Chapter 96

Kim Junsu was a C-rank Hunter in Sangdong Guild’s Security Team.

He didn’t have an ounce of talent for elemental magic, but fortunately, he had awakened as a rare mental mage and was doing pretty well for himself.

Except I can never go home.

What good was owning a house of more than 330 square meters?¹ As Sangdong Guild’s only Familiar mage, he never ran out of work.

Raid teams at least got to go home after running a Gate. The Security Team had no such luxury. They had to stay up all night in a different hideout each time.

“Junsu, did you pull an all-nighter?”

“Yes.”

A Security Team colleague clicked his tongue at Kim Junsu’s hollow-eyed face. He was the one person who had stayed behind to protect their valuable Familiar mage.

“You’ve got it rough. How does that bastard not set one foot outside?”

“Tell me about it. We’ve been watching him for days, and he’s only gone out twice. Twice. Once to a real-estate office in Goyang, and once to the Ilsan Store.”

“This is why smokers make better targets. At least they come outside for a cigarette.”

They had acquired a new cat to use as a Familiar and waited all night at the entrance to the apartment building, but the target hadn’t budged.

The only incident had come when the cat, tired of waiting, started yowling and nearly got chased away by a security guard.

“Peace Guild? It looked pretty small. Do they even go on raids?”

“They’re on vacation right now.”

“Vacation?”

“Yeah. A buddy of mine in Team 2 is watching the other Peace Guild members, and he said they’re all taking time off.”

“Ah… How are things going over there?”

“They pulled out yesterday. There was one woman and one middle-aged man, but it ended quickly. Judging by the Team Leader’s reaction, it seems like they turned up something over there, but I don’t know the details.”

“Phew. We should just do enough to get by and pull out, too.”

His colleague gave Kim Junsu a pitying look as he heaved a deep sigh.

“There has to be a reason they specially assigned the Guild’s only Familiar mage, right?”

“He’s still only a C-rank Hunter. Don’t you think this is going a little overboard?”

“What can we do? When they say jump, we jump. If the Team Leader keeps riding you like he did yesterday, just put up with it.”

“He could stand to ease up. This would’ve been over ages ago if he’d talked things through with that Hong Woojin guy and cooperated properly.”

“He wants to show off for the Guild Master. ‘Our Security Team is far better than Hong Woojin. Look at my outstanding leadership.’ Besides, it’s almost time for the second-half personnel reshuffle. No wonder the Team Leader’s sweating bullets.”

“…This is driving me insane.”

“Sure is.”

Kim Junsu wanted to tear his hair out, but he held himself back. If he did, the hair that had only just begun sprouting like fresh spring shoots might come right out.

Ah, the doctor said stress makes hair loss worse.

The doctor was a civilian who couldn’t even use the simple Light magic, but if he could give Kim Junsu a full head of hair, Junsu would worship him as Jesus.

Come to think of it, maybe I haven’t lost much hair today.

Kim Junsu was cautiously reaching up to feel the crown of his head when—

“Target confirmed. Target confirmed. Moving!”

A low but urgent voice came through the radio.

The two men in the room—and even the Security Team Leader, who had been snoring in the next room—bolted upright.

Slurp.

The Team Leader wiped the drool from his mouth and shouted, “Hey! Kim Junsu!”

Damn it. I haven’t even had breakfast yet.

Using Familiar magic makes my hair fall out again!

Fuck this. The moment my contract ends, I’m quitting the Guild.

Swallowing back his tears, Kim Junsu drew up his mana. His head grew hot as his consciousness was sucked inward.

Faithful servant, answer my call. Link!

Whoosh!

The next moment, a kitten lying beneath a car snapped its eyes open.

“Myaow.”

I stopped walking.

A black ball of fur had suddenly popped out with a cry.

System

Lv. 2 Cat—Familiar

“…”

Another cat. Did these bastards have no creativity at all?

Well, one thing was different. This one’s fur was pitch-black.

“Miaow. Miaowww.”

The kitten approached with a surprisingly bold stride for something so young, then rubbed its whole body against my slipper. Whoever was controlling it clearly knew how to work a club.

Man. I’m not into getting attention this way.

But the appearance of this new Familiar allowed me to make a new guess.

These guys aren’t working together, are they?

Two conspicuous Familiars, both in the form of cats, appearing a day apart? It was hardly a good approach. If anything, it felt like someone had hurriedly copied the first attempt.

“Meow!”

The cat cried as if demanding my attention, and I let out a quiet laugh.

“You little thing. You’re cute.”

Should I take it with me or not…?

My mind was racing when—

“That cat’s pretty affectionate. Is it yours, sir?”

A man approached, dragging his slippers. He looked to be in his early forties, with an utterly ordinary face. His stretched-out T-shirt and soccer shorts stained with ramen broth gave him an approachable air.

“No. I think it’s a stray, but it suddenly started acting affectionate.”

“Wow, this is totally one of those. A dog-cat.”²

“Exactly. Just like yesterday. I guess the cats in this neighborhood are pretty affectionate.”

“Yesterday?”

“Yeah. I picked one up yesterday too. Another dog-cat.”²

“Well, that’s something.”

The man took a drag from his half-smoked cigarette.

“Times like this make you think even animals are brought together with people for a reason. It must think you’d make a good owner. That’s why it’s cozying up to you.”

“Come on, what do you mean, a good owner? I think it just has this kind of personality.”

“Is that so? Hey, hey, come here.”

The cat didn’t budge at the man’s beckoning.

No, it burrowed between my legs instead.

“Well, look at this one. Young as it is, it already knows how to pick its people.”

I only smiled without saying anything, so the man asked, “So, are you going to keep it?”

“I’m not sure. I have something urgent to take care of. If it’s still here when I get back, maybe I’ll look after it for a few days.”

“Who knows if it’ll still be here by then. Right, Nabi?”³

“Mrow.”

“I won’t be long. I’m just going to the real-estate office right over there.”

“Really? Oh, come to think of it, I’ve never seen you before, young man. I’ve lived here a long time, so I know just about everyone. Since you’re going to a real-estate office, are you moving into the neighborhood?”

“I live somewhere else. I only come by once in a while to see my family. I just have something to take care of at the real-estate office.”

“Ah…”

Phew.

His last breath of smoke scattered in the wind. The man flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground and said, “Well, look at me, holding up a busy man. You’re not offended, are you?”

“Not at all.”

“Then that’s good. If we meet again, let’s say hello. We’re neighbors, after all.”

I answered, “Yes. We’re neighbors.”

“Then I’ll be off. The weather’s nice, so I should take a lap around the neighborhood.”

The man gave me a good-natured smile and started walking. I watched his retreating back for a moment as he moved away with a loose, swinging gait.

He’s a good actor.

“Meow.”

Right. You’re here, too.

The moment I left the house, I met two actors. Actors wearing the guises of a stray cat and a neighbor.

“I’ll be back soon, so wait here quietly, okay?”

The cat tilted its head as if it had no idea what I was talking about.

But I knew. It had understood me, and it would still be sitting here even if several hours passed.

And there was one more thing.

System

Lv. 42 Kim Gwondong

There weren’t any Hunters living in the building next to ours.

Just as I thought. They aren’t working together.

The appearance of the two actors was enough to turn my guess into certainty.

My steps grew even lighter as I headed toward the real-estate office in front of the house.

Late that morning, a middle-aged man in shabby clothes dragged his slippers along while humming to himself. He looked like someone you could see anywhere.

The moment he rounded the corner, he pulled out a cigarette and stuck it between his lips.

“Let’s see. Where’s my lighter…”

His hand rummaged slowly through his pocket, but his eyes darted around.

Once he had confirmed that no one was nearby, he pulled out something other than a lighter: a miniature radio.

“How was my acting? Maybe I should’ve become an actor instead of a Hunter. Seems like I’m better at acting than fighting.”

“It’s me, the Team Leader.”

Plop.

The cigarette fell from his mouth. His now-free lips moved soundlessly.

Fuck. I’m screwed.

Kim Gwondong, a C-rank Hunter in the Security Team, hurriedly collected himself and answered.

“Ah, yes, Team Leader.”

“Kim Gwondong’s pretty good at acting, huh? You could quit the Guild and go to Hollywood.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t get scared. That was a compliment. Anyway, how’s the target? He didn’t catch on, did he?”

“I don’t think so.”

The Team Leader had already heard the conversation through Kim Junsu, but there was a simple reason he was asking again.

A cat’s eyes could not capture everything about the target clearly.

“Are you sure? One hundred percent?”

“Ninety percent.”

“You little shit, is ninety percent certain? At times like this, you’re supposed to say it confidently and go for it.”

“It’s dangerous to jump to conclusions.”

Kim Gwondong cursed the Team Leader inwardly.

What good would that do? If something goes wrong later, you’ll be the first one to rip me a new asshole.

He had to leave himself an escape route. Kim Gwondong’s ninety percent would only be complete once the Team Leader supplied the remaining ten.

“That’s exactly the attitude I like to see. You know what to do next, right?”

The pleasure in the Team Leader’s voice signaled that they had finally reached one hundred percent.

Kim Gwondong subtly changed direction to avoid a resident approaching in the distance.

“Yes. I’ll circle the area naturally and keep watch.”

“Right. Report immediately if anything unusual happens.”

“Yes.”

“Keep up the good work, then.”

No one overheard the conversation, which lasted just over a minute.

This time, Kim Gwondong took out a real lighter and lit his cigarette. He inhaled deeply.

“Fuck. Lung cancer’s going to kill me before a monster does.”

The Security Team Leader got busy. There were three external surveillance personnel in total. He had to give instructions to the other two and make sure every precaution was taken.

“Number One.”

“Number One here.”

“You were listening on the all-team channel, right? What’s the situation with the real-estate office the target is heading to?”

“There are two in the nearby shopping district. We’ve installed magical eavesdropping Equipment in both.”

“Good. Where’s the target?”

“We haven’t seen him yet… Ah, there he is. He’s approaching from about 300 meters away.”⁴

“Leave your position. We already installed the Equipment, so there’s no need to make contact for no reason.”

“Yes. I’ll report immediately if anything unusual happens.”

“Okay. Number Two?”

“Standing by at my current position.”

A deep voice came over the radio.

The Security Team Leader nodded at the reply from another team member concealed in a nearby shop.

“That bastard might veer off and take another route, so keep a close eye on him.”

“Yes.”

Four C-rank Hunters specializing in stealth and tracking, plus a Familiar mage.

They lacked combat power, but every one of them was a veteran with extensive experience in this field.

It’s overkill for one C-rank Hunter.

At first, he had been somewhat wary. The Guild Master had given them a special warning about the target.

They said he cleared a B-rank Gate alone, I think.

But the more information he gathered about the man, the more he watched him, the more he felt that was not the case at all. The fact that the information had come from Im Changsoo finally put an end to his doubts.

That good-for-nothing bastard made it all up because he didn’t want to get beaten to death.

An ordinary C-rank Hunter you could find anywhere.

In his eyes, that was all Jin Taekyung was.

Beep.

“Target entering the real-estate office.”

A report came over the radio from the team member keeping watch.

Sangdong Guild’s Security Team went on full alert.