Chapter 44
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 044
Chapter Title: Mephistopheles (1)
Yohan's tiny studio apartment.
After scarfing down breakfast and popping a few cherry tomatoes,
I sat on the floor, leaning against the bed, mulling over my current situation.
A sigh escaped me as my eyes narrowed.
"Haa..."
Yeah, during the camp incident, the best move had been showing Sion the grimoire and letting it slide.
...At least, that's how I saw it. Either way, it wasn't exactly a great spot to be in.
Getting away with using firearms without much fallout was lucky, sure.
But instead of sticking to my original plan, I'd gone and gotten completely tangled up with the Response Special Task Force.
Sion's calm gaze, fixed on me, floated into my mind.
"........."
She'd practically pegged me as the grimoire's owner—a magic criminal—and was suspicious as hell.
At this point, maybe she just didn't like me.
Her low voice echoed in my head.
'...Meat and milk. Just curious.'
The evidence was piling up bit by bit.
I gritted my teeth, one eyebrow twitching.
Damn paranoid bitch. The most annoying part? All her suspicions were spot on.
Of course they were—I was the grimoire's owner, and a serial killer to boot.
Someday, it'd come out that I was the owner.
And Sion would bring a swarm of Task Force agents.
"I knew it! You've been suspicious since the day you were born!"
"Whoa! Let's take him out, everyone!"
"No wonder your mom dumped you!"
I could picture them unloading their guns on me—rat-tat-tat!
As inevitable as it sounded,
I didn't want to yell, "You idiots! Who the hell are you shooting?!" while dancing like a madman in a traditional mask.
I didn't want to die.
Killing Sion crossed my mind, but that was a real dilemma.
The only Task Force folks I'd dealt with were from the Weekend Farm incident and this camp mess.
Excluding Sion, none had shown much interest in me.
Their questions were standard stuff for a civilian exorcist who'd been through a bizarre event.
In a setup like this, if Sion—who'd been eyeing me suspiciously—suddenly met a shady end...
Yeah, it might eliminate the one person suspecting me in the Task Force.
But it could also draw the whole organization's suspicion.
I'd be poking a beehive just to swat one bee.
Even if I did kill her... well...
My eyes narrowed.
It'd have to be during a joint mission as a collaborator, made to look like another monster's doing.
...Not that it appealed much.
Any whiff of my involvement in her death could still get me heat.
...If push came to shove and I got exposed, no choice—but not now.
"My head hurts."
I muttered quietly, glancing at the grimoire I'd tossed on the desk.
Grimoire,
the one with the steel cover and the ancient leather-bound one.
As their owner, I was hunted by the government's Response Special Task Force.
As a grimoire owner, other wizards had me in their sights.
The deeper I went, the messier it got.
Still, I didn't regret picking up the grimoires.
My life being ruined? Nah.
It was already ruined.
Orphan, shitty personality, philosophy major (honestly, that's the biggest chunk).
...Okay, not being a criminal was a plus, but whatever.
This wasn't some dramatic fall from grace—it was just left vs. right on the failure spectrum.
Life's all about griping and grinding anyway. Same difference.
And sure, call them junky low-tier grimoires,
but they've gotten me out of jams before.
Living with Grizzly had gotten pretty routine too.
Thud-smack! Thud-smack! Thud-smack!
"Gyaaa~."
After holding it together at camp, I'd rewarded him with fridge privileges.
I watched Grizzly gleefully slamming the fridge door open and shut.
Thud-smack! Thud-smack! Thud-smack!
"Gya! Gyagyagya!"
Screeech—the fridge rattled.
Might need a new one soon.
Or just get a small toy fridge for Grizzly.
Anyway, since I had time to think,
time to ponder some personal goals too.
Like how that famous ninja manga's protagonist becomes village head and vows to make his bullies regret living.
What were my dreams? My purpose? My situation was pretty unique, right?
Didn't I need some motivation, some drive?
Not scientifically proven, but having a goal boosts efficiency, they say.
"........."
Nothing really came to mind.
I hadn't learned magic to achieve greatness—I'd learned it to protect my safe life.
Thinking back, had I ever had a solid plan?
Exorcist work might catch the secret gov agency's eye! Skip it.
Or get suckered by 30 million won and do it anyway.
Doing exorcism, but avoid gov ties.
Or go hunting magic ingredients, end up exchanging numbers with Task Force.
Grab a gun at wizard workshop, use carefully. No more Task Force entanglements.
Or blast zombies with guns and magic, get exposed, become Task Force collaborator.
"........."
...Part my fault, part bad luck, but no real plans.
Zombie gunfest was fine, though. That was fun as hell.
I sighed.
Yeah, I wanted to be smart and rational.
I wasn't truly smart or rational.
Impulses happened.
A real smart guy wouldn't major in philosophy...
Still, time to replan.
I stood, picked up Lemegeton, and opened it.
I'd even made the pentacle on parchment. But zombies hit the camp last Saturday, and I never got to use it.
That was part of why I'd been sitting here zoning out since morning,
trying to make plans.
If it'd been Saturday, I'd have cast it right away,
interrogated the soul of that nameless wizard geezer controlling Kim Mireh and the zombies.
Still, I'd gleaned some info from those two wizards.
I now had a rough sense of my standing in the wizard world.
'I'm fucking ridiculously strong.'
Technically, the grimoires' power and Grizzly were the real stars...
But the grimoires were mine, and Grizzly was my familiar.
Counted as my ability.
Dismissing a summoner's familiars from the spec? Lame.
Anyway, most wizards got handled by Grizzly alone. No contest.
Kim Mireh and the geezer? I didn't get unlucky stumbling into their messes.
They got unlucky running into me.
Crazy bastards charging with knives and getting trucked.
Live nicely in another world.
Reflecting like that sparked an idea.
...Come to think of it, that zombie-controlling wizard geezer.
I'd brushed it off at the time,
but
'That's dangerous power! Not for a greenhorn like you!'
His Korean was insanely fluent. Wizards gotta master foreign languages, huh?
Gotta flee abroad if exposed.
Just being good at magic ain't enough.
Made me realize I was still green as a wizard.
"...Alright."
I nodded.
And jotted down future plans and to-dos in my notebook.
First: Study foreign languages!
No guarantee future wizards speak Korean. Need it for enemy intel. Start with popular English.
Essential for fleeing abroad anyway.
Second: Running workouts!
Magic makes me strong, but body's average. Build stamina to bolt if needed. Good for health too.
Already doing it sporadically,
but ramp up till I snag a breathing technique.
Third: Get a driver's license.
Camp showed not driving sucks in a pinch.
No car, not urgent—do it when time allows.
"Hmm..."
I stared at the notebook.
Wrote down practical needs...
English study, exercise, driver's license.
Classic college kid's summer goals.
"...Wholesome."
Guess wizards live clean too.
I smirked faintly and stood.
No work, so time for a park run.
And at that moment, in Finland, at the Order of the Holy Maiden.
As the grimoire prepared an expedition to Korea,
she was issuing orders to her followers, the girls,
when
she noticed some money had quietly slipped from the order's funds.
And the spending...
In the saintess Elsi's room of the Order of the Holy Maiden.
The Book of Raziel the Angel shimmered, speaking to Elsi in a gentle voice.
The beautiful silver-haired girl Elsi sniffled as she replied.
"It's... burgers, so many hamburgers are needed... to save the nomadic tribes of the plains."
But she wasn't sniffling from fear of punishment.
She'd read a sad post.
Raziel examined the post Elsi showed her from a Korean alternate history community.
'The star of the plains shines in my soul. [Omitted]~ To save the tribes racing across the steppes, heaps of hamburgers are essential.'
It was ridiculously well-written beggar bait for burgers.
Raziel pondered.
What to say? ...No, wait.
The important thing was Elsi's pure, kind heart.
...Even if she'd been duped into dumping coupons everywhere, it came from good intentions.
So instead of scolding,
Elsi beamed, nodding vigorously.
"Yes!"
Looked like taking down Yohan in Korea would take a bit longer.