Chapter 39
Morning.
Ian slowly rose from the bed, brushing his tousled hair aside.
His condition... wasn't bad. So getting a second grimoire didn't instantly make him lose his mind after all. The Hand of Re-creation had said he wouldn't go mad because the compatibility was high, but there was no such note in Deep-Sea Chronicle.
He might be able to find it by flipping through the pages, but today was a busy morning. He gulped down cold water to shake off sleep, took a shower, and left the house.
He took out his phone and checked the address of the animal hospital he'd looked up yesterday.
It wasn't physically close, but it was the nearest branch around. Ian hailed a taxi and headed to the animal hospital.
He arrived not long after.
The hospital, smaller than he'd expected, seemed busy preparing to open. Through the window, he could clearly see nurses getting things ready and a doctor stretching while putting on a white coat.
“Ahem.”
Ian cleared his throat once and yanked the hospital door open.
“Oh?”
Ding-dong, the bell rang, and the staff's eyes turned toward Ian. One nurse, who had been setting up feed for the animals, looked at him with a troubled expression.
“Ah, sir. We're not open yet, so... Could you come back in about thirty minutes?”
Instead of answering, Ian thrust the Cartel app at her.
At that instant, the expression vanished from the nurse's face. She bowed and said with perfect politeness,
“My apologies. I'll escort you inside. Please follow me.”
“Looks like the whole hospital is made up of Cartel employees.”
“That's right. It's nothing special, really.”
Following her lead, Ian went into the hospital. The staff didn't even glance at him.
She opened the door leading downstairs, and he went down the stairs into the basement.
A basement where blue lights flashed on and off. Safes were packed everywhere, and bizarre-looking animals held their breath inside cages. The nurse led Ian to a sofa and handed him a cup of black tea.
“May I ask what request you completed?”
“The Closed Library. A request for magicians only.”
“Confirmed. Please show me the rulebook you wrote.”
He did.
The nurse quickly checked the rulebook Ian handed her and nodded.
“There are fifteen rules in total. A base amount of 100 million, plus an extra 150 million. That makes 250 million won total. A huge sum.”
“Is that really such a large payout even for Cartel?”
“For non-magicians, yes. Of course, sending a magician to an unknown location requires this much. But it’s the first time I’ve seen someone write down so many rules. And those rules don’t even look easy. How did you manage it?”
Ian smiled and took a sip of his black tea.
“It just happened as I went along. Send the payment to my account.”
“Understood. Should I send it to an account under your name? Or to a Cartel account?”
“Is there such a thing as a Cartel account?”
Ian asked as he set down the teacup. The nurse nodded.
“It's an account that doesn't leave a record when you use it, and it also gives you a discount whenever you use the Cartel shop. If you haven't made one, I recommend opening one today. It comes with a card as well.”
“If it doesn't leave a record, that means it can't be traced either.”
“That's right. That's why many people use it.”
“How much does it cost to open one?”
“The card and account together cost 100 million won in total. Also, Indemniss is free for three months after the account is opened.”
The terms were better than he'd expected. Paying 100 million was a little painful, but just being able to use the safe-travel service for free would cut the cost of handling requests by about half.
Getting unlimited discounts was tempting in its own way, and above all, the ability to avoid being traced was attractive.
This was a world where everything got recorded in electronic systems and was easy to trace. Thanks to his patron, he could relax about his phone, but it was still too early to relax about anything else.
Ian knew very well that this was probably an overinflated sense of self-importance. He also understood that the Bureau probably wasn't paying him any attention and that he might just be shadowboxing by himself.
Still, there was no harm in being careful. He looked at the nurse and nodded.
“I'll open one. Transfer the money there directly.”
“Understood. Congratulations on opening the account. When you buy Cartel goods with the card linked to it, you get about a ten percent discount, and if you spend over 20 million won, you can take one item worth 5 million won or less for free. This benefit can only be used once.”
“Nice. What do I need to watch out for?”
“You must spend at least 5 million won every month. Otherwise, we will remove an organ from your body with a similar value.”
“...Shouldn't you have led with that?”
“I'm sorry, I'm still a newbie. If you don't want it, I can cancel the opening. What would you like to do?”
The nurse said with her head bowed. Ian thought for a moment, then answered.
“No, just open it as is.”
He did have to spend 5 million won a month, but he couldn't give up the other benefits just because of that.
If this had been the old him, he might have screamed in shock, but not now that he had a source of income. He had only been a magician for a little over a month, and already nearly 200 million won had piled up in his account.
If he kept working, 5 million won wasn't an impossible burden. He could definitely afford it.
‘If I need to, I can always buy refined goods made from aberrations or something.’
Mystical byproducts that netted a few hundred thousand won apiece. Just buying those would easily satisfy the requirement.
“Understood. Then I'll proceed. Setting it up will take a total of three hours, and the card will be delivered to your home. Or you can receive it directly here.”
“I'll take it directly. I'll be killing time nearby, so contact me when it's done.”
“Understood. Should I contact you through the app?”
“Yeah.”
“Confirmed. The exit is through the back door. I'll see you in two hours.”
Ian nodded, went back up the stairs, and headed out through the back door. He lit a cigarette in the smoking area beside the parking lot and took out his phone.
‘What’s nearby?’
With that awkward three-hour window, it would be hard to spend the time at home or in the workshop. Handling a request on the side was impossible, too. He'd probably just have to rest for a bit at a nearby café or PC bang.
Fortunately, there was a PC bang within walking distance of the hospital. Ian tossed his cigarette butt into the ashtray and walked in. It had been a while since he'd been somewhere like this, but the atmosphere felt pleasantly familiar.
He signed up and logged in with practiced ease, put on a suitable video, and browsed the community on his phone.
[Hey, by the way, how long have you guys been at it as magicians? I'm at 3 years for now.]
[UnicornLoverDog]
What about you guys?
[Upvotes 0][Downvotes 0]
[Comments]
-SeriousMagicAddict: I've been at it for 8 years. Quite a long time, really.
-StrawberryYogurtSmoothie: I've only been at it for 6 months, eek.
ㄴUnicornLoverDog: Holy shit, total newbie. But why is your tone like that?
ㄴStrawberryYogurtSmoothie: Hehe, screw you! I'll blow you up, da yo!
-★Patron: I've been at it for 10 years.
ㄴUnicornLoverDog: Fucking bitch lol
ㄴ★Patron: ?
ㄴㅇㅇ(112.415): Ah, shit, my bad. Unblock me.
ㄴ★Patron: (magician thumbs-up emoticon)
[Bragging about your experience. How cute!]
[Sweet Grandpa]
I've already been doing this for 40 years!
[Upvotes 3][Downvotes 3]
[Comments]
-Grandpa, isn't it about time you kicked the bucket?
ㄴSweet Grandpa: I'm still in my prime, you little punk!
ㄴMakes me want to leave you on a mountain.
ㄴSweet Grandpa: You little rascal!! You're my disciple!
ㄴAh.
As usual, crappy posts were everywhere, and among them a few info posts stood out. Ian sat quietly and browsed them before writing a new post.
[Guys, I picked up another grimoire.]
[Yeah.]
One suddenly appeared and forced me to take it.
Is there anyone else like me? Or are there any historical cases like this?
After posting, he browsed the internet for a bit while waiting for comments to appear. He was looking into used bikes or cars.
He'd gotten a free Indemniss pass, but he couldn't rely on public transportation every time he took on a request. If the distance was absurdly far, he'd take a plane or a train, but otherwise driving himself was much better. Taxi fares weren't exactly cheap either.
Of course, it wasn't enough to be a major burden. Still, now that he had money, it seemed better to get some kind of personal vehicle.
“Hmm.”
He didn't bother touching anything too expensive.
He did have over a hundred million won in his account now, but once maintenance fees, rent, living expenses, and the cost of magical supplies were included, the money would disappear quickly. First he needed to move out of the one-room apartment and find another place, so he couldn't pour a lot of money into transportation.
‘Personally, I think a bike would be better. I don't have anything to carry, and it would let me move fast.’
But considering how dangerous a bike was, a car would still be better. Unless he had magic to operate one safely, a car was safer than a motorcycle.
In the end, each had its pros and cons. Ian tapped the table and let out a thoughtful sigh.
After mulling it over for a while, the ramen he'd ordered for lunch arrived.
He soothed his moderately hungry stomach with ramen and checked the comments on the post he'd written.
[Comments]
-Two grimoires? What the fuck, you crazy bastard.
-There have been magicians with two grimoires, but they're extremely rare. As far as I know, the current Clock Tower master is the one who has two.
-Damn it! I couldn't find one no matter how hard I looked, so why is it only you!!!!
ㄴStrawberryYogurtSmoothie: Grimoires care about looks too, da yo. Heehee, da yo.
ㄴWhere do you live, you fucker.
-Deep-Sea Angler: Two grimoires? That's just asking to become a target for other magicians.
-TamingMaster: Don't spread that kind of information carelessly. From the past to the present, fewer than three magicians have ever possessed two or more grimoires.
-The Clock Tower master said the grimoires' power struggle is insane, and if you can't endure it, you die instead? Nice-boat ending, yep.
ㄴ(Share it emoticon)
-ZI존짱짱쎈: In modern times, only one person, the Clock Tower master, possesses two grimoires. It's not especially dangerous just to have them, but you do need to manage the relationship between the grimoires. Like the comment above said, if you can't control their power struggle, you die.
ㄴZI존짱짱쎈: It's true that grimoires are a magician's eternal friend and treasure. That doesn't mean they're saints who care about humans. If they think their master is about to be stolen, they go into a 'you die, I die' stance.
ㄴ(Did you think you were dealing with a saint? emoticon)
ㄴNo, this is basically full-on yandere menhera. So all grimoires were landmine girls?
ㄴZI존짱짱쎈: You've opened your eyes. Come to the book-fucker gallery.
“…….”
After reading the comments, Ian stared at the bag he'd placed beside him.
He could feel the two grimoires' energies still vibrating inside the bag.
Rather than vicious, the fight was ridiculously childish. It didn't even feel threatening, just like a squabble between kids. And these things could supposedly kill him?
“……Tsk.”
Ian slipped the bag open and lightly stroked the two grimoires pressed tightly together. Then the grimoires calmed down and rubbed against his hand.
“……No matter how I look at it, that doesn't seem right.”
He let out a hollow laugh and gently scratched the grimoires' covers.
[Humm…….]
[Hummmmmm…….]
The two opposing books vibrated as if pleased.