The Cartel employees arrived at the village around two in the morning. They slowly crossed the village in a stealth vehicle, where only the sparsely installed streetlamps illuminated the ground.
“Rear, no ghouls.”
“None visible on the left or right either. Unable to identify anything even with thermal imaging.”
“Looks like they’re inactive. Keep moving.”
The woman in the passenger seat gave the order. Adjusting the position of the assault rifle in her hands, she gazed out the window in silence.
The sound of the vehicle moving was greedily devoured by the shadows. A vehicle that used human blood as fuel instead of electricity or oil was itself a byproduct of mystery. The Cartel had quite a few items like this.
Of course, the side effects were just as certain.
For example, if it ran out of fuel, it would forcibly draw blood from the passengers, or if it encountered a navigation ghost, it would produce an absurd collaboration that guided them straight to the Samdocheon. There were plenty of risks where one wrong move could easily get you killed on the spot.
But the Cartel didn’t care about that sort of thing.
Humans, in a way, were also just another resource that could be bought with money. If they died, all one had to do was replenish them, so there was no hesitation in using mysteries. Was there any reason not to use an item of considerable efficiency and ability just because an employee might die?
Well, even so, the Cartel did not forcibly order its employees to use mysteries.
Since they used them entirely of their own will, the employees were also the sort to shoulder the risks to some extent. On top of that, the extra pay matched the danger quite generously, so those obsessed with money often made use of mysteries.
The people riding in the vehicle now were the same.
“There’s an Eight-Foot Ghost under the streetlamp. It isn’t the target, so let’s avoid it.”
“Yes.”
Vroooom.
The person in the driver’s seat turned the wheel lightly. The enormous something beneath the streetlamp turned to look at the vehicle, but soon drooped its body beneath the light again. The woman stayed on guard in case the Eight-Foot Ghost charged at them, and only closed the window once it was no longer in sight.
A short while later, the Cartel party arrived in front of the village hall, where the lights were off. They parked the car in a place where not a single ray of light seeped in, then slowly got out and entered the village hall.
“……Living room clear. Begin searching the first floor.”
At the woman’s command, the others swiftly and quietly searched the first floor. But they found nothing.
“Proceed to the second floor. That is where the client is, so all of you mind your manners. He’s a mage.”
“……Tch, a mage.”
At the woman’s order, one young employee talked back. The woman came to an abrupt stop, walked over to the employee who had muttered, and struck him across the cheek.
Thwack!
When her gloved fist hit his cheek, several teeth and blood flew through the air. The employee who had been struck let out a choking sound and collapsed toward the floor. The woman caught him so he would not make a sound on impact, then beat him again.
Crack! Thud, crunch!
Brutal sounds echoed through the living room. The woman beat the employee until he was almost unconscious, then grabbed him by the collar and whispered in a soft voice.
“Whether the other party is a mage or a criminal, we only do as our client commands. Never attach your personal opinions to it. Understood?”
“Kuhah……”
“Remember this. All of our money comes from our clients. If you intend to treat our precious guests in that manner, then quit. Or have your brain adjusted.”
Thud.
The woman set the employee down on the floor and gestured with her eyes to the others.
“Move him to the car. And who is in charge of educating this rookie?”
“……I am.”
“Then you move him. Also, if this rookie speaks or acts like this again, you will be punished as well, so educate him properly.”
“Understood.”
The man nodded, took the unconscious man with him, and left the scene first. The woman left orders with several employees to remove the bloodstains on the floor, then took only two people with her and went up to the second floor.
‘The smell of blood.’
The corridor on the second floor was filled with a thick, unmistakable scent of blood.
It was clearly the body odor of a vampire. A unique, revolting stench of fishy blood that they usually kept hidden, but became impossible to conceal the moment they were wounded.
‘The smell is…… coming from this room.’
The woman stood before Ian’s door and glanced sideways at those who had followed her. It was a look telling them not to do anything arrogant in front of the client. The moment they nodded, the woman cleared her throat and knocked on the door.
“It’s the Cartel. Are you inside?”
“Come in.”
An immediate answer came back. The woman composed her face into a slightly brighter expression and carefully opened the door. Then she spoke in a clear voice.
“It is an honor to meet you, Mage. I am Reina…… of the Cartel’s field support team……”
Her words failed to reach a proper end and scattered into the air. The sight inside the room was simply too bizarre for her to continue speaking properly.
Ian was fine. Sitting in a chair with a grimoire in hand and smoking a cigarette, he looked utterly unconcerned.
In fact, he really was. As if he had no worries or concerns at all, Ian calmly exhaled cigarette smoke.
“You’re later than I expected. Did it take roughly two hours?”
“……We needed time to prepare. More importantly, Mage, what exactly is that on the floor……”
“Ah, that?”
Ian stared at the lump rolling around on the floor and made a disgusted expression.
“A vampire.”
“……”
A vampire? That thing?
Reina pressed her lips shut and stared at the “lump.”
It was, quite literally, a lump. Like a snowman, a massive sphere had been stitched beneath a perfectly intact head. It was wearing clothes, but that did not mean its skin could not be seen at all. Skin as white as jade protruded between pieces of unidentified fabric, trembling faintly.
“……”
The vampire said nothing in particular. It merely poured blood from its mouth, nose, eyes, and ears as it glared fixedly at Ian. Ian met that gaze head-on and gave a bitter smile.
“I’ll say this in case you misunderstand, but making her like that is absolutely not my taste. It’s closer to the opposite.”
“……”
“I like pretty and cute things too. A monster that looks like a roly-poly doll like that is only disgusting to me. That’s why I chose it.”
“……Is that so?”
“She said she didn’t feel fear, so I experimented to see how much I’d have to torment her before she could feel it. I’ll rest for a moment and put her back to her original form, so wait a bit.”
Reina nodded and approached Ian. The other employees standing behind her swallowed dryly as they looked at Camilla, then promptly managed their expressions and moved with disciplined steps.
“Is this the room for which you requested cleaning?”
“That’s right.”
“Then we will begin cleaning first. You may watch us from within the room, or you may leave it to us and step out.”
“How long will it take?”
“Mm…… for an area of this size, I believe it will take about thirty minutes. There is quite a lot of spilled blood.”
“Still, that isn’t too slow. Then I’ll wait.”
“Understood.”
Reina first tidied the sofa and bed so Ian could rest comfortably, then asked him to wait wherever he pleased. Ian did not bother refusing her kindness.
The Cartel employees shoved Camilla into a corner the moment Ian took a seat, then began cleaning the room.
Cartel cleaning was not all that different from ordinary cleaning. Using the special rags and deodorizing towels they had brought, they wiped away the blood and scraps of flesh that had drenched the room and made the smell of blood fade. When they opened the window, a cold wind blew in and circulated the air inside.
“If you are cold, please tell us. We will close it again.”
“This much is fine.”
Ian blew cigarette smoke out the window and stared at the village submerged in darkness.
He was not particularly steeped in melancholy. He was simply thinking about what to do next after dealing with Camilla.
‘Handling a commission would be fine, and doing something else wouldn’t be bad either. Or maybe I should buy a car.’
The money he could receive by handing Camilla over to the Cartel amounted to several hundred million. There were countless things he could do with that. Among them, what appealed to him most was purchasing a vehicle, visiting the Cartel store, and visiting the mages’ market.
He could purchase a vehicle at the Cartel store as well, so that was not a problem. He could use it right away too.
On the other hand, Ian still did not know much about the mages’ market.
He had long been aware that such a thing existed. But he knew almost nothing about how it worked or how to use it. At most, he only knew that most of the goods boasted prices close to the hundreds of millions.
‘Until now, I had no real need to use it, and I didn’t have that much money either, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. But things are different now. It wouldn’t be bad to take a look.’
What sort of items were generally put up in the market?
He knew that things like potions created by renowned alchemists were circulated in the market, but aside from those, perhaps various magical tools could also be found there. He might even discover a tool whose effects he liked.
Whatever the case, it was a deal where Ian had nothing to lose. He stubbed out the cigarette he had finished smoking in the ashtray.
As he idly killed time after that, the employees who had finished cleaning put back on the gear they had briefly taken off and bowed to Ian.
“Cleaning is complete. Is there anything that causes you discomfort?”
“No. If you’re done, let’s get going.”
Ian spoke as he rose from the bed. Reina nodded and sent a look to the other employees. They immediately put on gas masks, lifted Camilla, and began leaving the room.
Camilla’s mouth was currently sealed shut, so she could not even scream. All she could do was stare at Ian with bloodshot eyes.
“……Judging by the vampire’s reaction, it seems you failed to instill fear in her.”
“She felt pain, but she wasn’t afraid. She only grew more enraged.”
Ian shrugged as he left the room together with Reina. When he turned his head slightly back, the sight of the room, now clean without a single trace remaining, entered his eyes.
“What kind of treatment will that vampire receive once the Cartel takes her?”
“A noble vampire is precious, after all. They will likely draw her blood to make medicine or use it to craft various tools. And, mm…… there is a new research project the Cartel is pursuing, so she may be put into that as well.”
“What research?”
“Research on transplanting the brain of a mystery into a human body.”
“……Hah.”
Ian let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded. For something said so lightly, the contents of the research were rather savage.
“Is that even possible?”
“In theory, it is possible, but there has never been a successful case. They will probably try to do it properly with this opportunity.”
“……That’s bad news for Camilla.”
“Do you perhaps feel sympathy for a vampire?”
“No, I’m just saying it’s bad news. That’s all.”
One must not misunderstand. Camilla’s outward appearance was like a child’s, but the true form that appeared when she released her mimicry was far closer to a monster. He could not even begin to guess how many people she had devoured with those sharp teeth.
Naturally, while there were mages who grew excited over monsters, there were no mages who pitied them.
That was all there was to it.
“How do you plan to erase the records that I was here?”
Ian brushed away his thoughts and asked. Reina answered at once.
“We will intentionally leak information related to mysteries to the Administration Bureau and have them take care of it on their own. Naturally, we will thoroughly conceal your identity, so please do not worry.”
“……There’s no need to go that far anymore. Well, the more thorough, the better, I suppose.”
Clunk!
As they moved while conversing, the Cartel employees loaded Camilla into the back of a large van. Before they closed the door, Ian approached Camilla and let out a faint laugh.
“Next time, be careful when dealing with mages. Of course, that’s assuming there is a next time.”
He placed his hand on Camilla’s head and activated his magic.
“Be born anew.”
Crunch!
Activating his final re-creation magic of the day, he restored Camilla’s outward appearance as close to its original state as possible.
It was not yet perfect. The lengths of its two legs were different, and its features were scattered freely in every direction. Its genitals shifted toward its chest, while its nipples moved toward its thighs, puckering and gaping.
“Phew, as expected, making a human form is still difficult.”
Muttering thus, he kicked Camilla’s glaring face, then plopped down into the empty seat. After confirming that he had boarded, Reina gathered the other employees as well and soon began leaving the village.
“Just take me as far as the bike in front of the tunnel.”
“Yes, understood.”
The van advanced slowly down the road in silence, just as it had when they first entered this place. Ian quietly stared out the window, wondering what he should eat for breakfast today.
*
“Heheheh~”
A small villa on the outskirts of Incheon.
Dolores finished her shower and came out still naked, humming to herself. Her red hair and breasts swayed with her movements, and as she roughly dried her hair, Dolores gazed at the mannequin displayed in the corner.
The mannequin, dressed in a silver dress, was standing in an extremely acrobatic pose. Dolores stared blankly at it for a while, then noticed that the dress was slightly torn and faintly furrowed her brow.
“……It must have torn during the last battle. Sigh, and it was one of my favorite dresses.”
Not only the dresses Dolores usually wore, but also the dresses worn by the mannequins she controlled were all made from thread personally woven by a magician. To repair them, they absolutely had to pass through the hands of their maker.
“It’s a bother, but it can’t be helped. I suppose I’ll have to stop by the ‘Owl’ for the first time in a while.”
Owl.
It was the term for the market where magicians mainly operated. There were so many lunatics there that it wasn’t a place she used often, but now that it had come to this, there was no helping it.
“Come to think of it, it should be about time for Clock Tower Academy to start its new term. I’m sure I remember there being a discount if you brought a partner…… but I don’t have a partner of my own.”
Dolores muttered that, then shook off her still-damp hair roughly and stood naked before the mirror, striking a pose. Her teardrop-shaped breasts settled slightly under the pull of gravity.
“Hmm.”
She gazed at her own body as if savoring it, then smiled brightly and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Well, fine! A partner who fails to appreciate my beauty would be utterly meaningless anyway, ohohohohohot!”
Consoling herself so, Dolores stood in front of the mirror and laughed for quite some time. A short while later, unable to endure the cold, she shivered and crawled under the blanket.
“Ah, this weather is too cold for a still-delicate young lady such as myself to withstand……”
She turned on the electric heating mat, wriggled under the covers, and ordered chicken and beer. Then she grinned foolishly, hugged the blanket tightly, and peeled a tangerine.
“This is what mating is……”
Quoting something she had seen on the internet, Dolores popped the tangerine into her mouth in one bite.