Ian had not yet exchanged numbers with the Godmother. Thanks to that, their conversation took place through private messages on the community. It was a bit of a strange picture, but communication itself went smoothly enough.
[★Godmother: Is all of that true?]
Ian told the Godmother what he had experienced in as much detail as possible. He hid what needed to be hidden, and boldly revealed what needed to be revealed. He wrote down every detail about why Eddie had attacked him, and about the existence of the mage who was the cause of it, without bothering to filter anything out.
[Me: Yes, it’s true. I confirmed it with magic, so it should be accurate.]
[★Godmother: ……First of all.]
[★Godmother: I think this is truly, truly regrettable. I’m very sorry and apologetic that something like this happened in the community I manage. I’d like to convey my sincere apologies.]
The moment Ian read the reply that came in, his eyes widened in surprise.
First of all, the Godmother had an extraordinarily fast typing speed. It had taken her less than ten seconds to write that long sentence. She had even added onomatopoeic marks like “……” as if to describe the silence that fit the context of the conversation. It was truly an odd characteristic.
But that was not the reason Ian was surprised.
The administrator of a community—in other words, someone who was no different from the leader of Korean mages—had readily offered an apology. At that, Ian let out a small sigh of admiration inwardly.
To be honest, there was no reason for her to apologize. It wasn’t as though someone belonging to an organization had committed a wrong, nor was it an incident where someone needed to take responsibility. It was a simple matter that would end once a single mage was dealt with.
Even if the Godmother had asked, “Why is that my fault? Never mind that, who did it?” Ian probably wouldn’t have felt particularly offended. Because wasn’t that the truth?
But she had sent him an apology in a very polite tone. It was proof that she possessed character several times greater than the average mage. He had felt it from the moment they first met, but it seemed she was an oddity among oddities, even among mages.
‘Maybe the reason the average level of mages is maintained where it is now is all thanks to the Godmother.’
That thought suddenly occurred to him, but it had little to do with the current situation, so he immediately cut it off. Instead, he stubbed out the cigarette he had finished smoking in a portable ashtray and tapped on his phone.
[Me: There’s no need for you to apologize, Godmother. I don’t hold any ill feelings toward you in particular.]
[★Godmother: Then I’m glad. Would it be all right if I eased my guilt a little?]
[Me: Yes.]
[★Godmother: Thank you.]
[★Godmother: Then, before we get to the main point, could you tell me what I should call you? Should I call you Mr. Newbie, like everyone else does?]
The next message followed. Ian pondered for a moment, then simply gave her a slightly altered version of his real name. It was enough to use as a temporary nickname.
[Me: I think you can call me Ain.]
[★Godmother: Yes, Mr. Ain. One moment, please.]
After saying that, the Godmother paused for a while, then soon sent a long message.
[★Godmother: First of all, I’ve heard your claim clearly, Mr. Ain. “A mage from the community provided information, and Eddie arrived in Korea. The target was me.” Since you even said you confirmed it with magic, this claim is probably true. However, I can’t simply take your word for it and start cutting into the community. I mean that cross-verification is necessary. This isn’t because I don’t trust what you’re saying, Mr. Ain, but because it’s a process for following proper procedure, so I ask for your understanding.]
As he read the message and descended the stairs, the gukbap he had ordered for delivery had arrived in front of the door. Ian picked up the bag and entered his home while typing a reply.
[Me: I understand. What should I do?]
He did not pointlessly express resistance to the Godmother’s words. It was reasonably logical, and there was no reason for him to be uncooperative when proving his own legitimacy. It was better to go through the process quickly instead.
Rustle.
He unwrapped the delivery bag and checked the messages that had arrived.
[★Godmother: Usually, in cases like this, we receive blood from both parties and render a verdict through a scale. But right now, we don’t know the other party’s identity, and even if we did, it’s not a situation where we can recklessly make contact. They might flee. So we have to use another method.]
The Godmother sent that reply, then remained silent for quite some time. The notice that she was typing kept appearing, but not a single message came in. It seemed she was pondering something.
Since his food had arrived at just the right time, Ian left a message telling her to let him know at her convenience, and began his breakfast. He added salted shrimp to the red broth, put in rice, and lightly stirred it apart. Then he slowly scooped it up with a spoon and ate.
Usually, he settled breakfast with homemade salad or toast, but a somewhat major incident had happened today, so he had simply replaced it with delivery. Fortunately, the gukbap was decent enough to eat for breakfast.
A little while later, Ian finished his meal, washed the disposable container, and put it back into the bag. Just as he roughly tidied the table and wiped it down with a wet tissue, an answer finally arrived from the Godmother.
[★Godmother: First of all, the important thing is determining whether what you said is true, Mr. Ain, so for now, it doesn’t matter even if we only have you. But using this kind of magic to determine the meaning contained in someone’s words, and whether they’re true or false, cannot be done remotely on a mage who is too powerful. It’s difficult even with blood. Lemegeton is also saying it’s impossible against a mage of your level, Mr. Ain.]
[★Godmother: But this incident is a very important one. If things go wrong, the personal information of everyone in the community could be exposed. It’s not as though I’ve revealed anyone’s face, name, gender, age, and so on, but there are a few people who have openly revealed those things themselves. So in order to prevent information leaks, I have to confirm that what you said is true and respond accordingly.]
[★Godmother: But, but, as I said, using magic remotely is impossible. It might be different if I summoned the true body of the demon I dominate, but even if we are bound by a one-sided contract, summoning it without any kind of offering is difficult. And finding an offering isn’t easy either. Many of them are extremely rare. There are also quite a few that aren’t available on the Cartel.]
[★Godmother: So I think using non-face-to-face magic through a demon will be difficult.]
[Me: What are you trying to say?]
[★Godmother: Ah.]
[★Godmother: So what I’m trying to say is.]
At the message Ian had been unable to hold back from sending, the Godmother replied after quite some time had passed.
[★Godmother: I’m really not that kind of person.]
[★Godmother: I’m absolutely not debauched or lewd or promiscuous, or anything like thaat.]
[★Godmother: Could you come to my house?]
“……Ah.”
Ian’s face twisted subtly as he checked the answer.
*
[Eunha, no matter how I think about it, this isn’t right.]
Lemegeton spoke. The grimoire, wedged into the bookshelf with the cover of an ordinary book over it, vibrated briefly and pushed away the other books beside it.
[Inviting a mage who possesses a grimoire of an Outer God into this space is insane.]
“……But there’s no other way, is there?”
[Just ignore him!]
“As long as he’s a mage who joined the community, I can’t ignore him. He’s still a colleague.”
[You’re probably the only person who thinks that…….]
“Does that matter?”
Eunha answered while personally brewing tea to receive her guest. Though all she was doing was putting a dedicated tea bag into a kettle filled with boiled water, what mattered was her attitude toward the guest, was it not?
If possible, Eunha also wanted to make tea using tea leaves, but she was not yet used to it, so it was awkward to try. If it were tea she was drinking alone, she wouldn’t care, but that was not exactly the case. For now, using a tea bag was far better than pointlessly showing off.
‘Is he about to arrive?’
She stared at the clock hanging on the wall and let out a low hum.
It was nearly twelve in the afternoon. In about thirty more minutes, he would arrive here.
“…….”
Thinking that made her feel even more nervous for no reason. Rather than tension between a man and a woman, her heart was pounding simply because someone else was going to enter her home. It was only natural, since she had never let another person into her own space in her life.
She did not regret her choice now. In order to expel the traitor in the community, she absolutely had to determine the truth contained in his words. Only then would tracking be possible.
She felt no resistance toward dealing with a traitor. It was something she had already done several times in the past. Things had only become quiet recently; until a few years ago, there had been countless bastards who sold mages’ information. As for where those people were now, one would know if their necks and heads were separated.
“……Phew.”
Letting out a breath, she placed the kettle on the electric stove and brought it to a vigorous boil. Gentle steam spurted from the spout and opening of the kettle, and Eunha put on some random classical music through the speaker before taking a rest.
The sounds of instruments such as the violin, piano, and cello slowly began to fill the room. She narrowed her eyes and took in the magic circles engraved on the ceiling and floor.
Most of the magic written in Lemegeton was ritual magic, so it could not be used without a magic circle. Its power was certain because of that, but without preparations made in advance, she was essentially no different from an ordinary person.
Eunha was safe because she had contracted with several demons, but other ritual mages did occasionally end up dying on the streets after walking around defenseless. That was why most of them did not want to leave their own spaces. There were also quite a few who could only feel at ease when magic circles filled every direction around them.
Eunha was not quite at that level yet, but even so, she often felt comfortable when looking at magic circles.
This was one of those times. After checking that the magic circles were functioning properly, she sat in a rocking chair and quietly killed time. She also gradually eased her tension through deep breaths.
As she was doing so, Lemegeton quietly spoke to her.
[……You haven’t contracted with Amdusias yet, so don’t graduate from being a virgin.]
“Solomon.”
Eunha’s voice cut coldly through the classical music.
At that moment, the doorbell of her house rang ding-dong. When she got up to check, a familiar face was clearly captured beyond the intercom.
“Ah.”
Had thirty minutes already passed?
Eunha cleared her throat once, then walked to the entrance and slowly opened the door. And she greeted Ian, who was standing in front of it.
“……You’re here.”
She looked up at Ian and spoke in an awkward voice. Ian answered calmly.
“Ah, yes. May I come in?”
“Yes, yes. Come in.”
“Then excuse me.”
Ian gave a slight bow and entered Eunha’s house. Eunha gulped and shut the front door.
The first outsider she had ever let in since she was born.
Sincerely praying that he would leave this place without a single wound on him, she followed after Ian.