The Hour of the Dog and Wolf [2]

"I'm sorry, what?"

At the condition I'd just laid out, Hwang Young-gyu's expression crumpled. It was the face of a parent who'd grandly promised to buy their child anything they wanted for their birthday, only to hear—

Then buy me an apartment in Gangnam!

And that reaction was precisely what I'd been counting on.

"Um... Kim Do-sa, allow me to confirm. The Hwacheom Spear you mentioned—you are referring to the one possessed by Gong No-sa, the Special-Grade shaman, correct?"

"Yes, that's exactly the one I saw."

"...That's, well... hmm."

Hwang Young-gyu kept trailing off, words dissolving, sweat beading on his forehead. He had no other choice. If their side knew Gong No-sa, they knew all about his pathological obsession with that spear.

If not for that madman's deranged fixation, I'd have told him to get lost and tried to hold on to it myself.

But the moment I came face to face with Gong No-sa right after defeating Seire, I understood. Ah, I'm done for. Telling that man to get lost wouldn't end with being told off—he's the type to tear you apart limb from limb, plucking them off like grapes.

Back then I'd backed down because of Baek Gong-ju, but if I hadn't returned the Hwacheom Spear, he would have killed me and taken it nine times out of ten. At my level at the time, there was no way to survive the killing intent of a Special-Grade. Even with the spear in my hands, that fact wouldn't have changed by one iota.

So I'd swallowed my tears, played it cool, and handed it back.

Which raised the question—if I was so spineless that I meekly surrendered it to Gong No-sa, why was I suddenly demanding it back now? Simple: to buy time. My goal was to make Cosmos waste its resources chasing the absurdly difficult task of retrieving the Hwacheom Spear from Gong No-sa, while I used that window to plan my escape from their grasp.

And if, against all expectations, Cosmos just handed the spear over without a fight? Well, that would be its own problem, but with the spear actually in hand, I'd hardly come out the loser.

The only true worst-case scenario was Cosmos declaring, What kind of garbage condition is this? Screw it, scrap the whole thing, and tearing up the deal from the ground up. Which meant I had to convey, convincingly, both the benefit they'd gain from recovering the spear and the impression that this was a genuinely workable proposition.

"Of course, I know it won't be easy. But as I'm sure you're already aware, Mr. Hwang—the Hwacheom Spear chose me as its master."

"That is... yes, I suppose it did."

As expected. So they'd already pieced together what happened at Seonhwa High School.

"In other words, even if Gong No-sa carries it around, the spear will never have the chance to shine."

"Certainly... the way Gong No-sa currently handles dharmic treasures, he wouldn't draw out their proper power—he'd only end up ruining them..."

Well, well. So that creepy obsessive did manage to wield the Hwacheom Spear at some point. But judging by the way Hwang Young-gyu was talking, he had by no means won the spear's heart. He'd simply subdued it through violence and coercion, forcing it into service.

And Cosmos knew that too.

"......"

Hwang Young-gyu didn't deny it. Which let me confirm one more thing with certainty.

So they haven't fully established dominance over the Paranormal Administration Bureau and the Masquerade Alliance yet.

There was no reason for a corporation like Cosmos to burn its own resources hunting anomalies. The only parties whose full strength they needed to worry about were the Administration Bureau—or the Masquerade Alliance standing behind it.

A small, unexpected windfall. Smiling inwardly, I delivered the decisive line.

"And above all... a man like Gong No-sa holding that much power in his hands must be... rather uncomfortable for Cosmos as well, wouldn't you say?"

"K-Kim Do-sa, please refrain from such sensitive remarks. We harbor no such thoughts whatsoever!"

Bingo...!

The single most critical assumption of this entire operation had landed dead center.

The Gong No-sa I knew was a bizarre character, far removed from anything resembling sanity. According to Yoon Soo-ah, he was an ultra-dangerous fugitive who'd killed a high-ranking public official in Singapore and fled—and the fact that he'd put forward countless disciples as body doubles and killed them off without hesitation once they were no longer useful was already proof enough of his madness.

In wuxia terms, he was unorthodox sect through and through—a great demon lord who deserved a bounty on his head from every orthodox school in the world. And no matter how brilliant one's abilities, a person with so little composure and so little predictability inevitably gets branded a liability by any organization that values capability above all. Useful when needed—but the moment ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he isn't, he needs to be cleaned up, and quickly.

And Cosmos's thinking was no different. They had already been wary of Gong No-sa.

Which meant my proposal was, from their perspective, a win-win: weaken Gong No-sa's troublesome power and bring me under their control, all in one stroke.

"Hmm......"

By this point, it was clear Cosmos's answer had tilted decisively toward yes. And just as I'd predicted, Hwang Young-gyu, after agonizing over it, accepted my proposal.

"As I'm sure you understand, the fact that I made this proposal must remain strictly confidential as things proceed."

"Of course."

If word got out that I had my eye on the Hwacheom Spear, it wouldn't just ruin my stall for time—I might well end up murdered by a furious Gong No-sa.

"Then the formal contract...?"

"Since this is an in-kind transaction, let's proceed the moment Cosmos secures the Hwacheom Spear."

In other words, no concrete contract steps until Cosmos actually pried the spear out of Gong No-sa's hands.

"Very good."

They're accepting it this readily?

Far more smoothly than I'd anticipated. I'd expected them to at least force my signature onto a contract, even if they attached a clause that the deal only took effect upon delivery of the spear—but they'd backed off far too easily.

And that fact dredged up an ominous assumption in the back of my mind.

...Did Cosmos already plan to dispose of Gong No-sa from the start?

If it was a done deal they'd already prepared, there'd be no rush to formalize anything—it would simply resolve itself soon. That was the only explanation for Hwang Young-gyu's suspiciously cooperative attitude.

Leaving that meeting, I found myself, ironically enough, praying that Gong No-sa would cling to life as long as possible and stall for time on my behalf.

After that, I checked out of the hospital with Tsukumo Momo and Yu Min-seo in tow. I tried to take Sugawara Ryuko—Momo's relative—with us, but she had already slipped away long before.

She'd vanished just as abruptly as she'd appeared. She didn't seem like an ordinary shaman... what on earth did she do for a living?

"Honestly, I couldn't tell you. All I know is that her mother's side is a very old family that practices some kind of traditional craft, and that Ryuko is their successor... that's about it."

"I see."

After that, I took the two of them to Lee Ha-ram's warehouse hideout.

"M-Master! I watched the stream! What on earth happened out there!?"

"It got... complicated."

I'd be staying here for the next few days, monitoring whether Tsukumo Momo and Yu Min-seo stabilized. Naturally, I'd cleared it with Lee Ha-ram first.

"Stay as long as you like! Actually, a thought's been crossing my mind lately—Master, would you consider taking over this hideout?"

"Me?"

"Yes! It'd be far more useful in your hands than mine. Oh, of course I'll keep managing it even after the deed transfer."

"Hmm... let me think about it."

That Nikola bastard had fleeced me for 200 million won in a single stroke, and my pockets were feeling painfully light. Even on the outskirts of the city, a large building sitting in Seoul commanded a steep price on top of hefty property taxes—it was a real burden.

But if he's offering, it'd definitely be worth taking...

Once I collected my fee from Choi Sun-woo, I'd give it proper thought.

Not long after, word went out, and Kim Han-soo and Choi Eun-ha came over. The usual crew had assembled, as always.

"And so, right when Master was like this, glowing with this radiant turn—!"

Over our usual shared meal, Yu Min-seo and Tsukumo Momo recounted the whole saga. Normally the storyteller was me, but I had too much on my mind, so I'd left it to the two of them.

"Ugh...! My unworthy disciple Lee Ha-ram is ashamed! I should have gone along too...!"

"How is it that every incident Kim Do-sa stumbles into keeps getting bigger and bigger?"

"...At this point, isn't Yi-yeon oppa basically Conan or Kindaichi? Like, incidents just come to him?"

"...I'm genuinely bothered by that, so please stop."

After finishing the meal with as much composure as I could fake, I slipped outside under the pretext of buying drinks.

"Whew..."

I exhaled a pale puff of breath and looked up at the sky.

"Huh? Was the moon always shaped like that?"

Tilting my head at the dazzling moon I hadn't seen in ages, I turned over the day's events in my mind.

...Pathetic.

Twisting and thrashing to slip out of Cosmos's grip, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠snapping at Gong No-sa and dragging things out with him—the whole spectacle of it felt pathetic in retrospect.

But one thing's certain now.

Cosmos is an enemy. Which meant the only question that mattered was: how do I survive that enemy?

And understandably so—we were talking about the greatest corporation in Korea, no, the world. A megacorp with its own proprietary spiritual science and private military force, effectively stronger than a nation-state, something straight out of cyberpunk fiction. How was I, a single individual, supposed to survive the clutches of a megacorp like that?

The first option that came to mind was throwing myself on the mercy of the Paranormal Administration Bureau.

It's the fastest, surest route.

They were being outmatched at the moment, but the combined power of the Administration Bureau and the Masquerade Alliance behind it was undeniable. Their track record of suppressing countless shamans and burying anomalies and mysteries for decades was proof enough.

I hate it, though.

The problem was that even if they were better than Cosmos, they were still, fundamentally, an organization with more than their share of rot. And above all, when I tried to defect, I couldn't reach Yoon Soo-ah. My one and only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠contact inside the Administration Bureau.

Well, I'll keep that as the last-ditch, last-resort option...

Beyond that, I ran through every plan I could think of. Revealing that Cosmos was targeting me and joining forces with Gong No-sa. Using the Cheongang Transformation Art to change my face and live as a drifter. Or cutting my losses and fleeing abroad entirely.

But none of them were true solutions. And more than anything, nearly every one of them meant giving up the life I had now.

"...I don't want that."

I thought of the warm space I'd just left behind, and warmth spread through my chest in spite of myself. I'd lost my mother young, and my father had died while serving in the military. For someone like me, with hardly any close friends, this place was the first harbor I'd found in years where I could actually rest my heart.

And it wasn't just that. I didn't want to give up streaming, either. What in the world could ever replace the joy of people cheering and delighting at my every word?

I didn't want to abandon the position I'd built or the bonds I'd forged. Which left me exactly one solution.

"I have to get stronger myself. Strong enough that Cosmos can't touch me carelessly."

The bare minimum of that strength was Special-Grade. But no matter how much of a sorcery genius I was, becoming Special-Grade wasn't some level you popped into just because you wanted it—if you did things the normal way, that is.

Could I reach Special-Grade if I formally contracted with Fey right now?

I shook my head at the question that popped up out of nowhere. According to the substitute entries in Salomon's Anomaly Encyclopedia, setting aside extraordinary cases like Seonhwa High, below a certain power threshold it mattered what you summoned—but above that threshold, the summoner's own capacity became the deciding factor.

That said, a contract with Fey was still clearly an easy path to a power-up.

As a test, I pulled a bottle of water from a vending machine and spoke up.

"Fey."

-...What.

Fey answered, sulking—apparently the Yeoindo incident still hadn't blown over.

"If I asked for a formal contract right now, would you grant it?"

-You, you wretch! Do thee take pleasure in toying with Us!? One moment thou demands a contract, the next thou does not! Then thou wishes for a mere trial contract after all of that...! Doth We look like some woman so easily had!?

"Oh, come on. You should match your words to your actions—you're the one who piled on all those ridiculous conditions right before the signing until any desire to contract evaporated."

-Th-that was...

"So in other words, you're saying no."

-......If thou truly wishes for it, We see no reason We could not...

Wow. How does a person—no, a fairy—fold this easily?

-W-well, to be fair, We do admit some fault for adding unreasonable terms at the last moment, that much We concede, but if thou had but coaxed Us a little and let Us adjust the terms, the contract would have been concluded without incident...

Embarrassed, Fey was firing off words like a submachine gun. Watching her, something occurred to me, and I opened Salomon's Anomaly Encyclopedia.

Just as expected—crossing ten registered entries had activated a new benefit. But... [Encounter Probability Manipulation]? What on earth was this?

"Seriously, what kind of..."

So I'm already dying from bumping into anomalies everywhere I turn, and the grand "benefit" they hand me is this?

No, wait—the fact that I can shift it with a plus or minus means I can also lower the odds, right?

In that case, it was a better perk than it looked. But honestly, I was a little thrown.

-Spiritual attack power increased by 5%.

-Spiritual energy recovery increased by 10%.

I'd assumed I'd get something like that... Just what are these websites, and what do they want from me?

Needless to say, asking myself the question over and over produced no answer.

Still groaning over it, I walked into the convenience store.

-...therefore We have been giving the matter thought, and should we proceed to a formal contract, We believe it necessary to first deepen the trust between us, for the better we come to know one another, the more—

Fey was still blasting her embarrassed rapid-fire rap.

"Let's see, what drinks should I get..."

Ah. If I'd come here for drinks anyway, I should have just grabbed them instead of the vending machine earlier...

"Coke for Han-soo... Dr Pepper for Ha-ram, juice for Eun-ha since she can't handle carbonation, Monster for Momo, and Min-seo gets..."

With a rueful grin, I decided to pick up everyone else's share while I was at it. Then, as I headed to the register, my eye caught it—the spirit hovering over the part-time clerk's shoulder.

Midway between the usual gray mist of a wandering spirit and a warped, twisted human silhouette.

A soul on the verge of curdling into a malign spirit?

The clerk's complexion looked grim, too—which meant the thing was actively working its malevolent influence even now.

"...That'll be 17,000 won."

"Thanks. Oh, uh, on your shoulder there—"

Thwap.

Fwoooooooosh!

"Ah, sorry—thought I saw a bug and went to swat it. My mistake."

"Huh? Oh... uh, no problem! Thank you, have a nice day!"

Life came flooding back into the clerk's voice. These days, half-formed malign spirits like that one could be exorcised with a mere touch.

Would be nice if dealing with Cosmos were this easy~

I was stepping out of the store when—

Ding.

"Hm?"

A text had arrived. I figured it would be the crew asking when I was coming back. It wasn't.

...Ha!

This is exactly why I can't help but love you, Dongbin-hyung! The moment I hit a wall, you go right ahead and offer me a brand-new road!

-...ahem. Long were my words, but thou hast wisely turned thy thoughts about. As a token of praise for that wisdom, We shall reduce the festival to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once every two months instead of once every month. My, even by Our own reckoning, Our mercy is as vast as the sea! Now, come, let us proceed with the contract at once—naturally, the ceremony shall be held in a magnificent cathedral, before a Virgin Lady adorned with flowers, and—

Snnk.

"......"

-Wh-why dost thou...?

I stared at Fey for a long moment as she kept rattling off her rapid-fire rap alone, and then I said it.

"I'm not buying it!"

-......Why this time!? Why!? Whyyyy!? Waaaaaaaaah!

...Hmm. I could shrug off the Yeoindo thing, but this one... even I felt a twinge of guilt over this one.