Chapter 31:
“Are you okay? Do you want some water?”
“I’m f- hiccup, fine. But when did you receive Guiding from h-him…?”
“Ah, you wouldn’t know. It was the day you hatched from the egg, the day I received proper Guiding for the first time.”
Perhaps because of her recent conversation with Joo Seon-min on the topic, she suddenly recalled receiving Guiding from Baek Joo-won.
That incredibly refreshing life force, filling her entire being, even penetrating her mind.
It was a terrifyingly exhilarating sensation.
“It felt like my lifespan was increasing in real-time. If I receive that kind of Guiding a few more times, I might be able to extend it by a few decades.”
“Doesn’t your lifespan return to normal when you receive Guiding?”
“It does, but mine has already decreased too much. Even with the maximum extension, it’ll only be about thirty years. And that’s if I’m lucky.”
“Oh…”
Seo Jae-yi smiled and gently patted Airok, who had even stopped hiccupping in surprise.
“So I’m doing everything I’ve always wanted to do, since I don’t know what will happen in the future. I hadn’t planned on opening a flower shop, but I started it after realizing the wonder of life thanks to the dungeon master. I’m really enjoying it. And I’m grateful to you for helping me run this shop.”
Seo Jae-yi’s soft lips gently touched Airok’s forehead. His face, perhaps because of his white scales, turned visibly red.
“I want to thank the dungeon master for extending my life and letting me meet you, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to see him again before I die. Logi, do you sense anything?”
“I-I don’t know. Even I can’t sense his energy when he’s far away.”
“I see. That’s a shame. Then I’ll have to visit the dungeon again when I feel like I’m about to die.”
If he wasn’t there, she would have to leave a letter.
“Alright, let’s go eat meat!”
Even though it was only 5 p.m., Seo Jae-yi abruptly closed the shop and left.
Every minute was precious to a terminally ill person who had decided to live life on her own terms; she couldn’t waste any time.
【Awakened Individuals Only Community】
【Unverified Non-Awakened Individuals Will Be Permanently Banned Without Notice.】
【Title: Are you guys even browsing the community while Elder Boss is selling new items?】
【I went to pick up the equipment I ordered from Elder Boss today and got completely swept up in her sales pitch;;;;
I saw dungeon plants in her greenhouse and freaked out, thinking it had turned into a dungeon, but she’s selling them… Sounds crazy, right? Yeah, I thought so too…
But she convinced me (well, it was more like forced buying. How can you refuse when Elder Boss tells you to buy something…) that they’re useful for dungeon raids, so I brought some back. But what am I supposed to do with these? My Guild Leader is glaring at me, wondering why I bought such things. I’m stuck.
She insisted I use them in a dungeon and give her feedback. I can’t disobey Elder Boss, but my Guild Leader is telling me not to do anything unnecessaryㅠㅠㅠ Someone save me. Anyone else get forced into buying these?】
【Comments】
—Holy shit, I came running like a dog when I saw Elder Boss’s name, but what is this? Elder Boss is forcing people to buy dungeon plants????
└|Author|: It’s true, believe it or not. Go experience it yourself. I thought she would kill me if I didn’t buy them… I learned today why she’s called Elder Boss…
—What the…? I got forced into buying them too lol. I went to buy blue bellflowers, and she gave me dungeon plants along with them. What am I supposed to do with these…?
└|Author|: I’m not alone! I feel less lonely now.
—Who’s Elder Boss?
└Are you a spy? Not knowing Elder Boss. It’s S-rank S-W-Y. We call her Elder Boss because she’s so badass.
└Gasp, you mean Seo W-Y?
—Ah, I was expecting this to come up. I’m also a victim of forced buying. But I figured Elder Boss wouldn’t sell anything useless, so I actually used them in a dungeon. They’re good. I don’t know what she feeds them, but they’re tougher than the ones that grow in dungeons; they shredded the monsters. It was a cakewalk for me.
└What nonsense are you talking about? Elder Boss’s fanboys are making up stories now.
└Don’t believe it if you don’t want to. But those who got forced into buying them, try them out. You won’t regret it.
Seo Jae-yi was in a fantastic mood early in the morning.
Posts about dungeon plants had finally started appearing on the online community forum, the address of which Seo Won-yeong had sent her.
Word of mouth was the best form of advertising. She would have Seo Won-yeong casually mention the flower shop’s name as well soon.
“Good morning!”
Seo Jae-yi flung open the door to the Center training room with a bright smile.
Even though several Guides were training with instructors, Baek Joo-won stood out immediately. He was wearing the same plain black training uniform as everyone else, but he had a different aura. His face and physique were truly exceptional.
Seo Jae-yi approached him and presented today’s bouquet.
“It’s ordinary roses today, surprisingly.”
“I thought I might have given you too many dungeon flowers lately. Roses are pretty too, right?”
The bright yellow roses were cute and refreshing.
“I thought you might need something cheerful to look at after shooting guns all day, so I chose roses instead of dungeon flowers.”
“Roses are certainly better in that sense. And your bouquet-making skills are improving.”
“It’s thanks to Logi. He’s so helpful; I don’t know what I would do without him.”
“Ah, baby Logi.”
The corner of Baek Joo-won’s lips twitched, as if he was suppressing a smile.
“You should pay him well since he’s such an excellent employee.”
Seo Jae-yi, who had been looking at him curiously, wondering why he was smiling, was startled by his words.
Pay him…? Pay him?!
“You’re not making him work without pay, are you?”
“Uh, well…”
She hadn’t even considered it. Oh my. What good was providing food and shelter if she wasn’t paying him?
“A wicked employer.”
“…I can’t deny that now.”
“And that baby is a dragon, right?”
Baek Joo-won whispered, making sure no one else could hear, and looked down at the yellow rose bouquet.
“Hmm, I read in novels that dragons like gold.”
“Gold!”
That’s right! Gold! Airok wouldn’t be able to use Korean money anyway, so gold, the universal currency…
“…You’re actually going to pay him with gold?”
“Yes. I have plenty of gold bars at home.”
“Excuse me?”
“I might look like this, but I’m a very expensive Esper. I invested some of my earnings in gold.”
Gold bars at home?
Baek Joo-won, looking back and forth between Seo Jae-yi and the rose bouquet with a bewildered expression, cautiously asked,
“Didn’t you get really excited when you earned 30,000 won from selling bouquets before?”
“Of course! I even earned 70,000 won yesterday!”
“…”
She had said she had gold bars at home because she was so expensive, but now she was overjoyed over 30,000 won and 70,000 won.
Baek Joo-won was incredibly curious about her financial sense.
“Excuse me.”
Someone approached them. It was another Guide who was training.
“You’re the Esper who’s been visiting this S-rank Guide for the past few days, right?”
He spoke casually, without even bothering with formalities. He must be a new Guide who joined after Seo Jae-yi left the Center, as he didn’t recognize her.
“You must be a newbie Esper who just awakened. I feel sorry for you, so I’m going to give you some advice.”
Advice. It had been a while since anyone had offered her advice, so she decided to hear him out.
The Guide, oblivious to who he was talking to, started speaking confidently.
“You’re bringing bouquets every time to try to win over the S-rank Guide, right? Bouquets are nice. They’re good gifts, but you seem clueless about how the world works. You’ll only get a smile with that.”
“Right, right. He’s right.”
The other Guides, who had been eavesdropping, chimed in.
They were discussing this right in front of Seo Jae-yi, the infamous Firestarter and S-rank Esper, without even realizing who she was.
“I just casually mentioned that I wanted a smartwatch while Guiding a few days ago, and there were several on my desk the next day.”
“Right. That’s what we call sincerity.”
“I heard there’s an Esper who offered to buy a 70-square-meter apartment for a Guide who complained about their small studio.”
“Wow, that’s impressive. Even I’d be tempted.”
Their words were incredibly blunt.
However, Seo Jae-yi wasn’t surprised. It was common in the world of Espers and Guides.
Especially in Korea, where Guides held a higher status than Espers since Kwon Yi-soo came to power, such incidents were frequent.
The Guides, convinced that she was an insignificant Esper after she remained silent, turned to Baek Joo-won.
“S-rank Guide, you shouldn’t give false hope to a kid like this. Bouquets are nice gifts, but they’re a bit lacking, to be honest.”
“That’s right. We might be a bit demanding, but we don’t usually bother with kids or newbies. So let her down gently and send her away.”
“Hey, newbie Esper. Don’t think you can just stick money in a bouquet because money talks!”
The Guides, still clueless about Seo Jae-yi’s true identity, started laughing amongst themselves.
“Money in a bouquet…?”
Instead of being offended, Seo Jae-yi’s eyes sparkled, as if she had just received a brilliant idea.
“…Just in case you’re wondering, I don’t accept bouquets with cash.”
Seo Jae-yi flinched at Baek Joo-won’s words as she was seriously contemplating the idea.
No cash? Damn it, then…
“I don’t accept gold either.”
“…”
Seo Jae-yi was dejected.