“Hoo. I thought you were gonna commit suicide.”
“W-what? S-suicide? N-no way! Not that!”
The flustered expression as she frantically tries to explain her actions is palpable.
Of course, I realized it wasn’t a suicide attempt the moment I saw her face, but that’s a secret I’ll keep.
Today should be the first time I’m meeting Yulia Petenburg here.
“B-but how did you know I’m Yulia Petenburg…?”
“You’re famous. You’ve been featured in magazines multiple times. I’ve watched every one of them.”
“Aaaaah!”
She touched her face, and in a moment, Yulia’s face turned beet red.
Looks like she realized the state she’s in.
Unlike how she appears in magazines, her curly black hair is a mess.
Her eyes highlight the dark circles with no makeup at all.
Wearing a shabby hoodie and stumbling over her words, she looks just like a common gloomy nerd.
Even someone who knows Yulia would hardly dare to imagine that this is the charismatic Yulia.
“I-I think I should get going now!”
“Go ahead.”
“Ah, um… e-excuse me…”
“Don’t worry. Today’s meeting will be a secret. We haven’t met today at all.”
“T-thank you…”
Bowing deeply three times in quick succession, Yulia swiftly turns away.
It was a brief meeting, but it was enough.
I’ve already marked her.
I’ve seen your true self.
And rather than being surprised, I actually like your true self.
And I have no intention of bragging about this to anyone.
Yulia would have developed a good impression of me just from subtly conveying this meaning.
As I smile in satisfaction, I realize.
“Ah, right. The name.”
I realize I didn’t tell her my name.
*
“Tch. They knew we were coming all along. Cunning bastards.”
Tread tread.
Jill walks down the hotel corridor, filled with displeasure.
It must be the formally dressed men from this morning who came to welcome Petenburg, saying they prepared a carriage on the first floor, asking her to come down when she’s ready.
Indeed, Petenburg knew we had been sightseeing here a day prior.
Even though we checked in under aliases, they figured out which room we were in.
Their information-gathering skills are a little creepy.
“I can’t hold your hand from now on.”
“I know that. Just hold my hand at least in the elevator…”
“Are you nervous?”
“Of course I’m nervous. How dare a lowly mixed-blood try to…”
Grind grind.
Jill grinds her teeth in frustration.
One might feel angry.
Not long ago, a letter arrived at the mansion in Hameln.
Inside was a complaint.
A complaint that had all the forms ready to be filed with the court immediately.
“It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Me copying Petenburg’s technology? Huh?”
The complaint contained the claim that Jill Diner’s healing magic infringed on Petenburg’s rights.
The fact that only the complaint was sent without any other letter makes the intention very clear.
It’s a threat.
Jill tore the letter up immediately, laughing it off as nonsense, but she then had to book a train ticket to Petenburg right away.
Because she clearly did violate Petenburg’s rights.
While it’s a game element that appears for plot twists, for me who knows the outcome now, Jill just looks like a cow dragged to the slaughterhouse, throwing a tantrum.
“Ugh. My head feels like it’s going to burst. Yoo Jin, are you okay? You were drinking a lot more than me yesterday.”
“I’m fine. The alcohol was pretty strong.”
“I didn’t do anything weird while I was drunk, right? Right?”
“Yes. You slept soundly.”
“Thank goodness…”
I did do something weird though.
I was mimicking a cat.
Right before I completely fell asleep, you were trying to grab my cheeks and kiss me, which made it quite a hassle to stop you.
You were trying to escape constantly, wrapping your legs around me, even hanging on.
I want the kiss to be while sober.
So I held back, wanting to witness the real-time embarrassment on Jill’s face.
“We’ve arrived. I’ll take you to the top floor.”
Soon, the carriage stops, and stepping outside reveals an imposing high-rise building.
It’s modeled after the Empire State Building.
Jill tilts her head back so far it aches, momentarily overwhelmed by its grandeur, but soon hardens her expression as if nothing is amiss.
The elevator remains silent as we ascend to the top floor, which uses capital and mana facilities for over 50 levels.
When you reach over ten floors, the cost for the auxiliary facilities jumps exponentially, making buildings over 20 floors extremely rare, let alone 50.
Even for someone who knows all the settings in the game, it’s mind-blowing to see such extravagance.
Ding…
As the elevator slowly stops and the doors open, a clean gray room without a single piece of furniture unfolds.
It feels like stepping into a parking lot when the chair in front of the desk turns, revealing a sharp-eared woman wearing glasses.
“Yulia Petenburg…”
Chill.
Her cold complexion.
It’s as if she looks down on me with eyes that say a worthless inferior species isn’t even worth talking to.
The elf in her neat office attire exudes an aura that makes my body shrink at just making eye contact.
Though Jill appears unfazed, upon closer inspection, there are loads of signs of her being flustered.
For instance, her pinky fidgeting over the hem of her skirt, her left heel rising slightly, or the way her shoulders twitch as if trying to relax…
If I start listing them, I’ll never stop.
‘Wow. She really could be called a witch.’
Those who don’t know must think Yulia is this charismatic girl-crush type.
In fact, her speeches broadcasted over the radio are so well-received that they are often used as material in university lectures.
Do people know?
That the impressive Yulia is actually an extremely shy and gloomy nerd?
‘If I hadn’t run into her by chance yesterday, I might have been scared too.’
She looks like a totally different person from the one I met yesterday on the bridge.
Yulia can’t possibly have a stylist or anything.
It seems she even self-taught her makeup and fashion.
Truly a genius girl.
Though it seems her genius doesn’t quite help her social skills.
“What is this?”
“……….”
Slam.
Yulia throws a pile of papers onto the desk without saying a word.
Angry over her rude behavior, Jill strides up and examines the paper.
Maybe, from this point, victory and defeat have already been decided.
No, the fact that Jill came to Petenburg in the first place implies she lost already.
“Settlement agreement?”
Jill flipping through the papers starts to frown deeply.
Glancing over the written clauses, they are as follows.
– Jill Diner acknowledges she plagiarized the core principles of the elixir owned by the Petenburg Foundation during the development of her healing magic.
– Jill Diner will pay 90,000 gold to the Petenburg Foundation for the commercial utilization rights (license) of the elixir’s core principles.
– Yulia Petenburg shall permanently keep the contents of this agreement confidential. In the event of a breach, the Petenburg Foundation shall pay Jill Diner 10,000,000 gold.
In summary, ‘I know you stole my technology, so if you want to be let off the hook, pay up now’ is the message.
It might sound a bit rude, but considering Jill actually did steal it, it’s a rather generous response.
While there’s coercion, the tech price isn’t set absurdly high; it’s quite reasonable.
Moreover, to avoid tarnishing the Priestess’s honor, she even promised to keep the agreement secret forever.
Truly, while pretending to be rude on the outside, she’s actually an incredibly soft-hearted angel.
Such a woman should be a Priestess.
Meanwhile, our Priestess…
“T-this is absurd! I was so shocked reading the complaint that I came here, and now you’re saying something even more outrageous! That I illegally used the elixir’s technology…!”
She’s getting mad instead.
But Yulia doesn’t even spare her a glance and simply sits still, eyes closed.
As if I’m not even worth talking to.
In truth, Yulia doesn’t need to talk anymore.
The game is already over.
The settlement presented to Jill is essentially an ultimatum.
If she refuses it or demands changes, the complaint will go straight to the court.
It would be a lengthy process requiring numerous verifications, but Jill’s defeat is already certain.
The financial drain is one aspect, but the damage to the priestess’s honor will likely be the biggest blow.
Jill has no choice but to sign the settlement.
“Ugh… This is so insulting! I’ll think it over some more for now!”
Thump.
Jill slams the stack of papers back on the desk and turns around, stomping her feet in frustration.
Looks like she decided to carry on this meaningless resistance.
I follow her from behind but sneak a glance back.
“Hurry up. Yoo Jin.”
“Yes.”
In that brief moment, Yulia flashed me a smile.
But as soon as Jill turned around, that smile vanished.
It seems my stay at Petenburg is going to be quite enjoyable.
For Jill, it’ll be nothing short of a nightmare.
“What about the Priestess…?”
“Don’t worry. She passed out drunk, so she’s sleeping. I had to struggle to stop her from drinking herself to death.”
“Ugh, you must’ve had a tough time.”
“Hahaha.”
As Yulia’s awkward laughter spills out, I can’t help but laugh as well.
It’s that kind of laughter where overly self-conscious nerds worry their laughter sounds painful to others and try to suppress it.
In fact, the more they try, the weirder it gets.
“Drink up. This is some really expensive alcohol.”
“Mmm. 30-year Elisha? I’m not very familiar with whiskey.”
“Oh. O-oh. You don’t know, huh? The 30-year means it has been aged in an oak barrel for 30 years. The reason why the 30-year Elisha is impressive is that it uses mana compression techniques that other companies don’t…”
I know.
I know it very well.
I even wrote that line; who would assume I’d not know?
Yet I let Yulia ramble on about the specifications, chiming in occasionally.
When she talks about the things she loves, she doesn’t stutter, which is the killer point.
“Ah, I’m sorry! I talked about myself too much. It must have been boring for you…”
“No, not at all. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I love hearing about fields I don’t know much about.”
“Oh, really? Then should I tell you about other labels made by the same company as the Elisha?”
“Haha… That would be awesome…”
“One of the items from that company, besides Elisha, is Triumph. It’s not well-known to the public but…”
Wait a minute.
That’s not a line I wrote.
In a moment of distraction, a whiskey lecture has begun.
‘She really doesn’t match her usual image at all.’
Despite her stuttering, Yulia is quite the talker.
Contrary to her cold, scary reputation, she has a warm heart.
I might be the only one in this world to witness Yulia burst into laughter and chatter like this.
Even the game’s protagonist took quite a while to see this side of Yulia; I got to experience it all at once thanks to our chance encounter yesterday.
“I-I never thought I would meet you again. When you said you were the Priestess’s bodyguard, I was… shocked.”
“I was just as surprised. I never imagined I’d get to see the Yulia Petenburg I respected in such a way.”
“Ahhh! I’m so sorry! I showed you my ugly side!”
“No, not at all! I actually find your current self prettier and more likable.”
“R-really…?”
Yulia seems deeply moved, her eyes beginning to glisten with tears.
Though I genuinely think her current self is more appealing.
After all, the charm of someone who’s a bit clumsy is often more attractive than being perfect.
“Sigh This is the first time I’ve talked so casually with a human…”
“Is that so? I heard you were over 300 years old. Haven’t you met many people during that time?”
“N-no… I… I ran away from Elven society a long time ago. Then I self-taught magical engineering. Maybe it’s because I’m not very bright, but… even after 300 years of study, there’s always more to learn…”
Not bright, huh.
Yulia doesn’t know.
She herself has developed so many theories branched from the papers she submitted anonymously.
Even after studying for 300 years, the reason why more things keep arising is that she has been expanding the horizons of magical engineering.
Since all those groundbreaking papers were submitted anonymously, no one could claim ownership, allowing many to benefit from the advancements in magical engineering at low prices.
In short, she’s a genius girl who surpasses Jill.
“I came to my senses and found a city built around my research institute. Everyone was treating me like a lord… Surrounding powerful nations kept asking me to sell potions and technologies… Ah, by the way, all potions and elixirs were developed by the local alchemists! I have nothing to do with it! But why do they keep treating me like the Petenburg’s elixir…?”
“That must be quite a burden.”
“Indeed, it is! I feel so scared I can’t meet people! What if they become disillusioned? In some countries, I’m the number one person girls want to emulate when they grow up. Maintaining this image is so hard, it makes me want to puke…”
“I’m really glad to have seen this side of you. I doubt anyone would be disillusioned. But since it might surprise many if your image suddenly changes… um… how about gradually transforming the image?”
“Gradually?”
“Yes. You can slowly change the public perception. From the cold, silent witch to a friendly lady lord.”
“How… how would that work?!”
We talked until dawn.
For Yulia, being able to have this laid-back conversation is likely a first, so she probably lost track of time.
Of course, I didn’t find it boring at all.
Yulia in gloomy nerd mode has an enchanting charm that naturally lifts my spirits.
I could easily have a lively conversation with her all day long if we shared just one common hobby.
“It’s starting to get light.”
“I need to go now. It’s time for the Priestess to wake up. I had fun. Let’s meet again.”
“Would you really…?”
“Of course. Ah, am I a bit awkward to deal with? Should I leave?”
“N-no, it’s okay if you come. No, please come. I enjoy talking with you, Yoo Jin…”
With the next appointment set, I smiled at Yulia, who gazes at me quietly with her hands politely clasped as if she’s a puppy seeing off her owner.
Yulia’s bright smile lingered in my mind even after the elevator doors closed.
“Why are you getting off there? You seem like something good happened?”
Oh crap.
I’m screwed.
“………”
“………”
Clatter clatter.
The first-class train compartment sways occasionally, filled with silence that’s deafening.
Jill only stares out the window with bloodshot eyes, not even glancing my way.
It seems she tried to hide her feelings with makeup she doesn’t usually wear, but it’s painfully obvious that her eyes are red.
‘Where did she get a hangover remedy?’
Luck wasn’t on my side.
Thanks to Jill taking the hangover cure before drinking, she’s completely sober after an hour of waking up.
Once Jill confirmed I was absent, she had a gut feeling where to find me and then waited in front of the building.
She must have stood still for hours throughout the night.
As a result, she succeeded in catching me.
That morning.
Jill quickly signed the settlement and even prepared a 90,000 gold check, tossing it onto Yulia’s desk before packing her bags.
The preparations finished quickly, and she took the first train this morning, arriving here now.
She had yelled and cried earlier, but now she’s quiet.
That’s definitely a bad omen.
It means Jill has entered the maximum stage of fury, refusing to speak.
That state will likely last for more than two days.
‘I’m exhausted.’
I’m just as angry as she is.
I tried to make some progress with Yulia, but I ended up being dragged out in just one day.
Still, getting to know Yulia is better than nothing.
…But even that feels like a heavy blow.
‘I have no choice.’
Recently, progress with Jill has been quite stagnant.
If someone were to analyze how far I’ve come, it would probably be in the mid-70% range.
Getting there was quick, but it hasn’t budged in months.
Not to mention, no kisses or anything like that, so it’s quite desperate.
‘I guess I need to do something a bit remorseful.’
They say we feel the importance of existence the most through absence.
Seems like a special prescription is necessary.
