Chapter 56
Early morning.
At the branch chief’s orders, Kim I-seo and Park Min-a began preparing to deploy. The two of them came out of their respective lodgings, packed all their gear, got into the Bureau-issued vehicle, and started the engine.
Vroooom.
The smoothly started vehicle left the Bureau's parking lot and headed out onto the road. Park Min-a glanced at Kim I-seo at the wheel for a moment, then fastened her seat belt and looked out the window.
Seoul's morning was bustling as always. The streets were crowded with office workers on their way to work, and the roads were packed with cars. The morning commute was so slow that it would have been more accurate to call the roads a slow conveyor belt than roads.
“…….”
It was the kind of speed and scenery most Koreans would hate. But Park Min-a rather liked mornings this slow, because they gave her time to think amid her complicated daily life.
Bureau life was harsh enough already, so she couldn’t help liking moments like this.
But there was always someone who felt differently. Park Min-a looked at the clearest example of that and parted her lips.
“……Hey, Seoa.”
“...? Why?”
The girl, who had been tapping the steering wheel with her fingers as traffic crawled along, turned to Park Min-a. Min-a met her gaze and said,
“Why did you say we should persuade that magician?”
It had already been several days since then.
They had already reached a conclusion in the branch chief’s office, and now they were on their way to carry out that decision. It wasn’t an unreasonable question in the current situation, but it still felt a little abrupt.
“Out of the blue?”
“No, I just... I figured you’d naturally argue for assassination. You don’t really like Mysteries, do you?”
Kim I-seo's past wasn’t especially well known within the Bureau. Stories about someone surviving alone through a cruel fairy tale called Hansel and Gretel and becoming a Bureau agent were already a dime a dozen.
Everyone like her hated Mysteries and wanted to put them down.
Kim I-seo's hatred ran a little deeper than most. It wasn’t quite to the point of blazing with vengeance, but the rumor that she personally went around hunting cruel fairy tales was already widely known in the Bureau. It wasn’t for nothing that the branch chief had once stepped in personally to lecture her.
Even so, Park Min-a, who thought she knew her fairly well as a fellow agent, hadn’t expected her to advocate persuasion against a magician who directly manipulated and wielded Mysteries. She had not seen it coming at all.
“Oh, that.”
But in response to Park Min-a’s cautious question, Kim I-seo replied with a languid expression, as if it were no big deal.
“I hate Mysteries, not the people who handle them. Nobody hates entomologists just because they hate insects, right? That’s all.”
“...That analogy is a little unusual, isn’t it?”
“It’s not exactly wrong, though.”
Kim I-seo bit into the candy she always bought for quitting smoking and held it between her fingers like a cigarette. The sweet lemon flavor spread richly across her tongue.
“And besides, that was all staged acting. If Senior Yeoul had suggested persuasion, I’d probably have argued for assassination.”
There should always be plenty of options. Both so you can attach a convincing reason to a decision, and so no one gets the impression you’re stubbornly forcing through a conclusion you came up with alone. It was always right to lay out opposing arguments. In an ordinary company, that’d be unnecessary, but this was the Bureau—what ordinary company was this?
“I was just reading the room a little so it’d be easier for the branch chief to choose. Didn’t you see us exchanging looks there?”
“Oh, really? I didn’t notice.”
“I think Mr. Park Hee-su saw it, though. And the rookie obviously wouldn’t have.”
Kim I-seo rolled the candy around in her mouth and eased onto the accelerator slightly.
“Anyway, that’s why we coordinated in advance and put forward two arguments. Honestly, both sides are perfectly reasonable.”
“...I’m not sure about persuasion. Assassination seems doable, though.”
“The Bureau does have plenty of talent. If worst comes to worst, you can just press the disposable instant-kill button. Wasn’t the sacrifice about fifty people?”
Kim I-seo clicked her tongue, thinking of the red fleshy button locked away in the quarantine room.
“Personally, I don’t want to use it. That thing feels disgusting.”
“True... The quarantine team hates it too. They say just looking at it makes their guts twist.”
It wasn’t a metaphor; their actual insides really did twist. Several quarantine team members had already died with their organs grotesquely tangled.
Kim I-seo made a popping sound as she pulled the candy from her mouth and licked the long silver strand.
“Forget it. Anyway, we don’t need to consider assassination anymore. Is there even any point in asking whether it’s possible?”
She said that and rubbed the dark circles under her eyes.
What was there to hide?
The Bureau’s chosen conclusion was persuasion, following Kim I-seo’s suggestion.
*
At the same time.
A few days after witnessing Cecilia inhale a pizza, Ian still found it odd that the Bureau agent hadn’t shown up, though he didn’t think much of it.
If they were going to pretend they hadn’t seen anything and let it slide, that was actually good for Ian. Maybe they were just coming later because they were preparing defenses or discussing it, but either way, he was free for now. Since he hadn’t taken any requests while his condition recovered, both his body and mind felt pretty refreshed.
It couldn’t have been a more pleasant morning. As usual, Ian followed his morning routine, did some light exercise, washed up, and ate breakfast.
After that, he lay down on the bed and browsed the community forum.
As always, there were a few informational posts mixed in with the shitposts, and a handful of recent hot posts were shining brightly, loaded with upvotes and comments. Ian yawned and skimmed from the top post downward.
[Master, may this goddamn son of a bitch live a long and healthy life.]
[Kang Sak-je-bal]
(Photo of a scalp with all the hair shaved off)
Last time I joked that I wanted to be left out to die on a mountain, and my master shaved all my hair off. She said she was going bald and shaved mine too, so wouldn’t it be legal to push her off a cliff?
Fuck, I need to get myself a boyfriend!
[Upvotes 156][Downvotes 1]
[Comments]
-Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie: hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
ㄴKang Sak-je-bal: Don’t laugh. I’ll split you open.
ㄴStrawberry Yogurt Smoothie: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
ㄴKang Sak-je-bal: You bitch.
-Deep-Sea Angler: Why are there so many upvotes? More than usual.
ㄴThey’re using the anonymous clone technique. They’re total Hokages.
ㄴDeep-Sea Angler: Aren’t you one of them too?
ㄴlol
ㄴgot
ㄴcaught
ㄴhuh
ㄴDeep-Sea Angler: I’m so scared right now my gills are trembling.
ㄴOh….
-Bug in Your Ear: Boyfriend? You little shit, are you gay?
ㄴKang Sak-je-bal: I’m a woman, you bastard.
ㄴBug in Your Ear: Number. Photo. Name.
ㄴBug in Your Ear: Ah, no buzz-cut girls. That’s a problem.
ㄴKang Sak-je-bal: Are you seriously fucking insane?
-Sweet Grandpa: Disciple. My back hurts. Give me a massage.
ㄴKang Sak-je-bal: Ah. I really do want to leave you out on a mountain now.
“That was nothing special.”
Ian casually left just one emoji in the comments, then after a brief moment of thought, wrote a post.
[I’m thinking of buying a bike. Anyone know a good one?]
[Yeah.]
In short.
He uploaded the post and set his phone down for a moment.
He had planned to get some kind of vehicle for a while now. But he had wavered between a bike and a car, and in the end let it fizzle out without choosing either. Still, now he had made up his mind.
‘A bike is better after all.’
The catalyst for that decision was the replica-type bike he had ridden while escaping the hospital.
Better visibility than a car. Fine control, and the ability to shoot in all directions while driving. And greater convenience than a car, too.
Aside from the danger, it was a far better means of transportation than he'd expected. He had his license but had never actually ridden one, so he hadn't known, but after riding it during the escape, it had been better than he expected. It was more than good enough to use as his main mode of transportation.
Of course, the danger wasn't trivial enough to ignore, but magic could easily smooth that over. Even the enchantment on his coat absorbed impacts like water, so at the very least he didn't have to worry about suffering serious injuries.
That didn't mean he intended to let his guard down. No matter what, he planned to drive with safety in mind. Without that, you were just as likely to die a miserable death in a car as on a bike.
Ian went up to the rooftop, smoked a cigarette, came back, and lay down on the bed again to check the post.
Fortunately, it had plenty of comments. He replied to them appropriately and chatted with them.
-A bike's good. What are you using it for?
ㄴㅇㅇ: Just transportation. If I had to be specific, probably for handling requests?
ㄴDo you have a license? If you're a beginner, pick something under 500cc.
ㄴㅇㅇ: I do have a license. Okay for now.
-Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie: Bikes are dangerous, you know. You should just ride around in a car, you know. And take me along for a drive, you know.
ㄴㅇㅇ: No thanks.
ㄴStrawberry Yogurt Smoothie: (the "gentle magician is angry" meme)
“She never changes...”
Just as Ian muttered that to himself, a new comment came in.
-★Dae-mo: If it's transportation and you're going to use it to handle requests, an R-bike would probably be better. I mean a replica bike. I put up a post listing the bikes I recommend, so please take a look.
It was a reply from someone he hadn't expected at all. Ian asked, looking a little surprised.
ㄴㅇㅇ: You ride bikes?
ㄴ★Dae-mo: Yes. Since learning the "never-get-into-an-accident spell," I've been riding a bike and sometimes going out to handle requests.
ㄴㅇㅇ: That's surprising. You didn't really seem like that kind of person.
ㄴ★Dae-mo: You don't even know what I look like, so what are you talking about? Anyway, check it and send me a private message.
Dae-mo replied like that, then after a brief pause added.
ㄴ★Dae-mo: If you want, I can even enchant your bike.