A Cute, Kind, Admirable Little Girl

Click. With that sound, the child on the screen began to move.

And as the video started playing, Han Ye-na found herself completely captivated by those soft, jiggling cheeks — cheeks as fluffy as the pancakes from a Japanese dessert café.

…Hah!

Her mind, sold wholesale to those biteable little cheeks filling the screen, snapped back the moment those cheeks pulled away from the lens.

"Ah, that should do it."

The soft cheeks retreated from the camera, and with a series of rustling, fumbling noises the screen spun every which way before finally settling into a fixed frame.

Why is she showing me this?

Ye-na wondered. She had been briefly distracted, yes — but that had been pure cuteness. No hypnosis, no brainwashing, nothing of the sort. The phone itself gave off no magical presence whatsoever, same as the child.

So what on earth was this? Question marks flooded her mind just as the child, walking to the center of a cramped partitioned space packed with all manner of things, bowed at the waist.

"Hello! I'm Han Sia, a Drug Master!"

The child continued with a bright yet somehow slightly downcast smile.

"I, um… looked at the Hunter Gallery, and there were so many posts that weren't true. So I decided to film a video to clear things up."

The posts on the Hunter Gallery… aren't true?

Han Ye-na stopped wondering and focused on the video.

"First, let me explain my job. My class, Drug Master, isn't a pharmacist who deals in narcotics — it's a pharmacist who specializes in magical medicines!"

"The 'drug' in Drug Master uses the character for magic, the same one as in 'magical' and 'demon.' I found out this time that a lot of people don't know that and mix the two up…"

"Um, since my pharmacy is both a pharmacy and a workshop, I looked into it and changing the name is really hard, so I think the misunderstanding is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠going to keep happening."

"But selling narcotics is a total misunderstanding. Narcotics are strictly controlled by the government in the first place — you can only sell them after registering with NIMS, the Narcotics Information Management System."

"And more than anything, I know hunters get narcotics prescribed pretty easily, but that still requires an actual doctor's prescription! And here's the important part! Our pharmacy couldn't afford the key money, so we don't even have a clinic attached!"

Faced with that logical explanation, Ye-na's reason — which had been on emotional strike — clocked back in for its shift. Her eyes, fixed on the child in the video, gave a slight twitch.

"…Anyway! So what I'm going to do is show you the process of making medicine! This is a class-unique recipe they don't even teach you when you study for an alchemist's degree, so I figured this would be the cleanest way to prove it."

"I'll make the patches that caused the problem next. I've been making so many patches yesterday and today that I'm a little worn ou…t."

"…Pfft."

A laugh slipped out at the child who only belatedly tacked on the polite ending, as if realizing she'd dropped it.

Then, in a tone that suggested she'd just remembered something, she added:

"Ah, and I really am nineteen. I awakened at nine, and as a side effect of awakening I stopped growing from then on? My class was deactivated too. So I studied really hard, got both a pharmacist's and an alchemist's license, and reactivated my class."

"……"

…And so, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠having delivered that far-from-ordinary content in the most matter-of-fact way possible, the child began making medicine in earnest.

The first thing the child explained was the classification of the medicine and the herbs that went into it.

"This is Heroshi Grass, which I'll use as the main ingredient for today's antispasmodic for menstrual cramps. Female hunters have skeletal muscles that are so dense that during their period, even when the uterus expands, the muscles can't stretch with it. Painkillers help, but as you all know, for hunters there's a limit."

"It's a common grass that grows under moonlight. Over in the Empire it's known to work as a menstrual pain remedy thanks to its antispasmodic effect and mild analgesic properties, but the effective dose is high even for civilians, so it doesn't get used much."

"But if you mix it with the stem of Mana Herb — which boosts the medicinal properties of other herbs and filters out impurities — and boil it in pure water, then the story completely changes."

"Ah, and what antispasmodic means! Um… with a female hunter's menstrual cramps, the problem is the stiff lower abdominal muscles and the uterine smooth muscle grinding against each other. Think of it as releasing the tension caught between them."

Small hands plucked the plants one by one from their pots and held them up close to the camera.

"So if you look at Heroshi Grass, see how the leaf veins run vertically, and it has a soft sheen from the moonlight? And nngh— like this! Even if you pull it, it doesn't tear! This stuff is ridiculously tough. There's a reason nobody eats it, you know?"

"And Mana Herb, a lot of you already know this one, but it looks like this! Kind of like a perilla leaf, right? It tastes more bitter than perilla, though. Still, since Mana Herb is a plant that grows by sucking mana out of the soil, the stem acts as a filter that strains out impurities."

The Mana Herb looked exactly as Ye-na remembered it. The Heroshi Grass was new to her, but when she used her Appraisal skill on an identical plant in the pot beside it, she got information that was less detailed than the explanation — yet still confirmed it.

Ye-na took in all that content, which had absolutely nothing to do with narcotics, then turned her eyes back to the video.

On screen, Sia was now pulling out a blender.

"Now I'm going to grind the ingredients. Like I said, Heroshi Grass is super tough, so you have to break it down physically first. …Ah, before I put them in. Look inside the blender! Clean, right?"

Just as she said — the interior was spotless, like brand new.

Vrrrr— ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whiiiiiiirrrrr—

Then the loud blender noise Ye-na had heard when she first came in filled the video and cut out.

"Okay… the Heroshi Grass and Mana Herb stems are all ground up. Now I'll put this in a pot with pure water and boil it to draw out the medicinal properties as much as possible… eh."

Just then, a rustling sound came from outside.

The child's expression — which had been better than at the start but still not great — brightened dramatically, and she bolted off-screen at a little pitter-patter, blender still in hand.

Then, from a distance, a distinctly brighter voice:

"…Huh? Are you a hunter? Did you come to buy medicine??"

Click.

"The medicine-making video ends there, so I'll turn it off now!"

Ye-na shifted her gaze to the child switching off the video on the phone.

Having just watched the footage, she could tell. Unlike the smile the child had worn when she sensed Ye-na's presence and dashed out, and unlike the natural smiles that had appeared while making medicine, the smile directed at Ye-na herself was a slightly stiff, formal one.

"From here, I just need to boil the ground raw materials together with pure water in a mana cauldron. One of my class-unique skills, Clear Origin, produces pure water. Watch — Clear Origin! Doesn't it look just like a turtle water cannon?"

And then, mid-skill demonstration, she broke into a wide grin at her own turtle-water-cannon comparison.

At that smile, amid the complicated storm of Ye-na's feelings, a tornado swept through and ripped out the suspicion that had taken root.

In the place where that irrational doubt had been torn free, a landscape of maternal instinct remained.

Nineteen is already young enough — but if it wasn't some kind of manipulation or a different species, and she was stuck in a nine-year-old's body…

And if, on top of mandatory education, she threw herself into studying so obsessively that she earned two of the most notoriously difficult professional licenses…

Just what kind of situation had that been?

…If it had been their Hye-ju.

A chill ran through her.

She was a mother with a child of similar age.

The emotional fire that had gradually evolved while watching the video froze solid in an instant.

To a child this cute, this kind, this admirable, this praiseworthy — what on earth had she been thinking, barging in to lecture her?

"Ah, it's done now! You're supposed to boil it a bit longer to evaporate more of the moisture, but since I only used pure water, it's fine to drink it as a liquid. …Huh? Does your stomach hurt again?"

"No…"

Faced with the child fussing anxiously over her well-being, Han Ye-na hung her head low. She was so ashamed of herself she could barely stand it.

And that was the moment.

Grrroowl—

A sound like bathwater draining away came creeping in.

"…!"

With the finely honed hearing unique to combat-oriented mages, Ye-na recognized that the sound was the stomach-clock of the child standing beside her.

She lifted her head to find the child flustered, both hands raised.

"Hyat… Th-that's…"

A child blushing bright red with embarrassment.

Ye-na checked the watch on her wrist.

14:15.

Come to think of it, while she'd been holding the child here, lunchtime had already come and gone.

"……"

Ye-na glanced around the interior of the dispensary for a moment.

Aside from three boxes of cup ramen and a tray of roasted eggs stacked in the corner, there was nothing but medicine-related supplies.

"Uh, that's, um… I-I forgot to eat because I was making medicine…"

At those words, Ye-na finished thinking and removed the hat and mask she'd been wearing.

Eyes that had already been round went as wide as a doll's.

"H-Han Ye-na the hunter?!"

"Yes, that's right."

Ye-na nodded, smiling with her eyes.

"I'm sorry for misunderstanding you."

"Ah, n-no, it's fine…"

"No. It's not fine. It's not fine, so… would it be all right if I treated you to lunch?"

She's really Han Ye-na the hunter?

My eyes went huge with shock.

No, how did a hunter this famous end up at our pharmacy out in the outskirts?

As if she'd peered right into that question, the answer came back.

"Three days ago, there should have been a customer who bought patches here."

"Park Sang— hup."

I clapped a hand over my mouth just as I was about to reflexively say Uncle Park Sang-jin. Patient information was absolutely confidential.

"Hehe. It's all right. I'm Sang-jin's wife."

"Whaaat?!?!"

"Actually—"

The explanation that followed completely convinced me.

No, with a class name like Drug Master, plus the patches, plus the Hunter Gallery… of course anyone would misunderstand.

"I'm sorry again. To an expert who's studied so hard, and who already had so many misunderstandings to deal with — for me to say something so stupid—"

"No, no! It's totally fine. You listened to my explanation, after all."

It was the obvious thing to say, but Han Ye-na covered her mouth with a sound of admiration.

"Oh my, how sweet—… Then would you come have lunch with me?"

"Neng?"

"Not around here… but there's a restaurant that's close by car. It's a Korean place — the side dishes are beautifully prepared, and the grilled short rib patties are absolutely delicious. Even my daughter, who barely eats anything, cleaned her plate."

And the photo she showed me wasn't just well-prepared — it was a full thirty-dish banquet table!

"Here, the short rib patties. Don't they look tasty?"

Gulp—

More than anything, I'd come here often with Dad when I was little.

And after that, every now and then with Auntie too.

"Ah, if you're worried about sales, here's one bottle of Blue Potion. I'll buy this for now. After we eat, I'll buy other medicines too."

"…Just a moment. Let me close up the pharmacy."

A late lunch break was a luxury the pharmacy couldn't afford — but a taste I already knew was something I simply could not resist.

And so, by the time I came to my senses, I was sitting on a cushion softer than my blanket-padding-blanket bed, a thirty-dish banquet table right under my nose.

How long had it been since I'd had a proper meal like this?

"You can order as many short rib patties as you want, so eat as much as you like, okay?"

Gulp— gulp—

I waited for the adult, Hunter Han Ye-na, to start eating first, then stabbed my chopsticks into the short rib patty on the plate right in front of me and lifted it up.

Hap!

Nyam!

Om-nyom-nyom!

"Wuuuum…!"

The short rib patty melted in my mouth.

It's so good!!

I inhaled short rib patties and rice in a frenzy.

"Hehe, eat slowly. …Excuse me, one more plate of short rib patties—"

Thump— thump—

And then, in the car on the way back.

"Hwaaah—"

Pfft.

Watching the doll-like child unconsciously pat her little rounded belly — exposed thanks to the seatbelt — Han Ye-na swallowed a laugh as she drove.

In one corner of her mind, she recalled the information from the Blue Potion she'd purchased, which she'd Appraised without thinking before getting in the car with the child.

Appraisal.

The insane option attached to the Blue Potion she'd bought just to lure Sia, who'd gone all starry-eyed over the short rib patties.

"…This is a low-grade potion?"

"Yes!"

The potion, which in size was closer to a mid-grade — or a slightly small high-grade — than a low-grade, had performance even more shocking than its size.

"…Insane."

And the potion she'd drunk while Sia was distracted by the short rib patties had, in fact, minutely expanded her mana capacity.

The effect was relatively small — about one-eighth to one-tenth that of a high-grade potion — but when you considered that the price difference between them was three million won versus three hundred million, comparison itself was impossible!

As the master of a guild and a high-ranking mage, Han Ye-na thought:

I have to lock down this jewel of a child!

Drug Master. At first she'd never even heard of it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and between Sang-jin and the narcotics angle she'd been prejudiced — but thinking about it now, this was clearly a higher-tier class of alchemist specialized in potion crafting.

Outstanding alchemists charged a separate contract fee on top of the cost of the potions themselves. Ye-na drove while calculating her guild's available budget.

And so the car pulled up in front of the pharmacy.

"Miss Sia, we're here."

"Wuum… Hwat! I fell asleep… I-I'm sorry, after you gave me a ride and everything."

"Mm. That sort of thing is fine. More importantly."

Personally opening and closing the passenger-side door for Sia, Han Ye-na brought up the proposal she'd put together a little hastily.

"Miss Sia. I said I was your second customer, didn't I?"

"Yes."

"Watching the manufacturing process myself, I trust it, and the quality of the medicine is excellent. As it happens, the guild is low on potion stock and I'd like to buy as much as possible — I'll also pay a separate exclusive contract fee, so I'd like you to sell me all your remaining inventory."

And she held out a gleaming black card.

"Whoa—"

But just as the small hand reached for the card as if entranced—

"That won't be happening."

A woman's hand, callused and firm, slid between the card and the reaching fingers.

The moment she saw the face of the hand's owner, Ye-na lost her composed poker face in sheer shock.

"Mi-na, how are you here…!"

And Sia, too.

"Whoaah."

Her little mouth fell open in a gape.

It was the sound of pure awe at seeing famous hunters twice in one day — and twin-sister hunters, no less, standing in the same place.