Chapter 18
***
The three of us, who saw the shining shimmering sign, were speechless.
The glowing fluorescent pink heart was as dazzling as the neon sign I saw in a Korean food alley.
It was even blinking with a cheerful beat.
Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle.
“…Monica, can you slap me in the face?”
Of course she couldn’t slap me in the face, so she slapped herself.
Slap.
It hurts.
“Not a dream.”
Monica looked at me with her rabbit eyes open, and repeatedly looked at the blinking sign. She was as flabbergasted as I was.
Yeah, you can’t believe this too. I don’t know what to say.
“…is this the place you’re looking for?”
I blinked blankly at the question of Genuzia.
“It should be right.”
“Probably.”
I was sure a minute ago, but after seeing that, I lost all my confidence in myself.
Which guild would let a sign like a psychedelic light blink in the mineral market with a Korean Traditional rhythm.
At the top of the opera.
“What is this…”
At this point I had no choice but to find the writer once again.
No, sir, we didn’t say this in our book. I heard that the opera top is a medium-sized top that has a sign of the moonstone. I told you there’s nothing special. What’s this thing right in front of me?
Are you going to keep writing books like this? Are you going to add a setting that only you know like a ba$t@rD?
I’m freaking out. There hasn’t been a word between us in a while.
Until now, colorful sign boards have been shooting pink heart beams as if they were seducing us.
“………”
“Let’s get in.”
It took me quite a while to make up my mind. I took the lead, and the two of them acted very determined.
They followed me with just a single expression. They looked determined no matter what came out of here.
Fortunately, the door was an ordinary wooden door.
If there was a mirror ball on the door, I would have cut off it without hesitation.
I stopped knocking the door and just turned the doorknob. It is clear that such a sign meant just to come in.
“…Is there anyone here?”
The interior view is more plain than I thought. There were tables and sofas in the right-sized room and red rugs on the floor.
I breathed a sigh of relief at the site of the typical upper office look.
I’m glad, I’m fine.
The door closed as soon as Genuzia came in. I walked slowly, looking around.
Usually, guild members should be here to pick you up.
“They’re not coming out.”
Did they really strike as a group? It was when I was swirling around the inside. The chair behind the desk at the end of the office spun around.
“Welcome.”
“Oh, my God.”
Was there anyone? A young man with long black hair sat where he turned his head. His forlorn purple eyes glistened under the light.
I hesitated and got into alert mode automatically.
…He’s handsome. His face is a bit of my taste that I would never avoid.
“Do you happen to be the master of the opera?”
I asked with my voice down. The man grinned.
“As you can see, I’m in charge. You’ve come all the way here.”
” Well there’s a nice guy who guided me.”
“A wonderful man?”
Oh, my God, I didn’t realize that.
“Oh, no, it’s not like that. He was just trying to act cool. The one who guided me here, haha.”
I hurriedly shook my hand to fix it. The man’s expression became ambiguous.
“…I should have made him uglier.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
While muttering to himself, he soon smiled and put his chin up.
“Welcome to the top of the opera.”
“Yes, but in front of the door, Psyche Joe… There was a sign.”
“Oh, I put it up myself, how do you like it?”
I take back the word “my taste.” As expected, I would be able to perceive a person just by looking at their faces.
“…yes, well.”
“Fortunately, I’ve been waiting. Have a seat.”
He pointed to the sofa in the men’s drawing room. I don’t know how he expects us to come and wait. Is it just a service statement?
He sat down gently, tilting inside.
Monica and Genuzia stood on the wall of the drawing room a little further from the sofa.
The man sitting opposite asked.
“Are you okay with lavender tea?”
“That would suffice. Thank you.”
No sooner had I accepted, a cup of tea appeared right in front of me.
…Magic?
“Oops.”
The man flinched as if he had made a mistake.
“It’s become a habit. Please forget about that.”
Then immediately he smiled deftly at me.
I was speechless. How can I forget what I just saw?
But the other person’s attitude was too brazen to refute. I nodded my head gently.
Well, I’m afraid it’ll be a problem if there’s a rumor that the top master uses magic. Security is just important.
Instead of tackling, I quietly picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. Soon my eyes gradually grew bigger.
“Oh.”
The crazy sign outside the door was so strong that I wondered what if the tea tasted weird, but it was surprisingly normal.
Unusually, the tea was just right for my taste.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s great. Did you add sugar? It’s sweet.”
“I added honey. You look like you would like it.”
“I don’t usually put honey in lavender. It’s fascinating.”
“Really? I didn’t know.”
The man shrugged. The sweet taste lingered on the tip of my tongue. I kept sipping the teacup without realizing it.
The other person, who had been looking at me with happy eyes for a while, murmured.
“So cute.”
“Cough, pardon?”
I choked. I looked at the man out of embarrassment. He then blinked quickly.
“What did I say?”
“I’m cute…”
“You must have heard it wrong.”
“What?”
“I’m sure it’s just a hallucination.”
Is it hallucination? The man who raised his eyebrows nonchalantly changed the subject naturally.
“By the way, why did you find the top?”
“…are we getting to the point in an instant?”
Usually, it was a standard practice to take a while to make a deal between guilds and to taste it by spinning a little bit.
That way, I could see what the other person was hiding and whether he was trying to approach me with a strange intention.
I felt it from the moment I looked at the sign, but the master at the top of the opera is seriously out of common sense.
After seeing my unpleasant response, the man fixed his posture.
“Oh, was it too fast? Well, then…”
While pondering over it, he soon bent his eyes round as if he had found the answer.
“Oh, okay then. There are conditions before the deal.”
Of course it is. There is no way to just get to the point.
I put down the teacup I was holding. I faced him, trying not to show signs of nervousness.
The man tilted his head sideways and rested his chin. There was a strangely excited smile hanging on his lips.
“Will you take off your hood?”
“…Hood you say?”
“Yes.”
The man shone his purple eyes. The look on his face meant it.
Why is he telling me to take off my hoodie? I was wandering around, and I answered in a sweat.
“But trade between guilds must be anonymous…”
“But I’m showing you everything like this.”
It really is. The man is like that from the moment we got in here.
From long straight hair to purple eyes, his nose and jawline were all exposed.
He added deftly, as if he had noticed my astonishment.
“I don’t mean anything else. It’s just cute… No, I just wanted to see who you are.”
“Are you not going to take it off?”
His sparkling eyes touched his own cheek. Why does he look so excited?
It is very difficult for me. It is because he could be noisy if he found out that I am a noble.
However, seeing him speak, the deal itself seemed difficult without showing my face, so I turned my head slightly and looked at Monica and Genuzia.
I could see their small nod.
There’s nothing we can do. I was going to reveal it after the contract was signed, but I have to show my face now instead.
Eventually, I took off my hood carefully. My scarlet hair that was hidden in the robe flowed down, and my bare face was revealed under the bright lights.
“Keheuk”
I raised my head suddenly.
“What the hell did you just say…”
“I didn’t say anything.”
The man’s expression was as determined as ever.
“I’m sure I heard it.”
“No, it’s not.”
…did I misheard you this time? I soon questioned him while tilting my head.
I heard the sound of pain in the duke’s book these days, and I think I can hear a hallucination.
That wasn’t the point at the moment anyway.
“Now that we’ve met the requirements, can we get to the point?”
“All right.”
The man smiled as if he had never been serious.
“Let me introduce myself formally. My name is Amelia Cedric. As you can see, I’m not really a guild leader, and I am the Youngest member of Cedric Family.”
“Wow.”
“What an unthinkable identity… bad acting?”
Unlike what he said, his expression and tone were not surprising at all. It was like a robot with an artificial expression.
Something’s wrong with this guy. I coughed in vain and said.
“At the top of the opera, you have the ownership of Full Moon stone.”
“That’s right.”
“I’m here for you to stop trading Full Moon Stones. To get to the point, we’d like you to give us your exclusive rights.”
“Very well.”
“Of course I’m not asking for it. If you look at the data here… What did you just say?”
My hand that was taking out the prepared data stopped.
“What did you just say just now?”
The man replied again when I was dumbfounded and paused there.
“I said yes.”
He’s giving me exclusive rights? Just like that? I haven’t even offered my conditions yet.
I doubted my ears for a moment, but when I saw his nonchalant expression, I was right with what I heard.
“Why?”
I asked again carefully. It is just so funny that I asked for it and asked a question. But I don’t think I can resist without asking.
Full Moon Stone is not very useful, but it is a highly priced mineral.
Above all, monopolizing one mineral is a pretty big advantage in this market.
But why would he give it to me just like that?
In fact, other people wouldn’t be so impressed. He shrugged his shoulders.
“Is there a problem?”
“Are you really going to give it to me?”
“Didn’t you ask for it?”
His attitude was too cool to be true. As if he’s been waiting for it.
“…am I being swindled?”
“How many people in the Empire can buy against the Cedric family?”
After hearing it, that is also true. The master, who saw my blank expression, added, smoothening his chin.
“Full Moon Stone isn’t really that useful. We had a lot of stuff at the top of our opera, so we couldn’t get rid of the bulky Full Moon Stone.”
“But the fact that you’re still giving it away.”
“Well, isn’t it a good idea to turn it over unconditionally?”
Well that’s right, but I thought conditions would follow. I looked at him with a nervous look.
The guildmaster, who had been looking at me, smiled sensibly.
“Give me a set of three cute expressions in total.”