The Angel Who Summons the Rain (4)
Hearing that declaration, the boy thought to himself,
'Judged the world? What the hell did my past self, Lephriel, even do?'
And after all that, you're still this weak? Though that's not the important part.
'So Naiad holds a grudge against me...'
That was the real issue. Naiad, the Water Spirit King who had survived to the very end—her authority and power surpassed even mid-tier national leaders. To make an enemy of a spirit like that...
'And she calls Lephriel arrogant?' The one truly infamous for arrogance and cruelty... wasn't that you, Naiad? And the Lephriel that Refri knew was an angel who would pity a child and their mother.
Refri gathered his thoughts and spoke.
"So you're saying you can tear Yumari's heart to shreds? All you can do is nitpick the food she makes."
Of course, that nitpicking had made Yumari cry. But there was no need to tell Naiad that.
"Right, this round's theme was cooking."
Naiad grinned cruelly.
"Then let's tweak the rules a bit. For this dish, you'll gather ingredients directly from my lake... What do you think? Sounds like a great idea, doesn't it?"
Gather ingredients directly from Naiad's lake?
'No, this is actually a good rule for Yumari and me. Yumari got sabotaged by the duke's people, so she won't have good ingredients, and I didn't gather anything great compared to the other teams either. So why would she propose this...'
What was in Naiad's lake? Refri rummaged through memories of his past life.
'Naiad's lake has a special flower blooming there. The Reflection Flower, they call it. When someone approaches, it...'
...manifests that person's memories concretely and scatters them around.
'Yumari carried out all the dirty deeds of the Seocheon Yu family. She had no choice if she wanted to survive. But if those filthy acts get visualized and broadcast...'
Yumari would be ruined. Refri bit his lip and muttered,
"You..."
Refri's face burned with fury. Naiad smirked, clearly enjoying the sight.
"Lephriel... I didn't know you could make a face like that. I always thought you were emotionless, never understanding human hearts."
This felt like a hostage situation somewhere. A criminal forcing their agenda by threatening one person's destruction, and the reluctant cop who had to talk them down first. Refri steeled his resolve.
"Then you make a promise too."
"What?"
"If we win, no more of this nonsense! And as an apology, hand over your contract rights!"
"And if I refuse?"
Refri recalled the powerhouses he'd met so far. Rusa, Klein, Park Jinho... their auras as the strong. Clearing his throat, he muttered in a raspy voice,
"Then I'll have no choice but to show you Lephriel's power..."
That's right. Refri was bluffing. Hard. Even striking a pose like he had some Black Flame Dragon slumbering in his left hand. He didn't know exactly what kind of angel Lephriel was, but from what the spirits said, it seemed like a pretty high-ranking one. And probably just as strong... So this bluff should work.
And as soon as Refri bluffed...
"Your Majesty! Apologize right now!"
"We're sorry! So sorry!"
"L-Lephriel! Waaah! Waaah!"
The spirits panicked instantly. It was hard to believe these were the same ones who'd been mocking Refri alongside Naiad moments ago. In the end, Naiad couldn't bear the humiliation and shrieked,
"You pathetic lot! Get out!"
Then she glared at Refri and muttered,
"Fine. I accept your proposal... Heh, I'll win anyway."
"Why do you think that?"
"I judge through spirit blessings in music, art, food, and more. All blooms of human culture."
Naiad spun gracefully, summoning various artworks before Refri.
"A emotionless doll from the heavens like you, who doesn't understand humans, can't comprehend such culture. You'll fail."
"...We'll see about that."
Hahaha— Hahaha—
Naiad vanished with her signature laugh. The Spirit Blessing event headquarters returned to normal. It was bustling with staff—Refri hadn't seen them earlier because...
'Probably Naiad's doing.'
Refri clenched his fist. A staff member noticed and approached.
"Uh, student. Here to sign up now?"
"Yes. Yumari's team has no one, right? I just arrived."
It wasn't a lie, technically. Yumari's team really had no one.
"Ah, yeah. We were wondering why she hadn't shown. Got it. Show me your student ID, and I'll process it quick—go on in."
Refri's angelic face worked best for un-angelic deeds. Especially when deceiving others...
'No choice. It's all for my Angel Power... No, for this world.'
So he claimed. Anyway, winning Spirit Blessing with Yumari would net him Angel Power and Naiad's contract rights.
'Sell the contract rights for a fortune.'
So he justified. Refri arrived at Yumari's waiting room.
"Who are you?"
He saw a trashed room. Ingredients were wrecked, and Yumari sat calmly in the middle. She didn't look angry. Or rather, she was acting that way.
"Heavenly scent... Refri?"
"How'd you know without looking...?"
...Refri was a bit surprised. How did she recognize him without seeing? But he couldn't show it.
"Hey, Yumari."
Refri greeted her casually. Then came a sharp voice.
"Hello."
Refri looked at Yumari again. Long black hair in a neat ponytail. Tiny horn on her forehead. An unforgettable face that had propelled her to worldwide hero fame. And that fake smile, like she was acting.
'The girl from the poster in my room... right in front of me...'
Refri couldn't forget that face. Suppressing his emotions, he opened his mouth.
"I'm here to join you for Spirit Blessing."
"Why? Someone like you has plenty of other options..."
This wasn't a lie either. Refri had never chosen other options to begin with.
"No, they all turned me down."
"Same here. Leave."
Yumari muttered flatly. He expected this.
'Yumari and I have some bad history. She won't accept me easily. I might be here to betray her. Hmm, no choice then...'
Refri paused dramatically before speaking.
"Hmm... Too bad. I have a surefire way to win Spirit Blessing."
"A surefire way?"
"Yeah. But if you don't want it, oh well."
Yumari leaned in slightly.
"How can I trust that?"
"I just changed the rules for this match."
"What?"
"We can't win an ingredients contest. I couldn't afford fancy stuff like the other teams, and you got betrayed, so yours are ruined."
Yumari muttered in disbelief.
"So?"
"So I changed it. This Spirit Blessing dish must use ingredients only from Naiad's lake."
'Technically Naiad changed it...'
Well, they discussed it and changed it together, so Refri could claim credit?
Reforming an unfair system is the work of an angel!
You have acquired Angel Power.
'See? Saying it like that gives me Angel Power.'
The status window approved too. Refri nodded arrogantly.
"Unbelievable. I can't believe it..."
Yumari whipped out her phone, checking contacts to verify.
"Sudden change? No reason? Sounds like orders from the top... Is this real?"
Of course she'd misunderstand. Hanging up, Yumari stared at Refri in shock. He proclaimed smugly,
"Now do you trust my skills?"
Yumari eyed him again. How? How on earth?
"...I trust you."
She had no choice but to say it.
"I don't know your reasons, but you hate someone like me... You sure it's okay helping me?"
"I can give up a lot for future gains."
A lie. Yumari interpreted it as such. Someone who could change rules in an event run by Naiad herself, yet picks the most hopeless her because no one else took him? That's the unbelievable part. Refri chose her on purpose. She could guess why.
'This boy... he pities me again. Hates me, but pities my situation.'
Only one person in this world had shown her such affection. Someone with the same heavenly scent as this boy. And he extended his hand.
"You'd do anything for future gains too."
Even betray humanity. She swallowed that thought.
"Yes..."
Yumari smiled faintly. This time, it wasn't acting.
* * *
The one chance to receive Naiad's blessing, Spirit Blessing, began. The first round: gathering ingredients from Naiad's lake. People questioned the sudden lineup changes, but...
"Idiots. Can't you tell? Someone tampered with the tournament ahead of time and swapped teams last-minute."
"Yeah, with power like a magic noble like me, it's easy. Fairness-wise, this is better."
Such talk quelled the doubts. But in Hongwol and Jack's minds during that chat...
'This rule change favors Refri...!'
Jack and Hongwol, who'd been talking...
"What're you, a beastkin?"
"Annoying prick."
They glared at each other. Meanwhile, Martial Arts Department freshmen took over a cheering section. Their signs had phrases that would make Refri cringe if he saw them.
"Anyone messing with Refri is seriously..."
"Call it biased judging because Refri has no backing? We'll call in our whole clan's backing."
"If anything happens, gotta charge in with knuckles ready."
Usually, rowdy fans causing chaos at matches are called hooligans. In that sense, the Martial Arts freshmen were prime hooligan saplings. And the professors watching from afar...
"Can't see Refri kid anywhere."
"What? Can the vice principal play favorites like that?"
Rusa snarked.
"...And why are you holding those gaudy cheers from the freshmen?"
"They gave 'em to me—gonna toss 'em? I'm not vice principal, so favorites are fine."
They bantered. Meanwhile, at Naiad's lake where gathering was about to start...
"We claimed this spot first—move."
"No, you move. We're doing mushroom dishes."
"Don't care. Move."
Fights were already brewing. Ingredients didn't matter anymore. It was pride now.
'Wait, Spirit Blessing was a cooking contest, right...?'
Refri sighed. Beside him, Yumari prepared for battle.
"Yumari. What're you doing?"
"Claiming that spot. Must be good ingredients."
"No need!"
"Don't be stupid. Fighting's the only way now."
Stress built slowly. Spirit Blessing wasn't supposed to be like this.
"Let's avoid fighting."
Refri naturally pulled Yumari back. Angelic words for once. But why say it now?
"What?"
"There's a way to win without fighting."
Obviously for Angel Power.
Preventing pointless combat is the work of an angel!
You have acquired Angel Power.
'If my plan works... massive Angel Power!'
Refri smiled.