Jinseong’s moving process was a complex affair.
He imbued every bit of moving his belongings with all sorts of magical meaning, insisting that each piece of furniture and item had to be moved on specific dates. Thus, he shuffled between the mansion and the building multiple times, transporting his stuff.
On days when the weather was in his favor, he moved items associated with evil spirits or defilement, while on bright sunny days, he shifted things linked to the sun or warm energy. He deliberately exposed himself to negative influences by passing through places where portals opened or where people had died, sometimes leaving his possessions in a creepy warehouse for several days before retrieving them again.
Jinseong’s actions could hardly be seen as ordinary moving efforts; they were exceedingly bizarre.
To the onlookers, whether viewed positively or negatively, they were simply strange antics.
Normally, one could call a moving company and finish everything in a few hours.
And that’s not all!
If he had utilized a high-end moving service staffed by capable people or used artifacts, he could have moved everything in less than an hour.
In the first place, the extent of Jinseong’s move was roughly equivalent to just a single room—so not even an hour, but perhaps just 30 minutes would have sufficed to cleanly transfer everything to the building.
Yet he chose not to use any moving service at all, employing all kinds of methods instead.
He walked carrying loads on his back, he drove items but only moved them during specific times, and even hired people to carry them, forbidding them to put anything down in the meantime…
His actions were strange enough to raise questions for anyone who witnessed them.
If an average person engaged in such behavior, they would probably be suspected of having a screw loose.
However, Park Jinseong was a shaman, and because of that, people understood his actions as the peculiarities typical of shamans. The underlying reasons remained a mystery, leading them to simply think, ‘Ah, it’s just the weird stuff shamans do.’
But among them, there were some who got to the bottom of the truth.
[ Huh, contractor. My cute contractor. Your brother has certainly gathered quite a collection. And what’s with all these fussy items?]
The demon Grimoire, contracted by Iserin, was one such entity.
[ The umbilical cord of the first piglet, liquid made from a bird’s head, offerings made by stuffing a bird’s innards with alcohol, a brew containing solitude made with hundreds of centipedes, a sculpture made by gluing shattered pieces of a divine object with glue, a piece of oak soaked in incense, a piece of jujube struck by lightning twice, alcohol made from the blood that spurted from a criminal’s neck on the guillotine, a piece of black bread soaked in a murderer’s blood….]
Grimoire was astounded by the constant flow of magical ingredients from Jinseong’s room.
Rare materials, hard-to-find ingredients, resources with wildly fluctuating prices, even those requiring meticulous care.
Jinseong’s room was as if it were a warehouse or a museum, constantly yielding all sorts of materials.
[ You’re just like a hamster. ]
Hamsters have the habit of storing food in their cheeks and hiding it away in less noticeable places.
Jinseong’s behavior was exactly like that of a hamster.
The hamster hides its food and nibbles on it when needed. Park Jinseong hides his magical materials in his room and uses them when the need arises.
What difference existed between the two?
“Hamster….”
But Iserin, accompanying Grimoire, made a sour expression, as if she disagreed with that comparison.
For the items Grimoire described were anything but ordinary.
From byproducts of beasts to solitude crafted from insects, even items like a treasure hunter’s finger bones….
To liken them to a cute hamster was to do a disservice to the peculiar, unsettling nature of each item.
Not to mention, the divine objects emerging from Jinseong’s room were equally bizarre.
They were so remarkable that it was hard to even glean anything about them.
“I can’t see….”
Iserin pouted, dissatisfied that she couldn’t discover any information about the divine objects in Jinseong’s room.
The objects he created seemed wrapped in a veil, making it impossible to find out anything about them.
Moreover, perhaps he had even taken measures against spirit vision, as they emitted an extraordinary aura.
[ Contractor, as curious as you might be, you must learn to let go of your desires when your abilities are lacking. While it’s disappointing not to have enough power to penetrate that veil, do not dwell on it sorrowfully. Continue honing your skills and practicing the utilization of power. ]
Grimoire consoled his adorable contractor, seizing the opportunity to instill a spirit of discipline in her. Then, as she expressed curiosity about what Jinseong was doing during his moving process, Grimoire led her to her own room despite Iserin’s constant sneaking around near Jinseong’s.
Curiosity breeds desire!
Even though she fully understood that she lacked the ability, having it dance before her eyes would naturally stir her yearning, and with yearning comes a reckless urge to stretch out her hand. Such actions born from desire often lead to misfortune.
Greed beyond one’s abilities brings misfortune, and acting beyond one’s means typically leads to wrath.
Grimoire didn’t want his contractor to suffer because of actions stemming from futile desires.
Naturally, Park Jinseong would never bring Iserin harm.
But, if Iserin failed in using her powers and couldn’t take a closer look at the divine objects, she might experience even a moment of pain, and that was the crux of the issue.
Grimoire didn’t want that.
Even if it was just the pain of a thorn pricking her finger.
And beyond that reason, there was another.
“I’m curious… Would my brother tell me if I asked him?”
[ Contractor, I do not recommend delving too deeply into magic. The use of magic comes with a cost, and that cost is often painful. I do not wish for you to experience such pain. ]
The fact remained that there was nothing good tied to magic for Iserin.
Magic demands a price.
And that price twists the body, contorts the soul, and gnaws at the spirit.
Bones break, diseases take hold, organs rupture or sever, blood spills everywhere…. It was a horrific cost both to behold and to actually endure.
Yet there was something even more dangerous than this brutal price.
It was that magic is an ability that is alarmingly easy to use.
As long as one knows the correct method, anyone can utilize it—this is magic’s advantage as well as its flaw.
It doesn’t matter who performs the magic, whether they are a warrior, wizard, alchemist, or summoner.
From newborns to elderly on the brink of death.
From those who have lived like beasts in nature to those who are highly educated.
So long as they know the specific method, magic activates precisely.
Thus, what is needed for magic is knowledge, materials, and resolve.
And the most crucial among these is knowledge.
Correct knowledge for using magic, that is.
And acquiring that ‘correct knowledge’ could easily be done through Grimoire’s power of ‘secrets’.
That was not something Grimoire relished.
Moreover, Iserin had the capacity to gain knowledge effortlessly and was brimming with curiosity.
It was only natural that worry would seep in.
With just a single reason for curiosity, she might very well try her hand at performing magic.
[ Contractor, you have a deep curiosity and a penchant for uncovering secrets. But let it be known: while peering into secrets can be enjoyable, it invariably brings you closer to danger. The key to staying distant from that risk is to harbor curiosity but resist being swayed by it, exercising sufficient restraint. ]
Curiosity kills the cat.
Excessive curiosity inevitably leads to harm.
When swayed by curiosity, the outcome is rarely good.
Like when a baby reaches out to touch a pretty flame, only to suffer burns, or when someone, emboldened by their curiosity about the insides of a haunted house, suffers injury from an evil spirit lurking within, actions swayed by curiosity rarely end well.
And Iserin was someone who couldn’t properly control that curiosity.
Perhaps it was to be expected.
She was not a mature person.
In body or spirit.
Thus, Grimoire had no choice but to exercise control over her.
To ensure she wasn’t swept away by curiosity.
To prevent her from testing magic.
To protect her from the horrors lurking behind the mysteries of magic and the accompanying gruesome costs.
[ And remember, using magic could contort your body or make you ugly, so it’s best not to touch. How unfortunate it would be to be born so cute and become ugly for some nonsensical reason? ]
