There were no upsets. In the duel between Iseo-a and Uhyeon, Iseo-a emerged victorious, two to zero. Uhyeon smiled with a refreshed expression as he picked up the prayer beads that had fallen to the floor.
“A pity.”
In truth, it was a natural result. Since it was a magical duel where directly striking the mage was impossible, there was simply no way for curses to overcome necromancy in a clash of magic. All spirits were immune to curses, and some entities even cast curses themselves. Uhyeon had no means whatsoever to defeat Iseo-a.
If it had been a real fight, the result might have been slightly different. But even hypothesizing with the word *if* was nothing more than delusion.
The fact was that Uhyeon had lost. It was a truth no one could deny, and Uhyeon accepted it calmly. He chuckled and approached Iseo-a, offering his hand.
“That was a fine duel. If the opportunity arises, I should like to ask for another.”
“Sure, if the opportunity arises. But I’ll pass on the handshake.”
“Hmm, very well.”
The two exchanged brief greetings and returned to the group’s side.
With that, the second event had also concluded.
Sohui did not duel because there was no suitable opponent. It wasn’t as if they could ask Amelia, who had yet to become a mage, to face her.
Considering the grimoire’s abilities, it wasn’t as though Sohui was incapable of fighting, but there was no reason to duel at the cost of revealing them. The grimoire’s abilities didn’t suit dueling in the first place.
Fortunately, no one was disappointed that the duel between Amelia and Sohui had fallen through. They moved from the clearing to the temple entrance, conversing as they went.
“Well, that puts an end to our light social gathering. It lasted longer than I expected.”
David spoke while glancing at his wristwatch.
It was just past three in the afternoon.
Only about three hours had passed since they’d first met, but everyone more or less agreed with him.
Mages, by nature, fundamentally did not engage in deep exchanges with other mages. Unless they belonged to a specific organization like the Clock Tower, they tended to refuse the exchange of knowledge with others entirely, and they did not hold long, drawn-out conversations. The mages in Korea were no exception.
Of course, Korea had a community created through the Lemegeton, so the exchange of knowledge and relations between mages were much better than in other countries. For the most part, there were hardly any conflicts, either.
But even so, offline meetings were very difficult. Perhaps if it were an official meeting, but no one enjoyed rubbing shoulders in private like this for so long.
Occasionally, a few eccentrics like Dolores would pop up, but that was just because she was strange. It would be troublesome to think of a madwoman as the standard for mages.
Anyway.
David rolled down his sleeves and turned sharply to look at the group.
“Let’s call it a day here. I need to get going and take care of my next schedule.”
“Next schedule?”
“It’s a personal matter. I can’t tell you. I have to protect my privacy too.”
He shrugged. Ian wasn’t particularly curious, so after watching him with a calm expression, he stood up.
“Then we should get going too. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything else to do.”
“Hmm, once night falls, I can prepare some monster sashimi that is truly in season. Won’t you stay to at least have a taste?”
“…I’ll pass. I don’t eat raw meat.”
“What a pity….”
Uhyeon smacked his lips and lowered his head with genuine regret. Sohui, standing beside him, muttered.
“No one likes monster meat, Master. Isn’t it about time you came to terms with reality? So please stop adding monster to my diet and put some pork and beef on it instead.”
“Hmm? You said you want to shave your head again once your hair grows back?”
“No, I said I love you so, so much, Master. I respect and love you, Master.”
Ian listened to their banter and turned to look at David’s back as he had already started down the mountain.
He felt no particular regret. They weren’t close enough for that, and he had finished everything he needed to do here. There was no reason to linger.
*We’ve become acquainted now, so I can contact them occasionally when needed.*
Honestly, Ian didn’t think David would be of tremendous help in any specific field.
But having even one more combat-experienced mage was a good thing, so it wouldn’t be bad to contact them later if he needed a hand.
“I shall see you off. Follow me.”
Ian, Amelia, and Iseo-a quickly descended the mountain under Uhyeon’s guidance. Using a different route than the one they’d taken up, the descent was faster than expected. Ian took in the outline of the village coming into view and asked Uhyeon a question he’d had since first climbing.
“The Buddha statues that serve as guides on the mountain—they were placed so openly. Didn’t you worry about ordinary people wandering in?”
“Those statues are visible only to the eyes of mages. Ordinary mortals cannot even see their outlines.”
“My disciple saw them?”
“It is because she is on the path to becoming a mage. They are merely curse dolls that can be seen only by those who have grasped the basics of magic; think nothing of it.”
Crunch.
Uhyeon stepped on a broken branch and moved aside to clear the path. The trail leading to the village stretched out long behind him.
“I shall look forward to our next meeting. If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to contact me.”
“Can you leave the temple?”
“This monk’s feet are freer than you might think.”
Uhyeon grinned. Ian smiled back, lightly patted his shoulder, and exited the mountain.
He glanced back, but Uhyeon had long since disappeared. Instead, fully bloomed flowers scattered their petals in the wind. Most of them were red spider lilies.
“….”
Ian stared at the sight for a moment, then moved his feet to follow the two walking ahead.
And so this year’s Buddha’s Birthday passed.
*
Time flowed like water.
Unlike busy March, Ian spent April resting in moderation and focusing on instructing Amelia. They already had plenty of money saved up, so there was no need to go out looking for work. The two spent their time having deep conversations about magic at home or going out leisurely.
And so, before they knew it, the last week of April arrived. Amelia had finally completed all the steps to become a mage.
But to become a full-fledged mage, she needed to fill the body prepared through the four elements with ether once and then absorb it.
So Amelia sat in the yard of the house, eyes closed, focusing her entire mind. Her tightly bound hair fluttered in the wind, and beads of sweat rolled down from her nape and forehead.
“Hmph.”
Ian leaned against the living room wall, looking down at her.
Amelia had already been concentrating for an hour. Compared to Ian, who had finished the task in mere minutes, an incredibly long time had passed.
*Is that the average? Or is it because Amelia lacks talent?*
He didn’t know. However, what was certain was that the amount of ether accumulating within her body was considerable.
*The grimoire is helping her.*
The Repository of Knowledge. The grimoire that Ian had written, yet knew nothing about, hummed where it lay on Amelia’s lap.
White letters repeatedly surfaced and vanished on the black leather cover. Most likely, the grimoire’s ability that Amelia had spoken of—using magic first and paying the price afterward—had activated.
Last time, the price had been a coma and internal bleeding, but he wasn’t sure if it would be the same this time. Whatever it was, he supposed they would only know after seeing the result.
Ian thought as much and prepared a glass of cold water and a towel, waiting for Amelia’s meditation to end.
Then, roughly twenty minutes later, Amelia’s eyelids, which had remained tightly shut, slowly rose. At the same time, all the swirling ether scattered into the air. Amelia blankly looked down at her chest for a moment, then sensed Ian’s gaze and raised her head.
“Oppa….”
“That took longer than I expected. Did you finish it well?”
“…Yes. The grimoire helped me.”
Amelia smiled bashfully and hugged the grimoire on her lap tightly. Drenched in sweat, the grimoire squirmed as if it disliked it, but Amelia didn’t let go.
“Thank you, Seogo.”
[Mmmm….]
“Stop pretending you hate it. I know you actually love it.”
She rubbed her cheek against the grimoire’s cover for a good while, then sprang up from her seat and scampered over to Ian. She smiled brightly.
“Now I’m a proper mage too! Thank you for teaching me, Oppa!”
“You’ve only just taken the first step. From now on, you’ll have to fight in real battles and accumulate various experiences, so it will be harder.”
“I’ll be fine! I can do it! I can endure everything even if you’re rough with me!”
“I won’t push you too hard, so don’t worry.”
Ian smiled faintly as he stroked her sweat-damp hair. Amelia let out a soft whimper.
“I’m all dirty right now….”
“It’s fine. More importantly, what’s the price of the magic? It’ll be a problem if it’s bleeding or a coma again.”
“Ah, just a moment….”
Amelia hurriedly opened the grimoire to check the magic’s price.
[The grace period is one minute. As the price for this magic, the owner of this grimoire, ‘Amelia Gravier,’ shall embrace the author and father of this grimoire with this grimoire placed between them.]
[00:59……]
“Uh….”
She stared at the page with a blank expression.
An instant later, after registering the contents, Amelia’s face flushed bright red.
“Eek!”