I carefully took a sip of my tea and waited for the station master to speak. But his words almost made me choke on my tea.

'Wow-! Those are some big ambitions. So even people in these times worry about rising through the ranks, huh. Does the station master want to become a noble? Isn't that… really tough?'

I looked at the station master, who suddenly seemed to have turned passionate. His eager look made me miss when he looked at me with suspicious eyes.

His eagerness was a little… too burdensome.

"I see. So you want to get ahead in life. That is certainly a goal to strive toward."

I told the station master. The reason I flattered him was because I wanted him to say more.

To help console him, I needed to know what the real problem was here. Was the station master not rising in the ranks because he was too young? Was it because he was not noble enough? Or was money the issue?

Only once I figured this out could I help him.

And the main reason I wanted to help him? Well, it was for my own greed.

The higher the station master got, the more power he would have. And the more power he had, the higher up my connections would be. I would also be able to put more claw machines in more locations.

'And then, I would be rich in no time.'

But to do that, I needed to be patient and figure out more of the situation.

"My goal is certainly not easy to achieve, but the biggest problem is that I almost have no support or connection that would recommend me to the higher-ups… not that I am asking the shopkeeper to use his connections. I just… need a way to make my own connections."

The station master told me, and I understood his struggle.

Connections were something I was struggling with as well, be it in this life or the past one.

In the past, I would not have struggled half as much as I did if I had connections to get hired at a well-paying job. And as for this life, I did have connections, but they were not ones I could always use.

"Hmm, I understand. And I will help you out as well. Do you know what the best way to make connections is? It's to make the other person curious about you. And the best way to do that is to gift them."

I told the man in front of me, and the station master's expression turned into a frown.

"Huh-! Won't that count as a bribe-?"

He asked, and I almost panicked as I realized that what I said did sound like a bribe to most people.

The reason I suggested doing that was because it was very common in modern times. Even students gifted teachers things to improve their impression.

But now was a different time… so I could understand how my words would be taken the wrong way.

'Don't panic. Remain calm and confident. Don't let your panic show.'

After a quick pep talk to myself inside my mind, I spoke once more.

"A bribe? It's only a bribe if you think of it as one. However, what you are doing is helping some people out. Here, have this. This is a batch of the yellow curse medicine. Surely anyone would appreciate this as a gift."

I told the man in front of me, and the station master looked shocked to receive it from me.

"T-This… how did you…"

The man looked shell-shocked to receive the medicine, and I decided to expose myself a little bit.

"Well, medicine brewing is just… a hobby of mine that I do in my free time. If you have something you want to get help with, you can come to me as well, and I will try my best. But I cannot promise you anything. After all, death is not something even I can reverse."

That was the truth. Even the best doctor was hopeless in front of death, but that did not mean we could not try our best.

"I… truly, I don't know what to say. Actually, there is something I would like help with, but I don't want to cause Master any trouble…"

The man in front of me spoke hesitantly, and it was time for me to encourage him.

I extended the sweets toward him and gave him a patient look.

"It's fine. You can take your time to gather your thoughts before you speak. Remember, I am here to help you out."

I told the man, and he took a deep breath before he spoke.

"One of the higher-ups has a son… who is cursed with something we cannot identify. He suddenly breaks out into coughs and has trouble breathing. Do you think you can take a look?"

The station master asked me, and I felt curious as well.

"Oh-! Doesn't that sound like a sickness-?"

"That's what we thought as well. But the boy has no fever, and he usually gets well soon enough. He is not the only person with such symptoms. And we cannot figure out what it is from either. So we can only think that it's a curse."

I had a small idea of what this might be about, but I could not be sure.

"You say there is no… fever? Can you get me a sample of that person's blood? Or rather, bring that person here? I might need to test something to make sure if I am right."

I told the station master, and he looked surprised once more.

"B-Blood? Bring the boy… surely, this is not about dark magic… no, that likely doesn't matter. I will see if I can get permission."

The station master sounded suspicious at first, but then he changed his mind and decided to help me out.

It seemed as if he was beginning to trust me, which was a good thing because I almost made a huge mistake by speaking of blood.

Blood tests were something common in my time, but the only reason it was used in present times was to do dark magic.

'I-It's a good thing this man trusts me this much. Otherwise, I was not sure what would happen to me.'

None of my panic showed on my face as I gave the station master a smile. He finally left, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I-I made it safely through another day. Shit, I felt my life flash in front of my eyes a few times."

I complained as the outside went dark. It was time for me to go to sleep as well, so I lit up the candlelight and headed toward my bed.

My intention was to fall asleep, but somehow I ended up opening the store on my phone and browsing even more of it.

"Huh-! They added a filter and sorting option in the system? How useful. And is that a new section-!"

In the end, I stayed up the whole night browsing through the phone and the shopping section, and when the morning came, my body felt tired.

"Tsk, why the fuck is phone browsing so addicting? This doesn't feel fair."

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