The Dragon and Those Crazy Bastards
Mages.
Beings who possessed mana and could create something from nothing.
In ancient and medieval Europe they had also been called alchemists. In the East, they were the ones who wielded what was known as the mystic arts.
And they were beings who hid among ordinary people, building a society of their own and living within it.
But in the end—
"Those bastards who ought to be on their knees at my feet, groveling and begging for mercy—what? What the hell are they spouting right now?"
"...Could you please assure me that even if I tell you the truth this time, the same thing that just happened won't happen again?"
I could see exactly what was going through Takanashi's head. Completely transparent.
I had told him, after all. To report every single word those guys were saying about me and Ha-yan, without holding anything back.
But those words seemed to be packed to the brim with terms that were perfectly designed to get under my skin.
I let out another deep sigh, raised my hand, and even threw a defensive spell over Takanashi before I spoke.
"With this much magic, there's absolutely no chance of you going flying, so just say it. I need to hear it straight from you if I'm going to have a proper 'justification' to mess those guys up, right? If I refuse without you giving a detailed explanation, that only hands those bastards an excuse to come after you."
"Uuuugh... A-alright. Then I'll speak. Ahem."
Takanashi felt the presence of the mana wrapping around his body, finally let out a sigh of relief, cleared his throat, and began reading from the stack of documents in his hands.
"Do you not think it is far too great a 'burden' to entrust such an enormous role to the single mage of a country that has not even reached the level of a developing magic nation? His magic and mana are not something a rural country like that can monopolize. And you are already aware of the things we previously attempted on that nation's soil, are you not? I do not know by what means they managed to win him over, but the reason he has become like this is simply that he has not yet seen the true face of our great magic nations. If we were to show him the real appearance of the advanced magic nations, he would not even spare a glance toward a backwater country like that.... Uh... would not.... Umm...."
Takanashi had been rattling on, but he finally stopped mid-sentence.
His body was still sitting exactly where it had been.
The shape of the cushion he was sitting on was still intact.
But that was the only thing that remained undamaged.
CRACK! CRUNCH! BOOM! SNAP!!!
Everything in the room except the spot he was sitting on was being reduced to rubble by my mana storm, fragments raining down in a shower of debris.
I was at least trying to restrain myself enough not to touch any of the structural bones that might bring the building down, but the absolute insanity coming out of Takanashi's mouth had almost made me lose my reason for a second there.
"...Th-that is everything we compiled from the documents that came to us, the phone calls, and the mana-voice recordings..."
"..."
There had been so much of it that Takanashi had been rambling for nearly ten minutes before he finally finished summarizing and set the papers down on the floor.
I said nothing for a moment.
Then I spoke to him.
"So, to sum it up."
"Y-yes, sir."
Takanashi looked tense all over again, braced for whatever might come out of my mouth next.
His first impression had been a little weird, but for some reason he seemed oddly well-disposed toward our side. Maybe I should just ask him straight out what he was really thinking?
I considered it, but decided to save that conversation for later—when I had time and Ha-yan was with me.
Looking at Takanashi, who was wearing the same tense expression as a homunculus waiting for orders, I said,
"They're so insanely jealous that I only took Ha-yan as my disciple that they're begging me to give them a little chance too—is that it?"
"Uh... that does seem to be the case. To be honest, a lot of the other mages in Japan have been saying the same things. In fact, I can tell you that their intensity is greater than that of mages from other countries, not less."
"That bad?"
"Well. As you know, Korea and Japan still have those... complicated feelings lingering even on a personal level. We have our share of far-right types on our side as well."
"I see..."
If they were going this far—petitions, letters, thinly veiled threats to Takanashi—even while knowing full well what my temper was like, then this was not a situation I could just leave alone.
I thought for a moment, then used magic to more or less clean up the wrecked room before turning back to Takanashi, who had sat down again.
"How many people sent this kind of dogsh—no. Threats... not quite. Fine. How many people sent this kind of 'opinion'? No, wait. How many people total have expressed that they want to become my 'disciple'?"
"Umm... you're asking for the number of apprentice mages who said they wanted to become your disciples, correct?"
"Yeah. How many total?"
I had figured it would be ten people at most.
I had made it extremely clear that I was only interested in getting close to Ha-yan and that I had zero interest in anyone else, so even if there were a few, I had assumed it would only be a handful of mages from the very top tier.
But the number that came out of Takanashi's mouth was completely deranged.
"Approximately five hundred forty-three."
"...What?"
No. Hold on. Did I mishear that?
I dug a finger in my ear and asked Takanashi again.
"How many?"
"Five hundred forty-three."
"...Crazy bastards."
And once again I was reminded that the world of mages contained far more insane people than I had previously accounted for.
"Hmm? Suddenly doing what?"
"Interviews... no. Evaluations... wait, more like a selection?"
"Selection? Of what? Of who?"
"Of the kids who say they want to become my disciples."
"Disciples??? Now, of all times?"
I had already passed my intentions to Takanashi and left all the preparations to him, but I made sure to tell Ha-yan the news first.
And I put the strongest possible emphasis on this part when I spoke to her.
"I said I was going to hold a selection, but I have absolutely zero intention of teaching any mage other than you. Let's get that clear right now."
"Then why bother saying you'd select people and telling him to prepare?"
"...You're not mad?"
"Huh? Why would I be mad?"
I had been certain that bringing this up would make Ha-yan explode, so I had been completely on edge when I told her.
But her reaction was no different from usual.
If anything, she brought over the complimentary drinks from the suite, handed one to me and one to Yang Ho-jin, took a sip herself to wet her throat, and then asked me again.
"Why did you think I was going to get angry?"
"Uh?... Eh?"
Her question left me speechless for a moment.
Why had I thought she would get mad?
Well, that was because...
"Because I said I might take in other lowly—no. Other people besides you?"
"Hmm. Then let me ask you one more time. Are you actually planning to do that?"
"No. Absolutely not. Never have, never will."
"There. That's all that matters. Hehe. I already knew you'd say that. Why would I get mad at you over something that was never going to happen?"
"Aha?"
Only then did I realize just how completely calm Ha-yan's expression was.
On top of that, she was blissfully munching her way through all the various snacks and breads she had swept up while happily wandering around downtown Osaka while I was dealing with Takanashi and all the other nonsense that came with him.
Well, of course. If my words had actually made her uncomfortable, those foods would already have been in the trash.
From the beginning, Ha-yan had already known every single thought that had been going through my head.
The moment that hit me, I felt a little ashamed of myself.
My girlfriend had already predicted every outcome of whatever her boyfriend might do and trusted him completely, while the boyfriend in question had been trembling in fear of himself.
As a dragon, I felt thoroughly disqualified today.
I quietly climbed onto the bed beside Ha-yan, who was still diligently tearing open snack packages, wrapped my arms around her from behind, and spoke.
"Still, I'm sorry. This only happened because I handled things poorly. If I'd known it would turn out like this, I would have come down harder from the start. Then we wouldn't have had to cut our travel schedule short and spend a day or two showing our faces in front of those bastards."
"Hehe. I don't really mind. Even just today's schedule has been plenty of fun for me. Look at this. It's that convenience-store food I found online last time."
Ha-yan held out a small convenience-store bento as she spoke.
Inside were a little spaghetti, a sausage, and a small amount of rice—and nothing else.
I looked at her with a faintly dumbfounded expression and asked,
"What is this bento supposed to be? Who's nose are you sticking this on?"
"Hehe. It was a huge internet sensation recently. This bento costs only two thousand won in Korean money!!"
"...You didn't come to Japan just to eat this, right?"
"Of course not!! What do you take me for! This is just a bento I bought out of pure curiosity! And there's also the sashimi and sushi I bought on clearance at a nearby supermarket, and all kinds of rice bowls, and cup ramen... Hehe. You can get these delicious things in Korea too, but they just taste different when you eat them in Japan! My Japan trip is a perfect foodie-travel style, you know!!"
"So that's why you didn't ask a single question about tourist spots."
"It's not like we're not going to any at all! And anyway, we still have five whole days left before we have to go back to the underground city with me, right? You can hang out with me until then, can't you? You said Takanashi would take care of everything?"
"Yeah. I even told him that if he wasn't going to handle it, I was just going to turn around and go straight back to Korea."
"Isn't that a threat?"
"I never once said the words 'do it or else,' did I?"
When I answered like that, Ha-yan gave me a look that said Well, of course and replied,
"Do you really think Takanashi took that at face value? Knowing his personality, we'd be lucky if he didn't hear it as 'Do it or I'll kill you.'"
"Aha."
"Move faster!!! Everything must be prepared so thoroughly that He will not be the least bit disappointed!!"
"Yes! Understood!!"
I only found out later, but during the five days Ha-yan and I spent happily touring Osaka, the Takanashi Group was in complete chaos.
But what did that have to do with me?