Chapter 5
That signature was definitely mine too.
A woman he had never met before showed up with a deed bearing his signature, claimed she knew he was a magician, and said he had once helped her tremendously?
This situation makes absolutely no sense.
After tidying his room, Yuri rubbed a crystal orb that had been shoved into one corner. Soon, the transparent surface lit up, revealing a hollow-eyed man whose dark circles reached all the way down his cheeks.
“Ah, Archmage! What brings you this time? Have you finally decided to return to the Magic Tower?”
“I told you not to call me that. And return? No chance. I’m still on vacation.”
“Vacation? More like running away from home. Do you know the Tower Master has been distributing ‘missing person’ flyers all over the empire trying to find y— I mean, Yuri?”
“Did that really happen?”
Yuri frowned.
“My master has been doing stranger things lately. Missing person flyers? Has he finally developed dementia?”
“It’s not dementia. You’re the one who’s been driving him insane.”
Yuri snorted.
He wasn’t interested in what the Tower Master was doing.
“Forget that. Has any woman come to the Magic Tower recently looking for me? Silver hair, name’s Titiana.”
“No. Though Princess Sabina has come by several times.”
“What does she want at the Magic Tower?”
Yuri looked irritated.
“Fine. Anything else important happen?”
“Well… recently, the Magic Tower’s magic circle was damaged due to the backlash of an enormous spell. We never figured out what spell caused it, so the matter was dropped. Ah! Wait—could that have been your doing?”
“As if I’d do something like that.”
“Well, true. You are a genius magician, but you also hate using magic.”
“Exactly. I’ll talk to you later.”
“W-Wait! You can’t just ask your questions and hang up like th—!”
Yuri cut off the connection without listening further.
He had contacted them in case there was some clue related to Titiana, but as expected, he learned nothing useful.
An enormous spell…
There were only a handful of magicians capable of casting a spell powerful enough to destroy the Magic Tower’s magic circle.
And Yuri Esrente was one of them.
Did I do something to that woman… something I don’t remember?
Me? Someone who has no interest in other people whatsoever?
Yuri shook his head.
There was no way.
And yet—
She specifically said a pink-haired magician gave her the building deed.
And there was also the powerful magical aura he had sensed from her necklace.
Interesting.
Who exactly dared to cast such magic?
Well… living together would likely reveal the answer sooner or later.
✦ ✦ ✦
And just like that, Yuri and I became business partners and opened a flower shop.
The shop was called “The Little Prince.”
The name came from the colorful geranium pots lined up along the first-floor windowsills.
I have my own store!
Just saying the words my store filled my chest with excitement and happiness.
I was happily looking around the shop when a bright voice called from behind me.
“Noona, where should I put this flowerpot?”
When I turned around, I saw Yuri holding a small pot while wearing a blue scarf around his neck.
When I decided to make Yuri my business partner, I thought he looked like someone born under the sign of a flower shop—and I had been absolutely right.
He looked ridiculously perfect surrounded by fresh green plants.
Flowers and a handsome young man… what a wonderful combination.
And somehow, hearing him call me noona felt strangely natural.
I spent my entire life being someone’s younger sister… but somehow I’ve gotten used to being called older sister instead.
Anyway, partnering with Yuri had been an excellent decision.
I was convinced that soon enough, when people on this street said “that flower shop guy,” they’d be referring to Yuri.
“Yeah! Put that one further inside!”
I watched Yuri work diligently like a proper shop owner and admired him inwardly.
He must actually be a neat person by nature.
The trash-filled disaster I first encountered must’ve just been due to emotional distress.
Ever since then, his room and the shop had remained spotless.
Meanwhile, I’m the problem. Seriously, why does dust keep appearing no matter how much I clean?
The flowerpots Yuri cleaned sparkled.
While watching him organize the pots, I turned around.
A calendar hanging nearby caught my eye.
Right. Cleaning isn’t the real issue right now.
There was something far more urgent.
The shop is open, and I used my emergency savings from home to stock inventory… but now that money is gone.
I needed to buy tulip bulbs, more pots, and more soil.
And where was that money supposed to come from?
The flower shop’s main income would come from bouquets, not potted plants—so I needed fresh flowers too.
First, I need seed money. Before next week’s flower market.
Then I stared at the date on the calendar.
And froze.
Why does this date feel so familiar?
As I struggled to remember, Yuri called out to me.
“What’s wrong? Is the calendar date incorrect?”
“Ah!”
The moment I looked at Yuri, I suddenly remembered.
The lottery!
Today was the exact day the lottery ticket I brought back from before my regression would be announced!
I’m insane! How could I forget something this important?!
I slapped both cheeks with my hands.
Then I turned to Yuri with sparkling eyes.
“Yuri! Let’s close the shop early today!”
“What? We just opened.”
“I remembered something extremely important. Come with me!”
“Huh?”
I grabbed Yuri by the sleeve and dragged him along.
Though confused, he followed obediently.
When Yuri saw the sign in front of us, he frowned in disbelief.
“A lottery shop?”
Then he looked at me like I was a hopeless gambling addict.
What? What’s wrong with lotteries?
It was simply a government-approved game where one lucky person got all the money.
And I definitely don’t want judgment from someone who used an entire three-story building as a garbage dump.
Unable to explain myself, I simply tugged at his sleeve.
“Hurry. We don’t have much time.”
As soon as we entered the lottery shop, Yuri looked around curiously.
Meanwhile, I quickly purchased a ticket using the numbers I had memorized.
Thank goodness I remembered.
I nearly turned a fortune into worthless paper.
After all, if even a single day was off, the numbers would be useless.
Now I just have to wait until tonight’s results.
Feeling satisfied, I walked outside clutching the ticket.
Yuri, now walking beside me, tilted his head.
“What’s that over there? Why are so many people gathered?”
“Oh, that? It’s a racetrack. You’ve never seen one?”
“A racetrack?”
Yuri looked genuinely clueless.
Had he really spent his entire life studying magic?
Feeling generous enough to broaden his horizons, I led him toward it.
Then suddenly—
I remembered another possible way to make money.
Come to think of it… wasn’t the capital’s most famous racehorse Rolling Stars?
Horse betting.
I remembered Father and my brother drunkenly ranting about how they should’ve bet on Thunderbird instead.
I think it was around this time too…
Relying solely on that vague memory, I checked the betting list.
And sure enough—
Thunderbird was there.
The odds are 13-to-1? Can I really bet on this?
Seeing those absurd odds made me hesitate.
Then Yuri stepped beside me and said innocently—
“Oh… so this is where people learn that life is all about one big gamble.”
That sentence pierced straight through my heart.
He’s right.
Life is one big gamble.
I had already come all the way to the capital carrying nothing but a single bag.
Why was I hesitating now?
Whatever.
I boldly emptied my pocket.
Inside was my entire fortune.
Ten gold.
“All in on Thunderbird!”
Yuri chuckled and casually dumped a pile of gold coins onto my bet.
At a glance, there had to be at least fifty coins.
“If you’re going to gamble, do it properly. Let’s make it one hundred gold.”
“Huh?!”
Was this really okay?!
And just like that, thanks to Yuri adding ninety gold, I ended up betting a total of one hundred gold on Thunderbird.
Thirty minutes later—
“We hit the jackpot!”
Like a miracle—
Thunderbird came in first place.
And I walked away with 1,300 gold—thirteen times our investment.
“Wooooow! This is amazing!”
I jumped up and down while heading to collect our winnings.
Yuri smirked.
“You’re that happy?”
“Of course I am!”
Thinking about it, this was all thanks to Yuri.
I only ended up buying the ticket because I brought him to see the racetrack.
Beaming, I grabbed both of his cheeks.
“You little lucky charm!”
“Hey—!”
Though he complained that I was hurting him, Yuri soon started celebrating along with me.
