Fortunately, the spicy pork was delicious. Ian neatly finished his portion of rice, and everyone tidied up the table together.
The coffee ordered for dessert was also passable. Maybe it was because he hadn’t ordered it with his own money.
Anyway.
After finishing the meal, Ian went down to the parking lot with the two of them. It was to re-apply magic to the bike.
Of course, they didn’t use magic in the parking lot. With so many CCTV cameras around, using it openly would easily attract attention. Most people wouldn’t know exactly what they were doing even if they saw the footage, but the Management Bureau was different. The protagonists of the grand conspiracy theory would surely recognize it as the work of a magician the moment they saw the recorded video and come rushing in like crazy.
For Ian, being discovered by them wasn’t a problem. Since he had already established a cooperative relationship with them, there was nothing to be concerned about.
On the other hand, Eunha and Yuna were not yet on such friendly terms with the Management Bureau. Therefore, it was better to avoid anything that might unnecessarily draw attention.
So the three rode their bikes and moved to a secluded place.
The low mountain behind where Ian and Eunha had first met.
It was a trashy place unpopular even with hikers, famous only for swarming with bugs. The three set foot there, where large stones rolled around because even the road wasn’t properly paved. Yuna, who had been sitting on the back of Ian’s bike, got off with trembling legs as soon as the bike stopped in the clearing.
“I-It’s too fast…!”
“The maximum I drove was 80 km/h. Stop exaggerating.”
“At 80 km/h, that’s s-speeding…!”
Yuna took off her helmet and timidly protested. Ian shrugged his shoulders.
“Considering the illegal acts we usually commit, speeding is nothing.”
“…….”
At that merciless truth, Yuna’s mouth shut. She pursed her lips, then placed the helmet on the back seat of the bike and slumped down onto a nearby rock.
The mountain welcoming spring was brimming with a fresh atmosphere.
Flowers in full bloom. Leaves swaying gently. And pollen and bugs in proportion.
Compared to when they came in winter, it was certainly full of life, but sometimes too much is not so great. It was better than summer, but there were still too many bugs.
“Haa….”
Ian swatted away the bugs swarming around with his hand and took off his helmet. Soon after, Eunha arrived as well.
A classic bike without a cowl. Eunha, riding her own quite large motorcycle, parked next to Ian and turned off the engine. The rumbling engine sound died down, and she took off her helmet, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Haa… It’s getting warm. In winter it was okay.”
“It’s spring. I think I’ll really hate riding in summer.”
Ian hung his helmet on the side mirror. Eunha also got off the bike with a faint smile.
“In summer, you’d have to buy and install cooling devices for the bike and helmet to be moderately okay.”
“There’s such a thing?”
“Yes. It’s really convenient. I used one until last year, but it broke recently so I’m planning to buy a new one. The price is about 500,000 won and 300,000 won respectively?”
“That’s not too outrageous.”
“Yes, not bad.”
Yuna listened to their conversation and tilted her head with a dumbfounded expression.
“W-Wouldn’t it be better to just take a car than go that far…?”
It was an extremely reasonable statement, but Eunha, who pursued romance when it came to transportation, lightly ignored her voice. The words of a mere mortal who didn’t understand the romance of bikes weren’t worth listening to.
It was the same for Ian. Honestly, he hadn’t cared either way before riding a bike, but now it was different. Under the premise that accidents would never happen, motorcycles were indeed more fun than cars. Since they were even safe, there was no reason to buy a car when he had a bike.
Maybe he’d buy one later when it became necessary. At least not now.
Ian lightly tapped Yuna on the crown of her head and sat next to her. Yuna had a question mark in her eyes at being suddenly smacked, but he paid no attention and asked Eunha,
“Eunha-ssi, what’s the cc of your bike? Mine is close to 1,000cc.”
“I have an over-liter class. 1,300cc. It’s not a particular brand; it’s assembled from parts custom-made by the cartel, so it’ll be different from Ian-ssi’s bike in many ways.”
“Oh… What’s the maximum speed it can reach?”
“They say up to 450 km/h, but in reality, there’s no chance of reaching that. Even if the bike holds up, I can’t.”
“Ah.”
That was true. Normally, once you exceed 200 km/h, just enduring it is tough. Not to mention her bike was a simple classic bike, not built for racing. She had no choice but to withstand the air resistance with her bare body. If she tried to go 450 km/h like that, she’d probably fly off.
Of course, since accidents didn’t happen, that wouldn’t occur, but not having an accident and enduring it were separate issues. Rather, if her body were forcibly fixed so she wouldn’t fly away, it might be even harder.
Well, anyway. That’s not what’s important.
“You know how the magic is done, right?”
Eunha took out an oil-based marker and said. Ian pushed aside Yuna, who was pestering him from the side, and nodded.
“Yes. Then, please do it.”
“Yes. Please wait.”
Pop.
Eunha opened the cap of the marker, crouched down, and swiftly drew a magic circle on the side cowl of the bike. The first time he’d seen it, he was startled, but not now. Knowing it would disappear anyway, he felt nothing.
“O God. Protect the path we travel, and let our lives be used only for You.”
Bzzzt.
At the same time as the chant, the magic circle shimmered in gold. Eunha lightly poured the wine she had brought over it. A sweet yet bitter aroma faintly spread.
“And so, may we enjoy glory.”
Eunha closed her eyes and recited the last verse. Then the glittering gold light slowly settled along with the wine, and the magic circle vanished. If you looked quickly, it might seem like the magic had failed, but fortunately, it had concluded successfully.
“Haa… It’s done. I’ll use it on my bike for a moment. Just a moment.”
“Ah, yes. Take your time.”
Eunha responded to Ian’s words with a smile and repeated the same process on her own bike. After completing all procedures, she stretched and turned to the two.
“Ckhuuung… Puha. All done. Good work today. Thanks to you, the contract was completed safely, and the mirror world was handled well too.”
“Eunha-ssi, good work as well. As for Yuna… I’m not sure.”
“What.”
Yuna, who had been quietly swinging her legs, pouted her lips and timidly swung a fist at Ian. Ian lightly swatted her hand away and burst into a snicker.
“Joking, joking. You worked hard too.”
“H-Hmph… Don’t make that kind of joke again….”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Eek…!”
At his slick answer, Yuna swung her round fist again. There was no strength behind it, so it didn’t hurt even when hit.
Eunha quietly watched the two squabbling, then with a expressionless face, blurted out,
“……You two are close.”
“Huh? Oh, well… We’re not awkward. She’s a bit of a loser, but she’s not a bad person.”
“I-I’m not a loser! I have a lot of friends!”
“Name them.”
“S-Shin Ian and… Shin Ian and….”
“There are more people with the same name than I thought. I thought it wasn’t a common name. Hmm….”
“……Don’t tease me…!”
“……Haa.”
Seeing Yuna starting to tear up from the teasing, Eunha sighed.
An unknown discomfort bloomed in her chest, rose up to her throat, then subsided. She decided not to think about what caused it. It wasn’t a helpful emotion anyway.
She picked up the bike helmet she had taken off and approached Ian.
“Then, Ian-ssi. See you again when we get the chance. Or you can just come over to our place.”
“Understood.”
Ian smiled and held out his hand to her. Eunha hesitated briefly, then clasped his hand with a faint smile. Warmth spread gently through her palm.
It was a warmth too regrettable to let go of quickly. So Eunha pondered for a moment, then blushed slightly and moved her fingers to interlace them with his. At the unexpected motion, Ian’s body flinched.
“Eu-Eunha-ssi…?”
“……Mmm.”
“Eunha-ssi, uh… this is suddenly a bit… um….”
“……Just a moment, like this.”
She ignored Ian’s embarrassment, closed her eyes, and wiggled her fingers. His pupils trembled at the squirming, almost like a lick.
At that moment, Yuna, who hadn’t been able to understand the situation, had her mouth hanging open before quickly coming to her senses and breaking apart their interlaced hands.
“Wha-What are you doing?!”
“……Ah.”
“What do you mean ‘Ah’! It was so natural that I was shocked! Th-That’s sexual harassment, sexual harassment!”
Even Yuna, who was saying that, was unconsciously fiddling with Ian’s hand she had forcefully freed, but unfortunately, neither Ian nor Eunha were in a situation to care about that. Eunha looked down at her own hand, still warm, with a blank expression, then blushed bright red and pulled on the helmet she had been holding.
Then in a slightly flushed voice, she spoke quickly.
“Th-Then I’ll be off! See you next time, Ian-ssi!”
She didn’t wait for an answer. Eunha got on her bike as if fleeing, started it, and took off.
“…….”
Ian watched her receding figure for a moment, then spoke to Yuna, who was still fiddling with his hand.
“……How long are you going to touch it?”
“Eep!”
Yuna, startled, let go of the hand she had been kneading like dough.
*
Ian returned home just as the sun was starting to set. It couldn’t be helped since he had dropped Yuna off at home. Still, it wasn’t very late, so it didn’t matter much.
“Haa.”
He parked the bike in the mansion’s parking lot, activated the automatic lock, and went into the house.
Creeeak.
When he opened the front door, he saw a pair of carelessly discarded shoes.
Ordinary sneakers. But the size was too small to be Ian’s. No matter how you looked at them, they belonged to someone else.
However, Ian was not flustered. He knew who the shoes belonged to.
‘Looks like she arrived already.’
It wasn’t a matter to think deeply about. He took off his shoes and entered the house, uttering the name of the shoes’ owner.
“Chechilia.”
“Ah, you’re here.”
A small voice came from inside the living room. Along with it, pattering footsteps approached.
As soon as he stepped into the living room, his eyes met Chechilia, who was striding around barefoot. Ian was about to say something, but he furrowed his brows upon seeing her hairstyle.
“……Why twin tails? Did you suddenly feel like being foolish?”
“The sister tied it for me, saying it would suit me.”
“No wonder it suits you well.”
Ian quickly changed his attitude and nodded. Chechilia laughed hollowly and pointed to the sofa.
“The one you told me to catch. It’s over there.”
“Mm.”
Following her finger, Ian shifted his gaze.
The living room sofa. On it sat Marian, looking grimy, like a roly-poly toy. Ian’s expression naturally turned sour.
“……Why did you put her on the sofa and not the floor? It’ll get dirty.”
“I sat her on the floor, but she climbed up on her own. It’s not my fault.”
“……Heh.”
At the absurd answer, Ian shook his head. Regardless, Marian was nodding off with a serene expression. She seemed quite tired. It was inevitable after being beaten around and even losing a limb during the battle.
“…….”
Personally, he wanted to take a shower and change clothes until she opened her eyes, but he had a stronger urge and couldn’t stay still.
“Step back for a moment, Chechilia.”
“Ah, okay.”
Chechilia followed his words and stepped back, and Ian took out his phone, opened the camera app, and took a picture of the sleeping Marian’s face.
Then he immediately posted a verification post on the community.
[Guys, I caught this magician named Marian? Is this a good thing? I got it in one try ㅠㅠ]
Gotta do what you gotta do.