TRPM 332

chapter 332

The Grand Sorcerer, who had been paid by Han Geon-woo, continued walking.

And as he walked, his appearance slowly began to change.

Very slowly.

“(Heh… at this rate, he might as well be a completely different person.)”

The reason he didn’t use a bus or any sort of sorcery to move, and simply walked, was precisely for this.

Because his appearance was changing so gradually, walking allowed him to buy time for the transformation.

‘(Disguise Technique… as expected, it’s quite useful.)’

The Grand Sorcerer smiled at this thought.

Previously, Cheonma had directly altered his face in a kind of surgical procedure. The Grand Sorcerer remembered Cheonma’s actions and sublimated them into sorcery.

Thanks to that, his face now changed naturally, as if he had used a disguise technique.

‘(Heh… there are sorceries that can change faces, of course, but ones that do it this naturally without much cost are rare.)’

Satisfied, he took his smartphone out of his pocket.

“(These days, some young sorcerers complain that using devices like this is forbidden…)”

Not all magical tools have to be ancient. In fact, after the black mist incident, many modern items imbued with human will became effective as magical tools. The Grand Sorcerer was familiar with such devices.

When he kidnapped Han Geon-woo’s soul as an “Artist” and captured it in photographs, he even used the internet.

Although his room was full of old magical tools, he was accustomed to using newer devices as well.

‘(… Is it over there?)’

He checked his location and the destination using the map app on his phone. The destination was not as far as he had thought.

“(Heh… finally found it.)”

He entered the building, which turned out to be a dessert shop in front of the high school Han Geon-woo attended.

“Welcome.”
“I heard you sell parfaits here. Is that correct?”
“Ah, yes. You found the right place.”

He placed his order for a parfait.

“…”
“Why do you look like that?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Apparently, my expression had stiffened as I extended my spiritual perception to watch the Grand Sorcerer.

Of course—who would have expected that a Grand Sorcerer, going so far as to change his face, would visit a dessert shop?

‘Even the look on his face when the employee said I found the place properly… it was genuine happiness.’

It seemed he was sincerely pleased. Of course, I hadn’t seen his face directly, only through spiritual perception, so I wasn’t 100% certain.

“Sigh… it feels silly to have been monitoring him, fearing he might do something strange.”
“Huh? Were you… monitoring the Grand Sorcerer?”
“Yes. I can’t watch him 24/7, but I intended to keep an eye on him whenever I remembered, at least until he leaves Korea.”

Even though he had cast a spell on himself to ensure he wouldn’t betray me, and I knew he couldn’t forcibly break it, there was still a non-zero chance he might betray me if forced. Hence, I was keeping tabs through spiritual perception.

“… Should we ask the Cheolhyeol Guild or Night Eagle Guild to tail him?”
“Don’t. Who would you assign to follow someone of the Grand Sorcerer’s caliber? Even Shin Chae-geon, the guild master of Night Eagle, would be discovered immediately.”

I said that while sipping coffee in a café on the first floor of Shinsegyo. Originally, there was no café there, but my mother had opened one while running the place.

‘Maybe it targets the churchgoers who come every weekend?’

After finishing my cup, Sophia asked:

“Shall I order another one?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Is it not good?”
“Eeek?!”

The part-time worker looked startled at my answer.

“…Well, people who don’t know you would naturally be shocked if such a high-ranking person says the coffee isn’t good.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t good.”

I had only meant that one cup was enough.

“That part-timer couldn’t interpret it that way.”

The worker trembled so much it was pitiful. How scary must I appear to them?

“It’s not that you’re scary, it’s that Awakened Ones are scary. After all, they’re human weapons capable of killing at any moment.”
“Are you some kind of Awakened One supremacist? Why say that?”
“Before the Taeguk Guild disappeared, many Awakened Ones used that fear to subtly intimidate others. Things are better now, but fear of Awakened Ones is still common elsewhere.”

Ah, I see. People in my neighborhood and the Cheolhyeol Guild weren’t scared because they knew I wasn’t the kind of Awakened One to harm others.

“…Then it seems only I am frightening this worker?”
“Yeah, seems like it.”

Why…?

“Do you want me to tell you why?”
“You know?”
“Yeah. Wait a moment.”

Ehaeun pulled out her phone and searched for something, then showed me the screen.

“This is… the game you mentioned last time.”

A new game I had played at a PC café with some guys.

“I’ve been watching streams of this lately, and in this one, Geon-woo, you appear as a notorious villain.”
“What? Really?”
“Yes. On the surface, you maintain peace as an Artist, but secretly you kidnap people, hold hostages, commit massacres, and then use reality manipulation to erase it.”

Reality manipulation? I don’t have such abilities.

“Even events similar to real-life incidents are referenced, so some people believe it’s real. The developer claims it’s an act of courage to expose the truth about Artists.”
“…People actually believe that?”
“Most just comment for fun, but surprisingly, quite a few believe it.”

Hearing this, Sophia pulled out her phone and contacted someone.

“…Yes, it’s me. About the game using the Artist’s image… how far along is it? Okay… yes…”

It was probably the Cheolhyeol Guild, specifically the department managing the Awakened Ones’ images. Sophia’s expression showed the news wasn’t good.

“…Understood.”

After gathering necessary information, Sophia ended the call and reported:

“We’ve filed a lawsuit against the game company, but it seems the investigation isn’t progressing properly.”
“Investigation?”
“Yes. According to Korean law, the police must compile a report for such lawsuits, but they only reply that it’s taking time.”

Perhaps the police have other work, but only giving that reply seems odd.

“Someone might be interfering…”
“Really?”

A company blatantly defaming my image, and the police aren’t investigating.

“…Awakened One discrimination?”
“Seems likely. You may need to inform the police commissioner directly about Awakened One prejudice within the force.”

The police commissioner. If I wanted to meet, it wouldn’t be difficult.

‘It’s been a while since I coordinated with the police.’

Crimes had decreased, reducing my need to contact the special investigation team. After the airplane hijacking, the team was disbanded, leaving no need for direct police contact.

I decided on the next step:

“Can you organize the materials for the police, showing potential Awakened One supremacists?”

It would be more persuasive to go with concrete evidence.

“Yes. A day should be enough.”

After Sophia finishes organizing the data, we can go to the police. Meanwhile, I extended my spiritual perception to check the Grand Sorcerer’s location again.

“(Heh… charging my energy makes my head feel clear.)”

After finishing the parfait, the Grand Sorcerer decided to do a minor divination before heading to his next destination.

‘Is the Artist watching me? Or trusting me and leaving me be?’

He took a few thin twigs and scattered them on the floor.

“(Hmm…?)”

By observing the scattered twigs, he could confirm that Han Geon-woo was watching him using some method.

“Heh… not watching constantly, I see… though I suppose this counts as a privacy invasion.”

He spoke in Korean so that Han Geon-woo could hear. While aware that Geon-woo could understand any language, he still chose Korean.

“Being watched every move by this old man is a bit annoying.”

Of course, he wasn’t truly annoyed. They were enemies. It would have been stranger if the Artist hadn’t suspected or monitored him at all.

‘(Then I should go somewhere the Artist won’t mind watching.)’

The next destination the Grand Sorcerer chose was…

“Ah, this reminds me of my childhood. When I used to beg my parents to take me to an amusement park.”

It was an amusement park.