A five-star hotel in Siberia, Russia. A building already devoured by an aberration, becoming the ghost-story hotel itself.
Someone opened the door to the room on its top floor and strode inside.
A middle-aged man with snow-white hair and a neatly shaved face.
It was Eddie Howard, famous in the world as a mage who commanded aberrations. Irritably, he flung off the coat he had been wearing and glared at the man who was already inside the hotel room.
“The Monkey Dream was stolen.”
“……”
“It happened in Korea. But not long after it appeared, it vanished just like that. It was far too fast to be the Bureau’s doing.”
“Isn’t the Korean Bureau famous for being competent to begin with? They seem much better than lazy China over there, or Russia here, where they practically leave things unattended.”
“Even so, they’re not capable of pinpointing and hunting an aberration the moment it manifests. There’s definitely something there.”
Saying so, Eddie dropped heavily into the seat opposite the man sitting at the round table.
The blond-haired, green-eyed man smiled and held out a glass of wine to Eddie.
“Have a drink and cool off. You’ll age like that.”
“……Hah, damn it.”
Eddie spat out a curse and gulped down the wine. The man watched him, quietly propping his chin on his hand.
“Korea, though…… It flew off to quite an unusual place. There are a lot of strange organizations there.”
“I know that too. They’re not even Britain, yet they have a mage community, and there’s even an organization of exorcists called shamans, was it? The psychics are banded together too.”
“I guess they’re all surprisingly sociable. Or maybe they just don’t want to get stabbed in the back.”
“Their disposition is too different from Japan, right next door. There are some unusual people there too, but the only ones to watch out for are the shrine maidens and the Bureau.”
“It can’t be helped. More importantly, instead of just complaining about what’s already happened, shall we start talking about the plan?”
The man tapped the table with his finger and smiled. Eddie felt the urge to stab that unflappable face with a knife, but soon restrained himself and let out a long breath.
Whatever anyone might say, the man before him was the leader of a mage organization and the owner who had obtained a grimoire of an Outer God. If he attacked recklessly, there was a high risk he would be killed instead.
[Mystic Apocalypse].
A grimoire capable of transforming the targets he killed with his own hands into Mysteries. The theme parks currently opened across the world were also the result of his direct handiwork.
The number of lives sacrificed in that process alone was utterly overwhelming. It was no coincidence that he had been sighted in India and China.
“……”
Even now, behind him stood an aberration as if guarding him.
A female bodyguard with no head, a book inserted in its place. Once human, but at some point having become a grimoire repository, it was holding a gun in one hand and an eye in the other, staring fixedly at Eddie.
If he tried anything foolish, he would be killed before he could do a thing.
Naturally, Eddie had no intention of dying yet. He unclenched his tightly balled fist, lifted his wineglass, and spoke.
“……What plan are you talking about?”
“You know, that one. I provide you with Mysteries, and you use them to grow. Afterward, you fulfill one demand of mine. Wasn’t that our contract?”
“……Do people usually call that a plan?”
“Well, it’s part of the big picture I’m painting. In any case, it seems certain the first button of that plan was done up wrong.”
The man took a sip of wine and looked at Eddie.
“Since we absurdly lost one opportunity, I suppose we’ll have to focus on growing aberrations again for the time being. What shall I provide you with this time? Should I hear your conditions and scatter them at random like last time? Give you a little dopamine rush, like a gacha game?”
“……Yes. Give me one that is easy to control, while still having ample room for growth. Also, I’d like it to appear in a country with limited scope.”
“Hmm…… All right. I’ll narrow it down and send something appropriate. Do be careful not to get killed by it instead.”
The man said so with a gentle smile.
“Now, then. It’s settlement time. In exchange for handing over a Mystery and control over it, you must obey one order of mine.”
“……”
Eddie shut his mouth and glared at the man. Whether he did or not, the man pondered briefly, then slowly moved his lips.
“Ah, this would be good. Lately, the grimoire keeps spouting strange things. That the one called the Reconstructor of All Things has found a suitable candidate, or that the Master of the Outer Sea has sent a grimoire down to Earth. Things like that.”
“……”
“Both of those entities are Outer Gods, you see? So find the locations of the grimoires they wrote and bring me information on their owners. I’ll give you plenty of time.”
“……You already possess a grimoire of an Outer God, yet you covet those of other Outer Gods as well?”
“Haha, why state the obvious?”
The man tilted his head and smiled softly.
“What needs to be dealt with must be dealt with properly.”
*
Vatican City, a small city-state in Italy.
A tiny independent nation ruled by the Pope, and home to the Holy See, which manages churches across the world.
Outwardly, it was no different from an ordinary religious holy site, but they too were undeniably beings who had set foot into the realm of Mystery. Though its nature had changed, the name Inquisitor was still used against Mysteries.
Aside from that, the current Inquisitors were also tasked with exterminating beings who colluded with Mysteries or had fallen into corruption.
They were tightly bound by extremely solemn doctrine and faith, and most of them were no different from logs with no give whatsoever.
But there are exceptions everywhere.
“Mmm……”
Cecilia Capone.
Exposed to Mystery from birth, she was a devout believer and Inquisitor who had spent her entire life growing up inside the Vatican.
She lightly ignored the ringing alarm for morning prayer and pulled the blanket over her head. Her small frame curled up like a cat atop the bed.
She had only just returned after dealing with a werewolf that had been hiding in Italy until dawn. Fatigue still weighed down her whole body and was encroaching on her eyelids. In other words, she needed more sleep.
What morning prayer in this state? She would obviously doze off there and get smacked, so she wondered whether there was any need to go at all.
So she was cutting it.
Absolutely.
Her personal principle was that when resting, one ought to rest properly.
“Hey, Capone!”
But devout Catholics would not leave her be.
“Get up, you lazy cat of a bitch!”
Her roommate Federica, famous even for her colorful cursing, yanked away Cecilia’s blanket, stuck her hands under Cecilia’s armpits, and lifted her straight up.
“Uwaa……”
Cecilia flailed, but Federica paid no attention and shook her wildly up and down.
“You should at least come to morning prayer, you dumb bitch! Keep this up and the archbishop’s going to mark you down.”
“He already did…… He said if I don’t pray before meals again, he’ll throw me into the penitence room……”
“Then why are you doing this here?!”
“I’m tired……”
At Cecilia’s words, Federica let out a deep sigh and glanced at her nun’s habit.
It was fundamentally an Inquisitor’s outfit made with a black base and modified for ease of movement, but that didn’t mean it could hide bloodstains. Beneath Cecilia’s shredded and blood-soaked clothes, a dark red puddle had formed.
It was proof that the battle at dawn had been anything but easy. If she hadn’t possessed regenerative ability, she would have long since been turned into a bloody mess and devoured by the werewolf.
“……Haa.”
In the end, Federica set Cecilia down and heaved a deep sigh.
Cecilia’s regeneration was indeed remarkable, but it was not a power that manifested without cost. Fundamentally, it required massive calories, and when those ran out, it even used her life force as fuel.
Fortunately, seeing as she was tired today rather than feeble and sickly, it seemed it hadn’t gone as far as consuming her life force, but it was still clear that she had been through a lot.
“Mm……? Federica……?”
Cecilia looked up at the suddenly silent woman and rubbed her eyes. Federica sighed once more and planted her fist into the crown of Cecilia’s head.
“Uegh!”
Perhaps because it had landed fairly hard, Cecilia let out a strange scream. Federica ignored it, said only what she had to say, and left the dormitory for morning prayer.
“Cardinal Giorgio was looking for you. I think it’s about a dispatch. If you’re not going to morning prayer, go there first.”
“……Giorgio? That weird-looking old man?”
“Yeah, that old man. And if you strike another weird pose in front of that cardinal, I’m confiscating all your comic books. Know that.”
“……Gold Expe—”
“Shut up.”
Click, thud!
Federica closed the door and left. Cecilia yawned, then went into the bathroom and washed up lightly.
She dried her hair with a hair dryer, put only sunscreen on her face, and went out wearing her blood-soaked nun’s habit.
Perhaps because it was morning prayer time, there weren’t many people in the corridors of the Holy See. Thanks to that, she was able to arrive at Giorgio’s office without being interrupted by anyone.
Knock, knock.
She knocked on the door.
“This is Cecilia Capone. May I come in?”
“……Come in.”
The answer came, and at the same time, she opened the door and stepped inside.
Giorgio, who had just been typing on his laptop, stared at her with an expression of disbelief.
“……Why are you here now? What about morning prayer?”
“I was tired……”
“Even so, you should offer morning prayer. A new day has dawned under Him, so shouldn’t you beseech Him to watch over you once again?”
“……I’ll do it later. But Cardinal, you didn’t go to prayer either.”
“I did at dawn…… No, never mind that. Sit down first.”
She did so.
Giorgio poured some instant coffee he kept in his office and handed it to Cecilia.
“Devil’s sludge……”
“Don’t say blasphemous things.”
He took a sip of coffee and slid a document across the table. Cecilia lapped at her coffee like a cat while scanning the document.
[Grimoire Tracking.]
That title was written at the very top of the document. The contents that followed were a personnel order telling her to head to Korea, as a prophecy had been delivered regarding the grimoire of a new Outer God.
Cecilia opened her eyes wide and stared at Giorgio.
“……Am I being demoted to Korea right now?”
“No, is that what matters? A grimoire of an Outer God has appeared. In Korea.”
Giorgio gave a hollow laugh and tapped the document with his finger.
“Orders have come down for you to track it for now, determine its owner’s disposition, and decide on your own judgment how to handle it.”
“……I’m not killing them?”
“Judge for yourself and reach a conclusion.”
“I’m not good at that kind of thing……”
“I know. But the result came back that speaking this vaguely is actually better. So go to Korea, receive help from the Catholics there, and track the owner of the grimoire. Whether you build a friendship or become hostile—that will be entirely left to your judgment.”
It was a weighty mission. So much so that she wondered whether it was really something that could be handled in such a slapdash manner.
But if the prophets of the Holy See and the voices of the oracle said so, then that was how it was. They were like the weather bureau, wrong more often than not, but in any case, they were right sometimes too. Cecilia had no right of refusal.
There was, however, one problem apart from that.
“……But I don’t know Korean.”
Cecilia was Italian through and through. She could speak a little English, but she knew no other languages at all.
Giorgio was well aware of that fact. So he smiled benevolently, took a book from the shelf, and held it out to Cecilia.
[Let’s Study Together! Basic Korean Learning Playground!]
[785 pages]
A book appeared that was neither basic nor on the level of play in terms of volume.
When Cecilia looked at Giorgio as if asking what this was, he drank his coffee and replied.
“You depart in one week. Before then, memorize at least the basic greetings.”
“……You’re telling me to study? I’m a middle school graduate, you know? I dropped out of high school.”
“That’s because you didn’t want to…… Ahem, because you didn’t want to study and quit, wasn’t it? Now that you’re an adult, you should study again. Life is originally an endless process of learning. So.”
Giorgio smiled and clasped both hands together.
“Do it.”
“……”
Cecilia felt like crying.
*
About two hours after entering the officetel building, Ian succeeded in dealing with all the aberrations except for the few he needed.
There were two ghosts he deliberately left behind.
One was a security guard who attacked intruders, and the other was the elevator ghost. Unlike the other ghosts, which caused more harm than good, these two at least had some uses.
The security guard ghost went without saying. If an intruder or robber came in from outside, it would immediately step forward and retaliate.
The elevator ghost was nothing special. It desperately appealed to him with its ability to automatically press the desired button without him having to press it separately, so he accepted it. It was probably capable of other things too, but for now, that was enough.
“Right. Let’s do a good job.”
Ian patted the shoulders of the two trembling ghosts, then went into the room he had contracted and inspected the interior.
It was quite an excellent room. It was spacious, and it showed signs of having been kept fairly clean. Ian nodded in satisfaction and gave instructions to the ghosts.
“From now on, don’t come out except when you’re doing your assigned jobs. Got it?”
Nod, nod.
The two ghosts bobbed their heads like mad.
With that, finding a room was over. Ian smoked a cigarette in the officetel smoking area, took a taxi, and returned home.
And the next day.
When he woke up early in the morning, a message had arrived.
[Boss: Ian, the convenience store’s been rebuilt! Let’s get back to work!]
“Ah.”
Ian scratched his disheveled hair and sat up in bed.
Come to think of it, had he not told him he was quitting?
It seemed he would have to take care of this first.