Special Commission
“Goodness! The meat is perfectly cooked. Please, speak slowly as you eat. This is exactly the right time to eat it—if it overcooks, it’ll get tough.”
The owner flipped the ribs with tongs as he spoke.
I had just asked a question about the Magic Tower, so cutting the conversation short was a pity, but when I turned around, Cheon Danbi and Gil were looking at me with famished expressions, so I gestured for them to eat.
“Eat up. You can listen while you eat.”
As I spoke, I popped a piece of meat into my own mouth and chewed, looking at the owner’s face.
It was unspoken pressure for him to continue.
“Since you are a hero who has even fought black mages personally, I thought you would understand our story. To be honest, I told the local mages about this before, but they seemed to keep looking at us like we were unreliable folk, so after that, we shut our mouths entirely.”
He seemed to be referring to how local mages, including Jang Jeyeong, had come to investigate and simply left empty-handed.
So that was why he had been so hesitant to speak.
In the end, it was the mages who had ended up sealing the residents’ mouths instead.
“It seems the local mages failed to handle the matter properly, so we’ve come from the central government to investigate again. Therefore, please speak without reservation about anything the residents know.”
When I encouraged him, the owner glanced at me before beginning his tale.
“Then, trusting in you alone, I will tell you all the rumors that circulated among the local residents. There were many suspicious incidents.
It wasn’t just around Chungju Lake; there were tales coming from all over. They say crows suddenly died in the forest and fell in droves, and roe deer ran through the woods in grotesquely twisted forms. Then, one day, they’d all be found dead.”
“Dear me….”
“Even the roe deer?”
Cheon Danbi and Gil each chimed in from beside me, but with their mouths full of meat, they couldn’t reply at length.
“Not only that, apples once hung heavy on the branches in the dead of winter. Strange as it was, apples bearing fruit isn’t a bad thing, is it? So the residents must have approached without fear to pick them. But then suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck. Everyone collapsed, and it was right then that they saw the Magic Tower before their very eyes.”
Finally, the words “Magic Tower” passed the owner’s lips.
I began by probing what I was most curious about.
“Where was it?”
“I didn’t see it myself; I only heard rumors, but they had circulated so much that it wasn’t just one place. Some said Danyang, some said Jecheon, and some even said Mungyeong.”
Just as in Jang Jeyeong’s account, no exact location came up.
For now, there was no choice but to sweep through from nearby Jecheon all the way to Danyang.
“Anyway, the rumors were widespread, but when the local mages came out and investigated thoroughly, they couldn’t find the Magic Tower. So everything was treated as mere baseless rumors. But if neither the Magic Tower nor black mages exist, then why do such bizarre things keep happening….”
The owner let out a deep sigh.
“What did the rumors say the Magic Tower looked like?”
I didn’t know if any usable information would emerge, but I had no choice except to squeeze out whatever I could. There had to be a reason people insisted they had seen it.
“It was in a deep mountain valley, and a tower stood there, high enough to pierce the sky. Some said they thought it was a temple at first glance; others said it had a grotesque, bumpy shape; and there were also tales that the tower moved as if it were alive. Oh dear, now that I think about it, since everyone’s stories differ so much, it’s only natural that the mages couldn’t believe them.”
The owner gave an awkward smile. It was his habit of glossing over situations showing again. Meanwhile, he quickly gauged my reaction. He seemed curious how I would respond.
“The Magic Tower must clearly be somewhere. We simply haven’t discovered it yet. Black mage terrorism is already occurring, isn’t it? Therefore, we must assume that their stronghold, the Magic Tower, exists as well.”
“Isn’t that right?”
“We will investigate thoroughly and find it without fail.”
“Oh, thank you. With all the terrorism happening in Seoul, I thought you wouldn’t be able to pay attention to the countryside. I am truly grateful.”
The owner bowed his head deeply once more.
What he had wanted to hear was a mage’s promise that they would find it for certain. He had wanted to hear that they would find the Magic Tower, capture all the black mages, and put a stop to the bizarre incidents in the forest and the lake.
Having heard the local resident’s story, I grew even more deeply suspicious of the government and the Hall.
Unaware that the regional situation was like this, everyone in Seoul had lived believing it was a time of peace until Yasin appeared.
How was it that rumors about the Magic Tower couldn’t even reach Seoul?
Someone was blocking the information. Most likely, both the government and the Hall were colluding.
Just then, a phone rang from inside my pocket.
I took out my phone and checked the caller. It was Yoo Jaeseon.
*Huh? I was just suspecting the government, and a government mage calls me right away?*
It felt as if my thoughts had been read.
There was no way that was true, but the timing was certainly like that.
“I’ll step outside for a moment to take this call. Keep eating.”
I told Cheon Danbi and Gil as much and stepped outside the restaurant.
I had been conversing with the owner; taking the call right there might have drawn unnecessary attention from him.
“This is Odin.”
I said, pressing the answer button.
["Ah! You're answering. This is Yoo Jaeseon."]
He was reacting as if my answering the phone was something surprising.
I had missed a call from him once before, but was it really something to be so surprised about?
“What is it?”
["Where are you now? Are you in North Chungcheong Province?"]
He had asked my whereabouts outright. Yoo Jaeseon must have seen the news about me online and seemed to guess I was there.
“I am, but why? Is something wrong?”
["Ah, well…."]
Yoo Jaeseon hesitated for a moment. Somehow, it wasn’t like him. I felt that a hesitant attitude didn’t suit him as an analyst.
It wasn’t long. Yoo Jaeseon soon began to speak as if he had steeled himself.
["Yasin is pursuing you, Odin-nim. You are aware of that, correct?"]
“I am.”
["Many mages have been sacrificed. The Hall's forces have suffered grave losses. The World Tournament is not proceeding properly either. They did open the tournament, but the situation is chaotic, and the number of participating mages has dropped significantly. I thought you would be attending the World Tournament, but you went down to Daejeon instead."]
He had started talking, but instead of getting to the point, he was rambling with lengthy news.
“What is the purpose of your call?”
I asked directly.
["I have much to tell you and much I wish to hear, so the conversation has become disorganized. Please forgive me. First, on behalf of the government, I thank you for resolving the Daejeon Awakened incident. I am currently in Daejeon. I had come to assess the situation here and pursue Yasin, but matters in Daejeon are getting somewhat tangled. Therefore, regarding the response to Yasin, I believe I must entrust everything to you, Odin-nim."]
“I intend to handle Yasin myself if I encounter him, of course. But what do you mean when you say the situation in Daejeon is getting tangled?”
["The people who Awakened and then reverted are causing a disturbance. They are dissatisfied with losing their magical abilities. They are blaming you, Odin-nim."]
As expected, the Awakened were not accepting it quietly. Having once possessed magical abilities and then lost them, they must have felt as though their power had been stolen.
“Is that so.”
I replied indifferently. I did not think it was anything to be overly concerned about.
But Yoo Jaeseon continued in a cautious tone.
["It is not just them. In fact, slander is circulating about you in Seoul as well. They claim all the raids you have carried out until now were staged. That you colluded with Yasin to cause terrorism and then presented yourself raiding it. Have you heard of this?"]
It was something I had heard from Thor before. Seeing that Yoo Jaeseon knew of it too, it seemed the rumor was spreading even further.
But seeing how he called it slander, did that mean Yoo Jaeseon didn’t believe the rumors?
Come to think of it, it seemed he had called me specifically to tell me this.
“Do you not believe those words, Mage Yoo Jaeseon?”
["Have I not met you in person, Odin-nim? I have the eyes to see that you are not that kind of person."]
Yoo Jaeseon’s response, spoken as if it were obvious, somehow felt reassuring.
At first, I had thought he was a government-affiliated analyst trying to find flaws in my raids, but upon reflection, he was someone who viewed the situation with quite an objective eye.
“Thank you for saying that. It is indeed absurd slander. I am someone who would never under any circumstances join hands with black mages.”
I stated it clearly for the time being.
["That is a relief for the government as well. Right now, you are the only mage capable of stopping Yasin. The void of mages is so great that we even drew up plans to hire foreign mages who attended the World Tournament as mercenaries, but that is not working out either. Terrorism is on the rise in other countries as well, so everyone is trying to return home in haste."]
In truth, the situation was not a problem of Yasin alone. The black mage who caused the Daejeon incident was not Yasin, but someone else.
Furthermore, there was no knowing how many more black mages were in the Magic Tower.
Although Yoo Jaeseon trusted me, I was weighing how much I could open up to him.
When I fell silent, Yoo Jaeseon continued.
["I will take responsibility and grant you unlimited authority regarding investigation and raids, Odin-nim. Hasn't it been inconvenient, operating without an affiliation until now? From this point on, please act as a mage bearing a Special Commission from the central government."]
It was a proposal that piqued my interest.
If that happened, I would no longer need to rely on the Hall, meaning I could also investigate the Hall with a lighter heart.
It would mean depending on the government instead, but since the government was a far larger organization than the Hall, it likely wouldn’t be a problem to lightly step into a part of it.
And it was called a Special Commission, no less.
“Doing so would be a great help to my activities.”
I accepted Yoo Jaeseon’s proposal.
["I will place you in a position where you can pass most security clearances. Given the rumors circulating about you, this is a politically burdensome decision for me, but that is just how urgent and serious I believe the nation's situation to be. There are few who possess such outstanding magical abilities as you, but in truth, there are not many mages I can trust. There are parts that are difficult to discuss over the phone, but regardless, that is the situation."]
I recalled Yoo Jaeseon’s appearance, which seemed more that of a genius hacker than a bureaucrat.
I had thought of Yoo Jaeseon as merely an analyst handling fieldwork, but it seemed he held quite a high position in the central government’s administrative bureau.
And from what I heard, it seemed Yoo Jaeseon also suspected that there were mages within the government and the Hall who had joined hands with black mages.
My trust in Yoo Jaeseon had risen.