episode_0015

It was well past lunchtime, and Sihyuk was walking away, with the excitement of the still-noisy exhibition hall behind him. A deep sigh that he had been holding in burst out.

He couldn’t hide his complicated feelings. He thought it would be a good experience to achieve his goal, so he came here, but this is what happened. Instead of experiencing people, he only saw a lot of equipment.

It was Si-hyuk himself who was so captivated by that appearance that he forgot his original purpose, so he had nothing to say even if he had ten mouths.

However, I felt ashamed and sorry towards the old man who had made the seat for me. Even though I had done him a favor, he was not able to receive it, so who should I blame?

Still, he did not regret tinkering with the equipment on the spot. He was a blacksmith, and his calling was above all else. Even if it was a weapon made by someone else, he could not tolerate a faulty equipment causing harm to a person.

If there is a problem with the equipment, and you know the danger, and even if you can do something about it, leaving it alone is the same as aiding and abetting. If you didn’t know at all, then it would be understandable, but since you saw it with your own eyes, it was something that Sihyuk had to do.

‘But it’s a shame.’

This kind of opportunity was rare, and even though he had made up his mind to do so, he had to return empty-handed without getting anything. He knew deep down how difficult it was for him to build relationships. He couldn’t even imagine how long it would be before the next opportunity came.

Looking back at the expo that was getting farther and farther away, Shi-hyuk felt depressed. But what could he do? Even if he pounded the ground and felt regret, the ship had already sailed, and it was like locking the barn door after the horse had bolted.

He decided to go straight home and pick up his hammer. When he worked, he could be free from all worries and concerns and focus only on his hammer and his work.

If you strike the [Magic Iron], this depression will go away.

However, his plans were ruined by the blowing wind.

“Hello. Are you Mr. Lee Si-hyuk?”

For a moment, he thought a refreshing spring breeze was blowing, but then a woman appeared in front of him and smiled.

Her thick, dark green bob cut hair, as if it had been taken from a deep green meadow, reached down to her shoulders, and her delicate face made her look like a fairy from a fairy tale.

Her plump lips and rosy cheeks reminded me of flower petals, and her large eyes revealed through her long eyelashes shone brightly, like stars in the night sky.

The woman with a petite figure was small and young. No, it would be more appropriate to call her a girl rather than a woman. Her lively and lively smile was refreshing.

Like a flower bud that has not yet fully bloomed, she was a beauty who was already beautiful, but who had high hopes for a future when she would bloom even more beautifully.

‘Wind? Yes, he is a person like the free wind.’

Shihyuk evaluated her like that. His five senses and intuition, which had become sharper after the change, were telling him that a refreshing spring breeze was blowing from the girl, tickling him like a puppy’s tail.

When there was no answer to her question, the girl blinked at Shihyuk once and tilted her head to the side. Even his actions and gestures were lovely.

“Are you Lee Si-hyuk by any chance?”

“… That’s right. What brings you here?”

When she heard the answer she wanted from Shihyuk, the smile on the girl’s lips grew even brighter. It was such a pure and bright smile that she had a hallucination that the surroundings seemed to brighten up at that moment, as if the sun had revealed itself from behind the clouds.

“Are you the person who touched the rapier in the 55th row of the F section of the special exhibition hall?”

‘Were you the owner of that weapon?’

What he could learn by reading the equipment’s memories was the personality, body type, gender, and the experiences imprinted on the weapon. Even Sihyuk could not have predicted that the weapon’s owner would come looking for it so actively, and that it would be such a young and beautiful girl.

‘Are you here to blame me for messing with the equipment without permission?’

It was a hypothesis that flashed through his mind, but Sihyuk thought it could be possible. It was something that was like the lifeblood of a black inspector since ancient times. No matter how much Sihyuk could not stand to watch as a craftsman, it could be a pointless nuisance to the owner of the weapon.

If the master was offended by this, then it was something he should have endured. Shihyuk decided to humbly accept the criticism that followed.

“I came to say thank you! You fixed my weapon, right? At first, I was so shocked and embarrassed that someone had touched my weapon that I don’t remember the details, but when I actually held the sword in my hand, I felt it fit well and it was much easier to handle. How-”

“Wait a minute, could you please wait a moment?”

But what followed was different from what he had expected. The girl not only looked lively and bright, but her actions were also lively. Her lively, chattering voice filled the surroundings. However, because it was a bit excessive, it attracted the attention of those around her.

Among the attention, the girl was quite a celebrity, as some people recognized her and even whispered to her. Si-hyuk, who was not used to such attention, had to cut off the girl’s words in a hurry because of the dizziness that came over him for a moment.

He opened his mouth, calming down the excited girl.

“I don’t think this is the right place to talk about this, so let’s go to a cafe and talk for a while.”

It was the first time in his life that Sihyuk had ever offered a tea time invitation to a person of the opposite sex.

-.-.-

Two blocks down, the girl and Shi-hyuk arrived at a nearby café and stood side by side in front of a kiosk, examining the menu displayed on the screen. The two of them, who were quite different in size, stood side by side, and the disparity was so extreme that it was comical, but in some ways, they felt like they matched up like Daddy-Long-Legs and Judy Abbott.

“I’ll have espresso. That’s… .”

“Please call me Galaxy!”

“Ms. Galaxy, which one would you like?”

“I want the same thing!”

“… … … .”

“Oh, I just saw you close your mouth. You thought I couldn’t drink it? You thought I looked like a child because I was small, but I’m 19 years old, a full-fledged adult! I can enjoy the bitterness of coffee!”

Coffee is not meant to be consumed for its taste, but to be enjoyed for its aroma. Shihyuk nodded, trying hard to suppress his refutation. He felt like he would get even more tired if he spat it out.

[You have selected dine-in. Please select a payment method.]

“Oh, wait a minute! I’ll buy it.”

Eunha rummaged through the pockets of the oversized cardigan she was wearing. She looked like a squirrel searching for acorns she had hidden all winter, struggling to find what she was looking for. Soon, she found a few crumpled bills and a couple of coins in her small hands.

Eunha tried to straighten out the wrinkled bills as much as possible and put them into the slot, but the machine spat them out again with a cruel roller rolling sound. After doing this several times, Sihyuk, who had been waiting silently behind her, couldn’t stand it any longer and took out his card to pay.

“Ah, you don’t have to do that!”

The face of Eunha, who was shouting like that, was flushed with shame all the way to her neck. Sihyuk shook his head with a rare, faint smile.

“I just wanted to drink quickly. Please don’t refuse.”

“Then I will be grateful.”

The two sat in a corner where there was little traffic. Soon, the desk announced their order number, and before Si-hyuk could even say anything, Eun-ha quickly jumped out of her seat and quickly brought coffee for two.

“Here!”

“Then let’s drink first.”

Shihyuk took a sip of espresso. The fragrant aroma of roasted beans and the strong caffeine permeated his tired mind. Eunha followed Shihyuk’s lead and sipped her coffee, saying, “I’ll enjoy it.” Her face became furrowed.

“Write… .”

“Because it’s espresso.”

“It’s different from Americano… .”

“Americano is espresso diluted with water.”

Even after drinking, Eunha licked her lips at the bitter taste that lingered in her mouth. Seeing her unable to even think of picking up her teacup again, Sihyuk apologized, saying, “Excuse me for a moment,” and got up from his seat, headed somewhere, then appeared with a new cup. It was a new order for Eunha, who was having a hard time drinking.

“If you’re having a hard time, try this. It’ll be much more drinkable.”

“I’m sorry… .”

Eunha, who was completely exhausted, brought the new cup that Shihyuk had brought to her lips. The lingering scent of caramel and cacao brushed her nose, and then the explosive sweetness coated her bitter mouth.

“… … !”

Eun-ha shook her head, unable to come to her senses due to the flood of sugar she was drinking for the first time. She continued to tilt her cup, not even paying attention to the dumbfounded look on Si-hyuk’s face as he sat across from her.

“This is really delicious!”

“This is called Caramel Macchiato. Many people who can’t enjoy the ‘bitter taste of coffee’ seek it out.”

“… I am not a child.”

“Yes.”

“Profit, you even got your ID card? And where in the world can you find a kid this plump and chubby!”

Long and thin…? Shihyuk looked at Eunha for a moment. Overall, it was true that she had a well-proportioned body. Her legs were slender and long, her wrists were hidden by her loose cardigan, and her fingers on both hands holding the cup were thin and long. However, that was when she was tall. When Shihyuk compared their palms, he was sure that Eunha’s hands were only half as long as his. It was not only that he was big, but the girl was small.

Bang bang…? Shihyuk briefly glanced at her up and down, then decided not to think about it any further. This was because Eunha’s gaze had already become fierce, having read his mind. The girl stuck out her mouth, stomping her feet like an angry rabbit.

“Let’s get to the point.”

“I think you’re deliberately beating around the bush?”

“No.”

Si-hyuk, who was gulping down the remaining coffee in his teacup and refreshing his surroundings, asked Eun-ha.

“Is the reason you came to me just to thank me?”

“Yes! I was curious about how you were able to figure out and fix the problem with my rapier in such a short amount of time. Also, it’s hard to explain, but somehow I felt like my weapon was ‘complete’. That’s why I wanted to meet you! ”

As he watched Eunha tapping the sword hanging from her waist, there was another thing that Shihyuk did not understand.

“How did you know I was here? I was outside the fair, and you didn’t even recognize my face, so was there any way to pinpoint my location?”

“It was a bit difficult. I asked the administrator, and he said that if there was a problem with the sword, they wouldn’t know, but if there wasn’t, they couldn’t reveal personal information to outsiders. I wondered if there was a way. Then, I suddenly remembered. I’m a pretty capable person!”

Ahem, Eunha continued, puffing out her chest.

“Come to think of it, the time that Sihyuk touched the weapon coincided with when I felt something like a sharp wave inside the exhibition hall. I thought, “This is it!” and followed the “hot wind” that gave off a similar feeling to the wave I felt back then.”

“I see.”

‘I thought I dealt with it quickly and erased the traces, but did you feel it? He is a more outstanding person than I thought.’

Shihyuk spreads and dries powerful mana in an instant so that no one but the machine can detect it.

Eunha sensed that moment with her keen senses and remembered the mana pattern, capturing Shihyuk who was hiding among the crowd of people.

Neither of them seemed to realize how incredible, or perhaps even outrageous, what they had accomplished was, but they had something in common.

Both of them were monsters with powers beyond the realm of humans.