Chapter 25 (1/2)

Kynemeia acknowledged Law’s presence as he moved to her side.

“Hello, Miss Fairy.”

“Ah, NyangPapa, you’re also here.”

The duo, who’d only brushed by each other during their first meeting without a chance for proper introductions, quite simply took to calling each other as ‘Fairy’ and ‘NyangPapa’ one day.

“Is Meow doing well?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, she’s getting a healthy diet and growing up well.”

Meow was the cat Law carried around in his arms night and day.

‘She’s a cute one.’ Kynemeia, who liked animals, had taken it upon herself to provide food and snacks for Meow. Law fished something out and presented it to her at that moment.

“This is a present for you, Miss Fairy.”

Ta-dah—he unveiled a knitted scarf and a pair of mittens made of soft wool. The backs of the mitts and the ends of the scarf were appliquéd with a pink rabbit stitched across a pearly grey base. So pretty! She accepted the gifts eagerly.

“We’re having a freezing winter, so please be sure to wear them.”

“Yup, yup. I’ll put them to good use. Thanks.”

Law nodded enthusiastically.

‘He’s like a big puppy.’ Smiling in satisfaction, Kynemeia held out the jellies the alchemists had given her.

“Wanna eat this together?”

“With pleasure.”

They promptly popped the jellies into their mouths and bit into them.

“Uhm…”

“…”

As she began chewing, her eyebrows drew into a grimace.‘This tastes a bit… like the ginseng in folk medicine…’

She stole a peep at Law and noted he was chewing away without a change in his expression as if the jellies suited his palate just fine. ‘Why does he seem to be enjoying it far more than me when I used to be a Korean who survived on tonics?’

As if reading her befuddlement, a slight smile touched his lips.

“I’ve been eating a lot of these jellies since I work here.”

“You’ve been working here?”

“Yes, because I’m attending Master.”

‘By Master, he means Xuan Tian Orabeoni, doesn’t he?’ She tilted her head. Now that she thought about it, what on earth was NyangPapa’s identity? She’d never read anything about Xuan Tian having an acolyte in the original novel. Kynemeia cast her mind back to the contents of the original novel once again. ‘Hmm…’

No matter how much she thought about it, there was no mention of Xuan Tian’s disciple. ‘Then who is he?’

Was he just an extra? Because a transient extra wouldn’t be fleshed out in the original plot.

‘What’s so good about that?’

Eian held Kynemeia in his peripheral vision, decked out in her new woollens and showing them off to Law. When the man complimented her adorable and pretty appearance, her cheeks went scarlet and joy suffused her face.

‘That’s something she hears daily, so what’s so good about it?’

Since earlier, he’d been feeling this discomfort like something was pricking his nerves with a nail. Was it because that less evolved primate had dodged his spell? Or was it because Kynemeia was delighted by that crummy ball of yarn? He was stumped for an answer.

Yeah, the root of this displeasure came from that—not knowing. Then, all he had to do was find out.

Story 7  Lotto Dungeon

On the other end of the transmission sphere, Eian’s teacher once again drummed his fingers restlessly. Tap tap tap, tap tap tap. Teacher resumed speaking, continuing to tap away on the table.