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chapter 05
‘That signature was definitely mine.’
A woman I had never seen before today was holding a building deed with my signature on it. She also knew I was a mage, and claimed she had received great help from me.
‘This doesn’t make any sense.’
After tidying up the room, Yuri rubbed a crystal ball tucked in one corner. On its transparent surface appeared the image of a hollow-eyed man with dark circles down to his cheeks.
— “Oh, Great Archmage! What is it? Have you finally decided to return to the Magic Tower?”
“I told you not to call me that. And what do you mean return? I’m still on vacation.”
— “Vacation? That’s more like running away. Do you know the Tower Master has been posting ‘Missing Person’ flyers all over the world looking for you?”
So that had happened? Yuri frowned.
“Master has gotten strange lately. Flyers? Has he finally lost his mind?”
— “It’s probably because you’ve been driving him crazy.”
Yuri snorted. He wasn’t interested in what the Tower Master was doing.
“What about something else. Has a woman named Titiana, silver hair, come to the Magic Tower recently looking for me?”
— “No. However, Princess Sabina has visited a few times.”
“Why is she going there again…”
— “Also, there was a major incident recently. A magic circle in the Tower was destroyed due to a backlash from a large-scale spell. We couldn’t identify the spell, so it was left unresolved. Oh—was that you?”
“Why would it be me?”
— “True. You’re a genius mage who hates using magic.”
“Right. That’s all. Talk later.”
— “W-wait! Don’t just end it like tha—”
Yuri cut the connection.
There was no useful information about Titiana.
‘A large-scale spell…’
Only a handful of mages could destroy the Magic Tower’s formation. Yuri Esrence was one of them.
‘Did I… do something I don’t remember? To that woman?’
But he immediately dismissed the thought.
Still…
‘She pointed at me directly. A pink-haired mage who handed her a deed.’
And the magical energy he sensed from her.
‘Interesting.’
Who exactly had cast such a spell?
He would find out once he stayed near her.
✦ ✦ ✦
After that, I became Yuri’s business partner and opened a flower shop.
The shop’s name was “The Little Prince.” We named it after placing colorful geranium pots in the front window.
‘I can’t believe I actually have my own shop!’
Just thinking those words made my heart swell with excitement.
As I was happily looking around, a clear voice came from behind me.
“Unnie, where should I put this pot?”
I turned around and saw Yuri holding a small flower pot, a blue scarf around his neck.
Choosing Yuri as my business partner had been the right decision. He looked perfectly matched with the fresh green plants.
‘Flowers and a pretty young man—perfect.’
And he called me “Unnie” so naturally.
‘I’ve lived my whole life as a younger sister… now I’m suddenly an older sister.’
Still, partnering with Yuri was an excellent choice. I was certain that soon, people in this street would associate “flower shop boy” with him.
“Put it inside!” I answered brightly.
Watching Yuri work diligently, I admired him inwardly.
‘So he really is neat by nature.’
The messy room I saw at first must have been due to his emotional state. Everything I saw afterward—the shop and his room—was always clean.
‘Honestly, I’m the problem. No matter how much I clean, dust just keeps coming back.’
The flower pots Yuri polished shone brightly.
While watching him, I turned and noticed a calendar.
‘Right. The problem isn’t cleaning.’
The real issue was something else.
We had opened the shop and filled it with supplies using my emergency savings—but that money was already gone.
We needed bulbs, soil, flowers… but there was no money left.
The flower shop’s main income wasn’t pots—it was bouquets, so we needed fresh flowers too.
‘We need starting capital before next week’s flower market… What day is it today?’
A bad feeling struck me as I stared at the date.
‘Did I forget something?’
Just then Yuri called out.
“Why are you staring at the calendar like that? Is the date wrong?”
“Ah!”
At that moment, I remembered.
‘The lottery!’
The winning draw was today!
‘I’m insane! How could I forget something like that?!’
I slapped my cheeks and called out to Yuri.
“Yuri! Let’s close the shop for today!”
“Huh? We just opened.”
“I just remembered something important! Come with me!”
“W-wait?”
I grabbed his sleeve and dragged him out.
Yuri frowned at the sign in front of us.
“Lottery shop?”
He looked at me like I was a hopeless gambler.
‘What? What’s wrong with lottery?’
It was a legal system, a state-approved game of chance.
‘I don’t like that look from someone using a three-story building as a trash dump!’
I ignored him and pulled him inside.
“Come quickly. We don’t have time.”
Inside, Yuri looked around curiously.
Meanwhile, I quickly bought tickets using the numbers I had memorized.
‘Phew, glad I remembered. I almost threw away a fortune.’
Even one day difference would ruin everything in a lottery.
‘Now I just need to wait for the results tonight.’
I walked out holding the ticket proudly.
Yuri glanced around and asked,
“What’s that place over there? So many people gathered.”
“Oh, that’s a racetrack. Haven’t you seen one?”
“Racetrack?”
He looked genuinely unfamiliar, like someone who had only ever studied magic.
I decided to show him around and walked toward it.
Then I suddenly remembered another way to make money.
‘Right… the most famous racehorse in the capital was Rolling Stars.’
Horse betting.
I remembered my father and brother drunkenly insisting we should bet on “Thunderbird” while losing money.
‘It was around this time, too.’
And indeed, Thunderbird was there.
‘Odds are 13:1… should I really bet on this?’
I hesitated.
Then Yuri said in a pure voice,
“So this is where people learn that life can change in one shot.”
Those words struck me like an arrow.
‘Right. Life is one shot.’
I had come to the capital with nothing but a bag—why hesitate now?
‘Fine, whatever.’
I pulled out everything I had—10 gold.
“ALL IN on Thunderbird!”
Yuri smirked and suddenly poured coins onto my money.
At least 50 gold.
“If you’re betting, do it properly. Let’s make it 100 gold.”
“W-what?!”
Before I knew it, I was betting 100 gold total.
30 minutes later
“It won!”
Thunderbird came in first.
And I earned 1,300 gold—13 times the investment!
“Woohoo!!”
As I celebrated, Yuri smiled.
“You’re really happy.”
“Of course I am!”
Thinking about it, this was all thanks to Yuri. I had only gone to show him the racetrack.
I grabbed his cheeks happily.
“You lucky charm!”
“Hey—!”
Even as he complained about his cheeks, Yuri ended up smiling and celebrating with me.
