Hong Yeon-hwa’s upper body peeked through the door gap, showing an awkward smile as she fluttered a bag in her hand. Her gaze, shaking the bag, settled on my face.

Her expression turned serious as her pupils quivered, scanning my face thoroughly. Then, the corners of her mouth began to tremble.

“What’s going on… Why does your face look like that?”

‘?’

The bag fell limply to the floor with a thud. Hong Yeon-hwa quickly approached, pressing her hands against my cheeks. My lips puffed out, creating a foolish expression.

Hong Yeon-hwa’s face was a picture of sheer horror. A shaking voice followed her expression.

“No way… What happened to your face. Half of it looks gone…”

– Gently… Pressing…

With a sorrowful expression, as if she was grieving something deeply, Hong Yeon-hwa kept pressing on my cheeks. The palm of her hands carried a warm body temperature, transferring it to my face.

Before I could even respond, an exclamation slipped from Hong Yeon-hwa as she stood up swiftly. She quickly picked up the bag she had dropped and, rummaging through it, produced something for me.

“Here, take these fatigue recovery and nutritional tonics… They’re easy to consume without much fuss. I brought them as a get-well gift, so make sure to take them.”

In this world where magic and alchemy exist, nutritional supplements, often exaggerated in advertisements in the original world, really do exist.

Eating them increases concentration, dispels fatigue, and restores vitality… Such medicine is actually produced through alchemy.

While not quite at the level of elixirs, there are many concoctions made from various ingredients that are quite beneficial.

It’s likely that a few hours of the free semester included the basics of alchemy.

What Hong Yeon-hwa offered were medicines of that sort. I absentmindedly listened to her explanation and accepted one of the offered bottles.

Examining the brand through spatial perception, I recognized a familiar label and shuddered.

Anímomovígor.

It’s a product where the supplies are scarce due to the dedicated work of top alchemists. One thing for sure is that it was outrageously expensive.

At this point in the game, players were not expected to be able to afford such items. My hand trembled as I typed on my smartwatch.

[Isn’t all of this quite expensive?]

“Huh? No, no. I only brought the reasonably priced ones so that it wouldn’t be a burden for you. It’s okay, use them all.”

…Really? But it looks like that same high-end brand.

Is it different from the original work? I tilted my head in confusion. Hong Yeon-hwa, who had returned the nutrients to the bag and placed it on a side table by the bed, looked back at me.

“Goodness…”

She took a quick second look at my face, sighed deeply, and reached out her hand again to cradle my cheek.

“What happened that your face has become like this… Huh?”

I wondered what she saw in my complexion that concerned her so much. Through spatial perception, I saw nothing that seemed problematic.

Though my condition had been off lately, and I looked a bit pale, it wasn’t something to worry about.

After getting somewhat of an understanding of my situation, Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression became even more solemn as she fiddled with my cheek.

‘Hmm…’

My cheek continued to be gently prodded for a while.

It was a hard-to-explain feeling. All I knew for sure is that it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation.

Hong Yeon-hwa, as per the setting, has high body temperature due to her Gop-hwa ability. Her body had developed to be compatible with her fire-like magical energy.

Thanks to this, the warmth carrying over from her palm felt extremely comforting. The soft touch of her hands, which kept kneading and stroking my cheeks, felt pleasant.

Drifting in the gentle motions, I almost felt like I was floating. If only I could keep receiving this care.

“…Ah!”

But the contact vanished. With a somewhat confused look, Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been playing with my cheeks before, exclaimed and swiftly withdrew her hands.

The warmth and the tactile sense was gone. The enveloping hands were removed, and instead, the relatively cooler air infiltrated the space.

My mouth fell open in disappointment. I was enjoying it, so why remove her hands? It felt like something given was taken away.

However, I had not the audacity to ask for more pampering and so I closed my mouth again.

“*Cough, cough.*”

Feeling awkward, Hong Yeon-hwa cleared her throat a few times and glanced at the time. Lunchtime was already long gone.

She hesitated for a moment before speaking up.

“…Would you like me to stay with you for a bit?”

[I’m fine, really. I was about to leave since I’ve gotten much better.]

It wasn’t a lie. After being pampered by Hong Yeon-hwa, I truly felt much better.

She scanned my face, as if assessing my honesty, then nodded.

…

…

After discharging and walking to the library with Hong Yeon-hwa,

[I can see the road perfectly fine. I don’t really need guidance.]

“That’s part of it, but I just wanted to go for a walk anyway. It’s okay.”

I was initially going to refuse, considering it might be a bother to her to guide me, but if it meant a simple walk I found no reason to decline.

It was still too early to sunset, so sunlight was beaming down.

The other teams should also be finishing their dungeon practices soon. I could sense a few students trudging back via my spatial perception.

“…I tried it, and it was pretty good. Most of the menu items were fine too. Let’s go there together sometime.”

[Sure. I’ll look forward to it.]

“Ahrin ordered the Chocolate Deluxe, or something like that, but it was too sweet for my taste. I don’t know how she enjoys things that sweet.”

“……”

We chatted about trivial matters while walking. It seems Hong Yeon-hwa had spent time at a cafe with Baek Ahrin and friends.

As Hong Yeon-hwa described what she thought was the best dessert at the cafe, I humored her, and internally winced when I heard a particular name.

‘Baek Ahrin.’

The successor of the Changhae clan and a close friend to Hong Yeon-hwa.

They met in childhood during clan exchanges, and despite having almost opposite personalities, somehow they ended up deeply bonded.

Also well-known as a symbol of being adept in both literature and martial arts.

Top of her Shio-ram class.

Perfect scores in all theoretical subjects of the exam.

Second place in the combat segment, right behind Hong Yeon-hwa.

Baek Ahrin, unlike Hong Yeon-hwa who was infamous for being a ‘mad dog,’ had a good reputation.

Walking around with a constant smile and talking in a bouncing, soft manner, she easily attracted people’s attention.

Using her empathy and understanding to the fullest, Baek Ahrin maintained excellent relationships, always immensely popular within social circles.

While Hong Yeon-hwa’s bold and refreshing personality did garner some admiration, it also divided opinions. In contrast, Baek Ahrin was the type almost everyone liked.

‘……’

That was the rumor. The assessment of those around her was similar.

It was the same during my first run.

In my first run, I was still learning the ropes of the game head-on, essentially without any know-how which meant I couldn’t nurture my character efficiently.

Because of that, I couldn’t withstand the sabotage at the Tower of Growth next week, leading to an early game exit.

This continued with all sorts of sabotage until it became the weakest run I ever had.

In the first run, Baek Ahrin was as the rumors suggested. Despite her harsher aspects, she was essentially a character gathering good karma in a decaying world.

That perception changed a bit entering the eighth run.

“Ah.”

Hong Yeon-hwa let out a sigh. Our conversation had made time fly, and we had already arrived at the library. I had told her earlier that I was going to study some magic.

[Thanks for walking me here.]

“……”

As I nodded my head in thanks, Hong Yeon-hwa seemed to be lost in thought, as if she had something to say.

Curious, I tilted my head at her.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke up.

“By the way… if it’s okay with you, I also─”

– Ding!

Her words were cut off by a clear alarm. The source was the smartwatch on her wrist.

“─Damn it…! Wait a second.”

Her expression soured as she glanced at me, then turned around swiftly.

…As if that matters when I could see everything. Why does everyone fail to understand spatial perception? Even if she turns away, I can still see…

After checking the smartwatch and dismissing the alarm, Hong Yeon-hwa frowned. Out of respect for her privacy, I let the details of the hologram drift away.

After a brief stare down with the hologram, she turned back to me. In the brief moment she was turned away, her expression softened significantly.

“…It’s nothing. I should get going too. See you in the morning.”

[Yeah, I appreciate the escort.]

Deciding it’s best to bury the question of whether she was being completely honest.

* * *

Hong Yeon-hwa watched Lee Hayul’s retreating back with eyes full of longing.

Sensing her gaze, he fiddled with the back of his head and then resolutely entered the library.

“Sigh…”

An involuntary sigh escaped her. The thought alone was unbearably disappointing. Had that alarm not intruded, she would have offered to stay with him for a while…

She resentfully glared at her smartwatch and pressed the hologram keyboard with animosity.

[Initiating a call to ‘Ms. Choi Ji-yeon’.]

– Tring… Tring… Click.

The call connected shortly after. A woman’s voice, much like Hong Yeon-hwa’s but with a mature edge, spoke into her ear.

[What’s the occasion for my daughter who never calls?]

Exhilarated, yet with a touch of sardonic humor, her mother continued.

[I thought I might have to wait until your sophomore year to get a call.]

“What, how long has it been since I last called.”

[Do you ever think about how your mother feels, hearing about her daughter’s life from others?]

“No, that’s not it. I called because there’s something I want to ask.”

[Such an unfilial daughter.]

After a petty squabble, Hong Yeon-hwa cut to the chase.

“Do you remember that elixir I took last time? Isn’t there one more left? Send me one if there’s any remaining.”

Elixirs can be divided into two distinct types.

There are natural elixirs that form naturally in the environment and come to fruition on their own, and artificial elixirs created through the combination and processing of various materials.

The elixir Hong Yeon-hwa mentioned was a natural one—more precisely, a processed natural elixir.

Natural elixirs are generally hard to come by but offer commensurate effectiveness. There’s even a saying that you might go three lifetimes without ever seeing the real deals.

However, the dilemma is that their potency could be too strong, ending up spiriting people away if consumed carelessly.

Therefore, they process these substances to create ‘safe for consumption’ artificial elixirs.

No easy task. Few in the world have the skill to dare modify a naturally formed elixir according to life’s grand design.

The alchemist commissioned by the Gop-hwa clan was one of those rare individuals with the requisite skills. Thanks to this, Hong Yeon-hwa had frequent access to processed natural elixirs.

Still, it wasn’t something you indulged in frequently due to the strain it put on the body and the mixed effects on skill improvement, so there was quite a surplus stockpiled in her storage.

Eventually, it was her lot to use up, already assigned as her portion of the elixirs.

The authority to use or sell them lay with Hong Yeon-hwa.

Having said so, silence ensued from the other end of the communication.

‘Hmm?’

Dismayed, Hong Yeon-hwa checked the connection, which was still active. Wondering if the communication had briefly dropped, she was about to speak again when a voice came through.

The voice that normally carried a confident demeanor, now trembled distinctively.

[So… you’re already at the stage where you’re pulling out the family’s pillar to give to some boy you fancy…?]

“What the hell are you talking about, Mom…!”

Startled, Hong Yeon-hwa yelled out in shock.