Chapter 110 - The King in Yellow, Flesh and Blood, Mad Moon (6)

In any case, if Se-geon had decided to live as a wizard, wasting any more time in this alley was pointless.

It was dangerous, too.

The Special Operations Division could come to investigate the theater where the Hastur Summoning Ritual had taken place.

...Or Elsea, which effectively meant Raziel, could show up.

I looked at Se-geon.

To put it nicely, he had a kind, handsome face. To put it bluntly, he looked like a pushover.

Looks could be deceiving, but....

Thinking back to how he'd acted in that chaotic situation, that wasn't really the case here.

"The mercenaries who ran off might have gotten a good look at your face. Go home, grab only what you absolutely need, then follow that old man and learn what you can."

Se-geon started to answer.

"Ah, got it... Ah...."

He'd apparently hit his limit, because his eyes rolled shut and he passed out.

He'd been caught up in the Hastur Summoning Ritual and nearly killed by mercenaries afterward.

The tension must have finally broken, and all the exhaustion hit him at once.

I caught Se-geon as he collapsed and handed him off to Lee Mun-ryong.

"Haah...."

I transferred ten million won to Lee Mun-ryong's account.

"Use that for his room and board."

Honestly, I needed to save money, and this was a painful expense... but I couldn't afford to look cheap here.

"When he wakes up, explain how this world works so he doesn't get himself killed over something stupid. Teach him the basics."

"How kind of you. Feeling some kinship because you're both orphans?"

Lee Mun-ryong sounded genuinely surprised. I let out a small sigh of disbelief and answered half-heartedly.

"It's not like that."

I glanced down at <The King in Yellow> clutched in the unconscious Se-geon's hand.

"...You pick up any card that might be useful."

Before it had come out that I was the owner of <De Vermis Mysteriis>, I'd prioritized hiding my identity and operating solo.

But now that my cover was already blown, there was no need to stubbornly insist on working alone.

Of course, that didn't mean I was thinking 'Let's build a massive wizard organization!' or anything like that, but....

I thought of Yoannis, who had led an army of vampires and nearly cornered me.

...There were limits to going solo.

Unless I suddenly awakened some hidden bloodline, the fastest ways to raise my combat power were items and allies.

I'd already acquired the gloves inscribed with ritual magic circles and a magical artifact, so now it was time for allies.

Well, not allies bound by some deep emotional bond. A business arrangement.

And above all, keeping Se-geon close meant I could observe <The King in Yellow>.

If that kid wandered around on his own and got hunted down by Yoannis or some other dangerous wizard,

letting <The King in Yellow> fall into their hands would be catastrophic.

Lee Mun-ryong nodded without objection.

"Understood. I don't know much about magic, but... I can at least teach him the basics of moving efficiently."

It seemed Lee Mun-ryong had also noticed that, aside from the grimoire's assistance making Se-geon fast, the kid had far too many wasted movements.

Lee Mun-ryong hoisted Se-geon up and slung him over his shoulder.

I lit the candle on the Hand of Glory, just as I had on the way here, activating the Perception Interference Magic.

Hidden from everyone's sight, we moved out.

The theater building nagged at me a little, but....

Since I'd secured the most important thing, the grimoire <The King in Yellow>, there was no real need to go back and check the theater where the Hastur Summoning Ritual had taken place.

If I ran into the Special Operations Division or another faction while poking around, that would only mean trouble.

As for the unconscious actors Se-geon had mentioned, the Special Operations Division would take care of them once they found them.

And so, the late-night outing came to an end.

I returned to the Cathedral.

I opened the door quietly and stepped inside.

Creeeak-.

Beneath the thin glow of the lights,

Ellie was asleep on the living room sofa, leaning against it in silk pajamas.

".........?"

Why was she sleeping out here, propped up so uncomfortably?

I walked over and looked down at Ellie's sleeping face.

It seemed unlikely, but... had she been waiting up for me and fallen asleep?

Given the circumstances, that seemed to be exactly what happened, but... why?

I couldn't figure out the reason.

I considered waking her, but putting my hands on someone while they slept felt wrong.

I decided to just grab a nearby blanket and drape it over her.

And in the process of unfolding the blanket and covering her, Ellie's eyelashes fluttered softly.

"Mmm...?"

Her eyes opened, and a pair of beautiful blue eyes met mine.

Ellie woke up, gave a drowsy little smile, and spoke.

"Yo-han-ssi, you're back."

"Uh... yeah, I'm back."

I set the blanket down and took a step back.

Ellie glanced at the blanket that had fallen onto her knees, then said in a gentle voice,

"Oh, you were going to cover me. Thank you."

"...It's nothing."

I spoke to Ellie.

"If you were waiting up, was there something you wanted to talk about?"

Hopefully not something like 'Yo-han-ssi, could you please move out of our Cathedral?'

"No, it's not that. You left so suddenly, so I thought it might be Ghostbusters work. I was worried."

"...Yeah, something like that. It's all taken care of."

"That's a relief. As expected of you, Yo-han-ssi!"

Ellie smiled with relief, stood up from the sofa, and said,

"Are you hungry? If you'd like, I could make you a late-night snack."

I had walked quite a bit, so hungry was... well, yes, I was hungry.

"I'm a little peckish, but I can handle it mysel..."

"Sure, then just wait a moment."

Ellie smiled and headed for the kitchen.

Turning down someone who was offering to cook would have been rude, so I sat down at the dining table.

Honestly, I was grateful, and it was nice, but....

My eyes narrowed on their own.

...It was uncomfortable.

It was a feeling I'd had before.

I couldn't understand why Ellie was being so good to me.

Or maybe, since she was a nun at an orphanage, she was just naturally kind to orphans.

I was technically an adult, but I was still an orphan with no parents to speak of.

The absurdity of my own thought made me let out a quiet laugh.

"Ha...."

In any case, maybe it was the warm atmosphere.

My body was relaxing, and I was hungry.

".........."

I stared blankly at Ellie's back as she prepared the late-night snack.

And then, as if she'd heard something,

a door opened and Soo-ah came out.

"Ahjussi?"

Soo-ah spotted me and walked over, then lowered her eyes darkly and said,

"...You went out late without saying anything. Where were you?"

"What?"

"I called and texted you, and you didn't pick up or read any of them."

I pulled out my phone and checked. Sure enough, there were calls and messages from Soo-ah.

"Were you out meeting a woman?"

'What on earth is this kid's problem with me?'

I stared at Soo-ah in disbelief and said,

"It wasn't a woman, kid. I was busy with work and couldn't check my phone."

"Hmmmm~."

Soo-ah looked down at me in the chair with an inscrutable expression.

Then Ellie turned around, saw Soo-ah, and said with a smile,

"Oh, Soo-ah. Do you want a late-night snack too?"

"A snack? Score! Obviously I'm eating."

Soo-ah's expression softened the instant she was in front of Ellie, and she scampered over to her with quick little steps.

Then she turned slightly toward me and-.

"Anyway, you're the one in the wrong here, ahjussi. So after the snack, you have to hang out with me. Got it?"

-said that, and latched onto Ellie.

Well, she did whatever she wanted, but.

Playing with Soo-ah was fun in its own way, so I didn't mind.

***

The theater stage where the Hastur Summoning Ritual had taken place.

A blackout phenomenon caused by the aftershock of summoning a being of immense power had severed all CCTV recordings.

After tending to the unconscious actors, the Special Operations Division agents investigated the stage.

Team Leader Park, head of Team 5 in the Special Operations Division, was temporarily commanding Team 3 while their leader Si-on was on leave.

"Have they ID'd the corpse with the exploded head?"

"It's difficult since the head is, well, gone. But judging from the items on the body, it seems to be a wizard."

Team 3 agent Lee Hye-eun reported from the compiled data, then looked at the mannequin lying abandoned on the stage alongside a yellow cloak.

"Do you think the Summoning Ritual failed?"

"Best-case scenario is the wizard's head popped because the summoning failed. Case closed. No problems left to deal with."

"Hmm~ That's what he says, Raziel-nim."

The Special Operations Division agents jolted in surprise at the mysterious girl's voice echoing through the auditorium and turned toward the source.

"—!?"

No one had any idea when she'd appeared.

A beautiful girl with silver hair, Elsea, stood there, and beside her, a grimoire with a white cover, <The Book of the Angel Raziel>, floated gently in the air.

One of the heavyweight wizards who had entered Seoul.

Recognizing the figure from Si-on's briefing materials, Lee Hye-eun cried out in shock.

"E-Elsea Louhi!"

Elsea's sky-blue eyes sparkled.

"Oh? You know my name. I feel like a celebrity."

The Special Operations Division agents surrounded Elsea and trained their guns on her, tense.

She might look like a cute girl, but as the owner of a grimoire, letting their guard down was not an option.

"I didn't exactly come here to fight ordinary people. But I suppose it can't be helped."

Elsea gave the Special Operations Division a long, slow once-over-.

"Let me give you a little demonstration of my power."

She extended her hand and pointed her index finger at Lee Hye-eun.

"Hehehe~ Nice and toasty~ Perfect for thawing out on an electric blanket after getting off work~"

"???"

No one, including Lee Hye-eun, could make any sense of that. The agents exchanged confused looks.

But Elsea kept going.

"Our team leader princess! Younger than me but so good at her job! Sharp! Dependable! She's cute cute cute cute cute!"

"Ah... Ahhh!?"

And then Lee Hye-eun understood exactly what was coming out of Elsea's mouth.

"S-stop it!"

Her face turned beet red in an instant, and the hand gripping her gun trembled as she screamed desperately.

"Stop! If, if you say one more word, I'll shoot! I will actually shoot!"

Team Leader Park, flustered, tried to rein her in.

"Hey! What's gotten into you!? Don't even think about opening fire!"

"Hehe~ Looks like you've figured it out."

Elsea grinned triumphantly, planted one hand on her hip, thrust the other arm straight out, and declared,

"Behold! The sacred power of the angel Raziel-nim!"

Elsea's sky-blue eyes flashed.

"The Eye of Internet Real-Name Verification! I can see everything you've ever posted online!" [TL: In South Korea, an "internet real-name system" once required users to verify their identity before posting on major websites. Elsea is playfully likening Raziel's mind-reading power to that system.]

[Elsea... it's called the Eyes of Truth.]

It was Raziel's ability to read people's minds, but it could apparently be applied in this manner as well.

From <The Book of the Angel Raziel> floating beside Elsea, a gentle voice resonated, addressing the Special Operations Division agents.

[As this child says, we did not come here to fight. I would ask you to stand down.]

At that voice, gentle yet impossible to resist, the agents slowly lowered their guns.

<The Book of the Angel Raziel> slowly looked around, surveying the stage.

It had sensed an enormous power and come to investigate, but.

'It doesn't seem that Yo-han, that man, was involved.'

No evil otherworldly being had appeared to cause problems.

In that case, there was nothing more to see here.

[Elsea, let us go home.]

"Okay~."

The Special Operations Division agents watched Elsea's retreating figure in silence, making no move to stop her.

".........."

They had orders from above not to engage Elsea, the owner of <The Book of the Angel Raziel>, recklessly.

Well, even without orders, they couldn't have stopped her anyway.

And then....

After Elsea left, silence settled over the auditorium.

".........."

Team Leader Park glanced sidelong at Lee Hye-eun and spoke.

"It's not like you were talking behind her back, and you look up to Si-on, so it's fine, but still. Writing stuff like that about your direct superior is a little...."

"Uuugh...."

Lee Hye-eun clutched her head and looked on the verge of tears.

"Please don't say another word about that."