After dancing around for quite a while, the robot fixed its body toward us.
CLUNK, THUNK!
A heavy, muffled sound came from inside the mechanical box.
It sounded fairly weighty, so I put both hands under the slot, and the next moment, something cold and heavy popped out.
[Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron Ingot(A)]
Been a while since I’ve seen this too.
Back in first year, Seo Ye-in had pulled one for me out of the lord’s ingot chest.
I had mixed it with Black Mithril to make an alloy, then melted it down with Hong Yeonhwa’s help and made [Root], one of the parts for my staff.
Of course, now that it had been upgraded into the higher-tier [Deep-Rooted Crow Tree], there was not a trace of metal left in it.
Still, Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron has plenty of uses.
It was so sturdy that it would produce excellent results whether I put it into a secondary weapon or some armor.
There was also the option of feeding it to [Greedy Choice] and dumping a ton of experience into it.
Just then, Seo Ye-in asked in that great-hero tone she was still using,
“Will you be satisfied with this?”
“Sounds like you have a better idea.”
“I do.”
“Let me hear it.”
“What do you think of continuing to combine things?”
The Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, and the two remaining [Descent of the Feathered Serpent Random Box]es.
She was saying we should keep using the box robot until there was only one thing left.
It was the kind of stunt with a very high chance of destroying us financially, but the credibility of words changed depending on who said them.
Which was why I nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“If that is your judgment.”
“Hand them over.”
“Here you go.”
When I handed her the two random boxes, Seo Ye-in briskly tossed them into the slots again.
A moment later, what the box robot spat out was—
CLUNK.
[Transference Labyrinth Random Box(A+)]
This one feels weirdly nostalgic too.
Just like before, back in first year, I had cleared the Transference Labyrinth while subjugating the Witch of Decay.
Since the main group there had been the Dragonslayer Academy faculty, the rewards had not been distributed all the way down to me.
And yet somehow, I had wound up obtaining a random box like this.
So five B+-rank items had turned into one A-rank item and one A+-rank item.
A question suddenly occurred to me, so I asked Seo Ye-in,
“What about leaving the ingot alone and going for the jackpot with the random box?”
If it was a jackpot either way, then there was no reason we had to combine them.
But Seo Ye-in shook her head and answered firmly,
“We must combine them.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to.”
“I see. Perfectly understood.”
Who was I to question Lucky Charm’s judgment?
Soon the robot extended the mechanical box again, and the two input slots opened.
Then, after we exchanged a glance and each placed one item into a slot—
DING-DING—! DING-DING-DING—! DING—!
The robot erupted in blinding, flashy light and launched into an absolutely frenzied dance.
Enough that passing students flinched and stopped in their tracks.
“Hey, hey, hey! What is that thing?”
“Isn’t it broken?”
“Is it gonna blow up? Defensive skill? Should we use a defensive skill?”
But in spite of their concern, the robot quickly settled down and held the mechanical box out to us again.
At the same time, another heavy sound came from inside.
THUNK! CLUNK, THUNK-THUNK!
That meant it was highly likely to be another ingot, so I held both hands under the slot.
And shamelessly made a request.
If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, give me just one S-rank.
I need it to bring world peace a little closer.
Naturally, I would have preferred EX-rank, but I do have such a thing as a conscience, so I kept my request reasonable.
And soon, what dropped into my hands was—
CLUNK.
[Meteoric Iron Ingot(S+)]
You’re really giving it to me?
Even with an event boss and Lucky Charm working together, getting an S-rank item was no easy matter.
And it had come out with a plus on top of that.
That makes two pieces of precious material already.
I had received one during winter break, as repayment for inviting Grandfather Mo Yong into the inner world.
Something about getting a fortuitous encounter after being beaten up by an old master.
Though this one looks a little different from that.
The Mo Yong meteoric iron was blackish, while the one in my hand now was closer to white.
Their surfaces were different too—the former had a wavelike pattern, while this one had a grid pattern.
This one’s probably the higher rank, though.
The rank of the Mo Yong meteoric iron was unclear, since it had not yet been processed into an ingot.
It was probably somewhere between A+ and S.
By contrast, the meteoric iron in my hand had already been fully processed into an ingot, and its rank had practically hit the ceiling.
Of course, there’s no reason to compare them anyway.
If I had two metals with similar properties and similar ranks, why would I use them separately?
You just combine them.
The same way I had once made an alloy out of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and Black Mithril.
S+ rank was probably guaranteed, and if things went well, I might even be able to aim for EX.
I explained that to Seo Ye-in and said,
“This’ll be perfect for making equipment later.”
“Equipment.”
“Maybe I should give the pot a meteoric-iron coating.”
“Excellent idea.”
The Immortal Pot was already absurdly durable as an adamantite pot, so if I coated it in S+-rank meteoric iron on top of that, I had no idea what kind of monster it would turn into.
Soon Seo Ye-in stepped closer and looked up at me.
“You would be helpless without me.”
“That goes without saying. Thanks to you, Lucky Charm, world peace has been brought forward by at least two years.”
“You should praise me.”
“You did such a good job, I feel like showering you with kisses.”
“Proceed.”
I bombarded both her cheeks and her forehead with kisses until Seo Ye-in was satisfied.
The event bosses watched the scene with warm expressions, then slowly started preparing to leave.
Apparently that was all they had come for today.
At that point, I tossed them a question.
“So how long are you planning to keep bringing friends over?”
If they kept dragging them in one by one like they were picking up stray cats, Dungeon Island might wind up overflowing.
Right now it was only event bosses, but sooner or later, there was a chance something truly troublesome would latch on and come in too.
At that, the masked gentleman, the clown, and the fortune-teller all shrugged, while the box robot filled its display with question marks.
Somehow Seo Ye-in managed to translate that and said,
“They say they didn’t bring them.”
“They just got pulled in on their own by [Attraction]?”
At that, the bosses all made affirming gestures in unison.
Well, most of them were the kind who acted on their own anyway, so that explanation made more sense.
Then the fortune-teller started shuffling their cards again—shrrrk—and pulled one more card to show us.
It depicted a man sitting back in absolute comfort, leisurely tipping a cup of liquor.
[All Is Well]
“So I’m supposed to take that as, ‘You don’t need to worry too much’?”
Nod.
“Fine. I’ll trust you for now.”
Blind faith was dangerous, but if they were putting it that way, then it was probably fine to watch for the time being.
Soon we waved goodbye to the event bosses and sent them off one by one.
Then I slowly looked around.
Where did Song Cheonhye go?
She ought to be back by now.
And the moment I thought that, I saw Song Cheonhye and Fast-Luckless running toward us from far away.
“We’re back!”
They were carrying drinks and a large paper bag.
Once they got close, a rich, sweet smell brushed past my nose.
The bag happened to have the brand name and logo printed on it, so I read it as-is.
“Sweet buns?”
“Yes, let’s eat together.”
Smiling brightly, Song Cheonhye pointed off to one side.
There were simple tables and chairs set up there for passersby to rest at.
So we sat down around one of them, and Song Cheonhye rustled open the package.
“You know how people always say sweet buns only smell good?”
“That is a pretty common opinion.”
Once you actually bought them, they started getting old by the second one, and by the fourth, your throat was clogging up badly enough that the risk of choking to death went way up.
Even so, Song Cheonhye held one out to me with a smile.
“This place is a little different. Try one.”
“Sure. Thanks.”
After thanking her, I took a bite, and it really was different from an ordinary sweet bun.
“The sweetness is just right, and it doesn’t have that dry, cloying finish.”
“Right?”
“There was a place this good around here?”
One of the smaller effects of the reincarnation quest.
As characters changed, shops in the entertainment district closed down or newly opened.
Big places like bakeries and restaurants remained the same, but among the smaller stalls, it seemed there were quite a few I didn’t know about.
At my question, Song Cheonhye smiled and answered,
“I didn’t know either, but my brother used to bring them sometimes.”
“Your brother?”
“If I was doing night duty, he’d stop by the Discipline Committee room.”
The scene instantly recreated itself in my head.
Song Cheonhye struggling through the night, nodding off from exhaustion.
Then Oh Sehun casually letting Song Cheongi know how she was doing through a message or something, and Song Cheongi immediately flying over to the entertainment district.
Then buying a huge pile of coffee and sweet buns before dropping them into the Discipline Committee room.
Naturally adding one casual line on top of that.
“Everyone eat while you work. You too, Cheonhye.”
“So something that touching really was happening. I had thought he was looking after you a lot.”
If this had been the usual Song Cheonhye, she would have gotten embarrassed and said something she didn’t even mean.
It wasn’t just for me, you know? Or He brought it for all of us to eat together.
But right now, her expression held a faint warmth and softness.
“...Yes. I’ve always been grateful.”
“So you knew?”
“I’m not that oblivious. There’s no way I wouldn’t know.”
When I had sat down with Song Cheongi and his father before, they had seemed worried, saying things felt as though they had grown distant from each other, but apparently that had only been true on the surface.
Should I just tell her everything while I’m at it?
There was no such thing as an eternal secret anyway, and I had always planned to tell her eventually.
Now that I had caught the opportunity, the best move seemed to be pushing in while I had the opening.
So I began in a serious tone.
“You remember last year, during the Fixed Zone Tournament?”
“Yes.”
“Back then, I had a separate talk with Senior Song and your father—Father-in-law No. 4.”
“About... what?”
Song Cheonhye’s eyes went round.
So I told her, roughly and without going into too much detail, about the conversation we had exchanged back then.
“They wanted to get close to you again, like before.”
“Ah...! That makes everything line up now.”
“So you had noticed that too?”
“Yes. Even over break...”
“Even over break?”
Embarrassed about this part at least, Song Cheonhye hesitated a little before answering.
“He talked to me more often, and he was gentler than before...”
“So he really did it. That can’t have been easy for him.”
“Yes. I tried too, in my own way. But it’s still pretty awkward.”
“Isn’t the important part that you’re both still trying?”
“That’s what I think too.”
If they kept closing the distance bit by bit like this, then someday they might really become a warm family again.
Song Cheonhye chewed on her sweet bun with a pleasant smile.
Then, after a moment, she spoke again.
“So the one-on-one tutoring was something you were asked to do too?”
“That’s how it turned out. Sorry for only telling you now.”
I had suddenly called her out for a sparring session and started smacking her around with a squeaky hammer.
And the reason had been something as absurd as, I’m going to raise you into Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeonhwa’s rival.
Song Cheonhye seemed to have noticed part of that too.
“I did think it came out of nowhere. But you don’t need to apologize. I improved a lot because of it.”
Then she looked straight at me, and the light brown in her eyes seemed to blaze with motivation.
“And from now on, I want to work even harder. I want to show my father, my brother, and everyone at the Mage Tower a side of me they can be proud of.”
“That’s an excellent attitude.”
“You’re free next week, right?”
“Of course I am. Think it’s about time we started ★Blink★ training?”
“Yes!”
In that warm, lively atmosphere, we started laying out next week’s tutoring plan.
