# 18
“You don’t need to become an excellent magician. What matters is whether you can become a magic teacher here. Understand?”
Is the Commissioner position really that tempting? Jin-ha concealed his contempt and asked in a businesslike manner:
“What’s the budget?”
“The VIP has drawn up a separate budget. I’ll entrust half of it to your discretion. As long as you process the receipts properly, it doesn’t matter what you buy.”
“The amount—”
The Deputy Director leaned forward and whispered the amount in Jin-ha’s ear. Even Jin-ha, who rarely showed surprise, couldn’t help but widen his eyes at the figure.
In projects like this, the size of the budget is directly proportional to the desperation for success. The Anomaly Management Agency, no, this country clearly saw great potential in magic.
They even said they didn’t care what he bought. That meant as long as it was for gifting the Master of the magic tower, he could even buy luxury goods from a department store.
“I understand. I’ll do it. However, I need the documents regardless of success or failure.”
“What? That’s…”
“I’ll do my best.”
That bastard.
The Deputy Director recalled the curse word Jin-ha had supposedly uttered when rolling out of the portal. Having been at the Agency for a long time, he knew Jin-ha well. Jin-ha was commonly known for his strong patience and indifference, but that was only half the story. The Deputy Director had never seen anyone who was as discriminating as Jin-ha when it came to distinguishing strangers from acquaintances. He would ignore strangers even if they danced naked next to him, yet would worry about someone he knew just from a slight cough.
What had the other person done to make Jin-ha angry on their first meeting?
Jin-ha seemed to have set that condition thinking that “that bastard” might not cooperate and would just play around, but the Deputy Director thought differently. A man who could have easily killed a weak Hunter like Jin-ha had deliberately taken time to play with him. That meant he had a great interest in Jin-ha.
A man high enough to be called the “Master” of a magic tower in a world with a class system. Such individuals greatly valued their own interests.
Even for the sake of long-term enjoyment, he wouldn’t just keep taking without giving.
“We’ll monitor the progress. I’ll check the results monthly, and if they’re good, I’ll prepare the documents right away. Even if the results aren’t great, I’ll hand over the documents after half a year.”
“Three months. I need to receive them after three months.”
“You…”
Their gazes clashed sharply.
“…Fine. Three months. But you need to do it properly.”
“Understood.”
“Then I’m counting on you.”
The Deputy Director took out a card, placed it on the coffee table, and slid it toward Jin-ha. A black card with the Anomaly Management Agency’s logo. It was a special corporate card usually held only by those ranked Deputy Director or higher.
Jin-ha quietly put the card inside his jacket.
“Can I use the helicopter?”
“If it’s for commuting to and from the Mount Yonghwa portal.”
Jin-ha nodded in farewell and left the Deputy Director’s office.
When he had heard that Cha Ki-young’s employee had been captured, he was somewhat upset, but ultimately it wasn’t a bad deal. Hadn’t he obtained quite good information?
The fact that information about his father was being kept somewhere in a government agency with a “non-extractable” label attached to it meant a lot.
Lost in thought while walking down the corridor, Jin-ha pressed the elevator button and called Section Chief Nam.
“Yes, Manager. Yes. I was in the Deputy Director’s office until now. I’ve decided to start commuting to the Mount Yonghwa portal from today. Not right away though, I have things to buy, so in about two hours…”
* * *
“What’s all this?”
Seo Ji-seop, the Guild Master of Narak Guild who was guarding the Mount Yonghwa portal, frowned slightly as he watched Jin-ha and Section Chief Nam unloading cargo from the helicopter.
“Didn’t Jin-ha say he wouldn’t enter the portal?”
“…Things changed.”
“How exactly did things change?”
Seo Ji-seop snatched a box Jin-ha was holding and snickered. He seemed to be teasing, as if he knew this would happen.
“……”
“I thought there might be something when they started asking those pathetic riddles. So, what’s fun?”
“……”
“What’s fun? Tell me too.”
The muscular, thick shoulders kept nudging Jin-ha. He might have been able to ignore someone else, but it was difficult to do so with Seo Ji-seop. Seo Ji-seop was one of the people who had been inconvenienced by this situation.
An S-class Hunter had to run back and forth through the portal several times to deliver messages for these trivial riddles. If it weren’t for someone as broad-minded and smooth as Seo Ji-seop, there would have been quite an uproar.
Jin-ha glanced at Seo Ji-seop with irritated eyes and replied:
“There’s nothing specific.”
“Nothing specific?”
“He asked me to teach him.”
“So now Jin-ha is going to teach him?”
Seo Ji-seop’s expression became peculiar.
“What now?”
“Are you going on a date or something?”
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that? That’s what the riddles suggest. Sunbathing together, listening to music, singing songs, hobbies—these are all things I do when dating my wife.”
Seo Ji-seop shrugged. Hearing it put that way, it didn’t sound wrong, so Jin-ha concealed his displeasure and carried a box of LP records from the helicopter.
“Come to think of it, isn’t Jin-ha married? People should get married to mature.”
“……”
“There you go with that look again. Well, Jin-ha is someone who doesn’t need to mature further. Such people sometimes regress when they meet good people, which isn’t bad either. If you’re interested in Hunters, I could introduce you? We have many capable people in our guild.”
“No thanks.”
“Don’t be like that, think about it seriously.”
“I like men.”
“I’ll introduce you to a man. Just meet once casually, okay?”
He didn’t seem likely to back off easily. Jin-ha replied sharply:
“A casual meeting? I don’t do such frivolous things.”
“…Huh? Frivolous?”
Jin-ha sighed deeply and walked past Seo Ji-seop, who had a bewildered expression.
Jin-ha’s views on relationships were somewhat old-fashioned. When Cha Ki-young heard his principle that there’s no such thing as a casual relationship in romance, he was appalled, asking if Jin-ha planned to stay single forever. But if Jin-ha couldn’t have a serious relationship, that was indeed his plan.
Because—
‘If what I saw that day wasn’t an illusion, Father’s origin is a place called Abon.’
And no country called Abon existed on this Earth.
Jin-ha suspected his father might have been someone from another world. The secret that he might be a mixed-blood child born between his Earth-human mother and other-world father felt incredibly heavy.
Genetic research on people from other worlds hadn’t progressed yet. His father looked thoroughly human, but what if he only resembled humans in appearance but was actually a different species?
Though it’s not particularly pleasant to compare with animals, the liger—a hybrid of a lion and a tiger—has a genetic disease called gigantism. He might also have some hidden defect.
What was once a speck of doubt grew like a snowball rolling down a hill as Jin-ha grew up, now pressing down on him like a certainty. It was almost no longer a doubt but a conviction.
‘Stop.’
Jin-ha carefully soothed the secret that had momentarily swelled up and tried to burst out, tucking it away somewhere deep inside his chest.
That’s why he wanted a serious relationship. On one hand, Jin-ha wanted to hide this secret forever; on the other, he felt the urge to confide in someone.
“Hello!”
“Hello, sir!”
The ones greeting Jin-ha as he entered the resort were five young magicians prepared by the Deputy Director.
“Yes, hello, everyone.”
As expected, they were all just downy children. They had clearly selected kids who would likely be obedient, as older ones would be harder to manage.
Jin-ha could bet his entire fortune that these children had no parents but had siblings—brothers or sisters—they needed to take care of.
“Everyone, you will now be going to another world. Before departing, I’ll first confirm: Are you fully aware of the dangers?”
“Yes. We signed the risk acknowledgment forms.”
“You may experience miserable living conditions or feel humiliated. You’ll have to endure it. Are you prepared?”
The children seemed a bit confused at being told outright that they must endure no matter what. However, they all soon nodded.
“Very well. From now on, I am your supervisor. If you have any difficult issues or requests, you can ask for a meeting with me. I will do my best to help with your learning.”
“Excuse me, supervisor.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“Why are you speaking formally to us? We’re all young.”
“Age doesn’t matter. You are colleagues and Hunters. There’s no reason to speak informally.”
It was an answer simultaneously imbued with respect and a rebuke to feel responsibility. The young magicians’ expressions became more serious at those words.
“Any other questions?”
“……”
“Understood. Then.”
Jin-ha turned toward the portal.
“Let’s go.”
Without hesitation, Jin-ha crossed the dimensional portal.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
