Reunion (1)
I left the hotel the following evening, after spending a full day inside. Despite my sisters’ worries, I hadn’t caught so much as a glimpse of the principal’s hair. Pulling my hood low and keeping my head down as I walked through the sunset made the stares noticeably decrease. Maybe I should have done this from the start. Living like this every day would be too much, but an occasional outing didn’t seem so bad.
The principal had offered to assign me a tour guide if I wanted one, but I had already turned her down. Right now, I had something else I needed to do.
Following the directions the hotel manager had given me, I soon began to see glimpses of a park in the distance. Even though the sun was setting, quite a few people were still out and about. Artificial lakes and stone fountains dotted the landscape, and along the walking paths, several people were scattering feed for the birds that swooped in. In a small open-air theater tucked into one corner, elderly mages were setting off colorful sparks and modest fireworks. Every time a magical firework went puff and burst, the children gathered around clapped and burst into bright laughter.
I recalled hearing that older mages whose abilities had faded often made a living this way. I turned my head to the opposite side of the theater and checked the name of the park.
This was the right place. And today was Friday.
Following the manual, I wandered around the area looking for the contact. Before long, I spotted an old man sitting on a quiet bench reading a newspaper. He wore a gray fedora and a red checkered shirt. I approached the bench behind him as if I were just another stranger and sat down. Once the surrounding presence of people had completely faded, I spoke to him.
“Even though it’s late spring, the weather is still quite chilly.”
At the sound of my voice, the old man glanced at me. Then he turned his head back and answered in a voice mixed with a dry cough.
“The spring wind still carries the scent of winter. For an old man like me, it’s a difficult season to endure.”
“When people get older, all sorts of illnesses appear. Arthritis and the like.”
“You’ve got bad teeth at such a young age. You’d better be careful when biting into apples.”
“I always cut apples with a knife before eating them. Biting into them whole makes my teeth ache.”
The old man gave a faint nod at my answer. He folded the newspaper and placed it on his lap, then took out a cigarette pack from his coat. After lighting one and exhaling a puff of smoke, he spoke.
“There’s a decent bar around here. It’s called ‘Silver Moon Halo.’ Their Old Fashioned is absolutely superb. I’m sure you’ll like it too.”
The moment he finished speaking, the old man’s presence vanished in an instant. I turned my head, but there wasn’t a single shadow of a person left around me. All that remained where he had been was a small, folded note.
I opened the note, memorized the map, swallowed it, and immediately set off.
The bar the old man mentioned was tucked away in a quiet alley two or three blocks from the park. After winding through several twisting passages, I realized I would have had a very hard time finding it without the map.
When I opened the door, clean and antique decorations greeted me. I was the only customer. I walked straight in and sat at the very end of the counter. A middle-aged bartender who had been wiping a glass with a dry cloth approached and spoke.
“First time here, I see. What can I get for you?”
“Hmm. What would you recommend for a day like today?”
“A Priest’s Rack isn’t bad. A sweet Sidecar would also be nice.”
“Sounds good. But I think an Old Fashioned would be even better.”
The bartender paused for a moment at my answer, then continued.
“…By the way, the weather has been quite fickle lately, hasn’t it? It’s already spring, yet it’s still chilly outside.”
“Perfect weather for catching a cold. My friend has already been sick with one for three days.”
“Oh dear, that’s too bad. I heard red medicine is especially good for colds?”
“Is that so? My friend took the medicine in the orange capsule.”
Once the exchange ended, the bartender looked at me and gave a light nod. Then, suddenly, his face began to melt and distort like wax. A moment later, the man who emerged from within it had a thick beard and sideburns and carried a bold, cheerful expression.
“It’s been a while, kid. You memorized the passcode perfectly. I threw in a few extra lines on purpose. With that kind of skill, you could get a job at the Information Bureau right away.”
The man grinned at me.
“It’s been a while, Branch Manager. During that time…”
“Branch Manager? Call me hyung! Anyway, it hasn’t been that long, but you’ve become quite the man! Huh?”
He cut me off with a hearty laugh and clapped me on the shoulder.
His name was Mok Jinu. He had been a classmate of the Director at Yolam Academy and now served as the Masada branch manager of the Information Bureau. He had helped launder my identity through various channels, so I was somewhat acquainted with him. He was also one of the few people who knew my original identity, along with the Director and my sisters.
“So? You’re an adult now—have you learned to drink? Or should I call some girls over? Or maybe…”
“…I’ll pass.”
…He was a good person, but his only flaw was that he loved women, alcohol, and pleasure far too much.
After listening to Mok Jinu’s endless nonsense for a while, I was finally able to bring up my actual business.
“Yeah, I already knew you were enrolling at the Cradle. The first thing you did upon arriving in Masada was have a private talk with the principal, right?”
“…You already knew?”
“Pretty much everything that happens inside the capital ends up in the palm of our hand. Still, I don’t know the contents of your conversation, so rest easy. Hae Wolhwa’s greenhouse is one of the few places the Information Bureau can’t touch. So what’s going on? Need me to dig up someone’s weakness?”
“Not exactly a weakness… but something similar. I was wondering if you knew about the ‘Spirit Sorcerer’s Curse’ that’s passed down in the Red Flower Yeon family.”
“The Spirit Sorcerer’s Curse, huh. Of course I know. Aha… I see. So that’s why the principal came looking for you…”
Mok Jinu nodded as if he had pieced something together, then suddenly gave a strange smile. I hadn’t even mentioned the conversation with the principal, yet with just those few pieces of information, he seemed to have roughly grasped the situation.
“…Anyway, I need some information on that. But when I tried looking into it myself, nothing came up…”
“That makes sense. Most information related to spirits is monopolized by the Yeon family. And anything that could be used as a weakness is even more tightly guarded. It’s nearly impossible for an outsider to obtain that kind of intel. Coming to me was an excellent choice.”
Mok Jinu nodded.
“Hmm… I could give you a rough outline right now, but it’d be better if you got the full picture. Alright. Go back for now. I’ll contact you at the right time.”
“Thank you. And, um…”
“Yeah?”
After finishing my business and leaving the bar, darkness had already settled over the city long ago. Yet even after the sun had set, the city emitted its own light. Hundreds of thousands of red and blue lamps illuminated the distant main streets. The entire scene still felt alien to me.
Today was only my second day, so I had adapted a little, but yesterday everything had been so fascinating I could hardly believe it. In the remote countryside, night and darkness meant the same thing, but that rule didn’t apply here.
As I walked back toward the hotel, I reviewed the conversation I had just had with Mok Jinu. When I asked him not to tell the Director or my sisters about what I was doing, he had nodded cheerfully with an expression that said he was dying of amusement. It was fortunate that his personality was so cheerfully irreverent despite his position.
Anyway, I had taken care of everything I needed to do for now. All that was left was to return to my room and stay buried there like the dead until Monday morning when I would head to the Cradle. That was what I thought.
—KWAANG!
I had just turned through several alleys and was heading back toward the main road when a loud explosion suddenly erupted from deep inside one of the side streets. Immediately after, the area filled with the sound of people shouting.
“D-don’t do this…!”
“Block that way!”
“How can she run so fast…!”
One distressed woman’s voice. And several angry male voices…
It looked like something had gone wrong. So even the capital’s security wasn’t perfect after all…
The noisy footsteps were gradually drawing closer to where I stood. If I didn’t move, it was obvious I would get caught up in something troublesome within a minute.
With that thought, I tried to leave the alley immediately, but a sudden idea stopped me in my tracks.
Mother wouldn’t like it if I walked away from someone in a difficult situation. Besides, I myself had only survived by relying on the kindness of the Director and my sisters. I couldn’t just ignore someone else.
“…”
It didn’t take long to reach a conclusion. I changed direction and headed toward the source of the commotion.
I wound through the maze-like back alleys of the city. The sounds of pursuit grew closer and closer. Now I could even make out the sound of someone panting heavily and the patter of frantic footsteps.
And just as I turned into one narrow passage, I finally caught sight of the person being chased.
What emerged from the darkness was a young girl with a face full of distress. Her clothes were plain and shabby, and she looked roughly the same age as me… Perhaps a girl who had come up from the countryside and gotten lost in the big city, ending up in trouble.
“Ah? A person…! Excuse me, please help…!”
The girl’s face lit up as if she had seen a savior the moment she saw me. She ran toward me and tried to cling to me, almost throwing her whole body at me as she begged.
But I reflexively dodged her.
Even though I was wearing the mask, I wasn’t mentally prepared for sudden physical contact. Moreover, she wasn’t someone familiar like my sisters—she was a complete stranger.
“Please… help me… hic… I got lost and these scary people…”
Apparently interpreting my reaction as rejection, tears began to well up in the girl’s eyes. And now the voices of her pursuers were getting closer.
“We almost got her…!”
“It’s a dead end anyway, she can’t run. We were just gonna have a little taste…”
“Whatever, just take turns this time…”
The crude conversation made it clear they were the cause of the disturbance.
I raised a finger to my lips and signaled for her to be quiet. Thankfully she still had the presence of mind to understand; the girl quickly covered her mouth with both hands.
“…Hup.”
They still hadn’t noticed my presence. In that case, there was no better method than a surprise attack.
I hid in a blind spot and waited for the right moment. The instant I sensed them right in front of me, I sprang out and slammed my fist into the face of the man in the lead.
—THUD!
My strike landed perfectly on his temple. I didn’t even need to strengthen my body with magic. The man collapsed without a sound, his body rigid from the impact of my solid fist.
—THUMP!
“Who the hell is this bastard?!”
“Where did he come from…!”
The fallen man’s companions shouted in shock and rage. I immediately chose my next target. I grabbed the wrist of the man who was reaching into his pocket for a sharp weapon and twisted it in the opposite direction of the joint.
—CRACK!
“Aaaaagh!”
A scream of agony burst out along with the sound of breaking bone. The man clutched his broken arm and writhed on the ground like a shrimp.
—THUD! THWACK!
“Ugh… guh… s-stop…”
I kicked him straight in the face. The sound of his nose breaking rang out, and I could clearly feel several teeth shattering. The man who had been begging soon went limp on the ground, unconscious.
The last man tried to kick me from behind, but I caught his ankle and twisted it the other way.
—SNAP!
“Grrrrgh!”
With a grotesque sound of muscles and joints tearing, his ankle bent at an unnatural angle. I then stomped on his opposite knee several times with force. The man, now unable to use either leg, collapsed and let out pained groans.
“Hiiik… s-spare me…!”
I grabbed him by the collar as he tried to crawl away and lifted him up. Then I clenched my fist and pounded his stomach several times.
“Grrrrgh… kuh… guh…”
Before long, the man vomited a mixture of blood and saliva and lost consciousness. I threw him onto the ground.
The surrounding floor was already soaked with blood and moans.
“Huu…”
I let out a small breath I had been holding. Their condition didn’t particularly look pitiful to me. If anything, they should be thanking me for letting them keep their lives. I had only spared them because causing trouble right after arriving in the capital would be troublesome. Still, it would be difficult for them to live like proper human beings from now on.
“Th-thank… hic…!”
The girl who had been trying to thank me suddenly jumped back in fright, putting distance between us. Only then did I realize my hood had slipped off, exposing my face.
“…”
Well, seeing someone wearing a bizarre mask in a situation like this would naturally elicit that kind of reaction from anyone. I had no intention of showing off. Besides, I would probably never see her again.
I pulled my hood back over my head and turned to leave.
“W-wait…! Just a moment…!”
Behind me, the girl’s voice gradually grew distant. Since she had come to her senses, she should be able to find her own way back now.
All I had to do was quietly stay in the hotel until Monday morning and then head to the Cradle. That was what I naturally thought.
***
“You…! You’re that person from last time!!”