The Necromancer
I had already stopped the Summoner once.
What the Summoner wanted was Mjolnir.
But having those two things in the same place was not the whole of the bait operation.
There was one more piece.
The house itself.
Even if both baits were gathered together, if that place was the GGC Crew House, the prey would have a hard time approaching.
That was why we needed a house.
I decided to live separately—so the Summoner could attack without worry.
“Here it is. What do you think? Nice, right?”
“Yeah, it’s really nice.”
I agreed with Garam hyung’s words.
The house was truly great. A two-story place on the outskirts of Seoul, complete with a pool in the garden. The kind of house you only ever saw in dramas. I had never once imagined I would live somewhere like this in my lifetime.
“I was a little worried since we had to find it so fast, but luckily a good property turned up. The interior’s clean too.”
I could only keep nodding, glancing left and right without even thinking of answering. I liked the oversized sofa that looked bigger than a bed, and the cool marble floors. What would it feel like to have sex on that? Sunlight poured in through the big living-room windows as well. Waking up to that light seemed like it would be fun in its own way.
“There’s a basement too?”
“A basement?”
The basement Garam showed me was no dusty storage room. A wall of mirrors greeted us—a full training room. It was packed with every kind of exercise equipment, and somehow the facilities felt better than the ones at the crew house.
“Whoa…”
“The boss spent some real money. Make sure you thank her properly later.”
“Of course.”
This was the quality of a house found in three days? I could hardly believe it. You could feel how carefully the boss and Garam hyung had thought of every detail.
“But are you confident?”
We finished touring the house and sat in the kitchen drinking tea. The pantry was stocked with top-grade groceries, so we could brew whatever we wanted.
“Leave that to me. Before Lu’s sword, everything is equal.”
Elena preferred Maxim instant coffee over any fancy beans. With her here, even if a whole truck of Summoners showed up, I would feel secure. That was what an S-class Keeper meant.
“Elena’s fine, but you still have to be careful. The Summoner’s estimated to be S-class too.”
A Summoner who could call out A-class monsters. Of course he had to be treated as S-class.
“It’s okay. That’s why people from the Association are coming, right?”
This bait operation had been proposed by the Association first. They said they would prepare a harpoon to catch the fish that bit the bait. The harpoon meant a strong Keeper. That Keeper would live in this house and wait for the Summoner—that was the core of the plan. I didn’t know who would come, but at minimum it had to be an A-class. The Association still didn’t know about Elena and Keira. To hold the Summoner until the Anti-Villain Division waiting around the house arrived, we needed a Keeper who was A-class but close to S-class.
“Yeah, that should be enough. It would’ve been nice if Nayeon was here too.”
“Nayeon unnie has to protect the boss.”
Nayeon unnie wasn’t coming to this house. She would stay at the crew house as planned. The fallout from the bait operation could easily turn into a terror attack on the crew house. Someone had to stay by the boss’s side.
“True. Oh, and they said one more person is coming, right?”
“Yes. Shinyongsan said they’re sending someone too.”
The person from Shinyongsan wasn’t coming for the bait operation. They were coming for research—specifically to study the correlation between Mjolnir and mana, or more precisely, between Mjolnir and sexual desire. Shinyongsan would never just hand over Mjolnir. We had only been able to receive it because this agreement had been made in advance.
“Do you know who’s coming from the Association or Shinyongsan?”
“No idea. We’ll find out when they get here. Since we’re living together, maybe a guy? I am a guy, after all.”
The Association and Shinyongsan thought I was living in this house alone. Keira and Elena’s existence still hadn’t been revealed. I planned to hide them as long as possible. So the two of them would stay hidden in this house—mostly in my room. Hahaha.
“More importantly, will this even work?”
“Who knows. Looking at the Summoner’s obsession, I think there’s a chance.”
Garam hyung gave a positive answer.
“…I don’t. Unless he’s an idiot, how could he not realize this is a trap?”
That was Keira’s reaction. I agreed with her. Was there anyone who wouldn’t think this was a trap?
“Still, it seems worth trying. In the end, isn’t it a fight over who lets their guard down first?”
Elena took the long view. The Summoner would know this was a trap, but he wouldn’t give up. His obsession with revenge was that strong, after all. But like Garam hyung said, he probably wouldn’t raid this house right away. He would wait. The moment the people living here grew tired of the Summoner who never came and relaxed their tension—if he struck then, his chances of success would be high. The Association seemed to be thinking along similar lines. This was a contest of who could endure longer. If the Summoner finally attacked after holding back and our preparations were solid, we won. If he attacked and we flailed in surprise, we lost. The Association seemed to be looking at anywhere from two months on the short end to six months on the long end.
“If it drags on too long, you two will have a hard time.”
“Can’t be helped. We’ll handle that. Right, Elena?”
“Of course. Even six months, we can endure.”
The problem with this operation was that Keira and Elena had to stay hidden. The house was big, so hiding itself wouldn’t be hard, but being cooped up to some degree was the issue. I wanted to get stronger fast. Only then could they—and I—gain freedom.
“Don’t worry. I’ll reveal everything within a month. A month is enough.”
“If you try to do it in a month, your head might explode.”
“I’ll do it anyway.”
The goal was to reach B-class within a month. And to raise my magic proficiency to the lower rank as well.
Ding-dong.
“Oh, looks like someone’s here.”
“Then we’ll go hide.”
“See you later.”
At the sound of the bell, Keira and Elena pulled up their hoods and melted away. They had used invisibility magic, plus spells to erase sound and reduce presence. At that level, no one short of a mage would notice them. I could feel the mana moving, so I knew where they were. They had said they would go to the room, but they were waiting right behind me.
“Hello. We’re from Leave-It-to-Us.”
“Ah, yes. Come in. Jungmin, I’ll take care of these people.”
The ones entering the house weren’t the people from the Association or Shinyongsan we had been waiting for, but housekeeping staff. Two women. Garam hyung took them to show them around. They would live here as well and handle cleaning and meals.
Ding-dong.
The bell rang again. This time it seemed the person we were waiting for had arrived.
…A woman?
Long straight hair, large eyes. White blouse and a long black skirt—elegance and cuteness coexisting.
“…Who are you?”
“Hello. I’m Woo Suyeon from the Shinyongsan Crew. You’re Lee Jungmin, right? Nice to meet you.”
The person who introduced herself as Woo Suyeon held out her hand. It was as white as her blouse. She grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously.
“Can I come in?”
“Ah, yes.”
Honestly, I was a little flustered. I had never once expected a woman to come. We would have to live together in this house for up to six months—why?
“Nice house. Looking forward to working with you.”
“Yeah, me too… looking forward to it.”
“Oh, looks like you’re here. Hello… huh?”
Garam hyung, who had been guiding the housekeepers, came to the entrance. He started to greet her and then stopped.
“…Are you with the Shinyongsan Crew?”
“That’s right. I’m Woo Suyeon. How did you know?”
“I’m Garam from GGC. By any chance, are you Kim Mujin’s niece?”
Woo Suyeon’s already large eyes grew even bigger. It looked like something out of a comic.
“That’s right! How did you know? Most people don’t.”
“I keep up with industry news. When people talk about Shinyongsan Crew’s young talent, Woo Suyeon’s name is famous.”
“…That’s a little embarrassing.”
Woo Suyeon’s face turned red and she lowered her head. Her expressions were as varied as Soyeon’s. She was taller than Soyeon and her figure was far better.
“I’d like to unpack first… where’s my room?”
“Ah, that room over there.”
I pointed to a room on the first floor. Woo Suyeon dragged her suitcase inside.
“Is she famous?”
“A little? Ability aside, look at that face. You might not know, but—”
“Come on, why wouldn’t I know? She’s pretty too—”
A chill ran down my back. Come to think of it, both Keira and Elena were still standing between the living room and the kitchen.
“…not less so. Is her skill solid?”
“A genius who got her doctorate at seventeen. I heard she has four PhDs now? She’s not a Keeper, but they say she helps Shinyongsan more than a Keeper would.”
Some people were twenty-six and only had one bachelor’s degree, and she had four doctorates. Admiration came naturally. She even looked younger than me.
“If she’s that valuable, shouldn’t they keep her close and protect her? Why send her to a place like this?”
“Well…”
“Well?”
“I don’t know either.”
Ding-dong.
I was about to snap at Garam hyung for that ridiculous answer when the bell rang once more. The doorbell was working overtime today.
“I’ll get it.”
Garam hyung went to the front door and brought the guests in. This time there were two of them—a man and a woman. A handsome man and a beautiful woman. Come to think of it, since becoming a Keeper I had never seen an ugly person. Keepers couldn’t really be ugly. Their bodies were reconstructed, so their skin improved and even a little exercise showed results right away. Even if their features were a bit off, they ended up above average. I was the same. But these two had sharp, distinct features to begin with. Tall, with long limbs. Whether Keepers or not, they had been beautiful from the start. I didn’t know which of them would stay in this house, but I hoped it would be the woman. The idea of a guy better-looking than me living here gave me a little resistance. Looking at a big-chested woman would be better for my mental health too. I had been flustered just a moment ago because Woo Suyeon had come to this house, yet people were this fickle.
“Jang Gumin, Team Leader of Anti-Villain Division Team 1.”
“Park Sena, same division, Team 1.”
Unlike Woo Suyeon, the two of them were equipped with combat suits and weapons. Was this the difference between a researcher and a combatant?
“It is an honor to meet the hero of Shinyongsan like this. Thank you once again for doing the work that should have been ours.”
Jang Gumin greeted me politely.
“It was nothing. I just did what needed to be done.”
“I heard you also gave great help catching a villain before. Late as it is, thank you for that as well.”
“Before…? Ah…”
It must have been about Park Changsik. Come to think of it, that had happened too. It felt like ages ago, but it hadn’t been long at all.
“We look forward to working with you on this operation as well. Shall we begin? I’ll explain the operation overview.”
Jang Gumin took out a small device and set it on the table. A map of the surroundings appeared on the wall. A portable beam projector, apparently. The map showed our current location and four dots surrounding the house.
“Our team will be on standby at these four points. If anything unexpected happens, we’ll deploy immediately.”
“We appreciate it. So who will be staying here?”
“This one will stay.”
From the moment Jang Gumin started talking, I had a feeling. The woman named Park Sena would stay in this house. Exactly what I had wanted. But that meant I would be living with six women. Was that a good thing…?
Jang Gumin continued.
“It isn’t publicly known, but this one is the Association’s second S-class Keeper. You don’t need to worry about safety.”
“…What?”
What was this? Deploying an S-class Keeper for six months on a single operation—did that make any sense?
Ding-dong.
That made four. The doorbell we thought was done rang one more time. Before Garam hyung or I could react, someone dashed to the front door first.
“Ah, I’ll get it! It’s my luggage!”
Woo Suyeon came out of her room and hurried over in quick little steps—then froze mid-stride.
“Ah, Jungmin-ssi, do you have a big room? I need a really big room.”
“…A big room?”
“I have a lot of luggage.”
I had already given her a large room. What kind of luggage could she mean? Garam hyung and I went out to the front door together. Two five-ton trucks were parked outside. The trucks were loaded full of all kinds of equipment.
“…What is all this?”
“To research Ttanttani, you need at least this much. Is there a place for it? If not, we can build a lab in the garden. A garden this size has enough land.”
…My head started to ache a little. Lab-grade equipment, plus an S-class Keeper. Things seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.