A magic that absolutely prevents accidents.
It was a magic with a straightforward name, but its effect alone captured Ian's attention. He unwittingly let out a word of admiration and tapped on the keyboard.
ㄴㅇㅇ: There's magic like that?
ㄴ★Daemo: Yes. It was originally a magic that prevents falling from a horse, but I refined it with a demon's help. The grimoire seemed to like it too, saying it's magic suited for the modern era.
The refinement of magic….
It wasn't something just anyone could do easily. This wasn't a matter of talent, but of sense. Because real magic wasn't an academic discipline infused with mathematics, as depicted in novels or games. As it was literally the ability to wield mysterious power, all one did was activate it based on already completed magic circles.
Of course, there were various factors to consider. There were even formulas for creating magic.
However, refinement and creation were slightly different domains. Simply put, creation was the work of personally building a monitor at home, while refinement was remodeling that monitor into a phone screen or a massive electronic billboard. Opinions might differ on which was harder, but honestly, both were comparably insane in difficulty.
It was something Ian couldn't even attempt. The magic he used was all derived from Outer Gods, so it was obvious that fiddling with it carelessly wouldn't end well.
It might be different if he learned other magic, but in a situation where he wasn't even permitted to open a normal grimoire, there was no need to consider it. His precious grimoires didn't seem like they would permit him to learn other magic either.
Anyway.
He was already wary of the dangers of riding a bike, so there was no reason to refuse Daemo's offer. He didn't know what kind of person she was, but seeing as she had managed the community with mages in tow without any major issues so far, she was at least not a villain.
Still, it was only right to ask what needed to be asked.
ㄴㅇㅇ: What's the reason you're suddenly helping me?
There were people in this world who helped others without reason, but mages never showed kindness without cause. Even a trivial motive was necessary for trust.
ㄴ★Daemo: It's not a big reason. Lemegeton said it wouldn't help me contract with a demon unless I met other people soon. So I was looking for a suitable opportunity, and your post happened to go up at the right time.
ㄴㅇㅇ: Ah.
ㄴ★Daemo: I ride bikes often and am quite interested in them, so I figured I'd help since we'd be meeting anyway. And… well, I also have some personal curiosity.
ㄴㅇㅇ: What curiosity?
ㄴ★Daemo: It's a secret. Nothing bad.
Ian let out a low hum at Daemo's reply.
'So Lemegeton was the cause. That bit about the Lesser Key of Solomon when I first joined the community wasn't for nothing.'
When it came to grimoires, the very first thing that came to mind was the Lesser Key of Solomon, commonly known as Lemegeton.
Lemegeton contained detailed records of not only the magic Solomon had created and used during his lifetime, but also descriptions, characteristics, weaknesses, and summoning methods of the 72 demons he had directly ruled over. It was also one of the few grimoires containing both magical and religious value.
Lemegeton had not had many owners until now. If the current owner was taken to be Daemo, then including Solomon, its creator, there had only been three owners in total. Even considering that high-ranking grimoires had extremely high standards for choosing an owner, it was a rather low number.
Even the Eighth Book of Moses, which Ian had personally destroyed, had gone through nearly seven owners from ancient times to the present.
Now that had become the high point of his career, but….
'Well, the Sixth Book and the Seventh Book remain, so I guess that's fine.'
Thinking so, Ian pushed aside idle thoughts.
The Books of Moses, Lemegeton, the Grimoire of Pope Honorius, the Book of the Angel Raziel, and so on. Grimoires related to Catholicism or religion never took an interest in villains. Simply possessing them meant one was essentially a verified mage.
Still, a mage was a mage, but meeting her wouldn't lead to anything dangerous. And if it did, he had plenty of means to deal with it.
Ian nodded and tapped the keyboard.
ㄴㅇㅇ: Alright, ㅇㅋ. Then I'll contact you after I finish taking care of the bike accident stuff and everything else.
ㄴ★Daemo: If you use the Cartel's service, everything will be registered within a day. You have to pay a bit, but it's not a large amount.
ㄴㅇㅇ: The Cartel does that too? They do everything.
ㄴ★Daemo: They'll do anything as long as it makes money.
It was something he already knew, but hearing it put this way made it feel new once more.
Well, if they weren't crazy for money, how would they even come up with the idea of doing business in the occult?
Ian soothed his scratchy throat with cold water, threw on his outer coat, and went up to the building's rooftop.
ㄴㅇㅇ: Then I'll just finish everything today and come see you. Where should I go?
ㄴ★Daemo: I'll send the address by DM. It's not my house, but a back mountain where people don't often go. It's a suitable place to use magic. I'll be waiting.
ㄴTamingMaster: Back mountain? That's fucking scary. Isn't this newbie gonna get buried there?
ㄴ★Daemo: I don't do things like that.
ㄴTamingMaster: (Unleashing humans and demons to track down and kill a mage who violated gallery rules)
ㄴ★Daemo: They touched our community mage first. If you keep nitpicking, I'll ban you for a week, okay?
ㄴTamingMaster: I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
ㄴGangsakjebal: She said... our.
He quietly watched the ensuing banter, then let out a short laugh, put his phone in his pocket, and placed a cigarette in his mouth.
With a sizzle, he lit the tip of the cigarette, and acrid smoke billowed up. The gray smoke rose toward the morning sun before soon scattering. Ian watched the smoke for a moment, then took out his phone again and launched the Cartel app.
'If it's a place that handles vehicle registration and all that in a day, they should sell bikes too….'
The familiar Cartel logo appeared. He swiped past the guide window showing the most popular categories and various discounts, then browsed the service items.
Fortunately, he quickly found what Daemo had mentioned.
Vehicle registration, license plates, insurance, and so on. A service that processed the necessary documents and administrative procedures in just one minute. The fee was about 2 million won.
It wasn't a cheap price, but it wasn't an unreasonable cost either. He could easily afford that much.
Additional instructions below stated that the service was performed right in front of the buyer, and that there was a 10 percent discount if the bike was purchased through Cartel. Ian carefully read the notice, tapped the cigarette ash into the portable ashtray he had bought a few days ago, and browsed the shop items.
[Vehicles]
[Category] - [Car][Bike][Airplane][Helicopter][Yacht][Bicycle]…….
They dealt with more types of vehicles than he had expected. Ian exhaled a puff of smoke and immediately tapped the bike category.
Various types of bikes scrolled into view.
He took his time comparing the names of the bikes Daemo had recommended one by one, and after deliberating for a long time, purchased one.
A replica liter-class bike.
It was absolutely not recommended for beginners, but if accidents wouldn't happen, there was no need to buy a lower-class bike. Perhaps because it was a bike handled by Cartel, it was equipped with an automatic driving function and had reduced exhaust noise and weight, so Ian thought it was a reasonably rational choice.
Honestly, he couldn't say he had no personal desire for it. Having been born a man, anyone would indulge in the fantasy of speeding on a bike at least once. Now that he had the opportunity to do so safely and the capital to boot, there was no reason to hesitate.
"Good."
He stubbed out the finished cigarette in the ashtray, put the butt inside, and closed the lid.
Just then, his phone vibrated. Checking it, he saw a message from the Cartel side had arrived.
[Miko: Hello, customer! Thank you so much for purchasing our Cartel motorcycle! We checked and saw that you also applied for the vehicle service. In cases like this, we usually bring the new bike directly to you, show you the goods, and provide the service together! So, if you don't mind, could you let us know a good date and time? ˓˓ (̨̡*°꒳°*)̧̢ ˒˒]
Of all the Cartel employees he had met so far, this was an unusually lively message. Diorna and Raven had both been serious and solemn. But this employee called Miko practically bounced off the page.
Ian checked to see if the message had been sent to the wrong person, and after confirming there was no issue, sent a reply.
[Me: If possible, I'd like to do it right now. You pick the address. Near Seoul.]
[Miko: Thank you for the quick reply! Then we'll let you know the location later, so please be ready in advance! You don't need to bring anything!]
Ian replied that he understood, then returned home to change clothes.
He attached the reverse-direction scope once more to the coat that had been completely rid of blood, checked that the magic he had imbued hadn't worn off, then put it on. He packed all the items he needed and placed them in his bag and inside his coat.
While he was doing so, the phone he had left on the table for a moment vibrated.
[Miko: The location is ready! I'll attach the address here! See you soon!]
[Miko: (Address and location photo)]
[Miko: (ง *´▽`* )ว]
The location Miko had given was a closed logistics center not far from Ian's house. He had heard it recently shut down and relocated; it seemed Cartel had bought the property.
Well, maybe not, but it wasn't important. Ian loaded bullets into his revolver, gently stroked his grimoires once, and left the house.
It was twenty minutes later that Kim Iseo and Park Mina knocked on his door.
*
It had been about ten minutes since he left the house when he arrived at the logistics center. Ian paid the taxi fare, put the Hand of Recreation into his coat pocket, and stepped inside the abandoned logistics center.
Perhaps because it hadn't been long since it closed, it didn't feel eerie like an abandoned hospital or school. Or maybe it was simply because it was daytime.
'No ghosts.'
Unlike the neighborhood back mountain or the residential area that had caught fire, not even a single common lesser spirit was visible here. It seemed Cartel had taken measures beforehand. A pity.
Ian walked through the logistics center following the location on his phone.
Passing the parking lot and going deeper inside, a fairly large warehouse for storing parcel boxes appeared. Naturally, there were no parcels. Only an empty space greeted Ian.
'Where is she.'
According to the information provided, Miko should be waiting here.
Ian walked around the warehouse, glancing around. Then, the figure of a girl sitting in a chair entered his view.
"Hmmm hm hm…."
A lively impression with green hair, humming a tune. One of her arms was fitted with a prosthetic, apparently having been cut off long ago. Her short tennis skirt fluttered and swayed with her movements. Beside her, a bike covered with a cloth was neatly parked.
There was no need to think twice. Ian held his grimoire in hand and walked toward the girl. She had been sitting still, swinging her legs, but sensing Ian's presence, she jerked her head up.
Her gaze moved once to Ian's face, then to the grimoire in his hand. Then she broke into a wide smile.
"Ah, customer! Hello!"
A rather high-pitched voice popped out of her mouth.
Miko smiled broadly, got up from her seat, grabbed the ends of her skirt with both hands, and lifted it slightly.
"I'm an employee of the Korean branch of Cartel! My name is Miko! As you might have guessed from my name, I'm originally a Japanese shrine maiden!"
Her pink pupils curved into crescents.