073

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A dazzling space.

The floor was paved with black marble, various magical tools circulated to maintain a pleasant atmosphere, and sparkling lights floated in the air.

I hadn't realized how unique the space was until I stepped inside, and I was greeted by a spacious and otherworldly landscape.

We had arrived at a VIP-only hunter-exclusive luxury department store.

"...Wow, this is crazy."

That was my first impression of the luxury store.

Famous hunters often attract as much attention as celebrities, if not more. Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee were no exceptions.

When a well-known hunter steps out onto the street, people flock to them, and their daily lives are shared in real-time on SNS.

Of course, within the Velvet Academy, their status was already quite high, but since the other students were also quasi-celebrities, there were fewer instances of sharing on SNS or rushing towards them.

Therefore, when they went out and about outside the Academy, they preferred spaces like this, where access was restricted to the general public.

That was Shin Se-hee's explanation.

"...So, I'm not really into luxury brands or anything."

She rambled on with an excuse, seeing my jaw-dropped expression.

"Well, It isn't wrong to like it."

I composed myself and turned to her.

'You like shopping, after all.'

"Yeah, but Jin Yuha's reaction…"

"Ah, I was just surprised because it was more glamorous than I expected. I don't dislike it."

I chuckled and replied.

"Originally, it's difficult to assess the value of hunter-exclusive equipment because there are a lot of fake items that haven't been properly verified. You have to go into the gate and see for yourself."

"That's right!"

"First of all, the items sold in places like this have been appraised. And to keep attracting customers, they wouldn't cheat on the quality of the goods."

"That's true, that's true!"

Shin Se-hee nodded vigorously in agreement.

'Hmm, but I wonder if the items here are any different from regular store items? It's a place that didn't exist in the game, so I'm not sure.'

As I looked around, pondering, Shin Se-hee handed me a catalog with a golden hard cover.

"A product catalog?"

"Yes, it's a good idea to browse through the list of items before you start shopping in earnest."

"Oh, that's a good idea. Thanks."

I took the catalog from Shin Se-hee and flipped through it, my eyes widening in surprise.

'Are you kidding me?!'

Usually, store-bought items are not used by experienced players. Items obtained through gacha draws have much better performance.

But here I was, in the luxury hall thanks to Shin Se-hee's introduction.

Flip, flip, flip…

My hands grew faster as I flipped through the catalog.

'Are… are these items here?!'

The catalog listed item descriptions alongside photos. While not many items from the gacha draws were listed, they still occupied a few spots.

'The highest grade is Epic, but even that's not exceptionally outstanding. Still, I never thought I'd be able to buy gacha items from a store…'

I looked up from the catalog and spoke to Shin Se-hee.

"It was definitely the right choice to go shopping with you."

I carefully examined the catalog again, picking out a few must-buy items

'Hmm, this one, and this one too. Oh, and this would be nice to have.'

Then my eyes fell on the price tags of the products.

'…But the prices… they're… all high.'

Items with slightly better performance easily exceeded 10 million won, and the ones I considered essential were close to 100 million won.

Of course, the prices were significantly marked up, including the fact that gacha items were available for purchase.

I had secured funds by selling a top-grade magic stone, but it wasn't enough to buy everything that caught my eye.

'…Should I sell another magic stone?'

Magic stones were the most common item in the Alice Box, but since they were also limited in quantity, I hesitated.

'In the mid to late game, magic stones and money aren't an issue, but even so, if I spend too much now, I might run into financial troubles later on…'

As if reading my thoughts, Shin Se-hee pulled out a card from her wallet and handed it to me.

"Here, Jin Yuhua."

It was a black card with a glossy black finish. The name "Shin Se-hee" was written in elegant italics at the bottom.

I furrowed my brows slightly.

I had just declared that I would take care of the party members' equipment. What was she trying to do?

'…Is she trying to buy me with money?'

I stared at her, and she smiled as if to say she meant no offense.

"Use this to get a discount."

"A discount?"

"Yes, if you present this card when making a purchase, you'll get a 40% discount on 'all products'."

Wow.

I couldn't count how many times I'd been impressed.

'So this is why they say to meet someone from a rich family…'

"Of course! I know you want to personally take care of the party members' equipment, Jin Yuhua… but if we can get a discount, there's no need to waste precious funds."

'…Who the hell called this angelic woman a snake?'

"No, this is a huge help. Thank you, Shin Se-hee."

I shook my head and took the dazzling black card she offered.

"Phew, I'm glad you accepted it."

She noticeably relaxed and offered me her elbow.

"Shall we go?"

I hesitated.

My body froze for a moment.

'Ah, this is that, right? An escort or something.'

In the original world, when a man offers his elbow, the woman holds onto it as they walk together. Well, even in this reversed world, I felt some resistance to the idea of holding a woman's elbow and following her around.

'But this is probably the norm here, right?'

I looked at her outstretched elbow and then took her hand instead.

"...!?"

Shin Se-hee looked surprised, clearly not expecting my move.

I raised our joined hands in front of her.

"Let's just hold hands and go."

.

.

.

Ugh, it's hot.

I offered to escort him, and he just took my hand without hesitation. I can never let my guard down for a moment.

'…This man is really something else…'

Shin Se-hee fanned her flushed face with her hand.

Thump.

Thump.

Her heart began to race as she felt Jin Yuhua's touch through their joined hands.

'He's a swordsman, so his hands are big… and firm…'

As she became aware of their hands, she started to sweat. Their hands were clasped tightly, damp with sweat.

'Doesn't it bother you…? I'm fine with it, but I'm worried it might be uncomfortable for you…'

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, furrowing her brows.

But Jin Yuhua seemed oblivious to her concerns as he continued to make his selections without hesitation.

"This one, that one, and that one over there. Oh, and that one too, please."

"Yes, yes!"

The luxury hall staff member, who had initially been surprised to see a man holding hands with Shin Se-hee, quickly got to work packing the items Jin Yuhua had chosen.

'…Why isn't he hesitating at all?'

She had intended to offer him advice and guidance, but now she was the one feeling flustered.

'I thought men usually take a long time to decide when it comes to buying things…'

But Jin Yuhua's judgment was incredibly fast. He assessed the value of an item within seconds of seeing it and made a decision to buy or not.

'And he's accurate, too.'

Shin Se-hee was impressed. His eye for quality was almost on par with hers, and she had frequented this place countless times to develop her own sense of appraisal.

'Has he been here in the future…?'

No, probably not. He had genuinely looked surprised when he first visited this place.

'Or maybe the items sold here will become commonplace in the future, just decently usable items.'

After all, as times change and technology advances, what was once considered luxury becomes accessible to the masses as higher-quality equipment becomes available.

Hmm. Hmm.

She nodded in agreement with her own thoughts.

Jin Yuhua grabbed items that would suit each party member without hesitation.

And then Shin Se-hee's eyes lit up at the item he had just picked up.

'Wow, that's my style!'

Among the items he chose were some that perfectly matched her taste, something she would have definitely bought if she had come alone today.

'But if I do this… '

She glanced at the chat window, where chaotic conversations were still ongoing.

'…It might be better to just let everyone pay for their own stuff. It's confusing enough as it is, and with me still figuring out what to give him, making a group decision doesn't seem very helpful.'

'I'll just give them a heads-up.'

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Flower Bud ✿] ─ Everyone, it would be a good idea to prepare a gift for Jin Yuhua.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Numerous question marks followed her sudden statement, but she ignored them and put her phone back in her pocket.

Just then, a voice interrupted from behind.

"Well, well, who do we have here?"

Shin Se-hee's head snapped around, her expression stiffening.

"Se-hee?"

Her eyes widened as she recognized the owner of the voice.

"Our Se-hee… You didn't even send a message when you got into Velvet Academy, and now I run into you here?"

A woman with long, black hair like Shin Se-hee's. Tall and slender, with a sword at her waist.

From the prestigious hunter family, the Shin family. An S-rank hunter.

Shin Su-yeon.

'…What's she doing here?!'

She narrowed her eyes and spoke with a playful smile.

"And you even have a man with you? You're making your sister sad, you know."

She was Shin Se-hee's older sister.

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