Preparation (3)
Preparation (3)
"Pro...fessor Baek!!"
Heavy footsteps, ragged breathing — a voice thick with urgency and bewilderment called out to me. Instead of turning around, I simply slowed my pace.
"Haa, huff...!!"
Yoon Do-sik finally caught up to me, panting harshly. Bent over at the waist, he trudged alongside me with short, shuffling steps as he tried to get his breathing under control.
Ding-
"Damn it... he's got legs for days. I chased after him the second he left, how...."
Yoon Do-sik didn't stop his quiet grumbling until the elevator began its slow descent, at which point he finally straightened up.
"So."
When I turned my head, the man who had been muttering complaints unbecoming of his age gave a short cough and fluttered the paper in his hand.
"This. This thing right here."
"The handout I distributed."
"......Right. The one you distributed. This is what I want to ask about. This, written right here."
【Rift Strategy】
Yoon Do-sik jabbed at the bold, oversized letters with his other hand.
"I saw enough to acknowledge that you're a formidable person. I admit it. But this is just wrong, man. Grade Evaluations are supposed to be conducted inside the academy, not a Rift strat—"
"Yoon Do-sik."
"...egy. What?"
Ding-
The elevator doors slid open lazily, revealing the main building's lobby. It was early evening, and the assistants were milling about, carrying coffee or takeout dinners. I stepped into their midst and spoke.
"From beginning to end. Read it without missing a single word. Then we'll talk again."
"...Then maybe walk a little slower."
Yoon Do-sik grumbled as he followed me.
-Ah, hello, sir!!
-Have a pleasant evening!
-Thank you for your hard work in the meeting!!
The assistants wandering the lobby spotted me and Yoon Do-sik and greeted us with an excessive display of courtesy.
"...What did you do?"
"Nothing."
"......Filthy abuse of power."
He wasn't exactly wrong, so I didn't bother retorting. The appointment of assistants like Kang Han-na was one reason they were so cautious around me.
"How long do you plan to follow me?"
"You have to give me time to read, don't you? And how am I supposed to read this in the dark?"
Spouting such nonsense, Yoon Do-sik kept right on following me.
"I mean, really. What era do we live in where people still use printed handouts like this?"
"And you use a smartphone, but you don't have a smartwatch?"
"Are you seriously over forty—"
"Shut it."
You'd think getting older would teach a man to be more taciturn. Especially someone with such deep knowledge of magic and alchemy, you'd expect them to be all about maintaining a dignified front. But what was with this guy and his constant chatter?
I pulled out my smartphone. I sent a single email to Claire. If no reply came, I planned to send Yoon Do-sik packing. I had no intention of letting anyone else see her struggling in the kitchen.
"......Tsk."
The thought of not wanting others to see her... it wasn't like me. It seemed Greed's influence on me was stronger than I'd anticipated.
-Ding~
A short sound announced Claire's reply.
[Claire : It's fine.]
I slipped the phone back into my coat and placed a hand lightly on the shoulder of the sulking Yoon Do-sik.
'I had something I wanted to check anyway, so letting him in once should be fine.'
I released a small pulse of mana and lifted my hand. Yoon Do-sik rubbed the shoulder I'd touched and spoke.
"...What was that?"
"Follow me."
"Uh, y-yeah, let's go together!!"
The signs of other people gradually faded. The moment we arrived at the Infinite Labyrinth, Yoon Do-sik, who had kept his mouth shut until then, finally opened it again.
"Is it really okay to go in...?"
"Coming in is your choice. Turning back is also your choice."
"Wow, you've got some personality...."
Ultimately, Yoon Do-sik stepped into the maze after me. He trailed behind me and asked,
"......Do you think I could pick one of those flowers now?"
"Only if you want to be trapped here until tomorrow morning."
"...I was just asking. No need to be so harsh."
I brushed him off lightly and continued on our way.
"Huh...."
Yoon Do-sik let out a short gasp of admiration at the mansion standing at the end of the maze.
"The place everyone's been desperate to find for twenty years was your house all along?"
"Stop talking nonsense and come inside."
"Well, I never."
When I opened the door and entered, Claire was waiting for me in the entranceway, an apron tied over her clothes and the lights bright around her.
"Welcome back."
"You've been waiting here ever since you got my message?"
"......Yes."
She replied in a tiny voice, taking my bag.
"What are you doing, not coming in?"
After changing into slippers, I turned my head. Yoon Do-sik stood frozen in the open doorway, his eyes practically bulging out of his head as he stared at Claire beside me.
"That...."
"If you're not coming in, leave."
"No, I-I'm coming in. I'll come in...."
I shut the door. Yoon Do-sik took off his shoes with a dazed expression and stepped inside. Lowering his body as if he thought he was being discreet, he whispered,
"The rumors said you were lovers, but was it not lovers but a married couple...?"
-Cough!!
"......?"
Claire let out a rather loud cough. Yoon Do-sik blinked and raised his head. Claire turned her body and spoke.
"I'll put this away and head to the kitchen."
She hugged my bag tightly to her chest and swiftly crossed the hallway.
"Follow me."
"Hmm...."
Yoon Do-sik walked through the hallway, looking around at everything as he followed me into the kitchen.
"Sit."
"Cough. I-I'm sorry about that."
He wore an awkward expression as he sat down at the table. Just then, Claire returned from the study where she'd gone to put my bag away.
-Peep.
A fairy clutching a piece of chocolate perched on her shoulder.
"......Huh?"
His eyes grew wide, his mouth slightly agape. His gaze fixed on Claire's shoulder.
'This will do.'
Having confirmed what I wanted, I immediately channeled my mana and spoke.
"What's wrong?"
"Huh? No, just now...."
Yoon Do-sik made to point at Claire's shoulder, blinked a few times, then shook his head.
"No, nothing."
-Peep...!!
The creature, previously absorbed in its chocolate, belatedly noticed Yoon Do-sik. With a startled look, its wings fluttered rapidly as it fled back into the study.
"I shall prepare the meal, so please wait a moment."
She bowed her head slightly, an act reserved solely for me, then took out a bowl and began ladling stew—the one dish she never failed at—into it.
"The lighting's better here. Why don't you read that thing now?"
"Ah, y-yes, right."
The man, who had been fidgeting as if sitting on pins and needles, snapped his gaze back to the paper in his hand the instant I finished speaking.
Clink.
In the meantime, Claire placed a bowl of light brown stew on the table and sat down beside me. Leaving Yoon Do-sik engrossed in the paper, I tasted the stew placed before me. A mild, savory flavor spread evenly through my mouth, leaving a clean aftertaste with no lingering heaviness.
I spoke to the woman who was looking up at me with a slightly tense expression.
"It's delicious."
"...Thank you."
The corners of her lips rose faintly. But they soon fell back down, returning to a straight line.
Only after hearing my assessment did Claire slowly begin to spoon her own stew into her mouth. Just as she and I were gradually emptying our bowls...
"Hmm...."
Yoon Do-sik lowered the paper he was holding with a slightly questioning look. He looked at me and asked,
"We can really proceed as written here?"
"Yes."
"...Well, if it's conducted inside the academy grounds as stated here, there won't be any particular problem. Ah, thank you for the meal."
Yoon Do-sik picked up his spoon instead of the paper. Instead, I set my spoon down and asked him,
"Do you have a car?"
"Hm? A car to drive around?"
"Yes."
"...I'm not an Enhancement-type. At my age, do you think I walk everywhere?"
"Do you drive it yourself?"
"......Who else?"
I nodded at the man, who was frowning slightly.
"Do some driving tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Well, I don't mind, but... do I really have to be the one to do it?"
"I can call someone else. It doesn't matter to me."
"Hmm, hmm. Very well."
A slightly sly smile curled on Yoon Do-sik's lips as he nodded.
**
"......Goddamn it."
"Is that directed at Professor Baek?"
Yoon Do-sik asked with a snicker from the back seat. Kim Seong-won, gripping the steering wheel, shouted back, veins bulging on his broad forehead.
"You made the problem, so why are you dragging Professor Baek into this?!"
Friday morning. Kim Seong-won had come to work with his mind already floating on weekend sea fishing, only to receive an email from Yoon Do-sik.
[Old Man from the Pharmacy : Professor Baek says he needs to go somewhere this evening, so come on out.]
Given who was mentioned, he didn't even consider it a joke. As soon as he got off work, he flew out on burning feet toward the parking lot. A few minutes later, Baek Woo-jin appeared with Yoon Do-sik in tow and said,
-So it was Kim Seong-won I called.
The instant he heard that, he knew. He'd been had by Yoon Do-sik.
That brought them to the present.
"I just washed the car last week...."
They had climbed halfway up a deserted mountain so remote it made you wonder if such a place could even exist in downtown Seoul. Naturally, the road was unpaved, and Kim Seong-won had to drive, feeling with only slight exaggeration like he was off-roading. The car's condition, needless to say, was too pitiful for words.
"But why did you tag along?"
"Was curious, so I just came."
Both of their gazes were fixed on the place where an ominous blue light flickered in the darkness untouched by even the moonlight.
"To think there's a Rift in a place like this."
"I know, right. Judging by its size and color, it seems to be at least a 4th Stage."
To Kim Seong-won, an ordinary person, the Rift was just a curiosity. But Yoon Do-sik watched it with a more complicated look in his eyes.
'I can't feel anything even though I'm looking right at it.'
A Rift is a crack in space—unknown power and a massive amount of mana should be leaking out. But from this Rift, he sensed nothing. The ambient mana density was perfectly normal. That was likely why it hadn't been discovered until now.
'...I shouldn't have come.'
It would have been fine if he could go inside, but Yoon Do-sik and Kim Seong-won were left behind in the car on the grounds that they'd only get in the way. Consequently, his curiosity was just growing worse.
"Oh, he's out."
Exactly one hour after entering the Rift, Baek Woo-jin emerged from the shimmering crack. He carried a small backpack—the storage-type Artifact that Claire once took from the temple to hold his teaching materials.
Click.
The passenger door opened, flooding the dark car with bright light. Baek Woo-jin climbed in. As he did, Kim Seong-won swallowed dryly and was about to carefully open his mouth.
"......To the Academy."
His exposed skin deathly pale, Baek Woo-jin's voice fell low and heavy inside the car.
"I'll drive as carefully as possible."
Baek Woo-jin didn't answer, only closed his eyes. Kim Seong-won carefully reached over and fastened Baek Woo-jin's seatbelt, then took the wheel.
·
·
·
After Kim Seong-won left, darkness settled back over the mountain. A complete darkness, devoid of the car's lights, the moonlight, and even the ominous blue glow.