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A few weeks ago, when Curt Nilfiem began his plan to make money so that he could at least alleviate his status in life, and he could at least show something to his girlfriend, whose prospects were unlimited. He knew that within his mind was a lot of different knowledge waiting to be discovered by himself and so, with that in mind, he began to practice and practice until such time that he was able to get a handle on the things that he needed to do.
Alchemy, sculpting, and talisman making. These are the three things that he discovers to be easy to learn and practical to use.
As his body only contains a small amount of LEP energy, he then converts those to pure Qi using an array which he crafted using talismans. And so, with that, he can manipulate the LEP energy and begin to deepen his understanding of those subjects.
He rarely sleeps as the things he is learning truly grab his interest.
After he was confident of his skill in basic alchemy, sculpting, and talisman-making, he began his work. And now right in front of him is a young man who accidentally saw him sculpting those lifelike figurines just from looking at the photos.
At that time, Curt didn't expect the young man to brazenly walk inside the booth and watch him in silence. Unknown to him, in the young man's mind, he is looking at the god of sculpting. He saw Curt using a simple sharp tool and began sculpting those really hard stones like they were just clay. The young man, who belonged to a rich and powerful family in Kor City, immediately knew that he had found a hidden master.
He is aware that Espers are lofty people and would not lower themselves to serve normal people. But here is a young man whom he understood to have the power of an Esper, but lowers himself to sell simple trinkets and pendants.
So when he saw Curt in the restaurant, he immediately knew that it was his chance to ask the young man to be his master.
But as a young master, he didn't know how to lower himself to others. Hence, even though he is trying to be Curt's disciple, he is showing him an equal status and is also casual while talking to Curt. Hence, this made Curt dislike the youth a bit.
"Haha… I came here with my father. Oh… oh… my dad praises the thing that I bought from your shop. He wanted to meet you. Wait here for a bit." The youth said as he suddenly stood up and walked towards his father.
Curt saw the youth whisper something to his father's ears. The serious-looking man had a sudden change in his expression. His eyes trailed towards his son with disbelieving eyes.
Then Curt saw the teenage youth walking in their direction with a smile on his face.
Upon seeing this, Curt was a bit annoyed. He just wanted to spend his time with Jenny and now this annoying young lad is trying to get his ire. But of course, he could not get angry as Jenny was next to him.
When their eyes met, Jenny just showed a nonchalant expression as if she didn't care what was happening. And this made Curt feel a bit nervous.
"Although they have the same face, their attitude and character are quite the opposite," he thought, as his eyes didn't leave Jenny's face.
Jenny was not feeling the intense gaze of Curt on her which made her uncomfortable. She wanted to react, but she didn't know how. Although she has no feelings for Curt, she still finds him comfortable to be with and a bit funny sometimes.
Especially tonight, she didn't think that he could talk like that. He even tells jokes that almost make her laugh. Luckily, she was able to control herself from laughing.
When the father and son reached the table, the man immediately saw two young people. The man looked handsome, but from the way he looked at the young woman sitting opposite him, he knew that he was not that accomplished.
How could a man look fawningly at a woman? In his own opinion, a man should exude the aura of authority and not fawn upon a mere woman.
Hence, his impression of the handsome young man immediately went down a notch.
However, because he truly loves his son, he just follows him and the two appear next to the table.
"Dad, he is the master. He is the one you were looking for." The teenage youth said.
When the man heard this, his eyes squinted, and tried to analyze Curt again. When he heard his son mentioning the pendant, which made him feel less stressed out after a whole day of work, he was interested.
Although these kinds of things are not impossible in this world, he knew that they are rare. Espers would not just casually create such things as they would be hard-pressed to maintain their energy if they just put them in some trinkets and be used by normal people.
Everyone knows how precious the LEP energy in an Esper's body is. Hence, he was truly surprised. And if he could, he would like to get that person on his side.
But now knowing that the person he is looking for is just a young man in his 20s and, from the looks of things, is head over heels in love, how could he not be disappointed?
However, once he turned his sight to the young woman sitting on the opposite side of the young man, he was a bit stunned.
That is because he knew who that woman was. She is Jenny Mae Lee, one of the most promising Espers at Esper College of Kor City. She belongs to the top 10 Espers in the college, which has the ability of a high-ranked Esper.
As someone who influences the city, his information network is vast. An Esper who belongs to the top ten in the Esper College is someone many powerful figures in the city have their eyes on.
And because of this, his expression changed upon seeing the young woman.
She is not some otherworldly beauty, unlike most of those Espers who awaken their powers, but her face and name are already well-known in the higher circles, like himself. That's why, right now, although he was a bit dissatisfied with his son, he still would reward him for introducing him to such a figure with boundless prospects in the future.
"Hello! I'm Councilor Allan Heidi. I am glad to meet such promising young figures." The man who introduced himself as Allan Heidi said with a smile.
When Jenny Mae saw the man and introduced himself, her expression suddenly changed. She even stood up and shook the man's hands. Although she is a powerful Esper, the man in front of her is a city councilor and one of the most influential businessmen in the city and some of the nearest towns and villages. How could she not be surprised?
"Ah… councilor Heidi… I… I am Jenny Mae Lee and this is… this is my boyfriend, Curt Nilfiem." She replied politely.
When Allan Heidi saw her reaction he was satisfied. However, the youth beside him is a bit flustered. This is because he saw the young man looking at his father shaking the hands of the young woman and the smiles on their faces.
He immediately knew that the young man whom he wanted to be his master is angry… or jealous even. He could not let this happen. How can he lose this chance to be a disciple of a master?
So he immediately moved between the two and extended his hand towards Curt.
"I told you last time that I wanted to be your disciple, right? I hope that I can be one. This is why my father has a great deal in the city. If you need anything, you can ask him." The youth said with a smile.
His father, who was disrupted, and Jenny Mae, who suddenly found herself suddenly losing her composure after seeing one of the most powerful men in the city, felt a bit annoyed.
Although she didn't have the feeling of fawning over Allan Heidi, she still needed to show proper decorum when meeting those officials who ran the city. As an Esper, she would be working under them when she graduates, so showing the proper respect would not be that bad for her future.
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward for a second, but the appearance of the waiter interrupted this.
"Ah… We'll just let the two of you have your dinner, then. See you later, and I am happy to be meeting such promising young people." Allan Heidi said with a smile as he walked towards their reserved table in the VIP area.
However, he soon found out that his son actually didn't follow him and sat next to the young man like a puppy. He did not expect that his proud young son would act like this in public. Hence, just to save the image of his family, he immediately walked back and dragged the unwilling youth away.
"Sigh… what a weird event," Curt muttered.
And as usual, the two had a quiet dinner without any of them talking to each other. Although Curt would sometimes talk or ask about something, he was a bit stumped at one of two words they answered from the young woman in front of him.
He truly didn't know what to do now. He wanted to win her heart, but how? That is the question.
And so, after dinner, he didn't wait and immediately paid for the bill. He has a hunch that Jenny is going to be offering to pay. But how could he let that be?
He already has money now, and although he is not that rich, it is enough for him to treat her to this kind of lavish dining.
But, of course, he could not deny the fact that the restaurant was truly expensive. He took with him 20,000 Phil credits and only 1,000 Phil credits were left in his wallet. This made him think that what he is doing right now is not yet enough. He needs to do more, he needs to earn more. This way, he can spend more time with her.
As the two walk out of the restaurant, Jenny Mae is not looking at Curt with a renewed impression. She didn't know how he got that amount of money, but she was happy for him.
Deep in her heart, she is happy that he can at least live a good life now. She had been aware of his poor circumstances since before, and she wanted to help, but she could not do so for some reason. Plus, the thing between them was not real, and she didn't want him to expect more from her.
But tonight, her impression of him suddenly changed. And this made her smile unconsciously.
And this smile from her, unknown to her, made the young man who was looking at her suddenly feel his whole world turning upside down. His heart feels like jumping with joy.
His face is flustered like he was intoxicated, and his dumbfounded look is truly comical. But Jenny knew that in those astonished and dumbstruck looks, Curt was truly happy. And she didn't know why, but she was feeling the same.