Wizard's Tower mages are divided into ranks based on their skill and performance.
From fifth to first rank, the support and treatment provided by the Tower varies according to rank, so mages strive to prove their skills and performance.
Of course, everyone knows that not everything can be solved with effort.
There are many geniuses in the world, and one's own talent is always lacking.
Even mages who were born as prodigies or geniuses with more talent than the average person and safely graduated from the Tower's training institute realize this reality.
"I'm Maruna Hircus, a first-rank alchemist belonging to the Gray Tower."
In the Wizard's Tower, a battleground for geniuses, those unreasonable monsters who crush everyone with overwhelming talent are called 'first-rank mages,' filled with respect, reverence, and fear.
There are only seven in the Gray Tower, and even if you expand the scope to the entire world, the number doesn't reach 100.
That is what a first-rank mage is.
"G-Golden Maruna…?"
Choi Hyena's voice was trembling, seemingly unusually flustered.
Golden Maruna was a name that anyone with even a little interest in magic couldn't fail to know.
Originally, alchemy was a discipline created to turn common metals into gold. And Golden Maruna was an individual who, among modern alchemists, was considered closest to the essence of alchemy.
In just a few decades of activity, her alchemy saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and she made historically significant contributions to gate exploration.
"To be called that by young children… it's a little embarrassing."
Undoubtedly, she is the best alchemist of the modern era, recognized by everyone.
Having received confirmation from the person herself, Choi Hyena quickly turned her head to look at me. It was as if she was scolding me, saying, 'If you were coming to meet someone like that, you should have told me!'
I was wronged on that point too.
I didn't know that this shop was run by that Maruna either. I had only asked Grandma Choi Youngok to introduce me to a competent alchemist.
'She could have told me beforehand…'
It was clear that she hadn't told me, expecting me to be surprised.
Sighing inwardly, I politely bowed.
"I am Kang Hyunwoo, a mage belonging to the Wizard's Tower. I don't have a rank yet."
"I am honored to meet you. I am Choi Hyena, a fourth-rank elemental mage belonging to the Wizard's Tower."
"Choi Hyena? What is your relationship with Youngok?"
"…She is my grandmother."
Her eyes, which had been half-closed, lit up at Choi Hyena's answer.
"No wonder! I thought she resembled Youngok when she was younger. To think I would see Youngok's granddaughter here."
Maruna smiled kindly, looking at Choi Hyena this way and that, as if she was enjoying herself. Isn't that exactly the expression grandmothers make when their grandchildren visit them on holidays?
Of course, I don't have any memories of going to my grandmother's house on holidays, but I had a feeling that's what it would be like.
"Um… may I ask what your relationship is with our grandmother?"
"Are you curious?"
"…Yes."
At Choi Hyena's question, Maruna quietly closed her eyes, as if recalling memories, and wore a subtle smile.
"To put it nicely, we were friends, but in reality, it was a terrible relationship."
"A, terrible relationship…?"
"How eccentric Youngok was back then… Just because I, a classmate from graduation, had a higher rank than her, she would pick fights with me over every little thing, so there's no need to say any more."
"Ah…"
Choi Hyena's expression, having suddenly learned about her grandmother's glamorous past, was pale enough to see from the side.
"She even fired fireballs at a man who confessed to her, and once, she set my workshop on fire and ran away. Just thinking about it now makes me chuckle."
What on earth did that grandmother do when she was young?
Usually, she's just a normally good-natured grandmother, aside from being a little playful.
"Don't make such an expression. Even so, we've been together for decades, and I've also secretly put laxatives in Youngok's meals from time to time."
As the old saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, so the certain thing is that grandmother is not normal either.
"Did you know? All the tonics you ate when you were young were made by me?"
"R-really?"
"Of course, I even made tonics for my granddaughter to eat, but when she wouldn't even let me see her granddaughter's face properly, I was dumbfounded… Now I see that she had good reason to hide her."
After that, Maruna seemed to enjoy meeting her friend's granddaughter, and Choi Hyena had various conversations with her.
However, Choi Hyena was clearly tense from the sudden appearance of a high-ranking figure from the Wizard's Tower, but there was nothing I could do to help.
"Twenty-one years old… the same age as my granddaughter, and she already has a man she's going to marry, I've never been envious of Youngok until now, but I feel a little jealous."
"T-that's not it!"
"Hmm? Then is he your boyfriend?"
"N-neither of those…"
"What, then was I just a fling to you?"
While secretly eavesdropping, I overheard a topic that was quite concerning, so I casually jumped in.
"I was serious, but you were just going to eat and throw me away?"
"N-no, that's not it…"
If it were normal, a straight punch to the stomach would have flown in response to my nonsense, but now there was an adult she had to be mindful of next to her.
Watching Choi Hyena, who was flustered and didn't know what to do, made it hard for me to hold back my laughter.
"Besides, in your belly right now…"
"Eek!"
Choi Hyena hurriedly covered my mouth with both hands, glaring at me with faintly trembling eyes.
I could feel a silent message to please keep my mouth shut.
Perhaps because she knew that saying she was pregnant was a lie, I understood Choi Hyena's extreme reaction.
Maruna should know about the 'blessing of infertility,' so she would feel that it was somehow fishy that Choi Hyena, who was only 21 years old, was pregnant.
In the process of resolving such doubts, it would be a situation that Choi Hyena wouldn't like if I found out about the 'blessing of infertility,' and she wouldn't want the fact that she lied about being pregnant to reach Grandma Choi Youngok's ears.
It was the moment when the ambiguous relationship between the debtor and the creditor became clear.
"Y-you, don't tell anyone else about that…"
Choi Hyena, who had come close to me faster than when she was running away from the monsters, whispered in a voice small enough that Maruna couldn't hear.
"Why?"
"That's…"
"Are you ashamed of me?"
When I spoke in a more gloomy and lower voice than usual, Choi Hyena's pupils were trembling even more violently than before.
I had tried acting pathetic, and it seemed to have worked well.
"I just thought she was your grandmother's friend…"
Suddenly, Choi Hyena became a bad woman who was ashamed of her boyfriend and didn't want to introduce him to her acquaintances.
"That's not what I meant…"
"Then can I tell her?"
Choi Hyena couldn't answer rashly.
Judging from the fact that she even had a cold sweat on her forehead, she seemed to be racking her brains to somehow get out of this situation.
Perhaps because it was the first time I had seen her like this, I couldn't help but find it a little funny, but honestly, I was curious to know what Choi Hyena would say.
Just from the fact that she was trying to hold onto me by even using the pregnancy card, it was clear that Choi Hyena had feelings for me, but that was only my speculation.
It might be my greed, but I wanted to hear a little more definite answer from Choi Hyena.
Like Iris and Cheon Yeohwa.
"…Okay."
"Huh?"
"…You can tell her."
It's a natural thing to say, but life is not a novel where the plot unfolds as I wish.
"A fling…? What's that?"
Nevertheless, the answer that came out of Choi Hyena's mouth was the development I had hoped for.
"I'm sorry, Hyena is very shy, so she just played a little prank. We're not dating yet, we're just getting to know each other."
I put my arm around Choi Hyena's shoulder. Smiling at Choi Hyena, who had been pulled into my arms without any resistance, I whispered to her once again.
"I'll let you off the hook this time."
Only Maruna, who hadn't heard my voice, was able to wear a satisfied smile, like a grandmother who had seen her grandson bring his girlfriend.
While hugging Choi Hyena, who had a less-than-good expression for a while, I listened to Maruna's stories about Grandma Choi Youngok's past. Of course, I didn't listen because I wanted to, but I couldn't help it because I couldn't interrupt the elders while they were talking.
In the unraveled bundle of stories, there was also Grandma Choi Youngok's wild days.
Applying for a magic duel with a professor she didn't like, and going to a group of villains who were wanted for a bounty and killing them all because she was restless, and so on.
I had been wondering who Choi Hyena took after, but that question was resolved.
"Will you keep it a secret from Youngok that I told you? I like your store, and I would be a little sad if it caught fire overnight."
"…Yes."
"By the way, you said you have a request for me?"
Finally, the story moved on to the topic I had been hoping for.
"Do you know about a poison called 'Thousand-Heart Extreme Yang Fire Lotus'?"
***
Slamming the rusty front door, which had a broken door closer, behind me, I roughly threw off my outerwear in the familiar one-room apartment.
I had received a loan for the deposit and had tentatively decided on a house to move into, but I didn't know when I would move in because I didn't have much time on Earth.
"To think that even Maruna wouldn't know about the poison…"
I collapsed onto the old mattress as if entrusting my body to it.
The reason why I had asked Grandma Choi Youngok to introduce me to a competent alchemist was extremely simple.
To make an antidote for the 'Thousand-Heart Extreme Yang Fire Lotus' that was eating away at Cheon Yeohwa's body.
Last time, thanks to the 'Sweet Apple,' I was able to relieve the toxicity of the 'Thousand-Heart Extreme Yang Fire Lotus' in Cheon Yeohwa's body to some extent, but it was not a fundamental cure.
Even if divine power neutralized the poison, the only solution was to create an antidote since I couldn't bring a priest back with me.
However.
'…I'm sorry. I've dealt with thousands of poisons and made hundreds of antidotes so far, but I've never heard of a poison called Thousand-Heart Extreme Yang Fire Lotus.'
The result was that she didn't even know what kind of poison 'Thousand-Heart Extreme Yang Fire Lotus' was.
Of course, it was something I had expected. Cheon Yeohwa's world and Earth were completely different, and there was a possibility that there would be poisons that had not been discovered on Earth.
No, even if there were the same poisons, there was no guarantee that they would even be called by the same name.
Even if there was already an antidote for a poison on Earth, I couldn't rule out the possibility that it would be called by a completely different name.
"Still… it's not a completely bad situation, is it?"
Fortunately, Maruna said that if I brought Cheon Yeohwa's blood, she would be willing to develop an antidote through research.
For now, that promise was enough.
In addition, Maruna even provided me with a neutralizing agent to take for a few days, based on the symptoms I had described. With this, there would be no problem even if Cheon Yeohwa had a seizure for the time being.
"…Shall I go now?"
[Name: Cheon Yeohwa
Age: 20 years old
Race: Human
Affiliation: AXZ-174
Occupation: Second Young Lady of the Heavenly Demon Sect
Disposition: Cold-blooded, Cruel, Calculating, Devoted Love
[Would you like to re-match with Cheon Yeohwa?]
[Y/N]
Originally, I was going to rest for a while before going, but as I lay alone in the dark house, the thought of wanting to rest gradually disappeared.
The thought of wanting to meet Cheon Yeohwa again as soon as possible filled my head.
[Y]
Sunlight poured in through the slightly open entrance of the tent.
As I slowly raised my body at the presence of someone nearby.
"My dear, good morning."
The red eyes that I was facing after a long time were looking at me with full of kindness.