He gathered everything he was buying and placed it on the counter. Pleias roughly scanned the items by eye, then smirked and propped her chin in both hands. It was exactly the pose commonly called "cupping one's face like a flower."
"That's 1.2 billion in total."
"Fuck."
The moment he heard the price, Ian spat out a curse.
He had just blown 2.8 billion yesterday. He had originally been hovering at just under 4 billion, but with 2.8 billion suddenly evaporating, he didn't have much left in hand.
Of course, there was no problem living daily life on that. Ordinary people could eat and live out the rest of their lives with just over a billion. But a magician's economic sense inevitably differed from that of ordinary people, so when buying goods in bulk like this, his bank account would declare a strike and pledge allegiance to the Communist Party in an instant.
The damned red ghost called communism was stretching its evil claws toward Ian's wallet as well.
Naturally, Ian, a slave to the earnest capitalist society, did not submit to Marx's hammer and sickle. Holding back tears, he held up two fingers toward Pleias.
"Just cut 200 million, please."
"Hmmmm?? Whyyy??"
Pleias grinned mischievously.
It was an expression so annoying that he'd normally want to punch her in the face, but today, Ian decided to place her appearance on the same level as a fairy. Thinking so, it truly had to be a beautiful smile.
And one cannot spit on a smiling face. Ian donned the brightest smile he could muster and tilted his head.
"This big brother is broke. I'll earn it back quickly and pay you, so let it slide just for today. Amelia's condition will get worse without these things."
"Hmmm, big brother? I'm older than you. Didn't you call me noona and stuff last time?"
"It's only natural to want to call a beautiful woman 'noona.' Why, don't all girls call handsome guys 'oppa'? It's the same thing."
"No, it's not."
"Yes, it is."
"Don't lie."
"You know it, so just let it slide. I'm begging you."
Ian bowed his head, his hands trembling. Pleias giggled and leaned back against her chair.
"Fine! I'll let it slide just this once. No need to pay me back later. I'll just consider the 200 million as donating to a beggar."
"You'll be blessed, ma'am."
"But I can't just give it to you for nothing. I have my pride too; free is a bit hard."
"...? You just said you'd consider it donating to a beggar."
"If that beggar isn't just any beggar, shouldn't I still get something in return?"
Saying so, Pleias took the card Ian handed over.
"On a day I choose, help me watch the shop counter. I don't have a single close person here and it's so awkward I could die, so just be my conversation partner."
"...Is that enough? It's nothing much."
"Right? Hah, there's no shop owner as kind as me. Hmm? I'll even pay you an hourly wage, so just come yourself, only yourself."
"Well... sure. Tell me the date and I'll be right there."
"Great! Let's stick together hard from morning till evening that day."
*Ding.*
With a clear sound, 1 billion vanished from Ian's bank account. He checked the remaining balance and let out a deep sigh.
"..."
Then, Eunha, who had been standing quietly, looked down at Pleias and tilted her head slightly.
"That 1 billion that was just charged, is a refund possible by any chance?"
"...? Why?"
"I'll pay instead. I'll give you the full 1.2 billion. Then Mr. Ian won't have to come here and do useless labor, right?"
"...Hmph."
Pleias narrowed her eyes and stared at Eunha. Eunha didn't avoid that gaze. Their eyes clashed and slid past each other in midair, forming a strange current. It wasn't a very pleasant atmosphere.
Regardless, Ian kept pulling down the corners of his mouth that kept trying to rise, and dissuaded Eunha.
"No, there's no need. These are all things I need. I can't borrow your hand—"
"It's fine. You can pay me back later. Rather than pointlessly groveling here for no reason, it's better to earn money diligently, isn't it?"
Eunha spoke in a firm voice, yet cast a soft gaze at Ian. Ian gave a bitter smile.
"...Then I won't refuse your kindness needlessly. Thank you, Eunha."
"It's nothing."
"No no, why are you two proceeding with this? I never said I'd give a refund?"
Pleias spat out in a dumbfounded tone.
"No refunds at our store. Once charged, never returned. So don't even dream about it."
"Where does that even exist? A store that doesn't do refunds is common sense-wise—"
"Don't push common sense onto a magician. Or call the police."
Pleias snorted and swept the purchased items into a paper bag. Eunha frowned.
"...Is it okay to do business like that?"
"No problem at all. Did you think all customers are like you? You've got quite the excess of self-consciousness."
"...Ha."
"Nothing changes even if you scoff, so know your place and get lost. I can forgive everything else, but I have no intention of letting it slide when you badmouth my ways."
*Tap, tap.*
Pleias tapped the bag and handed it to Ian with a bright smile. Ian took the bag with a sour expression.
"As you know, refunds and exchanges are impossible, customer!"
"..."
"I'll contact you, so make sure you come that day, meow! If you don't, you're going on our store's blacklist, meow!"
She said so and hummed a tune, heading inside the store. As she did, she gave Eunha a bright smile.
"Everyone has a reverse scale. Jealousy is fine, but shouldn't the way you express it not harm others?"
"..."
"Have a good love. Don't forget this unni's advice."
*Nyahang!*
Pleias disappeared into the storeroom wearing a bright smile. Eunha stared in the direction she had disappeared for a long moment, then sighed deeply and turned to look at Ian.
"...I'm sorry. It didn't go well."
"Not at all. I'm grateful simply that you stepped in."
Ian smiled slightly and readjusted his grip on the bag.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed, but Ian had known from the start that refunds were impossible at Pleias's shop.
If it were possible, he'd have refunded the 2.8 billion first.
He had stayed still on the off chance, but as expected, it was as expected.
'Judging by what she said, Pleias seems to have her own circumstances...'
Well, he wasn't particularly interested, so he wasn't very curious. He tightly grasped the hand of Amelia, who was spinning around nearby, and shouted toward the storeroom Pleias had entered.
"We're leaving!"
"Bye-bye, meow!"
A hearty reply came back. Ian snickered and left the Owl with Eunha.
When they came up to the used bookstore like that, Amelia turned to Ian and moved her lips.
"Oppa, I'm hungry!"
"Already?"
"Yeah!"
She giggled. Ian ruffled her hair wildly and took out his phone to check the time.
3 PM.
It was late if you called it late, but not late enough to eat dinner. However, Ian was feeling a bit peckish too, so he put away his phone and asked Eunha.
"We still have some time, so let's buy something to eat at a nearby cafe and go in."
"Ah, yes. I'll buy it."
"I won't refuse. I'll enjoy it."
"Pfft... Yes. Please enjoy it."
Eunha chuckled and put her hands behind her back, leaving the bookstore first. Ian followed her, holding Amelia's hand.
*
Exactly three hours later, the low-rank devil that had absorbed Eunha's blood revealed itself possessing a complete body.
Its form resembled a small slime. However, it wasn't a cute-feeling slime, but something like a twisted netherworld lava slime.
"Ugh! Gross! I feel like I'm gonna vomit!"
Amelia, who had regressed to a child, said as much, so there was really no need for a detailed description.
But the devil's form wasn't particularly important, so Eunha immediately plunged a syringe deep into the devil's body and extracted blood.
[Gyaaaaaah!!!]
The devil let out a scream like a young girl. Ian watched and sipped his cafe mocha.
'Guan Yu must have screamed like that when being treated by Hua Tuo.'
It was a famous fact known to all that Guan Yu, struck by a poisoned arrow, screamed like a little girl while having his bone scraped during treatment. Listening to the echoing screams of Lord Guan in his head, Ian savored the sweetness of the cafe mocha.
As he did, Eunha, having finished the blood extraction, transferred the blood-filled pouch into a small glass bottle and handed it to Ian.
"The work is done. Thank you for waiting."
"Not at all. I'm the one who should be more grateful. I'll definitely repay you."
"It's fine. It'd be enough if you buy me a meal later."
Eunha smiled gently and placed the glass bottle onto Ian's palm. In that process, their fingers briefly intertwined. It was an intentional skinship by Eunha.
"Just the two of us. It's fine if I choose the menu, right?"
"Uh, uh. Yes... I don't really mind..."
"Got it."
*Smirk.*
Between her eyes folded into crescent shapes, mint-colored pupils sparkled. Facing her gave him an inexplicably chilling feeling down his spine, so Ian quickly averted his gaze and stood up.
"Ahem... Then I'll see you next time. Thank you very much for today."
"Yes. It was nice to see you after a long time too. If you need my help again, please contact me anytime."
Eunha wore a faint smile. Ian exchanged a few more words with her, then left her house with Amelia.
"...Phew."
Upon leaving the room, the somehow stuffy air felt a bit fresher. He took a deep breath in and out, then firmly pressed the elevator call button.
'...I'm tired.'
He hadn't really done anything special, yet he felt inexplicably drained. The accumulated fatigue in his body was no joke.
"Oppa, oppa! Let's play a game together when we get home!"
"Sure. Let's play together after we pay the price."
"Yay! Oppa is the best! I love you!"
Amelia laughed and hugged Ian tightly. Ian patted her back too.
*Ding.*
Not long after, the elevator arrived. Instead of going anywhere else, the two immediately headed home after leaving the apartment building and paid the price of magic first.
*Hup.*
Gathering the existing materials and the newly purchased ones in one place, Amelia, clutching the grimoire, stood before them. Then she cleared her throat once and chanted the spell.
"I commend your hardships, so please illuminate my path forevermore."
*Fwack!*
A black stream of light flowed out from the grimoire, illuminating the gathered materials all at once.
In the next moment, the materials began to disappear as if evaporating. The disappearing materials scattered beautiful radiance, drew rainbows through the air as they soared, and then cleanly vanished.
[Received without issue.]
As all the materials disappeared, the grimoire vibrated as if satisfied. Amelia checked the newly appeared text on the blank page and beamed a smile.
"Oppa! It's all done! Let's play a game now!"
"...That was less dramatic than I thought. Alright, let's play a game."
Ian glanced at the yard, which had a slightly scorched mark remaining, then caught Amelia as she ran over and went into the living room.
"What game are we playing?"
"This one! A game where you steal weird monsters from other people's warehouses!"
"...Roblox? Isn't this a kids' game."
"I'm already logged in! Hurry up and join!"
"Hold on..."
Ian fiddled with his phone and downloaded the game. The two immediately added each other as friends and played together.
Ten minutes later.
"Oppaaa... you really suck at games... I'm sorry for asking you to play with me..."
"..."
Ian didn't reply to Amelia's depressed muttering and firmly pressed the card payment button.
*
A few days after resolving Amelia's matter.
Ian woke up early in the morning, exercised lightly, showered, and then thudded down onto the living room sofa. As he did so, he summoned three magic tomes and placed them on the table with a thud.
[Hnnng.]
[Hn! Hnnng!]
[Hn, hnnnng...]
The magic tomes greeted Ian with their own different reactions. Ian stared blankly at them for a moment, then quietly opened his mouth.
"Guys, no matter how I look at it, Eunha seems to think of me as a man. What should I do about this?"
*Fwack!*
The moment he spoke, the Hand of Recreation flew up and smacked the back of Ian's head.
[Wueeeeng!]
[Hn, hnnnng!!!]
The other two magic tomes didn't stay still either. They each pressed strongly against Ian's stomach and shin, spinning rapidly. Ian grimaced at the stinging pain.
"Ah, fuck! That hurts! Easy, easy!"
[Hnnnng!!]
Despite Ian's protests, they didn't back down. As if saying absolutely not, they just pressed against his body hard.
"Argh...! I can't even talk. No more consultations with you guys...!"
Just as Ian was struggling like that, his phone suddenly vibrated with a ringing sound. He peeled the magic tome stuck to his face and took out his phone.
[Kim Yul: Newbie-yang. I think I'm fucked ㅠㅠ]
[Kim Yul: (Photo)]
[Kim Yul: I picked this up a few days ago, and I tried to handle it alone but it didn't go well. So... could you help me...? You're the only grimoire expert around me... Save me...]
It was a message from Kim Yul. Ian frowned and stared at the photo she had sent.
"...This."
Dagon and the Embrace of the Sea.
No matter how or where you looked, the title of a grimoire written by an Outer God was plastered right on the cover.
But it wasn't a grimoire of the same line as the ones Ian possessed.
Lovecraft.
The grimoire of Dagon, an Outer God born from creative works, induced mental confusion from the photo alone. It had no effect on Ian, yet a subtle displeasure crept up nonetheless.
"...Tch."
He clicked his tongue strongly and immediately sent a reply.
[Send me your home address.]
+
It's Haneul!