Chapter 142
Chapter 142
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Three-Party Meeting
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Despite being owned by a cat, the shop's inventory was surprisingly ordinary. Ian left the grooming cat alone and scanned the items displayed in the cases.
Beast blood. Organs from anomalies. Sand from the Sahara Desert, Antarctic glaciers, lava, sandstone, dairy cow testicles, human wrists, eyeballs, hearts, and so on...
A colorful assortment of items was lined up in glass jars.
They were lists that would make an ordinary person faint, but to mages, they were familiar ingredients used to the point of boredom. Ian stared at a candy made primarily from a male deer's eyeball before turning to the cat.
"The owner?"
"Then am I a thief cat, nya?"
The cat shot back immediately.
"I'm called Pleas, nya. The owner of this shop, nya."
"...You mentioned it was a chain. Do you manage them all personally?"
"Of course, nya. This body is my familiar. Leopold General August V, nya. I'm in charge of the Korean branch, nya."
It was a name crammed full of grandiose words. The naming skill was so bad that any Roman emperor would have a fit. Ian already had a good idea what kind of person the mage named Pleas was.
"The one in Japan is the 7th, China has the 6th, and Russia the 8th, nya. I control them all, nya."
"So that body is a real cat, and you're the one speaking? You, Pleas?"
"That's right, nya."
Pleas washed her cat face and sharpened her claws on the scratcher hanging on the wall. She then admired her sharply honed claws and curled her lips in satisfaction.
"Perfect, nya..."
"..."
Ian let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
He hadn't expected to encounter someone crazier than Dolores here, but this random cat had changed his mind.
Still, as long as they could communicate, it wasn't a big deal. He wasn't planning to build rapport or anything like that.
And when else in life would he get the chance to converse with a cat in human speech? Ian decided to just enjoy the situation.
"I'm looking for goat heart, thread spun with virgin's blood, and a plant grown absorbing virgin's blood. Got any?"
"Common stuff, nya. Follow me, nya."
Pleas responded and hopped down from the counter. She pointed a front paw at a display case in the corner.
"Everything in that case over there is beast organs, nya. Goat hearts—we've got male and female, two options. Which one, nya?"
"Female."
"Grab the one on the left, nya. Price is 5,000, nya."
"...Just a beast heart, and it's that expensive? Isn't this ripping me off?"
"Nya-nya-nya, nya."
Pleas laughed. Her green snake-like eyes turned toward Ian.
"Are you a newbie mage who's only been at it a short time, nya? Getting shocked at the price—haven't seen that in ages. Pretty funny, nya."
"..."
"Extracting beast organs is easy, but refining them for spell use and preserving them without decay requires some tricky processing, nya. The price includes that labor, of course, nya."
Hop.
Pleas jumped onto the display case and sat in loaf position.
"Want lower quality ingredients, nya? Order from the Cartel then, nya. They sell stuff for offerings and all sorts of uses, nya. But we specialize in materials solely for magic, nya. Think it's too expensive? Go somewhere else, nya."
"...Hah."
Ian, who had been listening quietly, let out a deep sigh.
Grandmother wouldn't have asked for something they also sold at the Cartel. The quality here must be far superior, which was why she'd requested it.
And while the price was absurd, since Grandmother would reimburse him fully, it wasn't a huge issue. He could afford the temporary outlay. If his account ran low, he could just call her right there and get it sorted.
"I hope it lives up to the price."
In the end, Ian picked up the jar containing the heart. Pleas smiled brightly. Cat smile or not.
"Wise choice, nya. You think I opened a chain for no reason, nya? Trust me, nya!"
"I'll buy the virgin-spun thread and plant now too. Mind guiding me?"
"Got it, nya. Follow me, nya."
Pleas hummed a tune as she hopped down and trotted off on all fours. Yuna, who had been silent until now, gaped at the sight.
"Sh-She's cute... despite that sassy mouth..."
"Nya-nya-nya-nya. All my familiars are cute, nya. They take after me, nya."
"S-Suddenly she looks kinda ugly..."
"What was that, nya?"
The virgin-spun thread (about 2 meters) and the plant grown in virgin's blood each cost around 20 million won.
Including the heart, the total came to 90 million. With roughly 300 million in his account, a third had vanished in an instant.
'What a luxury department store. Sells nothing but high-end brands.'
No wonder mage society was so insular—the prices were downright diabolical. Ian sighed deeply and swiped his card.
"Nya-nya-nya-nya-nya! Thanks for the smooth transaction, nya!"
"...Yeah."
He packed the items for Grandmother separately in a box. Then he and Yuna browsed the rest of the shop. He needed alchemy materials too, and as many contract magic items as possible.
The Blue Shackles and Book of Contracts were primarily geared toward binding agreements.
They did include numerous stealth and defense spells, but the bulk was contract magic. There were even summoning rites for spirits and anomalies tied to contracts. One ritual even called forth cosmic entities.
Of course, summoning something way out of his league was impossible. Those weren't recorded in the grimoires.
Instead, he could summon something like a space cat.
A space cat looked much like a regular cat. It resembled a Persian breed and was normal-sized. But as a creature that swam through space, it had fitting abilities.
No need to breathe, no hunger, immune to temperature extremes, and so on.
Aside from survival traits evolved for harsh environments, it lacked offensive capabilities. Still, its defense was top-tier. That was the space cat. And its lifespan far exceeded a human's.
But even if summoned, it was useless unless you wanted a pet, so Ian had no intention of contracting one. Better to just raise a regular cat.
Anyway.
Besides cosmic beings, he could summon gnomes, salamanders, sylphs, undines, and other elementals.
The four elemental spirits commonly handled by spirit mages.
Some thought their elemental ties meant firepower like four-element magic, but spirits had zero combat aptitude. They only provided support.
Thus, direct-combat spirit mages were rare. Most acted as supporters aiding other mages. Not the "snap your fingers and win" type from fiction.
Due to these traits, Ian had no plans to summon spirits either. His magic was cosmic, not terrestrial. Four-element spirits had no room to assist—they'd probably backfire and explode.
Spirits were out. Better to shackle anomalies and control them freely.
Demons or angels weren't bad either. Worst case, slap chains on a mage or psychic's neck. Unlike standard contracts, Outer God pacts could be forced unilaterally, regardless of the target.
'Neutralize them first, then shackle and dominate. That'd be a sight.'
Ian thought as he carefully browsed the displays.
"Hmm... Should I just buy this one...? My magic doesn't really need ingredients anyway..."
Behind him, Yuna muttered while holding up a blue pendant. Ian turned.
"What's that?"
"N-Nothing special... It's a gem made from the blood of mages who donated organs, mixed and solidified. R-Reduce magic backlash..."
"Not bad. Does it boost efficiency? You said your blood drains every cast."
"Y-Yeah. Probably cast a few more times than usual..."
Yuna slipped the pendant around her neck.
"How's it look...?"
She tilted her head up to gaze at him. His face reflected perfectly in her dull black eyes.
Ian chuckled softly.
"Looks good. Suits you."
"R-Really...? Ehehe... Guess I'll buy it then..."
Beaming at the compliment, Yuna headed to pay. Ian vaguely heard "300 million" and her shocked voice.
Ian grabbed a few essentials behind her.
For contract magic and alchemy.
He piled nearly ten items on the counter. Pleas, in loaf position, announced the total.
"All together, over 200 million originally, but special discount, nya. 150 million, nya."
"Discount? Cut it more."
"Wanna get beat, nya?"
He didn't. Ian smiled faintly and swiped his card. Ding—150 million gone.
His account emptied in a flash, but he could earn it back fast, so no regrets.
Ian bagged the immediate items. Bulky candelabras and heavy chains went via delivery. Extra 100,000 won fee.
"Delivery in about three days, nya. Magic post, so no address leaks, nya. I don't even know it, nya."
"Good."
"Nya-nya-nya-nya-nya. Thanks for the business, nya. See you next time, nya."
"Yeah, sure."
Ian nodded and lightly petted Pleas's head. She closed her eyes and purred.
After a moment, Ian remembered something and spoke up.
"One thing. Do you know a shop that carries these cigarettes?"
He pulled a small cigar from his pocket. Pleas sniffed the lemon scent and nodded.
"Across the street, nya. Probably 500,000 a pack, nya."
"Way cheaper than the Cartel..."
"Bought there, nya? Don't, nya. Cartel mage supplies are marked up several times. Total bloodsuckers, nya. Ghosts."
Ian gave a wry smile. He petted her a few more times, then he and Yuna crossed to buy ten packs.
The owner was a shiny-headed old man—alchemy specialist? He made five packs on the spot. Handed over the other five pre-made.
"Five million. Pay up."
Done. Ian swiped freely, hefted the heavy bundle, and grinned. Yuna stared, looking queasy.
"Ch-Chainsmoker..."
"Quitting smokes. Not a smoker anymore."
"L-Liar with soul..."
Yuna's lips quivered. Ian flicked her forehead and pulled out his phone to call Grandmother.
'Got some messages...'
Silent mode—he'd missed them. Before calling, he skimmed the texts.
[Kim I-seo: Mr. Shin Ian, since you didn't pick up, I'm texting. Straight to the point: I'd like your support for a Management Bureau op. The Five Senses Museum. Most of the team that returned from the recent op died—]
[Cecilia: Whatcha doing? Wanna game?]
[Lee Seo-ah: Prepping my move. Heading to Seoul soon. Seoul mages are gonna shit themselves over a national-power-level mage arriving.]
[Kim Yul: (photo)]
[Kim Yul: New swimsuit I bought. Whaddya think?]
He culled the low-nutrient ones. Left with Kim Yul's swimsuit pic and Kim I-seo's message.
"Hm."
Ian quickly replied to Kim Yul: [Don't send stuff like this.] Saved the photo, then checked Kim I-seo's.
Summary: Response Division sent to Five Senses Museum. Most died, only about five returned. Found a painting by Irene Laplace inside.
'Laplace again.'
Always tangled up annoyingly. Ian clicked his tongue, replied he'd talk later in person, and called Grandmother.
She picked up before two rings.
[Hello?]
"Yes, Eun-ha. Got all the items you requested. Head over now?"
[Oh, yeah. Fine anytime. Also, time to repair the magic on your bike—bring it too. I'll handle it.]
"Got it. Then..."
Ian was about to hang up, then glanced at blankly standing Yuna and spoke again.
"Bringing one more person. That okay?"
[Uh... Who?]
Grandmother's tone dropped. Ian smiled.
"Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie."
[Ah. That troublemaker.]
The instant reply made Ian burst out laughing.