Adopting Disaster

"Why did you call me, Oppa?"

"I called you for business. Please refrain from calling me oppa."

"We\'re alone, can\'t I call you that? You\'re so picky."

Reed recalled the time when he was at the Cliff Rock Tribe.

When he thought about the times when Dolores and he were both compromising, he felt that it would be enough to interfere with both of their work.

So, for each other\'s sake, he wanted to keep as much distance as possible in their conversations during work.

Unlike Reed, Dolores didn\'t have the slightest desire to do so.

Anyway, Reed tried his best to maintain his distance from her during business matters.

"It\'s about the rune characters we talked about last time."

"Ah, the runes. We agreed to have four each."

Dolores nodded her head.

"How valuable do you think runes are?"

At that question, Dolores tilted her head.

"Well, I think the fact that we can see the runes directly is valuable in itself."

"Is that so?"

"Besides, it\'s a language that no one has seen or deciphered, so as a wizard, it\'s an exciting thing. I think that alone is worth enough."

"Really?"

As Reed made a strange expression as if he had accomplished something, Dolores finally realized what he meant.

"Don\'t tell me... you deciphered it?"

"Yes, I deciphered it."

"All of it?"

"Yes."

Dolores\' mouth opened wide in surprise.

It was unbelievable that he had succeeded in deciphering the characters that no one knew.

"How?"

"I asked the spirits for help since it\'s the language of the spirits."

"Just getting help wouldn\'t make magic easy... Are the features the same principle as regular magic?"

"The nature itself is different. This is the magic of fools."

"Fool... magic?"

"Yes."

Dolores couldn\'t help but be puzzled by the combination of the two contradictory words.

"Show me the magic using runes."

Reed stood up from his seat and showed his hand with the Magnesium gauntlet.

Reed was seen gathering mana.

And then.

"Huh?"

Dolores widened her eyes as she saw the wind wrapped around Reed\'s body.

\'I couldn\'t see him trying to cast a spell or use magic at all...\'

Even if he was casting a high-speed spell, he needed habits like concentrating or a preparatory action.

She didn\'t notice that Reed was going to use magic even while using Haste.

\'It\'s an instant activation.\'

Just with that, Dolores felt a sense of awe.

"Runes are more amazing than I thought. But..."

Dolores tilted her head.

"Why is it the magic of fools?"

"It\'s a bit difficult to explain, but..."

Reed tried his best to explain what he had experienced so that Dolores could follow.

However, Dolores couldn\'t act according to Reed\'s instructions.

In the first place, what Reed wanted was to abandon common sense.

But for Dolores, abandoning her common sense was the most difficult thing, and almost all wizards would be the same.

"It\'s really hard. Are you sure you\'re teaching me well? It looks like you\'re teasing me..."

"I called you here for work, why would I tease you?"

"Even if it\'s true... it\'s really difficult."

Dolores had a troubled face.

She knew the principles of the runes, but it was frustrating that she couldn\'t actually use them.

"Even a genius can\'t do this."

He inadvertently muttered, but it had already reached Dolores\' ears.

She narrowed her eyes and glared at Reed.

"You look happy? Are you happy that I can\'t even grasp this?"

"I was just a little surprised, there\'s no ill intent."

"Just wait and see. I\'ll learn it all too. I\'ll flatten your nose oppa."

"Provocations aren\'t good. And don\'t call me oppa right now. I\'m serious."

"I don\'t like it. What are you going to do?"

He couldn\'t understand why the quick-witted tower master acted like a child in front of him.

"Then I\'ll call you in a roundabout way."

"Go ahead, try it! Then I\'ll call you even more intimately."

"How?"

"That... so..."

Rolling her eyes, Dolores tried to squeeze out words and looked up adorably.

"...Oppang?"

[T/N: "오빵" (pronounced as oppang) is a Korean term that refers to a type of sweet bread or pastry. It is a popular snack in South Korea and is often enjoyed by both children and adults.]

"Pfft."

It was a magical word that made the listener feel embarrassed.

Dolores, who actually said it, seemed to be embarrassed as well, as she bit her lips and avoided eye contact.

She realized that she had crossed the line.

Reed looked down at her with the most composed expression he could muster.

"If you\'re going to do it, keep going."

"...I\'ll restrain myself."

Dolores acknowledged her rampage and restrained herself.

Reed tried his best to shake off the shock of the word \'Oppang\' as he looked at her.

"Anyway, I gave you the information, so now it\'s time for me to receive it."

"Wait, was that the original purpose?"

"Where in the world do wizards just give things away? We have to trade."

"Well, I don\'t really want to trade since I feel like I received something useless as a tower master. Who gives away unwrapped information in an information trade? It\'s the tower master\'s fault for revealing its value."

Yes, it was a wrong move.

However.

"I just don\'t want to deceive the people I care about."

"..."

Dolores\' body stiffened.

The word \'care\' seemed to tickle her whole body.

She looked up at Reed, biting her lower lip hard to suppress a burst of laughter.

"You\'re really cunning. Talking about business and all, then suddenly coming in like this... What do you want?"

"We need to strengthen the defense spells in our tower. I\'d like you to share the spells used in your tower."

"Why? Did someone trespass?"

Yes, the Spirit King did.

"As you know, we\'re not focusing on defense magic as we\'re immersed in magical engineering. Although we\'re allies, the Hupper territory has offensive wizards, and among the wizards of the towers we can trust, we have to..."

"Then, ask the tower master of the Greenwood Tower... No."

Dolores started to speak but then hung her head.

She was making rational remarks but suddenly remembered the things she had done, and her emotions boiled up.

Her face looked like a cat that had its fish stolen.

"You\'ve made a wise choice. You can count on me."

"Is that so?"

"I\'ll let you know what spells we use in our tower. That\'s the end of our trade."

"Let\'s do that."

As a price, Reed gave up four runes.

It didn\'t matter.

He had to give them up anyway, and in return, he obtained spells to strengthen the tower\'s defense, so he thought the price was enough.

"Now that the business is over, can you call me Oppang?"

"I won\'t."

Her expression was even sharper than when she was asked to call him in a roundabout way.

Reed was happy to have one more thing to tease her about.