Chapter 57
A spell that never causes accidents.
Its blunt name notwithstanding, the spell's effect caught Ian's eye. Before he knew it, he let out an exclamation and tapped away at the keyboard.
ㄴㅇㅇ: There's even a spell like that?
ㄴ★Godmother: Yes. It was originally a spell that prevents you from falling off a horse, but I improved it a bit with the help of a demon. The grimoire liked it too, saying it was a spell suited to modern times.
An improvement to a spell, huh….
It wasn't something just anyone could easily pull off. This was a matter of sense, not talent. Real-world magic wasn't the kind of discipline that mixed math into it, like novels or games portray it. Since it was literally the ability to handle mysterious power, all you did was activate it based on an already completed magic circle.
Of course, there were many things to consider. There were formulas of a sort for creating magic, too.
To put it simply, creation was like making a monitor from scratch at home, while improvement was like modifying that monitor into a smartphone screen or a giant billboard. Which one was harder depended on the person, but honestly, both were absurdly difficult.
It was something Ian couldn't even attempt. All the magic he used was derived from outer gods, so if he handled it the wrong way, nothing good would come of it.
If he learned other magic, that might be different, but right now he wasn't even allowed to open an ordinary grimoire, so there was no need to consider it. The precious grimoires he already had probably wouldn't let him learn other magic anyway.
Anyway.
He was already wary of how dangerous bikes were, so there was no reason to refuse Godmother's offer. He didn't know what kind of person she was, but the fact that she'd been running the community with magicians without any major problems so far meant she couldn't be a bad person.
Still, it was only right to ask what needed asking.
ㄴㅇㅇ: Why help me all of a sudden?
There were people in the world who helped others for no reason, but magicians would never show goodwill without one. He needed at least some small trigger before he could trust it.
ㄴ★Godmother: It's not for any big reason. The Lemegeton said it wouldn't help me out when I contract with a demon unless I met someone else first. So I was looking for a decent opening, and your post happened to come up.
ㄴㅇㅇ: Ah.
ㄴ★Godmother: I ride bikes often and I'm pretty interested in them too, so since we're meeting anyway, I thought I'd at least help you out. And... um, I also have some personal curiosity.
ㄴㅇㅇ: What curiosity?
ㄴ★Godmother: It's a secret. It's nothing bad.
Ian gave a low hum at Godmother's reply.
‘So the trigger was the Lemegeton. That “Lesser Key of Solomon” thing when I first joined the community wasn't for nothing after all.’
When people think of a grimoire, the first thing that comes to mind is Solomon's Lesser Key, commonly known as the Lemegeton.
The Lemegeton contains detailed records not only of the spells Solomon created and used in life, but also of the 72 demons he directly ruled over, including their descriptions, traits, weaknesses, and summoning methods. It is one of the few grimoires to contain both magical and religious value.
The Lemegeton hadn't had that many owners so far. If the current owner was Godmother, then including Solomon, its creator, it had only ever had three masters in total. Even allowing for the very high standards that top-tier grimoires use when choosing owners, that was still a rather low number.
Even the Eighth Book of Moses, which Ian had personally blown up, was a grimoire that had passed through nearly seven owners from ancient times to the present.
By now, that had become the greatest achievement of his life...
‘Still, if the Sixth Book and the Seventh Book are left, maybe that's enough.’
Ian pushed the stray thoughts away.
The Books of Moses, the Lemegeton, the Grimoire of Pope Honorius, the Book of the Angel Raziel, and so on. Grimoires tied to Catholicism or religion never take an interest in evil people. Simply possessing them was practically the same as being a vetted magician.
Even so, a magician was a magician; merely meeting one wouldn't necessarily lead to anything dangerous. And if something did happen, he had plenty of ways to deal with it.
Ian nodded and tapped at the keyboard.
ㄴㅇㅇ: Okay, then I'll buy the bike, take care of everything else, and contact you afterward.
ㄴ★Godmother: If you use the Cartel's service, everything will be registered within a day. You'll have to pay a little, but it's not a large sum.
ㄴㅇㅇ: The Cartel does that too? They really do everything.
ㄴ★Godmother: They'll do anything as long as it makes money.
It was something he already knew, but hearing it like that somehow made it feel fresh again.
Right. If they weren't obsessed with money, how could they even have come up with the idea of building a business out of mysticism?
Ian quenched his raw throat with cold water, threw on just his coat, and headed up to the rooftop of the building.
ㄴㅇㅇ: Then I'll just finish everything today and come by. Where should I go?
ㄴ★Godmother: I'll send you the address by note. It's not my home; it's a back hill that people don't usually go to. It's an appropriate place for magic. I'll be waiting.
ㄴ테이밍마스터: A back hill? That's damn scary. Isn't this newbie gonna get buried out there?
ㄴ★Godmother: I don't do things like that.
ㄴ테이밍마스터: (tracking down rule-breaking magicians by letting people and demons loose on them and killing them)
ㄴ★Godmother: You were the one who messed with a magician from our community first. Keep nitpicking and I'll ban you for a week.
ㄴ테이밍마스터: I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
ㄴ강삭제발: He said, ‘our...’
He watched the banter that followed, then let out a small laugh, put his phone in his pocket, and slipped a cigarette between his lips.
With a hiss, he lit the cigarette's tip and acrid smoke rose up. The gray smoke climbed toward the morning sun, then dispersed. Ian watched it for a moment, then pulled out his phone again and opened the Cartel app.
‘If they handle vehicle registration and everything else in one day, they must sell bikes too...’
The familiar Cartel logo appeared, and he browsed the service list after skipping past the pop-up that showed the most popular categories and various discounts.
Fortunately, he found the service Godmother had mentioned right away.
Vehicle registration, license plates, insurance, and more. A service that handled the necessary documents and administrative procedures in one minute. The price it asked was about 2 million won.
It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't an unreasonable cost either. He could afford that much without trouble.
The note below added that the service was handled right in front of the buyer, and that buying a bike from the Cartel came with a 10 percent discount. Ian read the notice carefully, tapped ash from his cigarette into the portable ashtray he'd bought a few days earlier, and browsed the shop listings.
[Transportation]
[Category] - [Car][Bike][Airplane][Helicopter][Yacht][Bicycle]…….
There were far more kinds of transportation on offer than he'd expected. Ian exhaled a puff of smoke and immediately clicked the bike section.
A variety of bikes in different styles appeared all at once.
He took the time to compare the names of the bikes Godmother had recommended one by one, and after much deliberation, bought one.
A replica-style liter-class bike.
It was absolutely not something recommended for beginners, but if it didn't cause any accidents, there was no need to buy a lower-grade bike. Since it was a bike sold through the Cartel, it even had an automatic-driving function, and its exhaust note and weight had also been reduced, so Ian thought it was a fairly reasonable choice.
Honestly, he couldn't say he had no personal desire mixed in. If you're born male, you're bound to fantasize at least once about riding a bike and tearing down the road. Now that he had the chance to do it safely, and the capital to back it up, there was no reason to hesitate.
“Good.”
He ground out the cigarette he'd finished in the ashtray, dropped the butt inside, and closed the lid.
Then his phone vibrated. When he checked, a message from the Cartel had arrived.
[Miko: Hello, customer! Thank you so much for purchasing a motorbike from our Cartel! I checked, and you also applied for the vehicle service. In cases like this, we usually bring the brand-new bike over in person, show you the item, and handle the service at the same time! So, would you mind letting us know a date and time that works for you? ˓˓ (̨̡*°꒳°*)̧̢ ˒˒]
Among the Cartel employees he'd met so far, this message had an especially upbeat feel. Both Diona and Crow had seemed serious and composed, but this Miko literally bounced off the page from the text alone.
Ian checked whether the message had been sent to the wrong person, and after confirming there was no problem, sent a reply.
[Me: If possible, I'd like to see it right away. You decide the address. Somewhere near Seoul.]
[Miko: Thanks for the quick reply! Then I'll let you know the place later, so please get ready in advance! There's nothing else you need to bring!]
Ian said okay, then went home and changed clothes.
He reattached the reverse-sight device to the coat, now completely free of bloodstains, checked whether the enchantments he'd placed on it had worn down, and put it on. He also packed up everything he needed and tucked it into his bag and the inside of the coat.
While he was doing that, the phone he'd left on the table vibrated.
[Miko: The place is ready! I'll attach the address here! See you shortly!]
[Miko: (address and place photo)]
[Miko: (ง *´▽`* )ว]
The place Miko told him about was a closed logistics center not far from Ian's house. He'd heard it had recently shut down and moved elsewhere, and it seemed the Cartel had bought the site.
Well, it might not be that, but it wasn't particularly important. Ian loaded bullets into his revolver, gave his grimoires a quick pat, and left the house.
Kim I-seo and Park Min-a knocked on his door 20 minutes later.
*
It had been about ten minutes since he left home when he arrived at the logistics center. Ian paid the taxi fare, slipped the Hand of Recreation into his coat pocket, and stepped into the abandoned logistics center.
Perhaps because it had closed only recently, it didn't feel especially eerie like an abandoned hospital or school. Then again, maybe it was simply because it was daytime.
‘No ghosts.’
Unlike a neighborhood back hill or a residential area that had suffered a fire, not even the usual petty spirit could be seen here. Apparently the Cartel had already handled things first. What a shame.
Ian walked through the logistics center, following the place written on his phone.
Going past the parking lot and deeper inside, he found a fairly large warehouse that stored delivery boxes. Naturally, there were no deliveries. Only a vacant space greeted Ian.
‘Where is it.’
According to the information she'd given him, Miko should be waiting here.
Ian walked through the warehouse, casually scanning the area. Then a girl sitting in a chair came into his view.
“Hm-hmm….”
A lively girl with green hair hummed to herself. One arm had been fitted with a prosthetic, apparently because it had been cut off before, and her short tennis skirt fluttered lightly with her movements. Beside her, a bike covered with cloth was neatly parked.
There was no need to think about it any longer. Ian gripped the grimoire in his hand and walked toward the girl. She, who had been sitting quietly and swinging her legs, sensed his presence and jerked her head up.
Her gaze went from Ian's face to the grimoire in his hand and back again. Then she smiled brightly.
“Ah, customer! Hello!”
A rather high-pitched voice burst from her mouth.
Miko smiled brightly and stood up from her seat, taking the hem of her skirt in both hands and lifting it slightly.
“I'm an employee of the Cartel's Korean branch! My name is Miko! As you might guess from the name, I'm originally a Japanese shrine maiden!”
Her pink eyes curved into crescents.