Aside from magic-oriented families, the number of mages among the wealthy, the so-called 'royal families,' was small enough to count on two hands.
'Magic is the exclusive domain of those blessed with talent.'
Their wealth was utterly useless in the face of that single truth.
However, as a privileged class steeped in elitism, there was no way they would give up on the 'specialness' of magic.
Unlike the past, when the number of mages was exceedingly small, the achievements of the first Magic Tower Master had led to a relatively larger number of mages in modern times, and a bizarre culture had taken root among the upper classes.
Magical Affinity Marriage.
They repeated marriages with mages, hoping to pass on the magical talent to their children, ultimately aiming to achieve the same fame as magic-oriented families.
However, just as theory is universal and reality is specific, their ideals were nothing more than delusions.
Even if they repeated magical affinity marriages for only two or three generations, mages wouldn't suddenly start pouring out.
That's because talent is 'special.'
It's a highly inefficient method that only yields results after hundreds of years.
Is it guaranteed that a child born to a Harvard-graduated husband and an MIT-early-graduated wife will be a genius?
Of course, it's close to impossible, but it's not like children never inherit their parents' talents.
"Do, do you know who my dad is?!"
"Why? Didn't your mom tell you?"
Yoo Seong-jun, the youngest son of Yoo Jin-cheol, the chairman of the 17th-ranked Yoo Jin Group, and the only one among his siblings to be born with magical talent and become a mage belonging to the Gray Magic Tower, doubted his ears at the insult he was hearing for the first time in his life.
***
As expected of a near-diamond spoon, he was immune to personal attacks, as the man's face changed every second.
His blank expression, in particular, made him look like a sloth that had fallen from a tree, which was hilarious.
"Wh-what…?"
"I'm not doing reruns, so just go."
I hated to let a guy who didn't know his place and was after someone else's woman go like this, but it would only make me look petty to mess with someone who couldn't move an inch due to the pressure of magic.
Look at how pale his face is right now. If I mess with him any more, he'll probably wet his pants.
"Let's go."
I grabbed Choi Hyena's wrist as she stared at me with a strange expression and turned to head to the store I had originally intended to visit.
If I lingered here any longer, a disastrous event might occur where the store I was planning to go to today would close. Then, my plan to go to Cheon Yeohwa's place around dinner would be postponed until tomorrow.
'I haven't seen Cheon Yeohwa in a while anyway.'
I couldn't allow that.
"Just a moment."
It was definitely a floor with few people, but the commotion from earlier seemed to have attracted quite a bit of attention, as the crowd surrounding us was considerable.
It didn't seem easy to get out of here, when—
-Aaaaaah!
-That, that crazy bastard!
-Someone, please call the police!!
People screamed and started running away.
Wondering what was going on, I glanced over and saw the man who had been trembling a moment ago pulling a wand from his waistband.
"How dare…! How dare a nobody treat me like an idiot?!"
"…He was out of his mind."
A mage pulling out a wand was no different from a regular person pulling out a gun. In this case, as a mage registered with the Magic Tower and the government, I was able to subdue the other person for my own safety and the safety of the citizens.
In other words, self-defense was recognized.
"I'll kill y-"
Crack-!!
The man, who took a light punch to the face, flew away and could only stop after rolling on the floor several times.
Even if I didn't use 'Swiftness', I was used to strengthening my body through magic.
It was nothing to approach a 1st Circle mage and throw a punch before they could even use magic.
In a situation that ended in just 10 seconds, everyone looked at the passed-out man with bewildered expressions.
"What's his name again?"
"…Yoo Seong-jun."
I don't usually care about men's names, but I should at least remember the name of the guy whose nose I broke.
Anyway, Yoo Seong-jun, who had fainted after getting punched by me, was dragged away by the department store security guards who had rushed in after hearing the news.
The security team leader who arrived later asked me to explain the situation, but I was able to get a confirmation that I would be released quickly if I showed him my mage registration card and answered a few questions.
Of course, I didn't intend to answer truthfully because I was in a hurry to get somewhere. I just said, 'Yoo Seong-jun took out his wand first, so I subdued him for the safety of the citizens,' and left the scene.
The embarrassed security team leader called out to me, but I didn't care. If they were curious, they would look at the CCTV footage and ask other witnesses.
Anyway, thanks to Choi Hyena, I wouldn't have any legal problems.
However, perhaps because people from other floors were gathering due to the commotion from earlier, the crowd surrounding us was growing larger and larger. Seeing that sight, I became convinced that something annoying would happen if I stayed here.
I grabbed Choi Hyena's wrist and quickly slipped through the crowd.
If I had been any later, it wouldn't have been easy to get out like this. As I walked along the path I had spotted earlier, I realized that we were the only people left around.
Even the people who were looking around the stores seemed to have left to see Yoo Seong-jun, who was lying unconscious with a broken nose.
Congratulating him on becoming an SNS star overnight, I sat down on a nearby chair to take a breather.
"Were you surprised that I pulled you away so suddenly? If we had stayed there, it would have been annoying…"
"What are you?"
Choi Hyena suddenly cut me off and stared at me with eyes that seemed to be asking for an explanation.
"I'm sure you were 2nd Circle. But what was that magic just now?!"
"…Can you calm down for a second?"
I was slightly taken aback by Choi Hyena's appearance, which was like a detective interrogating a suspect, but I couldn't say that I didn't understand her reaction.
Rather, it was something I had expected to some extent.
From Choi Hyena's point of view, I had gone from 2nd Circle to 4th Circle overnight, so I didn't think she would just let it go without any explanation.
The realm of mages is not a gentle hill, but a steep mountain range.
Going from 1st Circle to 2nd Circle is a completely different matter than going from 3rd Circle to 4th Circle.
Choi Hyena, who knew that fact, would think that I was crossing the mountain range by helicopter.
"…I was lucky. My practical experience fighting magical beasts during the Isolated Gate incident and seeing the Magic Tower Master's magic gave me an epiphany. While resting, I organized my epiphany while contemplating the circle, and I was able to accidentally create the fourth ring."
"You're saying you can rise to 4th Circle in one fell swoop with just that…?"
"It's only on the outside. The inside is a complete mess, so it will take at least a few years to sort it out. I should actually be considered 3rd Circle."
"…"
Choi Hyena seemed quite shocked and didn't say anything for a long time. Nevertheless, I couldn't tell her about my abilities.
It's okay if the information leaks to Iris or Cheon Yeohwa because they're from other worlds, but not Choi Hyena.
No matter what, Earth is my hometown where I have to live until I die. Unless my abilities are perfect, the fewer people who know about them, the better.
It wasn't that I didn't trust Choi Hyena. However, the problem was that there were so many unheard-of abilities in this world. There was always a possibility that my information would leak without her consent.
Besides, if I'm not now, but someday I'm confident that I can handle the information leaking, then I was planning to tell Choi Hyena everything.
Of course, Choi Hyena wouldn't know that fact, so there was no conversation between us as we headed to the store. However, I was able to gain some comfort from the fact that she didn't shake off my hand.
In that way, during our unintentional quiet date, we were able to arrive at today's destination, [Hircus's General Store].
As I entered the store, an interior that felt a little different from other places greeted us. Overall, it felt more suitable for a shopping district than a department store.
"Oh, a customer…?"
A clerk came out from inside the store, sensing our presence, but her appearance was not ordinary.
With goat horns on both sides of her head and long, drooping ears, she was a goat demi-human who was not human.
Of course, it wasn't uncommon for herbivorous demi-humans to work in the service industry, but the clerk's considerable appearance played a role in catching my eye.
A small height that came up to my sternum, fluffy-looking hair, and gentle eyes.
If you only look at this, she's just a cute demi-human, but her essence was in her chest.
An enormous size that could be seen even through her rather thick clothes. At that level, wouldn't she be able to compete with Iris?
I couldn't help but be captivated by the unbalanced proportions that made me doubt my eyes.
But that was only for a moment.
"Ack?!"
Ouch! A stinging pain rose from my side.
I barely turned my gaze to the side, not even bothering to control my strength. For a fleeting moment, I met Choi Hyena's eyes, which were filled with murderous intent.
My body couldn't help but tense up like an aspen tree, as if I had received a death sentence.
"You're a nice couple…?"
"We're not a couple."
"Really…?"
"Yes."
"You're holding hands intimately, and as soon as the man looked at my chest, you pinched his side as a warning…?"
"…We're not."
At the clerk's sharp remark, Choi Hyena let go of my hand and took a step away from me.
To others, it may have seemed like she was leaving without any regrets, but I, who had been holding her hand until just now, could tell.
How much conflict Choi Hyena had to go through to make that decision.
If the clerk hadn't been there, I would have hugged her right away, but it was a pity that I couldn't.
"Ah… I, I'm sorry… I often hear that I'm insensitive… I feel sorry for your boyfriend…"
Perhaps sensing the subtle awkwardness flowing between us, the clerk fidgeted with her drooping ears as if she was embarrassed.
"It's okay. You don't have to worry too much…"
"No…! As the owner, if I make a customer uncomfortable, I have to pay the price…!"
What, she's the owner? She looks a little young to be the owner?
"I usually only do it on special days… Where did I put it…?"
Leaving the goat demi-human, who suddenly started rummaging through the counter, behind, I looked around the store.
Despite the name general store, the items on display in the store were things that could be commonly found anywhere. It seemed like there were more things missing than there were things available.
The reason I came here today was because Choi Youngok recommended it to me.
To be exact, I didn't come to buy something, but to make a request.
'…I wonder if my bank balance is okay.'
If it doesn't work, I'll have to give her magic stones instead of money, or borrow from Choi Hyena.
"Ah…! I found it…!"
The goat girl, who was holding something in her arms with a bright smile, rushed towards us.
At first, I thought she was going to show us a special item that she didn't sell to other customers, but it didn't seem like that was the case.
"…A crystal ball?"
What the goat girl had was none other than a large crystal ball.
It certainly looked quite expensive, but I didn't really need a crystal ball.
"I'll tell you your fortune…!"
"Excuse me?"
"My tribe is famous for astrology…!"
"Astrology? Could you be… an astrologer…??"
Goat demi-human and astrology.
I couldn't help but be surprised when I heard those two keywords.
Known to be attainable only by dual magicians who have mastered the concept of stars and alchemy, astrologers were a type of fortune teller.
I had heard that only goat demi-humans from a specific tribe had been active as astrologers since ancient times.
"I, I'm not an astrologer…"
"Pardon?"
"I, I just do it as a hobby…"
"…Ah."
The atmosphere instantly turned cold because of me, who had been overreacting.
"…What kind of fortune telling is it?"
Only after I spoke up to change the atmosphere did the goat girl regain her bright smile.
"It's a fortune telling to see the compatibility between lovers…!"
"Ah."
Honestly, I wasn't expecting anything great, but it was something that teenage girls would like.
"…I'll see the fortune next time. We don't have time."
"Ah…"
Disappointment overflowed from the goat girl's expression and gestures at my reaction, but there was nothing I could do because I didn't have time.
"I, I'm pretty accurate…"
"How much?"
It was none other than Choi Hyena who stopped the goat girl, who was holding the crystal ball and returning to the counter with a sad voice.
"Th, the people I've told so far who had good results all got married that year…!"
Choi Hyena had a subtle expression at the goat girl's strangely confident answer.
As expected, there was no way Choi Hyena's personality would be interested in something like a compatibility reading. She just asked to comfort the goat girl…
"Then please tell us our fortune."