“I suppose I ought to at least send a text.”
With a hand hoe, a black plastic bag, a towel around his neck, and a backpack, Raban looked to anyone watching like a man heading up the neighborhood hill to gather wild greens.
In truth, it was not all that different.
His main objective was to retrieve the Encroachment Entity he had cut into manageable pieces and hidden in the Black Forest, but since he was going anyway, he intended to pick some mugwort as well, so as not to arouse suspicion.
There was no telling when or where the eyes of those mascot-imperialist bastards might be watching.
Raban took out the phone Luxtiera High School had given him, calling it both an emergency contact line and part of employee welfare.
Since it was an item likely connected to the mascots, he was reluctant to use it carelessly. But even if they eavesdropped on a conversation about going to pick some mugwort, what use could they possibly make of it?
[Ihyeon. It’s me. The grass at your house tasted quite good. May I go pick some mugwort in the forest?]
This much should do. Satisfied with the perfect text, stripped of all unnecessary embellishment, Raban nodded.
Only thirty seconds after he sent the message. Ding! A reply arrived sooner than expected.
[Mister. Were you an herbivore?]
Hah, this cheeky little brat. Raban stroked his chin and thought up an excuse.
[I basically like chicken. There are just days when I crave mugwort rice cakes.]
In truth, he really did intend to make mugwort rice cakes. It did not taste like much if he just tore it up and ate it raw.
[Fine. Strictly speaking, it’s not mine, but the original landowner left everything to me and went far away. Pick a reasonable amount.]
[Understood.]
Raban gave a small nod as he looked at Na Ihyeon’s text. To think she diligently included punctuation, spacing, and even periods in every message like that.
‘Maybe that kid actually has the makings of a writer?’
It was not as if she were addressing an elder, yet such thorough adherence to proper spelling and grammar meant there was a talent for writing within her.
‘I should suggest she try writing a novel sometime.’
The web novels in this world were far too skewed in genre. Magical girls dominated the cultural current with an overwhelming presence.
If he tested the waters and she had talent, he would coax her into writing a story about mages instead of magical girls.
With that utterly useless resolution, Raban stepped out the door.
“Good. Today, it’s mugwort rice cakes.”
***
“This is private property. Who might you be?”
“Uh.”
Raban had been caught!
***
As much as possible, Raban tried not to judge people by their appearance.
To begin with, once he himself seriously started using magic, he strayed far beyond anything resembling a human form.
If it was not a battle of numbers, but a situation where he had to concentrate all his power into a single entity, he did converge into the body of a human with all four limbs intact. But that was not for any particular reason; it was simply the form he had handled the most and was used to.
In the other world, he had learned that what mattered was not beauty or ugliness, but danger. Things that were exceptionally beautiful were, for the most part, vicious. Suppose, on that red and revolting land, there was an apple tree with luscious fruit and fresh green leaves?
Nine times out of ten, it was a lure dangling from some monster like the maw of a starving ghost, and the remaining one time out of ten, the apple itself was a mad killer tree that grew by fertilizing itself with souls, enchanting others into approaching before killing them.
Anything that was merely beautiful had long since been eaten, so if something survived while remaining beautiful, it was only natural to be wary of it.
Ah, things that were exceptionally ugly were dangerous too. Whether beautiful or ugly, if something had an appearance that drew the attention of others and still managed to keep itself alive, it meant it was vicious enough that no one else could touch it.
That was why, even after coming to this world, he had not been swayed by the mascots’ appearances and had continued to suspect them. However…
‘No, really, no matter how many times I look at him, he’s suspicious.’
The “homeowner” standing before him looked far too suspicious.
Neatly groomed hair. Eyes somewhat sharp, though their fierceness was suppressed by round glasses. A blessed physique that made even a white suit, ordinarily difficult to pull off, look natural.
Objectively speaking, he certainly had an appearance that could be called handsome.
Yet when all those elements came together, the suspiciousness exploded.
The spotless suit, worn as a full set right down to black gloves, enough to make one suspect mysophobia; the madness flashing behind the lenses; every single gesture as he smoothed back a stray lock of hair and adjusted his glasses was suspicious.
“I am Na Chalsu. You may call me Charles.”
More specifically, he looked like the sort who would, at any moment, slick his hair straight back and fling off his glasses while declaring, “I will stand in the heavens.”
Forcing himself to drive away his prejudice, Raban took the hand Chalsu offered. The texture of the glove felt terribly rough.
“Nice to meet you. I’m… an employee at Ihyeon’s school.”
“Ah, so you’re one of Ihyeon’s teachers.”
“Not a teacher. I suppose you could call me a temporary hire.”
With an affable expression, he probed the other man. To have such an openly suspicious appearance. Normally, he would have simply thought, ‘Tsk, poor fellow must have a hard time in society,’ and let it pass.
But that man was a survivor of the owner family of Naju Pharmaceutical.
The Black Forest surrounding Na Ihyeon’s house was the only blank spot in the mascots’ barrier that had seized control of Hikarius. He was the true owner of this magical strategic point.
How could Raban not be on guard?
***
“Huff, huff… Seriously. This place is up so high for no reason, it’s a pain even to bike here…!”
After receiving a single text just a short while ago, Na Ihyeon had left the dormitory and pedaled her bicycle at full speed.
It was a text from her uncle. He had arrived in Hikarius for the first time in a while.
After the Naju Pharmaceutical Disappearance Incident, Uncle Chalsu had left Hikarius, and she had heard that he was wandering all over the world doing volunteer work. He did occasionally stop by his hometown, but he was the sort of person who came and went on a whim, so it was common to learn about it only after he had already left.
It was rare for him to give such a kind advance notice before coming.
Truthfully, that much alone was not enough reason for Na Ihyeon to be pedaling her bicycle in such a rush. Even if she arrived a little late, her uncle would simply be waiting inside the house, looking at his phone.
The problem was that Mister was in the Black Forest.
Originally, despite his warm, rustic name that brought glutinous corn to mind, Uncle Chalsu had a fairly prickly temper. Even when talking to other family members, he often ended up fighting, so only she, back when she was an ignorant little kid, had been willing to hang out with him.
After that incident with Naju Pharmaceutical, perhaps something in his state of mind had changed, because he had stopped picking fights with others first. But did a person’s nature ever change that easily?
He might see Mister picking mugwort and calmly call the police.
If the already pitiful Mister were arrested for illegal trespassing on private property, how much worse would those dark circles under his eyes become?
“Seriously. None of them will answer their phones even if it kills them.”
No matter how many times she called Mister and her uncle, neither picked up. Guessing that the two of them had already run into each other, Na Ihyeon pedaled furiously, breaking her own record for the race home.
She could see the two of them stopped in the front yard, seemingly in the middle of an argument. Na Ihyeon shouted loudly.
“Uncle! That mister is a little pitiful, but he’s not a bad person!”
***
“Oh my, Ihyeon. Is that any way to speak to your teacher?”
“I’m an adult in my own right, you know. Calling me pitiful hurts my feelings.”
The two adults scolded Ihyeon with one heart and one mind. Ihyeon’s eyebrow twitched.
Somehow, they were more…
“You see, I like mugwort rice cakes. When I came here last time, the mugwort was growing so nicely.”
“Oh, I like rustic mugwort rice cakes as well. Rather than standing out here, please come inside.”
Closer than she had expected?
Looking at the two of them, who had somehow become friendly for utterly incomprehensible reasons, Ihyeon tilted her head.
“Ihyeon. Take this.”
“Huh, what is it, Mister?”
“Mugwort I picked here.”
“…I’m not very good at cooking.”
“Really? Then I’ll make mugwort rice cakes later and bring them to you, so take them back to the dorm and eat them with the others.”
Raban naturally asked if he could use the kitchen, and Ihyeon nodded before she quite knew what she was doing.
Humming to himself, Raban naturally entered the kitchen and began preparing to boil the mugwort.
Her uncle naturally settled down in the living room and turned on the TV, and the sound of running water began to flow from the kitchen sink. The duet of household noise confused Na Ihyeon’s ears.
‘Whatever. If I just leave the grown-ups to themselves, they’ll figure out food on their own.’
Sunk into a deep sense of emptiness as a reaction to how tense she had been, Na Ihyeon found everything bothersome. She was about to roughly toss her bag into her room and take a nap when—
“Ihyeon.”
“What is it, Mister?”
“Is that man the one who entrusted the mountain lodge to you?”
As if it were nothing, the question came out in passing.
But Na Ihyeon was a magical girl. One sensitive to reading the malice of others.
Right now, beneath Raban’s heart, something dark was swirling. A dense hostility that no ordinary monster would dare even approach.
‘Why is he suddenly…?’
Normally, even when she teased him, he had the relaxed temperament to slyly deflect it. Though he complained that counseling was a pain, once someone entered the counseling room, he listened more carefully than anyone else, with genuine kindness.
There was no reason for him to harbor such sticky, sharp malice.
Just as Na Ihyeon was about to wonder why, she realized what her uncle’s original position had been and grasped the situation.
Mister Raban. An amnesiac due to a magical disaster.
The most recent magical disaster to occur in Hikarius was the Naju Pharmaceutical Disappearance Incident.
And Na Chalsu had been a director of Naju Pharmaceutical.
“Mister. Wait. You’re not going to stab my uncle right now, are you…?!”
***
Raban’s head filled with question marks.
“Why would I stab that man? I…”
‘was only royally rubbed the wrong way by that man’s humblebragging, which he does as naturally as breathing.’
Raban recalled the conversation from moments ago.
Haha, having a lot of land is its own hardship.
I have so many houses that if I only stop by each one for a week, a whole year has passed.
Ah, I also have a house for keeping pets. There are about four there now, and it’s cute watching them bicker among themselves inside.
Sometimes, when I receive a phone call, I’m surprised. They say, “Thank you for renting it to us at such a low price,” but I didn’t even know I had a building there, you see.
What use is having a lot of money? I only work hard to help others by creating things like scholarship foundations.
His skill at cleverly slipping good deeds in among his boasts, cutting off any malicious criticism at the source, was magnificent. It was the essence of humblebragging, impossible to achieve with only a day or two of practice.
‘Did it show that he got under my skin?’
Raban rubbed his temple.