“…….”
In a dark alley where even the moonlight could not penetrate, there stood a man wearing a mask.
He was waiting for someone.
‘It’s quite late. I might have to wait a little longer and just go back.’
It had already been thirty minutes since the time they agreed to meet for the drug purchase.
It was highly unlikely that a drug dealer would be late; he must have either taken the wrong substance and died or was in a state of madness.
If that were the case, he wouldn’t show up no matter how long he waited, and just as he was about to turn away, he suddenly sensed a surge of mana.
He took a couple of steps back immediately.
Whoosh!
Then, the alley he had been walking in was completely blocked off by black flames.
‘No way, I didn’t feel any threat at all!’
Even when he turned his head in the other direction, the black flames creeping along the walls completely encased him.
Except for one escape route.
It was evident that this was a clear act of blocking his retreat.
Something was amiss.
A moment later, a black car approached, blocking the alley.
It looked like an ordinary private vehicle, but he could tell.
It was an armored vehicle disguised as a regular car, coated with a high-level magic defense.
‘No way, no matter how much magic I use, I can’t even scratch that.’
Then where should he run? As he was searching for an escape route, a man in the car rolled down the window and spoke.
“Hey, don’t worry, I’m just here to talk. For now, anyway.”
Click, the door of the black car opened.
“Let’s have a quick chat.”
The one who stepped out was a rough-looking man dressed in a white suit, with his hair slicked back.
And behind him were a few thugs in black suits who followed him out of the car.
He stopped the men in black who were trying to approach him and slowly walked toward the masked man, speaking.
“I’ve heard about you, but you’re younger than I expected. With your age, you seem to have quite the skills. Or did you find a ‘good hunting dog’ somewhere?”
“……Who are you?”
“Oh my, this kid is really young. It’s me, Dylan. The original owner of that damn facility you’re running.”
Dylan? Oh my, it was that guy.
He completely forgot about him.
The moment those words ended, the action he would take was already decided.
He twisted the ring on his finger and readied his consciousness.
It was the authority to shake the laws of nature and rewrite the rules of reality; the manifestation of magic.
Control over the phenomena extending from the man’s hand.
It was a magic spell boasting the highest attack power he could use, Firebolt.
Boom!
Casting magic without a cane was an act akin to gambling with his life, even if he had a Circle, but he remained unfazed, maintaining a grim smile as he merely gazed at the rapidly approaching red sphere.
As if it posed no threat at all.
“Let’s not make this a hassle, Circle user. I told you I’m just here to talk.”
The deep blue brooch pinned to the chest of the white suit glinted ominously.
And then, snap.
With the snap of the man’s fingers, the fire that had been hurtling toward him completely vanished.
Interpretation and dismantling of magic? No.
It was simply an act of destruction of magic.
“……Cough!”
Perhaps due to the violent destruction of his magic, the shock inflicted on his heart was indescribable.
Had he not been accustomed to shocks to his heart, he might have died right there.
He clutched his heart and knelt on one knee.
Struggling to maintain his grip on the wavering Circle.
Dylan, who approached him, then kicked his face.
-Whack!
“Cough!”
His mask was nearly knocked off, but he barely managed to hold onto it with his other hand.
The sensation he felt in his hand informed him that the mask was cracked.
“Now, let’s have a talk.”
He pressed down…
“Ugh.”
Dylan, who had placed a foot on the chest of the fallen man while closely examining his face, suddenly rubbed his nose in disbelief and said, “Hmm? Have we met somewhere before?”
“Maybe because I have a common face….”
The mask had been enchanted with magic that transformed him into a ‘common visage.’
Even though it was about to crack and break, he spoke nonchalantly, repeating to himself that this level of shock wouldn’t erase the magic, recalling the abilities of the mage who cast it.
“Hmm, certainly.”
Fortunately, the magic on the mask still worked.
Swallowing a sigh that nearly escaped his lips, he asked, “……What do you want to talk about?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much.”
He shrugged his shoulders and continued.
“Do you know someone called ‘Third’?”
He paused.
“……I don’t know.”
“Ha ha, you’re trying to play dumb? Let’s not do that. We came here already knowing everything.”
The man’s foot slowly moved from his chest to his shoulder.
And…
-Snap!
A crunching sound echoed from his shoulder.
He felt a clear sense of something breaking; he screamed.
“Gah!”
“That bastard is the ‘Circle user’ you’re using, right? I just need him. Got it?”
“……Ugh, why do you need that guy?”
“Hmm… Just out of spite. He really pissed me off. That guy, he made things quite difficult for me back then?”
He increased his weight on the shoe that was trampling on his shoulder.
“And now I want to know his whereabouts. Don’t want to talk? Then you can just die here.”
-Groan…
The encroaching pain made him scream.
“……I can’t! But I can summon him!”
“Yeah, finally coming around to be cooperative.”
At that, his foot lifted from his shoulder, and he gestured for the men behind him to help him up.
The forced standing brought pain to his broken shoulder, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.
Dylan seemed quite satisfied with his appearance and continued with a grin.
“Summon him.”
“Just give me a moment; he can’t appear right away.”
After staring into his eyes for a moment, Dylan nodded.
“Well, you don’t seem to be lying.”
Looking at him, who let out a sigh of relief, Dylan suddenly spoke.
“Hmm. Right, I don’t want to ask for something impossible. I’ll give you time, three days? How’s that sound? Should be enough, right?”
“……Okay.”
“Oh, and don’t think you’ll be able to run away in that time. If you get tracked down after escaping, it’ll be a horrible sight. That Third guy too; we’ve found out about him, right? He was able to hide not because he’s good at hiding but because ‘we just didn’t choose to look for him.’ Keep that in mind.”
Not wanting to hear a response, he settled into the back seat of the black car and closed the door.
“Oh, and prepare to hand over your businesses during that time. You’ve gotten everything from me through plundering anyway, so don’t feel too wronged.”
Vroom—
The sound of the mana engine soon roared.
The black car quickly left the alley and disappeared from his view.
Staring at the soot-stained wall left by the now-vanished black flames, he muttered as if spitting.
“……Damn it.”
And at the entrance of the alley, someone in tattered clothes was watching.
Not wanting to get caught, he pulled back the head he had peeked out with and exhaled in relief, whispering softly.
“Phew, what a terrifying world it is….”
He was just about to speak to the drug dealer…
It almost turned out to be something dangerous.
Today, his indecisive nature turned out to be a blessing.
——
The next morning, Yerna began organizing her bookshelves, which she had put off.
As she started sorting through, she was surprised at how many books she had bought but never opened.
Still, every time she pulled one out, the memories they stirred up were not a bad feeling.
Ah, I remember this.
‘With the Dryad of the Forest.’
Though that’s the title, it’s not a monster story; it’s a romance novel depicting the encounter between an ugly human woman referred to as ‘Dryad’ who lives in the forest and an elven lord.
The content was perfectly normal and entertaining, but merely by looking at the title, it seemed as if it were about a monster doing this and that, which prompted complaints, and in the revised edition, they changed the name to ‘Witch of the Forest.’
So now, the book bearing this name had become quite rare, they say.
“…….”
Well, she just bought a bundle that was being sold at a failing bookstore.
Thinking this, Yerna turned to the pile of books she had dumped out for organizing.
Though they were mixed up indiscriminately now, there was a time when she smiled at them, felt her heart race, and received sentimental emotions.
That being said, she had intended to throw out the unnecessary books in the process of sorting, but each of those bundled papers contained her memories.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t bring herself to throw away even the books she had finished.
Even if they were bought at a discounted price during the inventory check at the bookstore.
Just like a 10-year-old girl she met unexpectedly in the forest.
Yerna began picking up the books she had taken out, putting them back in places where children couldn’t reach, and suddenly noticed a crumpled wad of paper discarded under the bed and reached for it.
“What’s this?”
Curious, she unfolded the crumpled paper only to find it was a sheet with addition and subtraction problems written on it.
Why is this here?
This handwriting is definitely Luke’s handwriting… but why is Luke writing addition and subtraction like this?
He already won the national magic competition.
At that moment, the children she had sent to the living room to organize the books from the back room were making quite a commotion.
“Diana, why is your notebook slightly torn? Where are the remaining pages?”
“Ah, that, um, I don’t know.”
“Diana, don’t lie. If you don’t tell me where you hid it, you’ll have to start over with the problems.”
“Uwaah! I don’t want to study! I don’t want to be a priest!”
“Diana, don’t run away!”
Ah, it seems this was a problem Diana was working on.
It looks like they were indeed making her study.
Luke is really diligent; he could just let them play together without any worries.
While thinking about this, she had a warm smile on her face.
-……
The telephone rang from her mobile phone; checking the caller ID, it was a familiar number.
-Oh, did you receive the photo I sent last time?
“Yeah, have you found any new information?”
-No, there isn’t any new information this time. But I think it’s something you need to know.
“What is it?”
-Dylan is currently in Aires. He entered a few days ago under the alias ‘Dantalion.’ He didn’t seem to be hiding his entry at all.
“Dylan…?”
At the familiar name, Yerna’s expression stiffened in an instant.
Dylan, the headmaster of that ‘orphanage.’
An unforgettable name.
“…….”
Crumpling, the notebook page in Yerna’s hand wrinkled again.
A life sentence must undoubtedly be useless for some people.
She should have finished things then, even if it meant pushing herself…
She regretted stopping, feeling sorry for her mother, who was left alone, and her deceased father.
-Yeah. That guy might be looking for you. Be careful.
“……Understood.”
But can he really be looking for me?
It’s true that she’s been leaving more traces than before these days, but still, someone like Dylan, an underworld figure, wouldn’t easily connect her and Karina.
He shouldn’t even know she’s in Aires…
“……”
At that moment, Yerna connected the photo of the ‘cat’ she had previously received and the story about the human trafficker who talked about a horned cat in her mind.
A sudden ominous feeling washed over her.
Could he possibly be related to Luke?
“Um, Captain?”
-Yes?
“Could you find out where he is right now?”
-You really want to take matters into your own hands? That sounds dangerous.
“Still.”
-……Hmm, alright. I’ll contact you soon.
Click, as she hung up the phone, at that moment, the back room door opened, and Luke entered.
“Yerna, sorry for interrupting you while you’re organizing, but have you seen a torn notebook around here?”
“Oh, is this what you’re talking about?”
“Let me see it.”
At Luke’s question, Yerna immediately handed over the piece of paper she had been holding.
“Oh, yes, this is it. Thanks. D…I…A…N…A!”
Luke accepted it with a nod and then immediately shouted for Diana with an annoyed expression.
“Already starting to play tricks like this, what in the world is going on? No, you will have to solve 100 problems again; consider that as a lesson!”
“Waaah!”
