Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Welcome, Dodo! (3)
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Edinal looked at Seonal's stiff expression and barely held back a laugh as he introduced Tutun.
"And this is Tutun from the Complaints Department. You'll be seeing a lot of him from now on."
"Hellooo, I'm Tutun."
Tutun waved his hand. He didn't even need to crouch down—his eye level wasn't much different from Dodo's.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Dodo!"
"I handle cleaning heeere."
"That's amazing. I was so surprised when I came inside, Dodo. It's so sparkly."
"Thanks heeere. I'm working hard so I don't get fired."
Tutun's cheeks puffed up fully, and flower patterns bloomed across them. He was so thrilled that his natural markings were practically bursting out.
'Who would ever fire Tutun?'
Edinal held back his ticklish urge to smile.
Hiring Tutun had only been meant as a temporary measure, but once he was on board, the office interior had definitely changed.
Dust in the corners was nearly impossible to find anymore, and the sparkle you felt upon entering was on another level.
It was almost euphoric.
He was great at sorting things to throw out from things to keep, and the air felt fresh every day—no air purifier needed.
Lately, they couldn't go a day without hearing compliments about how clean the Complaints Department had gotten.
"Alright, let's tidy up and get to work."
Edinal clapped his hands lightly.
"Can Dodo take that one?"
Dodo pointed at the banner stuck to the wall with his front paw.
[Welcome to the Complaints Department, Dodo.]
Edinal smiled with his eyes. Was that message really so heartwarming?
"Go right ahead."
"Thanks!"
Edinal felt his own spirits lift in response. Now he had something else to handle separately.
"Seonal."
"...Yes?"
Edinal's summons sent an inexplicable chill through Seonal.
"After this complaint wraps up, come see me."
"I'll see you right now. What is it?"
"No. Later, Seonal."
Seonal swallowed dryly under Edinal's subtly piercing gaze.
He wanted to bolt, not knowing what new task was coming his way.
* * *
"...How is it? Comfortable?"
Seonal asked Dodo.
"There's a keyboard!"
"Yes. How's the keyboard?"
"It's super, super comfortable. Dodo is really happy right now."
Dodo wiggled his front paws.
"I never imagined I'd be using a keyboard while working."
As his words suggested, pure bliss shone on Dodo's face.
They'd adjusted it so he could work lying down or sitting up.
Since he was the only one with an animal-like build, nothing off the human assembly line fit right, so they'd swapped it all out.
"Good to hear."
Seonal let deep satisfaction show on his face. That was the thrill. That was why he used magic.
"Dodo. You're in big trouble now."
Irang poked his head out and chimed in.
"B-big trouble?"
Dodo jolted upright in alarm, clutching his front paws to his chest as he glanced around.
"This stuff is expensive. You know hiring a mage costs a fortune, right? From now on, your salary's all going to Seonal for like... ten years or so..."
"Got nothing better to do?"
Seonal fixed Irang with a steady stare, but his eyes were already brimming with mischief.
Bzzz.
Right on cue, Seonal's phone vibrated. He mouthed 'one sec' to Dodo and Irang, then answered.
"Hello."
[Yes. Your identity check request is complete. Sending the address now.]
"Thank you."
Seonal hung up.
The complaint about harpies deliberately dropping objects on wall-clinging slimes was still unresolved.
Last Friday, while tracking harpy traces, he'd encountered one named Kim Saetbyeol.
Her phone had shattered with her image on it, so he'd restored it with magic, and Irang had extracted the video, letting them review it right away.
The footage clearly showed a harpy dropping a fairly large stone toward a slime.
He'd asked Edinal to run an identity check.
"...N-no way! We have to pay that much?!"
While Seonal was on the phone, Irang had sidled up to Dodo and whispered something—now Dodo was freaking out.
"That's right. Terisha and I both owe Seonal big time now."
"...Whoa."
Dodo's gaze toward Seonal shifted. It was the look you give a rich person.
Irang's mouth twitched, his face screaming he wanted to burst out laughing.
"So, remember what I said."
"Dodo remembers!"
"What are you two even talking about?"
"...Dodo can't say. It's a secret."
Even as Seonal asked, Dodo desperately covered his mouth with his front paws and shook his head.
"Uh... Dodo."
Irang beckoned Dodo over. He looked genuinely worried now that Dodo seemed to believe it.
"Yeah?"
"That was... a lie. It was just a joke."
"Whaaat? Seonal senior being super rich was a lie, and him ruling the Complaints Department and being the real boss here was a lie, and all of us owing him money was a lie too?"
"...Irang? What the hell is this?"
Seonal glared at Irang over the absurd claim.
"Not heading out on field duty? You should get going soon."
Shrinking like a deflated balloon, shoulders hunched, Irang tried to slip away.
Meanwhile, ignoring him, Dodo stood up on his hind legs in his chair and peered at Terisha.
She was handling a citizen right then.
"We don't need to tell Terisha senior? She's Dodo's trainer right now."
"I already cleared it with Terisha. We're not mid-consultation with Irang and me, right?"
"Yeah."
"In cases like this, it's better to head out on field duty first. Overlaps can be tricky."
"Oh, Dodo gets it."
"And Dodo."
"Yeah?"
"Irang handled the welcome party prep, and he's treating everyone to beef."
"Yay! Dodo loves beef!"
"Wait, hold up!"
Irang froze mid-escape in shock.
"Let's go, Dodo."
"Yeah!"
Seonal bolted out like he was fleeing, and Dodo scampered after him in excitement.
"Hang on! Beef? That's pricey—my hand's shaking already...!"
Irang's desperate cry echoed behind them.
* * *
'...Here it is.'
Seonal checked his navigation and stopped in front of the apartment complex.
He'd known from the address alone that it wouldn't be straightforward.
Once it was an apartment complex, he was prepared for multiple buildings.
But seeing it now, damn, it was huge.
Even knowing the exact building and unit, they might not be home—or could rabbit.
How the hell were they supposed to handle this?
Dodo, standing beside Seonal, tilted his head and shuffled slowly.
"Why'd we stop?"
"Just thinking for a sec. Since it's a harpy, high chance they bolt from the balcony. See that?"
Seonal pointed at the apartments.
Around some balconies, the railing had gaps in the middle, with a small forward ledge just big enough for a foot.
"Dodo sees it too."
"That's where harpies live. Set up so they can take off right from home. Of course, don't use it when it's raining."
"You know."
"Go ahead."
"Don't you think something bad's gonna happen?"
Dodo's eyes were wide and shaky. What was he so worried about?
"What do you mean?"
"If it's open like that, th-thieves will get in!"
"They won't."
"What about other harpies flying in? If someone's got bad intentions, they'll do really bad stuff!"
Dodo squeezed his eyes shut and yelled.
"There are all kinds. They close manually with a key..."
"They fly."
"They eat while flying too? Locking with a key's no big deal. Nowadays, they auto-close or you do it from your phone. Probably beeps when it locks."
"A beep?"
Dodo's eyes sparkled. He really wanted to hear that beep.
"Anyway, shall we?"
Seonal pocketed his phone, adjusted his glasses with a face full of reluctance.
If they fled, he'd have no choice but to track them.
"Seonal senior. You know."
"Yes?"
"From what Dodo sees, that might be her. But she's heading right to the middle of that railing. She could fly off any second..."
Seonal took off running the moment he heard that.
Fly away?
That sounded like overtime.
Not on his watch.
"Dodo's coming too!"
By the time Dodo's voice rang out behind him, Seonal was already tracing magic words in the air with mana-infused fingers.
Suspect or not, since it was an apartment, he planned to draw her to him discreetly and naturally.
The instant the harpy spread her wings to fly, Seonal activated his spell.
[Stir up a headwind.]
The wind shifted, and Dodo sniffed, then fidgeted with his front paws.
"You changed the wind?"
'He noticed the flow shift right away?'
Seonal glanced at Dodo. No wonder spirit beasts were once called divine beasts.
‣Beloved by nature.
"Can Dodo help too?"
"Of course."
Seonal watched the harpy flailing in confusion from the altered wind.
A red line at the edge of Dodo's pupils stretched longer, his tail stiffening straight.
Over Seonal's magic, nature's winds surged even stronger.
'Perfect.'
Seonal manipulated the winds like a puppeteer with marionettes.
The harpy, forcing her way through with frantic wingbeats, couldn't withstand the added gusts and got blown back.
"Gyaaah! What's going on?!"
No one around could hear her cries.
She looked set to plummet to the ground, but Seonal guided the wind to pull her toward him.
Dodo's winds followed up from behind.
Like a toy yanked by the scruff, the harpy landed naturally right in front of Seonal.
She still seemed clueless about what happened, just blinking blankly.
'I figured a middle or high schooler at most.'
She was an adult.
Late thirties, by the look—Seonal was floored.
"Hello."
Seonal greeted her casually. Dodo peeked at him briefly, then chimed in.
"Hello."
"I'm Seonal from the Special Division for Resolving Interspecies Complaints."
Seonal flashed his ID as he spoke. Dodo squeezed his eyes shut and put some oomph into his voice.
"I'm Dodo!"
"Complaints... Office?"
Only after their introductions did the man slowly snap back to reality.
Seonal skipped chit-chat and pulled up the video on his phone.
There he was, grinning as he gripped a stone with birdlike talons and dropped it toward the ground.
The stone clearly plummeting toward the slime stuck to the wall below.
"The person in this video—you, Kim Cheol-im, right? Please cooperate."
"...Wh-what are you talking about?"
His face was pure panic, plain as day.
Seonal spoke calmly.
"Kim Cheol-im, you're now facing not just interspecies discrimination charges, but assault too. Be honest. False statements will hurt you in the investigation."
Cheol-im's wings trembled so hard they shook his whole body; he huddled into them.
That meant he was scared—so Seonal gave him a moment before speaking, checking his buzzing phone in the meantime.
[Kim Saetbyeol (temp): It's Kim Saetbyeol! I was passing the cafe today and overheard harpies planning to drop stuff on slimes, so I rushed over! Filmed it, but it might make you mad. Sending location and video!]
Seonal downloaded the attachment and looked up.
The moment he met Seonal's newly chilly gaze, Cheol-im shook like he might drop to his knees.
"I-I'm sorry! I did wrong! Really wrong!"
"I don't think you acted alone. Right?"
"R-right! It wasn't just me."
Seonal stared silently.
Under that gaze, as Cheol-im scrambled for excuses, Seonal shut it down.
"Just got a tip video. If the investigation links it to someone you know..."
"It's her. Y-yes... it is."
Cheol-im shut his eyes tight with a deep sigh.
"We'll get the details on the way. Guide us there now."
He knew it was a polite threat, so Cheol-im dropped the resistance.
Acting like some bratty kid—if word got out, his social standing would tank.
Plus, with his address and name already out, fleeing and getting tracked to work would be worse.
Cooperating was his only shot at minimizing damage.
"This way... to the taxis."
Cheol-im turned with a deflated voice.
As Seonal followed, a sudden thought hit him, and he called to Dodo, padding softly beside.
"Dodo."
"Yeah?"
"You don't need to yell that loud anymore."
"Is Dodo's voice too big?"
"Yes. Very. It's confident enough already."
"...Thanks."
He'd thought since he stuck to the ground, he had to shout or no one would hear.
But a confident voice?
Hee hee hee.
Dodo kept beaming.
It wasn't empty praise, so Seonal looked ahead and pursued Cheol-im again.
* * *
"...Up there."
Cheol-im pointed at the building from afar, eyes uneasy.
It loomed larger than the rest, slimes clustered around it.
All violating form maintenance laws, but how were you supposed to catch slimes way up there?
If not for him.
"From 11... we're supposed to meet and start."
Seonal checked his watch at Cheol-im's words.
10:53 AM.
"Kim Cheol-im."
Seonal called as he prepped to ascend.
"Don't run."
"...I won't. You already know my work... address."
'Not really.'
Whatever the mix-up, it worked in his favor.
He'd seen a community post and jumped in. Slimes didn't get hurt from high drops anyway—just a prank, he'd thought.
But doing it a few times gave a weird thrill, so this was his third round. The origin story and reasons all sounded like bullshit.
He got the community URL first.
"Dodo."
"Yeah?"
"Wait here."
"Got it. Dodo'll keep an eye on Kim Cheol-im."
Dodo obeyed.
Whatever the plan, that building looked impossibly tall to Dodo.
No clue how to climb it.
"But Seonal senior, Dodo has no idea how you'll get up there."
"By jumping."
Seonal answered simply, gauged the mana needed to reach it, cast his spell, and leaped.
[Fly.]
It looked like a casual hop in place at first—then he soared up.
Dodo's ears and tail shot straight up.
"...Whoa."
The awe slipped out only once Seonal was a speck high above.
Tap.
Seonal landed on the roof and cast on himself.
[Fade.]
Diluting his presence, he dipped mana-infused fingers to write more spells.
He stomped, spreading magic. His hair whipped in the wind.
[I declare myself ruler of this domain.]
A spell placing the whole area under his control. Depending on level, it could include personal movements and power—but now it was basic control: everything except lives, movements, and power.
A flag of light materialized in his grasp; faint purple light gleamed in Seonal's eyes.
He boldly slammed the massive flag into the ground.
Shhhh.
Pale purple leaked from his feet, spreading like a box over the building and sky.
Opponent was harpies; he had no wings.
To nab them all at once, no choice.
'...Time for a birdcage.'
Seonal checked his watch.
10:54 AM.
Six minutes to go.