Chapter 162 – The Young Lady (14)
‘This woman… I thought something was a little off from the moment she suggested a card game, but why is she so good at it…?’
In the world of the romance fantasy <The Generous Young Lady Who Receives Everything>, the card game that had become established as a folk pastime was completely different from real-world card games.
Card composition, rules, designs…
Senior had confirmed these details for me, so there was no room for doubt.
Tap.
Ranuvela, the witch who still hadn’t lost her initial composure, asked,
“Kang Moon-soo. Are you surprised that I’m good at this? Didn’t it occur to you that I might be confident enough to propose the bet?”
“That’s not the issue. Miss Ranuvela, you’re far too skilled at this card game—like a native of that world. As if you’ve enjoyed it since childhood.”
“You really don’t know anything, do you?”
“……”
I frowned slightly at being treated like an idiot, but in the middle of a bet-laden card game, I didn’t have the luxury of arguing about it.
Swish~
Beneath the deeply pulled-down brim of her hat, the corner of the witch’s mouth lifted as she lightly placed a joker on the table.
“Haa…”
I lost…
“Who do you think designed this card game? A writer whose head already hurts just from plotting the story? Or a patient whose mind is filled with nothing but men and food?”
“If I ask, will you tell me?”
“No.”
Her curt, dismissive tone was incredibly irritating.
“…But I do know at least that it wasn’t either the writer or the patient.”
That was the nuance she gave off, but I also didn’t believe that Choi Kang-min, the Magic Boy, had imagined every single “villain.”
Then who?
It was a question I had never once considered until now.
“Another round?”
“…No thanks. I’m not shameless enough to deny defeat.”
1 win, 4 losses.
Except for the one round I barely scraped by thanks to exceptionally good hands, I lost every single one.
“Then it’s settled.”
“Wait a moment. I have a lot of people to contact.”
I’m dead.
That was the first thought that came to mind. I could cancel all the miscellaneous appointments regardless of who complained later, but what was I supposed to tell Song Sun-young?
My head was already spinning.
“Here you go.”
Swoosh—
It was an airplane ticket to the opposite side of the globe. And not just any seat—a business-class ticket costing more than twice the price of economy!
But…
“This is your ticket, isn’t it?”
The ticket had the witch’s name written in the common language.
“Of course. It’s mine.”
“Excuse me?”
“I can just get another one.”
“Miss Ranuvela. This isn’t something that can just be brushed off as ‘obvious.’ You’ll definitely get stopped at immigration.”
“Don’t worry about that. You seem to think I travel abroad by broomstick instead of airplane, but I’ll handle it myself. All you need to do is keep your promise. Got it?”
“…Fine. But if you can’t leave the country, that’s not my responsibility.”
“Naturally.”
“Sigh…”
I give up.
“I’ll give you the answers slowly after we board the plane.”
“The date… is tomorrow.”
“I made the schedule generous out of consideration for you. Unlike someone, I don’t pick and choose who I meet. I’m always short on time.”
“Ah, yes.”
The jab didn’t sting at all. Until recently, I was just a convenience store part-timer. Words like “humanity” and “devotion” had never had anything to do with me.
“From now on, I’ll give you the precautions.”
“Precautions?”
“If you try to leave the country, this nation’s government will undoubtedly try to attach a monitor under the guise of ‘protection.’”
“Ah…”
I had completely overlooked that.
“They might even block your departure entirely. That’s why we’ll meet near the airport tomorrow.”
“Would that make a difference?”
“You’ll see when the time comes.”
“…….”
I got less annoyed when Senior ignored me, but this woman had a real talent for getting under my skin.
“See you tomorrow.”
Swoosh—
The witch, who had risen from her seat at the outdoor café table, grabbed the handle of the travel bag she always dragged around.
“Wait a second. There isn’t just one or two cafés in front of the airport, and the meeting time is… huh?”
Where did she go?
She was gone.
The witch who had clearly been right in front of me had vanished—no matter how hard I rubbed my eyes and looked, I couldn’t find her anywhere.
***
“So the moment you woke up, you decided to go overseas with some suspicious woman?”
“I’m sorry!”
I was kneeling in front of Song Sun-young, begging for mercy.
I needed fantasy information, I was confident in card games, and…
I slowly piled up excuse after excuse, trying to lessen my girlfriend’s anger.
“Can I come too?”
“That’s a bit…”
“Are you absolutely sure there’s nothing between you and that woman?”
“I’m positive!”
This much I could say with confidence.
“…Whenever I call or text, you answer within five seconds. No exceptions. If you can promise that, I’ll let you go.”
“Uh…”
“If you can’t, then don’t go.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“Give me a reason why I should.”
“Uh… I don’t have one.”
Looking back, I really hadn’t done anything to earn that level of trust.
“What’s it going to be?”
“I promise.”
“You can’t break it.”
“Of course.”
After the agency was acquired, with full support and investment, Song Sun-young had quickly risen to become a famous model in a short time.
The moment you stepped outside, you could see her posters everywhere. Buses, subways, department stores, even on liquor bottles…?
She didn’t even drink, yet she had somehow become a model for alcohol ads—I never saw that coming.
“I’m only letting this slide because it’s your work.”
“Thank you.”
“You said you were preparing for the Olympic Calvary. How’s that going?”
“I have to go, of course.”
“You’re confident?”
“If I can find the right words, I’m good for the rest.”
In reality my perception drops sharply, so I’d need to confirm, but I’m confident I can naturally shoot a bow while galloping on horseback.
Anything else?
Even if I’m outmatched in skill, I can just overpower them with brute force.
Ring~♪
It was Vice Director Seo Hye-joo calling. Had something changed with the patient who had been thrashing around?
“Hello.”
(The patient has aged dramatically.)
“…What?”
(Unlike Nam Hae-soo, she didn’t die, so should we call this fortunate? She’s calmed down now, but her body is a wreck.)
“She’ll recover, right?”
(No. At first I thought it was temporary, but after checking, it’s biological cellular aging. She’s aged rapidly, just like a patient with congenital progeria. The aging acceleration has stopped for now, but her body has already transformed into that of a sixty-five-year-old.)
“Huh!”
It felt like all the time she spent in the dream had been fully reflected in reality. Like forcing repayment of a loan taken out of desperation…
(That’s how it is, so it’s probably better if you don’t come. The family is making a huge fuss, saying the treatment went wrong.)
“I figured as much.”
They went through all the trouble of coming from abroad to treat their daughter who was in a vegetative state, only for her to wake up looking like an old woman. From a guardian’s perspective, it must feel utterly absurd.
(Do you want to take a break for a while?)
“Yes. Actually, I think I’ll have to go on a long business trip.”
(…What do you mean by that?)
“I’ve been invited by the witch.”
(Suddenly?)
“I tried to extract information from her and ended up getting played instead.”
(From the way you’re talking, it sounds like it’s already decided. Does Sun-young know?)
“Yes.”
I’m currently groveling like crazy.
(So where are you going?)
“To the other side of the Earth, where witch hunts were popular in the medieval era.”
***
I quietly packed my bags and headed to the airport from early dawn.
Vroom~!
For the ride to the airport, I received help from my girlfriend, who was driving a frog-like yellow sports car.
“The escort is way too obvious.”
“Yeah.”
The police car tailing us closely was incredibly burdensome.
Beep beep~!
It was hard to shake off a police car that was free from traffic laws at red lights or crosswalks, so we ended up heading all the way to the airport where I was supposed to meet the witch.
“But which café is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t even know the time?”
“Nope.”
“That woman is seriously doing whatever she wants while borrowing my boyfriend!”
Song Sun-young grumbled while driving at 90 km/h. She looked ready to kick Ranuvela with those slender legs the moment they met. Maybe the real reason she came all the way to the airport was to throw hands!
…I silently prayed it would pass quietly.
“This is troublesome.”
There aren’t just one or two cafés near the airport!
“Maybe she scammed you just to mess with you?”
“With an expensive plane ticket? No way—huh! There she is!”
Snap!
I pointed with my fingertip at a prettily decorated café.
“Where?”
“Right there!”
Through the full-glass window, I could see the witch sitting by the window seat.
“That yellow sign?”
“Yeah! That’s it!”
“…I don’t see anything.”
“You’re kidding? You can’t see that black pointy hat of the witch?”
Ranuvela’s outfit was eye-catching even from afar.
“I’ll park for now.”
“Thanks.”
Screech—
Song Sun-young’s yellow sports car pulled over onto the shoulder. The police car that had been blatantly tailing us passed by and stopped a little further ahead on the shoulder.
“You still can’t see her?”
“…No.”
Why can’t she see her?
With that question lingering in my mind, I took my travel bag out from the back seat of the sports car.
“Thanks.”
“We’re not done yet?”
“……”
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go in. I want to see the witch’s face.”
“R-right.”
Feeling like a criminal, I slowly trudged into the café.
Ding~♪
The cheerful bell attached to the pretty café’s glass door did nothing to lift the dark cloud hanging over my heart.
“You’re early?”
“My girlfriend gave me a ride.”
“I remember. The girl whose dream was misinterpreted.”
“Misinterpreted?”
My question was drowned out by Song Sun-young’s flustered voice.
“Huh?! Wait, what? That seat was definitely empty just a second ago…?”
“Hello, miss. Thank you for bringing your precious boyfriend here.”
“…Uh, yeah. That’s right? I really cherish Moon-soo.”
“Now go home safely and wait for your boyfriend to come back.”
“Yeah. I should. Moon-soo! Have a safe trip!”
Flutter flutter~
Song Sun-young, who had been in full battle mode just moments ago, cheerfully waved her hand and left.
“…….”
“…….”
“…What did you do?”
No matter how much I tried to understand, she didn’t look like she was in a normal state at all.
“It’s a simple hypnosis.”
“Hypnosis…?”
“When she get home, it’ll naturally wear off. You’ll probably wonder why she just came back, though.”
“It’s not dangerous, right?”
“It’s perfectly safe. If you’re suspicious, call her later and check.”
“……”
My head was spinning from this fantasy unfolding not in a dream, but in reality.
“Kang Moon-soo. You’ll run into trouble if you think you’re the only special one.”
“…Since I promised, let’s see it through to the end. Miss Ranuvela. What do we do now?”
“Tie this string around your wrist.”
Swoosh—
The witch held out one end of a red wool thread toward me.
“Are you trying to hypnotize me?”
“If that were possible, I wouldn’t have bothered with the card game.”
“Hm.”
It was a fair point, so I wrapped the string around my wrist.
“If you’re suspicious, you don’t have to tie it. Just don’t let go.”
“I’m not that much of a cowardly skeptic.”
Tight—
Accepting the witch’s somewhat provocative suggestion, I securely tied the red thread around my wrist.
“Now let’s go.”
“We’re heading to the airport just like this?”
“Yes. If you were imagining clinging to a broom-riding witch’s waist and flying all the way to the other side of the world, please abandon that fantasy.”
“……”
She was treating me like a complete regressive infant.
“Let’s take it slow.”
Rattle—
We stood up from the café and walked toward the airport, dragging our suitcases behind us.
‘…What the hell?’
Even though I passed right in front of them, the police officers in the patrol car kept their eyes fixed only on the café.
“Interesting, isn’t it?”
“Is this hypnosis too?”
“Something similar. Even though P saved humanity, there are still plenty of countries on Earth with poor public safety. So when a powerless woman like me travels abroad alone, it’s best not to be noticed.”
“Hm…”
Then was this red wool thread the medium connecting her world and mine?
The bizarre situation continued.
“Please go through.”
“Thank you.”
Screech—
We passed through a passage and door reserved exclusively for airport staff, bypassing immigration entirely.
“Huh?”
No passport was needed.
“Still, we have to have booked the plane seats in advance. Unless you plan on stealing another passenger’s seat and in-flight meal.”
“……”
The witch’s explanation, as she comfortably settled into the business-class seat next to mine, didn’t quite register in my ears.
‘Is this really reality?’
The shock I received at the airport was that overwhelming.
At that moment,
“Even in a spacious business-class seat, this hat is still a problem.”
The witch grumbled and took off her black pointy hat.
“Gasp!”
“Something wrong?”
“…No, nothing.”
I tore my eyes away from her face and silently recited the multiplication table in my mind.
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