Jeong Dajeong gasped beside me as if he’d seen a ghost, but I replied coolly, “I’m suing you for trespassing.”
“To say something so hurtful between us.”
“Between us? You’re a business owner and I’m a freelancer hired for a fixed term.”
“And tenant and landlord, too. We haven’t even signed the lease yet, so strictly speaking, this doesn’t count as trespassing.”
The way they smugly rattled on was incredibly irritating.
"Grrrr..."
Perhaps sensing my feelings, Leo, who was at my feet, lowered his body and growled. Han Jaeyeong looked at the familiar with interest. “Well now, when did you make something like this? You really do make people curious, Daon.”
…I had expected it, but it seemed Han Jaeyeong had realized that this wasn’t an ordinary summon, but a familiar I had created piece by piece from nothing.
“What do you mean, ‘something like this’?”
The one who objected wasn’t me, but Jeong Dajeong. He picked up Leo from near my feet and glared at Han Jaeyeong.
Leo clearly disliked it, but since I had firmly imprinted Jeong Dajeong as his “second master” beforehand, he couldn’t extend his claws and only hissed.
“Daon, who is this?”
He’d seen that face plenty of times on the news, so there was no way he didn’t know. Asking on purpose, was it meant to assert dominance?
I shrugged. “Hunter Han Jaeyeong. Mage class. Guildmaster of the HP Guild. They hired me for three years. They’re also providing this house. And if you don’t like them, Brother, we can look into another guild—” I shot Han Jaeyeong a pointed look, subtly pressuring them not to get on my brother’s bad side.
Han Jaeyeong smiled brightly. Though they didn’t look particularly pleased. “Oh my. You really choose such hurtful words. Are you an animal lover?”
“It’s a combination of issues.” Jeong Dajeong didn’t back down. “Even if it’s a contractual relationship, you came into the house without permission like this, and then you refer to a companion animal as ‘something like this,’ as if you’re trying to assert dominance over a minor. As Daon’s guardian, I can’t feel at ease. You come off as overly authoritarian.”
Han Jaeyeong raised an eyebrow. They looked genuinely surprised, as if they hadn’t expected to hear criticism like that. But in truth, Jeong Dajeong had a point. If I really were just a nineteen-year-old minor, it wouldn’t have been strange to feel intimidated by Han Jaeyeong’s behavior. From Han Jaeyeong’s perspective, though, I wasn’t an ordinary nineteen-year-old, which was why they were acting that way. In fact, their attitude toward other prospective Hunters at the Central Management in Gwanghwamun had been different.
Han Jaeyeong looked at Jeong Dajeong for a moment, then shrugged. “If that’s how it felt, then I apologize. From a guardian’s standpoint, I can understand the concern.” It was a flat, utterly insincere apology.
Even so, since they had apologized, most people would have let it slide when dealing with an S-rank Hunter, but Jeong Dajeong remained firm. “Yes. I’d appreciate it if you were more careful in the future.”
Han Jaeyeong’s eyebrow twitched, but they soon extended a hand toward Jeong Dajeong. “Since I’m apologizing anyway, let me formally introduce myself. I’m Hunter Han Jaeyeong, guildmaster of the HP Guild.”
“Yes, I’ve seen you often on the news.”
“I am fairly famous. Though not quite as much as Jeong Daon these days—ow.”
Smack! Under the pretense of a handshake, Han Jaeyeong had been holding Jeong Dajeong’s hand for too long, so I slapped their hand away.
Startled by the sudden action, Jeong Dajeong cried out, “Daon!”
“Stop groping him, Han Jaeyeong. Jeong Dajeong is a civilian.”
“That wording is a bit harsh.” At my warning, Han Jaeyeong rubbed the hand I’d hit and widened their eyes. “It’s just interesting. Most civilians feel intimidated when facing an awakened Hunter.”
"..."
“If you’re going to bring a new person into a hideout, don’t you think it’s natural to get a sense of who they are? Don’t glare at me like that.”
They were really getting on my nerves. I continued to glare at Han Jaeyeong. A mage who had reached the pinnacle of mana control could, through physical contact, use probing magic to roughly grasp the flow of mana inside another person’s body. And it was true that most civilians found it difficult to even speak casually to a Hunter, especially an S-rank one. Han Jaeyeong seemed to suspect that Jeong Dajeong, who was unusually bold, might not be an ordinary civilian.
“He’s a civilian. And remember the contract terms.”
“Well, contracts should be respected. In any case, back to the main point.” Han Jaeyeong pointed to the papers laid out on the table. “Shall we start with the lease agreement? That’s why I came.”
The contract was completed smoothly. Since the house was part of the conditions when I signed with HP Guild, the only thing that needed to be written was a standard lease agreement for reporting purposes. However, because I was still a minor and would soon be entering mandatory service, the lease was signed not under my name, but under that of my brother, Jeong Dajeong.
“Then I’ll go to the community center and submit the paperwork.”
“Do that.”
Jeong Dajeong stood up with the documents to register the move-in and obtain a confirmed date. However, Han Jaeyeong remained seated.
“Oh, I have something guild-related I’d like to discuss with Daon.”
“...Then I’ll stay too.”
“You need to go before the community center closes. Go quickly.”
When I stopped him from sitting back down, Jeong Dajeong looked at me with concern. Han Jaeyeong seemed to have left a rather bad impression.
“Will you be okay?”
“Why ask now? I’ll be fine.” I had handled the HP Guild contract on my own, after all.
Jeong Dajeong still looked reluctant, but eventually stood up with the documents. “Then I’ll be back.”
“Have a safe trip, Big Bro.” Han Jaeyeong waved lightly after him. And the moment Jeong Dajeong left— “Don’t worry. An escort will be following your brother from now on.”
So that was it—an escort. I’d been bothered by the constant presence I’d been sensing.
As I felt that presence move farther away along with Jeong Dajeong, I asked, “Don’t tell me the escort is stationed next door?”
“Yes, that’s right. Ah, it’s not a place we bought specifically because of our contract with you. It’s about twenty minutes away by car, security is tight, and we already owned two houses there under the company name. It’s basically staff housing.”
“Doesn’t traffic get bad during commutes?”
“Hunter work hours are different from ordinary office workers, so it’s usually fine. Oh, and once next year comes, you should get your driver’s license first. I know it can’t be helped right now, but you’ll need to drive yourself. Mobility is important. If you don’t like the vehicle we sent, I can replace it.”
“You really have money.”
“That’s one of the reasons I signed with you, Daon. And well, I don’t think I’m taking a loss either.” Han Jaeyeong looked at Leo sitting near my feet and curled the corner of their lips upward. “Not just a summon, but a familiar you created yourself? So you’re not even pretending to be a beginner Hunter anymore? Other mages would faint if they saw this.”
“If you weren’t a high-level mage yourself, you’d probably just assume it was an ordinary summon.”
“Then how did you do it? Creating a body is one thing, but what about the soul? Where did you even get it? You didn’t kill ten thousand people and stitch together fragments of souls, did you?”
He asked too many questions, and some of them were disturbingly grim.
“There’s something I need to do before giving magic lessons. You’re going to help.”
“No matter what, isn’t this something you could at least explain?” Han Jaeyeong frowned. “Let me make one thing clear first. I’m not completely the subordinate party in this contract. Let’s treat each other well while I’m being cooperative.”
“...”
“There needs to be give-and-take.”
I’d known for a while that Han Jaeyeong was in a bad mood.
S-rank Hunters are basically bundles of pride held together by arrogance.
Yu Hanul, who was unusually considerate toward the weak, was something of an exception. Even though Han Jaeyeong acted easygoing on the surface, they were still an S-rank Hunter. The earlier clash with Jeong Dajeong, and having to apologize on top of that, must have bruised their pride. And even though it was written into the contract, they had still handed over an extremely expensive house without hesitation, yet I hadn’t expressed even a word of gratitude. Which, of course, I had no intention of doing.
So instead of rising to the provocation, I changed the subject. “That’s why I asked for your help. I wanted to show you this.”
“This?”
“A spell I prepared by pouring in about half of the advance payment you gave me.”
Han Jaeyeong looked startled. “Half the advance payment… you mean you spent all 1.5 billion won already? You haven’t even been to the Hunter market yet.”
“I had another way to procure what I needed.” I’d paid a bit extra since I had to get it in a hurry, but it was an unavoidable expense. “Protective magic is the most urgent issue, so this has to come first.”
No matter how much protection Jeong Dajeong receives from the HP Guild members, it’s not something I can feel at ease about. Even with round-the-clock security, there are limits. Besides, I’ll soon be entering mandatory service, and even if I weren’t, I need to raise my stats quickly through dungeon raids. What if an attack happens while I’m gone?
I took out the large duffel bag that I hadn’t handed over earlier, even though Jeong Dajeong had said they would carry it.
Ziiiip!
When I pulled down the zipper, what spilled out was a dazzling radiance, the brilliant light emitted by jewels. The house had particularly good lighting, and the gems sparkled as they caught the natural sunlight. From natural stones I’d gathered while walking through the Jongno jewelry district, to as much as fifteen kilograms of gold bars. For the record, the gold had cost the most.
“Wow…” Han Jaeyeong let out an exclamation of admiration. “So that’s why you brought these along instead of storing them as magic materials—because they aren’t dungeon byproducts and wouldn’t go into the inventory. But why such ordinary gems? Usually, ores harvested from dungeons are better suited for magic circles. They often already contain mana.”
“No. For protective magic, things imbued with the power of this world are more efficient than those from another.”
“That’s interesting. Why is that?”
They’re materials that have only changed form under heat or pressure, substances that have made up this world far longer than humans themselves. Things that have existed since the birth of this world have inherent properties that are naturally compatible with the living beings of this world. There’s a reason people have carried gemstones as protective talismans since ancient times. That’s why gems are far more suitable for protective magic than products from other worlds. The only drawback is that they’re expensive, but since I needed natural stones rather than artificially made ones, the cost was actually lower than I’d expected. The biggest expense wasn’t the gemstones, but the gold. Among metals, gold is the softest, and since it had to be used to draw the magic circle, I needed a large amount of it.
And I should satisfy Han Jaeyeong’s curiosity a bit too.
No matter how much I plan to make use of Han Jaeyeong, I still need some bait to keep them on the hook. I need something that will continuously stimulate their curiosity. Under Han Jaeyeong’s interested gaze, I carefully placed the gemstones around the house and began shaving the gold down to draw the magic circle.
“If you’re going to shave it like that, couldn’t you just use edible gold powder?”
“…Shaving it this way, using mana, improves mana conductivity.”
As a result, I was going to end up using about 1.2 billion won worth of gold, but with the size of the house and the need for a semi-permanent magic circle, it couldn’t be helped.
“This is fascinating.”
“There are plenty of magic circles that use gemstones.”
“I wasn’t talking about that. I meant your devotion to your family, Daon.”
From behind me, as I continued drawing the circle, Han Jaeyeong spoke again.
“You even put your family’s protection into the contract conditions. Well, for an S-rank Hunter, it’s normal to face threats, so I thought that might be why… but seeing how you act, it goes beyond that. Anyone would think you’re the older sibling. No, actually, even for that it’s a bit much. Though, I suppose that kind of thing might be natural for family…”
“It’s not natural,” I replied while rubbing gold dust into the floor. “That’s exactly why.”
There is nothing, nothing at all, that Jeong Dajeong has sacrificed for me that can be called natural. Even siblings are ultimately just people born of the same parents. My familiars are pieces of my soul and truly mine, but family is not. They are others, never more important than myself. For their own benefit, they could eventually turn away from me, or even kill me. I learned that truth deeply in my previous life.
And perhaps even in this one.
Flaaash!
As I infused mana into the completed magic circle, the inside of the house lit up in an instant. Mana began to circulate between the gold-drawn lines of the circle and the gemstones placed at precise positions.
Not bad.
The gemstones amplified the small amount of mana I’d fed into them, expanding the effect and range of the circle on their own. Now, even without additional mana from me, this building would remain safe for at least half a year, even if a nuclear bomb were to fall.
“Comfort! Safe!”
Perhaps sensing the mana completely enveloping the house, Leo, who was sitting at my feet, let out a satisfied purring sound. As my familiar, the abundance of my mana must have felt pleasant.
“Oh, you activated it immediately. Wait, hold on.” A stiff smile formed on Han Jaeyeong’s face as they sensed the newly begun flow of mana. “This…!”
Crash!
As if struck by an invisible blow, Han Jaeyeong was knocked out of the chair they’d been sitting on and went tumbling straight through the open front door.
“What the hell was that?!”
“Oops. My mistake,” I said it expressionlessly, in a flat, insincere tone, just like Han Jaeyeong had earlier. “If you found it unpleasant, I apologize.”
"..."
Thrown onto the cold ground, Han Jaeyeong looked up at me with a stunned expression.
Serves you right for picking a fight.