Chapter 40 - Yohan's Bizarre Vacation (8)

You know those horror-movie endings where, whether there were zombies or monsters, everything is finally over, and the protagonist gazes out the window of a moving bus or car with weary eyes?

Personally, I wanted to throw a decent blanket over myself, make some excuse like, 'Waaah... So much has happened. I don't want to say anything,' and climb into a vehicle provided by a government agency, wrapping things up with a suitably exhausted expression. But...

"You certainly did a lot this time. Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Kim Yohan of the Special Response Section."

... Of course it didn't work out that way. At the voice behind me, I slowly turned my head to look at the composed, beautiful black-haired woman who had come up onto the roof.

Shin Sion, an actual member of the Special Response Section.

I'd seen her approaching from the rooftop, and we'd made eye contact, so I'd expected her to come. Still, she'd gotten up here awfully fast.

"It's been a while. Sorry for impersonating one of you."

I turned my gaze around, then my body, and spoke with a polite expression.

"I'm not fond of them myself, but... there is such a thing as a white lie."

Yes, I'd told a little lie to keep things from descending into chaos.

Sion gave a small shake of her head.

"No, I wasn't blaming you at all. That was my attempt at a joke... I'm sorry if it sounded sarcastic. I think it was a good choice for preventing panic."

Then she continued in her calm voice.

"It's just that I heard you also produced a firearm."

"..."

Those survivor bastards... I went to all that trouble to save them, and they couldn't keep their mouths shut.

Yes, I'd expected it to some extent. When a government official asked whether anything unusual had happened, they had no particular reason not to mention it.

Besides, although it had been necessary for survival at the time—and fun—I'd gone as far as firing wildly at the zombies. I couldn't hide it anyway. Even if I denied everything right now, they'd find the shell casings while investigating the scene.

So what I needed to do now was—

Sion gently held out her palm. I took the pistol out of my coat and handed it over, saying shamelessly,

"Let it slide just this once."

—be reasonably honest. Beg her to let it slide once. Please let it slide.

I knew this wasn't a proper solution or an excuse. But the alternative was killing everyone here and living on the run. I wasn't even sure I could pull it off, and the risk was far too great.

So I might as well try asking first.

"Sorry I didn't tell you. I picked one up in the basement of that farm last time. It's a dangerous world out there."

With a glance, I indicated the former zombies lying scattered across the roof.

How should I put it? Possessing a firearm was a crime, but didn't it seem a little less significant in the face of a zombie horde?

Accepting the gun Yohan had readily handed over, Sion wondered,

'... What is he thinking?'

Her eyes studied him in light of his all-too-willing confession and surrender of the firearm.

She had nothing but her suspicions, but he might be the true master of the National Disaster-class grimoire <Mysteries of the Worm>. It wasn't confirmed, yet she couldn't ignore the possibility.

'... Readily admitting to a crime unrelated to the grimoire. Is he sacrificing something minor to protect himself?'

Yohan and Sion's calm, dark eyes met.

Watching him, Sion thought about his face. Unlike her own, which simply gave little emotion away, his was composed but wore a tension appropriate to the situation.

... Was that expression genuine? Was he acting? She couldn't tell.

Honestly, even standing before him like this made her nervous and afraid.

I looked at Sion's face and thought.

Her composure made her expression hard to read. There was an icy chill about her.

But her eyes were serious, I supposed... Yes, she was looking only at me. It felt as though she were peering inside me, and that made me uneasy.

She probably had something like "Yohan. Suspicious. Kill." programmed into her head. Scary bitch.

"..."

For a very brief moment, the two silently studied each other. They looked rather like two hedgehogs keeping each other at bay with their spines.

In other words, it was a fairly pointless exercise. Both were cautious. Both had little information. Staring at each other like this wasn't going to resolve anything.

For now, Sion decided to confiscate the firearm and sound Yohan out.

"... I can understand. You seem to find yourself in danger quite often. I can handle this firearm issue at my level."

She spoke carefully.

"But to do that, there are some things you'll need to tell me. I'll need them when I submit the paperwork later."

Of course, if cornered, Yohan might bring out an invisible familiar... Perhaps he'd already summoned it, and it was standing behind her...

But given the survivors' testimony, this was something procedure required her to verify.

"I heard you drew a magic circle and recited a prayer... an incantation, turning the zombie horde to dust."

An investigator couldn't run away simply because she was scared. Fear was fear, but she would not flee.

"Please be honest with me."

Sion's calm, dark eyes turned to Yohan.

"Are you a magician?"

"..."

It was phrased as a question, but she was essentially saying, You're a magician, aren't you?

I deliberately paused, pretending to consider her question. Then I nodded.

"... A magician. Yes, I suppose I am."

After using such flashy magic out in the open, I'd naturally expected that question.

"I'm telling you because I trust you, Sion. I understand there may be people who need to know, but... please keep it reasonably confidential."

I didn't trust her at all. I was just saying that to set the tone.

I took a grimoire from my bag and showed it to her.

One way to protect a secret that mustn't be discovered was to reveal another major secret and use it as cover.

<The Lesser Key of Solomon>

Sion's eyes wavered wildly at the appearance of a completely unexpected grimoire.

"—!?"

It wasn't <Mysteries of the Worm>. No, it wasn't some fake—it was <The Lesser Key of Solomon>.

Her reaction was similar to the necromancer's when he'd seen <Mysteries of the Worm> instead of <The Lesser Key of Solomon>.

It was something I'd noticed during my encounter with the necromancer earlier. Even allowing for how badly the pentacle magic had hurt him at first, he'd focused far too much on <The Lesser Key of Solomon>, as if he assumed I had no other offensive magic at my disposal.

He hadn't anticipated the existence of another grimoire at all.

I'd suspected as much, but although I'd picked mine up at a used bookstore and a bazaar, grimoires apparently were incredibly rare. Rare enough that no one would ever expect one person to own two.

So I would use that. Apparently pinning the blame on Kim Miryeo last time hadn't been enough.

Officially, I wasn't the master of <Mysteries of the Worm>.

I was the master of <The Lesser Key of Solomon>. I'd never killed anyone with this grimoire.

"I happened to come across this book and started getting caught up in strange things. Of course, the magic written in it also helped me get through them safely."

I addressed Sion with a serious expression.

"In the sense that I've used magic... yes, as you said, magician would be the right word."

More magicians might keep coming after my grimoire, like this one had. If I got caught up in incidents in the future, I'd need to use magic to survive, and keeping it hidden forever would be difficult.

So I was giving her the information that I was a grimoire's master.

In any case, I'd see how our dear Sion of the Special Response Section acted.

Sion's eyes trembled as she looked at the grimoire's cover, then settled.

"... I'm sorry. That wasn't the book I was expecting."

"No, it's fine."

A cold wind brushed past them. Sion spoke.

"Thank you for telling me."

Usually, a person had one grimoire. It wasn't a fixed rule, but barring special cases, that was how it worked.

Then had she merely suspected him without cause? Was Yohan not the master of <Mysteries of the Worm>, the true culprit behind the university murder?

... What if he was one of those special cases? She needed time to think.

"Yohan, for now, I'll submit paperwork recording the firearm as a loan to a civilian collaborator of the Special Response Section."

Sion looked at him as she spoke.

"However, that will mean you'll need to assist with certain cases at the Section's request. Would that be all right?"

I considered her proposal.

It would be better not to get involved with the Special Response Section... but I kept getting more and more involved anyway. Well, some of it was my fault. If this was how things were going, it wouldn't be so bad to sneak a look at inside information from the position of a collaborator.

After a little rationalization for the sake of my mental health,

I answered as a freelance exorcist—a Ghostbuster—with a faint smile at Sion.

"As long as it's not unpaid."

I'm a good magician. I'll prove I'm not a bad one.

Of course, I wasn't sure whether "good" was a word that could precede "magician" in the first place.

Sion gave a small nod.

"Of course. You'll naturally be compensated. I'll submit the relevant paperwork on that basis, then."

Our eyes met. Sion brought the conversation to a close in her calm voice.

"You must be exhausted after everything you've been through today. I've kept you too long. I'm sorry. There's a bus waiting below. Please go down and rest."

Apparently, for now, we were both thinking the same thing. We needed time.

"I'll ask you more about the grimoire and the details of the incident later. Thank you for your cooperation."

"No, thank you for letting the gun slide."

I hadn't expected her to actually let it slide. Of course, she must have had another motive.

I passed Sion and reached the stairs leading down from the roof when her voice came from behind me.

"Meat and milk."

"... Sorry?"

"I checked the bus. You brought meat and milk in a cooler again this time."

I stopped and turned my head slightly. Sion's voice rang out.

"I was just curious. Sorry."

I turned back to look down the stairs. My eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, well, I like them. Meat and milk."

I spoke casually and continued down the stairs.

TAP, TAP, TAP.

And...

Reading its master's will, Grizzly removed its hand from above Sion's head, dispersed, and returned to the grimoire <Mysteries of the Worm>.

* * *

When I boarded the bus the Special Response Section had provided, I saw the other survivors sitting scattered here and there. Ellie, the orphans, and Sua were there too.

Apparently I was the last one. Ellie spotted me.

"Yohan...!"

She looked as if she wanted to say something, but the others had slumped in exhaustion now that the tension had left them. She bowed her head in thanks and tended to the children.

I settled into an empty seat. Suddenly, Sua rose from hers and sat beside me.

"You were talking on the roof. Did you get told off for impersonating an agent? Oh, I wasn't the one who told them."

"Not really."

I gave her a perfunctory answer and looked out the window. The bus pulled away.

'Hmm... So this is how it ends after all?'

I put on a weary look as I watched the passing scenery.

... Then Sua gazed out the window with wistful, exhausted eyes and said,

"Mister, does that mean it's all over now?"

My eyes narrowed.

Fuck... She stole my line.

Since there was no one behind me, I reclined my seat and said,

"How should I know, brat?"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

The bus left the campground and drove on.