The Quiet Mage
It took less than three minutes to wrap things up.
The non-mages had been knocked out early on with broken bones. On the other hand, the two mages, having resisted fiercely, naturally suffered relatively severe injuries.
"You monkey bastard, pant, wheeze!"
He slumped down, clutching his left hand, which now had only two fingers left. It was a pathetic sight, to say the least. However, the glare he directed up at Yirang was dripping with venom.
Soon, a sickening smirk played on the man's lips.
"Clinging to a demon just to mimic magic... You messed with a mage, so just wait and see what happens to you, huh? Look forward to it. This is just the beginning. I'll make sure you regret this...!"
He was spouting those cliché threats when—
Thud.
Along with the sound of footsteps, a shadow fell over the man.
"You need to broaden your horizons, my friend."
"What is this crazy bastard suddenly..."
Stiffening his neck to look up at the third party, his expression froze instantly. It didn't take long for the sense of familiarity to turn into sheer terror.
"Ai... Aiden Bern?"
"So you do recognize me."
Until just moments ago, it had been such a chaotic brawl that they hadn't had the luxury of paying attention to their surroundings. They had assumed anyone entering the slums would just be another nobody.
"...What business does a Second-class Investigator have in a beggar's village?"
"Knowing that won't do you much good," Aiden spoke in his signature dry tone.
"What did you say earlier? 'You messed with a mage, so just wait and see what happens'? Aren't you more curious about your own future after messing with an investigator's people?"
This statement made even the non-mages, who were pretending to be unconscious, flinch. Although mages held a high social status, there was still a strict hierarchy among them.
Especially for those who made a living on the border between legal and illegal, an investigator was nothing short of a living nightmare. And not just some greenhorn, but a veteran Second-class Investigator.
Ultimately, the man lowered his gaze.
Aiden let out a dry chuckle at the silent submission.
"You may leave."
"You're letting us go?"
"I'll refrain from asking for your names."
"...Thanks."
It wasn't something a man who had just lost his fingers should be saying, but he was genuinely relieved. No one wanted an investigator to remember their name.
"We're leaving! How long are you bastards going to lie there?!"
Supporting one another, they scrambled out of the building. It was the textbook image of a defeated army. The crowded room instantly felt empty once they vanished.
Pretty brutal for a market.
Muzark learned a bit more about the city of Eastorange from the recent commotion.
Under imperial law, mages held superiority over non-mages, so in most situations, the justification lay with the 'mage'. Those who fought with their fists easily exploited the law simply because they were mages.
For what purpose? According to Aiden's explanation earlier, they had been pushed out of their previous 'business site'. They must have targeted the slums while looking for a new nest.
A business utilizing mages.
Similar things were likely happening all over the city. Only the scale of the organizations and businesses differed. He could now understand why investigators were not just simple police officers.
"You don't actually plan on letting them go, do you?"
The answer came back as if it were obvious.
"I think this every time, but you're incredibly quick-witted."
There was no need to say more about the small loan shark company. It was a minor incident that wouldn't even count as a proper achievement, but Aiden wasn't the type to pick and choose his work out of blindness for promotions.
"Ah, I haven't introduced you two yet."
He pointed back and forth between them.
"This is Muzark, who just came up from the Redline. And this is Yirang. He's a loafer who usually lives in seclusion but begs for work whenever he starts running out of money."
Yirang offered an awkward smile, having nothing to say in his defense. His arm, which had transformed into a blade, had already returned to its original state, but the blood dripping from it still looked quite chilling.
"Will I be working with him?"
"For the time being. Do you not like him?"
"No. In fact, I think he's perfect."
"Good."
Muzark's eyes burned with enthusiasm. A determination to steal his techniques by any means necessary. Yirang, who had no idea what was going on inside Muzark's head, could only look bewildered.
"I don't really want to work, though..."
"You're welcome to be arrested for assaulting a mage instead."
"Sigh. Do you pay well?"
"I don't recall ever being stingy with money."
Only then did Yirang's face brighten up a bit.
Though they had just met, Muzark could already get a grasp of his personality.
"Hmm. I was only planning on having you two introduce yourselves today, but this works out perfectly."
Aiden nodded as if he had made up his mind.
"I'll send you the details soon. Take care of the aftermath of this incident."
The first meeting with Yirang was intense but brief. Since the sun was still high in the sky when he returned from the slums, Muzark decided to spend the rest of his time at the library.
He peered into a magic book for a while.
Screeech.
The empty seat across the table was taken. He casually looked up to see a familiar face glancing at him while setting down her books.
When he gave a nod of greeting, she slid a Post-it note toward him.
The clumsy mage with the pointed hat. She seemed to be a library regular, as they ran into each other almost every other day. Since there must have been days they missed each other, it wouldn't be surprising if she came every single day.
Until now, they had only exchanged awkward greetings, but it seemed she had built up some internal familiarity. Muzark felt the same, so he was somewhat glad to see her.
I wish she wouldn't use emoticons, though.
It kept reminding him of text messages, which was a bit distracting.
The clumsy mage hesitated as if agonizing over something. After fidgeting for nearly thirty seconds, she scribbled on a Post-it note with an expression of grim determination.
When he looked at Latina, she was so incredibly nervous that she couldn't even make eye contact. The disparity between this and the blood-splattered scene he had witnessed just an hour or two ago was indescribable.
If the city were divided into light and shadow, this place was definitely in the light.
He understood what she meant, but "I'm Latina too"?
—They're really putting on a show. What are they doing in a library?
Muzark agreed a hundred percent, but he chose to ignore the voice in his head. Leaving aside whether it was simply amusing, he had to keep in mind that she was, after all, a mage.
She might act like a fool, but you never know.
For all he knew, she might turn out to be one of the top mages in the city. Even if she wasn't, she likely possessed far more magical knowledge than he did.
While feeling a slight sense of self-reproach at his naturally calculating thoughts, Latina read the name written on the Post-it note several times, then tilted her head.
Muzark's eyes instantly grew wary. He looked up, but Latina's face showed nothing but worry that she might have made a mistake.
Keep a low profile.
Though she spoke in euphemisms, she was clearly referring to mages of the underworld. Just as she said, those with plenty of reasons to be caught would hardly frequent a public library so openly.
—That makes sense.
Yen spoke, as if understanding his concerns.
—No matter how many mages there are, they're just a handful compared to the entire city. Back in the Yellowline, everyone who was anyone knew each other. Still, this girl seems pretty smart.
The mental capacity to instantly identify an 'outsider' among hundreds or thousands of mages, no matter how small the number. Even if her field was different from magic, it was clear she possessed an extraordinary intellect.
Well, that was true.
Even if Inventors were popular, they weren't a necessity. It wasn't common for people to casually accompany a demon familiar in their daily lives. It was a logical conclusion.
Muzark let down his guard halfway.
Thinking it wasn't something he needed to hide, he wrote it down. Latina's mouth fell wide open. She immediately scribbled a reply, her pen moving twice as fast as before.
The moment he received the Post-it note:
—What is this girl's deal?
The completed sentences read:
...Just how much did she actually know?
The moment he left the library, he called Aiden. Since the other party seemed to know everything about him, he wanted to gather some information. After all, he would keep running into her at the library.
—Latina Heindel?
As soon as he mentioned the name, a meaningful question came back.
—You got tangled up with a weirdo the moment you arrived.
"Do you happen to know who she is?"
—She's famous. As the mage who avoids magic.
"Avoids magic?" Muzark asked, puzzled. "But she practically lives at the library."
—That's why she's a weirdo. No one in the city has ever witnessed Latina Heindel using magic. Not even simple extraction or cleaning spells. And that's not all.
Through the speaker, the eccentricities of the weirdo flowed out.
—Academically, she hasn't published a single thesis. Judging by the quality of the books she reads and the notebooks she occasionally loses, her level is by no means low, yet she has absolutely zero activity as a mage.
"Occasionally loses," he said. So her clumsiness during their first meeting hadn't been an act.
"Is a mage allowed to do that?"
—There's no reason they can't. Just because they have no achievements doesn't mean they're automatically subjected to a demotion review. Besides, Latina Heindel has a backing that even I find burdensome.
"She must be from a good family."
Synthesizing the information, Muzark let out a hollow laugh.
Isn't she just a trust-fund baby?
A common enough archetype in modern times. But since she was a mage herself, and her talent didn't seem bad, she was regarded as an eccentric.
—To the poor, it's an enviable life; to the rich, it's a frustrating one. Once, some snot-nosed brat from a mage family threw a stone at her, and she just took it head-on.
"Why would anyone throw a stone at a person?"
—They probably wanted to see if she'd finally use magic to defend herself.
It was a pitiful story, but in a way, she could be considered incredibly stubborn. Normally, one would deploy a Shield out of sheer reflex. Was there some circumstance preventing her from using magic?
Or maybe she shouldn't use it.
There was no way to know unless he heard it from her directly.
—I'm glad you seem to have made an interesting friend.
"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to call us friends."
—She'd be sad to hear that. I hear she has a very delicate personality.
That actually sounded highly plausible, so he couldn't even laugh it off.
—Anyway, let's move on to business.
"The matter you mentioned earlier?"
—Yes. The organization itself is a small-time loan shark company called 'Healthy Cash', but...
Aiden hesitated for a moment before adding:
—It might turn out to be a bit more complicated than expected.
"Is the reason they were pushed out of their original spot complicated?"
—Absurdly enough, you're the quickest on the uptake among my people.
Yirang, if anything, seemed to be more of a brawler.
Not to mention the twins who fought at the drop of a hat.
—So, what will you do?
"I'll take it on. If it gets out of hand, I'll call for backup."
A satisfied voice came through the receiver, pleased with his confidence.
—I like how straightforward you are.
It was time to earn his keep.