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Chapter 46
“This is Ichaeri calling, Phyraion Ka Zeppelinstein.”
A card floated in midair.
A magic circle formed, and from the card, the familiar figure of Phyraion appeared.
“Hmph. I have appeared… huh?”
Phyraion flinched in surprise.
“Hey, why are you like that?”
His voice rose sharply.
He had just witnessed Chae-ri’s reddened eyes.
“Who made you cry!”
Phyraion suddenly grew uneasy and nervously bit his thumbnail.
All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind.
As a continent-level hero and the greatest alchemist, he quickly assessed the situation with his brilliant mind.
“Davis, that vile… scoundrel of a new country… I won’t forgive him.”
Phyraion pulled a small potion from his pocket and swallowed it.
Instantly, his skin turned green—just like Chae-ri’s favorite doll, the “Greenie.”
“Kuwaaah!”
Flames erupted from Phyraion’s mouth.
The flames were bright, but they didn’t burn any of the surrounding objects.
It was literally a safe firework show!
Phyraion roared again.
“Kuwaaah!”
Chae-ri couldn’t help but clap her hands.
A green Phyraion spouting flames from his mouth—it was such a rare and magnificent sight that she was completely mesmerized.
“Ichaeri. Tell me exactly who made you cry.”
“Phyraion made me cry.”
Phyraion flinched in surprise.
He hadn’t liked the name “Phycachu” from the beginning, but now, calling him that felt somehow incomplete.
It made him feel a bit distant from Chae-ri.
“Me… me?”
He rotated his sharp mind, going over his own mistakes.
“Because I insulted Davis as a scoundrel of a new country?”
Chae-ri shook her head and said as plainly as possible:
“You said you wanted to see Phyraion.”
Was that really such a big deal?
Chae-ri felt slightly embarrassed.
‘It must be because I’m in a child’s body!’
A child’s body is vulnerable to all sorts of stimuli:
It laughs easily, cries easily, gets hurt easily, and is easily moved.
‘Right. It’s because I’m in a child’s body that… huh?’
But then she noticed Phyraion’s eyes welling up with tears.
At about 230 years old, pearl-like tears rolled down Phyraion’s cheeks.
“Hey, Ichaeri, don’t cry!”
“The one crying is Phyra…”
“I’m Phycachu!”
Phyraion briskly strode over on his short legs and hugged Chae-ri firmly.
“Don’t cry, Ichaeri!”
And the one crying now was Phyraion himself.
Chae-ri’s tears fell for no particular reason.
Chae-ri’s window opened, and Davis appeared, looking slightly embarrassed.
‘When should I appear?’
He still hadn’t deactivated his stealth.
‘Why is Phyraion crying?’
Because of that, Chae-ri was crying too.
Davis cleared his throat, making his presence known.
“Davis?”
Chae-ri peeked up.
She quickly escaped Phyraion’s embrace and ran toward Davis.
Dashing at full speed for a four-year-old, she jumped into Davis’s arms.
Seeing Chae-ri in Davis’s arms, Phyraion shivered.
“You… vile scoundrel of a new country,” Phyraion growled.
Davis was greeting Chae-ri and didn’t hear him.
Phyraion erupted flames again as a warning.
“Don’t think you’ve won this, Davis.”
Recognizing Phyraion from the spectacular fire show, Davis finally spoke:
“Phyraion, is this Chae-ri’s birthday gift?”
“Yes,” Phyraion puffed out his chest.
It was evening, and Phyraion was Chae-ri’s main caregiver, so he knew exactly what she liked.
“You can’t resist a combination of Greenie and a fire show.”
“…”
Hmph, you see that?
Davis didn’t reply.
For the first time, he felt defeated by Phyraion.
Davis maintained his composure and helped Chae-ri sit on the bed.
He glanced at Phyraion.
‘So it was your plan, Phyraion.’
Phyraion had said yesterday:
“I’ll prepare Chae-ri’s birthday gift, so you just buy the tastiest cake. Since she likes whipped cream and melon, get a melon whipped cream cake.”
‘He made me buy the cake to buy time so he could give the real gift himself?’
It was a clever plan.
But a strategist’s plan is no match for an alchemist’s scheme.
“Chae-ri. Want to blow out the candles?”
With the birthday cake, the birthday song, and the real gift, Davis revealed what he had prepared.
Phyraion’s eyes widened.
“Hey. That’s not what we agreed on!”
“You were only supposed to bring the cake!”
Luckily, what Davis had brought was just an ordinary magazine.
Phyraion felt a bit relieved.
That was something you could give—not a brand-new storybook, just a magazine.
“Is this Mep?”
“It’s a famous fashion magazine,” Davis replied.
Chae-ri looked a little disappointed.
A fashionable magazine for cool adults wasn’t as interesting as a storybook featuring Squirtle.
“Do you want to open to page 55?”
“Yes,” Chae-ri nodded.
Watching her little hands turn the pages, Davis smiled softly.
His heart actually ached.
“Every year for your birthday, I’ll buy you the best thing on page 55.”
On page 55, there was a yellow sports car and a stylish model.
Chae-ri wasn’t particularly impressed.
Of course, her perspective was a little different.
‘Why am I not impressed, Ichaeri! Buying a sports car is a big deal!’
Being in a four-year-old’s body—so confusing.
Still, she didn’t want to disappoint Davis.
She used all her social skills to pretend to be impressed.
“Ba-bang is so cool.”
And Davis, the strategist, had anticipated her reaction.
He pulled something out of his inventory.
It looked like a miniature electric sports car.
Perfect size for a four-year-old.
A cute duck was painted on the hood.
Seeing the actual item, Chae-ri flinched in excitement.
“Ohhh!”
Phyraion gave a bitter laugh.
“Made with Nemurineon’s full skeleton? Self-charging magic stone battery? Tentacles of a Cowardly Slime? Didn’t you say you were busy?”
Nemurineon’s full skeleton is an excellent material for shock absorption and used often in making armor.
Expensive and rare, so it’s not commercially available.
The self-charging magic stone battery looked like it had used actual wizards in production.
‘Tentacles of a Cowardly Slime’—that’s too much, isn’t it?
Cowardly Slimes are monsters highly sensitive to danger. They detect threats and escape immediately.
Getting their tentacles was said to be nearly impossible.
“I’ve been busy,” Davis said with a faint smile.
“Davis, Davis, can I try this?”
“Yes. But it’s too cramped here.”
Luckily, Phyraion had also prepared a child-protection potion.
“Shall we go to a spacious tower? Or the field on the first floor?”
“Wow! Davis, you’re the best!”
Chae-ri was truly overjoyed.
For reference, only Davis and Chae-ri enter the tower.
Phyraion collapsed in defeat.
“My… defeat,” he muttered.
It’s hard to beat a strategist’s plan with just an alchemist’s scheme.
Ding-dong—
The doorbell rang.
Kim Ha-seon, her body heavier now—though her belly wasn’t that big yet—dragged herself to the intercom.
“Who is it?”
-
Ah, I contacted you in advance by phone. I’m Lee Cheong-ha. I serve as the Lord of Jeju.
Kim Ha-seon was startled.
First the Lord of Seoul visited, and now the Lord of Jeju—at her house?
“J-just a moment!”
She quickly checked her phone.
There were several messages.
Since they mentioned the Lord of Jeju, she had assumed it was spam and blocked the number.
She didn’t even realize the call came because it was blocked.
Kim Ha-seon hurriedly opened the door. Lee Cheong-ha bowed, holding a basket of fruit.
“I apologize for coming in person. I couldn’t reach you otherwise.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. But… what brings you to our house?”
“I heard today is Chae-ri’s birthday.”
“Yes?”
Kim Ha-seon tilted her head in confusion.
She was surprised that it was Chae-ri’s birthday, but why would the Lord of Jeju come?
Lee Cheong-ha wasn’t particularly clever.
He just tried to figure things out by going straight at them.
“I don’t know the details, but I thought I should make a good impression on Chae-ri.”
“…? What do you mean?”
The world surrounding Chae-ri felt a little strange.
So Lee Cheong-ha began to gather information.
When he found Chae-ri’s house, he could sense it even more clearly.
‘There’s an incredibly strong barrier here.’
Lee Cheong-ha is a highly perceptive archer.
And yet, in a child’s room? Why?
It was definitely strange.
‘Her mother doesn’t know.’
The eyes of the Lord of Jeju, Lee Cheong-ha, were fixed on Chae-ri’s room.
‘Something is going on with Chae-ri.’
“Chae-ri is home, right?”
“Yes. It’s almost bedtime…”
Kim Ha-seon didn’t know, but Chae-ri had already entered the tower.
Lee Cheong-ha asked,
“Can I talk to Chae-ri for a moment?”
