NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42
“…So, oh great mage, instead of teleportation, can you move the entire space itself?”
“Move the entire space…? You mean something like this?”
The mage pinched the air with his thumb and forefinger, as if grabbing something, and made a motion like flipping a page.
“……”
The damp underground parking lot vanished in an instant, replaced by neatly paved cobblestones.
“Uh… uh… what…?”
At someone’s dumbfounded muttering, I swallowed hard.
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: You crazy bastard;
|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: You asked for it, and the mage delivered! How unfair for the mage!!
When did I ever ask for it?! I just asked if it was possible!!
Kang Hasu stared blankly at the mage, looking half out of his mind. At this point, there was no turning back.
With the mage looking at me, his face full of injustice, I raised a finger and pointed at him.
“A corporate hunter saved us!”
“……?”
The mage tilted his head in confusion, then frowned and sent me a message.
|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: Guild Master, what exactly are you doing?
I didn’t respond to his message. Instead, I exchanged a quick glance with Kang Hasu.
There was only one thing we had to do now.
“That’s right! Hae Roun absolutely crushed the evaluation!!”
“!!”
We were going to make the mage the OP cheat of this story.
|Pr. 9th Circle Archmage|: Guys, seriously;?
The frantic message popped up, but both Kang Hasu and I ignored it.
Click—
The sound of camera shutters echoed somewhere nearby. Soon, flashes of light began flickering from all directions.
“Kang Hasu, sir! What do you mean by that?! Are you saying Hae Roun broke the evaluation?!”
“Hae Roun, is it true you’ve been seen with Do Hajun, the Guild Master of Haun? When did you join Haun?!”
“Sir! Are you implying that Hae Roun intervened in the evaluation and saved everyone?!”
The journalists’ shouts mixed with the sound of clicking shutters.
“Haun!!”
And through the noise, someone called out desperately for me. I turned my head toward the voice coming from behind—
“Do Haun!!”
Strong arms wrapped around me tightly, pulling me into an embrace. A hand repeatedly stroked my hair, and a voice asked if I was okay. In response, I burst out laughing.
******
Afterward…
[Breaking News] Office Worker Hunter H Crushes the Evaluation!
―Is it even possible to intervene in an evaluation like that?
└ First in the world, apparently;;
└ Someone get the drinks~!!!
“Damn it…”
Office Worker Hunter H, aka Hae Roun, banged his head against the table.
He must have seen the same article I was reading. Taking a bite of my cheesecake, I scrolled past the article that had been making waves for some time.
[Exclusive] The Hero of Gangnam Boulevard! Close Ties with Haun… Haun Remains Silent
―Recruitment game strong!
└ Apparently Hwarang reached out first.
└ Haun > Hwarang, no question.
└ Hwarang for the win; Haun, nah.
└ Leaving my recommendation here~
I took a screenshot of the article and sent it to my brother.
[Hajun-oppa]: The article will be taken down soon. Don’t worry about it, Haun. Just hang out with Roun^^
I replied with two circles and called out to the mage, who was still banging his head on the table.
“Hey, Mage.”
“Yes?”
“How much is my brother paying you?”
“That’s a secret.”
The mage, fidgeting, lifted his head and took a sip of his cookie frappe. He emptied half of it in one go, saying it was delicious, then picked out the cookie to eat. Watching him, I couldn’t help but grimace.
How did I even end up moving around with this mage? I sipped my watered-down iced Americano, my face twisted in annoyance.
*****
‘Haun, let me introduce someone.’
The day I completed the request, I returned home after the center confirmed there was nothing amiss. My brother was waiting for me with a guest.
‘This is Hae Roun. He’ll be in charge of your protection from now on.’
‘…What?’
That guest, an unwelcome one at best, was none other than the troublesome mage. Dressed sharply in a suit, the mage smiled with narrowed eyes and greeted me.
‘Hello, Haun. We’ve met before, haven’t we?’
Met before, my ass.
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: What the hell are you?
|9th Circle Archmage|: (૭ ᐕ)૭
|Pr. Godslayer (Guild Master)|: No, you little sh—!!!
And that’s how Hae Roun became my bodyguard. My brother had said it would only be until things around me settled down…
*****
“Can I order one more of these? It’s so good!”
Bodyguard? More like a freeloader. That bastard was easily burning through 500,000 won a day on food alone. Even though my credit card freeze had been lifted, my finances weren’t stable yet.
I scowled, and the mage, pouting, sucked up the remainder of his drink through the straw before slurping it down in one go.
“But Haun-ssi…”
“Don’t.”
“No, seriously! What else should I call the boss’s sister? Should I not call you ‘Miss’?”
“Just call me Guild Master!”
“How can I call you that here?!”
The troublesome mage lowered his voice as he protested indignantly. I also lowered my voice as I shouted back,
“Use a soundproofing spell!”
“Having to cast magic just to call someone by a name… Our Guild Master is so demanding, huh?”
Though he grumbled, he obediently cast the spell as I suggested. A red magic circle briefly appeared before vanishing.
By the way, Hae Roun was currently wearing an item gifted by my brother that blurred facial recognition. It was unavoidable, given how much his identity had already been exposed. Even with the item, though, other returnees could still recognize him. The Spirit Master we’d met before had spotted him immediately.
Regardless, while I had expected his identity to be widely known, I hadn’t anticipated him becoming my bodyguard. What a hassle.
As I scratched my head irritably, the mage called me in a hushed tone.
“Guild Master.”
“What now?”
“What’s your plan for Drasl?”
My lips parted slightly before I frowned. Why was he whispering, even after casting the spell?
“You’re not planning to let him off after taking a stab to the gut, are you?”
“Of course not.”
I downed the rest of my Americano in one gulp and smirked crookedly.
“Who do you think the Dragon Slayer’s enemy is?”
“Well… dragons, obviously.”
“Exactly. That’s what you’d think, right?”
The mage nodded. I smiled faintly and continued.
“So, I’m going to use a dragon.”
At that, the mage blinked, his face blank, before tilting his head in confusion.
“You mean open a gate? Or do you plan to duke it out in a dungeon until you’re both bloody?”
“What are you even talking about?”
I tilted my head in confusion, my expression blank. The mage scratched their cheek and spoke.
“Uh… aren’t you planning to use a dragon? The only places where dragons would appear are dungeons or gates, right?”
At the mage’s words, I suddenly realized I had overlooked something important.
“Oh, right. You haven’t met Harim yet, have you?”
“Harim? You mean that Harim from Dragon Fried Chicken?”
“…Not that one.”
I should seriously ask the Grand Duke about changing that dragon’s name. More importantly, that Grand Duke has suddenly gone MIA, along with the Hero. Just great.
Since things were already like this, I thought of asking the mage to pass along a suggestion to the Grand Duke for me. However, before I could, the mage, with a look full of curiosity, asked me instead.
“So? How exactly are you planning to use this Harim person or whatever?”
“Dragonslayer’s enemy is, well, a dragon, right? I’m going to use a dragon, literally—”
Bang!
“…!!”
My words were abruptly cut off by a loud hand slamming onto the table. Both the mage and I jumped in surprise, turning our heads toward the owner of that hand.
“Gasp, gasp…!”
The man who interrupted me was now practically kneeling on the floor, breathing heavily. As I blankly stared at the familiar face, the mage let out a shrill voice.
“Ahh! You scared me! Spirit Master, where did you suddenly pop out from?! I’m totally startled!!”
“Quiet—quiet, please!”
“What the heck? Why are you here?”
“Just… give me a second to… catch my breath…”
The Spirit Master, Kang Hasu, held up one hand to stop me from speaking as he exhaled heavily. Then, straightening himself up, he turned to the mage and asked.
“Hae Roun, have you set up a barrier?”
“I’ve cast a soundproofing spell, but why?”
“It’s nothing serious…”
Kang Hasu coughed a few times, stealing glances at me. His gaze felt overwhelmingly heavy.
No, more than that—it felt ominous.
“Please help me, Guild Master!!”
“…”
Yeah, I knew it. Ominous, just like I thought.
*****
Dragged out by the Spirit Master’s sudden plea, we had no choice but to leave the café. Despite my protests, he shoved me into the back seat of his car and shut the door behind me.
“What’s this about, exactly?”
“More importantly, Spirit Master, you got a new car, didn’t you?!”
That meddling mage, supposedly here to protect me, cheerfully hopped into the passenger seat.
Brother, I think you hired the wrong bodyguard.
Kang Hasu climbed into the driver’s seat, buckled his seatbelt, and replied curtly.
“My previous car got wrecked during the last incident.”
I tilted my head at his words.
“The only car that got wrecked was the one during the Siren’s rampage, though.”
“That was my car.”
“Oh…”
No wonder it looked familiar.
Without another word, Kang Hasu shifted the gear and started driving. He didn’t say where we were headed, but the mage asked curiously.
“Spirit Master, where are we going?”
“To the historical drama set for Two Suns Beneath the Sky.”
“What? Why there?”
I asked, bewildered.
“Ooh! Drama set visit! This is so exciting!!” the mage exclaimed, already pulling out their phone with a thrilled expression.