“Conditions?”

Ha Sunwoo’s eyes sharpened visibly.

I wondered if I’d come across as too demanding.

“Well, it’s not really a condition – more like a favor, or maybe advice with a hint of request!”

“Oh? What is it?”

“I’m not even sure if I should mention it…”

“Just speak your mind.”

Though Ha Sunwoo smiled gently, I felt that cold, jellylike sensation slide down my neck again.

It means he’s using his skill. 

Talking about ‘conditions’ can make for an awkward conversation… 

But I have to say it.

They say, if you want to achieve what you truly want, you need courage.

Taking a nervous gulp, I spoke.

“I… I want to visit the Tower.”

“?”

“Because of my weak constitution, my family never lets me go out. I barely managed to escape today, and that’s only because the Vice Guild Master summoned me. Usually, I’m confined at home.”

“Oh… I see.”

“But I really want to see the Tower! Once I start at the academy, I probably won’t have another chance to come here…”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“So, I’d like to ask a favor. Could you call me to the Tower for investigation purposes from now on?”

I must remember the goal.

Tower sightseeing!

They won’t catch the culprit of the outbreak in just a day or two anyway, so there’s no reason for me to stay cooped up at home, right?

It’s absurd that someone who’s been reincarnated can’t even get to see the Tower and remains stuck in an apartment!!!

“If you do this for me, I promise I won’t ask about the bugs anymore. If anyone asks me, I’ll direct them straight to you, Vice Guild Master.”

“Haha…”

The cold slime sensation on my neck vanished.

Judging by Ha Sunwoo’s wry smile, he seemed to have completely dismissed any suspicions about me.

“You’ll keep your promise if I agree to this, right?”

“Of course!”

“But if your family is that worried about you, I can’t let you wander the Tower alone.”

“I’ll be fine by myself!”

“But if something happens to you, the Phoenix Guild will be responsible, right?”

“Well… that’s true.”

“How about this, then?”

From there, we worked out the details.

The Phoenix Guild would send a car to pick me up at 9 AM daily (though no limousines).

While I explored the Tower, a guild member would accompany me as a guardian. 

To avoid making the guardian work overtime, I had to return home by 6 PM in the guild car.

“Does this arrangement work for you?”

“Thank you so much!”

Deal sealed!

In exchange for becoming Ha Sunwoo’s bait and informant, I earned three days of Tower sightseeing.

# 

After meeting with Ha Sunwoo, I was introduced to my assigned guardian.

“I’m Seong Hoyoung, the Vice Guild Master’s secretary.”

I had expected some idle guild member, but instead, this unexpected figure appeared.

Seong Hoyoung was one of Ha Sunwoo’s most trusted and skilled subordinates, specializing in surveillance and tracking.

Though not important enough to appear in illustrations, he was still a notable character among the extras.

‘This might be troublesome.’

It’s not like I plan to just fool around at the Tower.

To be honest, I need to buy a specific item to prepare for the future.

But if I buy that item, this man might find it suspicious.

If it had been an average guild member, I could’ve just shaken them off and finished my errand quickly. 

But having a tracking expert as my guardian?

Hmm, how should I handle this?

For now, scoring points with politeness is key. 

A deep bow should do.

“Thank you for taking the time to look after me.”

“Haha, no need to thank me! It’s a nice break from office work.”

“Still, I feel bad for troubling you…”

“Not at all! I’ve been wanting to try something like this. Consider it practice for when I look after my daughter.”

“You have a daughter?”

“Haha! Yes, an amazing girl who’s 13. Honestly, it’s a wonder she turned out so well. She’s nothing like me—she’s kind, smart, and even pretty.”

I had asked casually, but the secretary became animated, enthusiastically bragging about his daughter.

Apparently, she’s kind, smart, and pretty because she doesn’t take after him.

I nodded along and humored him. 

Then, an idea struck me.

‘This is the only way.’

There’s a strategy that works perfectly on doting fathers like him.

I know it well because I grew up as the only daughter of a single dad.

“We still have about three hours left. Should we head home? Or go sightseeing?”

“I want to go sightseeing.”

“Where to? The Tower Museum? Tower World?”

“I want to go shopping. I need to stock up on supplies before starting at the academy.”

“Ah, shopping! I can help with that. I’m an academy graduate myself! Feel free to ask me anything.”

“Really? Anything?”

“Of course! It’ll even be good practice for when my daughter eventually attends the academy! Haha!”

The secretary enthusiastically pounded his chest, completely unaware of the trouble he’d just invited upon himself.

# 

The first destination was a weapon shop.

Normally, academy students didn’t buy personal weapons until their second year. 

But I had 85 million coins from the goblin extermination reward. 

When I mentioned this, the secretary got excited and started enthusiastically recommending things.

“Daggers are very useful. The academy doesn’t provide them, but they’re handy for alchemy, survival, and combat training…”

Despite his enthusiasm, I maintained a disinterested expression.

“But the daggers here are so ugly. They’re so dull.”

“Dull?”

“If I’m going to buy one, it might as well be something prettier.”

The secretary hesitated, slightly flustered. 

But he quickly recovered and started recommending other items.

“In that case, how about this staff? It’s excellent for magic-related skills and improves accuracy significantly.”

“The design isn’t great either.”

I dismissed every suggestion with trivial excuses until finally, I pointed at a corner of the display case.

“How about that one?”

The item I pointed to was a handgun.

A hot pink gun bedazzled with cubic zirconia and fake jewels.

It looked like every magical girl’s wand had been melted down and reformed into the most garish firearm imaginable.

“Shopkeeper, how much is that?”

“12 million coins.”

Wow, outrageous.

…But I masked my thoughts and put on an act.

“Could you lower the price? I only have 8 million coins on me right now.”

“The cost is fixed. That’s made from Leviathan tooth, so it’s incredibly durable.”

“Then can I buy it on credit?”

“Hey, young lady, this isn’t a charity! Credit? Come on!”

“Er… Miss Yeonso-ra?”

The secretary gently tugged on my sleeve and whispered to me.

“That gun has no attack bonuses. It’s no better than the weapons the academy gives for free.”

“But it’s so cute!”

“…”

“Don’t you think it’s adorable?”

“…How about you sleep on it for a day before deciding?”

“Alright. If you insist.”

When I backed off without a fuss, the secretary sighed in relief.

Little did he know, this was just the beginning.

The next stop was a potion shop, where I immediately pointed to the least practical-looking potion on the shelf.

A heart-shaped bottle with a gaudy purple hue and rainbow liquid inside.

“Shopkeeper, what’s this potion?”

“That’s a Charm Potion. It temporarily increases your likability. Popular with young women.”

“How much is it?”

“3 million coins per bottle. Or you can get a bundle of three for 6 million coins!”

“The bundle is such a bargain!!!”

“Er… Miss Yeonso-ra?”

The secretary tugged on my sleeve again, this time with a slightly more desperate look.

“That potion only lasts three hours.”

“Three whole hours? Wow! That’s a lot!”

“Is it… really worth it?”

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to win someone’s favor? Three hours is incredible!”

“…Maybe… think it over for one more day?”

“Alright, if you say so.”

Again, I backed down, and the secretary’s face showed a fleeting moment of relief. 

But now, unease was starting to creep in.

‘Good, everything’s going according to plan.’

My strategy was simple: overwhelm him.

I would bombard him with so many absurd purchases that he wouldn’t have the mental energy to question my real goal.

Hide the tree in the forest, as they say.

The third stop was a clothing store.

I pulled out a turtleneck, a half-turtleneck, and a cowl-neck sweater and presented them to the secretary.

“Which one looks better?”

“They all look nice.”

“I know they’re all nice. But which one is ‘better?’”

“Haha…”

Then, at a cosmetics shop, I picked out five shades of lipstick and forced him to choose.

“Hmm, the pink one looks nice.”

“These are all pink. This is Romantic Pink, this one’s Pink Beige, this one’s True Pink, and this one’s Rose Pink…”

“Ahaha…”

By the ninth store, the secretary attempted to escape.

“I’m not very knowledgeable about this kind of stuff. Maybe you should decide for yourself. I’ll wait here.”

Long ago, my father made the same mistake, handing me his credit card and saying, “Just buy what you want. I’ll wait at the café.”

But that would be a rookie mistake. 

If I let him avoid the process, he’d look at the receipts later and complain.

The only way to avoid complaints later was to make him accept my shopping spree in real time.

“Am I… bothering you?”

“No! Not at all!”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked… You said I could ask anything, and I believed you…”

“It’s not like that! I just got distracted for a moment. Go ahead and ask anything!”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

So I continued dragging the secretary around as we shopped.

Like shaking dust from an old blanket, I went from place to place, diligently “wearing him down,” waiting for the perfect moment.

How to spot the right moment? 

It’s all in the eyes.

When the secretary’s gaze started resembling that of a mackerel in a supermarket freezer—seemingly fresh on the outside but completely soulless within—that’s when I knew.

‘Now’s the time!’

Once I spotted my chance, I hurried to my real destination: the item shop.

“Excuse me, do you have any fox tail fur?”

“You’re in luck, young lady! I just happen to have one left in stock!”

“I’ll take it.”

“That’ll be 25 million gold. Do you have the money?”

That’s expensive.

But what choice do I have? 

It’s absolutely necessary.

As I reached for my device to pay without hesitation, I felt a firm grip on my sleeve.

The secretary, with the lifeless eyes of a dead mackerel, was trying to stop me with an exhausted look on his face.

As expected of Ha Sunwoo’s loyal subordinate! 

His mental fortitude is truly impressive.

“So-ra, that’s only useful if it’s crafted into an item. As just a bundle of thread, it’s practically useless….”

“But it’s so pretty! I heard making a hat with this is super popular.”

It wasn’t a lie.

In fact, fox tail fur beanie hats were destined to become trendy next year.

“How about… just thinking it over a little longer?”

“But… didn’t I already give up on the pink gun earlier? And I only bought one lipstick? And when I asked for advice, you didn’t give me proper answers… Can’t I at least buy one bundle of thread? It’s my money, after all.”

“Well… fine.”

The thoroughly defeated secretary nodded reluctantly, and I successfully completed the purchase.

“Girls… are so hard to understand… Why did I even have a daughter…? What am I going to do in the future…?”

Seeing him mutter to himself with the expression of a man who’d lost everything made me feel a little sorry for him.

Don’t worry, Mr. Secretary.

Your daughter will grow up to be much more upright than me.

Maybe it’s nostalgia, but I can almost hear my passionate homeroom teacher from my previous life:

— You have a world-class talent for scheming, so why on earth don’t you use that brain of yours for studying?!!

Well, because studying isn’t fun.

I’ve always been the type who lacks motivation.

“Do you… still have more places to go?”

The secretary, with a pale face and a look of desperation, asked me cautiously.

“Yes, there’s one more place.”

The most important destination of the day still remained.

I had to go there, no matter what.

After all, it was the real reason I came to the Tower.