A hotel suite.
Eddie took a sip of whiskey as he looked out at the city nightscape spread brilliantly beyond the window.
“…….”
Born in England, he had never once set foot in the backwater called East Asia. There had been no need to go beyond Europe, the home ground of magicians.
He had visited the Middle East a few times, but this was his first time coming to the small country known as Korea.
‘Not exactly a pleasant country to live in.’
Clack.
He set the whiskey glass down on the table and thought.
Seoul’s beautiful nightscape. From within it, an indelible stench of blood spread thickly.
Korea was one of the more peculiar countries.
A bizarre nation where, thanks to its highly developed internet, people endlessly gathered ghost stories and information from all over the world, causing an abnormal number of anomalies to be born.
And despite that, it had unofficial magician organizations like certain countries in Europe, not to mention psychics and even exorcist-priest types called shamans.
Everything that could exist existed in this small country. On top of that, the Administration Bureau’s own capabilities were superior compared to those of other nations, so it was no wonder this blood-soaked city was somehow being maintained.
Even now, somewhere, someone was probably dying or surviving, and new recruits were probably entering the Administration Bureau.
Perhaps the reason Korea’s Administration Bureau was so competent lay in its liberal recruitment requirements. In most countries, even if someone encountered the mysterious, they would be put through all sorts of tests and examinations rather than being recruited right away….
Its nature was fundamentally different from Korea, where they recruited first and educated afterward.
Of course, there was the side effect that inadequate people could get in, but in any case, they had smoothly gathered talent so far, so it was not exactly a failed policy.
‘This is a place that rubs up against mysteries all too often. If I release a mystery too openly, they might notice something is off and start tracking it.’
There was a difference between a mystery controlled by magic and an ordinary mystery. At Eddie’s level, hiding that subtle gap was not entirely impossible, but a mental ability user of considerable level would be able to detect it no matter how well it was concealed.
“Nothing is easy….”
He let out a deep sigh and sank heavily into the sofa.
Eddie had come to Korea to find the magician who had recently obtained a new grimoire. The reliability of the information itself was trustworthy, so he had come first to Korea, where it was certain. But it was already difficult from the start.
“If you’re going to give me information, give me something definite. What am I supposed to do when you just say it exists, you damned bastard….”
Eddie clicked his tongue as he recalled the face of the magician who dealt in pure blood. He took a cigar from his breast pocket, cut off the end, lit it, and leaned his head back.
The one fortunate thing was that no grimoires had been discovered in any other country besides Korea.
Well, a grimoire was hardly something so easy to find.
Grimoires were things even the old monsters of the Clock Tower failed to find despite searching their entire lives. Their tastes were hardly simple either, so for now, the grimoire found in Korea was probably all there was. There was a rumor that the Eighth Book of Moses had gone missing, but it was so lacking in credibility that he ignored it.
‘I can’t be certain the grimoire here belongs to an Outer God, but a grimoire is still a grimoire. Just finding its owner, killing them, and taking it should be a worthwhile gain.’
Thinking that, he exhaled a long stream of smoke. Then he took a small hand out of his pocket.
The hand of a furry beast.
An object commonly known as the Monkey’s Paw.
Like a magic lamp, it granted wishes, but it was a mystery that granted all those wishes in somewhat twisted forms.
He smeared a little blood over it and tossed it carelessly onto the table.
“Go where you ought to be. And show me the scenery there.”
The moment he spoke, the blood drawn over the Monkey’s Paw glowed and vibrated. Soon, when the vibration stopped, the Monkey’s Paw had vanished from the table.
He had used magic to transfer the tamed mystery to somewhere on this landmass.
It was somewhat unpleasant to fall under the Administration Bureau’s gaze, but he could not simply do nothing here. He had to obtain information, even if he had to accept the risk.
And, well, even if the Administration Bureau came looking for him, dealing with them would not be difficult.
He could just kill them all and leave the country.
As long as he found the owner of the grimoire before that, it would be over.
‘A mystery commanded by a magician attracts other magicians. If possible, I’d like it to find the grimoire’s owner….’
Eddie smiled faintly and bit down hard on his cigar.
*
Several days had passed since the Administration Bureau had sent someone.
Early February.
The season was still winter, and the temperature showed no sign of rising above freezing. The frequency of snowfall might have lessened a little, but the wind was still bitterly cold.
Even so, winter was better than summer. It was more comfortable to put on something extra than to sweat buckets, and it did not feel unpleasant.
‘Being able to keep wearing the coat isn’t bad in its own way.’
A coat imbued with magic.
He could wear it in winter, spring, and autumn, but when summer came, he would have no choice but to take it off.
It would be different if he could regulate his body temperature freely like a fantasy magician. Perhaps because it was more or less survival magic, real body-temperature regulation magic required fairly high-grade materials just to cast.
Hot, fine sand from the equator, Antarctic glacier ice, and leaves from a wetland.
They were not impossible materials to obtain, but they were not exactly easy to get either. The Cartel did sell them, but the price was absurd, so he had cleanly given up on the idea.
‘In summer, I’d be better off enchanting a suitable summer shirt and wearing that.’
Thinking that, Ian pulled the trigger.
Bang—the sound rang out only inside Ian’s head.
He used re-creation magic to bundle up the corpse that had collapsed to the ground, blood bursting from it, then slipped it into his bag. He also extinguished the sound-eating flame, reloaded the now-empty revolver, and placed it in the gun holster.
“That makes five.”
Bloodstains lay scattered around him.
All of them belonged to ghouls.
Ghouls had recently begun running rampant. The Cartel was putting up large-scale requests to deal with them in order to reduce their numbers.
It was not out of any noble intent, like having a cause or reducing the number of victims. Ghoul blood was often used as a medicinal ingredient, so they wanted to stockpile it while they had the chance.
As if anyone needed proof they were an organization obsessed with money. Seeing the increase in ghouls as nothing more than a burning event was very Cartel-like.
Well, he had no intention of blaming them. Even he himself was fulfilling requests to earn money and gather materials, after all.
There was no need to pass up a two-birds-with-one-stone opportunity. Thinking that, Ian collected the ghouls’ blood in the glass bottles he had brought in advance. Then he put them in his bag and headed toward where he had parked his bike.
‘Still, there really are a rather serious number of them.’
He thought as he stepped on the softly piled snow.
‘It seems quite a few vampires have flowed in.’
He did not know how many ghouls there had been before, but he at least knew there had not been as many as there were now.
He had spent an entire week hunting nothing but ghouls, yet the request had not disappeared and was still up. Judging from that, there seemed to be far more of them than he had expected.
Of course, not all magicians, psychics, and hunters would be hunting only ghouls, so expecting a dramatic change in their population would be absurd.
Even so, the fact that there were many of them did not change. It was fortunate that ghouls tended to hide in dark, damp places; if they had crawled all the way into the city, the damage would have been considerable.
‘The Administration Bureau is probably moving too.’
If the Cartel had put up such a large-scale request, that meant the information had already spread. So the Administration Bureau was also likely focused on hunting ghouls. Perhaps that was why they had not contacted him yet regarding the contract.
It was not an urgent matter, so it did not particularly matter. Ian brushed the snow off the Hand of Re-Creation and slipped it into the inner pocket of his coat.
“Ah, Mr. Magician.”
As he continued walking, he saw a black van parked beside his bike.
It was an Indemnis vehicle. It had not been long since he had called them, but perhaps they had already arrived; an employee wearing a crow mask stood beside the van, bowing toward him. Ian burst into a small laugh as he looked at the familiar face.
“We meet again.”
“I consider it an honor. More importantly, will you be getting in right away?”
The Crow asked, placing a hand on the van’s steering wheel. Ian shook his head.
“I’ve prepared my own means of transportation. I only intend to process the reward.”
“Ah… understood. This is the first time I’ve seen this sort of service use.”
“Am I being a nuisance?”
“Not at all. We refuse no service for the satisfaction of our customers. More importantly, by request, you mean ghoul hunting, correct?”
At the Crow’s words, Ian nodded and took three glass bottles filled with blood from his bag. The Crow accepted the bottles full of red liquid and nodded.
“Ghoul blood, confirmed. With this amount, it comes to three million won.”
“Deposit it.”
“Understood.”
Three million won.
It was not a large sum, but if he thought of it as pocket money, it was not a bad reward.
His original goal had been focused more on acquiring materials than money, so this was good enough.
“The deposit is complete. The Indemnis usage fee is… Ah, due to your account opening, it will be free for the time being. Confirmed.”
“I hope you aren’t upset that I’m working you for free?”
“Not at all. We live on salaries to begin with, so things like this don’t bother us.”
The Crow answered in a tone that was half joking, half sincere. Ian responded with a smile, mounted the parked bike, and kicked up the stand.
When he placed his finger on the fingerprint scanner, the bike powered on. Ian put on his gloves and helmet, started the engine, and looked back at the Crow.
“I’m off. I’ll be counting on you next time as well.”
“Yes. Please get back safely.”
Seen off by the Crow, he pulled the bike’s throttle. The bike started smoothly, left the deserted mountain road, and entered the city.
Ian left about half the driving to the autonomous system and headed to his workshop.
He could have gone home, but today he intended to test a few spells. He also needed to replenish his alchemy supplies, so it would probably take some time.
He had nothing else to do anyway, so it did not matter.
Even as he thought, the bike sped along the road toward the officetel.
Before long, he arrived at the officetel. Ian parked the vehicle in the lot, held his helmet in one hand, and pressed the elevator button.
At the same time, a ghost dressed in snow-white mourning clothes greeted him. The ghost skillfully saluted, firmly pressed the button for the floor where Ian’s workshop was located, and vanished.
Ding.
The elevator swiftly reached its destination, and beyond the doors that slid open, he saw the security guard ghost.
Holding a collapsible baton and a flashlight, he glanced at Ian, bowed only his head, and began roaming the building again. Ian patted him on the shoulder a few times, then entered the workshop.
That was when it happened.
Bzz.
The phone in his pocket vibrated briefly.
[Lee Seo-ah: Are you busy?]
When he checked, there was a message from Lee Seo-ah. Ian set his helmet roughly on a shelf, placed his bag neatly on the table, and replied.
[Me: No, why?]
[Lee Seo-ah: Then do you want to take on a request with me?]
[Me: A request? What kind of request?]
At the sudden proposal, Ian asked back, and Lee Seo-ah sent him a photo. It was a screenshot of a Cartel request.
[Investigation of the Cruise Ship Disappearance Case]
Those words were clearly engraved at the very top of the photo.