Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Settlement
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Indemnity's van arrived right in front of Ian exactly three minutes later. With a screech, the man wearing a crow mask stepped out from the passenger seat of the halted vehicle.
The man glanced around briefly, spotted the two sitting on the rock, and immediately bowed his head.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Crow, an employee of Indemnity. Are you the ones who called through Cartel services, by any chance?"
"Yeah."
Sizzle.
Ian ground out his cigarette on the rock. Crow nodded as if he understood and opened the van's door.
"Shall we head out right away? Or do you need to take care of other business first?"
"Let's go now. Pick a destination that's easy to get to but not crowded."
"Understood. We'll depart immediately, then."
Ian brushed the ash off his extinguished cigarette and approached the vehicle. Crow extended his hand as if asking for the butt.
When Ian handed it over, he pulled a portable ashtray from his pocket and dropped it inside.
"You're a smoker?"
"No, sir. But I deal with smoking clients so often that I keep one on hand."
"I see."
Ian nodded and climbed into the limousine. Yuna followed behind him, and Crow grabbed his terminal from the passenger seat before joining them in the back.
Soon, the van turned the wheel and began descending the mountain. Ian stared out the window for a moment before turning to Crow.
"You're awfully quick to arrive. Using some special method?"
"Classified information. You'll learn if you join the Cartel."
"Touchy. Let's talk about the commission instead."
Ian smiled and glanced at Yuna. Understanding his intent, she pulled the administrator's heart from the guitar case and placed it on the table.
A lump of flesh pulsing with a pale pink glow. Yuna had already dispelled her magic, so there was no worry of it being crushed.
Ian prodded the heart with his finger and spoke.
"It's the administrator's heart from the commission."
"Hmm. Mind if I take a look?"
"Go ahead."
At his permission, Crow donned a monocle and peered into the heart.
Ignoring the thick blood spurting from the vessels, he examined it meticulously before nodding softly.
"Administrator's heart confirmed. Excellent quality. Looks like you extracted it while it was still beating."
"...."
"This should allow us to pay without issue."
"I have something to say about the payment."
"Ah, yes. Please go ahead."
Ian leaned forward slightly toward Crow and murmured quietly.
"The reward's too low for the commission's difficulty. I think we need some extra compensation."
The theme park's攻略 difficulty had been far higher than expected. It was packed with attractions impossible for ordinary people to escape, and breaking even one rule meant instant death—hair-raising sections everywhere.
And to extract the administrator's heart, you had no choice but to kill the guy. Then break the rules and escape afterward.
Even for a mage, handling it solo was insanely tough.
Taking just 15 million won didn't add up.
At least, that's how Ian saw it. Yuna seemed to agree, as she didn't try to stop him.
"Hmm."
Light reflected in Crow's pitch-black eyes. His voice rumbled low from within the rigid beak.
Ian ignored it. He boldly gripped his grimoire and continued.
"Does the Cartel know what the theme park really is?"
"Yes. We've investigated it ourselves. Otherwise, we wouldn't know about the ticket holders being forcibly transferred after a week."
"And yet only 15 million? You must not know the攻略 difficulty."
"That's... true. When we tested with death row inmates, they all died quickly. But we discovered the heart's immense value and posted the commission. We're not the Management Bureau; we have no duty to resolve anomalies. We just step in when there's profit."
"So? You priced it based on that value alone?"
"Along with the theme park's atmosphere and its disaster rating. But if a mage who's actually been inside speaks, it's worth hearing. The Cartel isn't rigid. Please, speak freely. I'll listen carefully."
Crow straightened his posture. Ian recounted his memories: the theme park's interior, the attractions' features and rules, one by one.
Crow, who had been listening silently at first, nodded more frequently as the story went on.
When it ended, he stroked his beak with his hand and spoke.
"The difficulty assessment was indeed off. My apologies; seems like headquarters made a mistake. I'll contact them now for verification. Please wait a moment."
Crow pressed a button beside him firmly. A partition rose between him and the two.
A thick barrier that wouldn't yield to ordinary explosions. Ian took a sip of the chilled water on the table and leaned back.
'My head hurts....'
The magic's aftereffects hadn't left his body yet. Smoking helped, but otherwise, it throbbed like a heartbeat in his skull.
It wasn't severe—just needed a night's sleep—but the discomfort was real.
Ian sighed deeply and pulled out his vibrating grimoire, opening it.
[Subway. Club. Theme park. Forgave three times. No next time.]
It greeted him with a rather menacing message upon opening. He closed it with a sour expression.
....It seemed the grimoire hadn't liked how it was treated in the theme park. He should be grateful it had endured three times.
Using it as a shield or bludgeon one more time in this state... wouldn't end well.
No need to test it. Curiosity had limits; charging in headfirst was moth-to-flame stuff.
Ian thought so as he rolled an unlit cigarette between his fingers.
"The discussion is over."
Soon, Crow lowered the partition and spoke.
"Real-time cross-verification confirms your account is valid. Thus, we're raising the commission reward."
"...."
"From 15 million per person to 70 million—a major increase. Plus, the heart's value exceeded expectations, so an additional 10 percent bonus."
"....! Th-then... 77 million...?"
Yuna asked in a trembling voice.
Crow nodded.
"Yes."
"Yahoo! A-awesome! F-first time I've seen anyone haggle with the Cartel like this...! Wh-when we get home, gotta eat mala tang, tteokbokki, all kinds of stuff...!"
Ian tilted his head slightly, ignoring Yuna's giggling mutters.
"Real-time cross-verification? You mean someone just went into that theme park?"
"The entrance isn't unique to this one. And theme parks aren't just in Korea. They're simultaneous anomalies worldwide."
"...Ah."
"All instances are identical, so verifying via another park is simple. Curiosity satisfied?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"Then, let's settle up. How would you like the reward? Cash? Or transfer?"
Ian chose account transfer without hesitation. So did Yuna. Crow nodded, operated his terminal, and deposited the large sums into their accounts.
"Safe transport service fee deducted. Thank you for understanding."
That much was fine. Ian confirmed the deposit with Crow and pocketed his phone.
'That makes about 80 million total, roughly.'
Enough for a workshop. Ian gazed out the window with a faint smile.
The winter sky hung low, filled with blue.
*
The van stopped beside a small subway station on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province. Still some foot traffic, so Crow just bowed from inside toward the two mages.
"Take care. Thank you for using Cartel services."
"Yeah. See you if we need you again."
"We'll be waiting."
"Uh, bye...."
Ian and Yuna exited the van. It sped off down the road as soon as they did.
Ian stretched his stiff body, watched the vehicle go, then turned to Yuna.
"Grab a bite before splitting? Like an afterparty."
"Y-yeah. What do you wanna eat...?"
"Feeling like some seolleongtang...."
"Then let's go...!"
They entered a nearby seolleongtang place, had a simple meal, and took the subway home separately.
As always, Ian exchanged numbers with her this time too. Now his contacts clearly listed Lee Seo-ah, the two vampire hunters, and Han Yuna.
He hadn't been in this world long, yet he already had four connections.
No doubt more encounters awaited as time passed.
He didn't expect all to be positive like these. He just hoped.
Hoping for more good than bad was only natural.
Ian thought so as he accessed the community.
A familiar nickname topped the latest post.
[Title: Solved a commission today with a newbie jerk.]
[StrawberryYogurtSmoothie]
That theme park shithead lol
If you call us, treat us right—don't act up. Deserves to die.
(Then die, con)
[Recommendations 0][Disrecommendations 0]
No comments yet. Ian chuckled softly and tapped his phone keyboard.
[Comments]
-Anonymous: Concept's on point.
StrawberryYogurtSmoothie: Shut it. You'll die.