The Dragon and the Already Finished Operation
"Wow! We're matching couple looks today?"
The sound of hurried footsteps clattered outside the door, and then Ha-yan popped into my room with a little poof!, eyeing me with a look of mild annoyance as I stood there holding my necktie.
I put on a sulky face, necktie still hanging around my neck, and spoke to Ha-yan—who was wearing an outfit that looked almost exactly like mine.
"A suit's a suit. Anything else feel off? I commissioned it from the custom shop I always use, but they're mainly men's tailors. They said they could do women's suits too, so I went ahead and ordered it."
"No! Not at all! It fits me perfectly! I think this is the first time I've ever worn a proper custom suit?"
"What's a high schooler need a suit for anyway. Though, well—today you're the same early-twenties age as me."
"Ehehe. I'm an adult nooow!!!"
"What are you talking about? Go get your mother's permission first."
Bonk.
"Eek!"
Ha-yan took the playful knuckle I tapped against her head and immediately went back to stroking the women's suit that suited her so well, spinning this way and that in front of the full-length mirror in my room, completely absorbed in her reflection.
I'd prepared this suit a while back under the pretext of "when Ha-yan becomes an adult," never expecting I'd get to use it this soon. I'd already sent the shop every measurement of her body I'd taken in with my own eyes.
Measurements? With a dragon's eyes I can read them accurately without ever lifting a tape. I already know even her three sizes, you know? Of course I'd never say that out loud.
After admiring herself for a long while, Ha-yan scuttled right up to me.
"Why is your necktie still like that? Want me to do it?"
"I'd be grateful if you would."
There was a reason I'd deliberately left the necktie undone and dragged things out. I wanted to experience a moment like this at least once. If Rhea saw the two of us right now she'd absolutely say, "Please stop with the lovey-dovey nonsense, Master," but for the moment no one else was around.
Ha-yan had only seen me head out for work on a weekend a handful of times. I always left while she was still asleep.
Thanks to those bastards, I get to enjoy this too. Not bad.
I looked quietly down at the precious person fumbling with my necktie. Jet-black hair that belonged in a novel, skin fairer than any ordinary Korean's. Even while she grunted and concentrated, her slightly upturned eyes gave her a sharp edge—but she was soft when soft and fierce when fierce. My girlfriend. Only a second-year high schooler, yet her body already held a maturity that seemed to outstrip most adults; she always grumbled that she wasn't enough, but to my eyes that slender figure was more than sufficient. And seeing that figure wrapped in a perfectly tailored women's suit, pencil skirt, and black stockings—
"This is why I can't hold back!!"
"Hmm? Eek!!!!"
—was so lovable I just had to pull her into my arms.
I scooped up Ha-yan, who had been frowning in concentration over my necktie, spun her a few times through the air, and set her gently back on her feet. She looked up at me with a faintly sulky expression.
"Hey! I was tying your necktie—why'd you suddenly do that?"
"It's already tied, though?"
"Hmm? Ah! Were you deliberately pretending you couldn't tie it just to mess with me?"
"Who knows~?"
"Yaaaiiiit!!!"
Ha-yan pouted and started thumping both fists against my chest.
"Ugh. Ugh. Ghk... Ugh... W-wait, Ha-yan. Kuek."
Honestly, how many times have I worn a necktie in my life? Of course I can tie one. I'd only been teasing her a little—but the second her fists connected with my chest, every last thought of mischief vanished.
Like I've said before, this girl is the absolute spitting image of her mother. It hurts like hell! Seriously!
I endured the pain and did my best to rein her in with the biggest smile I could manage. I couldn't exactly let tears well up because of my girlfriend's fists. Too embarrassing.
Once I'd finally calmed her down, I quickly evaporated the tears that threatened to fall with a touch of magic and asked,
"Everything else ready? The homunculi are all in position?"
"Rhea's out there herself, so there shouldn't be any other problems. The ones we're after are probably already out of their minds—either they've completely lost it, or they don't even realize they have."
"Then nothing to worry about. Still, maybe we shouldn't go too far today? Our goal is to make a mess of the party venue. Rhea said if she turns the place upside down too hard, they might cancel the whole thing."
"I know. I already wrapped everything up with Rhea, so don't worry too much."
"Keep it moderate. Moderate."
There it was.
That evil little smile of Ha-yan's. I still remembered the middle-school girl delinquents who'd once been on the receiving end of it. What had happened to those girls after they made Ha-yan their target? Right—they'd stepped in dog mess every single day for a week, gotten drenched in filthy water whenever it rained, and then every last one of their past misdeeds had been dumped on the police all at once, forcing them to transfer schools.
I wondered what would happen this time.
Knowing Ha-yan, she wouldn't kill anyone. Make them idiots? Or maybe bald?
"This the place?"
"Let's get out. Thanks for the drive—appreciate the hard work."
"Have a good day, Master. I doubt anything unexpected will come up."
We offered a brief word of thanks to the homunculus who'd served as our driver, then Ha-yan and I stepped out of the car.
The moment we did, a pair of broad-shouldered men guarding the building entrance approached and asked me,
"Are you the chairman of CS Investment?"
"That's right. Cha Siu."
I offered a handshake as I introduced myself. The man accepted it smoothly and guided us inside.
The building we had arrived at was one of the largest government institutions in the country—so restricted that anyone without government credentials or direct ties couldn't even access the underground parking. Heavy security ringed the perimeter, bodyguards stationed here and there with obvious vigilance.
And of course—
"The chairman has arrived. Please show him in."
"Certainly."
—the person waiting to receive us was Rhea, planted firmly among them and holding a rather high-ranking post.
Ha-yan and I already knew that, so we kept our poker faces as best we could until we stepped into the elevator, where I finally asked her,
"How's it looking inside? We got in pretty easily—looks like the magic took hold without much trouble."
I loosened the necktie that had been choking me a little and spoke to Rhea's completely expressionless face. To our eyes she was still Rhea, of course, but every other person in the building saw only the woman whose position she had assumed. How? Magic—what else?
Rhea's face twisted into a scowl of pure disgust as she answered.
"It's a complete disaster. I've never seen anything this rotten. I lost count of how many times I had to swallow the urge to throw up."
"That bad? If it's enough to get that kind of reaction out of you, then it's probably hopeless."
Ha-yan reached up and gently stroked Rhea's hair as she spoke. Rhea stared blankly at the two of us for a moment, then began briefing us on what lay ahead.
"These people are far more rotten than either of you imagined, Master, Miss. You're about to hear things you never even dreamed of, so please keep your composure no matter what. I honestly didn't expect them to be this blatant. Quite the surprise."
"What kind of talk are we talking about?"
Rhea's face crumpled again; she shook her head as if she couldn't even stand to recall it.
"They're demanding it outright. Hand over the money. And as I mentioned before, they aren't even calling it a 'donation.' A civil servant—no, not just any civil servant. The minister overseeing the whole affair is openly demanding it from every major conglomerate chairman present."
I stared blankly for a second before recovering enough to ask,
"A civil servant is doing that? And the chairmen are just sitting there taking it?"
"What choice do they have? The government has at least one leash around every single one of their necks."
"Guess they've all got plenty of dirt on their hands... You left the magic off while you were talking with them, right?"
"I have no intention of helping other companies. We can't go around cleaning up every crime they themselves committed with magic."
Ha-yan, who had been listening quietly, could only manage a bitter smile.
"And me? The leash they think they have on me isn't actually in their hands, is it?"
Rhea's smirk grew even more sour.
"They're about to try and put one on you—by using the young lady standing right next to you."
"...Is there anyone in this building who isn't involved? Can't we just blow the whole place sky-high?"
"Do you have any idea how many ordinary people work in this building? There are better methods, so please restrain yourself, Master."
"Better methods? Like what?"
"Rather than a better method, the operation is already finished."
I barely managed to keep the fury boiling up from deep inside me under control and pressed her. In response, Rhea pulled out a pair of black 3D-movie glasses and a bag of popcorn from who-knows-where, grabbed a handful, and started munching with obvious delight as she continued in a cheerful voice.
"Nom nom nom. In the conference room the two of you are about to enter, roughly ten people will be waiting."
"Ten of them?"
Ha-yan sounded genuinely surprised. Even she, who'd spent the whole week preparing the operation, was hearing this for the first time.
Rhea immediately made the glasses and popcorn vanish again and pressed on.
"How.ev.er. You only need to deal with a single one of them. Every other person in that room is one of our children disguised by magic. That part gave Miss Ha-yan and me quite the headache."
"So what are Ha-yan and I supposed to do once we walk in? If nine of our kids are already in there, the situation's basically over."
With magic already layered on top of that, the whole thing was as good as finished. The spy interview incident last time had proven as much, hadn't it?
But Rhea waggled a single finger as if the real fun hadn't even started.
"Mm-mm-mm. Not quite. The really fun part is still left. If they were planning to put a leash on someone, shouldn't we teach them that the same leash can end up around their own necks?"
"...That's a great idea."
"Let's do it right now!!!"
Ha-yan and I caught on instantly. Grins spreading across our faces, we followed Rhea out of the elevator and headed toward the final stage of the operation.