episode_0031

‘Tsk…!’

The owner of the grumbling voice deep in her heart was none other than Pisces. From Tuesday until today, Friday, Pisces had been full of ideas to charm her new Master-nim. He was an unbelievably powerful man for his age, handsome, thoughtful, and even rich, wasn’t he?! Furthermore, she knew her own beauty and charm well, so she was overflowing with confidence.

‘Hehehe..! If I wag my tail too obviously right from the start, I’ll lose my dignity, right? So, on the first day, fresh and bright, and the next day, demurely~’ Thus, she acted strategically for two days straight to appeal with her various charms, but Ras was very indifferent, unlike her expectations. Whenever they met, he would just plainly and business-like tell her, “Do this, do that…” “Work, work, work!!!” There was no room for any sweet something between the young man and woman in their relationship with Ras, who was a workaholic only for Pisces.

And so… “Excuse me, Boss, are you busy tonight?” “Yeah.” “….”

This happened on Wednesday, and on Thursday, something like this happened again. “Pisces, let’s go out to the city for a bit. There’s something I want to buy you.” “Oh..! Already a gift… Hehehe… If it’s already like this, my era isn’t far off…!”

What Ras bought Pisces after taking her to the city, as if he would buy her a ring or pretty clothes, was… “What is this…? This hideous thing…?” “Hideous, you say. Don’t you know a plague doctor mask? It’s the best for hiding your identity and creating a scary sense of mystery. Hideous, my foot. It’s much better than that grubby old robe you used to wear. It looks like a children’s friend.”

It was a bizarre bird-beak mask that absolutely did not suit a pretty and cute girl like Pisces! Ras, who had bought the bird-beak mask and foisted it upon Pisces as a gift, checked his watch and then quickly vanished, leaving Pisces feeling forlorn. “A children’s friend, my eye. Children would cry in terror if they saw it! And what was wrong with my cute robe! You villain…”

So, from Thursday night, Pisces changed her strategy and decided to go all out! She would dress up properly. Indeed, Pisces, dressed to the nines, was incredibly beautiful, so passing men, regardless of whether they had a lover, were busy stealing glances at her.

This woman, who was like an anti-tank mine instantly causing disputes and conflicts among many couples, was leisurely waiting for her Master when…

[Hey, I told you to adhere to the dress code. Why are you all dressed up? Get out! Quickly put on your mask and everything else properly and come out. Unless you want five hundred knuckle-sandwiches.]

Didn’t the voice she’d grown accustomed to over the past few days scold her with unprecedented irritation?

Was it telepathy, which only skilled mages were said to use? Anyway, Pisces, who was looking around for the Master’s voice directly echoing in her head, saw a woman sticking close to the Master, smiling brightly.

‘So that’s why he looked at me like a chicken looking at a cow [a proverb about indifference] because a woman like that was sticking to his side…! How frustrating. Tsk… She’s really pretty…’ Pisces, seeing a beauty she had never seen before, even in Azulda, the nation of handsome men and beautiful women, sticking to her Master’s side, lost her spirit and changed into the outfit she had brought just in case.

“Wow..! It’s fun and cool!!! Hello!!!!” Meanwhile, seeing the child, who seemed to be the Master’s sibling, enthuse, Pisces could only swallow her bitter taste. As the Master had said, today’s Pisces was undeniably just a friend to children.

*

Walking appropriately through the back alleys with the group, now grown to four, they arrived in front of the Livingston Orphanage. As a small orphanage on the outskirts of the back alley, its appearance was not particularly grand.

“So this is Irha’s home. If they’re going to use taxes, they should spend them on places like this… Those cheap bastards.” “Hyung, there are so many kids…”

The children, dressed quite neatly, were outside… but somehow, instead of playing, they were stealthily looking inside. Since the atmosphere wasn’t good, I told Rinaldo to just play with the kids for a bit. The sociable fellow nodded, then pulled out a few curious toys from his pocket and ran towards the children who were looking around nervously.

“Hello, kids. This is a glowing orb, and this is a peppermint jelly that makes your feet float for a bit if you eat it…” “Waaah…!”

For some reason, my sibling seemed to carry a lot of strange things. Well, even I, being the son of a merchant guild leader, had encountered strange toys earlier than other kids… Anyway, while Rinaldo distracted the children and reassured them, I began to assess the situation roughly.

“This feeling is a bit…” Though my experience was short and intense, having spent a lot of time in the back alleys, I knew what this was. “They’re being extorted-”

Pisces, who had used magic to modulate her voice, pretending to be a mysterious back-alley doctor, interrupted what I was about to say. However, speaking such a cheap word in a solemn voice made her seem even less impressive than if she had just said it normally.

Given the sound of something breaking inside, and a faint sobbing sound, it seemed a full-blown collection show, accompanied by threats, was underway. As the boss of the adjacent area, it made no sense to stand by, so I stepped forward.

“Well… anyway, my friend’s house is being raided, so it feels a bit wrong to pretend not to know. Teacher-nim, I’ll go and try to reason with them.” However, Ms. Rosalie looked at me with a slightly stern gaze, as if asking what I meant, and spoke.

“No. I didn’t come as a princess, and I’m your companion, aren’t I? Companions originally share joys and sorrows, Ras.” “Even if it’s just punishing a few small fry, it’s quite reassuring nonetheless.”

I grinned and moved forward. “I… I want to be a princess…” Meanwhile, a cheeky subordinate next to me muttered some nonsense, so I hid him behind my back. It would be troublesome if a weak subordinate got stabbed with a knife.

*

However, as I stepped inside, I instinctively felt that things were progressing rather radically. The woman’s sobbing that we had heard when we entered the orphanage was gone, and the inside was rapidly growing colder.

A piercing chill that felt like it was carving into the skin. Outside was full spring, but this place was a winter wonderland.

“Ras, this… could it be Mirha?” My extreme Yang constitution, which I acquired in my previous life, or Mirha’s innate extreme Yin constitution – both troublesome constitutions – explode like a bomb in truly unlucky cases. It can be seen as an accident that occurs mainly when too strong a stimulus comes from outside or when one’s mental state collapses, due to that pain. In such cases, the inner imagery of the person with that constitution is forcefully manifested and unleashed outwards. Just like now.

I didn’t hesitate for even a second. After fully unleashing the power I had stored, I leaped against the flow of the cold. Carried by the visible blue flow, I instantly reached a room on the second floor.

One burly man and one woman, who appeared to be collectors, were dead, peacefully side by side. The man was riddled and pierced all over by large icicles, while the woman was frozen a bluish color in a short amount of time.

“Mi…Mirha…it’s okay…Mama…Mama’s here.” The one collapsed nearby was probably Anna Livingston, the director of this orphanage. Rather than being caught in the rampage of the extreme Yin constitution’s manifestation, she was struggling to sit up, her abdomen pierced by a knife. It seemed that somehow, during the struggle with the collectors, Ms. Anna got stabbed, and Mirha’s inner world exploded upon seeing it.

Inside the room, which had become a complete ice cave, a pretty girl with cute twin tails stood with a terrifying expression, like a snow woman. Mirha resembled her older sister, yet looked a bit more mischievous… Anyway, should I check her condition? I hope it’s not too serious…

“Her pupils are already dilated, and her rage… let’s see, it’s extreme fury!” Indeed, if some idiots broke into your house, extorted money, and stabbed your mom with a knife when you’re in so much pain you feel like dying? I would have also fallen into the same state of extreme fury, exploding like a bomb.

My directly stepping forward was an unforeseen situation, but there was no helping it. “Ras..!” Ms. Rosalie also arrived right behind me. As a veteran who had spent considerable time on the battlefield, her speed was indeed quite fast. In contrast, our pathetic subordinate panting behind us… let’s not even talk about it.

“Teacher-nim, please attend to Ms. Anna’s wound first. I need to calm Mirha down a bit.” Before I even finished speaking, Ms. Rosalie was skillfully infusing divine power while keeping her gaze fixed forward. What a competent woman! However, the healing speed was significantly slower compared to normal.

“Oh dear, why is the wound healing so slowly?” “Perhaps… it’s because this entire area is within Mirha’s range of influence right now. Should we think of it as a cold poison?” Since her inner world is forcefully manifested, fragile beings within the domain are strongly affected by it.

Ms. Anna’s healing speed was frozen, so she was being treated at a pace like a wagon wheel rolling through snow. “First, take Ms. Anna and leave this place quickly. The healing will only proceed smoothly if you are at least out of sight.” “Alright. But what about you? You should also get to safety…” “No. Mirha will definitely die if we miss this moment. Even if it’s a bit dangerous, I have to calm her down myself.”

Trying to persuade and calm someone who is berserk and out of their mind through conversation is practically impossible from the start. It’s not conversation but time that restores reason, but Mirha would die if time passed now, so…

[Pisces, stick close and at least pretend to help me. I’ll make it seem like you’re taking credit.] As I sent a telepathic message to Pisces while preparing for a fight, that fellow stumbled over and stuck to my back, making a faint whimpering sound.

“Eek… I’m scared… It’s so cold I can’t even use magic properly… But why are you trying to hide your power? Master-nim, are you one of those ‘strength-hiding nerds’?!” “Sigh… Cover Ms. Rosalie with a blackout spell from behind. So she doesn’t appear in the sight of that out-of-control kid. And it’s not ‘strength-hiding nerds’, it’s ‘power-hiding masters’, you idiot.”

The fellow retreated immediately without a hint of hesitation at the command to step back. Still, since he at least put up the blackout spell as I ordered, Mirha’s rampage would urgently focus only on me.

“Operation name… Will spring come even to the stolen fields, begin.” “…….”

This isn’t about beating up my sick friend’s sibling. This is a loving spanking to reclaim the spring that the child had lost to the harsh winter.