Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Even at Dawn, the Cult Comes Knocking (3)
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"Lua?! Where on earth did you go...!"
I'd returned in less than four minutes, but in the meantime, Mi-ra Owner had been searching all over the department store for me.
"Owner!"
"...Lua?!"
I scurried over with quick little steps and jumped into her arms. Only then did she spot me and come rushing up.
Thwack—!
"Ow!"
She flicked my forehead.
"Disappearing without a word again...! I thought bad people had kidnapped you!"
"...Ehehehe."
Instead of getting kidnapped, I'd caught the bad people.
But if I told her that, she'd scold me even more, so I made up a story about helping a lost kid.
"Haa... Alright. Let's head home now."
"Nyam!"
"But... confiscating your burger patties today!"
"Mnyang! Nooo! I'm sorry!!"
"No way. Vegan burger it is today."
"Hiyaak!"
Worried I'd vanish again like a troublemaker, Owner gripped my hand tight as we walked home together.
By the way, the burger without patties was surprisingly delicious.
Owner's cooking skills, maybe...?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
That dawn.
"Mmng... Lua...."
I slipped out the window without waking Owner, rising quietly from the bed.
Just in case I got caught, I'd left a small note on the living room table.
【Just went out for some fresh air a bit.
—Lua Bae-sang】
First time gripping a pen with these hands, so the handwriting came out at kindergarten level.
Anyway.
Now it was time to seriously track down the Arhat Nirvana Cult.
"Putting the info together: they're a Buddhist cult..., some event coming up soon, and human trafficking, right?"
Unfortunately, all the exposed info was internal stuff.
Externally, where they operated was shrouded in mystery.
It was a natural progression for an illegal cult to be that secretive.
I spread my wings and swam through the skies, scanning for any cultists flying around.
"Hmm...."
As expected, scouring all of Yongsan District for cultists wasn't easy.
Finding something in Seoul's never-ending nightscape was always tough.
"Weung? Is that it?"
That's when a shady bus pulling into an apartment complex caught my eye.
Hiss— The moment it stopped at the entrance, people poured out and moved in perfect sync.
"...Zerglings?"
It reminded me of a game I'd played a ton as a kid.
They screamed cultist at first glance, so I narrowed my pupils to slits and softly landed beside the bus, where only the driver remained.
I crouched low and boarded quietly. The driver didn't notice tiny me and just stared at his phone.
I snuck to the back without being spotted and started rummaging through the bags they'd left behind.
Out came nothing but junk: flyers, Bibles, crosses, wooden fish drums, prayer beads.
Other bags were the same.
Were these idiots really carrying nothing useful?
No luck, so I shifted my gaze to the driver's seat.
...Time to collect some human data, then.
Swish— I lowered myself and crept up to the driver carefully.
"...Hmmm. Proselytizing rate's way down today."
The driver sighed while tapping away on his phone.
"...Low rate means no Nirvana."
"Why?"
"To reach Nirvana, you gotta eliminate all defilements... Hyaak!?!?"
I suddenly popped my head out, revealing myself, and he sprang up from the seat like it had springs.
"Wh-what are you!?"
"Just a passing dragon."
"Oh, gotcha?"
I showed off my horns, wings, and tail, and he nodded like he bought it... then screamed again.
"...No, an Anomaly!!"
"I'm not a bad Anomaly."
"All wild Anomalies are evil!! Begone, Mara Papiyas! Angra Mainyu!!"
Now this was an interesting story.
I'd figured their doctrine claimed Anomalies came from mutated humans, but apparently not.
"Eek!!"
I closed in on the driver and coldly squeezed his neck with my tail.
"So, what exactly are you guys?"
"Guhk...!"
I botched the strength control—he couldn't even speak, just gagging—so I loosened up.
"Call... the Manage... ment... Bureau... please..."
Gasping for air, the driver cautiously reached for his dropped phone.
"You wanna try that?"
I pulled out a flyer and shoved it in his face.
【Arhat Nirvana Cult
Buying.
Ghost helicopters, high prices paid】
"I already know everything, idiot."
If he called the Bureau like this, who would they peg as the Anomaly?
Kidnapping bad guys versus burger-loving dragon.
No contest—the former looked way more Anomalous.
"...!!"
The driver broke into a cold sweat the instant he saw the flyer.
"M-Management Bureau?"
"...Huh?"
...Me, Bureau?
Lua's Hamburger mascot?
...Couldn't say that, so I nodded to probe.
"...Bureau agent...! W-we're just a new religion. This is just trendy SNS ghost story promo..."
Visibly relieved, he flashed an expensive check from his pocket with a sleazy grin.
It was exactly 10 million won.
"Heh... heh. We're just a harmless cult, right, Bureau sir?"
"...Hmph."
Thought bribery fixes everything?
Money was useful, though, so I took the check and stuck my hand out again.
"...?!"
"More."
Pathetic, thinking this pittance would shut me up.
Dragons are greedy!
"More...?! That's my whole fortune..."
"Saw your fat wallet. Hand over more, or snap goes your neck?"
"...I'll... give."
I forcibly extracted two more checks.
These would make great Christmas gifts for Mi-ra Owner.
"We'll wrap up business and scatter quick..."
He kept the forced smile, hinting to look the other way.
"Told you, I know everything, idiot? Spill the cult's location."
"W-wait! That's not the deal!!"
"When did I say? You gave money. Location, now."
"Can't tell! Damn...! Wild Anomaly scum right now—!"
Coldly demanding the location, he refused flat-out and started raging.
"Then die."
Whack! No more use for him, so I chopped the back of his neck and knocked him out.
"Now to hunt..."
I shoved the unconscious driver aside with my tail and powered up his handy phone to poke around.
【Arhat.NET】
I quickly scanned categories like events and gatherings on the open intranet site.
"What the..."
Among them, I spotted a 【Target】 category and clicked, mesmerized.
⚠️ Internal Alert ⚠️
※Bureau and police special surveillance period started. Stay cautious.※ [MIRA LEE] ─ Lua’s Hamburger current Owner Cult leader's marked woman. Proselytize with minimal harm. ※Caution※ Grandfather highly likely Bureau affiliate.
Amid texts clashing with the site's cheery vibe, there it was—a blatant paragraph with Mi-ra Owner's name.
"...These bastards."
She'd said they'd been sniffing around for a month. So this was why.
Grinding my teeth at the Arhat Nirvana Cult targeting Mi-ra Owner.
If it were just a regular crime cult, I'd hand evidence to police or Bureau and call it done.
But openly ordering her capture? Unforgivable.
...Anyone who touches my precious family gets no mercy.
I fiddled with the phone for the cult's location, but no dice—nothing more.
They were airtight on that, as expected from such a closed group.
"...Grrrng."
A few people trickling back to the bus now.
Search ends here, sadly.
I snatched the driver's phone and wallet as evidence, then bailed from the bus.
Naturally, I made sure the driver never woke up.
Wings out, I soared home through the sky.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Mi-ra Owner slept soundly, clueless I'd been gone.
【Just went out for some fresh air a bit.
—Lua Bae-sang】
I destroyed evidence of going out, but that pathetic scrawl on the table note caught my eye.
Crooked letters believable from a kindergartener.
Tomorrow, ask Owner to teach me writing when she's free.
A dragon learning letters.
"...Mum, Lu...a?"
"Just went to the bathroom."
"O...kay? Come... here...."
"Gyarung...."
I slipped back into the bedroom and shamelessly snuggled into the mumbling Owner's arms.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Next morning. Lua’s Hamburger shop.
"Nyam...."
Sweet tomato.
Crispy cabbage and onion.
Juicy beef patty too.
Savoring the ever-tasty burger, I waited for Grandpa to spill the beans on the Arhat Nirvana Cult's schemes.
Vroom—! Soon enough, Grandpa rolled up on his cyberpunk motorcycle to Lua’s Hamburger.
"Granddaughter. Lua. Grandpa's here."
"You came, Grandfather?"
"Grandpa!"
The 190cm giant finished parking, and I instantly grabbed his hand with my tail, dragging him to the shop corner.
"What's up, kid? Another conbini burger run?"
To the bewildered Grandpa, I whispered the bombshell info amid his sudden freakout.
"...Grandpa. Big problem."
"Huh? Big problem?"
"...Arhat Nirvana Cult's targeting Owner."
"...!!"
"Snatched a cult guy's phone secretly. Commands right there, blatant."
I handed over the trafficking flyer and phone for credibility. Grandpa's face grew several times graver.
Seemed he hadn't suspected the cult at all.
"......"
I relayed everything from last night. Grandpa's expression turned deadly serious.
"Reliable intel?"
"Yes. Bet my burger on it."
"...Got it. Thanks for telling me. I'll look into this right away."
"Wuht...."
He ruffled my hair roughly, then headed to Owner in the kitchen.
"Granddaughter. Got news."
"News?"
"Anomaly alert over all Yongsan. Close shop today, rest at home."
Couldn't outright say the cult was after her, so Grandpa lied about Anomalies causing chaos.
A white lie to minimize variables.
Far safer holing up home than running the shop exposed to the public.
Grandpa's call.
"...Really? Finish this up and head home then."
Luckily, she seemed used to this kinda thing and closed early without much suspicion.
"...I'll handle it. Watch my granddaughter till then."
"Yes! Trust only me!"
"I'll drop by at dawn. See you then."
Grandpa left those words and vanished on his bike.
Mi-ra Owner, just closed up, scooped me up with a smile.
"Today we're rolling around home all day with Lua, huh?"
"Weung!"
"Whatcha wanna play, my Lua?"
"Um...! Teach me Hangul!"
"Hm? Thought you knew it?"
"Writing's no good... Ehehehe...."
Daytimes like this: peacefully protecting Owner, waiting for Grandpa at night.
Operation protect-while-pretending-normal-daily-life had begun.
Home safe, no incidents. Owner handed me an unused notepad and little ballpoint.
"Here. Try writing in this."
"Yes!"
I gripped the pen in a fist-clench and scribbled cutely.
【Mi-ra Owner is the prettiest in the world.】
"Hmm. You really can't write."
"Huk...."
Two minutes of silent hard work showing her, and Owner's blunt critique hit.
"But effort counts. Pass."
"...Really?!"
"Think so? Fix your grip first."
"Pipyak!"
Thwack—!! Flicked, then reteach pen hold.
Index and middle finger on right hand, thumb secure...
"Uhk? Eek? Hyak?"
"Like this."
Owner, fed up, adjusted my hand directly for proper grip.
Her hand so soft and warm.
"Myaang...! I can do it! Writing!!"
Decent-ish grip now. Enthused, I scribbled away.
"Nooo!"
Zeal outpaced skill—pen slipped, rolled across desk.
Fine control not adapted yet, unlike brute force.
"Pfft... Lua sucks at this, huh?"
"I... I can do it!"
Her belittling sparked my pride. Gripped pen again, scribble.
【Ira Owner】
...Why no good?
Back in human days, I prided on good handwriting.
Won a high school essay contest for calligraphy.
Wasn't I a genius at everything?
Can't even do this now?
"...Argh!"
Might as well use tail—hundreds times better!
【Mi-ra Owner is the prettiest in the world.】
All-in desperation, tail-scrawled perfect handwriting.
"......"
I proudly spread the notepad for Owner.
Pass now? Eyes sparkling.
"Invalid."
"Pipyak?! Whyyy!"
"Humans don't write with tails."
"Miyaaang!"
Owner's ironclad no-cheats rule: invalid.
"No proper writing, no burgers."
"Nooo!! Hate it!!"
And so till lunch, I filled the notepad praising Mi-ra Owner's looks.
...Time with Owner, ever vigilant for Arhat Nirvana Cult, was so sweet it could last forever.
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