Chapter 125 - A Wizard's Natural Enemy (1)

I spent time chatting with Soo-ah about this and that, ate while letting the kids' chatter go in one ear and out the other.

Whenever a Ghostbuster job came in, I'd head out, finish the request, then return to the Cathedral.

'Yo-han, welcome back.'

Peaceful days where Ellie greeted me gently.

Yeah, peace was good. It was what I wanted.

But... just....

'Since when?'

I went rigid with shock.

To borrow Soo-ah's way of putting it... when the hell had I gotten this soft?

Then, as my expression suddenly stiffened.

Ellie took a step closer and asked in a worried voice.

"Yo-han? Are you okay?"

".........!"

I reflexively took a step back.

It felt a little strange to say this about myself, but even though I hadn't been a Wizard for very long....

I thought I'd been an invincible Wizard.

The Boogeyman in the haunted mansion.

The necromancer commanding an army of corpses.

The Heart-Throbbing Anomaly Dating Sim.

The man-eating monster Wizard,

the elite European Wizard who could change the weather.

The mercenaries who had swarmed me from every direction trying to kill me.

Even the alchemist Sword Master gay Nazi Vampire.

My life being in danger was one thing, but none of them had frightened me.

Because I was a Wizard.

Sure, I made mistakes, and I might not have been perfect.

But I was fast, strong, and cool-headed.

But now...?

I looked at Ellie's face as she harmlessly tilted her head.

"Yo-han?"

...And now, I was afraid of the ridiculously kind nun standing in front of me.

It felt like I'd become a pat of butter slowly melting inside the warm stomach of a monster.

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

A quiet shiver ran down my spine.

Could the person I was now really be called the same Wizard as the one who had picked up a Grimoire and resolved to survive as a Wizard?

The weight of the Grimoires tucked inside my coat suddenly felt heavy.

The kindness, gentleness, and softness radiating from Ellie....

They were turning me from an invincible Wizard into an ordinary person.

"Sorry... I'm just a little tired...."

I gave Ellie a vague excuse.

I really was tired, so for the moment, I ate the meal Ellie had made and got some rest.

***

A massive white cult church building.

More precisely, a place that had once been a cult church.

It was a place Gremory had seized after driving out the cult leader, all to welcome Yo-han.

A beautiful red-haired girl in a school uniform.

"Hmm~ hm-hmm~."

Gremory, wearing the appearance of the Student Council President from the Heart-Throbbing Anomaly Dating Sim, hummed cheerfully as she walked down the corridor.

A female secretary in neat, pure-white believer's robes, now completely devoted to Gremory, followed behind her and asked.

"Gremory... according to what you said, that man named Yo-han possesses a Grimoire capable of subjugating demons. Is that really all right?"

"Hoho~ It's fine. After all, I'm not planning to fight that child."

Gremory smiled and gave a twirl.

Her school uniform dispersed as the transformation came undone.

In its place appeared the form of a mature woman dressed in a luxurious gown of pure white fabric.

Beautiful red hair wrapped in a white veil, and alluring crimson eyes.

Gremory smiled gently with a soft, beautiful face framed by delicate features.

"I only want to wrap him up in a nice, gentle, tight hug."

"Ahh...."

The female believer gazed at her benevolent figure in rapture for a moment, then continued.

"...Understood. Then, as you instructed, I'll send out a request for an investigation into the cult. What should we call the new order?"

"Hmmm~ How about 'Heart-Throbbing Anomaly Dating Sim 2'?"

"Pardon?"

"I'm joking."

Gremory spoke playfully, then thought of Yo-han and continued in a seductive voice.

"Call it Cradle."

A place meant for raising a child. That was precisely why she had deliberately seized a cult church for herself.

***

The next day.

I sat blankly on the living room sofa and thought over the emotional upheaval I'd felt yesterday.

...Yesterday had only been shocking because it was the first time I'd become aware of it. Objectively speaking, I hadn't undergone some extreme transformation in the first place.

Maybe I'd simply gained a little breathing room in life? Yeah, breathing room.

After moving into the Cathedral, I'd been attacked less often, and I was making money again through requests, so I'd gained some breathing room and softened up.

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

As I sat there lost in thought.

Soo-ah came out of her room, spotted me, grinned, and came pattering~ over.

"Mister, found you!"

She must have been bored.

"Mister, did you know? They say men only hit their prime in their thirties."

"That so? Nine years left, then."

The moment I answered halfheartedly.

Soo-ah's tiny fist shot out and hit my arm.

Thump-.

It didn't hurt, but.

"......?"

Unable to understand what was happening, I stared at Soo-ah. She spoke with a resolute expression.

"What are you talking about? You've got twenty-nine more hits coming. Brace yourself."

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

I reached out and lightly smacked Soo-ah on the head with my palm.

Smack-.

"Ow! You hit me!"

"Why did you think I wouldn't?"

That was the more baffling part.

"Hmph! You looked bored, so I came to entertain you! And you hit me...."

Soo-ah grumbled, then casually settled into the seat beside me on the sofa and started reading a novel on her phone.

"Guess I'll just read web novels."

I quietly stared at Soo-ah.

'I looked bored... Could she tell I was worrying about something?'

Maybe this had been Soo-ah's way of looking out for me.

"Haa...."

I quietly exhaled and asked Soo-ah.

"What're you reading?"

"You remember that web novel author we met at the lodge before? His stuff."

"Ah, Kim Yong."

I remembered him. He was the web novel author I'd met at the lodge where an Anomaly had run wild in the past.

Soo-ah gently leaned against my shoulder and showed me the novel title on her phone screen.

[The Lewd Shoggoth Maid Who Sometimes Blurts Out "Tekeli-li!"]

Shoggoth – an amorphous slime-like monster from the Cthulhu Mythos. The Elder Things, a race that once waged war against Cthulhu on Earth, created them as a servant species to handle their miscellaneous chores. However.

At some point, they developed self-awareness, rebelled against the Elder Things, and gained their freedom. They sometimes cry out, "Tekeli-li!" but no one knows what it means.

My eyes blinked at the absurd title.

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

Well, title aside... I briefly skimmed the novel's serialization page.

The update schedule still hadn't recovered.

'...This guy hasn't grown at all.'

While we idled around like that.

"Soo-ah? Yo-han?"

Ellie approached with a curious smile.

"What are you looking at?"

"...A novel Soo-ah was reading."

I answered in my usual, natural tone.

At least, I hoped it sounded natural.

The emotional disturbance I felt around Ellie was entirely my problem. Ellie hadn't done anything wrong.

Feeling uncomfortable was one thing, but I didn't want to start distancing myself or acting cold toward someone who had taken in a guy with nowhere to go, fed him, given him a place to sleep, and treated him kindly.

Ellie's eyes sparkled with interest.

"A web novel? Do you read them too, Yo-han? What kind do you usually read?"

"Sometimes. I just read whatever looks interesting. Recently, I've been reading romance fantasy."

It wasn't a genre I particularly cared about, but I'd been reading it to study situations and lines I might be able to use on the Grimoires.

Soo-ah looked at me in surprise.

"Whoa~ Mister, you read Romfan? Was it fun?"

"Anything well written is fun."

I smiled faintly.

"It was more hardcore than I expected, too. They already had feelings for each other... but the noble male lead even imprisoned the female lead when she tried to leave him."

"I-Imprisoned her!?"

Ellie's blue eyes wavered in alarm, but soon settled again.

"Still... I think I understand a little."

She quietly murmured under her breath, too softly to be heard.

"Because you'd be anxious."

Startled by the words that had slipped out, Ellie quickly smiled brightly again.

"Yo-han, if you don't mind, could you tell me about some other novels you've enjoyed besides romance fantasy?"

"I don't mind. Were you into novels?"

"Ah, well, I don't know much about web novels."

Ellie spoke softly.

"I just... like getting to know the things you like, Yo-han."

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

In the end, I stood up.

"Maybe next time, if that's okay... It's about time for me to head to work."

It really was about time for me to leave.

A flicker of concern crossed Ellie's blue eyes, but she spoke brightly.

"I see. What should I do about dinner?"

"It might take a while depending on how things go, so I'll eat out. No need to prepare any for me."

Soo-ah sprawled across the sofa with an indifferent expression.

"See you."

I went to my room, put on my coat, gathered my tools, and left the Cathedral.

I didn't dislike peaceful times like this, living with Ellie, Soo-ah, and, well, the Cathedral kids.

If anything, I rather liked them.

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

That was precisely why they made me uncomfortable.

Because this wasn't peace I'd obtained with my own hands. The peace I had now came entirely from Ellie.

My eyes narrowed, then relaxed.

...Sure, considering Ellie's personality after watching her this long, she probably wasn't going to suddenly throw me out of the Cathedral.

Still, I hated having to cling to someone else's hand for support.

Either way, I'd come out to work, so I put my thoughts in order.

I checked the request details on my phone again.

It was an investigation request concerning a cult called Cradle, where an Anomaly Incident had supposedly occurred.

'A cult? This is dangerous even without the Anomaly Incident.'

The name "Cradle" was unusual too.

...Well, if the cult was pulling some bullshit, it'd be a Grizzly meat party.

‧

‧

‧

And the moment I arrived near the cult's building.

I'd already caught on when the female believer waiting outside recognized me and greeted me politely.

This was a setup.

The believer guided me inside.

A room lavishly decorated like an ancient temple.

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

I summoned <The Lesser Key of Solomon> into my hand and stared at the beautiful red-haired woman seated at the head of the room, smiling softly.

"Gremory."

Gremory, ranked fifty-sixth among Solomon's seventy-two demons.

At that moment, a snow-white dove fluttered upward.