Chapter 89 - House of the Lost (2)

As Chairman Kim's head was devoured, no more screams could be heard.

Crunch-!

Grizzly finished eating Chairman Kim and tore into the corpses of his subordinates as well.

It must have been starving after taking a hail of bullets in my place today and getting beaten up by Raziel.

I was about to tell it not to eat the wallet, but....

Chomp chomp~!

...judging by the situation, it was already too late.

Fine, there was no cash anyway, just cards that could be traced.

I glanced down at the grimoire with a dark red cover, left abandoned in the pool of blood where Chairman Kim had been.

It was a copy, but when I'd seen it before, it wasn't to my taste anyway.

To properly use that grimoire, one would have to become a monster, and I had no desire to do that.

It wasn't just a matter of personal preference; becoming a monster would most likely prevent me from using the Catholic-lineage ritual magic I was currently studying.

The Catholic God was a god who loved humans, after all.

Besides, I was already busy enough trying to properly learn the magic from the grimoires I already had.

...Still, it didn't feel right to just leave it here. Maybe I should at least collect it? The moment I thought that.

Whoooom....

A shadow like a black tentacle rippled out from <De Vermis Mysteriis>.

Whoosh-.

<Cultes des Goules> vanished via teleportation.

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

It had been quiet lately around <The Lesser Key of Solomon> and <Baopuzi>, so I'd thought things were fine.

Between this and the time it tore up the copy of <Cultes des Goules> before.

That pain-in-the-ass grimoire <De Vermis Mysteriis> apparently didn't like me showing interest in other grimoires.

'...What the hell are its standards, anyway?'

Whatever. It wasn't like there was any appealing magic in it. And again, I was already busy enough learning what I had.

I pushed the chair back and stood up from my seat.

"Hrrgh! P-please spare me!"

The sushi chef, who had collapsed backward in agony, clutched his severed arm and screamed.

I glanced at the dish of bleeding human yukhoe and turned away. [TL: Yukhoe is a Korean raw beef dish, similar to tartare.]

"Appetizer... then this is dessert."

"Gyaaah~."

"What? Ah, AAAAAGH!"

Crunch~ Splat~!

The sound of flesh being crushed echoed through the restaurant once more.

"Gyaaah~."

Having finished dessert and feeling satisfied, Grizzly contentedly licked around its mouth with its tongue and came up beside me.

I scratched Grizzly's head.

"Did you eat your fill?"

"Gyaaah~!"

"Good, that's a relief."

If Grizzly got hungry, it would be a real problem, after all.

"Gyagya~."

A faint, weary smile formed on my face.

I hadn't gotten a single bite to eat, but... in the end, there had been a meat party of sorts.

Trudge- Trudge-.

Leaving the blood-soaked restaurant behind, I climbed the stairs and came up from the basement to the outside.

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

White snow was falling.

When I looked up at the night sky, pure white breath streamed from my mouth.

"...It's cold."

Tired, cold, and hungry.

Grrrumble....

My stomach growled.

'...Should I have just eaten the sushi before killing them? Had some warm tea or broth to warm up, too.'

The thought crossed my mind, but I soon gave a small shake of my head.

The image of the bleeding human yukhoe came back to me.

No matter what, at least drain the blood first. ...It'd be fishy otherwise.

I hated people who messed around with food.

Well, if soaking it thoroughly in blood was actually the right way to eat it... then I'd be the one with no palate, and I apologize.

A light laugh escaped me.

"-Ha."

Obviously a messed-up joke.

Standing still wasn't going to make anything better, so I exhaled white breath and started moving.

"...Haah."

My feet carried me forward, and the tattered hem of my white coat swayed.

I didn't have a particular destination. I just walked.

White snow gradually piled up on my shoulders and black hair.

I could hear people nearby chattering as they passed.

"What was that emergency alert from earlier?"

"I heard it was foreign crime syndicates? Something about mafia groups fighting each other? Apparently it's been resolved now, thankfully."

"Seriously, what the hell... Those bastards should fight in their own country. Why do it in someone else's?"

"I'm just glad it wasn't our neighborhood."

Their voices faded naturally as they passed by.

'...A dispute between foreign crime syndicates, huh.'

It wasn't entirely wrong.

Wizard slash criminal, after all.

There would certainly be people who found it strange, but no one would guess it was a fight between wizards.

...Well, information control wasn't my problem to worry about.

What I needed to worry about was how to act from here on out.

I forced my exhausted mind to work.

I'd become a penniless beggar who'd lost both home and money in an instant.

'...Should I try contacting Lee Mun-ryong first?'

My eyes narrowed.

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

No, no.

Lee Mun-ryong and I joked around and hung out together, sure, but that didn't make us close colleagues.

It was a business relationship, employer and employee.

And that relationship only held up as long as I, the employer, had money and power.

If he found out I was exhausted, weakened, and broke, there was no telling how Lee Mun-ryong would act.

Contacting him could wait until I'd at least secured some kind of shelter.

Then, should I find somewhere to escape the cold and sleep rough?

But my current situation was far from ordinary.

The people chasing me had only scattered temporarily because of Raziel's appearance; they hadn't given up.

They'd be too busy getting chased by the Special Operations Division themselves, but... some would still be looking for me.

Just like Chairman Kim had been waiting for me outside my home.

If I stayed in any half-baked spot too long, I'd get attacked.

...And it was only a matter of time before the Special Operations Division came after me too.

No money, no home, a wanted man. Perfect.

A cold wind swept past.

I squinted against the chill as my breath misted in the cold.

Grrrumble....

I was hungry.

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

...Should I just turn myself in to Si-on and beg for some jajangmyeon in the interrogation room?

I'd helped the Special Operations Division before, so if I played it right, they might even throw in some sweet and sour pork.

Utter nonsense, of course.

If I was having thoughts like these, my brain must have been truly tired.

And then my walking legs came to a halt.

It was a fork in the road.

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

I had no destination anyway, so any path should have been fine.

But not knowing where to go, my legs wouldn't move.

Buzz... Buzz....

That was when I felt something vibrating. At first I thought it was <De Vermis Mysteriis>, but it wasn't.

It was my phone, and I thought it might be the Special Operations Division, but....

[Sister Ellie]

The caller was Sister Ellie.

Well, she wasn't officially a nun, but... she was still a nun.

Anyway, there was no particular reason not to answer, so I picked up.

"Hello, this is Kim Yo-han."

[Ah! Yes, Yo-han-ssi! Hello. It's, um, Ellie. Do you remember me?]

"Of course I remember. What's the matter?"

[R-right! So, I mentioned before that I'd treat you to a meal? But you seemed busy all this time, so I held off on contacting you since I didn't want to be a bother. Then I heard from Soo-ah that you seemed to have some free time... Ah, I don't mean it's a good thing that you're free or anything.]

Ellie's soft voice rattled on rapidly through the phone before she paused to take a deep breath and continued.

[...If it's okay with you, I was wondering if you could let me know a convenient time for a meal?]

"Now."

[Huh?]

Under the snowy night sky, I exhaled a cloud of white breath and spoke into the phone.

"I want to eat now. Is that okay?"

[Oh... well... I mean...]

"Actually, come to think of it, it is kind of late for dinner. Then maybe next time...."

I'd said it without thinking, but on reflection.

Even briefly, she could get caught up in things, and it really was late.

Just as I was about to offer Ellie a vague promise of "next time" in response to her flustered voice.

[Sure!]

Ellie's voice rang out.

[I... I haven't eaten dinner yet either. Should I come to you? Where should we meet?]

...Well, I was grateful for that.

***

I waited at a meeting spot I'd chosen on the fly.

Wearing her usual habit with a warm-looking coat over it, Ellie appeared, a nun with a gentle look about her, long black hair, and pretty blue eyes. She looked around searching for me.

"...Yo-han-ssi!?"

She spotted me and approached with surprised eyes, reaching out to brush the snow off my hair.

"Oh, sorry for doing that without asking."

She flinched and pulled her hand back, then spoke with worry in her eyes.

"B-but how did you end up so tattered like this?"

Well, I certainly had been tossed around quite a bit.

I answered casually.

"One thing led to another. My line of work is a bit rough, you know."

"R-right. Being a Ghostbuster really is a dangerous job, isn't it."

Ellie nodded seriously.

...That damn Ghostbuster thing.

When I thought about it, that was where everything had started.

Still, it had been fun at the time.

So it wasn't something I deeply regretted.

In any case, since we'd met to eat together.

"It's kind of an awkward hour to find a restaurant, so would you be okay with burgers?"

I pointed to the burger franchise I'd picked as the meeting spot.

Inside the burger place.

Ellie spoke in a slightly apologetic tone.

"Yo-han-ssi, is a burger really okay for dinner?"

I nodded, swallowed the bite of burger in my mouth, and said.

"Bread, meat, vegetables, it's got everything. I like it."

I said it and took a drink of water.

Normally I'd have gotten a cola, but right now I was dehydrated.

With food and water going in, I was starting to feel human again.

"Whew... Sorry if you wanted something else."

"No, not at all. I like burgers too."

Ellie watched me munch away at my burger and smiled softly.

After the meal, we stepped out of the restaurant.

I felt bad toward Ellie for buying me the burger, but I'd been so focused on eating that we'd barely talked.

Then again, there wasn't really much to talk about either.

"Thanks, that was great. Next time's on me."

I wasn't sure if I'd actually be able to buy dinner, but I made the polite promise and turned to leave.

And Ellie watched my retreating back.

Then, without thinking, she reached out and gently caught my arm.

"Oh, um... I was thinking maybe we could get coffee together for dessert?"

I let out a small sigh and turned around.

"Don't get the wrong idea. It's not that I don't want to."

I looked at Ellie and spoke honestly.

"It's just that you already bought me dinner, so my conscience says I should at least pay for coffee. But I don't have any money right now."

At some point, I realized I'd slipped into informal speech with Ellie. But I didn't have the energy left to keep up the usual politeness, so I decided to just keep going with it.

"My house burned down, my wallet burned with it, and I don't even have enough money to buy a cup of instant noodles. Oh, I'm not asking you for help or anything. Just explaining the situation."

I laid it out quickly and wrapped it up.

"I'm really grateful you bought me dinner tonight. When things get better, I'll treat you to dinner and coffee."

I meant it. I hated being in debt.

I was about to turn away again, but Ellie didn't let go.

"Th-then...."

Ellie looked up at me with her blue eyes and said.

"I'll buy the coffee too."

I blinked for a moment.

A short while later.

Inside a warm coffee shop.

"Yo-han-ssi, here you go."

"...Thanks."

I took the warm vanilla latte Ellie brought over and took a sip.

The coffee was warm and just the right amount of sweet.