Chapter 54. A Sinner Called Mother (1)
“Look! I got a letter from Nova!”
Victoria rushed into the restaurant in a hurry.
A single envelope fluttered in her hand.
Yukgap looked at it with concern.
“Is it really safe for her to send something like that? Abraxas could track it.”
“Of course it came under the name of Herrington Convent. But I can tell. Nova definitely sent this!”
Victoria grinned as she opened the envelope.
Curious despite himself, Yukgap asked,
“What does it say?”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
When Yukgap looked confused, Victoria immediately showed him the letter.
Just as she had said, there was nothing inside the envelope.
And yet Victoria’s eyes began to fill with tears.
“She must have escaped safely. Thank goodness.”
“You said there’s nothing written in it. How can you be so sure?”
Yukgap could not understand how Victoria could look at an empty envelope and react like this.
But Victoria was completely serious.
“If there had been any message inside, Abraxas could have used it as a clue to track her. That’s why she sent it empty.”
Victoria hugged the empty envelope tightly against her chest.
“It must mean she’s spending such peaceful days that she didn’t even have anything urgent to write about.”
Her expression softened.
“I’m glad, Nova.”
Yukgap remained deeply suspicious.
“...You’re sure Nova sent it?”
“I told you, I’m sure!”
“How can you guarantee that?”
Yukgap asked skeptically.
Victoria answered with absolute confidence.
“A woman’s intuition.”
“That intuition of yours really does appear whenever it feels like it.”
Unlike Victoria, Yukgap was completely unimpressed.
Ignoring him, Victoria carefully put the envelope away.
“Anyway, we’re closing early today, right?”
“Of course.”
Yukgap nodded and looked through the window.
A distorted crescent moon scattered its strange light across the night sky.
“Tonight is a crescent-moon night.”
“Are you ready?”
Standing in front of the abandoned building, Seryun asked cautiously.
Yukgap answered without hesitation.
“Yeah.”
Victoria, standing beside him, looked equally excited.
“I’m ready too!”
Yukgap glared at her.
“Victoria, I told you to stay at the restaurant.”
“No! I want to know about your past too!”
Victoria showed no sign of backing down.
Even if he tried to leave her behind by force, she looked ready to follow them anyway.
“We aren’t going there to fight Doctor Mozg this time,” Seryun said. “There should be no problem with her observing.”
Yukgap sighed softly.
“Fine. Even if I told you not to come, you’d find a way to follow us.”
With that settled, Seryun prepared to open the entrance to the Crescent Moon Auction.
“Then I’ll open the door.”
He knocked in a steady rhythm while reciting the familiar phrase.
“Knock, knock, knock. Who is it?
Knock, knock, knock. I brought apricot pie.
How many guests?
Knock, knock, knock. Three.
Prepare the dishes.
Knock, knock, knock. Come inside.
Knock, knock, knock. On the night of the crescent moon.
Knock, knock, knock. To this useless place.”
It was a strange incantation woven into an equally strange rhythm.
Soon, an unnatural air flowed out from beyond the door.
Loud voices could be heard on the other side.
“Let us go in.”
Seryun stepped forward and opened the door.
The chaotic sight of the Crescent Moon Auction unfolded before Yukgap.
“This was called the hidden side of the world, right?”
Crowds of humans and things that merely looked human.
A complicated marketplace stretching left and right.
And above all of it, the distorted crescent moon hanging in the sky.
This was Yukgap’s second visit to the Crescent Moon Auction.
Yet the same alien feeling from his first visit still pressed down on him.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this place.”
“Welcome.”
The moment they arrived at Doctor Mozg’s tent, Leon greeted them politely.
Yukgap got straight to the point.
“I came to see Doctor Mozg.”
“Master has been waiting for you. Please follow me.”
Leon led them through the tent.
Soon, a large pink brain floating inside an enormous flask came into view.
The wires connected to the flask beeped at regular intervals.
Gulp.
Yukgap swallowed dryly without realizing it.
Doctor Mozg’s appearance was still unsettling.
Unlike him, Doctor Mozg greeted them rather warmly.
[Greetings. I hope you’ve been well since we last met.]
Victoria grinned.
“I’ve been great! Thanks for asking!”
[I really do envy that bright personality of yours every time I see you.]
Doctor Mozg’s tone was openly sarcastic.
Victoria simply continued smiling.
“You certainly look well,” Seryun said dryly. “Though I suppose you don’t exactly have a face to look well with.”
He stared at the large brain in the flask.
Doctor Mozg immediately snapped back.
[Lee Seryun. You move around awfully energetically for a corpse. It’s impressive every time I see it.]
Seryun answered at once.
“There is a clear distinction between a corpse and an undead.”
[As far as I’m concerned, you’re no different from a corpse. No, you’re closer to one.]
“I’m not sure you’re in any position to say that.”
Within seconds of meeting, the two were already trading insults.
Yukgap finally stepped between them.
“Enough! Didn’t we come here to talk, not fight?”
Seryun sighed and took a step back.
“My apologies. Whenever I meet my ex-wife, I seem to lose control of myself.”
Doctor Mozg answered bluntly.
[I say this every time, but divorcing you was the best decision of my life.]
“What a coincidence. I’ve always thought exactly the same thing.”
Seryun and Doctor Mozg growled at each other like they were competing.
Apparently, they had already forgotten Yukgap’s attempt to mediate.
Seeing them like this, the two really did seem made for each other.
[Anyway, here we are again, No. 6.]
Doctor Mozg greeted Yukgap in a friendly tone.
Hearing the old code name again immediately irritated him.
“I told you not to call me that.”
[Hehehe. What does a name matter?]
Doctor Mozg clearly enjoyed provoking him.
Don’t take the bait.
Yukgap repeated that to himself and forced himself to calm down.
“You know why I came, right?”
[Of course. In exchange for that valuable information, I promised to answer exactly one question of yours.]
Doctor Mozg paused.
[But I don’t have much information about Abraxas itself. Its security is too strict. I only have indirect information.]
“I’m not asking about Abraxas.”
[Then what?]
Doctor Mozg sounded genuinely surprised.
Yukgap immediately got to the point.
“Tell me about a man called Kevin, the Mercenary King.”
[Kevin, the Mercenary King...]
Doctor Mozg trailed off after hearing the name.
Yukgap immediately felt uneasy.
“Don’t tell me the greatest information broker in the underworld doesn’t know him.”
[Is that an attempt to provoke me? Unfortunately, it won’t work.]
Doctor Mozg answered flatly.
The wires connected to her brain blinked several times.
It almost looked as though she were searching through the memories stored in the brains around her.
[I do have information on Kevin, the Mercenary King. He’s famous for gathering mercenaries and moving through battlefields around the world. His name is fairly well known in the underworld too.]
Fortunately, Doctor Mozg did know him.
Hope surged through Yukgap.
“Good. I need information about Kevin.”
Doctor Mozg then asked an unexpectedly vague question.
[What information do you want?]
“What do you mean?”
Yukgap frowned.
Doctor Mozg immediately pointed out the problem.
[Do you want to know who Kevin is? Where he is? His battles? His past?]
“That...”
Yukgap fell silent.
Until now, he had only vaguely thought about asking for information on Kevin.
He had never considered just how broad that request actually was.
[If you simply ask me to tell you about Kevin, the scope is far too wide.]
Doctor Mozg spoke like someone offering advice.
[I’ll give you some time. Think carefully before you answer.]
Yukgap immediately grew tense.
He only had one chance.
He needed to use it as efficiently as possible.
“Yukgap, lend me your ear for a second.”
Victoria suddenly whispered beside him.
“What?”
“Doctor Mozg is right. If you’re careless, you’ll waste this opportunity. We need to be precise.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Our goal is to meet Kevin and ask him about your past. You haven’t forgotten that, right?”
Victoria’s words triggered a thought in Yukgap’s mind.
He finally understood what she meant.
“Fine. I’ll ask my question.”
After organizing his thoughts, Yukgap steadied his voice.
[Go ahead.]
Once Doctor Mozg gave permission, Yukgap asked calmly,
“Tell me the safest way to make contact with Kevin, the Mercenary King.”
Silence followed.
Then Doctor Mozg burst into laughter.
[Hahahahaha! You actually used your head.]
The printer beside the flask suddenly started beeping.
A sheet of paper came out.
Doctor Mozg addressed Yukgap.
[Take it.]
Yukgap accepted the paper with a puzzled expression.
“What is this?”
[The address of one of his direct brokers. Kevin obtains mercenaries through brokers in various countries. Those are the only people he trusts.]
Doctor Mozg continued,
[Find the brokers, and you’ll be able to make contact with Kevin.]
Yukgap looked doubtful.
“You’re sure?”
[I don’t lie. In this business, credibility is life itself.]
Doctor Mozg sounded completely certain.
Yukgap carefully put away the information.
“Thanks.”
[No need. I received information far more valuable than this in return.]
Once again, Doctor Mozg said something vague and difficult to understand.
Was what Victoria had told her really that valuable?
To Yukgap, it remained a mystery.
