Where Beans Are Planted, Beans Grow

"It's in your inventory, isn't it?"

"…"

"The thing I made."

Cha Eui-jae's breath caught in his throat. He grabbed his trembling right hand with his left. His eyes, glowing with golden patterns, scanned him thoroughly as if crushing him.

The terrible feeling of being observed beneath the shell of his body, down to the core of his existence. His stomach churned as if he might vomit any second. Gritting his teeth, Cha Eui-jae answered.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The only thing in his inventory made by Hong Ye-seong was a ticket, which he had already given to Lee Sa-young before the auction began, so he had nothing right now. And there was nothing else that came to mind, so Cha Eui-jae asked a straightforward question.

"…Are you talking about the ticket?"

"Geez, if it was the ticket, I wouldn't have dragged you all the way here."

Hong Ye-seong muttered as if it was obvious.

"Oh, I forgot to mention this first."

Gone was his light-hearted demeanor; he now seemed slightly deranged.

"I didn't bring you here to argue with Secretary Kim. I brought you because I was sure. I saw with my own eyes that something I made is in your inventory…"

Cha Eui-jae glanced at the empty air. The only things in his inventory were potions, magic stones, and a Basilisk's Fang.

'Hong Ye-seong would likely be interested in the magic stones…'

The potions were mass-produced items, and if he were after the magic stones, he would have demanded them outright. Hong Ye-seong had been searching for magic stones more desperately than anyone.

The remaining item was the Basilisk's Fang, but there was no connection between that and Hong Ye-seong. The fang was something he retrieved from the West Sea Rift, and back when J entered the West Sea Rift, Hong Ye-seong was just an ordinary person who hadn't awakened yet.

While Cha Eui-jae was pondering, Hong Ye-seong spoke quickly.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have much time. There's no benefit in dragging this out. Lee Sa-young might come looking for you. Let's just get what we want and go our separate ways."

Only then did Hong Ye-seong's face come into view.

"I'll give you whatever you want, just take it out."

Behind the luminous, rotating golden patterns, his bloodshot eyes appeared.

Why had he kept his eyes closed throughout the auction? One would think he'd be curious about the process of his painstakingly crafted weapon finding a new owner. I thought it was simply because he was tired from an all-nighter, but there was another reason.

The system is generally generous to those it chooses to awaken. It grants new abilities and skills drawn by their earnest desires but rarely intervenes afterward. However, it mercilessly penalizes abilities that slightly infringe upon the system's rules, even if it grants those abilities.

Like how the space-moving ability of Romantic Opener is restricted, the ability to see into others' inventories, even if limited, likely infringes upon the system's rules.

If he could inspect with his Eyes of Appraisal, the ticket inspection would be over in a moment, but he went through the trouble of using a ticket detector, a subpar substitute, in the restroom…

'He must have some penalty that prevents him from using the Eyes of Appraisal for long.'

As the patterns rotated and the number of emerging letters increased, more blood vessels burst behind the golden light. Nevertheless, Hong Ye-seong did not close his Eyes of Appraisal.

"Hurry up and take it out."

Hong Ye-seong urged. As the patterns changed, a sensation like being flayed washed over Cha Eui-jae, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to resist the urge to claw out his opponent's eyes. He tasted blood.

As this strange standoff continued,

Bzzz—

A phone in his pocket buzzed. The only people likely to call him were Park Ha-eun or Lee Sa-young. Either way, it was a call he had to answer. If it was from Lee Sa-young, the situation would be more serious. After all, he would have noticed his sudden disappearance.

'…He must be looking for me.'

His neck tingled. He had gone to great lengths to soothe his mood earlier, and he couldn't afford to upset him again. His "apologize at all costs" strategy might not work this time. That tactic should be used only once a day, as a last resort.

Ignoring the unpleasant sensation, Cha Eui-jae took his phone out of his pocket.

"Kkokko!"

"Cluck!"

As Hong Ye-seong closed and then opened his eyes, the golden patterns became even more distinct. The unwelcome sensation made Cha Eui-jae freeze. Seizing this moment, the ceramic rooster shot up like a streak of lightning and snatched the phone from his hand.

Startled by the quick theft of his phone, Cha Eui-jae stared in disbelief at the ceramic rooster, which just tilted its head quizzically while sitting calmly on top of the phone.

"Bawk."

'Damn, what kind of rooster is that agile?'

In the meantime, Hong Ye-seong groaned and covered his eyes. A thin stream of blood slowly trickled down from under his hands. As he covered his eyes, the flaying sensation ceased. Finally, Cha Eui-jae could breathe a bit easier.

"Oh dear… did you take it, Kkokko?"

"Cluck, cluck."

"Good job. I'm sorry! It's my first time kidnapping, so I forgot to take the phone first."

Bzzz, bzzz… The vibration showed no sign of stopping. The ceramic rooster shivered each time the phone buzzed beneath it.

A gentle breeze brushed past the pavilion, carrying the scent of blood. The blood flowing from Hong Ye-seong's eyes showed no signs of stopping. Putting aside his urge to argue, Cha Eui-jae first checked Hong Ye-seong's condition.

"Are your eyes okay?"

"Oh! It's because I've been using my Eyes of Appraisal for too long. I have something for this."

Hong Ye-seong cheerfully took a white bandage-like item from his inventory and wrapped it around his eyes. He quickly looked like a blind master living in seclusion in the mountains, speaking nonchalantly.

"Ta-da. It's something Nam Woo-jin made for me, and it helps a bit when I wear it."

"Then could you briefly return my phone? I need to make a call. You know how Guild Leader Lee Sa-young is."

"Nope. The phone is a hostage. If you cooperate, I'll help you smooth things over. I'll even make an excuse for you!"

"About that…"

Cha Eui-jae, rubbing his aching temples, took a deep breath and spoke honestly.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you're talking about."

"…"

Hong Ye-seong stared at Cha Eui-jae despite being blindfolded. It was a piercing gaze, even through the gas mask. The buzzing resumed. The ceramic rooster yawned with its beak open. After a long pause, Hong Ye-seong muttered.

"You're not bluffing."

"Yes. I'm genuinely asking because I don't know."

"Hmm…"

Hong Ye-seong tilted his head, pondering, and then asked with a thoughtful expression.

"Don't you have a weapon in your inventory? Like a long sword. About this big."

He spread his arms wide. The description sounded familiar.

'…Could it be?'

Was he talking about the Basilisk's Fang? Did Hong Ye-seong make that? Cha Eui-jae's face filled with doubt.

The Basilisk's Fang had appeared in the West Sea Rift. The timing didn't match, but… if he showed it to Hong Ye-seong, he might learn something about the rift. It was a strange hunch, but he felt a strong conviction that he had to do it.

J had a duty to retrieve those buried there.

Ignoring the blood on his bitten lip, Cha Eui-jae spoke.

"…I do have one."

Hong Ye-seong leapt in place.

"See, I knew it! Show me."

"But this is probably not something you made, Hong Ye-seong-ssi."

"Hey, let me be the judge of that. Just show it to me. Quickly!"

Cha Eui-jae retrieved the Basilisk's Fang from his inventory. Thankfully, it didn't react violently like last time, complaining about how it was too powerful for him. Carefully, he handed the fang to Hong Ye-seong.

Hong Ye-seong cradled the sword, feeling the sheath and handle repeatedly. After a while, he muttered softly.

"…This isn't something I made."

It was a simple mistake. Cha Eui-jae bit his lip and clenched his fists.

At that moment, Hong Ye-seong gripped the handle and unsheathed the blade. He handled it like someone who had done it many times. As the jet-black obsidian-like blade was revealed, a white system window appeared before Cha Eui-jae's eyes.

[Assessing compatibility…]

Simultaneously, Hong Ye-seong murmured.

"But I did make it."

"Pardon?"

[Updating thoughts of 'Basilisk's Fang'!]

[Would you like to confirm?]

Startled, Cha Eui-jae nodded slightly.

[Updating…]

[Fang's thoughts: Father?]

'Father?'

What did that mean? Cha Eui-jae's eyes widened. Hong Ye-seong's fingertips began to glow blue. He ran his fingers along the blade. Tiny blue dots appeared on the black blade like stars. The dots soon formed letters, and the letters became a name.

[Yìxīng]

"Artistic Star."

"…"

"You know my name, right?"

Cha Eui-jae nodded silently. Hong Ye-seong caressed the blade gently as if stroking a child. His hand remained unscathed despite the sharp edge.

"I engrave my name on everything I make. So that its existence can only be confirmed by my touch. It's like a certification of authenticity…"

"…"

"My intel is really good, you know? Whenever there's good material or a strong monster, whether it's in Korea or overseas, I get DMs on InHeart asking if I can make something out of it. Why?"

Hong Ye-seong flicked the blade with his finger. A clear sound, like nothing heard before, resonated. It sounded almost like a child's laughter.

"Because I'm the only person in the world who can make equipment out of those things."

"…"

"But even I have never heard about a basilisk appearing. I've never heard of, seen, or touched any basilisk loot, so there's no way I made this sword."

Of course, he hadn't heard of it. The basilisk was the master of the West Sea rift, and J was the only one who had met the rift's master. Only J knew the truth.

"But this thing… it says I made it."

Why is there Hong Ye-seong's signature on a weapon found in the rift?

He had never entered the West Sea rift. None of the hunters who had entered the rift had possessed the Basilisk's Fang. These two facts were certain. No one knew the West Sea rift better than J.

As countless thoughts tangled messily in his head, his pulse quickened.

"Where did you get this?"

"…"

"…Ah~ come on, Secretary Kim. I'm just as shocked as you are right now. I had no idea something like this would pop up. I just thought one of my weapons might have ended up on the black market…"

Hong Ye-seong scratched his head roughly. It was more out of frustration than annoyance.

"Damn, even if I ask you, you probably won't tell me."

"…"

"I promise you this. I won't ask who you are, I won't dig into it, and I'll keep this meeting a secret. I'm not curious at all. If you need a weapon, I'll even make one for you."

"…"

"But let's at least be honest about this."

Hong Ye-seong carefully placed the fang down and grabbed Cha Eui-jae's arm firmly. Cha Eui-jae hesitated for a moment, then stopped. The loose bandages fell away, revealing bloodshot eyes that gleamed brightly.

"Where did you get this?"