty copper? You're an alchemist and you bawled your eyes out over thirty copper coins?"

"No! Not copper!"

"Then silver? Are you insane? What kind of rock costs thirty silver? You're colluding with your Magnos buddies to scam me, aren't you?"

Thirty silver was three gold—most of what I had left. Burn three gold coins out of moral obligation? All I had done was defend myself against an attack.

She looked ready to cry and added in a tiny ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠voice,

"Not silver."

"What?"

"Gold. Thirty gold coins…"

I momentarily doubted my ears. Thirty gold? The largest sum I had ever held was twenty. Thirty was the kind of money that would force me to sell even the Basilisk armor. Of course I had no intention of helping that far.

"No way!"

"…"

"I don't have the money! Even if I did, I wouldn't buy them! Absolutely not! Take care of yourself."

I left her standing there and started walking. She immediately seized the hem of my pants again.

"You can't go! I won't let you leave! Never!"

She clamped her teeth onto the fabric and refused to let go no matter how hard I tried to shake her off.

"There's a limit to this! Who the hell burns thirty gold?!"

Did she think I was some kind of sucker? I shoved her face away with all my strength, pried her loose, and set off once more. Then her desperate shout rang out behind me.

"There's a way!"

I stopped for a moment.

"A way that costs no money and doesn't require climbing the higher floors."

"So? That method is becoming a High Knight?"

We had already reached the village and were unpacking our things inside her house.

"Exactly. Once you become a High Knight you can choose one of the rewards, and Azure Spirit Stone is among them."

"But I'm not even a Knight yet. How am I supposed to become a High Knight?"

I leaned back in the chair and looked at her. She seemed irritated by the heat and began peeling off her robe. The moment the fabric fell away, a devastating valley of cleavage appeared. I spun my head away in panic.

"Hey, put something back on."

"Huh? Why? No. It's hot."

She answered as if it were nothing and watched ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me. After confirming that I still had my face turned, she glanced down at her own body. The thin shirt did nothing to hide the destructive volume beneath. She stared at her chest for a second, then the corner of her mouth curled upward as understanding dawned.

"Aha. Are you embarrassed looking at these?"

"W-what?! I'm trying not to ruin my eyes!"

I shouted and twisted my whole body away. She chuckled, slipped off her glasses, and pressed herself against my back.

"Eek!"

The soft, yielding sensation against my spine wrenched a weird sound from my throat and locked every muscle rigid.

"Oh my, even your ears are red. You're far too innocent for that face. Want a closer look?"

Heat flooded all the way to the top of my head. I whirled around, shoved her shoulders back, and snapped,

"Sh-shut up! I told you it'll ruin my eyes! Stop the nonsense and just explain properly already!"

"Hahaha, fine~ Lecture time, then."

She settled her glasses back into place and began.

"So that means I'm already Knight-rank?"

"That's right. Clearing the tenth floor alone puts you at Knight level."

According to her, however, becoming an official Knight required passing a test held once every two weeks. The test consisted of a simple written exam, a physical fitness evaluation, and a subjugation trial. After clearing those and conquering the fifteenth floor, you had to place high in the monthly Knight tournament held on the sixteenth floor. Only then could you become a High Knight.

No time to waste, then.

I needed to put in the application immediately. I was in no position to climb the Tower at a leisurely pace.

"I'm heading to the guild to apply right now."

I opened the door, then paused and looked back at her.

"By the way, what's your name?"

She stopped sorting parchment, lifted her head, and narrowed her eyes.

"Oh my. Only now you're curious about my name? I thought you were only interested in my soft bits."

My face went scarlet at the teasing.

"Forget it! From now on I'm calling you Scatterbrain!"

I turned and strode out the door.

Teasing the person who's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trying to help her…

I had taken only a few steps across the dirt when the door creaked open behind me and her voice rang out.

"My name is Rimei! The genius alchemist who will support you all the way to High Knight!"

"Rimei…"

I rolled the name around on my tongue once, then looked back and met her eyes.

"I'm Kim Ki-seok."

I raised my right hand in a casual wave as I walked on.

"I'm off!"

"Be careful, Ki-seok!"

With that I headed for the Adventurer's Guild.

A short while later I arrived at the Adventurer's Guild and found myself seated at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a small desk.

A stack of papers lay in front of me, and that question was written on the top sheet.

"I know this one."

Hit it.

I wrote the answer with the pen.

Earlier I had walked into the guild and told the receptionist,

"I've come to apply for the Knight exam."

She informed me that the written test came first and led me to a small side room, then handed me the thick sheaf of papers. Time limit: one hour. One hundred essential adventurer questions. That was the written exam.

I hit a wall on the fourth question. Four mushrooms were drawn with names beneath them.

"I can eat all of them anyway!"

I scowled at the completely foreign question. The names sounded ordinary, yet every mushroom was painted in garish colors that screamed "poison." It wasn't as if I had been born in this world—how was I supposed to know?

"Hah. Next question."

I flipped the page.

"What? How am I supposed to know that?"

I grumbled and turned to the next sheet.

With every page I turned, my mind grew hazier. At last I set the pen down.

Clatter…

The pen rolled away as I let out a long, heavy sigh.

"I really was a barbarian, huh."

I abandoned the written exam, stood up, and walked out the door. The receptionist approached with a bright smile.

"Not too bad, right? They're mostly just common-sense questions."

I handed her the papers in silence and headed straight for the main entrance.

"Why is he acting like that?"

She flipped through the sheets one by one.

"…"

Her mouth fell open as she stared after me. I couldn't bring myself to look back. Heat flooded my face until it burned redder than the setting sun outside.