Repayment
All the way back to the dorms, Mun Hee-jeong grinned from ear to ear. Seol Romi still wasn't with her, so she had to head back alone, but one of the nagging problems that had tormented her for so long was finally on the verge of resolution. She couldn't help but feel good about it. And it was all thanks to Kim Taeyang.
Her school life, which had been nothing but circling around Seol Romi and spiraling into despair, transformed the moment a pink blossom of affection bloomed in her heart. Once she clearly recognized her feelings for Kim Taeyang and became honest with herself, even her stagnant relationship with the distant Seol Romi began to shift. Finally, her sunless life was catching a favorable wind.
How wonderful it would be if she could fully seize this luck brought by the spring breeze. If she could steal away Kim Taeyang's heart, which had been drawn to Shin Sua and his ancestor spirits, there would be no greater happiness.
Her steps were light. A hedgehog doll, tethered to her smartphone by a short string, bobbed and swayed in rhythm with the girl's buoyant movements. For the first time in her life, she had fallen for someone. Starting tomorrow, she'd pour her heart into making him a gift.
It irked her that his partner was Shin Sua instead of her, but she wanted to help him achieve even a slightly better result in the sparring match. Mun Hee-jeong resolved to craft practical gloves in a design that wouldn't burden him or reveal her affections.
"Layer waterproof cotton and stitch in talismans here and there..."
Mun Hee-jeong's parents had made Mourning Clothes for renowned Shangju on the side while working the cotton fields. She hadn't actually made any yet, but gloves—unlike full upper and lower garments—seemed manageable enough to imitate.
Adapt the traditional cotton armor method: layer thirty sheets of cotton, sew them together, and coat with glue. That was it. In the process, stitch in as many talismans as layers of cotton used, and ordinary gloves would become Mourning Clothes infused with an ancestor spirit's blessing.
Mun Ikjeom's blessing protected the wearer from heat, cold, spirit energy, and ancestral power. Lacquering would take a month, but with no time, she'd settle for glue. It might lack waterproofing, but prioritizing a practical item for immediate use was more important, so she compromised on time.
"Still, no rain forecast for a while."
A normal sewing machine would take over a week, but with her Spirit Lord Transformation for handling cotton, she could cut that dramatically. In exchange, she'd infuse every stitch with the love and gratitude filling her heart.
"Ah, what do I do? I'm so nervous."
What if she left a tiny mark inside the gloves, where it wouldn't show? Maybe he'd discover the message embroidered in the lining by chance. Even if it was just for her own satisfaction, why not write something there?
Brilliant idea, Mun Hee-jeong thought, buzzing with excitement as she picked words to embroider in her mind. Unable to contain her shyness and thrill, she shook the hedgehog doll wildly.
And that wild flailing—her nail snagging a seam—was her downfall.
-Pop!
"Ah..."
Mun Hee-jeong's face darkened instantly as the hedgehog's side burst open, cotton spilling out. This doll held memories with Seol Romi and served as Mun Ikjeom's medium. Only the Shangju herself could damage a contracted ancestor spirit's medium.
And Mun Hee-jeong had committed the worst possible blunder imaginable.
"What do I do?"
Her sky-high mood plummeted to rock bottom in an instant. Repairing a Spirit Lord Transformation medium wasn't hard, but conditions applied. Like preparing a Grand Offering, she needed seven days of ritual purification—bathing and cleansing body and mind—before she could restore it.
"Ugh... uwaaa..."
Thick teardrops gathered on her lashes. Missing Spirit Lord Transformation in classes starting tomorrow didn't matter. What crushed her was failing to finish Kim Taeyang's gift before the ancestral meeting sparring match, now just a week away.
Something unforgivable had happened. Kim Taeyang's expectant face flashed in her mind. She recalled last night's brief but heart-wrenching conversation with Seol Romi at the Map-making Club dinner.
Kim Taeyang had reconnected her with Seol Romi, and he was the man she adored to madness.
"Like this—" Kim Taeyang would be disappointed. If he abandoned her, nothing would remain. Not his occasional warm words, not the joyful reunion with Seol Romi, not the kind senior's consideration in not hitting on her, not even the blonde ancestor spirit's leering gaze that she secretly didn't hate—all gone.
That couldn't happen. Absolutely not. The ominous thought of losing the cozy, warm precious things that had finally enveloped her for the first time. She wouldn't lose them again. She wouldn't let them slip through her fingers.
If they tried to leave, she'd bind them to her side forever.
The rampaging delusion ignited a steely resolve, awakening a dormant potential within Mun Hee-jeong.
-Hummmm...
Her strong will unleashed spirit energy that flowed into the hedgehog doll, reacting with Mun Ikjeom's ancestral power. A faint glow leaked from the torn seam.
"This is—"
Cotton threads unraveled from the burst seam, twisting together in midair into a slender thread.
-Swish
-Snip, snip
Without a needle, the thread stitched the torn spot shut, pushing the protruding cotton back inside. A mystical self-repair scene worthy of the name.
Her Spirit Lord Transformation, once limited to handling cotton, had evolved. Watching it, Mun Hee-jeong felt an indescribable emotion.
"With this power..." She could keep that man by her side, never losing him.
"Taeyang, look forward to it."
Her formerly heavy steps lightened again. Suppressing her pounding chest of anticipation, Mun Hee-jeong dashed to the dorms. Her mind held nothing but making him an amazing gift with her new Spirit Lord Transformation power.
I'd activated Personal Training Program 15. It was a simulation against monster dolls mimicking Ballistic Tortoise—slow-moving but with back cannons that quickly locked on and adjusted firing angles.
Obviously, their shell velocity was insane; even with the training room's protective relic, a direct hit meant fractures at best.
But—
"Uh..."
Before my eyes lay the shattered remains of five monster dolls, pulverized to bits.
-Fwoosh
The Flag of Courage, burned to ash by my unique ability, slowly regenerated.
What the hell is this?
Gemma muttered blankly, staring at it. We'd started the fight with barely any spirit energy left, yet in just two minutes, I'd neutralized five mid-tier monster dolls. Unbelievable firepower, even seeing it myself.
"Never ceases to amaze— the Saintess is something else."
This was Jeanne d'Arc's true power, undistorted by curses. I swung my ringed hand, and the Flag of Courage on Tonnerre's barrel swam through the air in sync. It could stretch, reshape—gathering cloth near the shotgun muzzle like an umbrella, then coiling back around the barrel.
A precious relic that transformed freely at my will and absorbed enemy attacks. And its scariest ability—
-Vrrrrmmm!
Simulation end alert blared as my pocket smartphone buzzed wildly.
Who's that?
"Seol Romi."
First message since exchanging contacts: she'd wash and return the handkerchief I'd given her yesterday to wipe her mouth.
Seeing her yesterday, she has cuter sides than I thought. Like how she can't lie.
"If you think so, probably true."
I brushed off Gemma's one-liner and typed a quick reply.
I'd pegged her as coldly aloof except around Mun Hee-jeong, but seeing her straightforward thanks made Gemma's point land— she had cute sides. With Mun Hee-jeong and Seol Romi's bond mending, planning a full Korean Peninsula relic hunt for summer break's first week sounded good.
I wiped sweat with a towel and left the training room.
Anyway, if the blessing's this strong, how insane is the ancestor spirit herself?
"Jeanne d'Arc?"
Yeah. But her soul's wounded, can't contract.
"That's why it's a shame."
Always so greedy.
"Not the line from a thief."
I pointed it out, and Gemma pouted like a sulking kid.
"Still, it'll make facing second-years easier."
True. Better than losing pathetically and blaming me.
"As if a neighborhood punk would dare blame the world's top thief lady."
Ooh, why so sudden?
"Just buttering you up so don't price Grand Offering sacrifices too high."
Dad said watch out for guys with silver tongues trying to mooch.
"Good dad. Thoroughly taught how to live boringly."
Talking about punks like you, idiot.
"Enough. I'll just buy it."
Why not from the start? Keep promises, and sis'll dote on you plenty.
Yeah, mood. All for the happy ending— no time to skimp. I vowed to buy whatever Gemma wanted, as long as it wasn't high-end jewelry, and left Park Myeong-gwan.
Oh, and the Flag of Courage. Honestly, beyond expectations. If Jeanne d'Arc woke, I'd hug her tight in thanks, but her weakened state means she'll sleep soundly at least a week. At least I won't lose ugly to Shin Sua and get joint-locked.
Thinking that, I passed the school gate.
What's that?
A cute animal friends ambulance parked right there. A vehicle I'd seen in a game...
"Speak of the devil."
Shin Sua's mansion private ambulance that dispatched before. I hadn't said it aloud, just thought— yet here it was. Or had she been waiting for me to leave school?
-Screech
The back door opened, and Shin Sua descended with an attendant's support.
"I've been waiting, Kim Taeyang."
-Snap!
She snapped her fingers, and the man beside her pulled a small metal case from his pocket and handed it to me.
"This is..."