# 23
After gathering his belongings and rising to his feet, Jin-ha noticed the man resting his chin on his hand, looking at him with a sulky expression. Seeing that face plastered with discontent and spite, Jin-ha thought that if he simply left now, something difficult to handle would happen—perhaps the harassment would worsen. That spite would ultimately return as something Jin-ha would have to deal with.
He truly was a difficult man to please.
“Hah… let’s do this then.”
“Do what?”
His eager response was annoyingly transparent. Jin-ha concealed his sigh and offered a solution.
“If you really dislike this pheromone, how about covering it with your pheromone instead? At least then the smell you hate won’t be detectable.”
A subtle silence briefly fell between them.
The man, who had been staring at Jin-ha with round eyes, now burst into genuine laughter.
“Hahaha! Hunter Lee Jin-ha, if you were an omega or beta, I would have thought you were trying to seduce me.”
As Jin-ha frowned in confusion, Legas answered for him.
“Asking someone to cover you with their pheromones is a rather common seductive idiom in this country, Mr. Lee Jin-ha.”
“…”
“Not in a romantic sense, but suggesting immediate physical intimacy…”
“Enough.”
Jin-ha stopped Legas with a dull voice while rubbing his face with his dry hands.
Different worlds meant different cultures. Even knowing there were differences related to gender, it was his mistake to casually suggest an alternative.
“I made a serious error. I absolutely didn’t mean it that way.”
“No. Thinking about it, it’s not a bad suggestion.”
“What?”
“Yes. Well, let’s do it.”
“Do it? A sexually suggestive act, between you and me?”
In response to Jin-ha’s horrified question, the man tilted his head. His playful eyes clearly revealed his intention to tease Jin-ha.
“You’re neither alpha, omega, nor beta anyway. We won’t be having sex. So is there any need to be bound by such idiomatic meanings?”
It was a terrible excuse.
If they were on Earth, where no one knew about pheromones, it might not matter, but this was a land where people could detect pheromones. Moreover, hadn’t Legas explained yesterday that 90% of magicians were alphas?
If Jin-ha walked out of the 16th floor covered in the man’s pheromones, every passing magician would misunderstand their relationship. It was nonsensical.
“Besides, you already smell like this guy’s pheromones anyway. Don’t tell me Legas’s pheromones are acceptable but mine aren’t…?”
When Jin-ha reflexively looked at Legas, he subtly averted his gaze. He had clearly sent Jin-ha back to the annex without taking any precautions, knowing it might cause misunderstandings.
If everyone could already detect Legas’s alpha pheromones on him, what difference would it make if they changed to the man’s?
As if sensing Jin-ha’s wavering resolve, the man began to pressure him. With a gesture from the man, dark clouds formed above Jin-ha’s head again. This time, they didn’t disperse even when Jin-ha waved his hand.
“Choose. Either wash it off with rainwater or be covered with my pheromones.”
“Why should I have to make such a choice—”
“Three.”
“But, what will others think about you and me?”
“Two.”
The dark clouds grew denser, with rumbling sounds coming from within. Jin-ha instinctively stepped to the side, but the clouds quickly followed him.
Jin-ha moved close to the man. He guessed that if he positioned himself where both of them would get soaked if it rained, the man wouldn’t make it rain—but this action produced a different result.
“Good choice.”
The man grabbed him.
Pulled forcefully by his arm, Jin-ha staggered into the man’s embrace.
“Wait…!”
Jin-ha belatedly tried to straighten up and step back, but it was too late. The man gripped Jin-ha’s neck, looked at him with fierce eyes, and smiled slyly.
“Excellent choice, Hunter Lee Jin-ha.”
Jin-ha couldn’t feel anything. Yet he knew something had happened, because Legas, who had been standing behind the man like a faithful dog, nearly collapsed before gritting his teeth and standing upright again.
Everything was just like yesterday. He couldn’t sense any change in air flow, temperature, or through his Hunter senses. Jin-ha felt chills at the realization that something was happening in a sense he couldn’t perceive.
The pheromones—which would make alphas collapse and omegas go into heat—were now filling this space. No, they were probably being poured all over his body right now.
“…”
Despite not being able to feel it, it was extremely unsettling.
Jin-ha slowly pushed away the man who had buried his face in Jin-ha’s neck. However, the man, after appearing to back off, rested his forehead on Jin-ha’s shoulder again.
“Everyone will think I’m having fun with you.”
“What kind of explanation is that…”
“Haha, I feel better now.”
“How wonderful for you.”
The man chuckled at Jin-ha’s sarcastic response. He looked so happy rubbing his cheek like a dog that it was difficult to say anything more.
Well, if at least one person in this situation was happy, perhaps that was enough.
“You asked me to teach magic to five magicians, right? Looking into it, they don’t seem to have any special talent. They don’t look particularly intelligent either.”
“Those people are Hunters with magical skills. Since they’re already using magic, learning it should be—”
“The swordsman who came with you would be better.”
“The swordsman who came with me?”
“Yes, the strongest-looking man in the group. If he learned magic, he might reach the 2nd Circle within a year.”
Legas questioned from behind, “Is that true?”
“But that person is…”
“Well, that’s just my opinion. I doubt teaching magic to trash would yield much progress, but that’s not my concern, is it?”
“While that’s true…”
If none of the magicians who came to study properly learned magic, the Deputy Director might find fault with him. Jin-ha could easily imagine him sneering, suggesting they merely pretended to teach without actually teaching anything.
The Deputy Director wanted achievements. He was aiming for the Director position with the title of having trained Earth’s first “real magician.” The Director of the Anomaly Management Agency had been missing for over five months after entering a gate. Given the agency’s policy of filing a death report after a year’s absence, it wasn’t strange for the Deputy Director to prepare to take over.
The Director of the Anomaly Management Agency seemed like someone who wouldn’t die even if killed, so he would likely return soon, but dreaming was free.
“If I persuade him, could you teach one more person?”
“Sure.”
The man, who had readily agreed, added one more thing.
“As long as you keep entertaining me like this.”
“…I’ll try my best, but…”
“You promised, right?”
Strictly speaking, it was a promise forced by the man’s one-sided demands, but Jin-ha couldn’t deny it after receiving such a concession.
Despite frowning in displeasure, Jin-ha obediently nodded.
“I won’t give up, and I’ll be diligent. Understood.”
“Good.”
The man smiled with satisfaction.
As Jin-ha had thought before, he was quite handsome. His deep purple hair and bright blue eyes were unique, but he might seem ordinary if thought of as a television idol. These days, various colors could be achieved not only through dye or lenses but also with items from dungeons.
Yet he seemed too mature to be an idol. Setting aside his characteristically arrogant and overbearing atmosphere, the sensual aura emanating from his languid demeanor…
“…I’m getting hungry.”
The man glanced back at Legas. Legas brightened immediately.
“Shall I prepare a meal in your room?”
Startled by their conversation, Jin-ha jumped to his feet.
What was I just thinking? Surely this man hasn’t cast another spell to bewitch me? Jin-ha looked back suspiciously, but the man was just tilting his head, lost in thought. His expression looked perfectly innocent, as if he truly hadn’t done anything.
As Jin-ha stared at him, the man finally seemed to remember something and asked him:
“Come to think of it, Hunter Lee Jin-ha.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you have anything you want to ask me?”
Jin-ha looked at the man with suspicious eyes, wondering if this was some kind of trap, then hesitantly answered.
“Not particularly…”
“Strange. There is something Hunter Lee Jin-ha should be curious about.”
The man’s smiling eyes were sharp. He watched Jin-ha for a moment, tapping the armrest with his fingertips, then rose from his seat.
“Let’s go to the dining room.”
“You’ll go… personally?”
Legas glanced at Jin-ha nervously.
Jin-ha finally realized that while the man had been counting seconds with his fingertips, he had been giving Jin-ha some kind of opportunity. However, before Jin-ha could figure out what that opportunity was, he was led to the dining room.
