‘Alright. This isn’t the time for me to be thinking like this.’

Kiryeo scratched his neck and tried to shake off his thoughts. While he was immersed in memories of his hometown, the situation over there became quite difficult.

“Our appraiser says it is difficult to confirm who used the grimoire.”

“Then just give me a refund.”

“Well, in principle, refunds for opened grimoires are…”

Esther looked at the employees with a smile.

“So, are you planning to insist that you’re not at fault until the end?”

“H, Hunter-nim. But if you demand a refund based on such difficult-to-prove facts…”

“Then how about I borrow the Justitia from England?”

“Heuk!”

“You know, right? Judgment scales. With that one item, we could easily determine who among us is lying. Can you handle that?”

A critical situation.

However, at this moment, the Magic Tower’s appraiser, who had remained silent until then, stepped forward.

“E, excuse me! Hunter Kim Kiryeo…!”

Because one person in this room definitely recognized whether the grimoire had been used or not.

“Now that you think about it, Hunter Kim, how did you notice this grimoire was an empty shell?”

With the addition of Kiryeo’s explanation, the situation would become much easier to prove. He glanced back at the awakener standing behind him as if seeking help. Then, Kiryeo finally uncrossed his arms and stepped forward.

He doesn’t particularly feel like it, but…Well, he won’t lose anything by helping the witch doctor.

“It’s a simple problem.”

Tuk.

Kiryeo placed his hand on the grimoire placed on the table. What followed was an explanation that was simplified with all its might.

“Look at the cover carefully. Here, can you see the part where the circle is broken in the middle?”

“Yes?”

“This should originally be angled around here, at 3 o’clock, but… after use, it’s now cut between 1 o’clock and 6 o’clock. Got it?”

The information he provided was such a subtle change in the pattern that one wouldn’t notice it without paying close attention. The hieroglyphs of Alphauri appeared to humans as a sort of Morse code.

“Wasn’t the cover pattern of the sealed grimoire just random?”

The auction house staff looked puzzled, but soon, Kim Kiryeo nailed it down.

“Before opening the book, there might be slight changes that could make it appear that way, but anyway, the lines I mentioned are fixed after use.”

Even the professional auctioneer had no clue about this information. A rare sealed grimoire traded only once or twice a year was indeed a scarce item. Moreover, the fact that it is a one-time magic tool also contributed to the lack of information.

Kiryeo tried to look into their situation in his own way. Yeah, he understands. But what frustrated him was a separate issue.

“Excuse me….”

“Yes?”

“Do you guys usually not… examine the items more closely? This is an issue that can easily be identified with the naked eye.”

He was so dumbfounded that he spoke without realizing it. But after saying it, he realized it was too late. This is because appraisers from the auction house and appraisers from Korea Magic Tower had all gathered here to verify the items.

‘Heuk!’

At first glance, Korea Magic Tower’s appraiser shows that his awakening level is roughly C-Class. At that level, even if it weren’t a combat class, he would have crushed the F-Class stuff like crumpling a cola can…!

“Ah, well. What I mean is…”

Kiryeo hurriedly tried to wrap up the sentence he had uttered for fear of hurting their feelings, but the Korean Magic Tower appraiser was quicker to open his mouth. And with a face very impressed at that.

“…Teacher!”

What kind of absurd title is this?

“So, what you’re saying is, we shouldn’t rely solely on our appraisal skills but also examine the essence of the item ourselves, right?”

“Yes?”

“Oh…I really learn a lot from this.”

Surprisingly, rather than being offended by the other person’s words, they reached enlightenment on their own. Furthermore, Kiryeo’s statement began to be interpreted more expansively. That’s because he had a worthy title that hadn’t been broken yet.

“It’s definitely different because he is the one who broke the tower’s maze. They say you should focus more on your eyes than your skills…”

“Wait, this person was the one that conqueror of that maze?”

The only hunter who passed through the maze of the Magic Tower. That achievement alone added weight to their words. People tend to attach unnecessary meaning to even the slightest actions of famous individuals, like a mere cough.

“This young friend is amazing.”

“Normally, when you awaken as an appraiser, you focus on that rare skill.”

“Exactly. They don’t usually bother studying items separately like that, preoccupied with raising the level of their skill.”

Amidst the commotion, a common topic quickly heightened the atmosphere. Seeing this, Kiryeo hurriedly interrupted their conversation. There was no way he wanted to become famous in this field when he was even kidnapped for being an appraiser.

“Anyway, it’s not like that.”

In the end, the point is to reveal that the grimoire was used before it came into Esther’s hands.

Kiryeo suggested several solutions to this problem. Bringing in another grimoire to compare and verify the belt fixation phenomenon or getting an item to detect lies as Esther suggested…

“Huh?”

However, this problem was surprisingly solved in a simpler way.

A few minutes later, the auction house manager, who arrived late to resolve the situation, said this.

“When you use the grimoire for the first time, the seal will glow blue. Has anyone here seen the symbol change color?”

Not the strip on the cover, not the seal, but another element to determine the condition of the grimoire?

As mentioned earlier, appraisers in this world had a strong tendency to rely on magic given by heaven. This tendency was quite strong to the point where it could be described as dependent, so the trivial nature of the item’s characteristics didn’t spread widely in the industry.

The room was instantly silenced by the new information the person in charge brought out. Is it because of the presence of the S-class, or is it because of the special nature of the situation? Anyway, everyone’s memories were blurry.

“Ah… Is it because of this book?”

“I don’t know.”

“I was just focusing on Esther, so I didn’t really…”

The case was eventually resolved by checking CCTV footage to see if the book was glowing.

“There is no light…!”

The auction house’s mistake was revealed.

“No, this is worth billions, who would use it without permission…!”

“Perhaps there was manipulation from the very beginning when it was brought to the auction house. Let’s immediately report this to the association for investigation!”

“Hunter Esther, I’m truly sorry!”

Esther didn’t show much emotion about the 5 billion from the beginning, regardless of what happened to it. But the real issue was the sentiments of an F-Class.

‘I can’t help but curse.’

The fact that the book emitted light was actually unfamiliar to him. No matter how great a wizard he was, he couldn’t know the characteristics of every book in his homeland. Kiryeo was surprised that an old textbook could have such an effect, but at the same time, he swallowed a harsh curse.

‘I want to go home…’

No, did they really spend a whole hour discussing this simple issue?

***

“Hahaha! So the pattern glows blue. Right. I can’t believe such an easy problem took so long to resolve.”

“….”

“It’s been so long since I’ve used a grimoire that I must have forgotten too. Well, you know how it is. This is a very hard-to-find item. I usually don’t know about such trivial information.”

After everything is finished. G1 aisle of the auction house.

Esther walks ahead, chatting cheerfully, but the hunter beside her doesn’t look pleased at all. After all, they had just come back from a grandiose waste of money.

‘If I had known it would be this exhausting, I wouldn’t have come to the auction house.’

Kim Kiryeo massaged the back of his neck and quietly followed Esther. However, soon a topic that could turn the situation around came out of Esther’s mouth.

“Ah, by the way, I want to repay you.”

Repay?

When he was puzzled, Esther immediately explained.

“Thanks to Kiryeo-ssi, we safely secured 5 billion won today.”

He doesn’t understand it right away.

“Why would that count as saving 5 billion? After all, you still bought the grimoire despite my advice.”

When Kiryeo asked a question, Esther smiled and added a few words.

“But if you weren’t there, I might have opened the grimoire at home or given it to another guild member.”

“Ah.”

“Then proving defects would have become quite difficult.”

So, is she expressing gratitude for informing her of this situation beforehand?

“So, revealing the method of distinguishing the grimoires was quite valuable information, and it was revealed because of me…”

“Hmm.”

“Alright, as a token of gratitude, let’s make it a case. Since we’ve come this far, is there anything you need?”

Anything he needs.

Since Kim Kiryeo was a man blinded by greed, he accepted the proposal as right.

“Then… could you perhaps buy me a Pyromancer Necklace?”

However, after seeing the price of this necklace, Esther’s complexion changed completely.

Next, on the second floor of Hunter Market, Esther began to look serious as she held the price tag for the Pyromancer necklace that the other person requested.

‘I’m doomed!’

After seeing this, Kiryeo couldn’t help but think to himself.

‘No matter how rich you are, wasn’t it crazy to ask to buy something worth more than 50 million won!’

Kiryeo was prepared to apologize gradually, wanting to maintain a good relationship with the cursed magician. However, it turned out he didn’t need to. Esther had hardened her expression for a different reason.

‘The cost of the equipment is only 50 million won…?’

From the perspective of an S-Class hunter, equipment costing 50 million won wasn’t something worth using. Items at such a cheap price usually only had the power equivalent to D to C-Class. Esther had never worn equipment costing less than 100 million won. Therefore, she couldn’t understand it even more. Kim Kiryeo’s request was just so, really too modest.

‘Even the equipment grade is rare, right?’

Are there really such pure requests out there? Asking for such a small gift to be bought was undoubtedly an attempt to avoid leaving even a formal debt behind.

“Hmm…”

Kim Kiryeo tried to brush off the favor he received from the leader of the Korean Tower Guild, pretending it never happened. Esther interpreted his actions and gave him a vague smile. This means that there was a greater liking for that F-Class person.

“Pyromancer Necklace. Since it’s gold, it would suit you well, Kiryeo-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“You have a warm tone, right? That’s why you dyed your hair like that, isn’t it?”

Esther made small talk about his necklace and headed to the checkout counter.

“Here’s the bill.”

And then, she pulled out a black card and completed the payment without a moment’s hesitation. All of this happened in just a few seconds.

“Huh?”

“Here. This is enough, right?”

Clink.

Kiryeo awkwardly accepted the necklace she gave him. Next, Esther asked him a question.

“But Kiryeo-ssi, this is just my personal opinion.”

“Yes.”

“It’s the same for handing over a new material called an absorbent, and the fact that they rejected all offers from other guilds but only accepted our external appraisal.”

“Yes…”

“I often feel like you are pushing our Korean Magic Tower…”

Esther rolls her big eyes. She seemed to be choosing what to say.

“Is this just my imagination? If it’s not my imagination, what is Kiryeo-ssi’s intention in… helping us?”

However, without any benefit from carefully raising the topic, the other person answered so simply that it became frustrating. For this F-Class hunter, the topic of this conversation wasn’t even something to think about.

“Hmm? Korean Magic Tower? I don’t really care what happens to places like the Magic Tower.”

Kim Kiryeo answered with a calm face.

“All I care about is Esther-ssi.”

The context seems a bit off.

Anyway, it wasn’t a wrong statement.

He always kept an eye on Esther under the assumption that it would be troublesome to appear hostile to the cursed magician.