What Cherrybell handed me was a small bottle displayed on a shelf.
“…Here.”
Cherrybell’s sleeping incense was purer than the others.
Just holding the bottle made me feel as if success was right within my grasp.
“Thank you so much, Cherrybell. You’re my lifesaver! If I succeed in this request, I’ll be grateful to you for the rest of my life.”
I couldn’t hide my joy as I clasped the bottle of sleeping incense with both hands.
Even then, Cherrybell was looking at me with a hesitant face, as if she had something she wanted to say.
“Um, sis, I…”
Stubborn, sensitive, and quick to get annoyed — Cherrybell was more soft-hearted than she appeared.
That’s why I could already guess what she was about to say.
So, there was no need to actually hear it.
“Oh, right. Cherrybell, I should’ve said this earlier… I really enjoyed reading the novel you wrote. I’ll be looking forward to your next work too.”
For a moment, Cherrybell was completely speechless.
Then, as if someone had splattered paint on her, her face turned red and blue.
A moment later, a scream echoed through the lab.
“Aaaaaaah! I told you to shut up already!”
Grinning mischievously, I gathered the basket I had brought and left the place.
***
“This time, I absolutely must not mess up.”
The first time I took on a request, I was so nervous to be out in the world that I fainted before I could even take a single step.
After that, following Dad’s advice, I tried punching the client straight in the solar plexus the moment I met them.
Strangely, they didn’t fall asleep — and mistaking me for some crazy beastkin, the client reported me, making it incredibly difficult to get out of the mess.
Other incidents included mistaking a hair-removal herb for sleeping incense and accidentally turning the client bald, among other bizarre disasters.
“But today will be completely different! I officially got help from Cherrybell, and I have a good feeling about this!”
Even if my so-called instincts had never once proven reliable before.
Anyway, I was in such a good mood that the basket I carried felt as light as a feather.
My steps were so lively I felt like I could take off anywhere.
Humming a tune, I eventually arrived at our house.
As I stepped up to the door, Beryl, one of the maids, greeted me warmly.
“Welcome home, young lady!”
“Thanks. Where’s Mom and Dad?”
“They’re having tea in the garden. Actually, they asked me to call them the moment you arrived — I’ll go tell them right now!”
I quickly grabbed Beryl’s hand as she turned to dash off.
She looked back at me with startled eyes.
“Wait just a moment! Let me finish getting ready, and I’ll go to them myself. It won’t take long.”
“Is there anything I can help you with, miss?”
“Not really, but… could you help me pack? Just the usual way.”
“Of course! Just leave it to me!”
I returned to my room and changed into the black work outfit I wore only for requests.
It was a drab outfit, with no sense of style whatsoever.
But I had heard that dressing like this made it easier to avoid drawing attention and complete the mission.
Since there wasn’t much else to prepare, I quickly finished getting ready and went to find Mom and Dad.
“I’m off now.”
Mom, who had just set down her teacup, looked at me with a worried expression.
“It’s your last request. Aren’t you nervous?”
“I’m really nervous. But… I feel like I can do well this time.”
“That’s a relief.”
Dad pulled me into a tight hug and spoke in a gentle voice.
Remember, wolf beastkin are still beastkin just like us. But be careful. That doesn’t mean every wolf beastkin is good.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Dad.”
After saying my goodbyes, I got into the carriage the butler had prepared.
Just in case I fainted again, I took a calming herbal pill beforehand.
The coachman was driving smoothly, and the scenery outside the window slowly moved past.
Thus began what would be my unforgettable final request.
When I got off the carriage, the shaman Tabiren was waiting for me.
Next to her was the academy headmaster, who looked rather displeased.
“So you actually showed up, Mayhen.”
For a moment, I nearly shrank back under the headmaster’s intimidating aura, but I forced myself to square my shoulders.
It wasn’t like I wasn’t supposed to be here.
“What brings you here, Headmaster? You usually don’t come when there’s a request.”
Normally, Tabiren, who could hear the voice of the gods, would select the client, and the headmaster’s role was simply to deliver that information to the students.
It was extremely rare for him to personally come see someone off for a request.
“I came to see just how well this stubborn brat can do.”
As expected, I hadn’t been counting on him saying anything nice.
Still, something inside me burned with determination at his words.
“I’ll succeed in this request, no matter what.”
“As I’ve always said, sometimes it’s better to just give up—!”
“No way! I’m not giving up!”
As we bickered, the shaman Tabiren watched us with a half-hidden smile behind the curtain.
Her smiling face was captivating.
“You two get along so well,” she said. “But now, it’s time to go.”
She came closer, and as she did at every request, she applied a dab of red dye with her finger to the corner of my eye.
Mysteriously, once Tabiren marked my eyes like this, I would always be able to find where the client was waiting.
Even if I was far away from the client, the red smoke would swirl and show me the direction where they were.
“It’s already your last request, isn’t it, Miss Mayhen?”
“Yeah. This time, I really want to come back with good news.”
I let out a deep breath while checking to make sure Cherrybell’s sleeping incense was still safely tucked into my pocket.
Tabiren’s gaze shifted toward my pocket.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, this? It’s a sleeping incense my little sister made. She’s really good at crafting high-purity herbs.”
Tabiren let out a small “Oh-ho” of admiration as she drew a complex pattern on the path beneath my feet with her hand.
Once the intricate work was finished, she whispered gently,
“Then I wish you good luck, Miss Mayhen.”
“Thank you! I’ll be back soon!”
As soon as I said that, the ground beneath me gave way.
In an instant, I was thrown into pitch-black darkness.
***
When I opened my eyes, my vision was still dark.
It felt like I was caught in a net, and my body was tightly restrained.
I carefully reached my hand forward and felt something soft, like cloth, brush against my fingertips.
‘What is this? Don’t tell me I ended up somewhere strange?!’
Panic surged through me, and I nearly jumped up in fright.
But hadn’t my panicking heart caused me to mess up so many times before?
I tried my best to calm my breathing.
Then, from somewhere nearby, I heard a steady sound.
Rustle, rustle.
A sharp, brushing noise repeated over and over, as if something was skimming against a surface.
I carefully stepped forward and peered in the direction of the sound.
To my surprise, there was a man sitting at a desk, writing on documents.
Judging by the walls lined with densely packed bookshelves, this must have been the man’s personal office.
‘Judging by the way the smoke is swirling around this man, he must be my client…’
Though it was a bit odd that the smoke was blue instead of the usual color, that wasn’t the important thing right now.
This request felt different from all the others so far.
Normally, when I went on a job, I had the hassle of having to track down the client from a distance, but today, by sheer luck, I had landed right within arm’s reach.
The mission was off to a very promising start.
“Phew…”
The man, looking exhausted from his continuous work, pressed his hands firmly against his eyes.
I debated what to do, but decided to keep watching for now and wait for the right opportunity.
Time passed endlessly.
I couldn’t even tell how long it had been.
By now, he should have taken a break, but his hands kept moving without stopping.
‘Is this client a workaholic?’
Thankfully, it seemed he still hadn’t noticed that I was hiding behind the curtain.
That much was good — but the real problem now was figuring out how to naturally get him to ingest the sleeping incense.
While I was racking my brain, the man reached out his left hand toward the desk and lifted a glass filled with liquid to his lips.
Seeing the bottle labeled “whiskey” nearby, I realized he must have been drinking alcohol nonstop.
‘He’s already so heavily medicated, and now he’s drinking strong liquor on top of that?’
Even at a glance, his condition didn’t look good.
The skin under his eyes was dark and sunken, and his complexion was so pale it wouldn’t have been surprising if he collapsed at any moment.
Maybe he was drinking that harsh liquor because he couldn’t fall asleep.
I started to feel guilty for having held prejudices against him just because he was a wolf beastkin.
Just as my legs were about to give out from standing so long, the man let out a faint sigh and rose from his seat.
Seeing him pick up the whiskey bottle, it seemed he was heading off to get more alcohol.
‘Now’s my chance!’
As he walked toward a cabinet filled with bottles, I carefully slipped out from behind the curtain.
It was finally time for me to use my one and only special skill.