A Spark of Magic
When Jungwoo informed the association that everything was ready on his end, they replied that all their preparations were complete as well.
He hadn’t received any detailed reports on how far things had progressed, yet they were already finished. In truth, running a simple street stall didn’t require much preparation. A basic folding table like the ones commonly seen at any market would suffice. Most of what was needed were official procedures, and he assumed the management office had taken care of them all.
The day he could begin selling lunchboxes was now entirely up to him. He had already posted the upcoming operating hours and any changes on the app he’d been told about last time, so there would be no confusion. He had also written it all down on the sandwich board sign.
Even though hunters’ gate subjugation schedules were all over the place, they still had preferred time slots. Mornings were naturally quiet, while the periods around lunch and dinner saw the most foot traffic. Of course, he couldn’t devote the entire restaurant to those hours. After all, the lunchboxes were only a side business.
The day Choi Jin-cheol had visited, the rain kept the number of customers low. Just like ordinary people, hunters didn’t particularly enjoy wandering around on rainy days.
“Is anyone here?”
“Yes, we’re open.”
The insulated lunchbox containers arrived the very next day. He had ordered fifty in total, but sixty were delivered. The extra ten were apparently a small gesture of goodwill, hoping their first transaction would go well.
“Could you sign here, please?”
After signing and handing back the receipt, the delivery worker reached out into empty air. Mana began to flow, and a massive box started materializing in his hands.
“Whoa!”
Seia, who had been sitting quietly in her usual seat and watching, widened her eyes in surprise. She stared intently at the phenomenon.
With every ripple of blue mana, more boxes appeared. The worker, who had been wearing a bored expression from doing this so often, seemed to regain some energy at the sight of Seia’s sparkling eyes.
“Haha. You’re not a hunter, I take it?”
“That’s right. We’re just an ordinary restaurant.”
Perhaps inspired by Seia’s reaction, the worker manipulated his mana with far more flair than usual. It was like watching waves surge through the air. The pleasant blue mana flowed far longer than necessary before finally spitting out the boxes and vanishing without a trace.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
There wasn’t much Jungwoo could do for him. All he could offer was a fatigue-relief drink.
“Oh my, you didn’t have to… Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“It’s nothing. You seemed to have worked a bit hard, so…”
“Haha. You caught me. The job does get tedious after a while, but thanks to this little lady here, I feel refreshed.”
Although Seia had seen a circus before, every ability felt fresh and new to her since they were all so different.
“Mister!”
“Hm?”
“Can Seia do that too?”
“Hmm… So your name is Seia?”
“Yes! I’m Seia!”
What should he say? It wasn’t completely impossible, but it wasn’t exactly easy either. Still, it could be done using a properly crafted magic stone.
“Haha. It’s a secret. You’ll have to ask your dad later.”
“Okay! Daddy knows everything!”
“That’s right. Your dad really does know everything.”
Suddenly, Jungwoo thought back to his own childhood and how he had viewed his father back then. At the time, he had truly believed his dad could do anything.
“If you need more, just contact me. Here’s my card.”
“Thank you. I’ll reach out if necessary.”
The worker lingered for a moment as if his feet were reluctant to leave, but he eventually stepped out of the restaurant.
“Daddy, Daddy!”
“Haha. Yes, Seia?”
Seeing how urgently she was calling him, Jungwoo could already guess what question was coming. It would be about the delivery worker’s ability and how to do it.
“How does the mister do that?”
“Did you want to try it too?”
“Yes! It was all sparkly and pretty.”
Jungwoo might not be a hunter, but he wasn’t ignorant of how it worked. If there was a completed, crafted magic stone, one could use the ability by simply employing that stone.
Maybe having one wouldn’t be so bad?
It didn’t need to be anything particularly special. As long as it was an ability Seia would enjoy, that was enough. Since he would be visiting the shopping district hunters used to sell lunchboxes anyway, it wouldn’t be too late to look for something then.
“Then Daddy will make it so you can do it later.”
“Really? Then is Seia going to become a wizard?”
A wizard, huh. Seia still didn’t know about hunters or gates. And Jungwoo believed there was no need for her to know.
“Of course. But it won’t be easy, you know?”
“Seia will work really hard! Seia can do it!”
Watching Seia burn with determination, Jungwoo realized he would need to find her something quite impressive.
I should look into it beforehand.
He didn’t know the prices or exactly what was possible. When he thought about who he could ask, a few names came to mind: Park Geon-su, who had introduced him to people, Seong Ye-eun, or anyone else.
Just then, the chime of the bell announced the day’s first customer. It was a familiar face, someone he couldn’t forget—the customer who had gone to the market with him to buy fish for grilling.
“Welcome.”
“……”
Today, the taciturn customer was covered head to toe in some unidentifiable green liquid. A faint stench began to spread, quickly taking over the entire restaurant despite how little time had passed.
“Ugh…”
At Seia’s pained groan, the customer—who had seemed unlikely to speak—flinched.
“Ah, sorry.”
With a brief apology, he placed a hand over his heart. Mana of a similar color to the delivery worker’s earlier display instantly enveloped his entire body. In the blink of an eye, the sticky green liquid clinging to him evaporated as if it had never been there.
“Wow! Mister, are you a wizard too?”
“Hm? A wizard?”
It seemed she was calling hunters wizards.
So he’s finally here.
Yuhyeon had just finished subjugating a gate that happened to be nearby and was on his way back. Originally, he would have spent his time aimlessly, but after stopping by Seona’s Restaurant on the day he returned from that gate, he had gained a purpose. To achieve that purpose, he needed a guild, so he had joined the Sajeol Guild—the one Seong Ye-eun belonged to.
After entering a B-class gate alone, annihilating every magic beast that appeared, and returning, this was the first gate Yuhyeon had cleared since that day. There had been no danger at all, yet for some reason his heart felt strangely unsettled. Perhaps that was why he had unconsciously come to Seona’s Restaurant.
“Well, yeah. Something like that. A wizard.”
“So cool…!”
Ever since the circus, Seia’s admiration for wizards and hunters had skyrocketed. The gaze full of curiosity and goodwill seemed to make Yuhyeon a little uncomfortable, and he awkwardly turned his eyes away. This was a hunter who had never once avoided anyone’s gaze before.
“Today’s special. Just one, please.”
“Yes, understood. Oh, by the way, sir.”
“Yes?”
“Are you… a hunter, by any chance?”
At Jungwoo’s cautious question, Yuhyeon looked momentarily puzzled. Was the restaurant no longer accepting hunter customers?
“I am. Is there a problem?”
“No, not at all. I just had something I wanted to ask.”
“Go ahead and ask comfortably.”
Jungwoo leaned in slightly and lowered his voice so Seia wouldn’t overhear.
“Would it be possible to obtain a magic stone with a flashy ability?”
“A flashy… ability?”
Completed, crafted magic stones and equipment with fully formed abilities were in high demand. Yet this was the first time he had encountered someone specifically seeking flashiness. Why would they want something flashy?
“Seia saw it and wanted to try it. If it’s easy to get and not dangerous, I thought it could be like a kind of toy for her.”
“I see. If that’s the reason…”
Yuhyeon raised his hand into the air, and just like the delivery worker earlier, mana began to flow. This time, instead of boxes, several magic stones appeared above his palm.
“You can take them.”
“Huh? What?”
“They’re fairly flashy ones.”
“Um…”
Which one was he supposed to take? Jungwoo’s eyes darted around as he tried to decide, but Yuhyeon simply placed the entire handful of magic stones into Jungwoo’s hand.
“I don’t need any of them anyway.”
Once again, these were not the colors of magic stones obtainable from F-class to S-class gates. Since he couldn’t gauge their value at all, it was hard to tell whether he should accept them so casually.
“Consider it payment for today’s meal.”
“Haha… Thank you. I’ll prepare today’s special for you then.”
Jungwoo was about to head back to the kitchen to prepare the food when Yuhyeon spoke again.
“By the way…”
“Yes?”
“While you’re preparing the food, would it be all right if I taught her how to use them?”
“Oh, I’d be grateful. I didn’t have anyone to ask…”
“……?”
No one to ask? From the look of it, the owner of this restaurant seemed completely unaware of the identities of not only Seong Ye-eun but everyone else connected to the place. Even though they were S-class hunters, one would think he might at least recognize a name or a face.
No need to tell him, I suppose.
He could have taken any of the magic stones he had just received and gone to find Park Geon-su or Seong Ye-eun. But even though that was what he thought, he had no intention of letting someone else have the chance.
Why should he hand over the opportunity to teach Seia when he was the one who had brought the magic stones?
“Little one.”
“Yes!”
“You said you wanted to use magic.”
“That’s right! Seia wants to try magic too!”
“I’ll help you.”
“……!”
Seia, who usually had question marks floating above her head, was different today. With a giant exclamation mark practically visible, she nodded her head vigorously.
They hadn’t even started yet, and she was already making that face.
“…Let’s go. We can’t do it inside the restaurant.”
“Okay!”
Yuhyeon stood up first, and Seia was about to follow right behind him when she suddenly turned back toward the kitchen.
“Daddy!”
“Yes?”
“The mister is going to teach Seia magic!”
“Haha. Is that so?”
“Yes! But I think we have to go outside to learn it.”
“All right. But don’t go too far, okay?”
“Okay!”
This was something the old Jungwoo could never have imagined. Leaving Seia with someone he had only seen a few times? It wasn’t simply because he didn’t want to raise her too protectively.
He knew the customer was a hunter. If he weren’t, he wouldn’t have been able to hand over magic stones so readily or instantly clean off the substance that had covered his body—the very thing that had made Seia gasp in wonder earlier. If he had wanted to do something, he could have done it long ago.
“Then Seia will learn magic and show Daddy!”
“Haha. Yes, I’d love to see Seia’s magic soon.”
With Jungwoo’s permission, Seia scampered out of the restaurant on her short little legs, eager to see what amazing things she would learn.
Since she was going to learn something beautiful, he hoped she would come back having learned things that resembled her own lovely nature.