Cecilia took the bowl of blood-tinged water and came out into the living room. Ian followed her, stripping off the priestly vestments that felt as if they kept choking him around the neck. The lust that had been clinging stickily to his mind had long since subsided.
“I’ll take this with me to the Vatican. It’s dangerous.”
Clatter.
She set the bowl down on the table as she spoke. Ian collapsed onto the sofa, rolling an unlit cigarette between his fingers as he let out a low groan.
“So even in that state, a demon can still pull something, huh.”
“That’s right. It keeps causing strange phenomena around it. And this itself can also serve as a catalyst to summon Asmodeus. It contains his remnants. If we just leave it somewhere or dump it down the sewer, he might appear again.”
“Ah.”
Ian nodded as if he understood, then suddenly thought of Eunha’s face and narrowed his eyes.
What Asmodeus had said. That he would rather possess someone outright than be enslaved by the owner of the Lemegeton.
There was no need to think deeply about it. Even at a rough listen, it was obvious that Asmodeus had not made a contract with Eunha. If he took that bloody water and handed it over to her, it likely would not be difficult for her to form a contract with Asmodeus.
Asmodeus, being a being who had fallen from cherub to demon, had far stricter contract conditions than other archdemons. But now that he had failed in his possession and been driven out, his power was bound to be weaker than usual. By skipping every procedure and using his remnants as a catalyst, a one-sided slave contract should be possible.
‘Even if she can’t make the contract right away, she’ll figure something out as long as she has it. It’s better than letting the Vatican take it.’
Having sorted out his thoughts, Ian put away the cigarette and spoke to Cecilia.
“How would the Vatican handle this? Seal it? Or purify it?”
“The cardinals will personally carry out purification work for a week. Sealing it would be too much of an investment, so they’ll probably just purify it and burn it. That alone is enough.”
“Hmm... Then how about not taking it with you and handing it over to me instead?”
“...To you?”
Cecilia blinked and asked back. Ian nodded.
“I know an expert related to demons. If I hand it over to that person, Asmodeus probably won’t be able to openly raise hell again.”
“...A mage, then.”
“I can’t tell you exactly. Just guess.”
Putting aside the fact that Cecilia was someone he could trust, he could not carelessly reveal information about other mages. It might be different if he had their consent, but he did not.
Cecilia seemed to have some general knowledge of mage society as well. After pondering for a moment, she looked at Ian with a serious expression.
“...They’re someone trustworthy, right?”
“Among the people I know, they’re among the best in terms of character.”
“Better than me?”
“It’d be a good match.”
“That means they’re impressive.”
Without the slightest change in expression, Cecilia plated her own face in gold and plopped down onto the sofa. The dark red bloodwater in the bowl sloshed.
“What kind of magic do they use?”
“This and that.”
“...Ian. This is related to an archdemon, so if you don’t tell me precisely, it’s hard for me to give you a definite answer too.”
“When it comes to demons, they’re more of an expert than either of us. I can’t tell you any more than that.”
“...Haa.”
Cecilia let out a deep sigh and looked down at the bowl on the table. After doing so for a long while, she removed the veil covering her head and looked at Ian.
“...Through our cooperation so far, I understand well enough that you’re not the kind of person to suddenly say something strange.”
“....”
“So I’ll trust you this once.”
Ian had been considering the possibility that she might refuse, so her unexpectedly straightforward answer made him look surprised.
“...It feels a bit odd to ask after making the request, but is that really all right?”
“Inquisitors have a certain degree of discretion when handling matters after a mission. It shouldn’t be a big problem. It’s not as if I’m neglecting it out of laziness. If I’m handing it over to a mage in a cooperative relationship, the Vatican won’t have much to say either.”
In that case, there was nothing to hesitate over. Ian nodded and placed the bowl of bloodwater into his bag.
Surprisingly, the liquid in the bowl did not spill outside it, so there was no need to worry about the bag getting wet.
...Grrrrrk!
He felt the bowl, placed in the same space as the grimoire, convulsing, but he lightly ignored it. There was no reason to go out of his way to be considerate of a demon’s dregs.
“We should start heading back too. It’s all over now.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Ian answered Cecilia’s words.
Ian and Cecilia cleaned up the tools used for the ritual and called back in Bak Hansol’s parents, whom they had sent out. The two, who returned looking anxious, confirmed that Bak Hansol was breathing peacefully and began shedding tears of relief.
“Thank you, Reverend...! Thank you so, so much...!”
“How can we ever repay this grace...!”
The room no longer reeked of corpses. The two embraced Bak Hansol, who was lying on the bed, and cried out like that. Cecilia, with a peaceful expression, held their hands in return.
“It is only that the Lord’s gaze has reached this place. There is no need for repayment, so please maintain your faith as you did before and continue attending Mass at church. That will be enough.”
“Ah, aah...! We understand, we’ll do that, Reverend...!”
Cecilia recited a prayer with the two sobbing people, picked up her box, and left the house. Ian also picked up the priestly vestments he had taken off and headed toward the parked car.
By then, it was already well past morning. The sun, which had only been faintly visible before they entered the house, had long since fully revealed itself. Perhaps because it was already nearing April, the daytime temperature was fairly warm.
Thud.
Cecilia loaded the box into the back of the vehicle, put on her sunglasses, and turned to Ian.
“You worked hard today. What about breakfast? Want to eat together before you go?”
“What are you going to eat?”
“There’s a 24-hour Korean buffet I often go to. It’s the only place I haven’t been banned from.”
Beep, beep.
She entered the address into the map on her phone.
It was not a particularly famous buffet. Still, since it was the only place where Cecilia could eat her fill, the two immediately got in the car and headed to the restaurant.
Perhaps because they stopped at rest areas along the way, they arrived at the restaurant right around lunchtime. They parked in the parking lot, went inside, and began their meal in earnest.
And then, thirty minutes later.
“...Excuse me, customer.”
“...?”
An employee approached Cecilia, who had plates piled up like a mountain and was tearing into ribs. Staring at the dishes sprawled across the table with eyes that all but regarded her as a monster, he forced a smile.
“Um... your allotted dining time has ended, so I came to let you know. If you could slowly make your way out...”
“No? Here, the timer. It’s only been thirty minutes.”
Cecilia held out the phone timer she had set in advance.
The employee’s face crumpled. His expression was so twisted that Ian wondered if he wanted to say, “This woman is truly vicious!” Ian nibbled at the orange he had brought as dessert and continued watching the farce.
“The dining time here is one hour and thirty minutes. There’s still an hour left.”
“Ah... ha, haha... y-you’re right. I must have been mistaken...!”
“Yes. Then...”
“P-please, eat more! It’s fine...!”
“Thank you.”
Cecilia nodded, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster’s.
The employee returned to the counter with a soulless expression.
Ian glanced at them and, while listening to the employee and someone who looked like the owner embrace each other and mutter, “Let’s close early today,” gave a bitter smile.
Regardless of that, Cecilia continued her meal. Only after filling the entire one hour and thirty minutes and sweeping through every cake and jelly for dessert did she leave the restaurant.
Less than ten minutes later, a message arrived for her.
[We’re sorry. It seems our establishment is far too lacking to satisfy you, dear customer. Therefore, until we improve our skills enough to receive a Michelin star, we will be banning you from entry. No, honestly, this was your tenth visit today. Aren’t you going too far? Every time you come, the food—]
It was an unmistakable ban notice, without even needing to read further.
“Why!”
Well, it was only natural.
*
After parting with the gloomy Cecilia with a promise to meet again, Ian went straight to Eunha’s house.
Though he had contacted her the same day, Eunha did not refuse his visit. Rather, she welcomed him.
“Welcome. You arrived faster than I expected.”
“There wasn’t much traffic. Thanks to that, I got here quickly.”
Her house, which he was visiting for the first time in two days, had not changed much from the last time he had seen it. Ian took off his shoes, sat down on the living room sofa, and took a sip of the coffee she handed him. Just as before, the coffee Eunha had brewed herself was still delicious.
Clatter.
As he quietly savored the coffee, Eunha brought over her own tea and gently sat down across from Ian.
“Thank you for coming. I didn’t think we would meet again this soon.”
“Neither did I. But, well, isn’t it a good thing when good things happen?”
“That’s true.”
Eunha wore a faint smile, so faint that one would hardly notice it without paying close attention. Ian smiled back at her and took a silver bowl out of his bag.
A bowl in which dark red liquid sloshed. Seeing the bowl, which had no lid at all yet did not let even a single drop spill out, Eunha tilted her head.
“Is that... the remnant of Asmodeus you mentioned?”
Since they had already discussed everything, the conversation proceeded quickly. Ian nodded and placed the bowl on the table.
“That’s right. I happened to cooperate with a Vatican inquisitor this time, and this was the harvest.”
“...An inquisitor? Was it a woman?”
“...? That’s right, but why do you ask?”
At his immediate answer, Eunha furrowed her brow as if displeased. After a moment, she exhaled and returned to a calm expression.
“It’s nothing. It just seemed like... you know a lot of women.”
“Uh... It wasn’t intentional, but I suppose so. I didn’t realize until you pointed it out.”
“...Is that so?”
Tap.
Eunha set down her teacup with an audible sound and stared at the bowl with cold eyes. For some reason, she seemed angry.
‘Hmm. She must have a deep grudge against demons.’
Ian decided not to think too deeply about it, and with a bright smile, he ran his finger over the surface of the bowl.
“In any case, this. I’ll hand it over to you, Eunha. Even if I keep it, I have no use for it. If it’s going to be used anyway, wouldn’t it be best for the owner of the Lemegeton to use it?”
“I won’t refuse. Asmodeus is a demon I had my eye on as well. It’ll be hard to contract him right away, but if I have it, it should come in useful somehow.”
“Yes. I’m sure it will. So, considering all the help you’ve given me, I’ll hand it over for the low price of ten million won.”
“...?”
At Ian’s words, Eunha blinked.
“...You were selling it?”
“Of course.”
Ian smiled and clasped both hands together.
He had to get what he was owed.