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A talisman that causes fever.

In terms of classification, it falls under the category of a curse (呪物).

But isn’t it true that the function of any item depends on how it is used?

For instance, when used in cooking, a sword can become a kitchen knife, and when used to kill a person, it transforms into a deadly weapon.

* * *

The atmosphere of the mansion was subdued.

Not in a bad sense, but in a good one.

As soon as I stepped through the front gate, the garden, which had initially given off a feeling of ‘chaos’, was splendidly organized, and perhaps due to the passage of time, it had seamlessly integrated with the mansion’s scenery and ambiance, becoming part of the view.

Walking through the well-maintained garden, the hustle and bustle faded away, and a sense of tranquility washed over me, sometimes making me want to stop and take in the scenery.

Turning my head to one side, I noticed vibrant flowering plants.

The plants were bursting with a fresh palette, as if they had just been watered, standing tall and proudly displaying their health in the sunlight. Behind them, beautiful stones and other plants that hadn’t quite reached full growth were visible.

To the side, there stood a large tree, shaped into a pleasing form.

It had been pruned into a beautiful shape by the gardener, letting sunlight filter through the densely grown leaves and showcasing its beauty. Underneath the tree was a perfectly shaded spot, and the tree’s trunk was wrapped in smooth, unblemished bark.

Looking up, I could see thick branches stretching out in a beautiful formation, and peeking through the leaves was a girl observing Jinseong.

“Hmm? Iarin? What are you doing there?”

Jinseong asked, spotting Iarin, who had been hiding among the lush leaves.

Iarin, holding her breath and staring at Jinseong from above, made a strange laugh as if she had been caught and slowly began to move her body.

Like a cat sitting with its front paws stacked, her clasped hands opened, her arms lifted, and her upper body rose. Then, mimicking a stretching cat, she twisted into an odd position, gripping a thick branch tightly and leaning sideways.

*Whoosh!*

Iarin skillfully descended from the tree.

She hung from a branch one-handed like a monkey and then leaped into the air.

Iarin was headed right for Jinseong.

Like a predator pouncing on its prey, Iarin plummeted silently in front of Jinseong. She landed with one fist on the ground, kneeling on one knee.

It was a classic superhero landing position.

Having landed spectacularly, Iarin lifted her head slightly, locked eyes with Jinseong, and smiled widely. Then, she recited the line that must accompany a superhero’s entrance.

“This body… has arrived.”

Her expression and tone made it very clear this was all a joke.

Yet, paradoxically, Iarin’s appearance aligned surprisingly well with that of a hero.

The thin blanket she must have used while napping fluttered like a cape as she soared through the air, and the athletic outfit she wore for martial arts training, with its vibrant colors and patterns, gave off a super-suit vibe.

It almost seemed too coincidental to have that feeling.

“Have you seen a superhero movie?”

“Correct.”

Iarin beamed, sharing how she and her friends had spent the weekend snugly watching superhero flicks in the movie theater.

Then, she twisted her body side to side to loosen up her muscles, unraveled the blanket that had been used like a cape, rolled it up, and tucked it under her side while gazing at Jinseong. Her stare scanned him from head to toe as if performing a detailed inspection.

“Wow. You’re all healed!”

What she scrutinized was Jinseong’s skin.

More precisely, it was the skin that had been blistered like a burn.

“Just the other day, it looked like it was half-cooked….”

Though Jinseong had said it wasn’t a serious burn, it appeared severe enough to potentially leave permanent marks or seep fluid.

Now, however, there was no trace of the burn on Jinseong.

On the contrary, his skin felt smooth and soft, almost baby-like.

It was so pale that one might question if he had seen the sunlight at all…

Could this be an illusion, or did his skin actually seem better than before getting burned?

“That’s why your red skin seemed to have reached the level of Blue Rare, huh?”

Iarin laughed, clearly relieved that Jinseong had healed so rapidly without a single scar.

“How lucky! Not only did you recover quickly, but you managed to avoid any scars.”

“What luck? I’ve thought for a long time now that my older brother has remarkable recuperative abilities. I’ve watched him recklessly throw his body around in wild antics, and here he is looking perfectly fine, right? That makes me think perhaps he’s reached quite a high level with his martial arts training.”

“Ha ha. How could you judge the achievement of martial arts just by that? Skills can’t simply rely on talent, but that talent is just a starting point. To walk the long road and leap over the highest walls…”

“Alright, alright! Quit taking my offhand remark seriously! I’ve always thought this way, you know? My older brother’s not all that different from an annoying boomer. Maybe not as much as the rest, but sometimes he gives off that vibe like the young boomers they talk about in the news.”

Iarin shook her head in disdain when Jinseong started lecturing about martial arts and jovially jabbed at him.

Her hand was in her pocket, which looked like it might be smaller than her dolphin shorts, gripping something tightly.

Iarin continued to poke at Jinseong.

But after a few tries with no reaction from him, after some deliberation, she took hold of one of his hands. She turned his palm up and, having pulled her hand from her pocket, placed something onto his palm.

*Rustle.*

It was a half-unwrapped candy.

Not just any candy, but one wrapped in bright red packaging prominently stating “Red Ginseng.”

Iarin had placed a Red Ginseng candy on Jinseong’s palm.

Jinseong confirmed the candy lying in his hand and looked at Iarin, filled with curiosity about why this had appeared so suddenly and why it was now in his hand.

With an impish smile, Iarin replied to Jinseong’s inquisitive gaze, “I was going to flick it right into your mouth if you opened it, but you just wouldn’t do it.”

So all that poking had just been to prepare for tossing the candy into his mouth.

But since he didn’t open his mouth, she just placed it in his hand instead.

Jinseong nodded in understanding of Iarin’s playful antics.

He recognized that was precisely the kind of mischief she would pull.

However, a question lingered — the choice of candy.

Red Ginseng candy…

Given Iarin’s usual eating habits, she didn’t particularly seem to have many strong dislikes and could even handle bitter flavors, but was she someone who enjoyed something like Red Ginseng candy?

Surely, there was a vast gulf between what one could eat and what one actually desired.

Iarin had been consuming elixirs frequently.

Although there weren’t many extremely precious elixirs, they weren’t exactly devoid of their miraculous properties.

They strengthened the body, helped build internal energy, and sometimes even transformed into internal energy that settled within the body. They aided in growth, kept illnesses at bay, and expelled harmful wastes and impurities from the body… truly remarkable medicinal herbs.

Yet, there was a characteristic of medicinal herbs.

And that was their horrifically terrible taste.

Bitter, extraordinarily bitter, bitter beyond imagination.

Sometimes, just bringing them near would make one retch, and like swallowing ground fish scales, they had a horrifyingly fishy taste that could cloud one’s consciousness.

Iarin had consumed these ghastly-tasting elixirs regularly.

Eating ones that Lee Yang-hoon had procured for her, receiving them as prizes in school competitions, and getting mixed protein formulas with elixirs from an odd upperclassman madly obsessed with iron work…

Through these experiences, Iarin’s tongue had toughened.

So now, she could endure nearly any bizarre flavor under the sun, cold and strong.

But “endurance” was essentially synonymous with “suffering.”

The body naturally seeks comfort.

To erase the taste of the horrid elixirs, Iarin ate things that were their complete opposite.

It was best to quickly forget pain and cover the bad with good.

Thus, her tongue traversed between heaven and hell like a trial.

The sweet taste behind the horrid flavor.

The sour-sweetness following the revolting taste.

…

…

Having gone through that process… Iarin had developed a profound preference for sweet desserts.

So for Iarin, Red Ginseng candy…

It seemed hard to picture it as a fitting match.

 

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