Chapter 7 – You Have to Do the Favor after Hearing It

“Hnng…”

“…”

This is awkward as hell.

Red eyes, which clashes with the fair skin.

It felt like a minute had passed since I made eye contact with her.

More importantly, why’s she this strong?

The power of her grip on my arm, which was about to swing a brick at her, was beyond what I imagined. If I had to compare, she was on Yoo Hayeon’s level.

No, she could be even stronger.

Her red lips parted, emitting a sound.

“The brick. Are you not going to put it down? My arm’s getting a bit numb now.”

“I will, if you don’t attack me on your end.”

“Of course. Why would I attack you?”

She won’t attack.

I believed what she said, and dropped the brick that was in my hand.

Clunk.

To be honest, I was also losing energy because it was heavy.

What a relief.

If I kept that up, I wouldn’t have been able to swing it due to the exhaustion.

…But.

Why isn’t she letting go of my arm?

Even though I dropped the brick, the woman shows no signs of releasing my arm.

Wearing an alluring smile on her lips, she said, “That was quite amusing, don’t you think?”

“…What about it was amusing?”

“The fact that you trusted someone from their one remark, and threw away your weapon. Don’t you think it’s funny? When you don’t know what I could do.”

I was wrong with my line of thought.

What did I just do?

At the very least, that brick could’ve been a protective measure.

To think that I took her word for not attacking me and chucked it.

Although I still have ways to go before meeting my demise, it appears that I’ve yet to adjust to this real world.

She tugged on my trembling arm.

I had no choice but to be dragged away by her.

“You would’ve been in deep trouble if I wasn’t a kind person. In this place, your world where you trust people is wrong.”

“…Thank you.”

Is it a normal thing to call yourself kind?

I wouldn’t know, but I could at least tell she has no intention of attacking.

But wait, what happened to those guys?

I’m positive they kept following me, did she deal with them?

If they’re alive, I was going to swing a brick down at one of them, then keep running away.

Curious about it, I asked her.

“By any chance, do you know where the two people who were pursuing me are?

“Who knows, I’m not too sure. That’s that.”

She’s dodging the answer, she doesn’t look like she wants to answer.

I was going to thank her if she did say she helped me.

The moment when the thought crossed my mind, the white-haired woman brought my arm to her nose and began to breathe it in.

“W-What… What are you doing…?!”

Huu.

Hah.

She inhaled then exhaled deeply.

What’s up with her, this person is scary.

Is she even a human in the first place?

Baffled by her behavior, I tried to shake her off my arm, but it didn’t work.

“W-What are you…”

 “The foul smell of medication, the odor of alcohol, the stench of dying blood, you don’t give off any of those scents. Well, who doesn’t have a story when coming here? Right?”

She flashed a grin before releasing the arm she was clutching.

“If there’s anything you want, tell me. Your face is my type, so I’ll do you just one favor.”

My face is her type, she says.

I’ve definitely gotten a lot of buffs coming into this world.

I wasn’t the type to refuse another person’s goodwill.

“Jenny’s Pharmacy. Please lead me to that place.”

“It’s a favor where you can ask for anything. You’re satisfied with just that?”

“Yes, that’s more than enough.”

Perhaps she didn’t quite like the simple request, but she gave off the impression to follow her.

How can I ask her for a big favor?

That’s for the over-daring.1

I’ve gotten to understand her true colors during our conversation, so I had no choice but to ask that.

“You can follow me, and… hm… you can just call me Wol.”

“…Okay.”

Wol.2

White hair, red eyes.

How could I have forgotten her?

The fact that I met her here was the worst of the worst.

“Don’t just stand there, follow me. There’s no time.”

She grabbed me, who was denying reality, by the arm, and headed in the direction of the pharmacy.

Her real name is Han Yoowol.

Although I want to deny reality, I had to accept it.

She was the vice-captain of the worst villain group that was infamous in V. AGE. 

Her hand could easily snap a person’s neck, yet here I was holding it.

Ah, seriously, why is life like this?

It was such a depressing night.

***

Upon arriving in front of the pharmacy, I quickly said my farewells.

Do not be involved with the villain. 

A quick break is the answer.

“Thank you for guiding me. I’ll get going…”

“No, I’m more grateful. It was nice since I could relieve my stress too. I’ll stay with you until you leave.”

“Okay, then…”

From my perspective, Han Yoowol might have an extreme case of the My Face Syndrome.3

I mean, I said I was fine, so why…

I did choose to swallow those words back.

I had no choice but to enter the pharmacy with her.

“Welcome to… Hik!!”

As we entered the store, Jenny, the owner, let out a surprised cry.

She probably wasn’t shocked by me.

The target of her surprise had already been determined. 

“It’s been a while, Jenny. We’ve met, have we not?”

“Ah. Yes, at the White…”

“Your customer today isn’t me, it’s him. You’ll be good to him, right?”

“Of…course…”

Were they acquainted?

Then again, there wasn’t a single soul among those who knew about the back alley that wouldn’t know about Jenny, the talented pharmacist.

The atmosphere between them was strange, but that’s their problem. I have no need to dig up their dirt. 

I handed her the note I had jotted down.

“Please give me everything written here.”

“Everything? For now, please wait a moment…”

Alchemist Jenny.

At the start of the game, she gains experience through the back alley by conducting illegal experiments. That becomes of great help to her later on, and in the future, she becomes the true head of the “Witchcraft” guild known for their alchemists.

During the stages of her accumulating experience came a body strengthening pill. By taking a dose of it for many years, it can increase your stats to a maximum of eight. It’s a pill that you can’t buy later on even if you have the dough. 

I wanted to procure a bulk of them early in advance.

Isn’t it only natural that I should take advantage of this early on?4

It’s sort of the privilege of a pro.

“Hm…”

Someone of her caliber inspected my note, scanned me up and down, and then said, “Well, the price is a bit out there… Sir, you have the money, right?”

“No? Of course, I don’t.”

“Wha… What…?”

What money would a student have?

I only have enough to buy a hot bar5 at the convenience store.

My sheer confidence made Jenny wear an expression that looked like she had mentally checked out.

Han Yoowol, who had been observing, spoke then.

“I’ve been watching, but this kiddo’s face isn’t the only thing that’s my type, his personality is as well.”

“…I’m not a kiddo.”

“And he’s cute, too?”

What is she saying, seriously?

You are not my type though.

I made an offer to the blinking Jenny.

“That said, I don’t mean I won’t give you anything in return. What I can give you is information, a very important one.”

“…But there’s no information that I really need.”

“I’m quite certain it’s on the contrary.”

It was an offer she couldn’t refuse. It was the biggest offer I could make for someone who knew the content of the original game.

“The last ingredient. You don’t know what it is, right?”

“…!!!”

The dumbfounded Jenny widened her eyes as if she had been struck by lightning.

Despite researching for five years, she was not able to figure out the last ingredient.

But what if I tell her the last ingredient?

She will, without a doubt, accept my offer. Since there wasn’t much time remaining.

“You… How do you know about the experiment…”

“I won’t say anything else. The medicine on the note, please produce two years’ worth. If you promise that, I’ll tell you right away.”

“W-Wait…but, how do you know…”

Is it that important to know how I knew?

I don’t think so.

“Your younger brother. You have to save him.”

“…”

Her brother had been unconscious for a long time due to a monster’s attack.

The mana stone disease.

Monsters are born with something called mana stones in their body. 

That is the monster’s core. 

No matter how amorphous the monster’s figure may be, it must have a core.

What would happen though, if the mana stone is implanted in a human body?

Will the human with a monster’s core be recognized as a human or a monster?

What determines that is the body’s organs.

That’s right.

Jenny’s brother was in a human-like monster-induced state.

She also knows that her brother is running out of time, so I reached out to her.

“I’ll reveal it to you–how to save your brother.”

“How can I trust you…?”

“Looking at your current situation, you have nothing to lose? For your information, I trust you Jenny.”

I could see her mulling it over after hearing what I said.

Then again, who would believe the words of a young guy with a hood on when it comes to their own younger brother’s life.

Yoowol, who had been watching along, whispered to me.

“Kiddo, do you really know something? You know something that Jenny over there doesn’t know?”

“Of course, why would I lie?”

“Hmm… I see…”

What does that mean?

I can’t understand most of what Yoowol was saying.

While we were talking, Jenny looked like she had come to a decision.

“…I don’t have enough now, so I can’t give it to you. For starters, I’ll give you a month’s worth. If what you say turns out to be correct, I can supply three months’ worth at a time.”

“You’ve made a great choice. Your brother’s condition will improve quickly if you put this ingredient in and make it.”

Jenny, from the game, had to let her brother pass away since she couldn’t meet the deadline. Afterwards, many people showing symptoms of mana stone disease emerge in the distant future. Only then was Jenny able to find the last ingredient to finish the cure.

It was this close to me, why the hell couldn’t I…

Holding the last ingredient in her hand, she cried bitterly.

It was truly a sorrowful story.

“The last ingredient is the Hwaro herb, which grows in the mountains. If you grind that into fine pieces and put it in the medicine, it’s done.”

“…For starters, I’ll try it.”

Maybe she already had the ingredient in possession, because she immediately began to move.

She’s probably thinking that if I told her the wrong ingredient, she only blew a month’s worth of medicine. As there is no net income loss for Jenny, negotiation is successful.

It will only be a day before her brother will easily regain his health.

I gave myself a big pat in the back.

“Please send the medicine by mail later on!” I said, because I don’t want to come here ever again.

Of all things, I met the vice-captain of the villain group. What the hell.

After receiving a month’s worth of medicine, I left Jenny’s pharmacy.

“Kiddo, you’re much more of a big deal than I thought. And remarkably more knowledgeable than Jenny, who’s known as the genius of alchemy.”

“It’s just—luck. My luck was good, that’s all.”

“Hmm… I see… I kind of want to covet you.”

I am not a thing to possess.

Please don’t covet me.

It irked me that Yoowol kept calling me kiddo because I didn’t tell her my name, but I wanted to get out of the back alley quickly.

Someone please save me…

I just silently lamented.

 ***

Should I say that today was quite a busy day?

With three bottles of medicine in hand, I was able to escape the wretched back alley through the entrance gate.

“Ugh… I’m finally free!”

“It looks like you missed the outside a lot?”

“I didn’t miss it…”

Of course, I missed it.

I never want to go back there ever again.

Still, it was true that I was able to leave easily with Yoowol’s help.

It was common courtesy to say thank you.

“Um, anyway, thank you. You’ve helped me a lot…”

As expected, expressing thanks is embarrassing.

Yoowol, who should have received my gratitude and replied, “No need to say thanks over something like this,” gave a different answer.

“If you’re that grateful, can you do me a favor too?”

“What…? A favor?”

I’m not that grateful though.

Even so, I didn’t know what she’d do if I didn’t hear her out, so I meekly replied, “Yes, well. I can do one…”

“Then, excuse me for a sec…”

Yoowol brought her lips to my ear.

Is she trying to whisper?

There’s no need to go that far when there’s no one around.

Right then, a pang in the neck struck me.

Nom.

What the hell?

Did she just bite my neck?

I tried to pull her off me, but it was too much of an ordeal for someone like me, who has two stat points in strength.

Suck. Suck.

Yoowol kept sucking out the blood from the back of my neck.

I don’t think there was a description of Han Yoowol drinking blood in the game.

I should have read more thoroughly.

It was a regretful moment.

“That’s enough…”

Puha.

When I expressed my displeasure, Yoowol exhaled a deep breath she had been holding whilst drinking my blood. 

“Haa… I knew you looked delectable… You’re tastier than I thought. You might be my best meal yet… Kiddo, you need to be suspicious of others.”

“…The favor’s done, right?”

“Yes. It was satisfying. I almost want to taste it again.”

I’d prefer it if you refrain from doing that.

At this rate, I may actually leave as a skeleton.

I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Then, I’ll be going now. Until next time…”

I hope we don’t meet.

I quickly turned around, and that’s how I was able to get away from Han Yoowol.

When will I make it back to the dorm?

The traffic was worse than the blood dripping from the back of my neck.

Footnotes

1The literal translation of this idiom is the “liver coming out of the stomach.” This is usually used to describe people who are so bold and brazen to the degree of recklessness.

2Her name “Wol” means month in Korean.

3My Face Syndrome is a term Koreans use to describe people who are self-absorbed and act as they please with no regards to others.

4This Korean idiom directly translates to “sucking on honey,” which means doing things the easy way.

5Hot bar is a common Korean snack; it’s a fish cake on a stick.