#117
“During that time, I’ll allow the movement of goods. Only Seo Ji-seop can move items back and forth through the portal. But if it’s just letters, you can contact each other in the afternoon or at night.”
That might be acceptable…
Jin-ha was already worried about the children who were almost confined while he was away on Earth. If it were just Seo Ji-seop, he wouldn’t have cared, but the wizards from the agency were minors or had just become adults.
“How about it? It’s a pretty good exchange condition, isn’t it?”
Looking at Riyekan’s face, which seemed to boast, irritation welled up. However, he couldn’t deny that it was a condition that well captured what Jin-ha wanted. It was the same when he proposed the condition of not kissing in front of the Earth’s people last time. Come to think of it, this man seemed to have a knack for accurately pinpointing what Jin-ha desired.
But he couldn’t accept it right away. Jin-ha thought about the problems this man could cause.
“…One more thing. Communication attempts should be limited to 10 times a day.”
“What? That’s too little. 30 times.”
“30 times? What do you mean by 30 times? 10 times.”
“Every time you communicate, you have to do it for an hour without cutting it off. 30 times.”
“Even if you cut it off in 1 second, one time is one time. 10 times.”
Jin-ha scoffed as if he couldn’t even cut off the communication. The trick of not teaching how to cut off communication might work on others, but not on him. For him, reading the usage of artifacts was a piece of cake.
“…15 times. But you have to do it for 10 minutes each time without cutting it off.”
“Understood.”
“Okay.”
After the negotiation, Jin-ha felt a deep sense of frustration. Was this a negotiation to be had in a lover’s relationship? No, conversations about contact were common in a lover’s relationship, but not like this…
Due to Riyekan’s excessive and strange obsession, he ended up negotiating seriously as if making a deal without realizing it. It felt strange and unpleasant.
As Jin-ha looked at him suspiciously, Riyekan tapped the gem of his ring as if to show him. Jin-ha received the communication with a disgruntled expression.
“This, according to my calculations, should reach Earth as well.”
“…What did you say?”
“So, even if you go to Earth, you have to receive 15 contacts a day without fail.”
Was this how he talked about creating an amazing artifact that transcended worlds? Jin-ha was speechless and stared blankly at Riyekan, then suddenly realized that he had been tricked.
Even the dejected look when the plan went awry was part of the plan. It was clearly to make Jin-ha’s heart soften and make him wear the ring without suspicion. The fact that Riyekan achieved everything he wanted, even if the order was reversed, was the proof.
“You…!”
As Jin-ha was about to burst into anger, Riyekan pushed a box that was on the coffee table towards him.
“Come on, check the bribe before you get angry.”
“…Your bribes have almost never been to my taste.”
“Well, not entirely. Right? Open it.”
Jin-ha couldn’t hide his discomfort. Hadn’t this man recently given him an island and 150 gold as an island usage fee? If he had a habit of solving everything with money, it would be troublesome.
If there was another strange piece of paper inside, he would have to get really angry. Jin-ha, who was determined, opened the lid of the box.
“Ah…”
What appeared inside the box was a small picture frame. It was a picture of a beautiful blonde girl sitting on a luxurious chair, and although her face was much younger than Jin-ha remembered, it was definitely a familiar face.
Master Senistry.
Master Senistry, who seemed to be around ten years old, was sitting elegantly on a chair with a small bear doll in her arms, and next to her stood a girl with navy blue hair of similar age.
“We found it in Master Senistry’s hut. It seems there was a secret space on one wall. Legas went to check something briefly yesterday and found it.”
“……”
“Isn’t this a pretty good bribe? You seemed quite interested in Master Senistry.”
“…Why are you acting so proud when Legas found it?”
“Because what Legas did is the same as what I did.”
Jin-ha glared at Riyekan and picked up the picture frame with a suspicious hand.
It was natural to feel nostalgic when seeing Master Senistry. She was someone who had taken care of him with great care. The strange thing was that the girl with navy blue hair next to Master Senistry also felt familiar.
After looking at the picture for a long time, Jin-ha carefully opened the Information Eye. There wasn’t much information embedded in the ordinary portrait, but the names of the two were clear.
Senistry Abon and Jenia Rastilz.
As Jin-ha silently stared at the picture, Riyekan hugged Jin-ha’s shoulder and said,
“Are you curious about the person next to Master Senistry?”
“Yes. Do you know who she is?”
“I heard she was Master Senistry’s maid. She lived together on that island when she was young… I didn’t see her when I went to that island. Hmm, there was no talk of Master Senistry coming to the tower with someone, so they must have parted ways before that.”
If she was a maid, it meant this girl was also a noble of the Abon Kingdom. Generally, maids and attendants who served the royal family were selected from children of noble families of similar age.
Was she still living in the Abon Kingdom? Jin-ha was sure that somewhere in his memories, which had not yet been digested, there was a memory of Jenia Rastilz. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have felt this familiar.
“I want to meet her.”
“Meet her?”
“Yes. If possible, I want to meet her and ask about Master Senistry. What kind of influence the fact that she had a fairy’s soul had on her…”
“…That’s true. If there was some bad phenomenon and the Abon royal family left her on the island to grow up, something could happen here too, so it’s necessary.”
Riyekan nodded seriously.
“Okay, I’ll look into it.”
“Her name is Jenia Rastilz.”
“How… Ah, it’s that eye. I understand.”
“Thank you, Riyekan.”
“So, are you forgiving me now?”
The subtle question was full of expectation. Jin-ha then realized that he had forgotten the wrong this man had done to him while being momentarily distracted.
It was indeed a bribe worth being proud of.
“I have no choice. I’ll forgive you.”
“Okay, thank you.”
If he could meet Jenia Rastilz, there were many things he wanted to ask. First, he wanted to ask about the relationship between Master Senistry and his father. From how they met to how they parted, everything.
It seemed that his father had come to this world through the resort island where Master Senistry and Jenia Rastilz spent their childhood, so he must know something.
Now he felt a little relieved. He had to wear a strange shackle, but anyway, he got permission to go to Earth, and even received such a gift, so in the end, it was a big gain.
“…But do we have to argue like this?”
“Why? Don’t you like this?”
“What’s there to like?”
“I like it. I find it fun to argue like this.”
How could this man have been more mature when he was younger?
Jin-ha looked at Riyekan with a pitiful expression. Riyekan, whose eyes met Jin-ha’s, giggled and leaned against Jin-ha.
“What should I do? I used to hate everything except lying around, but now I even like being scolded by Jin-ha. You made me like this, so take responsibility, quickly.”
“Just ask me to comfort you.”
“Okay, comfort me.”
Riyekan hugged Jin-ha’s waist and lay down, whining as he was told. Even though his legs were uncomfortably sticking out of the sofa, he didn’t seem to care at all. Jin-ha sighed deeply and started to gently stroke Riyekan’s head.
After a while, Riyekan, who had been looking up at Jin-ha with relaxed eyes, followed him with a gaze that seemed to glare. Jin-ha liked that gaze. It always did. That gaze, which seemed to cling, was persistent and sticky, always made Jin-ha’s heart race.
Jin-ha gently brushed Riyekan’s hair and kissed his forehead. As he tried to pull away, Riyekan roughly grabbed the back of Jin-ha’s neck. Soon, hot breath rushed towards Jin-ha.
—
“What are all these?”
“Gifts I’m sending.”
Jin-ha couldn’t help but make a disgusted expression at the boxes piled up in front of the portal. It was understandable, as the quantity was enormous. There were at least dozens, no, it seemed to exceed a hundred boxes of various sizes, and he didn’t know what was inside.
“Aren’t you the one in charge of our exchange now?”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Depending on what you gain from this exchange, the status of the person in charge changes, so I have to do at least this much.”
“No, I’m grateful, but…”
Still, wasn’t this a bit too much? Of course, it was nice that he was thinking of him.
Nice, but…
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
