Dolores led the group to an alley near Seoul Station.
Yin energy was piled thick in the alley where slanted sunlight poured down. An invisible, formless aura drifted through the air like fog. Ian crushed the palm of a ghost that had crawled up between them and looked around.
Nothing was particularly special. Walls rose on both sides, and cold air sat heavy. There was no visible entrance that seemed to lead anywhere.
“Heh heh heng…….”
But Dolores moved without hesitation, as if this were indeed the right path. Her innocent, cheerful demeanor actually made her seem more trustworthy. It was better than watching her act confused, at any rate.
Ian took the cigarette from his pocket and twirled it between his fingers, staring at the back of Dolores’s head. As he did, he sorted through the items he needed to buy in his mind.
First, he had to purchase a female goat’s heart, thread spun by a virgin, and a plant grown having absorbed a virgin’s blood. His godmother had asked him to, so it was only right to oblige her as much as possible. As for the price, well, he could just charge her for it anyway, so it wasn’t a problem.
As for personal purchases, cigarettes came first. He planned to get a few more packs of purification tobacco made by the Alchemist faction.
He didn’t have a shortage right now, but there was no telling when he might run out.
Normally, he smoked about one cigarette every two or three days…… but work stress sometimes drove him to smoke more. It seemed best to stock up while he had the chance.
Besides that, he planned to browse alchemy supplies like a prisoner’s wrist, a candlestick made of pure silver, a flowing meteorite, the corpse of a grotesque insect, and so on.
He figured he’d buy anything he needed from among them.
“We’ve arrived.”
While he was thinking, Dolores stopped in front of a certain used bookstore. Ian halted and turned his head toward the shop.
It wasn’t a very large store. A cramped space that would barely fit all four of them inside. The wooden bookshelves were packed with old books, exuding that unique bookish scent as they waited for someone to pluck them out. A faint, dusty fragrance seemed to waft through the air.
But there wasn’t a single customer. Only an elderly man who looked foreign sat at the counter, looking through a book. He seemed to be the owner.
The reason for the lack of customers was obvious. The shop’s rather poor location played a part, but more problematic was that all the books were written in the ‘original language.’
Surprisingly, not a single book in Korean sat on the shelves of this shop opened in Korea. Perhaps because the owner was a foreigner, it seemed to be lacking in Korean sensibilities.
“Bonjour, Eric.”
Ding-a-ling.
Dolores opened the shop door and stepped inside. The man called Eric opened his mouth without even looking at her.
“Piss off, Dolores.”
“Ohohoh, don’t be so sharp, Eric. This young lady thinks fellow foreign workers should get along!”
“You came here on your own. I’m here on business. You damned bitch.”
The two conversed in French. Naturally, Ian, Ari, and Yuna couldn’t participate. Instead, they looked around the bookstore until the conversation ended.
Regardless, Dolores smiled broadly, brushing the dust off the bookshelves with her finger.
“Whatever the reason, we’re both foreigners here. Is there really a need to act like that?”
“Why wouldn’t there be? Back when we were at the Clock Tower, you humiliated me in front of everyone.”
“It was simply a task given by my House. Well, enough about the past. I want to enter the Owl.”
Dolores dragged over a nearby chair and sat across from Eric.
“What’s the entry requirement this time?”
“……Tch, nothing much. You just have to prove your magic.”
Thud.
Eric closed the book he’d been reading and put on the glasses he’d set aside. His brown irises flickered vaguely. The light hanging from the ceiling flickered.
“Proof of magic?”
“Just show me a spell in front of the door. Haven’t you done this many times before? It’s the same procedure you had to go through every time you went somewhere at the Clock Tower.”
“Ah, that.”
Dolores tapped her lips with her finger as she replied.
“But this young lady doesn’t have a mannequin with her? I didn’t bring a doll either.”
“Then carry one with you, you stupid wench.”
“What am I supposed to do if it’s too big?”
“Make a small one.”
“But that’s not pretty, is it? A young lady must always use elegant and beautiful tools—that’s what my mother said?”
“What a load of crap. Shut up and prepare your proof. You can at least use your House’s basic magic, can’t you?”
Having said that, Eric swept his gaze over the rest of the group wandering through the bookstore.
“Are they all mages too?”
“Yes. They are all this young lady’s comrades.”
“Mages of the East, huh. It’s my first time seeing them in person.”
A look of interest seeped into Eric’s eyes.
“The Owl wasn’t built in this backwater for Eastern mages. It was made for other mages who came to Korea.”
“I know. It’s for people like me, isn’t it?”
“……That’s an extremely annoying thing to say, but it’s not wrong. Anyway, Eastern mages rarely come here. It’s only natural since they’ve never belonged to the Clock Tower.”
Eric let out a short laugh and stood up.
“I should take this opportunity to see for myself. Just how capable mages born outside the birthplace of magic are.”
“Hearing that is rather funny. I don’t think that’s something a mediocrity who lost to this young lady should say!”
“Shut up, crazy bitch.”
Eric snapped at Dolores and called the rest of the group over.
“Everyone gather around. I’ll tell you the procedure for entry.”
Fluent Korean flowed from Eric’s mouth.
Ian found it ridiculous that they’d spoken in French even though Eric could speak Korean, but he put down the book he’d been holding and walked up to him. Yuna and Ari followed behind.
Eric explained the procedure for entering the Owl to the three of them.
A demonstration of magic. It wasn’t a very difficult procedure. Ian nodded and pulled out his grimoire. A pure white grimoire settled into his grip.
“Where do I do it?”
“Follow me.”
Eric, showing no interest in Ian’s grimoire, guided them in a careless voice to the path behind the counter.
Creeeak…….
When the door opened, a passage leading underground was revealed. Eric took the lead and descended the stairs, with Dolores following behind. Ian tapped his grimoire with his fingers and let out a low hum.
The stairs were dark overall. Owl-shaped torches mounted on the walls gave off light, but they weren’t enough. Heavy humidity pressed down on their shoulders, and the distinct plopping sound of dripping water echoed clearly.
“Ugh…… i-it’s such a gloomy place…….”
Yuna muttered. She had already pulled out the wand she’d kept in her guitar case. Eric glanced at her wand and let out a short exclamation.
“A wand made from sacred wood over a hundred years old. Is that a glass marble attached to the end?”
“Uh…… I-I’m sorry, but I’d rather you didn’t act like we’re close…… It’s unpleasant…….”
Yuna immediately shut down his attention. It was the kind of reply that might make most people wonder if she was trying to start a fight, but Eric roughly nodded and ended the conversation.
“A lunatic, then. Understood.”
“U-uh…….”
A comfortable silence settled between them again. Eric focused solely on descending the stairs without giving the group any more attention.
“From here, three steps left, then five steps right.”
“…….”
“Then, three steps back, and five steps forward again. The door will appear.”
“Ritual magic? The conditions are quite strange.”
“It’s one of the most basic conditions for building the Owl. I’ll tell you the first time, but if you ever come back, you’ll have to get down the stairs on your own. Right at this exact moment, move exactly as I say.”
They did so.
As they slowly shifted their feet on the stairs following Eric’s instructions, a new path appeared below where there had only been darkness like an abyss. Descending further, a long corridor welcomed the group. A massive door hung at the end of the corridor.
Eric sent the group ahead and spoke from behind.
“Stand in front of the door and use magic. It will open on its own. Keep in mind that you must enter one at a time.”
“Then this young lady shall go first!”
Dolores stepped forward first. She swept her long hair back with her hand and walked up to the door.
A door made of bricks. The heavy door, devoid of any decoration, vibrated briefly and made a voice-like sound as Dolores approached.
[Prove your qualification.]
A voice that sounded like a man and a woman speaking at once. Dolores covered her mouth with her hand, laughed, and extended one foot forward.
“Ohohohoh! Now, I shall prove my qualification!”
[Correct.]
“O Dignity redder than blood! O Beauty deeper than dignity! I swear upon thy name, bestow upon me elegance!”
An incantation memorized in English. Dolores’s red high heel trembled, and she bent her leg before extending it again to strike the door roughly.
Ka-boom!
A considerably loud roar erupted. But the door was unharmed. As if the impact just now had been a lie, the door opened as though nothing had happened.
[Proof accepted.]
Grrrrind……!
The firmly shut door opened, scraping against the floor. Dolores flashed a refreshing smile and looked back at the group.
“Phew……! This young lady will go in first! Everyone hurry up and come in!”
Leaving those words behind, she stepped past the open door. Once she was fully inside, the door closed again.
“Then this time, I’ll……!”
What followed proceeded quickly. Ari stood before the door and summoned light, and Yuna pressed her wand against the door and cast a spell. Both passed without any particular issues.
The last one remaining was Ian. He worked out the kinks in his stiff body once, then approached the door clutching his grimoire.
[Prove your qualification.]
Words he’d already heard three times now flowed from the door panel. Without replying, Ian placed his hand on the door.
That was when.
[Ook? Oook? Gook! Hgrrrgh!!!]
“……?”
The door had begun convulsing even though he hadn’t cast a spell yet.
“What the hell.”
Sensing something was wrong, Ian stepped back, and Eric frowned and approached him.
“Hey, what are you do—”
Crack!
Eric’s words were devoured by a massive roar and vanished. Both immediately turned their heads toward the source of the sound.
“…….”
“…….”
An awkward silence swirled between them.
“……Ah.”
The source of the sound.
The massive door that had definitely reached the ceiling was now crumpled pathetically and rolling across the floor.
Wait, he hadn’t even used magic yet?