Beneath the building where Ian lived was a small parking lot. Fortunately, one space was empty, so he parked the bike he had ridden there and turned off the engine.
Thanks to the added iris and fingerprint recognition systems, he didn’t particularly need a key; with a single button, he could cut the power.
[Ending operation. Thank you.]
The moment he pressed the button, the artificial intelligence murmured, and every light, including the instrument panel, went out. Ian got off the bike, shrank his helmet with re-creation magic, and slipped it into his pocket.
It was a new way of using magic he had discovered, and thanks to it, he could now carry even large objects around with him.
However, changing only the size while keeping the form fixed was still difficult, so to use it perfectly, he would have to build up more proficiency.
It was a problem time would solve. There was no need to rush.
“Mm.”
Adjusting the position of his disheveled bag, he checked his watch.
5:30 p.m.
He had certainly left home early in the morning, yet so much time had already passed. Letting out a low hum, he shoved a hand into his coat pocket and climbed the stairs.
He thought about going out to buy something for dinner, but today it seemed better to just make do with delivery. It had been a while since he’d wanted something greasy and heavily seasoned, and perhaps because he’d been driving for so long, he didn’t feel much like cooking.
He figured something like braised chicken, with one extra bowl of rice, would do. Thinking that, Ian opened the delivery app and walked toward the front door of his studio apartment.
“Ah.”
“……He’s here.”
Just then, a voice he felt he had heard somewhere before reached his ears. Ian abruptly halted and raised his head toward the source of the voice.
“…….”
In front of the door to his apartment. Two people in suits were standing there, conspicuously out of place.
Their faces were in his memory.
The agents who had been among the Bureau’s party when he escaped the hospital. He didn’t know their names, but he knew for certain that they belonged to the Bureau.
He had expected the Bureau to send people. Since he hadn’t known when that would be, he had even made thorough preparations.
But now that he was seeing them in person, his mind began to race fiercely on its own.
“…….”
So far, Ian had been involved with the Bureau a total of two times.
The first was at the theme park. There, the Bureau agents had poured bullets at him and swung blades without hesitation. It was a clear act of hostility. Ian would have dealt with them too if he hadn’t been in a hurry, but since there had been no need to go that far, he had focused only on escaping.
Fortunately, his face hadn’t been exposed then, so there had been no aftermath involving them.
But the second time had been different.
A transfer that took place when he was completely unprepared. A Bureau reconnaissance team and personnel he happened to encounter. And the Response Division agents who came to rescue him. He had become involved with all of them, and his face had been exposed as well. However, there had been no battle with them. If anything, their cooperation had proceeded smoothly.
It would have been nice if it had ended there, but unfortunately, this time, there was an aftermath.
Apparently, that aftermath was now.
“……Hoo.”
Ian put away his phone and placed a hand on the strap of his bag.
He did not know exactly how the Bureau treated mages, but he knew they did not view them in an entirely favorable light. According to Park Huisu, many people had come to harbor hatred because of the spontaneous human combustion incidents, so if one were to go by proportions, there were probably more agents who disliked mages.
Then, which side were those two agents on?
He couldn’t tell.
It didn’t particularly matter, either.
Just because the other party was the Bureau, Ian had no intention of bending his knee. He did not plan to end his life pointlessly, but neither did he want to live pathetically while letting someone else hold his leash.
So he would be forceful.
At the very least, he would show himself in a way that did not look laughable. He would not reveal everything he possessed, but when it was time to exercise as much power as necessary, he would do so.
Thinking that, he opened his mouth with a cold expression.
“You’re from the Bureau, correct?”
“That’s correct. I’m Kim Iseo, of the Bureau Response Division, Team Three.”
“I’m Park Mina, of the Bureau Response Division, Team Three.”
The two responded to Ian’s words. Etching their names into his mind, he walked toward the front door.
At that movement alone, Park Mina’s body flinched. Kim Iseo naturally stepped aside.
Beep-beep-beep.
He entered the door code with practiced ease and opened the door.
A shoe cabinet with only a few pairs of shoes came into view, and Ian took his bag in hand as he looked back at the two of them.
“If you want to talk, come in. If not, leave.”
“…….”
An outright invitation to enter a mage’s residence. No one in their right mind would ever set foot inside, but after a brief silence, Kim Iseo nodded.
“We’ll come in.”
“……Ugh.”
At her decision, Park Mina let out a pained sound, but she did not particularly show any sign of refusal. The two soon followed Ian, who had entered first, took off their shoes, and closed the front door.
Click.
With that, the outside and the inside were severed.
A “door” held an extremely great meaning in sorcery. All the more so if it was the residence of a mage.
If Ian did not wish for the two of them to leave, then from now until the moment they died, they would not be able to get out of this place. That was what it meant to cross the threshold of one’s own will.
Ian was not well-versed in sorcery, so he did not know whether such a thing was possible, but in any case, he was already a skilled mage. Whether he wanted it or not, this space would respond to his will and tighten around their throats.
“…….”
“…….”
Kim Iseo and Park Mina entered the living area, each feeling the presence of the equipment they had brought.
For a mage’s room, it was an extremely ordinary studio apartment. Because of that, the tension rose all the more.
Ian casually took off his coat and tossed it onto a hanger, but the two of them could do neither this nor that, cold sweat streaming down their bodies.
The pressure was no joke. The sensation that some unknown thing was looking down at them, and the feeling of a murderous hand clamping around the nape of their necks, dominated their minds. Their fingers trembled on their own.
“Sit.”
“……Yes.”
“…….”
Kim Iseo and Park Mina followed Ian’s suggestion to sit and swallowed hard.
Ian looked down at the two of them seated on the floor, then sat on the edge of the bed and reached his hand into empty air.
The Chronicle of the Deep Sea, answering his will, settled precisely into Ian’s grasp.
Though it had not yet been opened, the grimoire scattered an uncanny atmosphere in every direction according to Ian’s demand.
With that alone, Kim Iseo and Park Mina’s vision grew slightly hazy. The edges turned black, and beyond them, fragments of crimson eyes seemed to flicker past.
“What is it you want to say?”
His voice was blurred, as though heard underwater. A thick stench of blood and the scent of salt spread through their noses, and over their skin they felt the flow of water. It was as though something were swimming nearby. It was repulsive, and at the same time, horrifying.
“……Huu.”
Even their breathing did not proceed normally.
Was it because they were afraid? No, that was not it. From the instant he took out the grimoire, they had been short of oxygen, as though something had gone wrong with their respiratory organs. If they opened their mouths, they felt the illusion that bubbles would rise out.
All of these sensations were being produced by that mage’s hand. The power of the grimoire. And the ether dissolved into the space was likely responding to his will.
Kim Iseo experienced firsthand why there were stories saying one must never carelessly enter the residence or workshop of a mage, and with difficulty, she opened her mouth.
“We came, huu, to make a proposal.”
“What proposal?”
“The Bureau wishes to establish a deep cooperative relationship with you, Mage. Hoo…… Please, hear us out.”
A story he had more or less expected came out of her mouth.
He had prepared countermeasures in case they attempted forced detention or assassination under the assumption of the worst-case scenario, but fortunately, it seemed there would be no need to use them.
At the very least, until Reverse Targeting activated, there should be no need to engage in any hostile action.
Ian tapped the cover of the grimoire with his finger and jerked his chin as if telling her to speak.
It was an arrogant attitude, but no one pointed it out. Kim Iseo swallowed dryly and turned her gaze to Park Mina. Park Mina took a bundle of papers from the document bag she had brought and carefully placed it on the table.
“This is the contract we use for ordinary mages, and this one is a contract we newly drafted for you, Mage. We would be grateful if you would take your time reading them.”
Kim Iseo explained, indicating each set of papers with her finger. At her overt attitude, Ian let out a low hum.
“It sounds like you’re openly saying you’ll give me special treatment.”
“I won’t deny it. The higher-ups have determined that your magic would be of great help to our Bureau. Therefore, the branch director instructed us to accommodate you as much as possible.”
An order from the branch director.
In that case, it was not incomprehensible.
Ian nodded and bent his upper body slightly to check the documents.
It was not unfair treatment; they were openly saying they would give him special treatment, so there was no need to refuse. Stroking his lips with his finger, he began to slowly scan the documents.
[1. Party A (hereafter “the Mage”), as a collaborator of Party B (hereafter “the Bureau”), and Party B hereby swear that it will not impose any restraint or disadvantage upon Party A.]
From the very beginning, content that seemed to bow its head quite a bit appeared.
From the part where they referred to him as Party A and the Bureau as Party B, he could roughly understand just how humbly they were presenting themselves.
To be honest, it felt excessive. But since the other side was volunteering to lower its head, there was no particular reason to reject it.
Ian stroked the cover of the Chronicle of the Deep Sea and calmly began reading the contents written below as well.
[Woooong!]
[……Woooong.]
The Chronicle of the Deep Sea vibrated at his touch as if pleased. The Hand of Re-creation inside his bag trembled as if jealous.
To Ian, the movements felt like light expressions of affection and jealousy, but to Kim Iseo and Park Mina, they gave the impression of two enormous somethings roaring.
Cold sweat poured down the two women’s spines like mad.