-A True Professional
“Herb shop owner, mages. Thank you so much.”
“Don’t worry about this place. We’ll leave it spotless before we go.”
“If we dig for about two days, I think we’ll be able to get back to our village.”
“Have a safe trip to Daejeon.”
After packing the tools needed for tunneling and stocking them up with plenty of water and food, we left the underground workshop with the dwarves seeing us off.
While Cheon Danbi locked the door of the herb shop, I wrapped a sturdy barrier around the shop.
The underground was deep, but it wouldn’t do for the sound of digging to leak outside and draw people’s attention.
“That should do it. Let’s go.”
We took a taxi to my house, switched to my car, and set off for Daejeon.
“I didn’t think we’d be heading back down to Daejeon after just one day. If I’d known this would happen, maybe we should’ve just stayed there.”
“If we had, we wouldn’t have been able to save the dwarves.”
I replied to Cheon Danbi.
And that was hardly all. This morning, I had gone to the Vanaheim chairman’s house and taken care of something important, and I had also made a remarkable advancement in magic.
“Ah, right? Then it was worth going back and forth. I’m glad we saved the dwarves from the underground village. Not all of them, though.”
“I hope they all make it safely back to the underground village.”
Cheon Danbi and Gil both wore expressions that were half pride and half worry.
“By the way, is it okay for the herb shop to be closed this often lately? Aren’t you going to run your business into the ground at this rate?”
I broke the mood with a change of subject.
“Don’t worry. I figured this might happen, so I brought a whole bunch of herbs and potions with me this time. I can at least do some peddling, right?”
Cheon Danbi replied shamelessly.
“What? Peddling? You’re saying you’re going to Daejeon to sell herbs?”
“Huh? Just now, I thought you were worried about my business. Were you not? Now you’re complaining because I’m going to Daejeon to do business?”
“I’m not complaining. It’s not that. It’s just so unexpected.”
“Unexpected? I’m a merchant. We’re going to Daejeon to meet mages, aren’t we? And a whole crowd of them, at that. You said the number of mages has suddenly surged. I can’t miss an opportunity this good.”
She spoke as if she were a highly seasoned merchant, but I couldn’t believe Cheon Danbi was going to Daejeon for that reason.
I gave a small laugh and replied.
“From where I’m standing, you seem more interested in the black mage than in business. You’re coming along because it’s a black mage’s terror attack, aren’t you?”
“That’s true. I do have a bit of a grudge against black mages.”
I waited a moment, but she didn’t continue. So I didn’t ask any further. It seemed personal, and I didn’t want to pry.
“Anyway, are you aware that Gil’s magic has been improving by leaps and bounds?”
I steered the conversation elsewhere.
“Oh, is that true?”
“What does ‘by leaps and bounds’ mean?”
When Gil suddenly asked that, Cheon Danbi and I couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
He was high school age, but since he’d never properly attended school, I supposed idioms were a bit much for him.
“It means something is growing rapidly day by day and month by month. So he’s saying your magical skill is improving noticeably every day.”
Cheon Danbi kindly explained.
“Ahh. I’ve been training hard all this time. The mage even gave me a magic book that helps with training.”
“I see? I knew it. You’re a mage with real promise. The quality and quantity of the mana you already possess are different to begin with.”
“Thank you.”
As always, when Cheon Danbi praised him, Gil looked happy.
“This time, let’s properly show what our team can do. You two like saving people, so give it your best shot. The people claiming they’ve awakened aren’t villains. But that doesn’t mean we can simply leave them be. If we do, it’ll cause huge chaos.”
At my words, Cheon Danbi shook her head.
“It’s such a strange incident, no matter how you look at it. A black mage giving people magical abilities? Isn’t that really strange?”
“Magical ability itself isn’t inherently good. Depending on how it’s used, it can become evil.”
“That’s true. What black mages use is magical ability too.”
As we talked about this and that, we arrived in Daejeon before we knew it.
With the three of us riding together, time seemed to pass quickly without a moment to get bored.
“We should find lodging first.”
Since we had come down to Daejeon this time, I planned to look around the Chungcheong region, including Danyang. Cheon Danbi and Gil had agreed to my plan to search for the Magic Tower.
“Should we contact Mage Jang Jeyeong and ask him where would be good?”
“No, that’s fine.”
I cut Cheon Danbi off flatly.
Since we would be making contact with the Daejeon mages anyway, I would probably meet Jang Jeyeong too, but I had no intention of rushing to contact him.
Aside from his condescension, he didn’t seem particularly false or bad, but that condescending attitude alone was already annoying enough.
“Let’s just look for somewhere in the city.”
I said that, then suddenly had another thought and changed my words.
“What’s the best hotel in Daejeon?”
“Oh! What’s this? I didn’t know you were the type to look for luxury hotels, Mage.”
Cheon Danbi reacted with surprise and even smiled slightly.
“A little luxury isn’t bad once in a while. This time, consider it a real trip.”
“Okay. Then I’ll search it up quickly.”
A little while later, we had unpacked our luggage in a suite at a five-star hotel.
I had considered getting two rooms, but ended up choosing a suite with two bedrooms. Perhaps because it was outside the capital, there was fortunately still a suite available, so we were able to check in right away.
“Wow! This is really nice. It’s my first time staying in a suite!”
Cheon Danbi exclaimed as she looked around the interior here and there.
“It’s my first time coming to a hotel at all. It’s really nice. The view is great too. I never imagined a place like this. But isn’t somewhere like this really expensive?”
Gil said, his eyes wide and his voice tinged with slight fear.
Of course, it was also my first time staying in a suite at such a high-end hotel. If I had been alone, I would have just stayed at some random motel.
I had come here because of Gil. I wanted to let a kid who had probably never enjoyed luxury in his life know that he, too, had every right to be happy.
This time, there wasn’t an urgent terror incident happening right away, so we had some leeway. And before disaster truly struck, I wanted to leave Gil and Cheon Danbi with good memories.
“Don’t worry. Our team is earning well enough to stay at a place like this for a few days.”
“Really?”
“Of course. We still have the reward we received for clearing the tentacle monster last time, and we’ll be getting a reward for clearing the jellyfish incident too. But I’m paying for this trip. I handled two jobs for Vanaheim, didn’t I? Vanaheim is a major corporation, so the pay is no joke. So let’s spend freely.”
At my words, Cheon Danbi cheered, and Gil awkwardly followed along with a cheer of his own.
In truth, it was only right that I treat the two of them well. I had received Cheon Danbi’s help several times, and in Gil’s case, I was essentially blocking him from the privileges he would naturally receive if he registered as a mage.
But I still didn’t want Gil to register as a mage. Not until I confirmed how many Black Hands were positioned within the government and the Hall.
“Shall we head out now? Or do you two want to rest here? I can go alone and get a feel for the situation.”
It was already past ten, but we couldn’t just rest like this. We needed to meet the Daejeon mages, hear about the situation, and see what the mood in the city was like.
“No. Let’s go together.”
“Yeah. Rest? Please. We came all this way, so we should work.”
The two of them immediately followed me out.
That’s right. No matter how nice the hotel suite was, our team didn’t forget what needed to be done. That was what made us true professionals.
A broad smile spread across my face as I took the lead.
* * *
First, we went to the Bureau of Magic at the Daejeon Government Complex. It was the office where government-affiliated mages worked.
It was late at night, but the lights there were blazing brightly. Even if the situation wasn’t dangerous, the incident was still ongoing, so that was only natural.
A guard was standing watch at the entrance to the Bureau of Magic.
“We’re mages sent from Seoul as support. I’m Oudin.”
I said, showing him the Hall communication device on my wrist. Since I didn’t belong to the Hall, there was no other way to introduce myself.
“Ah! Welcome. Thank you for coming. Please, this way.”
The guard brightened and guided us into the office.
The fact that I was a freelance mage hadn’t changed, but my treatment was clearly different from before just because of a single Hall communication device. In other people’s eyes, it was no different from being affiliated with the Hall.
It certainly had become more convenient to operate now that I had decided to cooperate with the Hall.
Inside the office were three or four mages. All of them were on the phone, practically shouting into their receivers.
When we entered, one of them hung up and looked at us.
“These are the mages who came from Seoul to support us.”
The guard informed him first, and I stepped forward to introduce myself.
“Good evening. I’m Oudin.”
“Ah! Mage Oudin! Thank you for coming.”
It seemed he had heard my name before. The man welcomed me almost at a shout. Then he came right up and clasped my hand.
“I’m Mage Kwon Jungsik. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard plenty about you, Mage. I was almost hurt when I heard you left yesterday without stopping by our Bureau of Magic. Hahaha! But they said you met Mage Jang Jeyeong before you left. I heard about it.”
I wondered if long, cumbersome greetings were part of the culture among mages in the Daejeon region.
I quickly pulled my hand free from his grip and gestured toward Gil and Cheon Danbi.
“These are my companions.”
“Ah, I see. Welcome, mages.”
Kwon Jungsik looked at the two of them as if waiting for a more detailed introduction, but I signaled with my eyes for them not to say anything and quickly got to the point.
“So what is the current situation?”
“It’s utter chaos. The mages were already exhausted from the jellyfish incident, and now something like this has happened on top of that, so it’s difficult for us to handle. That’s why we explained the situation here in detail and requested support, but the central authorities haven’t shown the slightest interest.”
Was complaining after the greetings were done also part of their culture? I had asked about the situation, and he was only going on about their own circumstances.
Watching Kwon Jungsik, whose face looked as if he had fallen into some great ordeal, a sigh escaped me on its own.
I felt like leaving the office right then and going straight to the scene.
Still, since we had come all this way, shouldn’t we at least get some information before leaving? That was what a true professional would do.
Forcing a smile, I asked.
“Were there no Hall mages who came down ahead of us?”
“Not a single one. It seems the Hall mages don’t like coming down to the provinces. Of course, since the World Mage Conference starts tomorrow, we understand as well.”
Then Kwon Jungsik smacked his lips.
It seemed to mean that if he had his way, he would like to hurry up to Seoul and attend the World Mage Conference himself.