Chapter 76
A few days had passed since the cruise ship incident ended. Fortunately, no trouble had come up in the meantime. It had been nothing but peaceful days.
Maybe it was because he encountered the extraordinary so often. Ordinary daily life, which had once felt boring, now seemed incredibly sweet. Just lying in bed made him feel at ease and cleared his head.
Just lying around at home made him feel that way. If he went on a proper vacation, he figured he'd feel even more refreshed.
Was there even any need to agonize over it?
Ian immediately packed his bags, booked a night at a rather pricey five-star hotel, and spent the whole day holed up in the room.
It was the kind of vacation people call a staycation. The service was better than expected, and with a bathtub overlooking Seoul's night view, it wasn't bad at all. You could say it felt like the fatigue in his body was melting away.
“Phew......”
Feeling like this was what a successful life looked like, Ian snapped a photo of Seoul's nightscape outside the window with his phone. Then he immediately wrote a post on the community board.
[Hawa-wa, this baby mage has finally come out on a proper vacation after ages.]
[Anon]
(Photo of Seoul's night view)
I want to sip wine while gazing at this beautiful night view.
[Upvotes 0][Downvotes 4]
[Comments]
-DeepSeaAngler: Your bit is disgusting. Why are you suddenly doing this?
ㄴAnon: Hawa-wa, don't say such mean things.
ㄴDeepSeaAngler: Did hanging around Smoothie turn you into someone similar?
ㄴAnon: Don't cross the line.
ㄴStrawberry Yogurt Smoothie: ?
-TamingMaster: Why are you stupidly crawling into a hotel? You'll get tangled up with Mystery and end up isolated.
ㄴKangDeletePlease: That's too extreme. If you set the bar like that, there'd be nowhere you could go, right?
ㄴTamingMaster: Eek! Bald freak! Get lost!
ㄴKangDeletePlease: You fucking bastard.
Leaving the familiar stream of comments behind him, Ian lay down on the bed. The hotel's characteristic soft but slightly uncomfortable feel gently enveloped his whole body. It didn't feel bad.
“Phew......”
He wanted a cigarette, but the smoking area was fairly far away, so he gave up. He did have a portable ashtray, but another guest was staying right upstairs. There was no need to stir up trouble by smoking out the window or in the bathroom.
‘Maybe I should make this vacation a bit longer.’
Only a few weeks ago, Ian had taken several days off after the library request. But in the process, he'd been dragged to the hospital with the inquisitor, and an incident involving the Administration Bureau had occurred. It was hard to say he'd really gotten any proper rest.
His condition itself hadn't been that bad, so he'd even taken the cruise request, but by the time it was over, his mind and body were pretty worn out.
What he'd taken for a simple request had turned out to involve some crazy cult and an Outer God from the Cthulhu Mythos, so that was only natural. Even Ian couldn't have solved that while grinning like an idiot, as casually as if he were picking his nose. If he could have, he'd have been running wild long ago.
“Magic isn't an invincible power.”
Even if he ran into the Eight-Foot Ghost he'd first met now, there was no way he could simply crush it with overwhelming force. Then as now, he'd have to dodge its attacks and land a clean hit.
It's true he had more methods at his disposal now, but the way he fought hadn't changed. Even if he opened the grimoire and ordered, 'Split in half and die,' there was no way the other side would actually listen.
Well, anyway.
Even if he'd become used to magic and accumulated quite a bit of experience, there was no need to force the schedule. For now, he should devote himself to resting.
Just as Ian was thinking that and gulping down a glass of cold water, the phone beside his bed vibrated briefly.
He picked it up and checked it without thinking much.
[Kim Iseo: Are you available to talk on the phone right now?]
Ian's face stiffened slightly as he checked the message.
Kim Iseo.
That was the name of the Administration Bureau agent he'd met at the theme park and the hospital.
They'd already introduced themselves, and since they'd even drawn up a contract, getting a message wasn't all that strange.
It wasn't that late yet. The sun had just set and the streetlamps had only just come on. It was that odd in-between hour—too early to sleep, too late to be out and about. After a moment's thought, Ian called the number that had sent the message.
The other side answered before the ringtone had even sounded twice.
[Mage-nim.]
A voice rather low for a woman flowed through the phone speaker. Ian sat down on the sofa and answered.
“Your call was rather late.”
[We had an urgent matter at the Administration Bureau. Things have stabilized now.]
“An urgent matter?”
[One of the Cruel Fairy Tales appeared in the provinces. It was a fairy tale mixed with Red Shoes and Cinderella, and there were quite a lot of victims, so it took some time to clean up. I'm sorry.]
It wasn't really something to apologize for, but Ian knew it was just a formality, so he didn't react. Kim Iseo didn't seem to mind much either, and continued in a flat tone.
[The reason I contacted you was to let you know that the contract has been successfully concluded, and to arrange a visit to the Administration Bureau headquarters building. Do you happen to have a convenient time?]
“A visit? Is that really necessary?”
He'd formed a cooperative relationship with the Administration Bureau, but that didn't mean he trusted them unconditionally.
Unless the Administration Bureau had gone crazy, they wouldn't openly stab him in the back, but the possibility of them doing something similar was more than enough—it practically overflowed.
Of course, that might just be excessive paranoia. They might not be thinking anything of the sort, and he could just be shadowboxing by himself. But if that vigilance served as glue to keep his head from being cut off, there was no reason to act complacent. Safety was always better when overdone.
For the same reason, going into the Administration Bureau building wasn't a very good choice.
As a rule, Administration Bureau agents don't like mages.
If you had to choose between like and dislike, dislike won overwhelmingly. There were more people holding resentment than people who didn't care, so it was practically the same as walking straight into a bed of thorns.
He could understand their feelings. Thanks to the human spontaneous combustion incident and the confinement-room cursed doll incident, he'd already heard that mage favorability had been driven into the ground.
But understanding it didn't mean he accepted it.
Why should he have to bear resentment for something he hadn't done himself? There were limits to how much unfairness a person should have to swallow. Unfortunately, Ian wasn't the kind of great man who could smile and accept that kind of injustice.
‘If I go there and end up getting dragged into something dangerous for nothing, it'd be better to just handle the cooperation request instead.’
Just as Ian was thinking that and hardening his expression, Kim Iseo answered, the scratch of someone writing audible in the background.
[I understand what you're worried about. However, there's no need to worry.]
“That's a very confident tone.”
[Because I'm certain. There's no reason to feel intimidated.]
Her tone softened a little.
[Administration Bureau agents aren't idiots. They won't go out of their way to provoke a mage they've agreed to cooperate with and cause trouble. In the first place, if an Administration Bureau employee provokes or criticizes a contracted mage, fairly severe sanctions are imposed. In serious cases, they're memory-wiped and forced to resign.]
“…….”
[It's a punishment for the mage as well, but more than that, it's a rule made to protect Administration Bureau agents. If a mage and an agent clash, it's obvious who will die.]
At her calm voice, Ian gave a wry smile.
The Administration Bureau agents might be impressive, but most of them are ordinary people with no special abilities. In a fight against a mage who directly handles and wields Mystery, there was no need to wonder whose head would come off first.
[So please rest assured. Nothing you're worried about will ever happen. To add one more thing, other mages tend to drop by the Administration Bureau building whenever they're bored. Of course, not everyone does, but a couple of them sometimes spend time drinking coffee at the Administration Bureau café.]
“Weirdos.”
[If even another mage thinks so, then I suppose they are.]
Kim Iseo said that, then after a brief pause, added one more thing.
[Just because you're visiting the Administration Bureau building doesn't mean you'll be searched. Feel free to bring your grimoire.]
With her saying that much, Ian had no reason to refuse.
Conveniently, he didn't have any urgent plans at the moment. With safety secured, spending a day at the Administration Bureau wouldn't be a bad idea.
If things came to that, he could always summon creatures from the Outer Sea. First he'd warp the structure of the Administration Bureau building with the Hand of Re-creation, and then unleash a few Heralds to throw the Bureau into emergency mode.
He'd prefer it if nothing like that happened, but just in case, he ran the possibilities through his head. As he did, he opened his mouth.
“I'm planning to rest for a while, so I'm not taking any requests. I'm just visiting.”
[……Understood.]
A trace of disappointment was impossible to hide in her voice.
Naturally, he had no intention of taking that back.
*
The next day, after resting comfortably at the hotel.
Ian raced through downtown Seoul on his bike. Following the entered address, the bike moved on its own, adjusting its speed and direction.
‘Is it around here?’
Ian lifted his helmet visor and looked around while still on the bike.
All he could see were buildings soaring as if they were trying to pierce the sky.
An utterly ordinary Seoul scene. Yet somewhere in that forest of tall buildings, the Administration Bureau's Gyeonggi branch was hidden.
As the saying goes, if you want to hide a tree, hide it in a forest; the Administration Bureau building seemed to have been hidden in a forest of buildings too. It was obvious enough, but it was still a reliable method. Better this than a giant building standing alone in some empty mountain valley.
“Hmm.”
Ian gripped the bike's handlebars and headed toward the address on his phone's navigation. A moment later, he stopped in front of a huge building.
From the outside looking in, it seemed like an utterly ordinary company. People in suits were moving around beyond the windows, and office workers carrying documents or coffee were hurrying through the halls.
In reality, it wasn't like that. The perception-suppressing and distortion magic covering the whole building was simply manipulating the scenery. The real interior was probably far removed from an ordinary company.
He'd already been told about it, so he wasn't surprised. Ian parked his bike in a nearby lot, shrank his helmet, and stuffed it into his bag. He roughly folded up his gloves as well.
“…….”
He straightened his coat, which the wind had disheveled, and walked toward the Administration Bureau building.
The moment he reached the entrance.
“Ah, there you are.”
A black-haired woman sitting on a nearby bench muttered as she looked at him. Ian came to a halt, and she gave a faint smile when she noticed his gaze on her.
“A handsome face that looks scary. You're the one. Nice to meet you.”
She tossed the cup of cocoa she had been holding into the trash can and walked toward Ian. Then she held out one hand and said.
“I'm Kim Yul. I'm a mage, just like you.”