CH 209

“I’ve been waiting for you two. Thank you for coming.”

A synthetic producer, Luzel. An extraction producer, Luke.

When I thanked the two of them for coming to Requiem after being contacted by Ha Tae-heon, Luzel smiled brightly at me with a wink in return.

“Deputy Master asked for it, but after hearing the explanation, I thought it would be interesting, so I came here.”

Luzel was as excited as when we first met and Luke was still shy, so he came out with his head down and barely shook hands.

After guiding the two to an empty seats, I introduced them to everyone who were curious.

“This is Producer Luzel from Roheon, who specializes in synthesis, and Luke-ssi, an independent producer who specializes in extraction. I thought it would be of great help to this task, so I asked Ha Tae-heon-ssi to invite them.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who listened with interest while stroking the corner of his mouth, looked at Luzel and Luke with a smile.

“Synthesis and extraction. I heard that Roheon took a good producer. Nice to meet you.”

It was a compliment that didn’t feel burdensome even though it was moderately acknowledging the other person. Luzel also smiled slightly with the corners of her eyes closed.

“It’s an honour to have Master Requiem say good things.”

After confirming that they had a conversation with Cheon Sa-yeon, the representative of Requiem, I sat down again and opened my mouth.

“All the people currently attending this meeting are related, so feel free to speak. How much did you hear from Ha Tae-heon-ssi?”

“Um, it’s just that synthetic drugs are spreading illegally and that the most noisy Praus Cult these days is related to that.”

In response, I turned to Ha Tae-heon. Ha Tae-heon, who was expressionless with his arms crossed, made eye contact with me for a moment, then immediately spoke to Luzel.

“The place for drug dealing turned out to be a club. There’s a party going on there in ten days, so we’re planning to go and get the alcohol with the drugs.”

“Hu-hung, ten days will be soon passed.”

“If I bring you some alcohol, I wish you could keep it for me.”

Luzel made a strange expression. It was understandable that she had a shaky reaction. I lightly grabbed Ha Tae-heon’s arm, who was sitting next to me, and added an explanation.

“I hope you can identify the drugs inside and make an antidote or neutralizer.”

“Um…”

“Of course, we will support all materials and costs required for production.”

The support part had already been confirmed by Roheon. Hearing this for the first time now, Cheon Sa-yeon raised the corners of his lips with a funny expression.

“Then let our Requiem support the production facility as well.”

“I don’t mean to complete it here…”

Why were you doing this all of a sudden, made me embarrassed? As I lowered my voice, Cheon Sa-yeon stared at me and turned his face away.

Ha Tae-heon, who was watching us at the absurd behaviour, sighed quietly.

“Pooh.”

Luzel, who was watching me, Cheon Sa-yeon, and Ha Tae-heon, suddenly burst into laughter.

“Oh, I’m sorry. They seem to get along better than the last time I saw them.”

“Pardon?”

…where did this look like we got along well?

“Of course, I don’t mind. After all, I belong to Roheon… I respect our Deputy Master so much that I don’t want to turn down the request.”

Those words reminded me of a story I had heard from Ha Tae-heon before. He said that she was able to enter Roheon with Ha Tae-heon’s help after Luzel was kicked out of the previous guild and was having a hard time.

After all, if you had a good personality, good people would naturally stick to you. Respect. I also sympathized with Luzel because I also had such feelings for Ha Tae-heon.

“But Luke is different. He is an independent. You have to talk to Luke separately.”

Luke’s ability was needed to extract drugs from alcohol. As everyone’s eyes turned to him, he cautiously opened his mouth.

“I, I also can… cooperate. However…”

Luke couldn’t finish his words and looked at the situation with a perplexed look.

“It’s okay to speak comfortably, Luke-ssi.”

“Um… I want… something instead.”

After that, I slowly nodded my head. If there was a price he wanted, of course, we should give.

“What is that?”

“Someone… I hope you can find someone.”

“Someone?”

But I never expected it to be something like this. Of course, I thought it would be a hard-to-find crafting material or item.

“Yes. He is a producer just like us… It’s been a long time since we lost contact…”

“Can you tell me his name?”

“The name is…”

Hesitatingly, Luke, who looked at Luzel, answered shortly.

“His name is Li Wei.”

“Pardon?”

I couldn’t hide my surprise and asked again.

“Li Wei? Are you talking about the Producer Li Wei I knew?”

“That, that’s right.”

Li Wei. He was one of the first who had space control ability and one of the producers of inventory items.

Li Wei graciously handed over the expensive bag of an inventory item in exchange for the four sapphire tail butterfly wings obtained at the gate. He was still obsessed with the glitter.

He was like a geek who hid here and there with his space ability, so meeting him again was as difficult as picking a star in the sky.

I was kind to Luke so that I could see Li Wei again later, but he suddenly disappeared.

“If it’s the Producer Li Wei, he doesn’t really like to show his true self, does he?”

“That, that’s true but… it’s the first time we haven’t been in touch for so long.”

Luzel, who was quietly listening to our conversation, added an explanation.

“I and Luke have had a good relationship with Li Wei since we got our ability. He’s a bit like our paternal grandfather. So wherever he went, he always kept in touch with us.”

As expected, Luzel was also acquainted with Li Wei, just like Luke.

“He unconditionally left a phone call or a message before the end of the month, but we have been out of contact for over four months. We have no choice but to be worried.”

“Where was the last time you contacted him?”

“America. It’s the American Red Market, to be exact.”

America. I rolled my eyes and organized my thoughts. There was a way if it was America.

“All right.”

After much consideration, I accepted the conditions of the siblings.

“If the drug case is resolved, we will find him right away.”

After all, there was only one way. We couldn’t make an antidote or a neutralizer without Luke, so I had to accept it.

At my clear answer, Luzel showed a surprised expression.

“Is it okay if you don’t talk to other people?”

“Um, well…”

I looked at Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon, who were sitting next to each other. Cheon Sa-yeon smiled with an unknown meaning in my eyes and Ha Tae-heon calmly opened his mouth.

“It’s nothing else but the price, so I’ll help.”

“Then me too.”

Cheon Sa-yeon followed coldly. It wasn’t a competition.

“All right. Anyway, the drug case is urgent right now.”

Luzel pulled something from the inside pocket of the jumper she was wearing. It was a tie pin with khaki jewels.

“This is the item you requested. It was meant to be delivered to Talented Han Yi-gyeol, right?”

She gave me a wink. I used the wind to hand over the tie pin.

“I thought the brooch and black horn-rimmed glasses I gave to Deputy Master before would be uncomfortable, so I made a new tie-pin and it was a good choice.”

“I will use it well and return it to you. Thank you.”

“You can have it. I heard that Deputy Master Ha Tae-heon gave it to you as a gift.”

“What?”

I was startled by the unexpected words and looked back at Ha Tae-heon, but he averted his gaze.

“It’s no use to me. So, Han Yi-gyeol, it would be better for you to have it.”

“No, I only have to use this once anyway…”

“It would be nice to have it though.”

“What kind of item is it, Yi-gyeol-ssi?”

When asked by Min Ah-rin, who had listened to the conversation with her curious face, then I remembered that I hadn’t informed them in advance.

“This is a changing item. If I change my hair and eye colour with this, I think the chance of getting caught will be lower, so I asked for it separately.”

“Uwa, a changing item? It’s actually my first time seeing it.”

Obviously, changing items was hard to find. That would be expensive…

The art inventory as well. I sighed because of Ha Tae-heon, who kept buying me something.

“What Deputy Master said is right. I’ve put all the changing things in there, so I’m sure there will be a lot of things to use.”

“Is that so?”

“I bought the ingredients I wanted to buy at the sale price, so I can’t get a refund.”

I smiled awkwardly at the words that Luzel added like a joke and turned the tiepin around.

“Try it, Yi-gyeol-ssi! Let me take a look.”

It wasn’t a bad idea to test it once. Min Ah-rin wanted that too.

“All right.”

I got up from my seat and thought for a moment while holding the tiepin. I was wearing a shirt but wasn’t wearing a tie… After thinking for a while, I just put it on my sleeve.

Pajijik!

Then a lightning bolt flashed across my body and my vision suddenly lowered. Not only that, but the clothes I was wearing also felt loose.

“Oh?”

Why was my voice like this again? Didn’t it just change the colour of my hair and eyes? As I looked down at the sleeves that covered the back of my hands in bewilderment, I heard cries from here and there.

“Yi, Yi-gyeol-ssi?”

“Ha, Han Yi-gyeol…!”

With the startled Min Ah-rin and Kim Woo-jin at the front, everyone in the conference room rushed toward me.

“Oh, this is pretty…”

“Explain immediately how it happened, Talented Luzel.”

“Keuk… pfft…”

After watching Park Geon-ho, who looked like he was having fun, Ha Tae-heon, who was staring at Luzel with a tired face, and Cheon Sa-yeon, who covered his mouth and snickered, I noticed an eerie fact.

‘What?’

Why did everyone get taller? No, did I get smaller? As I entered Han Yi-gyeol’s body, my heart sank after experiencing a small body.

“Aigo. I’m sorry, Talented Han Yi-gyeol. As a test, I set it to age changing, but I forgot to tell you.”

“Yes…?”

The voice that asked the question was still childlike. Just what did you say…? Age?

“That… Yi-gyeol-ssi, here you see.”

Min Ah-rin, who was standing next to Kim Woo-jin, who turned his head with half his face covered, pulled out a small mirror from her arms while looking at me. I swallowed dry saliva as I took the mirror.

“……!”

This crazy…

My face in the mirror was much smaller than usual and my eyes were bigger and rounder than before.

I bowed my head and looked at the small hand. So, now, I…

“You’ve become a child. It’s also a very young child.”

At Cheon Sa-yeon’s kind words that pointed out the reality, I got dizzy and my eyes fluttered.

I really understand why Ha Tae-heon was so dissatisfied in the past. Even everyone was watching.

Woo Seo-hyuk, who reflexively caught me, who was shaken in shock, sighed deeply with a complicated expression.

Seeing me like that, Luzel laughed awkwardly and made excuses.

“The order of the tests happened to be a colour change, gender, and age…”

“It’s okay, Yi-gyeol-hyung. You’re very cute.”

Did you call that consolation? I barely came to my sense and without hesitation, I pulled out the tie pin that was on my sleeve. Then my vision rose again and my body, which had become smaller, returned.

“Aah, what a shame…!”

“……”

When I returned as an adult again, Min Ah-rin lowered her eyebrows and showed an open response that it was a waste. It was too much, really.