"Bleurgh!"
A dizzying vertigo that twisted space.
Adel von Krieger, hailed as the continent’s genius, crawled across the floor and vomited out her guts.
The pungent stench of sewage and mold stung her nose.
It was far too miserable an environment for an Archmage who was the empire’s treasure.
"Y-you crazy… you kidnapper bastard."
Adel raised her head, her face smeared with tears and snot.
Her purple eyes blazed with murderous intent.
"My lab, my three years of golem budget, my figure collection!"
"Shut up. Can’t you hear the ringing?"
I replied indifferently, digging my pinky into my ear.
"You know where this is? It’s an abandoned sewage treatment plant. Scream all you want, you’ll only hurt your throat. Bear with the smell. It’s a human scent, quite nice."
"This smells like humans?! It reeks of rot! Open the door right now! I’m leaving! I’m going to Isha and telling her everything!"
Adel staggered and charged toward the metal door.
I didn’t stop her.
I just plopped down on the sofa and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper from my pocket, fluttering it about.
"You leaving? I don’t mind, but don’t you need this?"
"……?"
Adel’s retreating footsteps halted dead.
"What is that?"
The full text of the formula she had been tearing her hair out over at the library.
"The solution to the Mana Backflow Control Formula."
"What?"
Adel’s pupils shook in disbelief.
"D-don’t lie! That’s been called an unsolved problem in academic circles for a hundred years—"
"Just replace variable X with an imaginary number system and reverse the direction of the third mana circuit. That boosts output efficiency by four hundred percent. Aren’t you curious?"
I folded the paper like an airplane and pretended to throw it.
Adel, who had stopped walking but still had her arms crossed.
"If you’re not curious, fine. Since it’s unnecessary, I’ll use it as kindling."
"Wait!!!"
Adel dashed over at the speed of light and snatched my arm.
A speed unbelievable for someone who had been vomiting just moments ago.
"S-show me. No, please show me! Please. Master!"
"What do you mean, Master? We’re accomplices, remember?"
"Yes! Accomplice! I’ll be your accomplice! Please, that paper!"
The weakness of geniuses is clear.
Before unknown knowledge, pride and dignity mean nothing.
Whether before the regression or now, Adel was consistent in that regard.
I pressed the paper in my hand right against her forehead.
"Good girl. Listen to me from now on, and I’ll show you the next chapter too. I’ll give you a fast pass all the way to 7th-Circle Grand Magic."
"Hic!"
Adel hugged the paper preciously and dashed to an old desk crammed in the corner.
"This is crazy. Imaginary number substitution was really the answer? Wow. Damn. This design is in the realm of the gods? A human thought of this?"
She was already muttering to herself and wielding a quill pen like a madwoman.
She seemed to have forgotten she had even been kidnapped.
I left her to her verification and looked around.
There were two things to worry about right now.
First, securing a hideout to shake off Isha’s pursuit.
I could use this place for now, so that was solved.
Second, funds to save the world.
Actually, massive funds for me to live well.
"So money is the problem."
I checked my total assets, which were frozen, on the phone I pulled from my pocket.
[Current Balance: 3,420 won]
Far too tear-inducing for the wallet of a hero who would save the world.
An amount barely enough to buy one convenience store lunchbox.
Ah. Since there are two people, even that won’t do.
"Adel."
"Don’t touch me! I’m having an epiphany right now! Talk to me and I’ll kill you!"
"Let’s go make money."
"I’m not going! What does money matter! When this formula is complete, it will change the history of magical engineering!"
"Don’t you need a supercomputer and mana stones to change that history?"
"……Huh. Right?"
Adel turned her head with a blank expression.
"You need money to buy those. Your pension has probably all been seized."
"Ah."
Adel’s face turned pale.
"M-my money… my research funds…"
"That’s why I said let’s go make money. Robbing bad guys and using it for righteous research—what is that if not elevating national prestige?"
I picked up an old jacket hanging on the wall.
"Get ready. Accomplice."
"……You bastard."
***
[Hunter Inside - General Board]
[Title: (Breaking) Adel von Krieger Missing for 5 Hours. Kidnapping? Or Escape?]
Author: RekkaRival
Let me break down the situation right now.
□ Isha raided the Western Magic Library.
□ Ran right into Ihan there.
□ But Director Adel was eating pizza with Ihan. Crime story (O). Might be kidnapping, confinement, and training material.
MagicTowerMember: This is nonsense! Our Lady Adel is a terminal mysophobe! She faints at the touch of a man’s hand! This is clearly a kidnapping!
>> Yeah: Have you guys ever eaten pizza with the Director?
>> MagicTowerMember: ……No.
>> Yeah: Then she’s definitely his accomplice lololol
Ukkikki: Hey, forget all that, magical engineering stocks are plunging. DOMHWANGCHA!!! If Adel is gone, development on the new mana engine stops!!!
SaintCrusaders: The Saint is flipping her lid right now. She’s turning Seoul upside down. If Ihan gets caught, he won’t die pretty.
PassingDog: But is Ihan really F-Rank? They say he dodged Isha’s attack and escaped with Adel. Does eating a Dragon Heart make everyone like that?
>> KnowItAll: Theoretically impossible. Eating a Dragon Heart has a 99.9% chance of causing death by explosion. He’s just a mutant or a madman.
[Title: Hey, but isn’t Ihan bastard’s behavior a bit weird?]
Author: HolmesPossessed
Shouldn’t a criminal normally be hiding?
But did you see him caught on Gangnam CCTV just now?
He was openly strolling down the street?
And wearing a coat presumed to be modified by Adel?
Isn’t this bastard just enjoying this situation?
Like he’s taunting Isha, "Catch me if you can~"?
[Comments]
Yeah: Real talk, that madness itself.
Headcanon: Maybe Ihan likes Isha and is drawing aggro? Like elementary schoolers bullying a girl they like?
>> MadLad: Hahaha if it’s 100 billion won worth of aggro, I’ll give him that.
Seoul, Gangnam.
G Tower
Gangnam’s night streets flashing with gaudy neon signs.
In front of G Tower, which boasted an especially imposing exterior even among them.
I adjusted my attire and tapped my earpiece.
"Adel. You there?"
-Ah, I hear you! I can hear you! My eardrums are going to burst. But are you really going to raid this place? Gold River Investment Advisors? The sign looks fine?
"It’s only shiny on the outside. In reality, it’s the Black Moon’s 3rd Branch money laundering front. There should be bundles of cash piled up to the point of rotting in the underground vault."
-B-B-Black Moon? Hey, they’re the worst of the Villain alliances! Are you crazy? There’s two of us and hundreds of them!
"Correction. I’m going in alone. You just pound the keyboard in the car."
Having finished preparations, I entered the building lobby.
Security guards in neat suits blocked my way.
Of course, I knew that instead of batons, daggers coated with lethal poison were hidden in their jackets.
"Can we help you? Without an appointment, entry is—"
"Delivery."
"Delivery? We didn’t order anything."
"A fresh fist delivery."
—POW!
My fist drove into the guard’s solar plexus.
Without even a grunt, the burly man flew like a sheet of paper and slammed into the lobby wall.
"Intruder!!"
The lobby instantly turned into pandemonium.
Men in black suits poured out of the elevators.
"Adel, take down the security system."
-Ah, seriously! Fine! Hold on for ten seconds!
—Clatter, clack.
The cheerful sound of a keyboard came through the earpiece.
Because I had faith that Adel could do anything I asked.
"Kill him! Where did this stray dog bone come from!"
The one in the lead unleashed a blade strike laced with killing intent.
Skill that looked to be around B-Rank Hunter level.
To my current eyes, it looked like ultra-high-definition slow motion.
I whipped my coat’s hem and charged straight into the blade energy rather than dodging.
"W-what?"
My hand grabbed the bastard’s face.
"It’s not a dog bone, it’s a dragon bone."
I lifted him and threw him like a bowling ball at the bastards following behind.
—Rumble! CRASH!
Strike.
Over ten Hunters fell like bowling pins.
-I got through! Central elevator, free pass to basement level three! I also blacked out all the CCTV!
"Nice, partner."
I leisurely boarded the open elevator.
Through the closing doors, I could see the Villains’ faces filled with shock.
[Basement level three.]
With a ding, the doors opened.
An entirely different scene unfolded there.
Massive iron bars and vaults taking the place of offices.
Armed troops were lined up with the resolve to defend them.
In the very center.
A man sitting arrogantly on a sofa with his legs crossed.
Black Moon’s 3rd Branch Chief.
The Viper, Bak Cheolu.
"I wondered what crazy bastard would crawl into a tiger’s den of his own accord."
Bak Cheolu stood up, flicking ash from his cigar.
His eyes narrowed like a snake’s.
"The face from the news. Let’s see… Mr. Ihan, owner of 3,420 won?"
—Cackle cackle cackle.
The troops laughed along with the 3rd Branch Chief’s words.
"Oh dear. Our Dragon Slayer couldn’t even afford a decent meal and came here starving?"
"That’s right, sir. I’d like to give him money, but I only happen to have a coin. Here!"
—Clink.
A 500-won coin rolled, hit the toe of my shoe, and fell flat on the floor.
Bak Cheolu smiled, satisfied with the situation.
"Did you have nowhere to go after being chased by Isha? Did you come here to join us?"
Bak Cheolu unclasped his hands and spoke as if welcoming him.
"We Black Moon welcome capable talent. Hand over the Dragon Heart data you stole and that mage bitch you have with you, and I’ll give you an executive position. Do that, and you’ll never go hungry again. I promise."
While Bak Cheolu rattled on with a serpent’s tongue, his subordinates laughed nastily and tightened the encirclement.
I picked up the coin that had taken an unauthorized rest in front of my shoe.
"The terms are better than I thought. But what to do?"
I took a step forward.
"My worth is far too high for that."
"What?"
"If you’re going to play Villain, do it properly. Putting on pathetic airs when you’re just a money launderer."
My pupils blazed golden.
—Screech.
The coin in my hand folded in half.
"Pathetic."
Scorching heat surged up from near my heart.