Though he had learned the shocking whereabouts of the notebook he had paid a staggering four hundred million for, Ian did not immediately thrash about like a wild foal. Instead, he calmly sorted out his thoughts.
It went without saying, but he did not think that Amelia, who had no abilities whatsoever, had broken into his house overnight and stolen the notebook. If she had, Amelia would have become Ame/lia and been sprawled out in the living room like a corpse.
Even with all the luck in the world, she would have died instantly. There was no option where she returned alive.
Openly breaking into a combat mage’s residence was effectively no different from walking around with half your heart exposed. Only those who did not value their lives dared set foot inside such a place.
Was there no reason Eddie had waited for Ian in the corridor instead of entering his house? Even that proud and arrogant mage had acted while observing the bare minimum of rules. Amelia, born into a mage family, would know the basics as well, so it was right to rule out the possibility that she had recklessly invaded his home.
To begin with, he had never even told her his address, so it would have been impossible for her to find it.
Then the only remaining possibility was that the notebook had suddenly grown legs and scurried out of the house on its own.
‘Does that even make sense?’
Ian let out a deep sigh as he imagined a notebook with legs opening the window by itself and flying away.
It was absurd. But in a world where mysteries truly existed, he could not dismiss it as complete nonsense either.
Moreover, the notebook Faust had made was an otherworldly object crafted from materials gathered in Hell. It would not be strange if some mystery suddenly dwelled within it.
But even if his head understood, his chest felt incredibly stifled.
Anyone would feel bad upon hearing that something they had invested both money and time into had suddenly disappeared and flown off to someone else.
Perhaps a saint would be different. But Ian was an extremely ordinary mage. He was very far from being a saint.
‘First, I should talk to Amelia and figure out what actually happened. It would look a bit strange to barge in and start yelling right away.’
If Amelia had taken it deliberately, Ian would have considered coercive means as well, but since the winged notebook had flown off on its own, there was no need to interrogate her. Amelia did not possess an ability like reading a notebook’s mind.
“Ah. We’re here, nya.”
While he was thinking, he stepped into the familiar corridor of the Owl. Ian smelled the wash of water and the distinctive scent of incense candles, then looked back at Pleas.
“Where is the lounge Eric is in?”
“If you turn right at the end of the corridor, there’ll be a weird bookshelf, nya. Pull the book on the very top row, farthest to the right, just a little, and the door will open on its own, nya. That’s the lounge, nya.”
“Are there any conditions for entering?”
“None, nya. It was made for guests and shop owners to use in the first place, nya. If there’s any condition at all, it’s only that you have to be a mage, nya.”
Hop.
Pleas jumped down to the floor and tilted her head as she looked back at Ian.
“Then I’m going back to my shop from here, nya. Come by if you need anything, nya.”
“I was going to stop by the general store anyway. You still have the tobacco you sold me last time, right?”
“Heheh. Of course I do, nya. It’s only common sense to always order popular goods in bulk! Follow me, nya. I’ll throw in plenty of service, nya.”
There was no need to refuse her generosity. Before entering the lounge, Ian first followed Pleas to the general store.
She skillfully pushed open the door of the general store with her forepaw and hummed. Ian followed her inside.
“Ah, you’re finally here. I was waiting for you anyway.”
There were two customers already inside the shop.
One of them was a woman familiar to Ian as well.
A tall mage characterized by blood-red hair and a red dress—Dolores. She was looking down at Pleas with a thorny rose in her hand, then spotted Ian standing behind her and widened her eyes.
“Oh my, you! Secondhand Newbie, Shin Ian!”
Her loud voice rang through the cramped space. Ian’s face distorted on its own.
Whether he did or not, Dolores strode up to Ian, looked up at him, and shouted.
“You! How could you post something like that on the community and suddenly go silent? This young lady was so frustrated I thought I would die!”
“……What post? I don’t remember writing anything that would really draw aggro.”
Ian answered while suppressing the sudden urge to smoke that surged up within him. Dolores looked as though she had been shocked.
“Everything you write draws nothing but aggro!”
“What?”
“Anyway, that isn’t what’s important! How on earth did you catch Laura? Those zombie-like bastards aren’t easy to catch! They’re so horrible that even this young lady has given up on them before!”
Dolores thrust her face toward him. It was so close that if Ian’s head had been even slightly forward, their lips would have touched. Ian immediately furrowed his brow and took a step back.
“They attacked first, and I tracked them down and killed them. It’s nothing special.”
“What kind of tone is that, like you’re saying, ‘I had bread for breakfast, and stew for lunch’?! Florence has several ways to obstruct tracking, so they can’t be followed easily! The sniper there is an ability user who can interfere with every kind of signal, not to mention magical tracking!”
“……I had no idea.”
Ian said with a sour expression.
Obstructing tracking? Ian had never sensed anything like that. From the first moment the compass drank blood to the moment he caught and killed Laura, it had worked normally.
‘It must be because it’s an item made with an Outer God’s magic. Nothing surprising at this point.’
Ian immediately composed his expression and changed the topic.
“More importantly, why did you come to the Owl? Dress repairs like last time?”
“That too. A lot of mannequins were damaged this time, you see. I came to get materials to repair them. This young lady may not look it, but I’m rather good with my hands.”
“Sure, that’s impressive.”
He answered perfunctorily and turned his head toward the other woman, who was staring at him.
“Ssip…… Hoo…….”
A cold-looking woman smoking a cigar between her lips. Her ash-gray hair swayed lightly with her movements, and a faint plume of smoke rose upward before quickly dispersing.
At the center of her abdomen, laid bare by the black crop top she wore, a single magic circle was drawn.
A geometric magic circle that seemed to mix all kinds of shapes.
It had not been drawn with ink. It was a magic circle carved beneath the skin like a tattoo, and it looked impossible to erase unless the skin itself was torn off whole.
That was probably why it had been inscribed that way from the beginning.
“…….”
He could not quite grasp why she would so openly display a magic circle, practically the core of magic itself. That was only natural, since every mage Ian had met so far had hidden their magic.
‘Is the spider on her shoulder related to her magic? Judging from the magic circle on her lower abdomen, is it an ability closer to life manipulation?’
Just as Ian narrowed his eyes while thinking that, Pleas jumped toward the counter and spoke indifferently.
“Alisa, there’s a spider sitting on your shoulder, nya. Is it your pet, nya?”
“What?”
The woman called Alisa blinked and looked down at her own shoulder. At that exact moment, the spider had also turned its body toward her. Eight simple eyes and two black pupils met in midair.
Her reaction was immediate.
“Hiiik!”
Alisa’s face went pale, and she frantically shook out the coat she was wearing. The cigar in her mouth fell to the floor, and Pleas, horrified, hastily poured water over the still-lit cigar.
“Are you crazy, nya?! The floor here is wood, nya! What were you going to do if it caught fire, nya?!”
“Dolores, Dolores! Did the spider fall off? Please check for me!”
“It fell off, so stay still! You crazy wild foal of a woman!”
Pleas slapped Alisa’s shins over and over with her forepaws. Because her claws were out, Alisa cried out in pain.
“Ow, that hurts, kitty! You’re not supposed to use your claws on people!”
“What kind of bullshit is that, nya?! And didn’t I tell you not to call me kitty, nya!”
Hiss!
Pleas hissed at Alisa. Ian nodded as he watched the scene.
It seemed she was just an idiot after all.
*
“……I’m Alisa. I was born in Moscow, but I grew up in England. Dolores and I know each other pretty well, so we’re going around together for a bit.”
Alisa gave Ian an awkward greeting. Dolores added on.
“Alisa’s community nickname is ‘NekomimiIsBest.’ Have you perhaps seen it before?”
“Do-Dolores!”
“She posts really high-energy things every day, but no one ever comments, so she’s a pitiful friend. Still, her recent post about spotting the Florence Mercenary Corps got quite a few comments, so Alisa was happy about that!”
“Stop……!”
Alisa flushed and punched Dolores repeatedly in the side. She must have hit fairly hard, because Dolores let out a choked groan and staggered.
Ian quietly stared at the scene, which was nothing short of a farce, then let out a deep sigh.
“……I’m Shin Ian.”
“Ah, yeah, I know. Dolores told me before. I’ve seen your posts a few times too.”
Alisa spoke in a slightly subdued voice.
“The mage who killed Eddie, captured Mariang alive, and even killed Laura a few days ago. A compatible user like the master of the Clock Tower, possessing as many as two grimoires. And yet, a strange person who uses them freely without magical overload.”
“…….”
“I’m personally interested in you. Ah, I don’t mean that with any malice. It’s literally just interest. But…… I didn’t expect a mage who only wrote weird posts every day to look this normal on the outside. I thought you’d be a bit of an odd person.”
She took out a cigar with practiced ease and was about to put it in her mouth, but when she saw Pleas raise her claws, she put it back in.
“If we get the chance, let’s work together sometime. Someone with a good personality and good skills is the best kind of business partner.”
“I don’t know your skills.”
“Don’t worry. They won’t be bad. I’m good at anything that involves using my body.”
Alisa said that and looked back at Pleas.
“Kitty…… No, Pleas. The thing I ordered came in, right?”
“Yes, it came in, nya. You’re here to pick that up, nya?”
“That’s right. Can you give it to me right away? I have to go to work in an hour, so I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
“Got it, nya. The payment is……”
“Here’s my card.”
Alisa handed Pleas a black card. Pleas smiled brightly, inserted the card into the reader, then went briefly into the storeroom and brought out a small box.
“Payment complete, nya. Take it, nya.”
“Thanks. Then I’ll see you next time.”
After gently stroking Pleas’s head, she took the box and turned around.
“Dolores, let’s go.”
“Yes. You, we’ll be going now. Congratulations on finishing the festival safely! Pleas, please make sure the things I ordered are delivered properly!”
“I’ll contact you. See you again.”
The two of them said goodbye, and Ian nodded in response.
“Sure. If we get the chance later.”
Jingle.
Alisa and Dolores left the general store. Ian stared at their backs for a moment, then shook his head and approached Pleas.
“What did she take?”
“I protect my customers’ privacy, so I can’t tell you, nya.”
“Is that so.”
Ian replied indifferently and glanced sideways at the tobacco displayed on the shelves. To be honest, he was not particularly interested in what Alisa had taken.
Judging by the fact that she went around with Dolores, she was probably a mage whose skills had been verified, but since they had only just met, he did not have any particular impression of her yet. Just as she had said, unless they got the chance to handle a commission together and build a relationship, there was still nothing he was curious about when it came to her.
So he cleanly set aside his thoughts about Alisa and pointed at the tobacco with his finger.
“That one and that one. And give me the one that smells like mint. Same quantity as last time.”
“Got it, nya.”
The transaction was completed quickly. Ian looked at the once-again reassuring supply of tobacco, smiled with satisfaction, and put the bundle into his bag. Then, without hesitation, he turned and left the general store.
“Thank you, nya! Come again next time, nya!”
“Sure. Don’t eat too many Churus.”
“I don’t eat those, nya!”
He smiled at the hissing Pleas and stepped into the corridor.
He had bought tobacco, so all that remained was seeing Eric and Amelia’s faces. There was no need to waste time, so he immediately opened the door to the lounge just as Pleas had told him.
Clank!
When he pulled one book on the bookshelf slightly, the bookshelf tipped sideways and opened like a door. At the same time, the view of the lounge entered Ian’s eyes.
A TV hanging on the wall. Wall bookshelves filled with all kinds of magical texts. A digital hearth and lanterns that added to the atmosphere. A huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A black sofa. And even a luxurious-looking bed where Eric lay.
It was quite literally a space worthy of being called a lounge.
A place unsuited to caring for a patient. However, it seemed they had made their own preparations, as various potions, bandages, disinfectant, and the like were neatly arranged near the bed. Ian slowly entered the lounge, smelling the faint, distinctive scent of disinfectant in the air.
Eric and Amelia were inside the lounge.
The first to notice Ian was Eric, who was lying on the bed. He was scratching at the bandage wrapped around his wrist when his eyes met Ian’s, and he let out a laugh of disbelief.
“What the hell? Why are you coming out of there?”
“Huh? Someone came?”
Hearing Eric’s words, Amelia sprang up from her seat and turned around. Ian spotted the familiar black notebook clutched in her hand and furrowed his brow.
‘It’s really here…….’
He had inwardly hoped that perhaps Pleas had been mistaken. But seeing the real thing made it certain. That was Faust’s notebook.
The one he had spent four hundred million on.
“Ah, oppa. Hello.”
Bow.
Unaware of Ian’s feelings, Amelia bent at the waist and greeted him with a bright expression. He looked down at her with a complicated expression, then let out a deep sigh.
“……Good to see you, Amelia.”
Creak, thud.
At the same time as Ian’s greeting, the door to the lounge closed.
Now there was no way for anyone outside to know what happened here.
+
An illustration of Alisa!