“Alright, look here and introduce yourself.”
“Yes!”
Amelia smiled brightly as she stared into Ian’s phone camera.
“My name is Amelia! Amelia Gravier! I’m French, and I’m fourteen this year! I’m a girl!”
“Special skills?”
“I’m good at origami and cutting with scissors! People tell me I have very dexterous hands!”
“What’s the best thing in the world right now?”
“Brother!”
“What do you hate?”
“Broccoli!”
Amelia giggled, shaking her head side to side. Ian burst into laughter too.
*When Amelia sees this in a week, she’ll be absolutely mortified.*
It was the first time Ian had seen Amelia in such a disheveled state. Rather than merely witnessing it with his own eyes and burying it in his memory, leaving a video record like this was far better. He was also curious about her reaction when she watched it later.
A seasoned community user must always be ready to mess with someone. Ian was no exception.
“Good.”
Ian ended the recording, checked the video once, and nodded in satisfaction. As he did, Amelia, who had been sitting on the sofa, approached and burrowed into his embrace. The height difference between them was so extreme that her face bumped right against Ian’s solar plexus.
“Mmm, Brother’s smell….”
“It’s not that great of a smell, is it?”
“No! It’s the best in the world! It smells like clematis!”
“Clematis? A flower?”
“Yes! It’s pretty! It has a fresh scent!”
Amelia shook her head in his embrace, sniffing with her nose. Ian snickered and plopped down on the sofa with her.
*They said it was mental regression, but I guess she doesn’t turn into a complete beast after all.*
The flight magic Ian had used in the Mirror World didn’t directly affect his intelligence, but severe lethargy put the brakes on his cognitive abilities, so his thoughts weren’t very smooth. He would blurt out whatever came to mind, and his head felt foggy.
On the other hand, Amelia was literally experiencing a phenomenon of intellectual deterioration.
Rather than an IQ reduction to bestial levels, it seemed more accurate to say that her mental age had simply lowered. Fortunately, it didn’t look like she would go running around wildly like a monkey, as Amelia had worried. This was a welcome development for Ian as well.
However, that didn’t mean there were no problems at all.
*I’ve paid the price for stealing the rune magic, but I haven’t yet paid the price for using the autonomous magic.*
Ian stroked the head of the Amelia nestled in his arms and thought.
*The fact that she isn’t vomiting blood or fainting on the spot means she has enough ability to pay the price, but….*
The Twilight Hour.
At the time, Amelia had used the grimoire’s abilities while escaping from the mercenaries, and as the price, she had suffered hemorrhaging, internal injuries, and a coma. This had happened because the grimoire had judged that she lacked the ability to pay the price. Since Amelia had said so herself, it was likely true.
On the other hand, nothing else had manifested besides the mental regression.
That meant that the current Amelia had sufficient ability to pay the price.
If one were to speak of the difference between then and now, it was entirely whether she was a magician or not.
Perhaps if one wasn’t a magician, the price was exacted through physical damage, whereas if one was a magician, the price was paid through materials or rituals.
“Hmnn…? Brother, faster. You got slower.”
Amelia whined in Ian’s embrace. Instead of petting her more, Ian rested his chin on top of her head and let out a low hum.
“Aaah! It hurts! Broooother, it huuurts!”
He didn’t know how long the grace period for the price was, but no matter how long it was, it wouldn’t exceed a week. He needed to take care of everything within that time if possible.
*It won’t be easy performing a ritual while looking after a child who has regressed to infancy, but… it can’t be helped.*
Ian let out a deep sigh and asked Amelia.
“Amelia, did you check what the price of the magic is? If you know, could you tell me?”
“I’ll tell you if you give me a kiss!”
“…Why do you like kisses so damn much?”
“Aah, hurry! Hurry up and do it!”
Amelia squirmed. Ian smacked his lips, then, as if resigned, lightly kissed her cheek. With a soft smack, Ian’s lips pressed against her soft skin and then pulled away.
“Ah…!”
Amelia’s face flushed bright red. She turned her body to face Ian and whispered in a shy voice.
“My… my forehead too….”
“…Again?”
“Q-quickly!”
Amelia poked Ian’s chest with her finger. Ian glanced at his watch, then pressed his lips to her forehead as well. The first time had been the hard part; the second time was nothing special.
To begin with, the emotions Ian held for Amelia weren’t anything special. He might have felt differently if she were an adult, but Ian wasn’t rotten enough to harbor serious feelings for a fourteen-year-old child.
“Hah.”
On the other hand, Amelia’s situation was different. She let out a heated breath and gazed up at Ian imploringly.
“…Hmm.”
That gaze was too intense, so Ian scratched his cheek and averted his eyes.
Regardless, after filling her bright amber eyes with Ian, Amelia suddenly bounced up from her spot, lay down on the floor, and rolled around.
“Ah-hee-hee-hee-heck!”
A silly laugh flowed from her mouth. After dusting the floor with her whole body for a while, Amelia lay flat on her back and stretched her hand out toward the empty air.
“Archive! Come here!”
Fwoosh!
Accompanied by a black shimmer, the Archive of Knowledge fluttered down onto Amelia’s palm. With both hands outstretched, she turned the pages of the grimoire to check the price.
“Hmm… First, for autonomous magic… one strong magnetic substance, one hundred fifty milliliters of virgin’s blood, five magnets weighing over three kilograms, one hundred twenty grams of meteoric iron, two prisoner’s fingers, and one strand of the user’s hair! That’s the base, and for an additional price, it wants one lump of metal in spherical form and up to twenty milliliters of mercury. The grace period is four days!”
“…I had my suspicions after seeing the magic’s effect, and sure enough, the ingredients are no joke. The grace period is short too.”
Ian clicked his tongue and leaned back into his chair.
“I should be able to get most of them at Pleias’s general store. A few of them are among the things I bought before. As for the expense… even at most, it should be less than 2.8 billion.”
“Oong-hee-hee!”
“Amelia, can you have blood drawn? Are you scared of needles?”
“I’m not scared of needles! I can give as much blood as you need! But buy me chocolate in exchange!”
Amelia shouted, her eyes sparkling. Ian snickered.
“I can buy you as much chocolate as you want. More importantly, what about the other magic? That blood-colored shield. Doesn’t that have a separate price?”
“No! That one has a price too! Hmm-hmm, this one doesn’t require that many ingredients! First, a very small amount of the user’s blood, two liters of blood from another creature, one deer antler, one rhinoceros horn, fifty matchsticks, and fifty milliliters of demon’s blood! That’s everything!”
“…Demon’s blood?”
“Yup! It said it’s an additional price!”
Amelia answered brightly. Ian’s face slightly contorted.
Demons.
Beings that appeared in the Bible and various myths, just like angels—beings inextricably linked to clerics and magicians.
However, apart from such connections, encountering them was extremely difficult.
Summoning them through special mediums was all a thing of the past; in the modern era, demons didn’t respond readily to summonings.
The same went for angels.
To begin with, one couldn’t even touch angels without a dedicated grimoire. The Book of Pope Honorius, the Book of Raziel, and so on. Only grimoires of the Catholic Church could fully summon angels. Otherwise, a monster in the form of an angel would appear, suck out one’s brains, and vanish.
Because of this, the blood, organs, feathers, scales, and so forth of demons and angels were almost never on the market. The Cartel had tried to purchase them with high rewards but had failed to achieve any results for five years.
If even the Cartel, with its overwhelming capital, had failed to obtain them, how could Ian be any different?
“Ah, Eunha. Have you been well?”
Surprisingly, it was different.
Ian spoke into the receiver with a beaming smile.
“Well, it’s just that I recently took on a disciple. A small problem came up regarding that. I think I might need Godmother’s help, so I was wondering if you have time?”
*[Ah, yes. It doesn’t matter at all. Will you come over? Or should I come to you?]*
“I’ll come to you. I can’t ask you to come when I’m the one asking for a favor. I’ll bring a gift at the very least. Is there anything you need?”
*[Hmm… then, I haven’t eaten yet, so perhaps…]*
“Understood. It’s timely, as we haven’t eaten either, so I’ll buy something appropriate.”
*[Ah, thank you. Then I’ll be waiting, Ian.]*
The godmother answered in a voice laced with laughter. Ian smiled and tilted his head.
“Yes. See you in a bit.”
*[Yes. See you in a bit.]*
Click.
The call ended. Ian set his phone aside, loosened his stiff body, and gazed out the window.
As he did, he thought.
*Connections really are a wonderful thing.*
A gentle curve drew across his lips.
***
1:00 PM.
Ian packed a kimchi stew set from a nearby diner and headed to Eunha’s house with Amelia.
Ding-dong.
Ian rang the bell.
Before long, the door opened with a clicking sound, and Eunha poked her head through the gap.
“Welcome, Ian.”
Her expressionless face gently relaxed the moment she confirmed Ian’s face.
In that instant, Eunha’s eyes briefly shifted toward Amelia, who was behind Ian.
“Is this child your disciple, Ian?”
“Yes, her name is Amelia. Amelia, say hello.”
Ian stepped slightly aside. Amelia, in her regressed state, nodded vigorously and bowed.
“Hello, Auntie! I’m Amelia!”
“Gasp.”
At Amelia’s bright voice, Ian covered his mouth with both hands.
“…Auntie?”
The corners of Eunha’s lips twitched.