Chapter 124
The fee for completing the request was deposited the moment the sun rose. Ian broke into a grin at the truly eye-popping sum recorded in his bank account. Combined with the money he already had, it was an overwhelming amount.
After spending a bit on buying a house, he still had more than enough cash to spare. He could practically storm a department store in Seoul and clean out every luxury boutique there with no trouble at all...
“Well, not quite.”
Ian quickly got his feelings under control. No matter how much money he had, it still wasn't enough to cover the insane prices of luxury goods.
Even if it was a luxury brand with a big name, the price of a trivial bag or ring was absurdly ridiculous. Honestly, he couldn't understand why anyone would buy such things. He felt he'd be better off buying a car with that money.
'Or maybe the people who buy luxury goods already have nice cars anyway.'
Mulling over useless thoughts, Ian twisted the throttle hard. With a booming roar, the bike sped down the open highway. Beyond the visor of his helmet spread the beautiful winter coastline of the East Sea.
What was there to hide?
He was currently enjoying a round-the-country motorcycle trip. It was basically a vacation.
He had been pretending otherwise, but his mentality had been a little shaken by the moon ghost story.
In truth, that was only natural. He'd witnessed the world ending firsthand, and he'd even heard the news of the deaths of those around him as the sole survivor. Wouldn't it be stranger if he were perfectly fine?
So after finishing only the necessary schedule, he set out on a long-awaited vacation with just a backpack slung over his shoulder.
The weather was just starting to warm up, so the timing was perfect. It was chilly after sunset, but during the day it was fairly warm. At least not as cold as winter.
His destination was Busan. It was a city he'd already visited a few times, but this was his first time going there by bike.
Most of the times he'd gone there had been to handle something businesslike rather than to sightsee. So this time he planned to visit Haeundae and also stop by the cartel's offline shop in Busan.
There was an offline shop in Seoul too, but because it operated by reservation, he'd have had to wait two more weeks to use it. On the other hand, the shop in Busan was a bit smaller, but it didn't have many reservation slots, so dropping by was easy.
The reason he'd set Busan as his destination in the first place was this cartel offline shop. It might have been a little rude to Lee Seo-ah, who he was supposed to meet up with halfway there, but honestly he was more curious about the shop than about her. For a mage, getting excited over a place he'd never been to before was only natural compared to someone he'd already met several times.
'For now, I'll park the bike in Lee Seo-ah's apartment parking lot, have lunch with her, and then head over.'
Checking the time on the bike's instrument panel, Ian nodded. He ordered the artificial intelligence to drive autonomously, then loosened his stiff wrists and traveled in comfort. The AI changed lanes and controlled the speed on its own as it headed toward the destination.
After about two hours passed like that, Ian had entered the road leading into Busan. As expected, Busan was crawling with taxi drivers as notorious as its reputation, but the bike deftly avoided the taxis on its own. Listening to the song flowing out through his helmet, Ian turned the handlebars toward their destination.
A little later, he arrived. He parked the bike at the apartment entrance and called Lee Seo-ah.
After the phone rang about three times, the other side answered.
[Hello?]
“Yeah. I'm downstairs, so I'll park inside and come out soon.”
[Ah, you're already here? Hold on, I'll be down soon.]
“Take your time.”
Ian hung up and parked the bike in the outdoor lot of the apartment. After taking off his helmet and hanging it on the lock, he waited quietly for Lee Seo-ah, and she came down from the house in a neat outfit, spotted Ian, and trotted over.
“Hi? You got here early.”
Smack!
Lee Seo-ah lightly smacked Ian on the bicep. Ian grinned and looked down at her.
“It's been a while.”
“Yeah. Since the cruise incident, right? I can't believe it's already been more than a month.”
Lee Seo-ah chuckled and started walking. After checking that the bike's handle lock was secure, Ian followed after her.
In early March, Busan was considerably warmer than Seoul. It wasn't warm enough for cherry blossoms yet, but there were pink buds dotted sparingly among the trees. Given a few more weeks, those buds would fully bloom into flowers. It would likely be a magnificent sight.
Ian and Lee Seo-ah chatted idly as they picked up a flower bud hanging from a tree branch. When he brought it close to his nose, a faint fragrance drifted out.
“What do you want to eat?”
Lee Seo-ah asked. Ian thought for a moment, then let go of the bud he'd been holding and answered.
“Gukbap? That's famous in Busan, isn't it?”
“Gukbap? Hmm... not bad. Then let's go somewhere I usually go. It's delicious there.”
“A local recommendation is trustworthy. Lunch is on me.”
“Oh... then I'll buy coffee. I don't really like just having other people treat me.”
At Lee Seo-ah's words, Ian nodded with a wry smile.
Just in time, it was almost the end of lunchtime. The two of them headed straight to a pork gukbap place, ordered, and talked while waiting for the food to come out.
“You said this is your first time going to a cartel market, right?”
“That's right. There's one in Seoul too, but it was fully booked.”
“Well, that's because it's a place where so many people gather. Psychics, shamans, the Bureau, hunters, and so on. When all sorts of people are crowding in, it's not easy to get in.”
Lee Seo-ah replied while sipping her cola through a straw.
“Besides, people from overseas often visit the Seoul one too. Being too accessible is a downside as well.”
“Compared to that, Busan is pretty relaxed.”
“The population is large, but there are almost no people involved in the mystic world compared to Seoul. Well, thanks to that, the cartel hasn't put much infrastructure here.”
While they were talking, the gukbap arrived. They seasoned it to taste and slowly began eating.
“When are you coming up to Seoul?”
“After I handle the school ghost story.”
School ghost story.
It was one of the words written in the final message Lee Seo-ah had sent before she died last time. As Ian sprinkled salted shrimp into the broth, he let out a thoughtful hum.
“Is it a request or something?”
“Hmm... sort of. The shaman association contacted me as a group. They were begging me to please deal with the ghost story at the school.”
“...The shaman association?”
“It's nothing much. Just a club made up of shamans? Something like that.”
Lee Seo-ah tied her slightly grown-out hair back and crossed her legs.
“It was originally a request they received themselves, but apparently three people died while they were trying to solve it. So they asked me to take care of it instead.”
“A subcontract of a subcontract, huh. More importantly, was it okay for them to know you're a mage?”
“Not really? People involved in the mystic world don't care if they learn I'm a mage. As long as they avoid the eyes of mundanes and the Bureau, it's fine.”
Ian nodded after hearing her explanation.
Come to think of it, anyone who'd stepped into the hidden side of the world would have no choice but to be aware that mages existed. Aside from the Bureau, which tried to track and manage mages, there wasn't much downside to having one's profession as a mage exposed.
Of course, there was always the risk of retaliation, but that wasn't limited to mages anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.
“The school's name is Sayo High School. Originally it used the character sa(史), meaning history, and yo(曜), meaning shine, but after something sinister latched onto it recently, it changed to sa(死), meaning death, and yo(擾), meaning disturbance.”
“...That's a pretty unusual case. I don't think it's common for even the meaning of a name to be twisted like that.”
“It seems to happen when something really nasty gets involved. Anyway, I'm planning to leave Busan soon too. I'm thinking of handling it as if I were doing volunteer work.”
“How much are they paying you?”
“About 100 million won?”
“...That's a bit low for the danger involved.”
“I told you. I'm treating it like volunteer work. I'm not doing it for the pay in the first place.”
Lee Seo-ah said that and gave a sly grin.
“The important thing is the ghosts. We used up quite a bit during the cruise incident too, so I'm planning to take a ton back this time.”
“...Figures.”
“It's good for everyone. It's good for me because I get to collect evil spirits, good for the school because it gets the ghost story dealt with, and good for the shamans because they can avoid a dangerous job. That's how it is.”
Lee Seo-ah shrugged and spooned up a mouthful of gukbap. Ian also moved his spoon with a bitter smile.
After finishing their meal, the two of them stopped by a nearby café and picked up drinks to go. Since their reservation time at the cartel shop was drawing near, it was a bit awkward to eat there.
The sun was still shining normally. It was just past 3 p.m. Ian, guided by Lee Seo-ah, started walking toward where the cartel shop was located.
“Have you used the offline shop before?”
“About three times? There's nothing too grand about it, so don't expect too much. It's easier if you think of it like going to a nearby supermarket.”
Lee Seo-ah answered like that and walked into the first-floor pharmacy of a hospital building that housed ENT, eye, and dental clinics. A pharmacist with an ordinary-looking face welcomed the two of them with a smile.
“Welcome. Are you looking for any medicine?”
“A ghoul blood activator and a tonic made from a prisoner's fingernails.”
Lee Seo-ah answered without hesitation. The pharmacist, who'd been wearing a friendly smile, had his face turn expressionless in an instant. The speed of the change was practically mechanical.
“I'll help you confirm your reservation. May I have your name?”
“Lee Seo-ah, Shin Ian.”
The pharmacist took a terminal from inside his clothes and tapped the screen. A moment later, he nodded.
“Confirmed. What would you like for your welcome drink?”
“We've already got drinks, so just give us something to chew on.”
“Understood. When you go downstairs, a staff member will be waiting in front of the door. You can take it then.”
The pharmacist bowed his head and handed the two of them a small coin. It was a silver coin engraved with the cartel's symbol. Lee Seo-ah deftly tucked the coin into her pocket, and Ian examined the front and back carefully.
'Nothing special, really.'
The front and back of the silver coin were identical. It seemed to have undergone some special treatment, and the texture was rather strange, but other than that it wasn't much different from an ordinary coin.
“Take the elevator, press the 1st-floor button for 12 seconds and then release it, press the 2nd-floor button, the 3rd-floor button, the 3rd-floor button again, and then the basement 1 button in succession, and it'll take you to the shop.”
The pharmacist said while looking at Ian. Ian put the coin in his pocket and listened carefully.
“If you show the coin to the gatekeepers there, you'll be allowed in.”
“Do the places in Seoul use the same method?”
“It varies a little, but the basic structure should be similar.”
Ian nodded at his explanation. The two of them immediately left the pharmacy, called the elevator, and operated the buttons exactly as the pharmacist had described.
Clank!
The elevator trembled once, then began descending into the basement on its own. On the red LED screen showing the floor, the message 'Welcome' appeared clearly.
“......”
After 30 seconds, the message changed to 'Please come in.' At the same time, the elevator doors swung open wide.
“Welcome.”
“Welcome.”
On the other side of the door stood two women with a single tentacle in place of a head above their necks. Wearing neat business suits, they held out their hands toward Ian and Lee Seo-ah.
“The coin.”
“The coin.”
The tentacle-headed things were babbling in exactly the same voice and tone. Ian stared at the two of them with a sour expression, then saw Lee Seo-ah hand over her coin and placed his own on the aberration's palm.
“Verification complete. You may enter. We hope you have a pleasant shopping experience.”
“Verification complete. You may enter. We hope you have a pleasant shopping experience.”
The two of them bowed deeply the moment they got the coins in their hands and opened the way for them. Lee Seo-ah walked through the cleared path as if she were used to it, and Ian followed behind her, muttering.
“...Does the cartel even raise aberrations?”
“They said they used to be employees, but they were turned into that for violating regulations. I don't know the details.”
“......”
“Well, it's the cartel. Maybe they were messing around with money and ended up like that?”
Ian clicked his tongue at Lee Seo-ah's answer.
It was a company that was impossible to make sense of.