As An Antique Shop Owner, It's Only Reasonable That I Know A Bit Of Magic - Chapter 107

“Have you performed any kind of ritual?” Su Fan asked.

If she was one of those fools who sought out a demon’s power themselves, he wouldn’t mind making her pay through the nose.

“No, no rituals…” The woman frowned and shook her head. “I don’t follow any religion, my job has no connection to it. My life is just work and home…”

Su Fan observed her; she didn’t seem to be lying. So he understood.

It must be a family inheritance.

An ancestor of her family line must have made some kind of deal with a non-human entity, which is how they obtained this supernatural power.

But the woman opposite him seemed completely bewildered.

“Were you adopted?”

“…How did you know?” The woman, her life’s story laid bare by Su Fan’s words, was visibly shocked.

Very few people knew she had been adopted as a child; it wasn’t something that could have leaked.

Which meant he had discerned her background just by looking at her!
What a powerful psychic!

The woman, who had initially come just to try her luck, now looked at Su Fan with a newfound trust.

“Let’s sit down first,” Su Fan said.

The woman nodded and took a seat.

It was only then that Su Fan noticed her eyes.

They were a rare light blue, full of mystery, like frozen oceans were hidden within them.

Her skin seemed to glow. Paired with her blonde hair, she looked like an elf straight out of a storybook.

It was just that her facial structure was somewhat sharp and angular, more akin to a female warrior’s.

She was beautiful, no doubt, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that her eyes held the distinctive intelligence of a Siberian Husky.

“Let’s begin…” The woman nodded and started her story.

“My name is Loren, and I’m a doctor by profession… Currently, I work as a surgeon at a private medical institution.”

“It all started with a surgery…”

The higher-ups at the institution seemed to have suddenly taken an interest in pediatric brain surgery and came to observe a procedure in progress.

Loren’s superior, Dr. Keko—a doctor who usually only operated on adults—was eager to show off his skills to the board members. He ended up taking over the role of lead surgeon from Loren, a move that nearly caused the patient’s death.

To prevent a tragedy, Loren privately altered the treatment plan her superior had implemented.

The surgery was a great success, but she consequently earned Keko’s displeasure.

However, Loren was somewhat used to this. She had endured humiliation and hardship, developing a relatively high tolerance for mental stress.

But then, as if misfortunes never come singly, her mother was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer.

“So I had to go to Keko, to ask him to put in a good word for me, to recommend me for a part-time position at Revinia…”

“They are conducting research on a stem cell project that might help with my mother’s cancer treatment.”

Loren wrung her hands together.

“I was just trying my luck, really. I knew Revinia’s part-time researcher positions were probably already filled…”

“And he refused you outright…” Su Fan didn’t need to guess.

Those who curry favor with superiors often bully their subordinates.

Coupled with the fact that Loren had previously stolen his thunder, it would have been strange if Keko had agreed.

“Did you intentionally use your ability to seriously injure him?”

“It wasn’t like that!”

Loren reacted strongly to Su Fan’s question, her voice rising considerably. “I didn’t know I had such an ability then! Nothing like that had ever happened before!”

But she quickly realized her outburst and forced herself to calm down.

Keko hadn’t just refused Loren’s request; he had humiliated her to her face.

As rage surged within her, Loren seemed to see the internal tissue of his brain, its blood vessels suddenly rupturing. Keko collapsed right in front of her.

“I can’t control this power. I’m afraid I might hurt someone else at any moment…”

Loren had mentioned this to her adoptive mother, but her mother said it was just her imagination and told her to watch less sci-fi.

However, it happened again soon after.

Unsurprisingly, the CEO of Revinia took notice of the skilled female doctor with the excellent clinical surgery record in the following days.

When Loren made her request for employment and treatment for her mother, he said it was all no problem.

His unexpected generosity thrilled Loren.

But she soon discovered he was a morally bankrupt scoundrel.

Not only did he relieve himself openly on the floor of the large office in front of her, but he also prepared to touch her without even washing his hands.

He also made it clear, both explicitly and implicitly, that he wanted to take Loren out for the night.

But for her mother’s sake, she endured it all.

Until he handed her a list and told her to cross off any name.

It turned out that his offer to include Loren’s mother meant bumping a current patient from the program, not adding her to it…

Loren, with her strong moral compass, couldn’t make that choice.

Her education and upbringing wouldn’t allow it, and her mother wouldn’t be happy about it either.

Loren’s refusal to compromise angered the man.

He responded with cold sarcasm. Finally, Loren couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer and angrily denounced his arrogant, life-disregarding behavior.

And, unsurprisingly, in her highly agitated state, her ability activated again, seriously injuring the CEO before her.

“I see. I understand the situation now. You are indeed an exceptional doctor.”

Su Fan nodded.

Without solid professional skills, someone like Loren would find it hard to survive in the workplace.

However, a small detail caught his attention.

“You put up with Dr. Keko for so long, yet you lost your temper and lost control within less than half an hour of talking with that CEO…”

“Don’t you find that strange?”

This sharp perspective took Loren by surprise.

She had never considered that.

Now that Su Fan mentioned it, she realized the alarming implication.

“You mean, it was this force that caused my emotions to start getting out of control?”

“I’m afraid so,” Su Fan said calmly.

“Rage causes the power to go out of control, and the loss of control, in turn, makes your spirit more… frenzied. It’s a vicious cycle. Eventually, you’ll become a monster that harms anyone around you.”

Su Fan’s description conjured terrifying images in Loren’s mind.

“Why is this happening…” She looked utterly defeated, muttering to herself.

“But there might be a solution.”

Su Fan’s words caused a sudden burst of joy to radiate from Ron’s gloomy face.

“Master, what should I do?”

Hearing that, Su Fan’s hand, which was reaching for the talismans, froze momentarily.

This whole exchange was starting to sound a bit too much like a scam. If the police from his previous life heard this, they’d probably be knocking on his door to check his water meter in no time.

“This one is a Clear Heart Talisman. It allows the wearer to calm their heart and mind, protecting them from evil influences that disturb their mood.”

“And this is a Suppress Evil Talisman. It can suppress the power within you.”

“The two talismans together cost ten thousand dollars.”

Loren stared blankly at the price.

So expensive!

She was just a junior doctor who hadn’t been working for many years and didn’t have much in savings.

She couldn’t possibly have that much cash on her.

While Loren was still figuring out what to do, she saw Su Fan considerately place a POS machine in front of her.

“Credit cards are accepted.”

Loren: “…”

The transaction was ultimately completed.

When Loren took the Clear Heart Talisman from Su Fan, she could clearly feel her emotions stabilizing, and her face immediately brightened with relief.

The Master truly was a master!
The effect was practically instantaneous!

“The Suppress Evil Talisman can indeed suppress the power within you, but if you want to resolve it completely, you’d better look into your origins,” Su Fan suddenly spoke as Loren was feeling happy.

“It comes from your blood, a contract passed down through generations.”

“A contract? A contract with whom?”

Loren instinctively pressed for details.

But then she immediately realized how redundant her question was.

Such a sinister power… the other party to the contract certainly couldn’t be anything holy or righteous…