-Yasin and the Chairman
The thought occurred to me that perhaps the reason they had brought me to this house was to capture and confine me.
Had they heard through Han Dain that, despite accepting Vanaheim’s commission, I was not only failing to resolve it but actively getting in the way?
Suspicion bloomed like mold, but I soon set the thought aside.
If they had decided to eliminate me or lock me up, they could have attempted it when I went to the company building.
There was no reason to go out of their way to summon me to the chairman’s house.
Unless, at least, the chairman had decided he would meet me in person first and then determine whether I lived or died.
In truth, it was understandable that anti-magic devices had been installed in the living room. If this was, as I suspected, a place for meetings or parties, then it meant outsiders came and went here.
Of course, most of the invited guests would be people close to the chairman, but there was no law saying an unexpected person would never visit.
The anti-magic device could be seen as a substitute for a security checkpoint, so to speak. Rather than search people’s bodies, which would be impolite, they simply blocked things off in advance.
Being thorough about security was not a problem.
‘Whether they’re welcoming me or treating me as an enemy, I’ll find out soon enough.’
Instead of sharpening my nerves over needless suspicion, I raised my mana waves and honed them to a keen edge.
Just because there were anti-magic devices did not mean detection was completely impossible.
Even if using magic right away was difficult, detection was still possible.
Most anti-magic devices utilized interference waves. If one analyzed the structure of the interference waves, it was possible to break through them as well, though that took some time.
But for detection, all I had to do was extend my mana while avoiding the interference waves.
That would not be easy for most mages, but I was a mage highly skilled in detection. Avoiding interference waves was not difficult for me.
‘Let’s see…….’
As expected, the structure of the interference waves was quite intricately woven, but as always, there were gaps.
I pushed the blade of my sharply tempered mana waves into those gaps and began making a path.
Slowly surveying the entire living room, I carefully extended threads of mana.
Glittering silver lines wound their way forward.
As expected, the mansion’s security was solid. Not only were there anti-magic devices, but there were also layers upon layers of magic barriers, and those, too, appeared sophisticated.
‘Not bad. Who was the mage who designed this barrier? They’re pretty skilled.’
The company must have had plenty of affiliated mages, so I once again found myself wondering why they had specifically commissioned me for the mansion’s security.
As I was secretly inspecting the living room’s security like that, the living room door opened and the butler entered.
“The chairman is coming.”
The butler informed me of this while standing with one hand on the door. Then he waited for the chairman to enter the living room before closing the door and leaving.
I rose from my seat to greet the chairman.
A middle-aged man with silver hair tinged with violet, dressed stylishly in a navy silk suit also tinged with violet, approached me with a broad smile.
It was Kim Seonho, the chairman of Vanaheim.
‘He’s gotten quite old before I knew it.’
That was my first impression.
This was, of course, my first time meeting Kim Seonho. But he was a famous man, so I remembered seeing him through the press and on broadcasts.
Kim Seonho was a legendary figure who, in his younger days as a genius scientist, acquired Vanaheim when it had been a small pharmaceutical company and grew it into a global bioenterprise.
Back when the company was expanding by leaps and bounds thanks to its groundbreaking biotransformation technology, Kim Seonho had often appeared on television.
Even then, despite being middle-aged, he had looked like a young man.
Whether he had been born with a naturally youthful appearance or had applied biotechnology to himself, in any case, I had thought Kim Seonho was someone who did not age.
But looking at him now, he had the face of a middle-aged man who had aged naturally.
‘So even he grows old. Is that why he’s so obsessed with life-extension technology?’
While I was thinking that, Kim Seonho came up to me and offered his hand.
“Mage Oudin, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
Kim Seonho’s voice was lively.
I clasped the hand he extended. His grip, too, was full of strength.
Though his hair had gone gray and wrinkles lined his face, Kim Seonho was still a man brimming with vitality.
“Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time.”
After giving a brief greeting, I waited for Kim Seonho to sit on the sofa, then sat across from him.
“I heard that even yesterday, you went all the way to Daejeon and resolved the jellyfish incident. These days, whenever news of a black mage terror attack is heard, Mage Oudin’s name inevitably follows. You are truly a hero of the citizens.”
Kim Seonho opened the conversation with polished praise.
Judging by how he brought up last night’s jellyfish subjugation, he seemed to want to show that he was not behind on information.
“I merely did what I ought to do as a mage.”
I gave a formulaic answer and waited for him to continue. At the same time, I quietly extended detection magic and examined him.
Kim Seonho was an ordinary person, not a mage. And yet he was wearing a magic barrier.
‘Does he have a dedicated mage in charge of his protection?’
The moment I thought that, I detected a magic tool. It was a bracelet hidden beneath the sleeve of his silk suit. Mana waves were flowing from it.
Seeing how thoroughly he maintained security even inside his house, it was certain that Kim Seonho was afraid of something.
“Thank you for accepting the commission.”
“Not at all. I’m the one grateful for the generous fee. I didn’t expect the chairman himself to come out, so please tell me what I should do now.”
“Very well. As you must have heard from Team Leader Han Dain, the task we wish to entrust to you is the security work for this house. Of course, we have mages at the company as well, but for this work, we needed an especially outstanding mage. Because the threat in question is a black mage called Yasin.”
In the end, what Kim Seonho feared was Yasin. What Han Dain had told me had not been a lie.
Kim Seonho glanced at my expression, then continued.
“We needed a mage who would not fall short even when compared to Yasin. I was told that Mage Oudin was such a person, and so I invited you.”
“Do you think I’m a mage who can defeat Yasin?”
“I do. You succeeded in subjugating the tentacled monster, did you not? I am certain you are an exceptional mage who does not fall behind Yasin.”
Kim Seonho was confidently giving me high praise, but in truth, I was not certain I could beat Yasin in a one-on-one fight.
From what I had felt in our two previous confrontations, Yasin was an extraordinarily skilled black mage.
I had been improving my magic with him in mind as it was, but even now, I could not be certain that I was a mage who surpassed Yasin.
But I did not bother telling Kim Seonho that.
The reason I had come here was less to oppose Yasin than to find out what Vanaheim was up to.
Even if not here, I would be facing Yasin eventually anyway.
“It appears you have already taken care of the basic security. Of course, confirming whether there are any openings and strengthening them would not be difficult for me, but you will need to tell me what specific areas you are worried about. Only then can I clearly identify the target and block it.”
When I said that, Kim Seonho’s smile vanished, and he looked straight at me.
It seemed the important conversation was about to begin.
“I don’t know how much you heard from Team Leader Han Dain, but Yasin once worked at Vanaheim as a research mage. Originally, Yasin was a scientist like me, but he awakened as a mage. Though now he has gone down the path of a black mage.”
Hearing him say that Yasin had been a scientist like him made me think that perhaps Yasin had a personal connection with Kim Seonho.
Their relationship might have been more entangled than I had thought.
Perhaps Yasin had joined Vanaheim because of his connection with Kim Seonho.
“Yasin was a scientist mad for research. After awakening, he was a mage mad for research. His experimental techniques are extremely outstanding. His concentration, too. The problem is that he is far too greedy. He simply doesn’t know how to stop. He thinks he’s some kind of god. He is completely obsessed with transforming and creating living beings.”
A scientist mad for research and a mage as well—I could not tell whether that was praise or criticism.
In any case, given how well Kim Seonho knew Yasin, there was no way he did not know that Yasin was an exceptionally capable black mage.
And yet he had praised me that highly? Why?
“Wait a moment. There’s something I’d like to ask. When did you learn that Yasin was a black mage? Did you know from the time he worked at Vanaheim?”
I posed the question.
I needed to know when and to what extent Yasin and the chairman had colluded, and where they had begun to split apart.
“Of course I didn’t know then. If I had known, do you think I would have simply kept him at the company? Though, in any case, I did end up dismissing him. At any rate, I only learned recently, when I saw Yasin broadcasting his terror notice.”
“You only found out then? Then after Yasin left the company, there was no contact at all?”
“None. He vanished completely somewhere.”
Was that true?
Ren had said that Vanaheim had conducted experiments to develop the Golden Apple together with black mages, so if it was not Yasin, were there others?
I looked straight into Kim Seonho’s eyes. His gaze was wavering ever so slightly. He was not speaking honestly.
For now, I simply noted that.
“I understand. Please continue with what you were saying.”
At that, Kim Seonho gave a hearty laugh, adjusted his posture, and spoke.
“It seems I’ll have to tell you everything, Mage. What I am about to tell you is company confidential, but I will show you everything.”
It seemed he had realized that I had read his eyes. So what was he going to reveal?
I silently waited for him to continue.
“There is a product our company is developing. It is provisionally called the Golden Apple, and it has now nearly reached completion. It was a project that began when Yasin was at the company as a research mage.”
It felt as though a bell rang in my head.
The Golden Apple had been a project Yasin started? Then it had been a thing infused with a black mage’s intentions from the very beginning.
It was certain to be far more dangerous than I had thought.
“You’re saying Yasin developed this product called the Golden Apple?”
“It is true that Yasin started and led the project. But he did not do it alone. It was developed on a company level. However, Yasin seems to want to monopolize all of it.”
“How would Yasin monopolize it? Is he saying he wants the license?”
Even while knowing that we were not speaking about ordinary company business but about a black mage, I deliberately asked that.
Kim Seonho glanced at me.
“Recently, Yasin contacted me. He said he would come to my house and take what was his.”
Then he abruptly rose from his seat and said,
“Shall we take a look around this house together now?”