Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: If Yesterday's Chicken Doesn't Sit Right (3)
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* * *
Seonal, who had been staring blankly into space for a moment, forced the corners of his mouth up again and spoke.
“…Ah. Your heart is racing, huh.”
“Th-that’s right.”
The Dullahan squeezed his eyes shut, as if even he found his own words strange.
“In my opinion, if your chest hurts, wouldn’t the first step be to head to the nearest hospital? If not, then congratulations. Isn’t it love?”
He glanced outside. Red-tinged leaves were falling.
Autumn.
The perfect season for tea, wasn’t it?
“N-no, that’s not it. It’s not some sentimental nonsense from an old man like me!”
The Dullahan waved his hand dramatically the moment he realized what Seonal meant.
“If it’s some effect from magic, I recommend heading to the police instead.”
Even those indirectly affected by magic inevitably suffered some kind of side effect.
Most people had innate magic resistance, but it was all relative—strong side effects could still hit.
“That’s not it either.”
“Hmm. Then could you calmly explain exactly how your heart is racing?”
Seonal was deeply curious about this pounding sensation.
If it wasn’t magic or falling in love, only one possibility remained.
“Thank you. This place is different, at least. You actually listen to what I have to say.”
“It’s my job to listen. Let’s start there.”
At the Dullahan’s gratitude, Seonal responded matter-of-factly.
The Dullahan let out a light chuckle and opened his mouth.
“I think this pounding might be caused by the dream demon in the hospital.”
‘As expected.’
Seonal had also been picturing succubi and incubi in his mind.
But at the Dullahan’s words, his languid expression vanished in an instant, and the corners of his eyes lifted.
“It felt similar to the enchantment I fell under once before. You know what I mean?”
“I do. If that’s the case, it’s extremely dangerous.”
Seonal took the situation a bit more seriously. Just yesterday, while resolving Keron and Loren’s complaints, he’d encountered a werewolf trying to blow itself up with a bomb.
That werewolf had been dominated by enchantment magic, so the Dullahan’s mention of a dream demon felt deeply unsettling.
Just one question aside.
“But the enchanting power of dream demons is strictly regulated, so it shouldn’t leak outside the building, right?”
“That’s what I thought too.”
The Dullahan’s hand reached toward his own face, scratching under his chin.
“That’s why I was going to report it to the police, but what if it’s just my imagination?”
“That could be.”
“I’d like you to check it out. There’s a high chance the dream demon race could face discrimination over this, so shouldn’t the Complaints Department step in?”
The Dullahan smiled gently like a refined old gentleman, without any of his earlier evasiveness.
“Where’s this hospital?”
“It’s the Mestus Hospital nearby. Ah, I’m not sure if they call it a university hospital.”
‘Mestus Hospital…?’
The name rang a bell for Seonal.
—Got it. That werewolf’s getting checked out at Mestus Hospital, the one near our department.
Edinal’s words from yesterday echoed in his mind.
Something felt off.
“Take this and file the report for now.”
Seonal handed over the complaint form.
Complainants always had to fill one out.
To avoid any later disputes, complaints had to be officially logged—that was the basic rule.
Scribble.
As he watched the form being filled out, Seonal glanced at the complainant’s name.
Abion Trop.
An unusual name, he thought.
“Seonal.”
Abion handed back the papers, his gaze fixed on Seonal’s ID badge.
His stare felt heavy.
“I like your attitude.”
It had only been about a month since Edinal had personally trained him, and just a week or so into actual fieldwork, but this was a new kind of look.
It felt like a superior’s gaze.
“Looks like your boss is calling you.”
As Abion stood, he grabbed his head in his hand.
Right then, the door behind them actually opened.
Seonal’s eyes widened.
‘How did he know?’
Consultations always had sound-blocking magic active by default.
There was no way Edinal could hear anything.
Seonal looked at Abion, but he was already gone.
It felt like seeing a ghost.
“Seonal.”
Hearing Edinal’s voice, Seonal turned around.
The sound-blocking magic only covered the complainant’s consultation area.
Edinal couldn’t hear consultations, but she could hear if he or his colleagues were chatting.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
Seonal replied while clutching his still-throbbing stomach.
“Are you calling me to tell me to go to the hospital right now?”
“How did you know?”
Seonal was the surprised one at Edinal’s response.
What luck. She must have noticed he hadn’t gone yet.
“Can I go now?”
“But Seonal, right on cue, we just got a field assignment.”
“Yes…?”
Field assignment.
“Didn’t you just call me to tell me to go to the hospital?”
“The police requested cooperation, and it happens to be at the hospital.”
Seonal’s face twisted instantly.
“That’s too much.”
“That’s why our department’s always short-staffed. No one wants to apply. People at the community center say we’re crazy. Hell, I think so too. They work us to the bone.”
Edinal made an expression of deep sympathy as she subtly slid the papers over.
Seonal took them with a face full of dissatisfaction and muttered.
“Your words and actions don’t match.”
“Thing is, I really don’t want to do this either, but we can’t refuse incoming work. So, why not handle the hospital visit and the job in one go?”
“To a sick person? I’m the rookie here.”
Only now?
Edinal nearly bristled at Seonal’s cheeky remark but soon composed herself with a calm smile.
“Finish this, and you can clock out right away, Seonal. I’d love to send Terisha and Irang, but they’ve got field work too. Honestly, those two are tougher.”
Edinal deliberately lowered her voice for the last part.
“…That’s brutal.”
Seonal knew she wasn’t lying, so he resigned himself and looked at the papers.
Mestus University Hospital was listed as the destination.
‘What? This is the complaint from that Dullahan who was just here?’
Seonal fiddled with the papers, shifting his gaze around.
‘Did the enchanting power really leak outside?’
It was weird.
Just as vampires like Edinal suppressed their hypnotic powers with pills, unless it was a special case like medusas where medicine didn’t work, most could be managed with drugs.
‘I can see we’ll need to prepare a bunch of things… Ugh.’
Seonal suddenly felt like bolting.
“Doesn’t it feel off?”
Edinal’s voice cut in abruptly, making Seonal flinch.
But he played it cool, pulling on a serious expression.
“It does. It means the enchanting power has spread outside.”
“Honestly, even if you didn’t need to go to the hospital, I wanted you to take this. Powers like enchantment or hypnosis are incredibly dangerous in peaceful times.”
“I know. There was a werewolf tangled up in enchantment yesterday too.”
Seonal’s eyebrows dipped slightly then rose again.
He knew why it had to be him.
He might be the only one who could cast a magic to boost resistance right there on the spot.
“Get a proper check-up too.”
“What? I’ll… try.”
The annoyance was plain on Seonal’s face.
“Don’t forget to photo the pill packet and send it.”
“No, do I really have to go that far?”
“Of course. Especially you— you know why I worry more, right?”
Seonal instantly knew what Edinal meant.
‘…Well, yeah, even I thought it was a mess back then.’
Life as Seonal hadn’t been without hardships, but when he’d lost all motivation like a snapped thread, he’d met Edinal.
She’d seen him at his lowest—how could she not worry?
“Got it.”
“Thanks, Seonal.”
Edinal beamed, pulling out her phone and tapping away busily.
Bzzz.
Soon, Seonal’s pocket vibrated.
[Team Leader: A precious gift has arrived from ‘Team Leader.’]
Seonal’s eyes widened at the message on KakaoTalk.
Porridge. She’d ordered him porridge.
“Porridge. Order some later to eat, Seonal.”
Seonal stared silently at the screen. Edinal lightly patted his shoulder.
“Hey, no need to get all touched.”
“It’s not that—I’m allergic to seafood, so I can’t eat abalone…”
“W-wait, Seonal! I meant to send beef porridge but hit the wrong one.”
Edinal panicked visibly, and Seonal’s lips twitched up.
“Last time I…”
“10 seconds! 10 seconds is enough.”
“Thank you, Team Leader.”
Seonal expressed his gratitude, then glanced at his watch.
“Ah, 7 seconds left.”
Edinal shot him a brief glare full of resentment, but Seonal wasn’t about to miss the chance to tease her.
* * *
I hate Mondays. Tuesdays suck. Wednesdays too. I hate going to work most of all.
Seonal gazed up at the sky for a moment, syncing with the music from his wireless earbuds.
The sky was too clear.
‘Perfect day to run away.’
When he’d headed out for the field, Terisha and Irang had looked at him with pity, but Seonal had flashed them a grin.
‘…Sigh. Being a noble was nice, huh.’
Rinell’s life had been unhappy on the big scale, but pretty blissful in the small things.
At least money wasn’t a worry.
‘No. Now’s better. I can use magic. I just hate the work, and it sucks that my bank account isn’t filling up faster.’
Deeply resonating with his favorite song again, Seonal approached the hospital and doubted his eyes.
‘……?’
Passersby were staring at the hospital.
And the crowd trying to get in—how packed was it?
It looked like a line for limited-edition merch.
‘You didn’t notice this? Really? It’s obviously the enchanting power at work.’
Seonal relaxed his shoulders.
What the hell had the police been doing? A patrol would’ve spotted it instantly.
He turned his eyes.
‘…Oh, right.’
Mestus University Hospital was near their community center, and there were no major corporations around.
‘Lots of foot traffic normally, huh?’
Seonal eyed the lone towering corporate building amid the rest, then looked away.
Even with normal crowds, that line into the hospital looked off to him.
‘First, cast the spell.’
Seonal stirred the mana along his circulation paths. Once it gathered in his fingertips, he invoked the magic.
[Block enchantment and hypnosis.]
Enchantment, hypnosis, block.
Simple words, but Seonal infused them with the mana forms of those powers, making his own mana memorize and resist them.
Same for hypnotic power.
He’d already memorized the mana forms unique to each race, so he cast a spell to block those two from touching his body—essentially, resistance.
Resistance magic was so tricky that the state mandated suppressing racial powers with pills via law instead.
With the protective magic etched into his clothes, Seonal smiled faintly.
‘Good. Perfect.’
Seonal made sure his ID badge was visible around his neck, then entered the hospital.
* * *
Most complaints were vague.
The one from the Dullahan complainant, Abion Trop, was just a guess that enchanting power had leaked outside.
The police cooperation request was similar.
Something nebulous like, ‘We got reports of people affected by enchanting power leaking from the building—could you look into it?’ Just like the complaint.
They cooperated with police often, not just simple crimes but cases heavy with racial elements—like ones lacking clear evidence or barred from police intervention by regs.
Seonal entered the hospital and sniffed.
‘First, out with the meter.’
He rummaged in his bag and pulled out the regulation meter.
A magic device for measuring various racial powers.
Seonal tapped “enchantment” among the options on the screen.
By regs, over 50 triggered police response, but they’d requested cooperation.
‘It’s obviously over 50—how did they not come? Slacking hard.’
Beep. Beep.
The meter beeped as numbers climbed.
Seonal stared blankly into space until the end, then looked down at the ‘beeeep.’
‘Do they think Complaints is some fix-it squad…? Huh?’
49.
Under the limit, so police couldn’t investigate.
No way.
Even retrying gave the same.
49.
It wouldn’t go higher.
Seonal glanced up.
Half the people were dopey-grinning idiots under enchantment sway, just sitting there.
Of that half, about two-thirds seemed to be there for treatment or being treated, while maybe one-third were aimlessly wandering, minds lost seeking the dream demon spreading the power.
‘This bad, and the meter’s only at 49?’
Even at a glance, the hospital situation was dire.
Something was seriously wrong here.