Chapter 96

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

He had not an ounce of talent for elemental magic, but fortunately, he had awakened as a rare type of mage—a mental mage—and was living a fairly successful life.

Except for the fact that I can’t go home.

What good was owning a house larger than 330 square meters? As the only Familiar mage in Sangdong Guild, he never ran out of work.

Raid teams at least got to go home after running a Gate, but the Security Team had no such luxury. They had to spend every night in a different hideout.

“Junsu, did you pull an all-nighter?”

“Yes.”

A colleague on the Security Team clicked his tongue when he saw Kim Junsu’s hollowed-out face. He was the one person who had stayed behind to protect their valuable Familiar mage.

“You’re working hard. How does that bastard manage not to step outside even once?”

“I know. 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 it’s better when the target smokes. At least smokers come outside to have a cigarette.”

They had obtained a new cat to use as a Familiar and waited all night at the entrance of the apartment building, but the target had not budged.

The only incident was when the cat, exhausted from waiting, started meowing and was nearly 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 guy from Team 2 is watching the other members of Peace Guild, and apparently they’re all taking time off.”

“Ah… How’s that situation going?”

“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 looked at Kim Junsu with pity as he let out 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 we’re told to do something, we have to do it. Even if the Team Leader hounds us like he did yesterday, we just have to put up with it.”

“He should hound us in moderation. This would’ve been over ages ago if he had just talked to that Hong Woojin guy and cooperated properly.”

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

“…This is driving me insane.”

“It 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.

That was when Kim Junsu cautiously reached up to feel the crown of his head.

—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. After wiping the drool from his mouth, the Team Leader shouted.

“Hey! Kim Junsu!”

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

Using Familiar magic makes my hair fall out again!

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

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

Faithful servant, answer my call. Link!

Whoosh!

The next moment, a kitten lying beneath a car opened its eyes wide.

“Myaowww.”

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 surprisingly confident steps for such a young creature, then rubbed its entire body against my slipper. Whoever had cast the spell clearly knew its way around a club.

Man. I don’t like getting attention this way.

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

Could they be working together?

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 a friendly, familiar air.

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

“Wow, this is totally one of those. A dog-cat.”¹

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

“Yesterday?”

“Yeah, I picked up another one yesterday. It was a dog-cat, too.”

“That’s strange.”

The man took a drag from a half-burned cigarette.

“When you look at things like this, even animals seem to have connections with people. The cat’s acting affectionate because you look like you’d make a good owner.”

“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 did not move 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 planning to raise it?”

“I’m not sure. I have somewhere urgent to be right now. If it’s still here when I get back, I’ll keep it for a few days.”

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

“Mrow.”

“It won’t take 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, so I only come by to see my family once in a while. I just have something to take care of at the real-estate office.”

“Ah…”

Phew. His final breath of smoke scattered in the wind. The man flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground and spoke.

“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 good at acting.

“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. I knew that it understood me—and that it would still be sitting here even after several hours had passed.

And there was one more thing.

System

Lv. 42 Kim Gwondong

There wasn’t a Hunter living in the building next to ours.

So they aren’t working together.

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

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

Late in the morning, a middle-aged man in shabby clothes dragged his slippers along while humming. He was such an ordinary sight that he could be found anywhere. The moment he turned the corner, he pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.

“Let’s see. Where’s my lighter…”

His hand moved slowly as it rummaged through his pocket, but his eyes were moving busily.

After confirming that no one was nearby, he pulled out something else instead of a lighter: a miniature radio.

“Was the acting okay? Maybe I should’ve become an actor instead of a Hunter. 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.

Shit. I’m screwed.

The C-rank Hunter Kim Gwondong, a member of the Security Team, hurriedly pulled himself together 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. It’s a compliment. Anyway, how’s the target? He didn’t smell anything, right?

“I don’t think so.”

The reason the Team Leader asked again, despite having already heard the conversation through Kim Junsu, was simple.

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.

“Jumping to conclusions is dangerous.”

Kim Gwondong cursed the Team Leader inwardly.

What good does it do me to say it confidently? If something goes wrong later, you’ll be the first one to chew me out.

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

—That attitude of yours is exactly what I like to see. You know what to do next, right?

The Team Leader’s pleasant voice was a sign that he had finally reached one hundred percent.

Kim Gwondong subtly changed direction to avoid a resident approaching from far away.

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

—Right. Report immediately if anything unusual happens.

“Yes.”

—Then keep up the good work.

The conversation between the two men lasted a little over a minute, and no one heard it.

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

“Fuck. Looks like lung cancer’s going to kill me faster than a monster.”

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 everything was in place.

“Number One.”

—Number One here.

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

—There are two in the nearby shopping district, and we’ve installed eavesdropping-magic 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.

“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?”

—Waiting at my current position.

A deep voice came through the radio.

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

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

—Yes.

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

Their combat power was low, 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 whom one could find anywhere.

That was all Jin Taekyung was in his eyes.

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.