‘That signature was definitely mine.’

A woman I met for the first time today arrived with a deed to a building bearing my signature, claiming to know I’m a mage and that she received significant help from me.

‘This situation makes no sense.’

After tidying up his room, Yuri rubbed a crystal ball tucked away in the corner. The transparent surface soon revealed the image of a man with dark circles under his eyes.

“Oh, Grand Mage! What brings you here? Have you finally decided to return to the Magic Tower?”

“I told you not to call me that. And I’m not returning anywhere. I’m still on vacation.”

“More like a runaway than a vacation, isn’t it? Did you know the Tower Master has been distributing ‘missing person’ flyers all over the world to find you?”

Was that really happening? Yuri frowned, grumbling to himself.

“Looks like my master has started doing strange things lately. Flyers? Seriously? Has he finally lost his mind?”

“It’s not senility; it’s because you’ve worried him sick.”

Yuri snorted, uninterested in the Tower Master’s antics.

“Never mind that. Has a woman named Titiana with silver hair come to the Magic Tower looking for me recently?”

“No, but Princess Sabina has visited a few times.”

Why was she going to the Magic Tower? Yuri’s annoyance deepened.

“Oh, I see. Anything else significant happening?”

“Significant? Well, there was a major magic backlash that disrupted the magic circle at the Tower. We don’t know what spell caused it, so it got brushed aside. By the way, did you have anything to do with that, Yuri?”

“Would I do something like that?”

“Right, you wouldn’t. You’re a genius mage but find using magic incredibly bothersome.”

“Exactly. See you later, then.”

“Wait a minute! You can’t just talk about yourself and—”

Yuri turned off the crystal ball, ignoring the rest. He had contacted them hoping for clues about Titiana, but as expected, there was nothing useful.

‘A major magic backlash, huh.’

Only a handful of mages could cast a spell powerful enough to break the Magic Tower’s magic circle. Yuri Esrente was one of those few.

‘Could it be that I’ve done something without remembering it? To that woman?’

Would someone as indifferent as I am really do such a thing?

Yuri shook his head. That was impossible.

Yet.

‘She pinpointed me exactly. Said a pink-haired mage handed her the building deed.’

Moreover, there was the strong magical aura he sensed from her.

‘Interesting.’

Who dared to wield such magic?

That was something he’d naturally uncover while spending time with her.

***

And so, I became business partners with Yuri and opened a flower shop.

The shop was named “The Little Prince,” inspired by the colorful geranium pots that lined the first-floor windowsill.

‘I have my own shop!’

Just the phrase “my shop” filled my heart with joy and excitement.

As I happily surveyed the space, a cheerful voice rang out from behind me.

“Where should I put the pots, Noona?”

Turning around, I saw Yuri, wearing a blue scarf, holding a small flower pot.

When I chose Yuri as a business partner, I thought he was born under a lucky star for a flower shop boy, and I was completely right. He matched perfectly with the lush green pots.

‘Flowers and a handsome young man—what a nice combination.’

The way he naturally called me Noona felt just right.

‘I’ve lived my whole life as a younger sister, but somewhere along the way, I grew accustomed to being called Noona.’

Partnering with Yuri was an excellent choice. I was confident that soon, when people mentioned “flower shop boy” on this street, they would be referring to him.

“Yeah! Let’s put that one inside!” I replied enthusiastically.

I admired Yuri inwardly as he worked diligently like a true owner.

‘He must be naturally tidy…’

The mess I saw when we first met was probably just a reflection of his emotional state, as both his room and the shop have been impeccably clean since then.

‘I’m the real problem here. Ugh, why does the dust never seem to disappear, no matter how much I clean?’

Look at how shiny the pots were after Yuri cleaned them!

As I watched him organize the pots, my gaze fell on the calendar hanging on the wall.

‘Right, cleaning isn’t the issue.’

There was another pressing problem at hand.

‘The shop is set up, and I stocked it with emergency funds I brought from home, but now those funds are gone.’

I was completely out of money.

I needed to buy tulip bulbs, more pots, and soil, but with what money?

The main income of a flower shop doesn’t come from pots but from bouquets, so I needed to stock up on flowers too.

‘I need to gather some seed money before the flower market opens next week. What day is it today, anyway…?’

The date looked strangely familiar. I rested my chin on my hand and stared blankly at the calendar.

‘I feel like I’m forgetting something important.’

As I groaned in frustration, Yuri called out to me.

“What’s wrong? Is the calendar date off?”

“Ah!”

Amusingly, the moment I faced Yuri, I remembered what I had forgotten.

‘The lottery!’

Today was the draw date for the lottery ticket I had held onto before returning!

‘Oh my gosh, how could I forget that!’

I slapped my cheeks with my palms. Then, with sparkling eyes, I turned to Yuri.

“Yuri! Let’s finish up here and close the shop for today!”

“What? We just opened!”

“I just remembered something super important. You have to come with me!”

“Huh?”

I grabbed Yuri by the sleeve and pulled him along. Although confused, he followed me obediently.

Yuri frowned in disbelief when he saw the sign in front of us.

“A lottery shop?”

He looked at me as if I were a hopeless gambler.

‘Why? What’s wrong with the lottery?’

Wasn’t it a state-approved, legitimate game of chance for one lucky winner?

‘At least someone who used a three-story building as a mere dump shouldn’t be giving me that look!’

Unable to explain everything in detail, I just tugged at Yuri’s sleeve.

“Hurry up, we don’t have much time.”

As soon as Yuri entered the lottery shop, he looked around in fascination.

Meanwhile, I quickly purchased the lottery ticket with the numbers I had memorized.

‘Phew, I’m so glad I remembered. I almost turned a fortune into scrap paper.’

Wasn’t the lottery something where even a single day’s difference could render the results useless?

‘Now, I just have to wait for the winning numbers to be announced tonight.’

Feeling accomplished, I walked out with the lottery ticket in hand. Yuri, who had somehow ended up beside me, tilted his head and asked, “But what’s that over there? There’s a big crowd.”

“Oh, that’s a racetrack. Haven’t you ever seen one?”

“A racetrack?”

Yuri, who seemed to have spent his entire life studying magic, looked completely clueless. Wanting to show him a bit of the world, I led him toward the racetrack.

Then, a vague idea of another way to make money crossed my mind.

‘Come to think of it, the most famous racehorse in the capital was Rolling Stars.’

It was all about betting on racehorses.

I remembered the times when my father and brother, who were only good at losing money, would drunkenly lament about how they should have bet on Thunderbird.

‘I think it was around this time, too.’

Relying solely on that memory, I approached the racetrack, and sure enough, there was Thunderbird.

‘The odds are 13:1? Can I really bet on this?’

Seeing the high odds made me hesitate. As I stood there, head tilted in thought, Yuri came up beside me and said in an innocent voice, “Oh, this is where you learn that life can change in an instant.”

For some reason, those words struck me like an arrow.

“Right, life is all about taking chances.”

I came to the capital with just a bag, so why was I trembling over this?

‘Oh, whatever.’

I boldly emptied my pockets. Inside was my entire fortune: 10 gold.

“All in on Thunderbird!”

Yuri chuckled and poured a pile of coins over my money. There had to be at least 50 of them.

“If you’re going to bet, you should do it properly. Let’s go with 100 gold.”

“What?!”

Was this really fine?

And so, I ended up betting a total of 100 gold on Thunderbird, including the 90 gold Yuri added.

Thirty minutes later.

“Unbelievable!!” Miraculously, Thunderbird won first place.

I held 1,300 gold in my hands—thirteen times my investment!

“Wow! This is amazing, amazing!”

As I jumped around in excitement, Yuri chuckled and asked, “Are you that happy?”

“Of course I’m happy!”

Thinking about it, it was all thanks to Yuri. I only bought the ticket because I wanted to show him the racetrack. Grinning widely, I pinched Yuri’s cheeks with both hands.

“Hey, you lucky charm!”

“Eh?”

Yuri, who was grumbling about his sore cheeks, soon joined in my joy.