Chapter 14
Sonya sat at the corner table and stared intently at Kim Min-cheol behind the counter for a long while.
She could feel it clearly.
At his fingertips, which gripped the mop as he wiped the floor, the power of the World Tree was glimmering, faintly but unmistakably.
He had denied it, but it was definitely World Tree pollen.
‘Does he really not know?’
Not only did he fail to recognize her, but he didn't seem able to sense even the slightest ripple of mana.
‘I can't sense any flow of mana, either.’
Normally, any being in Taepyeong City should have been able to sense mana, but there wasn't even a trace of it coming from him.
There was no mana in his heart or his core, either.
‘An existence unable to use mana managed to obtain World Tree pollen?’
How?
It was power that could not be obtained unless the World Tree suddenly fell from the sky.
Perhaps that part-timer didn't know because he was an incomprehensibly powerful existence whose strength even she couldn't sense.
Taepyeong City was vast, and it was full of powerful beings.
But whatever the reason, one thing was certain: World Tree pollen was clinging to him.
‘It was definitely there. And Uboongie's reaction…….’
The speed of recovery that had improved the Lava Fruit victim's condition in an instant.
That was something only World Tree pollen could have accomplished.
‘I need World Tree pollen immediately if I'm going to clear the seventy-third floor…….’
Sonya stared blankly down at the triangle kimbap on the table.
She had taken only one or two bites.
She had so much on her mind that she couldn't force the food down her throat.
‘The seventy-third floor…….’
Her next target was the seventy-third floor of Hunter Tower.
The seventy-third floor was designed as a cursed zone filled with poisonous slimes.
The key to clearing it was making one's way through the vast cursed zone that a lich had created to protect its laboratory.
It was impossible to cross it quickly using ordinary recovery items.
It was a gimmick that could be cleared easily enough by bringing hundreds of elixirs.
Whenever they were poisoned and their HP dropped by a certain amount, they simply had to drink an elixir and an antidote.
The monsters weren't particularly strong, and the traps weren't anything special, either.
The hunters who had already cleared the seventy-third floor had been slowly chipping away at it that way while preparing to challenge the next floor.
But Sonya didn't want to clear it that way.
‘It's too wasteful.’
It was unnecessary and inefficient.
Analysis before a raid could be cautious, but the raid itself had to be as efficient as possible.
Her approach was to find the optimal method for minimizing accidents in the field.
On top of that, Hunter Tower only allowed entrants to carry up to ten consumables in their inventory.
Because of the consumable limit, every vanguard team that had attempted the seventy-third floor so far had spent several weeks planning its approach.
But if she had World Tree pollen.
Two days would be enough.
‘I have to obtain it somehow.’
Even if she had to bow her head, she absolutely had to obtain World Tree pollen.
“Excuse me.”
“Do you need something? Cigarettes?”
“No. I don't smoke.”
Do I look like I smoke?
Almost by reflex, Sonya sniffed at her own clothes after hearing Kim Min-cheol's part-timer routine.
She wondered if she smelled of cigarettes.
“Ah, I'm sorry. People who come in without picking anything usually ask for cigarettes.”
“That's not it……”
Sonya scratched her head and sighed.
Having already been rejected once, she couldn't quite summon the courage.
But she couldn't just sit there and do nothing, either.
“That powder on your hand. Could you spare me just a little?”
“……Powder?”
“Yes, the World Tree pollen you mentioned……”
First the manager, and now this woman, too.
They were both telling me that World Tree pollen was clinging to my hand.
When the manager had first mentioned it, I'd let it go in one ear and out the other.
But then there had been that mysterious light I'd seen when I gave the cocktail to the Minotaur suffering from the Lava Fruit.
And the reaction of the customer who had suddenly come in.
I couldn't deny that there really was something going on.
‘It does seem like something really is clinging to my hand…….’
Honestly, I had no idea how it had gotten there in the first place.
“It's something I desperately need. I have to break through an extremely dangerous and difficult place soon, and without that power, I'll have to put my life on the line.”
Sonya bowed deeply and added in an earnest voice,
“I'll pay a fair price. I'll meet whatever price you ask, so please, share just a little with me.”
“……Well, if your life is on the line, I don't see any reason not to give you some.”
“Really?!”
Honestly, she'd come all the way here and bowed her head like that. I couldn't exactly refuse her.
I wasn't that heartless, either.
However.
“But how am I supposed to give it to you? I can't see it, either. Should I just shake my hand over yours?”
Sonya's face brightened at once.
“Yes! I'd be extremely grateful if you did that!”
She took a small pouch from inside her clothes.
It was obviously an expensive-looking pouch.
“Please shake it into here. Just gently shake off whatever is clinging to your hand; that should be enough.”
She spread the pouch wide and focused her gaze on my hand.
As she swallowed nervously, I shook my hand over the pouch and rubbed it this way and that.
‘Is it working?’
I couldn't see anything falling from my hand.
I glanced at the customer.
“……”
Her expression had visibly darkened.
It was obvious that it wasn't working properly.
“…I don't think it's working.”
She lightly bit her lower lip and forced a smile.
“I'm sorry. I asked for too much.”
“……”
It had been a sudden request, but seeing her go from such hopeful anticipation to looking so downcast made me feel oddly guilty.
“It just needs to get on you, right?”
“Yes? I suppose so, but……”
The reason Uboongie had felt the effects of the World Tree pollen was because I had mixed the cocktail for him myself.
The pollen clinging to my hand had seeped into the cocktail he drank, transferring its effects to him.
Perhaps direct contact was what made it effective.
Once I reached that conclusion, one possibility occurred to me.
If direct contact was effective……
I took her hand.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes? What are you—Eek!”
The moment I took her hand, her tail stood straight up.
She flinched in surprise.
She backed away awkwardly, but she didn't specifically resist or try to pull away.
“I thought touching it directly might be more effective.”
“I-is that so?”
“I'm not sure, either.”
“……”
“But if shaking it off doesn't make it fall, rubbing it onto you is another way to transfer it.”
It was soft.
It was the first time I'd ever touched a woman's hand.
What kind of connection could I possibly have had with women?
I had followed the all-boys middle school, all-boys high school, and military service route. There was no way I'd had any contact with women.
The handshakes I'd exchanged with middle-aged men for work had been the entirety of my experience.
I'd always thought rough, coarse textures were all a hand could feel.
‘It's really soft.’
It was far softer and smoother than I'd expected.
It was strangely hot, too.
The instant my hand touched hers, a searing warmth began traveling along her skin.
I unconsciously rubbed and caressed it with my fingers.
“E-excuse me…… Hk.”
Flustered, Sonya trembled and stammered.
The black wolf ears sticking up from her head stood rigidly upright and quivered, while the tail protruding from behind her pants was so tense and stiff that it showed no sign of lowering.
“Just in case, I'll make sure it transfers properly.”
“Eek, y-yes…….”
Hoping to transfer the powder properly, I carefully pressed my palm against hers and rubbed over her palm and the back of her hand.
“S-so thoroughly…… Eek.”
Her hand twitched in small, startled movements.
I wasn't sure whether she couldn't bear the embarrassment or was flustered by such intimate contact with a stranger.
Her fingers began to fidget unconsciously, then wormed their way between mine and started stroking them.
The sensation of her hot, soft fingers intertwining with mine and caressing my hand felt strangely ticklish.
“Um, did I make you uncomfortable……?”
“N-no! It's not that……!”
Just as she began making excuses, her wavering golden eyes suddenly locked onto my hand.
“Huh?”
I still couldn't see anything, but apparently she could see something.
“I-it's working……. It is! It really transferred!”
Her eyes widened, and her fingers began to wriggle.
At first, she had been embarrassed, but the moment she confirmed that the World Tree pollen was transferring, she began touching my hand even more eagerly.
Even after I let go, she tightened her grip on my hand and continued to fidget with it.
But that lasted only a moment.
“Ah……”
The moment she realized what she had been doing, her face turned bright red, as if it might burst.
“Th-that is, this, this is……”
The hand we were holding had grown much hotter than before.
Her hand had even grown damp with sweat.
“I-it's enough. I-I think this is pl-plenty!”
After letting go, she nervously clenched and unclenched her fists.
Her cheeks and the skin around her eyes, visible above the black mask covering more than half her face, were bright red.
She pulled her mask up to just beneath her eyes, then avoided my gaze in every direction and cleared her throat.
Even her rigid ears were trembling.
“S-sorry. I didn't mean to…….”
“It's all right. I was the one who started it.”
“Your hands were rougher and firmer than I expected……. Ah, forget I said that. I'm ba-bad at communicating.”
An embarrassed silence settled over us.
“Th-th-thank, thank you! I-I'll never, ever forget this favor!”
Her tongue thoroughly tangled, she hurriedly bowed her head.
“Th-this is a small token, but pl-please accept it as compensation!”
Thud!
Sonya took a heavy leather pouch from her pants pocket, handed it to me, and bolted out of the store without looking back.
“Excuse me, miss?”
Jingle—!
Only the much louder and more violent ringing of the bell echoed through the empty store.
Inside the pouch was.
“What is this?”
There was a jewel shimmering with a pale-green light.
It was a beautiful jewel that carried the fresh scent of a forest.
Suddenly, I remembered a post I'd seen on the gallery.
-If you receive anything other than money from a customer, always take a picture with the appraisal app and check what the item is.
-It might be disguised as poison or a bomb, so be careful.
-Not that anyone would carry out a terrorist attack in such a crazy way.
There had been several posts telling convenience store workers to take pictures and appraise items.
Was this basic knowledge that every convenience store part-timer in Taepyeong City was expected to know?
I took a picture.
-S-Rank Life Spirit Stone
-A crystal formed from pure earth mana and life force compressed to an extreme degree.
-Obtainable only from S-rank or higher forest-type boss monsters or high-ranking spirits.
-A legendary elixir worth whatever price elves and plant-type beastfolk are willing to pay.
“An S-rank spirit stone?”
The price field simply said, ‘Impossible to appraise (auction recommended).’
“She just tossed me something like this as compensation for holding her hand once?”
I couldn't even begin to imagine how incredible World Tree pollen was if it had prompted her to casually hand over an absurdly valuable item like this.
But my surprise lasted only a moment.
As I carefully read the description in the search window again, my gaze stopped on one line.
A legendary elixir for plant-type beastfolk.
I suddenly thought of the little World Tree branch in my room.
“……It's not like I have anywhere to exchange it for money right away, anyway.”
If I, a convenience store part-timer, casually took an S-rank item like this to an auction house or exchange, I'd obviously be suspected of where it came from or arrested on the spot.
I might even have it forcibly taken away and be driven out of the city.
Hadn't I been told not to use things I couldn't handle so casually?
“Wouldn't it be better to use it as fertilizer for that little guy?”
Who knew? Maybe it would bring me even greater luck than this.
It had given me such good fortune despite being only a tiny branch. If it grew even more in the future……
‘Maybe I'll receive an even greater reward?’
An investment in the future didn't sound too bad.
“Hmm~.”
I was humming to myself, inexplicably in a good mood, when.
Jingle—!
The door opened, and a familiar voice rang out.
“Hello?”
It was Ms. Lumina, the delivery driver.