-A Request
I passed through the portal rippling with blue light and returned to the rooftop room.
I opened the front door and stepped out onto the roof. It was midday, bright sunlight pouring down. The small, scattered noises of the residential neighborhood drifted to my ears.
The scenery of snow mountains and blue-glowing glaciers was no longer before me. Spread out before my eyes was the bustling view of Seoul, packed tight with houses.
“Back to reality again……”
How many days had passed? Three or four, probably. I hadn’t bothered counting the time, but I hadn’t stayed there for very long.
The magical space was so beautiful and peaceful that I wanted to remain there forever.
But I couldn’t shake off what I had to do.
‘Living like a dream in paradise doesn’t make reality disappear.’
Samir still existed in reality. As a black mage trying to bring calamity upon the world.
He was no different from the Samir of the previous world.
I had to find him. I had to stop that devilish manipulation of his, the kind that seeped deep into the human soul and made it rot.
I had to finish my revenge.
If I wanted to pursue Samir, I had no choice but to return to reality.
‘Still, it’s a little disappointing.’
How could I not feel disappointed, leaving behind a dreamlike place where I could stay far away from every worry?
But that place was my residence, one I could return to whenever I wanted. There was no need to be regretful.
Though I had only stayed there a few days, the magical space had given me many things.
Because it was a space made of mana, simply remaining inside caused my mana to replenish on its own.
But I didn’t simply rest content with my mana filling itself. While I had the chance, I threw myself into magic training.
After all, there couldn’t be a better place for dense, focused training than a space filled with mana energy.
Controlling the mana waves within me and resonating them with the waves of the outside world in order to bring about the change I desired.
Magic was truly fascinating.
Now, controlling mana and activating magic no longer felt foreign to me. Ever since I had entered the magical space, Oudin’s memories had settled in as though they were my own.
It still didn’t seem as if I had synchronized with them perfectly. Maybe I needed more time.
But it was enough for me to understand magic and this world.
‘It’s completely different from when I first fell into this world. I am Oujin and Oudin. I am a mage.’
Whoosh. Whoosh.
The crows flew past, brushing by my side.
[I’ll be back.]
[See you later.]
The crows, who had rested well with me in the magical space, were now on their way to inspect the world.
“Yeah. Have a good trip.”
As if bidding me farewell, the crows circled once above my head, then leisurely flew away.
“Should I get moving too?”
I intended to visit the Hall of Magic. I was curious whether the Hall’s mages had found anything about the Incheon Port explosion.
I was also curious what they were doing after taking the orcs with them, but most of all, I needed information about the old black mage.
I had treated the people who came from the Hall of Magic rather coldly last time, but since they had come to ask me—practically beg me—to come, surely they wouldn’t dislike it if I visited.
I picked up my phone to leave the house, only to find the battery completely drained. I waited a while as it charged, then turned it on.
As soon as the power came on, the ringtone blared noisily. The caller was Jang Pildu. I picked up right away.
“Hello.”
[Ah! You’re finally answering. So you were alive?]
“Then did you think I’d died or something?”
[Sorry. Things were a total mess that day. But I kept calling after that and you never answered, so I wondered if something had happened. You’re fine, right?]
“I’m fine.”
[That’s a relief. Among our mercenaries, there was even someone whose arm got completely torn off fighting the orcs. Well, compared to the Hanta office, that’s nothing, but……]
The events of that day surfaced in my mind again.
The bodies of the Hanta mercenaries, blown to pieces by the explosion and scattering through the air, flickered before my eyes.
“So how did the aftermath get handled?”
[It’s a complete disaster. Somehow, even after that whole mess, there’s no one taking responsibility. The Hanta office was wiped out, even the chief.
There’s no way to find out who commissioned the job. There’s nowhere for the injured mercenaries to get compensation either! It was completely cursed bad luck.]
“You’re saying you didn’t find out anything?”
[We dug into the place that contracted with Hanta, and apparently it was a ghost company. They say there’s no trace of it left. The down payment was made in cash too, so it’s impossible to track.]
Jang Pildu fumed as he spoke, then let out a deep sigh.
The incident had been buried perfectly. The mage who had come with the Hanta office had vanished like smoke, and the client had cut off the tail and disappeared.
From the start, the true party behind the job must have been thoroughly concealed.
There was no way Jang Pildu, who had only taken the job as a subcontractor, could have learned anything.
Jang Pildu hesitated, then spoke again.
[So, about that… let’s say you just won’t be getting paid this time. We did receive a bit of the down payment, but it’s already all gone into treatment costs for the injured mercenaries. There isn’t a single won left.]
“Got it. Let’s do that.”
[Whoa! Maybe it’s because you’re a mage, but you sure are generous. Thanks, and sorry. Instead, next time a decent job comes in, I’ll really make it worth your while.]
“Just bring me a proper job.”
[Yeah. I will.]
I ended the call after a few more perfunctory words.
In the end, it seemed he had contacted me to say he couldn’t pay me. Since the job had gone sideways, I hadn’t expected much anyway.
I had also made some side income in Chinatown, so I had no particular complaints.
I took my phone and left the house.
I descended the outdoor stairs and was heading toward the Hall of Magic when a woman approached me.
She was a woman I didn’t know. But it was obvious she had come looking for me. Her smiling face was looking straight at me.
Soon, the woman stood in my path and spoke to me.
“Hello, Mage Oudin.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Han Dain, team leader of Vanaheim’s Development Support Team. I came to you because there is a request I would like to make of you, Mage.”
She had neatly cut bobbed hair and wore a cobalt-blue suit. She looked around thirty, and judging by the fact that I felt no mana from her, she was an ordinary person.
There was nothing superfluous about her demeanor. She was businesslike and clear. She seemed skilled at dealing with people.
“A request? But how did you know to come here?”
This was in front of my house. That meant she had come knowing my home address.
“I apologize if this was rude. I couldn’t reach you by phone, so I came in person. I received your contact information and address from the Hall of Magic.”
The Hall of Magic gave her my contact information and address?
I wasn’t even affiliated with the Hall anymore. I wondered if they were allowed to hand out my personal information like that. I felt displeased inside.
“I went to the Hall and asked them to introduce me to a mage outstanding in detection magic. They recommended you, Mage Oudin.
Ah! I was told you weren’t affiliated with the Hall. But that you accepted work as a freelancer……”
Was that how they had prettified the fact that I ran around doing mercenary work?
Then again, Oudin had been in a position where he took jobs as a freelancer, so perhaps it wasn’t something I could criticize them for.
It was true that Oudin was a mage outstanding in detection magic and tracking.
It wasn’t that he was only skilled in detection magic, but it was a field he had taken a particular interest in.
The reason Oudin had left the Hall of Magic and wandered around doing mercenary work was because he was searching for someone.
He had been searching for his mother.
For that reason, he had constantly honed his detection magic, if nothing else.
“Rather than talking out here, may we continue the conversation inside?”
Han Dain asked, glancing lightly around.
“My home isn’t a place suited for conversation. Let’s go down and find a café.”
I said that and took the lead. I went down toward Itaewon and entered the first café I saw, where we took seats.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly again. I am Han Dain, team leader of the Development Support Team at Vanaheim headquarters.”
Han Dain took out a business card and handed it to me. The Vanaheim logo was clearly stamped on the card.
Because Oudin’s memories had settled in my mind, I was quickly able to recall information about Vanaheim.
Vanaheim was a bio-company based on magitech, and a very famous large corporation.
“There are also a few mages from the Hall of Magic at our Vanaheim research institute. I’m sure you know them as well, Mage Oudin.”
Perhaps intending to build rapport, Han Dain started by mentioning connections, but I cut her off at once and asked dryly.
“What is the request?”
If it wasn’t important, I intended to refuse and get up immediately. Perhaps sensing my intent, Han Dain got to the point.
“It is to find a person. We would like to ask you to track a missing person.”
“Track a missing person? I assume it’s someone related to Vanaheim?”
“That’s right. She is the daughter of an employee at the Vanaheim research institute.”
“But if she’s missing, isn’t it normal to report it to the police and have them search?”
When I asked that, Han Dain toyed with her coffee cup, then set it down and raised her head to look at me.
“There are a few considerations regarding the missing person’s identity. The missing person is a foreigner. She came to Korea to see her father and was staying at company housing when she suddenly disappeared.
So the company would prefer to find her directly rather than entrust it to the police.”
“Did she disappear of her own will? Is the missing person an adult?”
If it wasn’t a disappearance due to a crime like kidnapping, but one where she vanished of her own accord, the police likely wouldn’t take active action. Especially if she was an adult.
But if the missing person was a foreigner, was this an issue related to illegal residence?
“Yes. She is an adult. And the truth is, the missing person is a lizard person.”
“A lizard person?”
At the unexpected answer, I couldn’t help asking again in surprise.
Since Korea hadn’t formally accepted that race as immigrants, lizard people in Korea should be extremely rare. Hearing about another lizard person within just a few days was a little unexpected.
“Yes. But in appearance, she looks like an ordinary human. She underwent surgery to take on a human form.”
Han Dain added calmly.
In that instant, as though a light had switched on in my head, Ren’s image came to mind.
‘Wait, surely she isn’t looking for Ren, is she?’
The thought flashed through my mind. I wanted to think there was no way, but from another perspective, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
For one thing, there probably weren’t many lizard people who had entered Korea.
“Will you accept the request?”
I hesitated for a moment. I had grown curious, but there was no reason I had to take this request.
At that moment, Han Dain, who had been quietly observing me as I delayed my answer, drove the nail in.
“The company very much wishes to find Ren. Ah! Ren is the name of the missing person. I accidentally revealed her personal information. Since it’s come to this, Mage, you’ll have to accept the job, won’t you? Please help me.”
As if asking me to take her circumstances into consideration because she had made a mistake, Han Dain gave an awkward smile.
But behind that smile, I could glimpse cold calculation.