The Management Bureau (2)
The Management Bureau (2)
The Management Bureau goes by many names.
Some call it the Anomaly Management Bureau, while others refer to it as the Peacekeeping Bureau.
The reason for these varying names isn't because the Bureau is particularly secretive.
It's simply because it has no official name.
For hundreds of years since its founding by a 9th Class Mage who never bothered to name it, the organization has remained nameless. With the founder still alive and still refusing to name it, who would dare presume to do so themselves?
Thus, this massive organization has persisted for centuries under the vague proper noun of simply "the Management Bureau."
And the proud history of this Bureau has all unfolded within one enormous building.
Flicker. Flicker.
"Huh? Why are the lights acting up?"
Now, strange signs were appearing within that very building.
"Must be a malfunction."
"Like that could happen in this building."
An employee compiling last year's disaster distribution maps paused his pen, bewildered by this unprecedented phenomenon.
"What's going on...?"
"Senior, this is really okay, right?"
"The alarm system isn't going off, so let's just monitor the situation a bit longer."
Even to something as simple as flickering lights, the employees reacted with heightened sensitivity.
They had no choice. In the deepest basement of this building lay sealed dangerous entities. Even minor anomalies had to be treated with extreme caution.
"I-is that so?"
The new recruits, infected by their seniors' tense reactions, fidgeted nervously with their fingers.
"No need to worry too much. It's surely nothing serious."
A middle-aged man with a thick beard, the most senior employee, tried to reassure the newcomers.
"Y-you don't think an anomaly might have escaped, do you?"
"That's not it."
The bushy beard was a veteran's badge of honor. Normally, they would have taken comfort in their experienced superior's words, but the location made them uneasy.
"B-but why are the lights flickering then? There can't actually be something wrong with the Bureau's building, right?!"
"Stop overreacting. If the alarms aren't going off, it's nothing."
A punk with a buzzcut barked at them, and the recruits fell silent.
Yet their unease remained.
Then, a pot-bellied man pushed his way through the trembling recruits.
"Ms. Lee Seol-ah, you must be scared? Don't worry. If anything happens, I'll protect you with my life."
Rudely shoving people aside with his protruding belly, he approached a woman with neatly draped long hair.
Her expression remained impassive as she stared solely at her phone screen, ignoring the surrounding commotion. A beautiful woman who seemed completely unaware how her indifferent attitude only stoked men's desire to conquer her.
Lee Seol-ah glanced sideways at the middle-aged man oozing sticky goodwill without lifting her eyes from her phone.
"...Thank you."
It wasn't the first time this so-called "department playboy" had made advances at her.
"Heh, it's nothing. But what are you looking at so intently?"
But he'd never been this blatantly persistent before. Likely trying to score points by capitalizing on the fear from this abnormal situation.
"It's nothing."
Seol-ah quickly pocketed her phone and coldly pushed away the man trying to get too close.
"I have work to finish, so I'll excuse myself."
She extricated herself from the murmuring crowd and returned to her desk. Among the fear-stricken recruits, she was the first to resume work.
The lights showed no further abnormalities, and no alarms sounded. Eventually, after an official notice confirmed it was nothing, the nervous recruits slowly returned to their stations.
"...Really nothing then?"
"If the seniors say so, we should believe them."
"Ugh... I want to go back to before I joined."
The recruits' fragile demeanor made one wonder how they'd handle this dangerous work, but no one mocked them. Every senior had gone through the same phase.
Facing the existence of unimaginable anomalies, mages driven to madness, and the ugly underbelly of the world—it was a survival instinct, a primal fear felt by powerless humans confronting these mystical realities.
If anything, Seol-ah's complete lack of visible fear made her stand out as extraordinary. In truth, she was the ace of this recruitment batch, her outstanding skills and icy demeanor quickly making her a central figure in the department.
'Why isn't he answering?'
Pretending to focus on work, she couldn't help stealing glances at her phone face-down on the desk. The dimly lit screen showed a messaging window.
[Me]
- You didn't come home last night. Where are you?
[My Beloved Younger Brother]
- Unread.
No matter how many times she checked, the frustrating "Unread" status remained. This happened sometimes—when he'd disappear for days doing grueling field work or collapse into exhausted sleep after missions, cutting off contact.
"...I'm worried."
A tiny crack formed in her icy composure, letting emotion seep through.
"...You're not hurt, are you?"
It was the worry of an overprotective sibling.
"Hmm..."
Though she tried to minimize phone use at work, human affairs rarely go as planned.
Especially when family was involved.
"Stay still."
Grrrrrr—!
Like an owner restraining a vicious dog, I tightly gripped Lantern's handle like a leash, trying to calm her down.
But this mad dog was too blinded by rage for reason.
Grrrrrr—!
Shadows began creeping out from beneath Lantern, spreading across the surroundings.
"Tch."
As much as I appreciated her fury on my behalf, her constant outbursts were problematic for me.
So I needed to rein her in quickly.
Fortunately, I knew just the trick for situations like this—employing ancient wisdom.
"Listen to me."
Thwack!!
With my free hand, I mercilessly smacked Lantern's body.
Grrrr—
Finally snapping out of it, the grotesque shadows slithering outward instantly retreated beneath Lantern.
The old saying "spare the rod, spoil the child" had never been more accurate.
"What the hell is that...?!"
"Is that a magic tool? Does it have sentience?"
"Then it must be at least a 4th-grade magic tool."
"Idiot! If it can affect this building, it's calamity-grade at minimum."
"...What's happening now?"
At that moment, Ye-rim, having regained her composure, approached me.
I tried to explain the situation to her.
But the pretty-faced man who'd confronted me earlier spoke first.
"Captain! You're walking side by side with some rookie? Why are you letting him speak casually to you?!"
"...Is that any of your business?"
Ye-rim's brow furrowed coldly.
"You idiot! That's not what you should be asking! Ask who he is!"
"That's no rookie! We clearly misunderstood!"
Hearing the murmurs around her, Ye-rim clarified the situation.
"I see what's happening. This gentleman isn't a new recruit. He's an honored guest we've invited."
"I knew it..."
"So we were mistaken."
Most stepped back with looks of understanding, but one man still glared daggers at me.
"Then it makes even less sense! Why is he speaking casually to you, Captain?!"
"...I've never demanded honorifics from anyone. How others address me is my decision to make. Not yours."
Ye-rim coldly cut him off before turning to me.
"My apologies. I was distracted earlier. But that lantern..."
"I stopped it before things escalated."
"I sensed tremendous energy emanating from it. The effects might have reached the entire building."
Humiliated at being ignored, the man's face turned red with anger. Huffing, he forcibly inserted himself between us.
"Regardless, this is unforgivable! The Captain doesn't deserve such disrespectful treatment!"
"And your point is?"
Ye-rim's voice turned icy. Oblivious, the man continued his tirade.
"I'll defend the Captain's honor! You! Fight me! A duel!"
"How dare you make such rude demands of our guest?!"
"Captain! Please! This is a matter of male pride!"
Undeterred by Ye-rim's sharp reprimand, he glared at me.
"Pass."
But I could simply refuse.
I had no reason to accept his challenge.
No way I'd fall for such cheap provocation.
Yet he seemed to have anticipated this response.
Smirk. His lips curved into a crescent moon smile.
Grinning, he pulled something from his pocket, drawing gasps from the surrounding agents.
"Is that...?!"
"He's seriously betting that?!"
"That precious thing...!"
"This guy means business."
"Beat me, and this is yours!"
The man laughed triumphantly, certain of his victory.
I quietly asked Ye-rim beside me:
"That thing valuable?"
"Extremely. The 'Bandage of Purification'—a rare item awarded only to top scorers in Bureau promotion exams."
"What does it do?"
"Nullifies all curses and status ailments applied to the wrapped area."
Nice.
Satisfied with this lucrative information, I added another question that had been on my mind:
"By the way, is me speaking casually a problem? I just thought since we're similar age..."
"Not at all."
Her expression was firm.
"Then why don't you speak casually too?"
"I'm comfortable as is."
I see.
Turning from Ye-rim, I studied the smugly grinning man.
"Fine. Let's do this."
I accepted his challenge.
On the surface, it might seem reckless—accepting a fight against an unknown opponent.
But I was certain. There was no way I could lose.
This guy was no necromancer, no Ju Gi-hyeok, no Ye-rim-level powerhouse.
That much was obvious.
He lacked the subtle aura that strong fighters naturally exuded.
"Sigh... Very well. This way then."
Ye-rim led me to a training room.
"Impressive."
The space was enormous—unbelievably so for an indoor facility.
I later learned this was Ye-rim's personal training room.
"Aren't you being reckless? Did you see what he's holding? A magic tool!"
"Plus he's a mage! You don't even know what unique magic he has!"
The commotion behind made me turn. The pretty-faced man's colleagues were clustered around him, voicing concerns.
"Don't worry. Trust me. With you guys behind me, I can't lose."
Spouting lines straight from a shounen manga protagonist.
"...Tch. Fine."
"Ha, just this once."
"Hmph, then I'll believe in you."
Their responses were equally theatrical.
"Interesting bunch. Your subordinates?"
"...Embarrassing as it is, yes, they're my direct reports."
Ye-rim shut her eyes tightly as if unable to bear the sight, avoiding my gaze. Her human reaction made me smile—quite different from our first sharp confrontation.
"Are you planning to use that lantern?"
"Don't worry. Wasn't planning to."
I securely fastened Lantern to my waist. This way, she couldn't easily break free.
But sealing away both Lantern and the Forbidden Tome left me without immediate means to subdue my opponent. I couldn't exactly pull out the Tome either.
However, I still had something from before obtaining those two.
"Got any spare talismans?"
"Here, take mine."
Ye-rim handed me a yellow talisman paper with vivid red script.
"But how will you...? You said you haven't awakened your unique magic yet?"
I fluttered the talisman between my fingers, meeting her gaze.
"This is enough."
"...That guy is considered the second greatest genius in the Bureau after me. Overconfidence could be dangerous."
At her concerned warning, I gave a faint smile.
"Really?"
I studied the man laughing confidently with his comrades.
"Doesn't look like it to me."
The thought of getting free loot already had me in a good mood.