Han Se-yeon, having finished her business with the Mage Association, returned to the Hanseong Pharmaceuticals Development Lab.
Although she had just returned from a busy business trip and could’ve taken a short break, Han Se-yeon immediately began moving around the lab, organizing equipment.
Just then, the door swung open and Team Leader Jung of the New Drug Development Team 1 appeared, greeting her with a smile.
“Oh my, Director! When did you get back? You should’ve let me know in advance. Great work today, as always.”
“Yes, you too, Team Leader Jung. Good job.”
“Oh, it’s nothing, really.”
Team Leader Jung chuckled warmly.
Han Se-yeon responded to his laughter with a smile and put on her white lab coat. Despite being just a simple lab coat, it looked stylish on her slender figure.
“Oh? Director, you’re getting straight to work?”
“Yes, I should. Time is tight.”
“It’s already late. Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
“I’m fine. I want to do this.”
Han Se-yeon smiled.
“…All the other researchers have already gone home, though.”
“I’ll work alone.”
She gave a casual shrug.
Han Se-yeon then opened her case and took out the artifact she borrowed from the Association — The Heavenly Vessel. Made of gold, the bowl had the magical ability to make the properties of any liquid visible or to separate them.
Recognizing the need for a new tool in drug development, she had borrowed it.
Team Leader Jung’s eyes sparkled when he saw it.
“Wow. So that’s The Heavenly Vessel, huh?”
“Yes, it shines brilliantly, doesn’t it?”
“It has such a unique magical presence. And the fact that you’re using this for new drug development… you never cease to amaze me, really! Haha!”
Team Leader Jung spoke with genuine admiration.
Regardless of her family background or how quickly she rose through the ranks at such a young age, her genius was undeniable.
Though some employees initially resented the idea of a 21-year-old becoming director, over time, they had no choice but to acknowledge her.
That’s how exceptional her abilities were.
“Oh, no. This time, it wasn’t really my skill — I was just lucky.”
“Luck?”
The unexpected mention of luck made Team Leader Jung tilt his head. Was there really any element of luck in drug development?
As he gave her a puzzled look, Han Se-yeon simply responded with a faint smile.
“I got help from someone.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Yes.”
In truth, this new drug development was inspired by studying the Ilwol Pharmacology Book, a rare medicinal tome that Jinwoo had gifted her.
True to its reputation as a treasured text from a pharmaceutical dynasty, the book was full of techniques she had never even imagined.
Thanks to it, Hanseong Pharmaceuticals now had a foundation to soar even higher.
…And if she was truly lucky, it might even contain the key to curing her father’s illness. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was all thanks to Kim Jinwoo.
‘Come to think of it, I felt like I saw him today…’
Han Se-yeon recalled a male student she had briefly seen at the Mage Academy earlier.
She hadn’t gotten a clear look at his face, but oddly enough, she had felt a sense of familiarity — a vibe similar to Jinwoo’s.
It wasn’t about facial features or body type. It was more about the aura he gave off.
It’s hard to describe, since a person’s vibe is subjective, but… at least to her, it felt that way.
“…Hmph.”
Still, it was probably just her imagination.
There was no reason Jinwoo would be there.
Besides, she’d been thinking of him a lot lately while studying the Ilwol Pharmacology Book, so that must be influencing her perception.
“Director?”
As she drifted into thought, Team Leader Jung called out to her.
“Ah, yes.”
“…Is something on your mind?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. You should head home, Team Leader.”
Han Se-yeon smiled as she answered.
After finishing the elective activity and night-time personal training, I returned to the dorm.
I’d pushed myself pretty hard today, so my body felt completely worn out.
I just wanted to shower and sleep.
Dragging my feet, I trudged into the living room — and there was Gretel, lying down in a bizarre pose.…She didn’t seem to be asleep, so why was she like that?
“Gretel?”
At my call, Gretel flinched and then looked up at me.
But unlike usual, her expression was gloomy. Had something upset her?
“What’s wrong? Something bad happen?”
“Bwaaah…”
[Gretel is feeling down.]
[The effect of ‘Mysterious Demonic Tree Fruit’ has decreased by 3%.]
“…Feeling down?”
Gretel walked up and leaned her body against my leg. I crouched down to meet her gaze.
“Gretel, why are you feeling down?”
She looked up at me but didn’t reply.
“Are you hungry?”
Gretel shook her head.
So not hunger… then what?
“Are you… bored, maybe?”
At that, Gretel stared intently at my face.
“You’re bored, huh?”
She nodded.
“Hm.”
Well, I guess that makes sense.
She’s been cooped up here for more than 10 hours all alone — anyone would get bored. I totally get it.
What do I do about this…
I had to go to class, so I couldn’t stay to play with her.
But leaving her like this would only make her mood worse, so I needed to do something.
“Wanna watch TV?”
Gretel tilted her head, looking confused — she probably didn’t know what TV was.
So I grabbed the remote and turned it on to show her.
Beep.
[News is coming in that Chairman Han Dae-hyeon’s health has improved. Director Han Se-yeon of Hanseong Pharmaceuticals has reportedly found a lead for treatment and is focusing on new drug development.]
The news was playing in the background.
It was about the Han family.
Chairman Han Dae-hyeon’s health had improved. And Han Se-yeon was working hard on developing a new drug.
Health recovery and drug development, huh…
I felt something was off about the news.
The flow was a bit different from the original story.
While Han Se-yeon had always been working on developing a new drug, there was never a point at this time when she was doing it specifically for Chairman Han Dae-hyeon.
Now that I thought about it, even running into Han Se-yeon during today’s elective activity was a deviation from the original timeline.
Lee Seo-jun and Han Se-yeon were supposed to meet later…
That is, during the festival, a major event at the Mage Academy that would happen a few months from now.
From what I heard earlier, she seemed to be there to borrow something called the Heavenly Vessel.
“Hm…”
Something had changed because of my involvement.
I didn’t know what kind of result it would bring, but if—just if—Chairman Han Dae-hyeon’s illness were to be cured, that would be a bigger change than anything that had happened so far.
And if that happened, I couldn’t even imagine how it would affect the countless incidents and power struggles Han Se-jin was supposed to cause.
“…Hmm.”
I was caught in serious thought when I felt a clumsy sensation around my feet.
Looking down, I saw Gretel poking at my leg.
“Ah, sorry. Is there something you want to watch?”
I picked up the remote and started flipping through the channels. From children’s animation to dramas, movies, and variety shows passed by.
But Gretel didn’t seem interested in any of it.
“Guess nothing looks fun to you.”
As I kept flipping channels, a nature documentary came on.
At that moment, Gretel’s eyes sparkled.
The same sparkle as when she found food in the convenience store bag last time.
“…”
Eyes, nose, and mouth or not—she’s still a tree, after all.
I squatted down and watched Gretel. She was still watching the screen with bright, shining eyes.
Vast forests. Scenes of nature.
As I sat absentmindedly watching the documentary with her, I suddenly thought—maybe Gretel wanted to return to nature.
If that was true, what should I do?
Should I send her back to nature? Or should I keep her by my side for the sake of the fruit?
That thought weighed on me with a strange sense of guilt.
Oblivious to my feelings, Gretel was completely immersed in the documentary.
Then, a notification sounded on my phone.
I instinctively knew who it was.
[What are you doing?]
Just as I thought—it was Han Se-yeon.
She’d been saying she was busy lately. Looks like she finally got a bit of free time.
[Resting. What about you, Miss Han Se-yeon?]
[I’m taking a short break after working overtime. I got bored, so I messaged you.]
Her reply made my mind go blank for a second.
Overtime, huh.
It’s already past 10 PM. That’s intense. Judging from how she was rushing around this morning at the association, she’s been going since early.
[It’s already past 10. Aren’t you overworking yourself? What if you collapse from exhaustion?]
[There’s medicine everywhere here. If I collapse, I’ll just take something. 😹]
“…”
That mindset is wild. Honestly, it’s more than respect—it’s scary.
[Photo]
Then a photo arrived.
A bright, spacious room. It looked like a laboratory.
But it was eerily empty, with no one in sight.
[I’m here alone and it feels like a ghost might show up.]
That surprisingly whiny message from Han Se-yeon made my fingers hesitate. I didn’t know how to respond, so I just replied casually.
[Then you should go home.]
[Judging from your joke, you must be bored too. If you’re bored, come visit me.]
[I’m not that bored.]
[Tch. Still, it’s nice to have a proper conversation for once. I’ve only been talking about business stuff lately, and it’s been kind of depressing.]
Her message gave off a feeling of mental exhaustion. I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for her.
[I’ll go back to work now.]
[Uday]
[₩7,250,000,000 has been deposited.]
Saturday.
The payment from the auctioned sword had come into my account.
Out of the 8 billion won, after deductions for fees and taxes, I received 7.25 billion won.
That brought my total assets close to 11 billion won. I couldn’t help but smile at the sudden windfall.
I really needed to pay Han Se-yeon back soon.
I packed Jinwoo Kim’s clothes into my subspace and spoke to Gretel.
“Gretel, you have to stay still inside the bag.”
Gretel quietly looked at me, then nodded.
I put her inside the bag. Since living beings couldn’t enter subspace, it was the only option.
I stepped out of the dorm.
It was the weekend, but I had another busy day ahead.
As always, I had to use the power of “Victory Call.” And I also needed to buy the plot of land I’d been eyeing.
In Jinwoo Kim’s appearance, I decided to check out the land first.
I took a gate and arrived at my destination.
Hwacheon, Gangwon Province.
Mountains stretched out as far as the eye could see.
The air was clear, and I could feel a thick aura of nature’s magic.
From the outside, it looked like a great place to live with clean air and abundant magical energy—but this was actually a high-risk area filled with many high-grade monsters.
That meant I had to be extra careful not to get hurt in a dangerous situation.
I opened my bag and took Gretel out.
Her eyes sparkled as she stepped into the natural environment. She looked happy.
“Do you like it?”
Gretel nodded vigorously.
I chuckled and said,
“Stay close and be careful.”
I started walking.
Since the land I wanted wasn’t in a designated safe zone, I had to travel along a rugged mountain path instead of a paved road.
Along the way, I encountered a few monsters.
[Your proficiency in the Lightning attribute has increased.]
[Due to the effect of ‘Blessing of Nature,’ you have gained additional Lightning attribute proficiency.]
“Whew.”
They were manageable, so I was never in any real danger.
In fact, it was kind of nice to have the extra training for my lightning proficiency.
I still couldn’t control it perfectly, but I no longer flinched when it sparked unexpectedly.
“All that training is finally paying off.”
My lightning control had now passed 10%.
Then it happened.
Tadadadak!
A monster rushed at me from behind. I quickly turned to counterattack—only to freeze in surprise.
The monster that was trying to ambush me—a wolf—had one of its legs caught by a vine rising from the ground.
Growl!
The wolf howled, its leg entangled.
I turned to Gretel.
She was touching the ground with one hand, channeling her magic.
“Holy crap.”
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