Chapter 13, Is That About Me?

 Valru's name became quite useful, especially when the news of him saving Miss Lino spread while he was sitting conspicuously eating dinner. So, the chef, who was already preparing a large portion to prevent another famine, added Valru's double order and an additional life-saving reward of pork chops, turning into a spectacular mountain of food. Seake ate until he was very full!

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 During working hours, Miss Hana was in an extremely bad mood, hiding in the fictional background of Kalevala in the "Love in the Spiral Tower" series. Seake was in the studio sweeping and dusting shelves. These days, he had rearranged the studio so much that it looked completely different. Now he was hesitating whether to throw away some spell materials that had long since decayed, with mold visible from the outside of the jars. As for the counterfeits, he discreetly pretended not to notice.

 Later, Seake made his way to Hana's lounge. He sorted the novels Hana bought by series like "Sweet House," "Painful Love House," and "Dream House," and also put on the book covers that had been stuck between the books by Hana. Seake rarely found a serious book and was thinking about how to classify it when Hana suddenly jumped up from the recliner, swiftly tidying her clothes at a speed Seake had never seen before, and ordered, "You go to the studio, I didn't say you could come in!"

 Seake obediently entered the studio, listening as Hana locked the door with a click. He pressed his ear against the door to eavesdrop, but heard nothing. Hana must have gone to her private office.

 Seake took out a round steel mirror from his herb pouch; of course, he had left some lint in Miss Hana's office!

 Seake squatted next to the workbench, wiping the steel mirror with a cloth soaked in medicine. The image on the mirror flickered for a moment, showing an empty corridor, and Seake tapped it before it correctly displayed the image of Hana's private office.

 Seake saw a man wearing a silk top hat and a full suit sitting with his back to the camera at Hana's desk. Hana sat behind the oversized office chair, frowning as she spoke.

 The person was definitely male, judging from the angularity of his skeleton. But the proportions of his skeleton were like that of a female. If Seake could see his pelvis, his judgment would be more accurate, but since the person was sitting, it was not visible. He was dressed even more formally than the people at yesterday's banquet. Male formal attire to this extent was not just for conversation; it seemed more like attending some important ceremony. His originally somewhat soft shoulders were padded with shoulder pads as thick as two bricks, which looked very strange.

 Seake tossed some lint at the entrance of the office, so he could only see the man's back and Hana's front. He should have tossed some lint behind Hana as well. Seake could only read Hana's lips and then guess what the man in formal attire said.

 From Hana's flattering nods, Seake speculated that the man was Hana's patron, but he certainly wasn't the master. The master didn't need shoulder pads.

 At first, Hana showed extreme joy and enthusiasm, and Seake almost thought she would jump up to hug the formal man. But as the conversation progressed, Hana's eyes began to show a terrified expression, her eyeballs constantly turning, unable to look at the other person. Later on, the man's fingers trembled as he pointed at Hana, and she put her hand on her chest and pretended to cry.

 Hana said, "No! It's not like that at all, you have to believe me, I'm loyal to you! You've always been my top priority..."

 "Of course, everything is in the best condition, just a small obstacle that will soon be overcome! You know, those who don't understand how important this is always love to obstruct us for some trivial reasons..."

 "Master, I would never deliberately hinder you, you mean that assistant? Seake, did he bother you? No, I didn't, he did it himself!"

 Seake had a foreboding feeling.

 Seake saw the man stand up very excitedly and wave his arms. Now Seake was sure he was male. Hana forced out a few tears. The conversation suddenly ended, and the man pointed to the ceiling, making a very exaggerated and clichéd spell-casting gesture. A purple light enveloped him, and then he disappeared.

 It was a teleportation gate!

 Hana wiped away her tears, took out six cosmetics from the drawer to touch up her makeup, and then got up to walk towards the back room.

 Seake quickly stuffed the mirror back into his bag, pretending to be arranging tools.

 Three minutes later, Hana opened the office door, impatiently tapping her foot. "Seake! Go to the store written on this and buy things, take it!" She threw an envelope onto the floor.

 Seake bent down to pick up the envelope, which contained the address of a magic material shop, a shopping list, and money. Those things were all very common and could be bought nearby, but Hana specified that Seake must go to the shop that required a train ride to reach.

 The extra money is for you to buy dinner. Hana finished and then shook her head and left.

 As he walked out of the room, Seake checked several times, making sure his silver box, sacrificial knife, and herb pouch were all on him.

 He felt like he was about to go into battle.

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 When Seake finished shopping and took the last train back to the community, it was almost midnight. He had plenty of money left from the purchases, so Seake bought a whole roasted chicken and enjoyed it thoroughly. Despite suspicions of it being his last supper, it didn't affect Seake's appetite.

 There was no one on the streets, and no open shops could be found. The monster that abducted girls at midnight had a significant impact on local economic activities.

 Seake believed he bore no resemblance to those beautiful girls in the photos, so he shouldn't be implicated.

 Savoring the aroma of the roasted chicken, Seake's mind was filled with pleasant memories, making walking in the snow feel lighter. As he walked, Seake noticed other footprints in the snow. He could see the imprints of police boots, thanks to his unfortunate past enabling him to recognize them. There were also some shoe prints that seemed to be from high heels, likely left by the underage girls the police were trying to apprehend. Seake had seen them around; they wore heavy makeup to make themselves look fifteen years older, thinking that by doing such trivial things in life, they could consider themselves adults.

 Then there was another type of footprint, very strange, looking like someone walking barefoot in the snow. But this footprint was three times larger than a human's, with fur on the sole.

 Seake squatted down to examine it, hearing another peculiar sound mixed in with the wind, like a squeaking noise. Wizards were sensitive to such noises, as they were signs of magical energy fluctuations. The silver box in his clothes was vibrating, warning him of approaching danger.

 Turning his head to look around, Seake looked up and saw a giant creature crouching on the roof of a house by the roadside.

 It looked like a lion with a human skeletal structure, covered not only in mane around its neck but also thick fur on its chest and upper back, standing up in all directions like iron wires. There was a thin layer of fur extending all the way down to its lower body, covered by the fur.

 Its face was flat, as if pressed against glass, with its nose pointing upwards, lips curled back to reveal sharp teeth. Except for where the fur covered, its skin was smooth and hairless, even reflecting under the moonlight. The upper body's bones and muscles resembled that of a man, broad and well-defined, while the lower body was slender and smooth like that of a woman's. Seake raised his sacrificial knife, its blade emitting a red light. The creature's pupils quickly narrowed from round to slit-like, faster than a cat's pupils constricting.

 It was definitely a magical creature.

 Seake was still pondering whether this encounter was a coincidence or deliberately arranged when the monster suddenly jumped up, lunging towards Seake!

 Seake dodged aside, pulling out the bone of the roasted chicken from his pocket as an offering. The monster landed heavily where Seake had been standing.

 Stepping back, the chicken bone disappeared, and the edge of Seake's sacrificial knife emitted a red glow. The monster turned around, raising its front claws, which instantly extended ten centimeters, and lunged at Seake again.

 Seake seized the monster's movement, making minimal movements to evade the attack, stepping aside to dodge and using the momentum to thrust the sacrificial knife into the creature's side. With both hands and waist force, Seake pushed forward, directing the knife in the opposite direction of the monster's advance.

 A large piece of flesh flew out from the monster's body.

 With a successful attack, Seake immediately raised a protective barrier, separating him from the monster. After these two moves, Seake was certain that this monster was inexperienced in hunting. It probably preyed on ordinary people who were frightened by its appearance. Therefore, it only knew how to attack in a straight line, without any tricks or defenses. It had never encountered a counterattack before.

 The monster let out a deafening roar, sounding like a human's scream but unusually hoarse. Its side had been pierced by Seake, and blood dripped onto the snow, emitting white smoke. That blood was abnormal.

 The monster couldn't stop its momentum and kept charging forward. Trying to stop, it used its feet against the ground but ended up sliding and rotating a hundred and eighty degrees, colliding with a lamppost with its lower body. It looked like a gentle collision, but the lamppost broke with a loud noise, falling to the ground.

 Seake had been pent up with a lot of frustration these days, and having a punching bag was the best outlet for him. Seake smirked, raising the sacrificial knife with one hand and beckoning twice with the other: "Come on! I'm here to keep you company!"

 Seake was wary of the enraged counterattack that magical creatures often launched after being injured. But the monster didn't attack Seake; instead, it made a powerful leap, jumping onto the roof of a different house. In an instant, it distanced itself from Seake.

 The monster squatted on its hind legs, its front paws reaching towards its wound, but it didn't touch it. It looked like a person in pain who dared not touch the injury. Its flat face wrinkled up, and a long, vibrant purple tongue extended, hanging outside its mouth.

 "Don't run away!" Seake shouted. Unfortunately, his aim with throwing spells wasn't great, and if he were to throw a fireball at such a distant target, he might damage property and be held liable.

 The monster turned around, leaping from rooftop to rooftop on different houses, and disappeared in an instant.

 Unable to catch up, Seake had to give up. He crouched down to examine the meat left by the monster on the ground. The meat sizzled in the snow, continuously emitting smoke. Seake considered whether to empty a magic potion bottle and put the meat inside. Just as he was contemplating, the meat suddenly melted like ice, emitting a large amount of smoke. Its volume rapidly shrank and disappeared.

 Seake began to feel a bit cold, so he left the broken lamppost behind and whistled as he walked back to his workplace.