Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: The Traitor
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“Community nickname is Unicorn Lover Dog. Real name is Park Seokhyeon. He’s 36 years old, a mage who went to America when he was young and came back to Korea. He says his parents were gone when he returned.”
Yongsan’s alleyways.
The two of them got out of the taxi and moved to a deserted spot to talk.
“Probably dead, I suppose. Basa-go didn’t tell me that much, so I’m not entirely sure.”
“It doesn’t seem like a big deal anyway, so it probably doesn’t matter much.”
“That’s true.”
Grandmother took a sip of the Americano she’d bought on the way and spoke.
Ian drank the same drink. Their tastes in food were more similar than expected.
“As you said, Ian, the magic he uses are spells that handle the blood of the pure. He’s a ritual mage, and blood from anyone impure can’t be used in the spells.”
“No matter how I think about it, the conditions are really peculiar. Where did he even learn magic like that...?”
“Magic that handles blood is usually taught by high-ranking vampires. It’s probably the same for Park Seokhyeon.”
High-ranking vampire.
Ian thought of the vampire hunt he’d set as his next job and shook the plastic cup in his hand.
All the vampires Ian had faced so far were nothing but beast-like creatures with barely any reason left. Their limbs were grotesquely long, and their skin was a grayish pallor closer to a corpse than a living thing.
The vampire Albert had faced seemed to have some intelligence, but even that wasn’t anything impressive.
In contrast, high-ranking vampires—commonly called noble vampires—possessed intelligence similar to humans. Teaching magic to someone wasn’t impossible for them.
But if a vampire had taught him magic, did that mean all high-ranking vampires could use magic?
‘...No, probably not.’
If every vampire noble could use magic, Earth would have fallen to them long ago. It was more reasonable to assume only a few individuals could.
The vampire Ian planned to hunt was probably a being with powers closer to superhuman abilities than magic. Telepathy had long been socially agreed upon as a psychic power, and vampires were no exception.
Anyway.
Learning magic from a vampire didn’t change anything. Ian dumped the last of his Americano into his mouth and tossed the cup into a nearby trash bin.
“How do you plan to kill him?”
Ian asked. Even though he’d openly said “kill,” Eun-ha opened her mouth without a hint of surprise.
“Ideally, I’d target the moment he steps outside. But depending on where he goes, that could draw eyes, making it hard to time right. If luck’s bad, we might miss him.”
“Then raiding is better.”
“Yeah. But to raid, we have no choice but to enter his residence...”
“He’s a ritual mage, but still a mage. There’s considerable risk once we’re inside.”
Eun-ha nodded. Ian stared at the rundown house coming into view in the distance, racking his brain.
Openly remodeling the house? Not hard. But dealing with the aftermath would be tough.
Even with the Management Bureau’s support, using magic blatantly in the middle of the street would inevitably alert some humans to its existence. More eyes watching was the last thing Ian wanted.
Then cast magic from inside?
Not a bad strategy. If he could sense presences inside, dodge all incoming spells, and counter, it’d be perfect.
‘If the Deep Sea Chronicles worked properly, I wouldn’t have to worry like this.’
Ian clicked his tongue, asked Eun-ha’s permission, and put a cigarette in his mouth. Fortunately, she was the type who fully understood a smoker’s needs. Ian felt his fondness for her surging as he lit the end with his lighter.
The weakest creature in the Deep Sea Chronicles, the Messenger. Resembling a jellyfish or a mass of tentacles, it was cost-effective enough to fill its belly with three ghouls and one animal corpse. Summon it inside the house, and it would slither around, devouring Park Seokhyeon, blood, and bodies alike.
But that wasn’t an option now. Anything but summoning magic was fine, but summoning had been busted since the Outer Gods’ true forms appeared. He couldn’t even pull out plankton, let alone a Messenger.
‘If you’re gonna act up like this, just stay out.’
Ian inwardly cursed the Master of the Outer Sea as he exhaled smoke. He felt the grimoire in his bag vibrate roughly but ignored it. He had no time to indulge an Outer God’s tantrum right now.
“What’ll we do?”
Ian tapped ash into his portable ashtray and asked. Eun-ha, standing a good distance away, tapped her lips thoughtfully.
After a long moment, she turned to Ian and asked cautiously.
“...There is one method. A spell we’ve used for situations like this before...”
“Oh, really? Then let’s—”
“B-but using it with two people makes it look a bit weird.”
Eun-ha twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Ian stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and furrowed his brow slightly.
“...What do you mean by ‘look weird’?”
“Well...”
“Does it involve taking off clothes or something—?”
“N-no, it’s not that!”
Eun-ha shouted, her face flushing red. She hurriedly pulled a black scarf from her bag and added an explanation.
“There’s a presence-concealing spell on this scarf! I-it’s fine if I use it alone, but to share the effect, we have to...”
“...wear it together?”
“Y-yes...”
Eun-ha fidgeted with her fingers, her voice shrinking. Ian put the cigarette butt in the ashtray, closed it, and let out a groan.
Presence-concealing magic and gaze-evasion magic were distinctly different. Each had pros and cons, often shining in specific situations.
For raiding a mage’s residence, presence-concealing was more suitable. Magic circles didn’t have eyes, noses, or ears, but they often detected intruders’ presences. Exceptions were spells the mage activated manually, but remote magic could be easily nullified just by erasing presence.
So Eun-ha’s spell was highly effective for their situation.
Sure, sharing the scarf would look odd, as she said, but it beat wasting time dithering. Better to swallow the embarrassment and get it done. Ian turned to Eun-ha, nodded, and made up his mind.
“Let’s do it. There’s no better option anyway.”
“...Mm. Okay. The embarrassment’s only momentary...”
Eun-ha wrapped the scarf tightly around her own neck. Then she looked up at Ian and beckoned.
“Come closer, please.”
He did.
Worried about cigarette smell, Ian flapped his coat a few times before stepping to Eun-ha’s side. She stared at his close-up face and swallowed hard. Her heart pounded wildly from the unprecedented proximity to a man.
‘N-no, can’t think like that. This is work. He’s not a man—he’s a mage. Don’t think rationally.’
She hypnotized herself like that while wrapping the scarf around Ian’s neck. Her hot breaths—huh, huh—brushed his lips and nose, but Ian calmly adjusted the scarf’s position, pretending nonchalance.
It was long enough that they didn’t have to press super close. Still, their shoulders inevitably touched.
“Not uncomfortable?”
“...Hoo, it’s fine.”
Being a head shorter than Ian, the scarf wrapped their necks at a slant.
But it didn’t choke. It might loosen if they moved vigorously or mismatched steps, but with care, it’d be fine. Ian nodded and looked at Eun-ha.
“Let’s go. I’ll match your pace, so move carefully.”
“Y-yes.”
Eun-ha swallowed and began taking slow steps. Ian matched her stride, walking slowly beside her.
The scarf carried a strong fabric softener scent. Faintly mixed in was Eun-ha’s own smell, something like lime.
“...”
Even if he tried not to notice, the closeness made the scents unavoidable. Ian tapped his thigh with his fingers, acting casual. Eun-ha glanced at him sidelong, covered her lower face with the scarf, and exhaled softly.
‘...No cigarette smell.’
She’d expected an unpleasant odor from his recent smoke, but his scent was sweet, not off-putting at all. Honestly, she wouldn’t mind smelling it longer.
“...!”
A sudden thought made Eun-ha bite her lip and bow her head. Was it because she’d never dated? She wasn’t used to this atmosphere...
“...Oh my, look over there. Clinging like that in broad daylight—what on earth?”
“Leave ’em be. If they like it, what can you do?”
The conversation of middle-aged women on the street tickled Eun-ha’s ears. She blushed, pulling the scarf up to just below her eyes.
[What a sight.]
Solomon quipped with a laugh in his tone. Eun-ha punched the grimoire tucked inside her jacket wildly.