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chapter 03
“Ha?”
At my words, the man twisted his face in disbelief. Then he turned away with a wave of his hand.
“Oh, you’re a real estate agent? I’m not selling this building. Goodbye.”
I couldn’t let him leave like this. Unless I had another option, I absolutely needed this building.
“It’s not over just because you say you’re not selling it! I already—”
“I’m not interested in your situation at all. I said I’m not selling it. Now leave. Goodbye.”
His indifferent expression made it clear there was no room for negotiation.
In the end, I had to bring out my trump card.
The building deed I had brought back with me from the past—along with the lottery numbers.
“I already own this building! I have the deed from the previous owner!”
“What nonsense…”
With a look that said I was talking nonsense, the man examined the document I held out. Then his eyes widened.
“Huh?”
His large hand reached for the deed, but I quickly pulled it behind my back before he could take it.
His face darkened.
“What is that? A forged document? Are you a scammer instead of a real estate agent?”
“A scammer?! That’s too much! It’s real! You can see it yourself!”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying it’s ridiculous. I never handed over any deed to you. How do you have this?”
His sharp question left me speechless for a moment.
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“Who exactly are you? Who sent you here?”
“Th-that…”
For a brief moment, I wondered if he might not be the Master after all—and whether I should even talk about magic.
While I hesitated, he suddenly tried to snatch the deed. Fortunately, he failed.
“Just as I thought—liar… ah, it stings!”
A spark of electricity flashed from his fingertips where they touched the paper.
I panicked and clutched the deed tightly.
He blinked in confusion.
“…Maybe you’re not lying?”
Tilting his head, he kicked the rolled-up blanket into a corner and walked up the stairs.
“Come upstairs. This will take a while to explain.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The top floor—the third floor—was even messier than the lower ones.
How can anyone live like this?
The room was filled with unknown bottles and liquids scattered everywhere. The only clean place was the kitchen.
At least the kitchen is clean… I guess that’s a relief.
The Master had been obsessively clean… so this person must really be someone else.
But strangely, the way he moved in the kitchen reminded me of the Master.
While I was staring, he looked back and smiled brightly.
Why is he smiling like that? Well… he does have a nice smile.
But that didn’t matter.
We were about to fight over ownership of this building.
He brought two heavy mugs and handed one to me.
“I’m Yuri.”
I gave a slightly late polite greeting.
“I’m Titiana Este.”
At my formality, he waved his hand.
“Just speak casually. I’m younger than you.”
His careless remark made me flinch.
“You’re saying I look older?”
He chuckled.
“Hey, you shouldn’t ask someone’s age on a first meeting.”
“Then why are you deciding I’m older without asking?”
“It’s just a feeling. I have good instincts. You’re older.”
What kind of fake fortune-teller talk is this?
I frowned in disbelief.
Seeing my reaction, he added with a grin:
“Just speak comfortably when I allow it. That’s not a bad deal for you, right?”
What exactly is good about that?
I pouted.
Even if he allows it, I can’t just suddenly get comfortable.
We hadn’t even finished discussing the building yet.
I looked down at the mug.
A rich coffee aroma tickled my nose.
“Coffee…”
So that’s what he was doing.
He shrugged.
“I can’t live without coffee. My brain doesn’t work otherwise.”
Same as me.
“Thanks. I’ll drink it well.”
The moment I took a sip—
My eyes widened.
The bitter richness and deep aroma filled my mouth. It was shockingly good.
Even after drinking coffee countless times in my past life, this was one of the best.
“It’s really good… low acidity, but amazing aroma.”
He smiled brightly.
“I’m glad you like it. It’s a special bean.”
“Even expensive beans don’t automatically make coffee this good.”
“Hm?”
At that, his eyebrow rose slightly.
“That sounded like something a con artist would say.”
“I’m not!”
How rude.
But his expression made me realize something—
He wasn’t simple.
Then he asked casually:
“If it’s not a scam, how did you get that document? I never gave it to anyone. I have a good memory, so don’t lie.”
I hesitated.
How should I explain this?
That the tavern owner I used to visit was actually a mage? That he gave me this deed as a reward for the future?
A normal person would laugh.
But this man didn’t feel normal.
A man with the same pink-colored aura as the Master.
If he wasn’t the same person…
Then he wasn’t the one who cast magic on me.
Still, I couldn’t be sure.
So I decided to gamble.
“I know.”
“…Know what?”
I looked at him quietly.
“Your secret. You’re a mage, right?”
“…What?”
His blue eyes shrank like a startled cat’s.
He even spilled coffee.
“Wait—what? I’m a mage?”
I continued firmly:
“No use pretending. If you want me to act like I don’t know, I will. But this deed you gave me with magic—”
“Wait, wait.”
He interrupted me, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
“That’s not it. It’s not acting. It’s just… I really am not a mage. I did spend some time at the Magic Tower, but I failed to become one.”
“Huh?”
That was unexpected.
“Why did you fail?”
He hesitated, then sighed.
“My mana suddenly disappeared. That kind of thing normally only happens when you use extremely large-scale magic… but somehow it happened to me.”
I blinked.
So my gamble failed. He isn’t a mage.
Worse—he used to be one but lost his magic.
Now even the messy room and dusty building felt different.
I looked at him with a slightly softened expression.
“So you ended up lying around here like an unemployed person?”
“Unemployed… you’ve got quite a sharp tongue.”
Whatever. Living like this and not even cleaning properly—what else was I supposed to call it?
So he really isn’t the Master.
I sighed deeply.
I had hoped… but now it was certain.
Still, there was one last thing to check.
I asked seriously:
“Do you happen to have a pink-haired sibling or relative?”
Yuri immediately became wary of me.
