Owl

Ian had quite a history with the Book of Moses as well. Though the actual time he'd been tied to it wasn't very long, its impact alone was overwhelmingly greater than that of other grimoires. Well, it had blown up right in front of him and died, so that was only natural.

The Eighth Book of Moses.

Surprisingly, even though it was a grimoire with Moses in its name, it wasn't actually a book Moses himself had written. It was an ancient Greek magical text written after Moses's death by the young mage who had followed him around, borrowing his name and authority.

The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses recorded magic Moses had personally used, but the Eighth Book contained a lot of the mage's personal opinions, making it a rather messy grimoire in many ways. Still, its reputation was far greater than the other Moses volumes. That was because its signature magic was tied to the Great Flood disaster.

It was indeed the disaster from the Bible where Noah's Ark first appeared. Flood magic carried out through prayer was powerful enough to sink an ordinary village completely. Of course, it required a tremendous amount of materials to use, but…… honestly, it wasn't something worth worrying about now.

After all, it was just a grimoire that had bitten the dust. No matter how great a grimoire might be, once it was dead, it had no meaning anymore. Still, at least it died before its reputation could get any dirtier, so maybe that was a good thing.

Anyway.

Now that the Eighth Book of Moses had been torn apart, the only Moses-series grimoires left were the Sixth and Seventh Books.

Among them, the Sixth Book was heavily related to angel summoning, while the Seventh Book was heavily related to demon summoning.

But on the angel side there was the expert 'Book of Pope Honorius,' and on the demon side 'The Lesser Key of Solomon,' so their prestige inevitably fell short compared to those two grimoires.

There was a reason the Eighth Book of Moses was famous. It had something special—the Great Flood—that no other grimoire had, which was why it was regarded as amazing even among old books.

'Judging by the light it's drawing from between its fingers…… the Sixth Book is more likely.'

Since they bore Moses's name, the Moses series all recorded a lot of Catholic-style magic. The Sixth Book was especially closely tied to angels, so that was probably it.

Well, whether it was the Sixth Book or the Seventh Book didn't matter much. Either way, it was just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill grimoire. As long as he had a grimoire of an Outer God, meeting it would just press the instant-death button, so Ian cut off his interest in the Book of Moses and went to take a shower.

Today's breakfast was homemade beef-and-radish soup. He mixed rice into it and ate heartily, then washed the dishes and sorted out his schedule.

'The things I need to do right now are…… test the new grimoire's magic, practice alchemy, and stop by the Magicians' Shop, I guess.'

Looking at the bigger picture, there were far more things he needed to think about. He had to gauge the fallout from Eddie's death, Laplace's response, the bureau's work, and so on. There were quite a few major things to deal with. Among them, Laplace's reaction was the problem.

'A criminal organization probably won't try to retaliate just because one of its members died, but they'll still attempt something. They might try to investigate the circumstances of his death.'

Ian didn't know exactly how Laplace worked. All he knew was that their leader possessed a grimoire of an Outer God. He didn't know a single thing about the organization's operations, the number of its members, or the characteristics of its executives.

Even if he asked Eddie, it was the kind of question he couldn't get an answer to. From the start, Eddie had only been in a simple cooperative relationship rather than a formal Laplace member, so the information he knew was laughably sparse. He had to be satisfied with having found out that the leader's name was Walter.

Even if they investigated Eddie's death, Walter probably wouldn't come all the way to Korea himself. He'd send someone below him instead.

Of course, even so, it would be right to keep at least a minimum level of caution. From now on, it might be better to keep magicians at arm's length unless they were community users.

'If they come, will Mariang come? I'm sure she was called Eddie's lover and partner.'

Thinking that, Ian wrote Mariang's name down in his notebook. Names like 'Maria' or 'Marian' were common enough, but he'd never heard the name 'Mariang' before. It wasn't a common name, so if he heard it, he'd probably recognize it right away.

[Wuung, wuung……!]

While he was thinking, the blue shackles and the Book of Contract he'd thrown onto the bed started vibrating.

Turning his head, he saw them surrounded by the other grimoires.

[Wuung……! W, wuung! Wuuuuung……!!]

[Wuung.]

[……Wuung!]

Surprisingly, the only onomatopoeic word he could use to describe the vibration was just 'wuung.' In fact, the sound he was hearing wasn't all that different either. Ian shoved the Blue Shackles and the Book of Contract against the wall, and let out a snort of laughter at the sight of the two grimoires standing over them like gangsters.

Nothing but a scene of outright bullying. It couldn't be helped, because the Hermit's Shackles lagged far behind Reconstitution of All Things or the Lord of the Outer Sea in the power and status of an Outer God.

If you're weak, you get beaten. The law of the jungle didn't exempt gods.

[Wuung……! Wuung! Wuung!]

Chronicle of the Deep Sea rattled its corners violently, scraping at the covers of the Blue Shackles and the Book of Contract. The Hand of Re-Creation stood still, blocking the path so the Book of Contract couldn't escape.

[Wuung! Wuung! W, wuuuuuuung!]

The Book of Contract sensed Ian's gaze and asked him for help. When the iron chain attached to its end jingled and swayed side to side, Chronicle of the Deep Sea sprawled over the chain and spun around on it. The Book of Contract wailed.

Ian gave a dry chuckle and tapped the desk. Then the Book of Contract, which had been getting bullied, was summoned beneath his hand. The Book of Contract vibrated happily, and the other two grimoires turned their covers toward Ian as if they'd been betrayed and spun around on the bed.

They looked as if they were openly protesting, but Ian didn't care. Grimoires throwing tantrums was an everyday occurrence.

He placed the Book of Contract on his lap and took out his phone.

He set aside his worries about Laplace for the time being. There was no way he was going to go looking for them first unless they made a move.

There was nothing he could do except prepare for the next incident. He didn't even know where their base was, let alone whether they had entered Korea. It was far better to relax than to worry himself sick over it.

So now he decided to think about something else.

'I need to stop by Owl no matter what, if only to stock up on tobacco. It'd be good to check out the other items too.'

The shop the Clock Tower made for magicians, Owl.

As one would expect from magic that started in ancient times, Owl, out of step with the modern age, didn't even have a single ordinary online store. It operated only through offline shops, and its locations were listed only in newspapers issued by the Clock Tower. Ordinary people couldn't even get a look at it.

The problem was that unless a magician was from the Clock Tower, they couldn't even subscribe to the newspaper, so figuring out the locations was almost impossible.

It had every last closed-off trait packed into it. The British must have been masters of division and exclusion from way back. So that must be why they separated the map into Britain and not-Britain. It wasn't surprising at all.

'I can't just go looking for it on a whim because I want to. I might not find it even if I searched the whole country, so getting information is the first priority.'

Fortunately, Ian knew one place that was perfect for getting information. Without hesitation, he logged into the community and wrote a post.

[Hawawa, this little newbie wants to go to Owl. Is there a kind uncle who can tell me where it is?]

[Yeah]

If you tell me, I'll praise you.

[Comments]

-This bitch set up another shitty concept again.

ㄴㅇㅇ: Hawawa, please don't say bad words. This high school girl is sad.

ㄴGo die.

-If you make a fixed nick, I'll tell you.

ㄴㅇㅇ: I'm already a fixed nickname, you know.

ㄴYou're a half-fixed nick, you bastard. And for fuck's sake, the bastard who dragged Eddie off and tore him apart alive shouldn't be using that kind of tone. It's fucking scary.

ㄴㅇㅇ: Hawawa…….

Ian tapped away at the keyboard with a blank expression, his lips moving slightly.

Fixed nick.

It was short for fixed nickname, simply a term referring to the nickname used on the community.

Honestly, it wouldn't really matter if he made one. He had just been too lazy to come up with a nickname, so there was no particular reason.

And…… now that a new newbie had joined, it didn't seem bad to make one soon. Rather than causing unnecessary confusion, having a nickname would be much better.

'What should I make it?'

While Ian was thinking that, another comment came in. He leaned back in his chair and checked it.

-Dolores: Are you going to Owl? Then let's go together! I was just about to head there myself! Ohohohohot!

Some crazy woman had shown up. Ian let out a low groan and replied.

ㄴㅇㅇ: You know where Owl is? That's surprising.

ㄴDolores: Of course I know! I'm a magician from the Clock Tower, after all!

Was she from the Clock Tower?

It was information he felt like he'd heard somewhere before, and yet also like he hadn't.

ㄴㅇㅇ: Ah. Then please guide me. So it is in Korea after all, right?

ㄴDolores: Of course it is. But it's much smaller than the one in Europe! There's no stock either, so if you want something, you may have to ask for a special order!

ㄴㅇㅇ: That's not a problem. It's not urgent.

ㄴDolores: Ohohohohot! Great! Then let's work out a time that suits you! When would be good for you??!?!

ㄴㅇㅇ: I've got no schedule for the time being, so as soon as possible. When can you do it?

ㄴDolores: Then let's go tomorrow! Let's meet in front of Seoul Station early in the morning! Is that okay?

ㄴㅇㅇ: OK, in front of Seoul Station by 9.

ㄴDolores: Ohohohohot! Understood! Miss, I'll be wearing red, so please speak to me first!

Red clothes, huh.

It was a color that stood out too much, but when a woman obsessed with her concept wore it, it somehow became oddly convincing.

It was a sudden appointment, but there wasn't any big problem. Dolores's nature could also be sorted out by asking the godmother. As for danger…… nothing really came to mind.

Of course, he wouldn't let his guard down.

Not just Dolores, but he never knew when or where a sudden ambush might come. Being thoroughly prepared was good for safety too. First, making the targeting device and re-engraving defensive magic into his coat would be enough for basic precautions.

Ding, ding.

The moment he thought that, two comment alerts popped up in a row. Ian checked the comments without thinking much.

ㄴKim Ari: Ms. Dolores! Thank you for helping me that time! If it's not too rude, could I go too??? Ah, I should probably ask that senior? for permission first! Senior, would that be okay???

-Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie: I'm saying I want to go along too. I wanted to look around anyway.

The newcomer and a familiar face commented at the same time. If anything, it was only natural, and Dolores readily accepted both of their suggestions. She seemed to have a very sociable personality.

It wasn't something Ian needed to refuse either. He left a message saying to do as they liked and set his phone down.

'If there are four of us, it'll be a bit noisy.'

He stretched out and took out the materials he'd prepared in advance to use alchemy.

Since the appointment was already tomorrow, he had no time to dawdle.

If possible, it would be better to finish the targeting device today and put it on.

Ian thought that and summoned the Hand of Re-Creation. He gently set the Blue Shackles and the Book of Contract beside Chronicle of the Deep Sea. Like an abandoned pet dog, the Book of Contract trembled furiously.

Chronicle of the Deep Sea quickly climbed onto the Book of Contract and spun around.

A spark crackled brightly.

Kwagagagagak!