Blending In
Blending In
It was a rather interesting task.
Straightening the shape of the fibers before imbuing them with magic was similar to the process of drawing circuits onto a semiconductor, and the task of checking the fibers from scratch when the magic didn't take held a resemblance to examining the code of a bugged program.
What was regrettable was my magical talent.
'I'll have to make blood again.'
If only I could finely control natural mana like that mage I missed last time, but unless I used blood as a medium, I couldn't even touch the mana.
Thanks to that, every time I went through a process, I had to dissolve blood in a puddle of water to create a "micro-processing workstation."
Then I dipped the robe into it, altering the shape of the fibers or bestowing magic upon them.
When it failed, I used the blood mixed into the puddle like an interferometer to analyze the original robe of Helsi.
After immersing myself in the work like a craftsman entering a secluded training session for an entire week, a fairly high-quality experimental piece was completed.
The historic street of 'Mauji,' called 'the Eaves of Brighton City,' was a venerable road that preserved its medieval appearance even from the outside.
A five-story clock tower standing in a modest fifty-pyeong plaza.
The antique wooden buildings surrounding the plaza.
The bank and government offices built during its heyday.
Though the minute hand of the clock tower had stopped, and all the buildings were thickly stained with grime, giving it a dingy atmosphere (some say it's especially dingy because it's Brighton City),
At any rate, its unique historicity was so well displayed that I could fully understand why this place had earned such fame, even if it was a notorious kind.
Was that the reason?
Every year, countless provincial folk made their way up to Brighton City.
Among them, those who hadn't yet climbed the ladder of success but still had fire in their eyes flocked to this spot.
The young man who seemed to be begging at first glance was one of them.
Sitting on a straw mat laid out in front of a shop, diligently scribbling something in a grimy notebook, the young man pulled a harmonica from his chest.
When he began to play, a few passersby on the street halted with interest.
But only for a moment.
All the passersby were young people around the same age as the young man.
They, too, still held onto dreams and passion.
They couldn't afford to allow themselves the time to appreciate the melody woven by a beggar.
So, while stealing glances filled with lingering regret, they had no choice but to keep moving forward.
Fortunately, the young man was satisfied with that.
The joy that one stanza of his had reached another person's ears piled up steadily.
That's why, when a shadow suddenly fell over him, he was more flustered than pleased.
He lifted his head to identify the owner of the shadow.
A tiny girl draped in an incredibly luxurious robe.
Her sclera were so pitch black it was unsettling, but what surprised him more was that the girl's attention was focused entirely on him.
He wanted to keep playing forever, but the girl's presence was too overwhelming.
Unable to come up with an impromptu melody, he finished his performance following the sheet music.
And just as he was about to speak,
"Hati. What do you mean running off all of a sudden?"
Another girl came trotting over and grabbed the first audience member by the wrist.
That girl's appearance went unrecognized.
Though he had clearly witnessed, observed, and even registered "Oh, so that's what she looks like," after a little time passed, the young man ended up unable to recall even the fact that he had met her.
"Did you like the song?"
The girl asked, addressing her first audience.
The young man was also curious about the answer.
But the audience member said nothing, and the girl who had asked didn't inquire further.
She dropped a silver coin into the donation box.
An unexpected fortune.
The young man was so shocked his mouth hung wide open.
While his body froze, his mind spun wildly.
'Is that real silver? How should I react to this? Should I just say thanks like usual? Or should I kneel? No, wait—performers who get paid this much just give a silent nod to keep their dignity, right? That's the polite thing to do?'
By the time his agonizing ended, the situation had also ended.
The audience was nowhere to be seen.
Staring blankly at the passersby, he slowly moved his hand.
His hand, which had been heading for the can, changed course the moment the face of his first audience member flashed through his mind, and grabbed the notebook tucked inside his chest.
After wandering the streets for half a day as an experiment, I managed to obtain two interesting results.
Excluding the form of the clothes from the target when imbuing the Perception Inhibition Magic was a mistake, but thanks to it, I learned something good.
'Even nuns can be rich, and if you're rich, everyone gets treated well in this world.'
A familiar worldview.
Neither the atmosphere of the streets nor the way people lived was much different from the world I used to live in.
The gloomy street I looked at last was just an ordinary slum compared to the shantytowns that once stood in the middle of Seoul.
'This neighborhood is ripe for gentrification.'
Thinking such thoughts while looking around the dirty market, I found an inn.
I wanted to stay on a street with solid security if possible, but the mage I missed last time was weighing on my mind.
'He's a criminal too, so he can't report me, right?'
His skill was too outstanding for me to indulge in wishful thinking.
With that level of ability, he'd probably be able to clean his past quickly and come brandishing a sword of revenge without hesitation.
'What he said about not getting caught by the wrong person—that must have been an expression of that confidence.'
On a sparsely populated street, I called out to Helsi.
"Helsi. Come here."
I shared our revised cover story in a whisper.
"Let's not be nuns. Let's go as rich young ladies."
Fortunately, Helsi seemed more comfortable with this.
"Young ladies? So I should act like the noble lady in romance novels?"
She caught on immediately and asked. I gave her the detailed setup.
Helsi's face flushed bright red, and she looked embarrassed—but that might have been just an act.
A hotel in a slum, chosen with considerable care.
"An interesting pigsty."
That was the first line Helsi delivered once she started acting.
For what it was, the hotel's service and facilities were fairly decent.
Worn-out but clearly tasteful interior design.
Meals and toiletries delivered to the room.
Various beverages available in the lounge.
For the first time in a while, I indulged in some rest.
Though this body of mine didn't seem to accumulate fatigue anyway.
'Helsi and Hati didn't look tired either, so I'd like to use the time productively...'
I spun my chair around and looked at Helsi and Hati lying side by side on the bed.
For some reason, both of them had their hands folded over their chests like mummies, staring vacantly at the ceiling.
I followed their gaze.
A spider making its way across the pure white marble ceiling.
Maybe it was because they had been living with bats in a cave until just a day ago.
The uninvited guest who wasn't human was rather welcome.
I also stared blankly at the spider, and when it started building a web in a corner, I spoke up.
"Helsi. I'm going to call an employee later and see how far we can push our demands. Let's practice a bit first."
Helsi jumped up and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Yes!"
This time, I let Helsi decide the lines.
I wrote down only the stages of the demands and the final goal on a piece of paper and showed it to Helsi.
Helsi wrote several versions of matching lines and asked me to review them, but I couldn't tell which was better.
"Aren't they all pretty similar?"
"They're completely different. If the ending is 'sayeo,' it sounds like a full-blooded aristocrat; if it's 'danikka,' it feels like a nouveau riche. Mixing in some banmal on top of the latter can give off a fallen noble vibe."
It was probably knowledge that only worked in novels, but the fact that acting based on that knowledge also worked in reality had already been proven.
So I had nothing to point out.
"I'll leave it to you. Just don't make it too different from the acting you did earlier."
Helsi answered confidently, then stared intently at the script she had written.
After waiting about an hour, I went outside.
I rang the bell hanging in the lounge, returned to the room, and left the door open. An employee came.
"Did you call?"
Helsi's acting had already begun.
"Close the door and come in."
With her legs crossed and a deep gaze fixed on the empty air, Helsi truly looked like an aristocratic lady with a story.
Startled, the employee glanced at us before stepping inside.
Then, closing the door, he asked with a tense expression.
"Is there something uncomfortable...?"
Helsi continued looking into the void as she carried on the conversation.
"No. It's fine. No need to be so nervous."
"Yes. Thank you."
"There are a few things I'd like to ask of you."
"Please tell me."
"I'm looking for people. Three in total."
"Ah..."
The employee's expression, which had been stiff with tension, gradually changed.
He seemed to catch the drift, but also looked troubled.
From here on, the real 'experiment' began.
"One is a pickpocket. Can you find him?"
The first hurdle.
How they handled a small-time criminal who might be part of an organization.
Running a hotel like this, it seemed this was a light request.
"If you give me a name and a description, I'll try my best."
A hint of relief appeared on the employee's face as he replied promptly.
But the next hurdle seemed a bit more difficult.
"The other one probably fled outside the city. Is it possible to search for someone like that?"
The employee's eyes rolled in thought. He smiled awkwardly and nodded.
"It may require a fee, but it's possible."
Helsi nodded as if she already knew.
Then, in a lowered voice, she made the third and most important demand.
"The last one is apparently in Karla. I need his location and a means to get there. I don't need to explain why I'm asking you specifically to look into that, do I?"
The employee's eyes went wide.
A reaction of complete surprise.
The answer was obvious, but,
"That's... not something we can assist with..."
The experiment wasn't over yet.
As previously agreed, Helsi took out a single gold coin and placed it beside her.
"Oh my. Looks like some pocket change dropped here."
Then, narrowing her eyes, she asked the employee.
"Would it be all right if the manager of another hotel picked this up?"
Was the setup too heavy?
Having belatedly processed Helsi's words, the employee asked in an urgent tone.
"I'm sorry. Could you wait just a moment?"
Helsi nodded, and the employee went outside.
Afterward, the person who came to see us wasn't an employee.
An elderly gentleman with white hair and a monocle.
The manager of this hotel.