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Did I catch a glimpse of Jinseong’s confusion?

Iarin began to explain about the Red Ginseng Candy.

“Brother, this isn’t just any candy despite how it looks! You can’t easily find this kind of item on the market! Isn’t it true that high-quality goods aren’t just lying around? You have to hustle for it! Use your connections carefully to finally get your hands on it! Like some underground deal, right? It’s just how the world works!”

Her explanation felt more like the boast of someone stuck in a multi-level marketing scheme selling tiles or health products.

“This is exactly the item that our cute A-Sha farmed directly from her dream!”

Iarin started explaining with a proud expression. Just by looking at her face, it resembled a fisherman bragging about the big catch or a herbalist showing off the ginseng they just dug up.

“Is this just something taken from any dream? No way, no! This item is made by Brownies living in the jungles of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the Americas, using canned ginseng!”

Why on earth is ginseng in the jungles of Santa Marta, and why do Brownies live in jungle areas collecting ginseng like herbalists?

“Plus, is it just picked and that’s it? Nope! The fairies went through the process of steaming it, drying it, over and over again. They used all traditional tools and methods to create the ginseng, without leaving anything out!”

And why are fairies making ginseng, and why is the traditional method handed down among the fairies in the jungle, not even in Korea?

When you start questioning it one by one, the explanation sounded utterly ridiculous.

But despite seeming close to a tall tale, the phrase “Anastasia brought it herself” magically made it all understandable.

Because it was a dream.

Because everything was just a jumbled-up mess from a dream.

“On top of that, she even hunted down and mixed sugar extracted from carnivorous sugarcane with a machete. And what was created was this!”

Iarin said this, then looked at Jinseong.

There was an expectation in her eyes.

“Hmm.”

Jinseong understood what her gaze was saying.

Eat it.

Quickly taste this ‘precious candy’ that Anastasia got all by herself and share your thoughts on it.

Iarin was silently conveying that message.

With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Jinseong picked up the candy.

The dark red color emanated an ominous vibe, but Jinseong didn’t hesitate to pop it into his mouth.

Just looking at it, one might think it was a pearl rolling around from the underworld…

Fortunately, Jinseong had become accustomed to the food Anastasia brought.

After all, he had shared meals frequently with her, items she claimed to have brought from dreams before his rewind. In a way, this candy that Iarin jokingly offered him sparked a sense of nostalgia.

Nostalgia.

Yes, nostalgia.

The moment he put it in his mouth, he was met with a texture that was entirely different from its visual impression.

It had such a horrid flavor that made him wonder if it was even safe to ingest.

It felt like a monster disguised as food was shamelessly claiming, “I am that food you’re familiar with,” while his tongue barely registered the taste, as if they had put just the bare minimum of its fragrance and flavor.

It was disturbingly familiar.

“Ugh, it’s bitter.”

Jinseong swallowed the candy and smiled, sharing that brief sentiment.

It was a very concise assessment. And ironically, this simplest feedback was the last thing Iarin wanted to hear.

“…Huh? Did I give the wrong one?”

Iarin blinked in disbelief at Jinseong’s reaction.

She stared at his face for a few seconds, unable to believe his response, then glanced at the wrapping in his hand to reassure herself she hadn’t made a mistake, and tilted her head, confused why such a reaction was happening if she had given him the right one.

“That’s odd….”

Iarin wondered if perhaps Jinseong was keeping a poker face with his superhuman patience as she scrutinized his face.

But Jinseong’s calm demeanor showed no signs of any distress; she mumbled in disbelief about it being so strange.

“I almost frowned over how bitter it was… Are you really okay, Jinseong?”

Iarin asked him, harboring doubts if the candy he swallowed was indeed the same horrifically bitter one she had tasted, worrying if he had just gulped it down without a complaint.

Her question held those two meanings.

“It’s no big deal; I’m rather familiar with these flavors.”

“This flavor is familiar? How could that be…?”

Iarin looked at Jinseong with disbelief.

To be accustomed to such a flavor…?

You can’t say that for a normal person unless they frequently consume elixirs on a deserted island…

‘…Is he picking bugs to munch on outside or something…?’

Iarin irrationally suspected that this nonsensical, non-related roommate of hers might be scavenging bugs crawling on the ground.

Given all the bizarre antics Jinseong had shown in the mansion, it was a completely valid suspicion.

No, it was not mere suspicion. She had actually seen Jinseong eat bugs before.

Roasted, fried, and even chewing on them raw!

Given that history, it wouldn’t be strange at all for Jinseong to scavenger bugs outside.

But…

‘No, eating bugs from the Amazon shouldn’t taste like this…? Then what on earth has he been eating…?’

The issue lay in whether bugs could actually create such a horrendous bitter flavor.

What could he possibly have been eating to become so accustomed to that taste?

Seriously, what was he doing?

She blatantly displayed her suspicions in her expression.

However, instead of answering Iarin’s unspoken question, Jinseong spoke up with something else.

“It’s been a while since I brought something like this.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. In the past, I made everyone in the mansion taste the elixirs because I thought even those who didn’t practice martial arts needed to experience the torment I went through.”

“Ah, right. That did happen….”

Iarin reminisced about the memory, her expression turning nostalgic.

“Honestly, it was ridiculously bitter….”

“Ah, that memory comes flooding back. I vaguely remember you shouting, ‘Why does it have to be so bitter?! It’s just an elixir that’s useless to non-warriors! It’s a taste that shouldn’t even exist in this world! But since it does, everyone deserves to know!’”

“…Exactly how you remember. Ah, yeah, that was it.”

She felt a bit embarrassed as Jinseong recited her words exactly as she had shouted back then, slightly reddening her cheeks.

But then she quickly hid her embarrassment, passionately expressing her grievances instead.

“But still, it was just so unfair, right? It’s an elixir with energizing effects that would only be useful for the weak and sick! How can something taste so much worse than anything else I’ve tasted? It’s just not fair that I can’t be the only one to suffer from it!”

It was unjust.

If it had good effects, it wouldn’t be a problem, but it was just so unfair to have such a horrid taste with little to no effect.

So what I did was entirely justified!

Iarin justified her past actions.

“Haha, that elixir was indeed bitter.”

Jinseong nodded, as if in agreement with Iarin’s words.

“Yet good medicine is often bitter, no? As far as I recall, its effects were truly remarkable.”

“Well, I guess….”

Iarin glanced away slightly at Jinseong’s remark.

“Thanks to the small amount of elixir you fed to everyone in the mansion back then, those who were fatigued regained their energy, and even illnesses and injuries improved, didn’t it?”

“Uh, well, that may have been coincidence.”

“Speaking of which, this prank reminds me of that time, too.”

Back when Iarin had used the elixirs meant for her to share, springing them onto her family and servants. But at that time, she hadn’t honestly conveyed that she was distributing elixirs. Instead, she wore a mask of mischief.

She was probably embarrassed by the act.

So, Iarin discreetly added elixirs into the meals of the servants or would pretend to casually ask them questions that would make them open their mouths, then slip some frozen elixir into their mouths.

Family?

For her twin sister, Iserin, she had ambushed her and forced the elixir into her mouth. As for Lee Yang-hoon, she had smeared it on the vitamins he regularly consumed. Their mothers either mixed it with lip balm or injected it into their favorite fruits with a syringe.

Jinseong was no exception, as he had to taste the bitterness immediately the moment he took a bite of food smeared with the elixir on his spoon.

And naturally, the result was utter chaos.

Everyone was shocked by the sudden violent surge of bitterness. They began looking for the culprit, tracking down Iarin, only to discover the unfortunate fate had befallen everyone in the mansion. When they found out she had been distributing the elixir, they were shocked yet again.

But thankfully, instead of a severe reprimand, they only lightly cautioned her, saying, “You shouldn’t play such pranks carelessly,” or “Even though elixirs are good for health, they must be suited to one’s body. If not, serious problems may arise, so don’t do such pranks again.”

Knowing that Iarin had done this with good intentions, they left it at that.

Since Iarin didn’t usually pull such pranks, it was evident that she had merely wanted to give everyone a gift disguised as mischief.

Moreover, considering Jinseong hadn’t been fully accepted into the mansion’s atmosphere yet, people surmised that Iarin’s antics stemmed from wanting to bond with him. Indeed, based on the personalities of those who have trained in martial arts, there was some rationale to that deduction.

It was a rather amusing memory.

“So this is a ginseng candy made by fairies. It honestly feels like it will improve my health. Thanks for the treat.”

Jinseong said with a smile.

 

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