Chapter 9
Chapter 9
The reason Emul could identify the stalker's identity was because she was special.
A unique vibration felt from those who possess mana.
While their numbers were few, there had only been one person so far whose amplitude spiked so sharply.
Just as the stalker, who hadn't moved an inch, was about to take a step back.
Piiing——!
Pshoooo, white smoke leaked from a hole in a pipe attached to the outer wall.
"This is your last chance."
A calm ultimatum hung low in the deserted alley.
Emul stared at the shimmering air. He couldn't wait forever.
The moment the vividly imprinted image of an Air Bullet was about to materialize from his mana.
Seureuk-.
A minutely trembling hand pulled back the hood of a metal cloak.
Only then did a person's figure reveal itself from the shimmering air.
Beneath silver hair like silk thread, eyes mixed with blue and purple swayed calmly.
Lips pressed tight and a rigid posture.
Even so, the thought that she was beautiful crossed his mind, but that was it. It was the same impression one might get from seeing a well-crafted sculpture.
When she remained silent again, Emul gathered mana at his fingertips. He had absolutely no intention of going easy on her based on her appearance or gender.
The woman caught her breath, looking nervous, and barely managed to part her heavy lips.
"...I have come to make a proposal to you, Mage-nim."
Along with her words, a drop or two of rain began to fall.
It wasn't pouring like a downpour, but sleet mixed with rain soaked Emul's shoulders.
Looking at the metal hood that repelled the water droplets, he scanned his surroundings and said,
"...Let's go somewhere more suitable to talk. Put your hood up and follow me."
The slushy mud was dirtying Camellia's luxurious shoes, but she had no time to worry about that.
The back of the man walking ahead indifferently.
From the hem of his old hood, which was getting soaked as if he didn't even think to avoid the rain, a thick, suffocating scent of blood wafted out.
'How many people has he killed?'
A monster who hadn't even lost his breath after taking down attackers that outnumbered him.
Camellia swallowed dryly and gripped the skirt pocket containing her terminal tightly.
The immense wealth she possessed and the information of Academy City. Would this cruel underworld mage truly recognize her value and agree to a deal?
Following the man as he skillfully navigated out of the Dead Zone, Camellia walked, lost in time, tense.
How much time had passed? Suddenly, the man stopped.
'This is...'
The hospital run by the undeveloped area expert she had visited a while ago.
[ Marvin, the best body expert in the Undeveloped Area ]
The man stared at the sign for a moment, seemed to ponder, then started walking again.
From the bustling streets to a quiet place. He kept walking, and eventually entered a large culvert where wastewater flowed out.
To Camellia, who instinctively wrinkled her nose at the stench, the man casually threw a remark.
"If it's too unpleasant, we can go somewhere else."
"...I'm fine."
If she were to back down over a mere smell, she wouldn't have sought out this man in the first place.
Camellia, having finished her resolve long ago, stepped into the cage of the great monster.
They walked along a waterway where the water flowed cleaner than the smell suggested.
Instinctively, he turned his feet away from the pile of boxes, twisting the path in a complex way.
By the time he had sufficiently confused the layout, he stopped in a secluded spot with a clear escape route.
The sound of heels walking behind Emul faded simultaneously, as if they had coordinated it.
He turned around, fiddling with a shell casing he had picked up from the gun shop.
The woman stood on the lower side of a gentle slope. Emul, gauging the distance between them, declared,
"Talk from there."
The woman nodded and, the moment she placed her hand on her dry hood.
Before she could even part her lips, Emul spoke first.
"What are you trusting to follow me?"
She, who had lost even to the brothers Emul had easily subdued, had followed a mage she had just met.
Unless she was an idiot, she wouldn't make such a judgment. Either she had something to rely on, or she was aiming for something.
'If not that... it means she's that desperate.'
A thin melody broke Emul's train of thought.
"...I am prepared."
"Prepared?"
"I thought that to make contact with a High-Rank Mage-nim, I had to be willing to take this much risk."
High-Rank. A word Emul didn't know. He made sure to remember it and continued.
"Then first......let's talk after you take that off properly."
The woman's eyes wavered slightly. Seeming to hesitate, she took off the metal hood and folded it neatly on the floor.
Then, her eyelids trembled. As Emul wondered if she was cold,
She seemed to make up her mind, pulled at the ribbon of her shirt, and began to undo the top button.
By the time her hand went to the second button, Emul frowned.
"...I meant show your true face to build trust, not get naked. I don't have a hobby of bullying students."
The woman's hand stopped abruptly. She seemed flustered, but that wasn't Emul's business.
He thought she was going to button it back up, but she looked at him and lowered her hand.
It seemed she intended to use a honey trap, but he wasn't the type to fall for that.
Emul, observing her closely, asked,
"The vibe is completely different. Your hair was blonde last time."
If it's magic that changes appearance, he had to steal it somehow.
An ability that facilitates identity manipulation would have various uses even if one were to lead a legitimate life.
"I was wearing a wig then. And lenses..."
Disappointed by the somewhat boring answer, Emul gestured with his chin.
"Now, state your business. I'm not a free man either... let's finish within 20 minutes."
That was a lie. He had already finished today's tasks.
But this woman was desperate. Desperate enough to try and strip in front of a man she didn't know at all.
The thirsty person digs the well. He should actively utilize the initiative that had shifted to him.
The hesitant woman raised her mana. Very softly and slowly. So that Emul wouldn't be on guard.
Soon, a sharp mass took shape in front of her.
It was shaped like a red droplet stretched up and down.
It was as small as a fingernail.
However, the density of the mana lurking inside was superior to any magic Emul could use.
'It's a magic not even in my memories... it's on a different level from basic spells like Aero Bolt, Godspeed, or Earth Shock.'
If he could imitate it, it would be a huge boost to his combat power.
'But that... isn't magic yet.'
Even though he had witnessed the entire activation process, he couldn't grasp even a shred of it.
A seed that hadn't germinated, life trapped inside a shell. The dregs of a spell that failed to become magic.
It wasn't hard to guess why she had displayed it before his eyes, risking the danger of the magic's blueprint being completely stolen.
"......Please help me complete my magic."
Crunch. Emul, who habitually took out a pill and chewed it, replied.
"What can you do for me?"
"Everything possible. I can provide anything within my power."
"You seem young and don't know the ways of the world, but such vague words won't work."
At Emul's cold rebuke, the woman bit her lip and played her trump card.
"...A legal identity within Academy City. Magical knowledge and funds. I will guarantee it all. On the name of this Camellia El Antera."
Emul's gaze changed slightly. Magical knowledge and funds. And the veiled Academy City.
Was she from there? Realizing that fact, the woman's attire made quite a bit of sense.
A city that claims 'Academy' right in its name. So it wouldn't be strange for her to be wearing such a sophisticated uniform.
'Funds aside... bringing up magical knowledge, those are things hard to find in the underworld. Especially when mages discriminate against each other anyway.'
Those who couldn't use proper magic and mages who didn't rely on devices.
Perhaps the difference between them was just that they hadn't received proper education. Leaving those questions behind, Emul recalled the most important condition.
'Academy City identity. She wouldn't offer that unless it was worth quite a lot...'
The core of the proposal revealed itself the more he thought about it.
She mistook him for an outstanding mage. Is a mere legal identity all she has to offer to such a person?
Emul glanced at the woman waiting for an answer.
She couldn't even hide her nervousness, rubbing her hands together slightly.
'...Academy City. I don't know. I don't know.'
It was a matter difficult to decide immediately. He should decide after sufficient consideration.
The moment Emul was about to mention putting it on hold, the woman who had been watching him all along beat him to it.
"And... I will find a way to cure Mage-nim's illness. And I will leave all of this as a contract in the form you desire."
Emul appeared calm on the outside, but swallowed a groan on the inside.
'...Taking medicine periodically has become a habit.'
If it weren't for the accumulated fatigue from staying up all night, he wouldn't have made such a mistake.
He still held the initiative firmly, but hadn't he unconsciously revealed a weakness?
"Don't jump to conclusions."
"That wasn't my intention... I'm sorry."
Seeing the woman apologize, Emul tried to frown but held it back.
Her defensive attitude must have added credibility to her guess. This kind of deal was a first for Emul, so there was much to reflect on.
Having finished his real-time feedback, he asked a question he considered important.
"Since when, and how did you track me?"
It was a question that could potentially damage his standing, but he had to know.
While bounty hunting, he would inevitably make enemies. There was no guarantee they couldn't use the same tracking techniques as the woman.
Emul didn't want to meet his end while sleeping on a pile of boxes in the sewer.
"The tracking started about 47 hours ago. The method was..."
As the woman hesitated, Emul urged her.
"If you don't answer, we'll call it off."
"...Mage-nim might not believe it, but I have never missed being the top student of the Academy City magic school."
"Are you telling me to believe you found me on talent alone?"
"I felt a magical vibration in the Dead Zone. It was a similar energy to when you used Aero Bolt. And......I bought information. Whether anyone had witnessed the Red Heaven Jade."
Red Heaven Jade, that must mean the red gem.
The moment Emul thought of the hair tie in his pocket, he couldn't help but grimace.
'That fence bastard...'
He had a vague trust in him because he had been trading stolen goods in the Dead Zone for a long time.
Since the fence was the only one who had witnessed the Red Heaven Jade directly, it must have been a reasonable deduction.
"I knew I shouldn't have done this... I'm really sorry."
She hurriedly bowed her waist. She didn't even mind that her hair ends touched the dirty sewer floor due to the slope of the hill.
Watching her hair fall, Emul took the hair tie out of his pocket.
The deal he had intended to postpone was decided the moment his weakness was exposed.
Such an opportunity wouldn't come twice.
From now on, he had to reach his destination without stepping on a single landmine scattered everywhere.
If he even slipped, his life might be put to an end by her immense power.
So what?
Tuk-.
The red ribbon that flew fluttering landed exactly on the woman's head.
The woman, lifting her head, looked back and forth between the hair tie in her hand and Emul, not knowing what to do.
"Forget it, include the price of that gem in the conditions too."
Emul was not foolish enough to miss an opportunity that had come his way.
As he accepted the deal, the woman carefully put on the hair tie.
Emul took out his terminal and stared intently at the screen.
He needed a way to contact his trading partner.
'How to give contact information... damn.'
What he had obtained from the jackals while roaming the alleys was the basic usage of the installed programs.
He hadn't managed to ask about the most basic contact exchange, and they hadn't told him either.
'...I'll have to extract more thoroughly next time.'
As Emul stared blankly at the terminal, the woman approached, reading the situation.
"I told you to stay there."
"...I'll give you my contact information first."
Is there a profit or loss depending on the order of exchange? It's an incredibly complicated world.
Swallowing a sigh that rose to his throat, Emul nodded.
They were closer than before, but there was still distance to operate each other's terminals.
As soon as the woman laid her terminal flat and held it out, a notification popped up on Emul's terminal.
[ Camellia has sent contact information. Would you like to add? (Yes) (No) Caution: Do not register unknown users! ]
Emul pressed the button to register the contact, then laid his own terminal flat and held it out, just as Camellia had done.
A moment passed. When nothing happened, Emul suppressed his annoyance and went into the contact tab.
A new ID, the second one added after Marvin. Emul pressed the call button next to it and looked at Camellia.
Vrrr-.
She looked back and forth between her vibrating terminal and Emul, then pressed the terminal tightly to her ear with both hands.
"...Camellia, I've received it."
Emul hung up the phone without hesitation and turned his back.
"Time's up. You probably don't know the way, so I'll guide you."