The day after arriving in Busan.
After further testing various items at Lee Seoa’s workshop, Ian departed for the station, timing his departure with his train schedule.
Fortunately, he encountered no monstrous entities on his journey.
It seemed Lee Seoa’s evil spirit had handled things effectively, as no pursuit from the Bureau of Administration materialized.
It was a truly welcome relief.
“I’ll be going now. Thank you for your help with everything.”
Just before their farewell.
Ian adjusted his bag and waved his hand towards Lee Seoa.
She waved her hand dismissively, as if to say it was nothing.
“It’s fine. If you need anything else, just contact me. Anytime is perfectly acceptable.”
They had already exchanged phone numbers.
Now, there was no longer a need to send private messages through the community whenever something arose.
A simple phone call or text message would suffice.
For Ian, expanding his network of mages was a welcome development.
While he might have hesitated if the other party were malicious, there was no such concern with a mage who had lent him a workshop and even helped shake off pursuers.
He glanced at the contact ‘Lee Seoa’ clearly displayed on his phone, then settled onto a conveniently empty bench.
Lee Seoa carefully took a seat beside him.
“I’ll text you regarding anything about the Cartel.”
“Won’t the Bureau of Administration find out if you do that?”
“When you joined the community, your phone was enchanted by Daemo’s magic. They can’t trace it from there.”
This was yet another revelation.
While he knew the mage community was far from ordinary, he had never imagined it could even affect one’s phone.
It seemed the mage known as Daemo was far more formidable than he had initially perceived.
As he silently marveled at this, a sudden thought made Ian frown.
“Wait a moment. Doesn’t that mean Daemo could be eavesdropping on my phone?”
“They can’t. If that were possible, mages would have sought out Daemo and killed them ages ago. Even I, for one, would have tracked down their identity and sliced them to pieces.”
Fortunately, Seoa answered without hesitation.
“That, I suppose, is also true.”
“It’s true that Daemo possesses a rather high-grade grimoire, but that doesn’t mean they can freely conduct wiretaps or surveillance.
Above all, mages are particularly sensitive to surveillance conducted through mystical means, aren’t they?
If they couldn’t even detect that, they’d have to quit being mages altogether.”
Although her words were quite forceful, Lee Seoa’s assertions were entirely accurate.
Mages, by nature, possess a strong individualistic inclination.
While there were exceptions—oddities who defied this—most prioritized themselves over others and would endeavor to eliminate anything that threatened their well-being.
It was inconceivable that they would passively tolerate mystical surveillance or wiretapping, even if they detected it.
Therefore, it was safe to assume that Daemo hadn’t engaged in any trickery.
Even Ian himself knew that something magical had affected his phone at one point, yet he felt no unease.
It would be best, then, to dismiss any unwarranted suspicion.
‘I don’t know how long the community has been active, but its continued existence implies exceptional competence on the part of its administrator.
If there were any issues, they would have surfaced long ago.’
Since there had been no changes in administration, the mage known as Daemo clearly possessed remarkable character and abilities.
Even if not, the duties of the ‘Armband’ (TL Note: A slang term referring to a moderator or administrator, akin to wearing an armband to signify authority) were being handled flawlessly.
In that case, there was no need for further concern.
While Ian was lost in thought, the KTX train began to pull into the station.
Ian gazed at the approaching train in the distance before turning his head toward Lee Seoa.
“If you ever come up north, let me know. I’ll help you out.”
“Okay. Travel safely. I’ll head off now.”
“Alright.”
Lee Seoa lightly tapped Ian’s arm as she replied.
She remained standing there until Ian boarded the train and it began to depart, at which point she exited the station.
She then returned directly to her workshop.
A creak, then a thud.
The workshop door opened and closed.
She tossed the padded jacket she was wearing onto a chair, then lay down on the bed arranged in the corner and pulled out her phone.
“…”
She bypassed the lock screen, which displayed a photo taken in front of her master’s memorial portrait, and navigated to her contacts to check the saved number.
In a contact list that had previously held no numbers, someone’s name was now clearly etched.
[Shin Ian]
A rather unusual name in Korea.
A peculiar individual (TL Note: ‘giin,’ referring to an eccentric or extraordinary person) who, despite becoming a mage by picking up a grimoire of an Outer God, remained perfectly sane, far from succumbing to madness.
Lee Seoa stared blankly at his number, then, giggling like a fool, set her phone down.
“My first friend in life…”
Ian was unaware, but Lee Seoa harbored a rather deep sense of inner closeness with him.
They had been aware of each other’s existence even before she became a mage; he had become a mage following her advice and had even joined the community.
It was a structure that inevitably fostered inner closeness.
That was why she had invited him to her workshop and squeezed out every ounce of her limited sociability to get closer to him.
This was the result.
None other than exchanging numbers.
Today, she had finally made a new friend, someone she had never had in her entire life.
Though their ages and genders differed, did that truly matter?
What was important was that they were both mages and understood each other well, wasn’t it?
It surely must be so.
Absolutely.
There was no room for doubt.
Merlin and Solomon in the heavens, and even her biological parents, must surely be nodding in agreement.
“Eheheh.”
She hugged her phone, laughing, and rolled around on the bed.
The guardian spirit standing quietly beside Lee Seoa shed tears of感動 (TL Note: A strong emotional response, typically of being deeply moved or touched) and gave a thumbs up.
****
[Title: No Armband? I’m going for it.]
[Anon]
(Photo of a ghoul in a bikini lying on a bed)
A ghoul, lol
[Comments]
–(Armband! Sticker)
Early morning.
A woman, checking the community as soon as she opened her eyes, sighed deeply and deleted a newly posted message.
After reviewing all the posts that had appeared while she was asleep, she dealt with the necessary ones and rose from her bed.
[Are you awake?]
A deep voice emanated from the desk as she blinked her sleep-fuddled eyes.
The woman nodded, took a long drink from the glass of water on her bedside table, and replied.
“Good morning, Solomon.”
[As I repeatedly say, I am not Solomon. I am but a remnant thought he left within this book.]
The grimoire, named ‘The Lesser Key of Solomon,’ vibrated with a hum.
The woman smiled gently, walked into the kitchen, and returned with a cup of coffee to start her day.
“But I can’t call you by another name, can I? You dislike being called Goetia, after all.”
[Is there no better name?]
“Hmm… I apologize. I’m not very good at naming things.”
[Tsk. It can’t be helped. Just keep calling me Solomon.]
“Yes.”
As she replied, the woman opened the curtains, placed a chair near the window, and began to read a book.
It was a book like spiritual nourishment, penned by a famous psychologist.
She always started her day this way, with a book and a cup of coffee.
It was a habit she had cultivated since childhood.
Back then, it was cocoa instead of coffee, but her tastes had since changed somewhat.
“…Hmm.”
After finishing the book, she would wash her coffee cup and study the contents recorded within the grimoire.
Information about the 72 demons always felt insufficient no matter how many times she read it, so she consistently absorbed knowledge with Solomon’s assistance.
[Amdusias is a demon who controls trees and plants with music. If summoned, he will grant you musical talent. However, if the summoner is not a virgin when he appears in the form of a unicorn, he will use music to kill the summoner.]
“It’s fine. I haven’t even held a man’s hand yet.”
[I know. So there will be no need to hesitate in summoning him. The sacrifices required are a horse, ivory, and a virgin’s blood.]
“Yes.”
[A point of caution: if you say something displeasing when he is in a bad mood, you might be killed in return. So, in such cases, rather than proposing a deal, you must first sing a song or play an instrument to lighten his mood.]
“What sort of things are acceptable to propose as a deal?”
[Knowledge. Knowledge of plants and trees, and knowledge of music. It is good to learn these. He will tell you all about plants and music that belong to the realm of the mysterious.]
“Hmm. I understand.”
She meticulously jotted down what she had learned in a notebook with a quill pen.
After approximately three hours of continuous study, her free time would finally arrive.
During this free time, she would open the community on her phone and perform light exercises, with a yoga screen playing on the TV.
Her meals were replaced with homemade sandwiches.
During breaks from her workout, she would quickly check the posts on the community and delete those that needed to be removed.
For amusing or absurd posts, she would secretly press the ‘like’ button.
Then, back to exercising.
“Haaah… !”
After repeating the contraction and relaxation of her muscles several times, her day’s workout was finally complete.
She immediately shed her sweat-soaked clothes, took a shower, and lay down on her bed.
With this, her fixed routine was entirely finished.
From this moment on, it truly didn’t matter what she did.
However, what she did at this time of day was always the same.
She placed her phone on its stand, played a collection of Mozart symphonies through a Bluetooth speaker, and then accessed the community.
[Title: Today’s.Fun.Monster.Mukbang.Time.]
[SweetGrandpa]
(Photo of something’s limbs on a grill)
If only I had a lady, to eat this delicious food with me,,,,,,, that would be nice.
[Likes 0][Dislikes 0]
[Comments]
–BugsInYourEar: Grandpa, are there no bugs near that temple? I need to replenish my monster-worms.
–SweetGrandpa: No.bugs! All.eaten!
–BugsInYourEar: Shit.
[Title: Looks like Daemo is around since posts are being deleted.]
[StrawberryYogurtSmoothie]
(Photo of a cat poking its face into the camera)
Unblock comments quickly, please. Why only block comments when you don’t block posts?
Also, I barely swear.
Ah, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. Seriously, do you want to f*cking die?
[Likes 0][Dislikes 1]
[Comments]
–★Daemo: Shall I block posts for you too?
–StrawberryYogurtSmoothie: I’m sorry, please.
“This person really… isn’t a bad person, but…”
The moment she sighed and mumbled, the grimoire spoke.
[Moreover, Eunha. How long will you continue to manage the community from home like this? Is it not time to leave the house, hunt mystical creatures, and test your magic? And now that you are getting older, you should also date a bit. When do you plan on having children? Do you think it makes sense for your nickname to be Daemo (TL Note: Literally ‘Grandmother’ or ‘Godmother’) when you have no children at all?]
“I’m still young. I’m only in my early twenties. And outside is scary. Who knows what kind of monster I might encounter? It’s safer to just stay home.”
[Is it not simply that you dislike going out during busy hours? I’ve seen you take walks in the early morning, which is the most dangerous time.]
Faced with such petty and narrow-minded facts, Eunha did not reply and scrolled down the community feed.
Just then, a post caught her eye.
[Title: Magebro caught a Reptilian for the first time today.]
[CrazyMoonWorld]
(Photo of a Reptilian in a suit)
It pretended to be a Bureau of Administration agent, so I quietly followed it, but it clearly wasn’t human, so I just went for it.
Killed it and turns out it was a Reptilian, LOL.
The Cartel buys these for a really high price, so am I set for life now?
Feeling good, so I’m giving out free burgers.
Line up!
[Likes 4][Dislikes 2]
[Comments]
–Line.
–BugsInYourEar: Line.
–SeriousMagicAddict: Line.
–TamingMaster: Line.
Daemo quickly scanned the post’s content and comments, then quietly typed on her keyboard.
–★Daemo: Line.
Even for an Armband, free burgers were a serious matter.
[Haa…]
She lightly ignored the grimoire’s sigh.
