GGC
“...”
Throughout the entire taxi ride, Keira’s mouth never stayed shut.
“Aren’t these all things you’ve already seen on the internet?”
“It’s different. That building, those cars, even the rumble of the subway running underground! It’s beyond anything I imagined.”
Until now, the farthest Keira had ever gone outside the house was the convenience store down the alley. I could understand her amazement, and at the same time it felt strangely new. She was usually so composed.
“But I’d really appreciate it if you toned it down a little.”
I leaned in close and whispered into her ear.
“Why?”
Keira turned her head to look at me. Her eyes were sparkling in a way that was completely unlike her usual self. It felt a little sad to rein in this childlike side of her, but there was no choice.
“Look over there.”
I pointed ahead. At the end of my finger was the taxi driver’s trembling shoulder.
“...Is he sick or something?”
“It’s because of you.”
“Me? Why?”
Keira was still wearing her robe—the same one she had arrived from the other world in. Recognition-interference magic was woven into it, so anyone who didn’t know her perceived her as the complete opposite of who she was. In Keira’s case, that meant a big, burly man. On top of that, she was using voice-modulation magic. Even to me, who knew the situation, the metallic screech that came out was unpleasant enough. It was no wonder the driver was terrified. A huge guy was growling in a metallic voice. The actual words were pure admiration, but the tone alone made it sound like he was picking a fight.
“The magic’s effect must be stronger than we thought. So just stay quiet for a bit, okay? I’ll take you sightseeing around Seoul properly later.”
“Promise?”
Keira held out her pinky. The gesture was so natural that I hooked my finger with hers without thinking—then nearly jumped.
“What the—when did you learn this?”
“If I’m going to adapt, I have to learn the culture. This much is basic.”
Amazing. I was still struggling just to finish learning runes. So this was what a real mage looked like.
After we sealed the pinky promise with a stamp, Keira finally quieted down. I glanced forward to check on the driver and met his eyes in the rearview mirror. I gave him a big, reassuring grin to let him know everything was fine now. The driver whipped his head away so fast his neck might have snapped. The trembling in his shoulders only got worse.
What the hell... Why? What did I even do?
“Heh.”
Keira’s quiet snicker reached my ear. Something about it pissed me off.
Keira, you’re getting it later.
The GGC crew house was a ten-story building on the outskirts of Seoul, and GGC occupied the entire tenth floor. They weren’t even a major corporation yet, but the scale was impressive.
“Welcome.”
Garam came out to greet Keira and me.
“Is this the person you mentioned?”
“Yes.”
“And you still can’t reveal their identity?”
“Yes. That was the condition.”
Garam’s expression grew complicated, but there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t exactly say, “This is an otherworlder.”
I had told Garam I would join the Gate expedition on the condition that I brought along a Keeper whose identity could not be disclosed. Honestly, it was an absurd demand. Anything could happen inside a Gate. And they were supposed to let an unidentified Keeper tag along? What if that Keeper went berserk and killed the Gate owner? Everyone would die. That was exactly why people took identity verification so seriously before entering a Gate. The Association’s control over Gate access and the practice of only entering with fellow crew members existed for the same reason.
Would they even accept this?
If the leader of GGC was truly desperate, they would agree to take us in. If not? Well, nothing to be done. We would just go home. This was a good opportunity, but other paths definitely existed—paths that would still let Keira and me enter a Gate together.
“Understood. The decision will be up to the leader. Please, come inside.”
The leader’s office was, fittingly, on the top floor. Three people were in the middle of a meeting inside the spacious room. I knew immediately who the leader was—the one sitting in the center. There was something magnetic about them. Outstanding looks, of course, but more than that, an aura—no, a charisma—that went beyond mere appearance.
“Leader, these are the people I told you about.”
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
The leader rose from their seat, walked around the desk, and came toward us.
Click. Click.
Over 175 centimeters—almost the same height as me. A perfectly straight back. And high heels. It felt like a finely honed sword was walking toward us.
“Hello. I’m Kim Nari, leader of GGC.”
Her bright, refreshing smile made her pretty face stand out even more. It was a smile you would never expect from someone whose twin sister was hovering between life and death. That only made the pressure she radiated stronger.
Being a crew leader isn’t something just anyone can do.
“Lee Jungmin.”
“And this is the Keeper whose identity cannot be revealed?”
“Yes.”
“The voice as well?”
Keira answered that one herself.
“Yes. There are circumstances.”
The sharp metallic screech of the voice-modulation magic filled the office. Garam and the two people behind Kim Nari instinctively grimaced. That was the normal reaction for anyone hearing it for the first time. I had done the same.
“Even the voice is off-limits. Understood.”
Yet Kim Nari’s expression didn’t change at all. Wow.
“I apologize for saying this to someone who has come to help us, but would you mind taking a test?”
Her polite tone made me nod before I even thought about it. I had already heard the situation from Garam over the phone beforehand—that a test might be required. Kim Nari could only take about ten people into the Gate. Naturally she wanted the absolute best. Her sister had been fighting for her life for over a week now; this was practically the last chance. No one would waste a precious slot on an unverified F-class Keeper. On top of that, I was taking up one of those ten spots myself. I had to perform the work of at least two people. In other words, I needed to show ability superior to most dedicated scout Keepers.
Hmm... the more I thought about it, the higher the bar got. Should I just turn around and leave?
“Thank you for understanding. We’ve already prepared everything. We’ve released several rats inside this building. All you need to do is catch every last one.”
Rats... not a bad choice. My job was to find monsters and living creatures, and few things were better at running and hiding than rats.
“Is that doable?”
“It is. How many are there in total?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that.”
Catch every rat without even knowing how many there were... inside a ten-story building? The difficulty was extremely high. But that also meant anything less wouldn’t be worth bringing me along. I had heard that on the previous expedition they had taken three B-class scout Keepers and still failed.
“Understood. May we start right away?”
“Of course. I’ll be waiting for good results.”
I exchanged final greetings with Kim Nari and left the office. Garam came out with us.
“I’ll accompany you. With me here, you can go anywhere in the building. And feel free to use magic in front of me.”
The fact that I was a mage was still a secret. As far as anyone here knew, I was just an ordinary person with ridiculously good hearing. What Kim Nari expected was for me to listen for rat footsteps and catch an unknown number of them.
“Perfect. Just a moment, then.”
I pulled Keira a short distance away from Garam. To use Search, I needed to borrow black magic. Right now I only knew other spells and had borrowed white magic instead.
When I moved to kiss the back of Keira’s left hand, she looked at me.
“Why?”
“I need to use Search.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Ah...”
Right. Why was I trying to do it when I had an outstanding mage right here?
Keira cast Search in an instant. Mana and magical power whipped past so fast that just watching made my head spin.
“Where?”
“One right above us.”
Above us was the ceiling. That meant we had to tear it open.
“Let’s do it this way... can you manage?”
“Yeah. Easy.”
After a brief discussion with Keira, I turned to Garam. We at least had to notify the building owner’s representative.
“Garam, it looks like we’ll need to open the ceiling. Is that all right?”
“That’s fine. If you need a ladder—”
A ladder? Unnecessary. With my acting and Keira’s magic, we had everything we needed.
I raised my hand toward the ceiling. The screws holding the seams together unscrewed themselves—Keira’s work. Then a section of the ceiling slowly descended—also Keira’s magic. I lowered my hand in time with it. A hole opened in the ceiling, and a sharp squeak rang out.
Whoosh.
Keira, already reinforcing her body with magic, jumped. She shot straight through the hole. Moments later she dropped back down with a rat clutched in one hand.
“...Impressive. Both of you, Jungmin and your companion.”
We still hadn’t revealed her identity, but we had made it clear that Keira was a Keeper capable of protecting herself. That much was basic. From Garam’s reaction, Keira’s physical ability just now had been on par with a B-class Keeper. Just right, I figured.
I raised my hand again, and Keira reassembled the ceiling in perfect sync. It looked as if nothing had ever happened.
“Hoo...”
I let out a long breath as if the effort had exhausted me, finishing the act. Now it was time for me to use my own ability. I could have left this to Keira too, but since I had already borrowed white magic, I wanted to use it.
I took the rat from Keira and closed my eyes. If black magic began by pushing away the surrounding mana, white magic began by gathering it. The end result was similar, but the starting concept was different. Using the mana and magical power that had gathered around the rat, I completed the runes.
Woom.
Mana flowed along the runes and then spread in every direction. The dispersing mana sent signals back from various spots on the top floor. Wherever those signals were, there would probably be rats. The spell I had just used was Trace—a tracking spell, simply put. It could locate similar objects or living creatures. With my current magical power, the range was about thirty meters in every direction. Enough to cover one floor. Meaning I would have to do this at least ten more times.
“All right, shall we move on?”
I followed the signals.
We wandered the building catching rats. It was more tedious than difficult. Magic truly was magnificent. Thanks to it, we got a full tour of the crew house while we worked. We checked out the training room packed with the latest equipment, the armory where weapons and suits were always kept in peak condition, a cafeteria that rivaled a high-end restaurant, and even the in-house coffee shop. The coffee was excellent. Of course, no rats turned up in the restaurant or coffee shop—they had clearly taken extra care there. Beyond that, the welfare facilities for crew members were top-tier. The staff all looked content, too. They couldn’t be completely at ease with the leader’s sister fighting for her life, but still.
It was a crew house I genuinely liked. Judging by Garam, the crew members themselves seemed decent as well. If the chance came, I wanted to join this crew.
After making a full circuit and catching a total of twenty rats, we returned to Kim Nari’s office. She was still in a meeting.
“We found them all.”
“Already?”
For the first time since I had met her, a different light flickered in Kim Nari’s eyes. It lasted only a moment. She immediately returned to her usual gaze—full of confidence.
“All twenty are right here.”
I held out the sack containing the twenty rats.
“Twenty, correct. I didn’t expect you to find them this quickly.”
Had it taken about an hour? Without a comparison group I couldn’t be sure, but this should put me on par with most dedicated scout Keepers.
“So, did we pass the test?”
“Yes, you passed. The expedition is in two days. Please take good care of us.”
When Kim Nari bowed deeply to me, I felt a raw desperation in the gesture. Thinking about it, a successful crew leader bowing her head to a mere F-class Keeper was not something just anyone could do. Only then did I catch a fleeting glimpse of the worried older sister behind Kim Nari’s confident face.
I needed to focus. Whether it was about Keira, the Gate, or joining the crew—none of that mattered right now. This was a matter of life and death.