Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Proposal
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The clauses in the contract were overwhelmingly focused on Ian's benefits. Not every single one was like that, but it seemed the claim about giving him as much convenience as possible was true.
“Mm.”
Ian took a sip of the cold water in front of him and flipped to the next page of the contract with a rustle.
This was the final page. Only two clauses were written there.
[24. Party A cannot ask Party B to help with personal matters, but the same applies to Party B. However, Party B may request Party A's cooperation for missions conducted by the Management Bureau.]
[25. Party A may refuse Party B's cooperation requests, but if a situation arises that threatens the survival of humanity, Party A must cooperate.]
The contract ended with the twenty-fifth clause. Ian set down the documents he was holding and racked his brain while looking at the two people sitting politely upright.
Overall, they weren't bad terms. He liked that there were no restrictions or bindings on him, and that they paid him every time he cooperated.
It wasn't as much as the Cartel offered, but it was still a substantial amount. Starting from at least several thousand units, he could live comfortably just by cooperating moderately. He didn't know if they offered the same to other mages, but there was no need to compare.
That said, regular mages were assigned monitors and fitted with GPS trackers by default, so compared to them, this was far more free.
‘Now I get why mages hate getting involved with the Management Bureau. Of course they'd resent being controlled like that.’
He could understand the Management Bureau's position too.
As an organization that managed, tracked, and handled Anomalies, it wasn't strange for them to monitor mages who could not only summon them but control them as well. Objectively speaking, it was a reasonable judgment.
But were mages the type to view matters related to themselves objectively?
This only felt reasonable to Ian right now because it didn't apply to him. If monitoring, wiretapping, and GPS tracking were imposed on him, he'd have told them to get lost and torn up any talk of cooperation.
“…….”
It was a meaningless hypothetical anyway. There was no reason to worry about a future that wouldn't come and sour his mood.
Ian downed the rest of his cold water and tapped his Grimoire against his shoulder before opening his mouth.
“The terms are better than I expected.”
“We're glad you feel that way. If there's anything else you want, please write it in the blank space on the last page. We'll accommodate as much as possible.”
“Here?”
“We're prepared to take a loss to establish a cooperative relationship with you, Wizard. We might not manage huge requests, but small ones are fine.”
Kim I-seo said this while maintaining her humble posture. Instead of replying, Ian drummed on the cover of his Grimoire.
What was the Management Bureau thinking, insisting on positioning themselves as Party B to a single mage like this? What reason did an entire organization have to bow and scrape to one mage?
‘Watcher.’
All the answers lay in the Grimoire Ian held. He stared at his pitch-black Grimoire for a moment and let out a chuckle.
The creature from the Outer Sea he'd summoned right in front of them. The massive monster that hadn't just swept away the doctor, nurses, and patients alone in the hospital but had even blocked the Hospital Director, the master of that space.
It was a spatial anomaly, so summoning it caused no particular issues, but what if it had manifested in reality?
No need to even think about it. It wouldn't have ended well.
The Management Bureau was probably wary of that. That's why they were approaching him so humbly, trying to coordinate the situation to prevent unnecessary casualties and ensure his blade never turned toward them.
‘They don't need to know I can't summon Outer Sea creatures without conditions, or that they require sacrifices afterward.’
Information superiority was always crucial. There was no reason to volunteer details the other side didn't know, especially if it meant taking a loss.
Ian nodded and pulled a pen from the table. Kim I-seo and Park Min-ah's faces brightened slightly at the sight.
He planned to sign. It was better to build a cooperative relationship and move freely than to constantly check each other during requests and hide his identity.
If there had been clauses restricting his actions, he would have shredded the contract without a second thought. But there weren't, so if he could form a good relationship without any bindings or restrictions, there was no need to refuse.
However, even as he thought that, Ian didn't sign right away. The contract would be sealed the moment he wrote his name, so he planned to squeeze out everything he could before then.
He spun the pen in his hand and stared at the two women.
“If I cooperate with the Management Bureau, which team do I work with?”
“You'll follow the Comprehensive Department's orders and cooperate with the Response Division or Containment Team.”
“Containment Team?”
“The Management Bureau has underground facilities where Anomalies are imprisoned for research. Your help would advance that research considerably.”
Ian nodded at Kim I-seo's words.
Response Division and Containment Team. From the sound of it, both were departments that required combat prowess. He didn't plan to cooperate with them often, but if he ever had to, thorough preparation would be wise.
“What kind of situations require asking a mage for help? Give me some examples.”
“Reconnaissance with multiple casualties, or if ten or more Response Division personnel die or go missing, we request cooperation. Not always.”
“How many mages are currently cooperating with the Management Bureau?”
“Three. Four if you join.”
“Were their contracts standard?”
“Some are, some aren't. Only one has quietly accepted monitoring. The other two threatened to kill everyone in the Management Bureau if we tried it again, so we adjusted the terms.”
“So you don't monitor everyone.”
“We're cooperating with valuable mages. The Management Bureau is still new; we have no choice but to bow our heads.”
Still new, huh.
Unlike the Vatican, Clock Tower, or Cartel, their history must be very short.
That made sense. If the Management Bureau had existed since ancient or medieval times, there wouldn't be records of demons or yokai. Those were treated as occult nonsense now, but back then, they were real events. They'd done a good job laundering the information; otherwise, the existence of Anomalies would already be public knowledge.
One question arose: why hadn't anyone controlled information before the Management Bureau appeared?
Fortunately, he got an immediate answer when he asked.
“They did try to control information before, but the spread was faster than they could manage.”
“Ah.”
“With the Management Bureau's emergence and solid info control, those groups have lost much interest in it. They only do the bare minimum now.”
“What methods does the Management Bureau use to hide and distort information that other organizations couldn't?”
“Nothing special. They bribe people worldwide to tamper with, delete, or alter info, and use Anomalous powers to shift public perception. Cooperation from various corporations and governments helped too.”
“…….”
“Other organizations haven't built ties with governments or corporations. The Clock Tower acts superior, the Vatican is a closed religious group following only God's will, and the Cartel chases profit. Governments and the UN worldwide probably welcomed the Management Bureau.”
As Kim I-seo paused to sip her water, Park Min-ah spoke up.
“Hiding information has drastically reduced Anomaly manifestation frequency too. Stories hold power. The more occult tales feel like mere fantasies, the weaker urban legends become.”
“So not all anomalies derive from urban legends.”
“……Anomalies that appear without any origin, just manifesting—those exist as they are.”
Eight-Foot Ghost, Doppelganger, Monkey Dream, etc.
Some anomalies arose from accumulated human fear where none existed before. Others, like those in theme parks, libraries, or hospitals, were pure Anomalies born without origins.
The former could be escaped using the countermeasures in their lore or a bit of thinking. The latter? No proper攻略法 meant certain death. That's why Management Bureau agents slaved over攻略 manuals.
Ian let out a groan and drummed on his Grimoire's cover.
“Proportion-wise, which is more common?”
“About even. Legend-derived ones keep appearing, so individually, they might edge out slightly.”
“I see…… Can recent urban legends gain power and become Anomalies?”
“If they're popular enough. But rule-based ones like Neapolitan have already been consumed by Anomalies, so human creations lack power. Oh, but Backrooms manifested. Weird, right?”
Park Min-ah smiled awkwardly as she said this.
“Anomalies are so peculiar. Too many exceptions to define neatly. We have manuals, but they get revised yearly for odd cases.”
“…….”
“Shows how hostile Anomalies are to humanity.”
Ian didn't reply, but he inwardly agreed.
Every Anomaly he'd encountered so far wasn't particularly friendly to humans. There might be exceptions, but not in great numbers.
With that thought, Ian set his Grimoire aside.
“Alright, one last question.”
He tapped the contract's final clause with his pen.
“What counts as a situation threatening humanity's survival here?”
“Not many. Observed so far: zombie virus, ghost nuke, Nazi battalion revival, etc. For those, Vatican and Management Bureau prophets cooperate to nip them in the bud preemptively.”
But, Kim I-seo added,
“We can't stop Outer God avatars descending. So anyone trying to summon them gets shot on-site, brains blown out.”
She said this with a faint smile, as if joking.
“But Outer Gods never answer human calls. They don't even care. They occasionally drop Grimoires like tossing dirty toys to ants for amusement. No Outer God truly cares for or loves humanity.”
“…….”
Instead of responding, Ian rolled his eyes toward the Deep Sea Chronicles.
Its pages rustled open slightly on their own, revealing one sentence just for him.
[The Master of the Outer Sea vows infinite trust and affection toward the master of the Deep Sea Chronicles, hereafter 'Shin Ian.']
A sentence openly contradicting Kim I-seo's words.
Ian chuckled involuntarily and closed the Grimoire.