Are You Not Afraid of Stepping on Something?

"I know. You're the best leader in the whole universe."

Ethan gave Ivy a thumbs-up, his feelings sincere. His experience in the workplace in his previous life had led him to believe that a good leader like her might exist only in fiction—one of the last fantasies people had before dying from overwork.

"Well... it's not quite that exaggerated."

Ivy looked away from Ethan, while Golden Hair's reaction was more direct. The creature shyly covered its face with both hands and squirmed bashfully.

"It's about time. I should head back and get some rest, too," Ethan said.

Their friendly neighborly exchange was over. He'd probably earned a few points in his leader's estimation, which meant he was one step closer to his dream of transferring to Containment Bureau headquarters.

Of course, there was no way he was going to sleep. How could someone his age possibly fall asleep?

Before heading to Fireplace Bay, he still needed to put on a basic disguise.

A plain gray mage's robe, a battered wizard's hat, a wooden staff, and the essential mask. Ethan scrutinized his reflection in the mirror. Aside from the slightly shabby outfit making him look a little "battle-worn," he looked pretty good overall—handsome, even. More importantly, he looked every bit the professional Elemental Shaper.

Word had spread through the taverns that a mysterious Elemental Shaper had arrived at the docks, offering a high-end private magic scroll customization service.

But business was slow.

That sort of pitch was nothing unusual in Fireplace Bay. Anyone who knew the trade could tell at a glance that the Elemental Shaper called Heisenberg probably couldn't afford a stall on the deck. And when they heard that a private commission cost 30 Gold Lions, they immediately decided he was a fraud.

The kind who wanted to get rich overnight, no less.

Ethan paid no attention to what people said. As the saying went, every beginning was difficult. He was confident that once he completed a few orders, more and more customers would come looking for him, because he could offer a custom service that magic scroll shops couldn't. People in this era simply didn't understand the value of the word "custom."

Until then, all he had to do was stay by the sea and quietly practice Ice Arrow.

Watching his skill proficiency tick up by "+1," Ethan felt as if he'd returned to the past. The night's practice was so satisfying, and he even found a way to enjoy the tedious drills. When he happened to discover that his Ice Arrows could skip across the surface of the sea, there was no turning back.

At first, his Ice Arrows could only kick up two or three splashes. But with his tireless practice, Ethan felt his connection to the Ice Element growing ever closer. When his final Ice Arrow left twenty patches of ice across the sea, he and the Ice Element threw their arms up in excitement and leaped into the air.

We're the champions!

Though Ethan was the only competitor in the first "Ice Arrow Skipping Contest," that didn't stop him and the Ice Element from basking in the joy of victory. Everyone knew that the champion of a first-ever tournament held a special place in history.

Ethan could feel that the Ice Element wasn't downcast anymore. For the first time in ages, it was excited.

He and the Ice Element smiled at each other. No words were needed.

Sometimes, a man's and an Ice Element's happiness was just that simple.

Passersby and guards who happened to walk along the beach all had the same opinion of the scene: "What a lunatic!"

Even in Fireplace Bay, something that crazy was a rare sight.

A rumor spread.

There was a madman who could cast Ice Arrow over on the beach. Stay away, or he might plaster your face with one.

Ice Arrow (Mastery): Proficiency: 21/150

Ethan checked the panel with satisfaction. That was enough practice for today. He noticed that the Ice Element was getting tired of playing, too.

As his skill proficiency increased, it became harder and harder to gain more. Once he reached level-three mastery, he could no longer increase his proficiency with every cast of Ice Arrow. Still, gaining nearly twenty points in one night was like riding a rocket—far faster than when he'd practiced Fireball Spell.

It seemed he was destined to become a master of the Ice Element.

It would never get light in Fireplace Bay. Many people suspected that it was located in some special space outside the real world. The Lofik Consortium had spent a fortune inviting the world's finest mages to create this plane. It was the consortium's trading hub, and here, they were the only law.

Day one: zero customers.

It should be almost dawn in Brookwood Town, too. Time to head back and get some good sleep.

Ethan had worked out his plans for what came next, but the moment he turned around, they fell apart. Just as the Old Sen Magic Scroll Shop was about to close, his first customer arrived.

Ivy?

Ethan froze in place.

The customer was a woman wearing a swirl mask almost identical to Ivy's, though a closer look revealed a great many differences.

Her long white hair fell to her waist, and the swirl mask revealed only her red eyes.

White hair and red eyes—traits that would send countless gentlemen into raptures.

Ethan had learned from a book that a particular people with white hair and red eyes lived in the northern Empire. The moment he'd read that description, he'd already made plans to travel there someday.

He should have welcomed the customer with a warm smile, but he couldn't bring himself to smile.

For the first time since arriving in this world, Ethan felt pressure from someone else.

Just meeting her gaze was enough to make his hands and feet go cold.

So cold!

It wasn't just the sudden drop in temperature. There was also a chill that seemed to come from the depths of his soul.

The white-haired woman gazed at him calmly. Her exquisite, deep-blue silk robe made it easy to tell that she came from a noble background. Ethan also noticed a bracelet on her right wrist, glowing with a pale blue light.

Below that was a pair of long, shapely legs. She stood barefoot on the ground, her crystalline toes clearly visible.

"Do you like feet?"

The white-haired woman glanced in the direction of Ethan's gaze and seemed thoughtful.

"No, I just suddenly thought of something."

Ethan furrowed his brow. Even after the white-haired woman spoke, he made no effort to avert his eyes. Instead, he looked even more closely, resting a hand on his chin as he admired the work of art before him like a connoisseur.

Her skin was as flawless and white as porcelain. He could imagine how smooth and soft it would feel without even touching it.

"What did you think of?"

As she asked, the white-haired woman even raised her right foot, voluntarily showing Ethan the sole.

Ethan finished his inspection and posed a thought-provoking question. "You walk around barefoot. Aren't you afraid of stepping on a nail?"

With such dainty, pale feet, stepping on a nail by accident would surely hurt for a long time, wouldn't it?

He was now very worried that his customer might fall victim to the treacherous family of sharp objects on the beach, with nails at its head.

"No."

The white-haired woman calmly set her foot back on the ground and said, "I heard people in the tavern say a mysterious Elemental Shaper had come to Fireplace Bay, offering customers a high-end custom magic scroll service."

"That's right. That's me."

To prove who he was and earn the customer's trust, Ethan showed the white-haired woman the wooden staff that marked him as a magic-user.

The white-haired woman confirmed, "You can do anything?"

"Of course."

"Then I'd like to ask for some advice about love."