Episode 14
After that, I truly understood what people meant when they said someone “spends money like water.”
Starting with the car seat, Uncle Shin-jae bought everything — beds, wardrobes, desks, toys, clothes — completely without restraint.
I turned pale and said weakly,
“T-Tamton, I can’t wear all this…”
“It’s still cold, so something fluffy and cute like this cloak would be nice.”
“Oh, you’re right. This one is adorable.”
I sent my most desperate look toward Hwan oppa, who was just standing back watching the chaos unfold.
Help me!
Noticing my pleading stare, he sighed and walked over.
“Alpha.”
“Yeah?”
“That one’s fine, but I prefer this.”
“!”
My jaw dropped.
“B-Bathing suit…”
“That’s right, Ayoon. Hands up.”
“Oh my, how cute! This is just too adorable!”
I trembled all over, but no one seemed to care about my suffering.
[system] The Administrator of the World Law sighs, saying that humans really are simple, foolish, and hopelessly incompetent creatures.
[system] Your Contractor is attempting to designate your current outfit as an exclusive item.
Don’t you dare!
[system] Your Contractor scoffs, asking if you really expect him to sit back and watch his partner walk around in some pitiful scrap of cloth.
[system] Through your Contractor’s touch, the soft, fluffy cloak becomes your exclusive gear!
I said don’t!
It was useless to argue.
Uncle Shin-jae kept buying clothes like a man possessed, and the Administrator, not to be outdone, kept turning every new outfit into an exclusive item.
I could only tremble in silent humiliation, wrapped in an absurdly cute white cloak that screamed shame.
Hours passed like that.
They even stopped midway for a meal to “refuel” before resuming the shopping rampage, which finally began to wind down.
I thought I was going to die.
Who knew shopping could feel like endurance training?
The only thing I gained from this ordeal was a reasonable deduction — that judging from how much they’d spent, they probably weren’t planning to kick me out anytime soon.
“Aww, poor Ayoon looks tired.”
“Yeeees…”
I lay sprawled across the table in the PSR (Personal Shopper Room), utterly drained.
But my rest didn’t last long. Hwan oppa firmly lifted my head.
Can’t I rest for even a second?!
“Dirty.”
He rubbed my cheek roughly.
I groaned as he scrubbed away like I was some stubborn stain.
Then—
“Have you all rested a bit?”
With her ever-sweet voice, the personal shopper, Choi Sun-bin, reappeared.
“I hope today’s session was satisfying?”
“It was very helpful. Thank you, as always.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Then, Representative, would now be a good time to discuss that matter we mentioned before?”
Huh?
Half-dozing in Hwan oppa’s arms, I snapped awake at the suspicious words.
Uncle Shin-jae replied,
“You mean the fragment?”
Bingo!
“Yes. As I said before, quite a few hunters are willing to part with their fragments. They all seem open to trading if the price is right.”
“You’ve gone through a lot of trouble. May I see the goods?”
“Of course.”
Choi Sun-bin approached, carrying a box that radiated faint magical energy.
Oh no…
This was the start of the infamous incident where Cheongcheon suffered massive financial losses and public humiliation when it was revealed they’d been scammed.
I can’t let that happen!
But there was nothing I could do — and the box was opened.
Inside, small, multicolored stones glittered faintly, each etched with Roman numerals.
“These are genuine Key Fragments.”
Ugh.
I had never seen a real Key Fragment before, but if Uncle Shin-jae was fooled, they must look convincingly real.
“Hmm. They do look authentic.”
“I received them personally from reliable hunters. You can rest assured.”
This is bad.
The problem wasn’t that he was too trusting.
The problem is the nature of the Key Fragments themselves.
Only those qualified to be their rightful owner could even access their appraisal data or store them in an inventory.
“You can even appraise them if you’d like.”
The reason she could say that so confidently was because a very sophisticated recognition-blocking spell had been cast on these fakes.
To any ordinary observer, they looked completely genuine.
“Appraise.”
Uncle Shin-jae activated his appraisal skill — and nodded, seemingly satisfied.
I stomped my feet in frustration.
Am I really just going to watch this happen?
[system] The Administrator asks why you’re so worked up.
Obviously because—
I quickly explained the situation in my thoughts.
After a moment, the Administrator replied:
[system] “Can’t you do something about it?”
…What?
Then I heard his amused voice in my ear:
“The Absolute Command overrides all other magic, remember?
If you appraise it, that fake will have no choice but to reveal its true form.”
“Then the deal is settled—”
“Waaah! Shiny shiny!”
Ah, screw it!
I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I grabbed one of the fragments from the box anyway.
Despite the rudeness of my action, Uncle Shin-jae only chuckled.
“Pretty, isn’t it, Ayoon?”
“Mm-hmm! Ayoon wants to do like Tamton!”
I smiled brightly.
“Appwaise! (Appraise!)”
The moment I said it, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.
I read the words displayed there aloud.
“Fwaud Key Fwagment.”
“…”
Uncle Shin-jae froze mid-gesture.
“Ayoon, what did you just say?”
“Uh-huh! Ajumma told me to appwaise it!”
I beamed innocently.
“I saw it! Ayoon can read! It’s a fake!”
“T-that’s impossible!”
Choi Sun-bin’s face went white.
“There’s no way a child without an Awakening could use Appraisal—”
Uncle Shin-jae silenced her with a raised hand.
“Ayoon, is that true? You really saw it?”
“Yesh, Tamton can see too.”
I handed him the fake fragment. He took it, and his expression hardened as he saw the same data I had.
“It is fake.”
“H-how…!”
“Well, I think the bigger question isn’t how she discovered it, but how you intend to explain this, Ms. Choi.”
A cold, heavy pressure filled the room.
Choi Sun-bin stammered, scrambling for excuses.
“Representative, I-I really thought these were genuine! I got them from trustworthy hunters, I swear—”
“Then tell me who those hunters were.”
“That… I can’t…”
Her face turned ghostly pale.
Of course she can’t.
Her “reliable hunters” were actually her accomplices.
Confessing their names would mean admitting her own crimes.
If I were her, I’d confess and try to cut a deal for a lighter sentence.
Apparently, she thought the same.
“I-I’m so sorry, Representative!”
She fell to her knees and began confessing everything — listing every accomplice by name.
Uncle Shin-jae’s expression was unreadable as he listened, until he suddenly frowned.
“Wait — Chainzer’s involved too?”
“Y-yes.”
She nodded through her tears.
He clicked his tongue.
“That complicates things.”
“How so?”
“You forgot again? Chainzer’s a government-affiliated hunter.”
Ah.
That one line explained everything.
“Normally the Awakening Bureau wouldn’t get involved, but Chainzer’s different. He’s a national-ranked magician — seventh in the country. They won’t want to lose someone like him over this.”
“So they’ll try to cover it up.”
“Exactly. But if they do, they’ll owe us a favor.”
After thinking for a moment, Uncle Shin-jae stood up.
“While we finalize the details, we’ll be taking custody of Ms. Choi for now. I trust there are no objections.”
“N-no, of course not!”
She nodded frantically. He summoned his aides to escort her out.
“My poor Ayoon. You just came out for a day and had to witness all this.”
“Still, thanks to her, we avoided being scammed,” said his secretary.
Uncle Shin-jae nodded.
“That’s true. It’s all thanks to our Ayoon.”
“And the fact that she can already read Korean means she’s far more intelligent than others her age.”
“Naturally. Our Ayoon’s a genius.”
I didn’t think I was that impressive…
Uncle Shin-jae murmured,
“But how did her appraisal work when mine didn’t?”
Hmm… well, that’s a secret.
Pretending to be distracted, I clenched and unclenched my fingers, feigning interest in my own hand.
