After Namgung Sua finished the sushi and went home, I opened [Mephisto Market] on my computer and bought appropriately sized metal discs for making metal pentacles.

It was only to be expected, but unfortunately, all the pentacles I had made in the uncanny dating-game world disappeared when I left. I had to make them again.

First, [The Second Pentacle of Saturn] was essential. It only worked on Saturdays, but it was currently my sole wide-area destruction beam. At least it was magic that actually felt like magic.

... Next would be that one.

When I picked up <The Lesser Key of Solomon>, it smoothly opened to the page containing a spell I had noted before.

[The Sixth Pentacle of Mars]

Once cast, it protected the caster from fatal wounds—one of the very few defensive spells.

Naturally, since this spell also required planetary magic, it had to be cast on a Tuesday. But apparently, once cast, it remained in effect until the spell was broken.

The catch was that I had to carry the pentacle of Mars at all times. I also had no way of knowing exactly how well it would block attacks against my body.

Still, it would be better than taking a hit completely unprotected.

For a magician... Well, I supposed that went for anyone, but unexpected surprise attacks were dangerous. Defensive magic to protect my body was essential.

... That finished my check of the supplies and spells I needed.

I opened <Mysteries of the Worm> and began reading.

I had a feeling the whole thing would fizzle out... But since I had agreed to give magic lessons, I ought to study what I would teach. Well, that was something I always did anyway.

Of course, anything involving the Outer Gods or pagan magic was out of the question. I looked through the safe Catholic spells.

"Hmm..."

Something basic, essential, and safe.

... More precisely, something that wouldn't cause accidents.

I had no desire to get caught up in anything, get hurt, or clean up the aftermath.

And since I would be putting her to work, making holy water and magical incense was essential.

Then I could pick a few practical spells from <Mysteries of the Worm> to teach her. Things like how to make health socks.

Magic Item: Health Socks – Wearing them makes your legs less tired, even after a long walk.

I moved my pen.

SCRITCH, SCRITCH.

Reviewing the basics I would teach Sua, I organized them in a notebook.

But though Yohan did not know it, his only deficiency was his knowledge of the magical world. He was already an accomplished magician.

HUMMM.

The words written with purpose etched faint magic into the blank notebook that had previously been nothing special.

* * *

One of those seeking the grimoire <Mysteries of the Worm> was Namgung Su, a white-haired, middle-aged man with a grave expression.

Listening to his secretary's report, he read the prepared documents and faintly furrowed his brow.

The documents contained information that someone had placed a bounty on the owner of <Mysteries of the Worm>.

Estimated location: Seoul, South Korea.

The bounty notice was practically empty, offering nothing except that the target was the new owner of <Mysteries of the Worm> and that the reward was three billion won.

It was as though they were telling people to find treasure buried somewhere on a beach, all on their own.

... And a bounty of three billion won.

It was a great deal of money, but with so little information, it was a questionable sum for attracting the interest of prominent magicians.

Was whoever had spread this information planning to gather a suitable assortment of mercenaries and magicians, then use them as hunting dogs to track down the grimoire's owner and wear them out?

Namgung Su murmured quietly.

"... This isn't good."

For Namgung Su, who sought the secret art of time regression in <Mysteries of the Worm>, this sort of information leak was unwelcome.

His goal was strictly the magic within <Mysteries of the Worm>, not the grimoire itself. That was why his initial plan was to find its owner and negotiate a deal.

Of course, this was magic he absolutely had to obtain... If negotiations fell through, he intended to seize the grimoire and force the spell into effect, even if it ruined his body.

"..."

As Namgung Su fell silent, his secretary continued the report.

"For now, we've used the mercenaries in our employ to build a consensus that the information is false. The mercenaries were skeptical of it to begin with."

"Well done."

Namgung Su nodded, and his secretary spoke cautiously.

"Chairman Kim's people have reportedly invited Miss Sua to a dinner gathering. What should we do?"

"... There's no need to concern ourselves with it."

He did not know precisely what sort of gathering it was.

"According to information from the Special Response Section, an investigation into Chairman Kim has begun."

But he knew it was no proper dinner gathering. He also knew that the gathering had become a problem that was tightening a noose around Chairman Kim's own neck.

"His attempt to invite Sua this time is likely meant to drag her into it and secure my help in delaying the investigation. If Shin Doryong, the director of the Bureau of Anomalous Phenomena Countermeasures, has made his move, Chairman Kim is finished. There's no need to pay it much attention."

Namgung Su turned to an old family photograph, looking at the face of his dead wife.

"... Right now, finding <Mysteries of the Worm> is what matters. Focus your efforts on that."

His weary, clouded eyes recalled the past.

* * *

Another man seeking the grimoire <Mysteries of the Worm> was the owner of <Cultes des Goules>.

Chairman Kim contorted the wrinkles on his face and ground his beastlike teeth.

"Grr... Those fucking Special Response Section bastards...!"

He slammed his fist down on the wooden desk, smashing it apart.

CRASH!

"Kim Miryeo... That fucking bitch! I bribed her way into a prestigious university, and she gets caught by the Special Response Section and blows the whole thing up like this!"

Chairman Kim was the one who had ordered his children around and used them to suit his own whims in the first place... But that was of no importance to him.

The blond vampire Ioannis, back from enjoying himself outside, watched with a faint smile.

"So what will you do now? Shall I help?"

"Forget it!"

Chairman Kim shouted, his face twisting fiercely, before relaxing and leaning back in his chair.

"... With a few more connections and more capital, I can buy time."

"So you'll kidnap that Namgung Su fellow's daughter, force her to become an accomplice, and blackmail him?"

Ioannis snorted at his pupil's behavior.

"This isn't some trashy soap opera."

Just then, a clatter came from outside the room. Chairman Kim merely frowned, but Ioannis rose with interest.

"Hmm~."

"Hah..."

Chairman Kim had no choice but to follow him out. As expected, a familiar sight awaited them.

He did not remember the son's name. One of the countless talentless children he had spawned was forcibly gripping a maid's wrist.

Judging by her swollen cheek, he appeared to have hit her once.

It was nothing worth bothering with. The troublesome part, however, was that Ioannis had taken an interest.

Ioannis's blue eyes curved into a smile.

"Is this that sort of play? If not, this isn't very platonic."

Chairman Kim's son frowned at the words of the blond foreigner who had suddenly appeared.

No one in this house except his father, Chairman Kim, was allowed to talk back to him.

"... Who the hell are you? What are you talking about? Want me to throw you to the pigs?"

"You don't seem to have understood. Let me say it again."

Ioannis repeated himself in a gentle voice.

"You are not being remotely platonic right now."

Then Chairman Kim intervened.

"You don't say a word about cannibalism, but you take issue with rape?"

"It's not a matter of morality. It's a matter of how I feel. Much like picking up an ugly orphan in a colony."

Chairman Kim sighed and spoke to the son whose name he did not know.

"Enough. Stop that and leave."

"F-Father?"

The man was bewildered to see Chairman Kim, who had transcended humanity, deferring to what looked like an ordinary handsome blond man.

Chairman Kim grew irritated when his son glanced at the maid instead of getting the hell out immediately.

He had known the boy had no talent... But he had not expected him to lack even an animal's basic instinct for danger.

Just as he wondered what possible use he could make of that thing, a use did occur to him.

"No. Don't leave. Come with me."

"What?"

Chairman Kim brought his son into the room and spoke to Ioannis.

"Ioannis, do me a favor."

With a resigned smile, Ioannis granted his pupil's request.

He drew a dagger smoothly across his palm, poured the flowing blood into a glass, and imbued it with magic.

Chairman Kim regarded the glass with a complicated expression before handing it to his son.

"Drink all of it. Don't leave a single drop."

Only now, looking at the glass of red blood, did the man sense something was wrong. But he had spent his life doing whatever he pleased in return for faithfully obeying Chairman Kim's orders.

This time, too, he gulped down the blood as instructed.

And then...

"Urgh—uaaghhh..."

CRACK. CRACK-CRACK.

First, his teeth were forced out, torn from his gums, and fell in a bloody shower. Sharp new teeth filled their places, growing haphazardly in uneven rows.

The man screamed at the pain of his body being forcibly reshaped and twisted.

"Aaaaaaagh—guh!"

CLATTER! THUD!

Unable to withstand Ioannis's blood, he vomited blood, collapsed, and died.

Chairman Kim frowned at the fallen corpse.

"You said that if a parent can't become a vampire, their children are likely to be the same. ... And the reverse holds true as well."

"Hehe~ The same as last time? Our blood must be incompatible."

Indeed, this was by no means the first time.

Chairman Kim periodically selected one of his children and fed them Ioannis's blood to test whether they would become a vampire.

Afraid that his own body might burst from rejection, he experimented on his children instead. The outcome was always the same, though.

"You give them food and a place to sleep, then use their lives when you need them. You're raising pigs, not children."

"Shut up!"

Chairman Kim grumbled, and Ioannis gazed at his aged face.

Frankly, Chairman Kim had no need to employ the inferior method of becoming a vampire through a vampire's blood.

After all, he had the grimoire <Cultes des Goules>. He could become a vampire through the grimoire.

There were generally three ways to become a vampire.

First, being born a vampire—either born to vampire parents, or as a stillborn child still wrapped in the amniotic sac. Such children sometimes became vampires, and fell into this category.

Second, becoming a vampire through a vampire's blood—the best-known, straightforward method. However, if the blood was incompatible, the drinker's body would burst.

Third, a magician becoming a vampire through magic—leaving humanity behind for various reasons, whether they needed more time, did not want to die of old age, or required a powerful body.

Ioannis belonged to the third category. He had become a vampire through his own research.

"..."

Ioannis's blue eyes studied Chairman Kim's old, wrinkled face.

He was unmistakably aged.

The magic of <Cultes des Goules> granted ageless longevity through cannibalism.

Chairman Kim had gained a long life, but he had not attained ageless youth. He could not take the one necessary step forward as a magician.

'... I thought he had potential, though.'

Perhaps that was why he was even more obsessed with that ridiculous dinner gathering called the 'Table of the Great Ones.'

He wanted to devour more through the ritual and rise higher. To Ioannis, though, it was a meaningless endeavor.

If anything, perhaps he had grown too fat.

And... after yet another failed test of vampire aptitude, Chairman Kim told his subordinates to throw his useless son's corpse to the ghouls as food.

Then, while drawing up the guest list for his dinner gathering, he ordered them to keep Namgung Sua under surveillance.