Meanwhile, Kynemia found Row and greeted him.
"Hello, Fairy."
"Oh, Nyangpapa, you're here too."
Their first meeting had passed without formal introductions, and somehow they'd started calling each other "Fairy" and "Nyangpapa."
"Is Yaongi doing well?"
"Yes, thanks to you, he's eating well and growing up nicely."
The name of the cat Row had been holding all along was Yaongi.
'He was cute.'
Kynemia, who loved animals, often got food and treats for Yaongi.
Just then, Row took something out from his arms.
"Fairy, this is a gift for you."
Ta-da! What he unfolded was a knitted scarf and mitten set.
Cute pink rabbits adorned the pearl-colored base, at both ends of the scarf and on the back of the mittens.
So pretty!
Kynemia accepted the soft, yarn-knitted scarf and mittens.
"Winter is cold now, so please dress warmly."
"Okay, I'll use them well. Thank you."
Row nodded contentedly.
He's like a big puppy. Kynemia smiled happily and took out the jellies the alchemists had given her from her pocket.
"Do you want to eat this together?"
"Sure."
And so, the two of them put jellies in their mouths and chewed.
"Mmm..."
"......"
Nom nom nom, Kynemia's brow furrowed as she began eating.
'This is a bit... it tastes like ginseng steeped in herbal medicine...'
Glancing sideways, she saw Row eating it without any change in expression, as if it suited his taste.
'Why is he eating this better than me, a former Korean who practically lived on herbal supplements?'
Row seemed to read Kynemia's expression and chuckled softly.
"You get to eat these often when you work here."
"Are you going to keep working here?"
"Yes, because I serve my master."
Master... you mean Shen Tien, right? Kynemia tilted her head.
Come to think of it, what exactly is Nyangpapa's identity?
I don't remember reading about Shen Tien having a disciple in the original story.
Kynemia began to recall the contents of the original story.
'Hmm...'
No matter how much she thought about it, Shen Tien didn't have a disciple.
'Then who is he?'
Just an extra? The original story wouldn't have detailed every passing extra.
'What's so great about that?'
Ayan's gaze fell upon Kynemia, who was wearing the scarf and mittens she had received as a gift and showing them to Row. When Row said they were cute and pretty, Kynemia blushed and looked delighted.
'She hears that every day, what's so great about it?'
Since earlier, there had been a constantly irritating and uncomfortable feeling, as if something were scratching at his nerves with fingernails.
Is it because that less-evolved primate evaded magic?
Or because Kynemia looked happy with such worthless balls of yarn?
He couldn't figure it out at all.
Yes, the source of this irritation must come from there.
Not knowing.
Therefore, he must know.
Chapter 7: Lotto Dungeon
- Ryan's confinement has been lifted as of today.
Beyond the transmission orb, the Master's fingers moved busily again. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. The Master continued, tapping on the table.
- Be careful. He's ambitious, so there's no telling what he might do again.
"Is that so?"
Ayan replied indifferently, fiddling with the ball of yarn. He stretched the yarn, tied it to a crochet hook, and rolled it around, constantly fidgeting throughout the conversation.
- You brat! Your Master is speaking; listen properly!
"You know it too, Master. Ryan can't be a match for me even if he's prepared to die."
- .......
That was true. The Master smacked his lips.
But that was why Ryan was even more obsessed with Ayan.
The innate talent that he could never catch up to, and the ability and ease with which Ayan used it, plus that annoying attitude.
'My disciple is making enemies and only increasing my worries.'
The Master sighed deeply. No wonder his stomach hadn't been good lately; it was all because of that guy.
Rumor had it that the Hye Min Won Potion was very effective these days. Thinking he should drink a cup of that, the Master narrowed his eyes and asked,
- Still no signs of a second awakening?
"My joints have been stiff lately."
- That's also a problem.
The Master clicked his tongue. The symptoms of the second awakening appeared differently for everyone, so there was no advice he could give.
He could only hope it would pass quietly.
- But what in the world are you doing with that tangled ball of yarn?
Only then did Ayan raise his head.
"There's something I want to ask you, Master."
His face was quite serious, to the point that the Master was taken aback. To make that guy, who was always grinning whether he was being attacked or stabbed in the side, look like that...
He asked back, tensing up.
- What is it?
Ayan bit his lip for a moment and then asked quietly.
- How do you knit?
Isn't there a way to do it with magic? Ayan muttered to himself.
'Why the hell is that nutjob Ayan asking about knitting?!'
The Master was so taken aback that he unconsciously thought of the Magic Tower's nickname for Ayan.
In the Master's mind, knitting and Ayan Kroitz were about 400 million years apart.
Could he be trying to knit people? To practice magic to knit people together?!
- No, you can't! Master won't allow it!
"Why?"
- Because you're trying to do such a horrifying thing!
"Since when did knitting become a horrifying thing?"
When Ayan tilted his head in confusion, the Master asked back in a much softer tone.
- ...Actual knitting?
"Yes, that thing where you make something with yarn to enchant the eyes of small things."
- What in the world does 'enchanting the eyes of small things' mean?
Ayan asked back without any further response.
"Do you know? How to knit?"
- I don't.
How would a mage from the Magic Tower know how to knit? You don't need to know that to live in this world.
"Tsk."
However, in Ayan's eyes as he clicked his tongue, there was a hint of, 'You're a really useless Master.'
- You brat! I took you in, fed you, and raised you, and that's the look you give me-!
Click.
Before the Master could finish speaking, the transmission from the orb was cut off.
"AYYYYYYYAN-!"
The Master roared.
"......"
Meanwhile, Ayan was lost in thought, looking at the tangled ball of yarn.
Ayan had always been told that he was born with all sorts of talents.
There was nothing he couldn't do if he wanted to, and he grasped things even when he didn't want to.
But...
Ayan's gaze landed on the ball of yarn.
To be agonizing over just one ball of yarn... It felt like his short life was being completely denied.
When he picked up the crochet hook, the intricately tangled yarn stretched out long.
'I need to test it.'
Why did the Grand Duchess's mere smile make him feel so bad?
Ayan frowned, thinking of the stupid, less-evolved primate.
'...Should I just kill it?'
Ayan pondered between the easy method and difficult knitting, clenching the ball of yarn in his hand.
