Back to Everyday Life (1)
I chased after Aqua, clutching the last pillowcase from the basin. She paddled her short legs furiously, but I caught her before she could cross even half the yard. I scrubbed her head and body vigorously with the bubbly cover.
“You get clean too!”
[Eeeeek! I am always the finest pure water!]
Aqua slipped from my arms with a squelch thanks to the suds, and our chase began anew.
[Oh…….]
Terra watched us from the sidelines. I paused beside her.
“Your turn for a bath, Terra?”
[Mm?]
I scooped Terra up and scrubbed her all over with the pillowcase. “Time to get clean!”
[Oh? Ahahaha!]
Terra twisted with a small giggle, as if it tickled.
[Don't bully Terra!]
Whoosh! Aqua splashed water at me.
[Chit!]
In that moment, Mandu swooped down from the sky and snatched Terra from my arms. I pushed through the water spray, chasing the spirits.
“Hee hee hee!”
[You can't catch me with that!]
Whenever I grabbed one, they got the full bubble treatment.
“Soles next!”
[Hee hee hee! That tickles! Stop, stop!]
[Giggle giggle. It tickles.]
[Chit chit!]
They'd slip from my grasp with a squelch, signaling the next round. We played like that until we finally collapsed on the yard floor, exhausted from the sheer joy of it all. I panted hard, bursting into intermittent laughter as if my lungs had holes in them.
Terra and Aqua were in the same state. Mandu lolled its tongue out, huffing and puffing.
[Ahaha! That was fun!]
Aqua, who still had energy left, stretched her arms toward the sky and shouted. I turned to see her sparkling eyes fixed on me, beaming.
[Being with you always means nothing but fun!]
Her words made my chest tingle warmly. Aqua spun and hugged Terra tight.
[Did you have fun too, Terra?]
[Yeah. It was fun.]
[There'll be even more fun from now on! I'll make you glad we came to the human world!]
Her words warmed my heart completely. I pulled Aqua, Terra, and Mandu into a tight embrace, not caring about the detergent on their bodies. I hoped my feelings would reach them, even just a little.
“I can't tell you how happy I am that you all came to me.”
[Hee hee hee!]
[Giggle giggle.]
[Chit!]
Aqua burrowed deeper into my arms. I held the three of them under the warm sunlight until Mom came out, scolding us that we'd catch colds and needed to go inside and wash up.
* * *
Soaked in soapy water, we decided on a proper bath—“human style.” I grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.
[You're excited!]
Aqua, thrilled at the thought of a warm bath after so long, flapped her arms like airplane wings and dashed down the hall with a thud thud thud. Terra nestled quietly in my arms, but I could feel her anticipation through our touching skin.
It didn't used to come through this clearly before.
Spirit users and spirits could sense each other's emotions to some degree through their contract bond, but it was just that—a degree. One of the best parts of my time in the Spirit Realm was breaking past that limit, feeling their emotions in vivid detail. And now, back in the human world, I was sustaining that connection with the power of a new skill I'd gained recently.
The effect of the Spirit Empathy skill.
Through my mental communion with Aqua in the Spirit Realm, I'd grown a step further. The Spirit Empathy skill let me feel the spirits' emotions as finely and deeply as if we were still there.
I stroked Terra's cheek. Her eyes, which had been on Aqua, turned to me. In that gaze, I sensed fondness, trust, and a faint budding affection.
“Hee hee hee……”
The firm yet soft texture under my fingertips, the fullness and happiness filling my chest—it drew a laugh from me unbidden.
[Mm?]
Terra tilted her head, puzzled by what I was doing. Moments later, we reached the bathroom. Our home bath was huge—a failed attempt at making a guest tub left us with plenty of space, perfect for the spirits to play.
As I filled the tub, Aqua snatched something up with a flourish.
[Terra! Look at this!]
It was the showerhead. Whoosh! Water gushed out, and Terra's eyes went wide.
[Ooooh!]
Curiosity lit up her usually stoic eyes. Aqua turned off the water and handed it to her.
[What's this?]
[It's called a showerhead!]
[Human science too?]
[Exactly!]
Terra twisted the showerhead this way and that, fascinated.
[Hee hee hee!]
Aqua watched mischievously, fiddling with the faucet. I see. When Aqua first came here, I'd pranked her with the showerhead. She was clearly planning a reenactment. Her eyes sparkled as she twisted the faucet.
Whoosh! A sudden deluge hit Terra's face. Her light brown body darkened to rich earth tones as it soaked.
[Mm.]
Terra simply turned the head away. She eyed the showerhead, hose, and faucet in turn.
[Turn that up and water comes out?]
[Uh…… mm……. Yeah, that's right.]
Not the reaction she wanted—Aqua deflated a bit. Pouting, she yanked the faucet to cold.
Splash! Icy water poured on Terra.
[Eek!]
Terra startled and dropped the showerhead. The chill had surprised her. It writhed like a snake, spraying everywhere.
[Uwaaaah…….]
Terra flailed her hands in panic, her flustered face a first for me. I couldn't help smiling. Aqua finally giggled too.
[What's with the freakout?]
She snatched the “snake's head” triumphantly.
[Ooooh…….]
Terra admired her with a small gasp. Aqua's shoulders puffed up proudly, nearly hitting the ceiling.
[Humans can change water temperature this fast?]
[Of course! In the human world, lakes and hot springs appear wherever and whenever you want!]
[Ooooh…….]
Terra wasn't one to stop at admiration.
[How? Why?]
[Uh, mm…….]
Aqua shot me a pleading look. Laughing, I hugged them both.
“Let's wash up first. Lessons later.”
Mandu was already swimming in the full, steaming tub, using its wings like oars on a sailboat. I stepped in with Aqua and Terra.
[Oh…….]
Terra sighed like an old grandma savoring the warmth.
[Glub glub-]
And sank. I yanked her up in alarm.
[Mm?]
She looked at me innocently. Then I remembered: gnomes are heavy and sink in water. And it was no issue.
Earth spirits don't suffocate underwater.
Terra's human-child looks had made me forget. I sighed in relief and held her so she wouldn't sink.
“Like warm water, Terra?”
[No creature hates hot springs.]
She glanced around curiously. Aqua and Mandu splashed and swam gracefully—Aqua like a mermaid, Mandu like a dolphin.
[Hee hee hee!]
[Chit chit!]
Terra touched the tub's tiled wall, analyzing its composition.
[Oh…….]
Then the faucet.
[Oh……. It's all earth and stone.]
A soft smile curved her lips. She seemed proud. I picked up the hand mirror I kept by the tub for Aqua's games.
“Check this out.”
Terra's eyes widened.
[Ah, the mirror?]
She'd heard of it in the Spirit Realm.
“Made of stone too. Ore, specifically.”
Terra touched it and gaped.
[Wow……. Human tech is amazing.]
Pure wonder sparkled in her eyes.
* * *
The next morning, after breakfast and tidying the guesthouse chores, Mom called me with a serious face.
“Hyunwoo. Someone from city hall is here.”
“City hall?”
I was surprised. I'd lived a straight-laced life—no run-ins with the law.
Maybe neighbors filed a complaint? Reporters buzzing around because of me made it plausible.
But her next words froze my thoughts.
“The mayor came himself.”
“……The mayor of Samcheok?”
Mom nodded and hurried to the kitchen to brew tea.
Why would the mayor visit me? Amid the confusion, I brushed off the yard dust and prepared to greet the guest.
[How high up is a mayor?]
Aqua raised her arms for a hug. I lifted her gently.
“The top person in this city.”
[How top?]
“Mm……. About 70,000 people live in Samcheok. He's number one.”
[70,000! A mighty human!]
Aqua puffed up indignantly. She was cutely misunderstanding.
[Let's find Mandu and Terra and go see the mayor!]
“Shall we?”
Finding them via our contract bonds was easy. With Aqua in my arms, I headed to the yard.
[Chit!]
Mandu's cry drew my eyes skyward: sparrows and a flying day gecko zipped about. Unlike the birds' straight paths, Mandu zigzagged wildly.
[Mandu!]
Aqua waved. Mandu spiraled down to land lightly on my shoulder, eyes gleaming like a warrior pilot post-flight.
“Flying fun?”
[Chit!]
“Your skills have really improved.”
[Chit!]
Mandu nodded vigorously. I stroked its forehead; Aqua its chin.
[Chit chit!]
Relishing the pets, it flapped off again. Watching it shrink in the sky, I recalled old words.
It was shortly after meeting Aqua, at the Phoenix Resort spirit community meetup.
—Children with dragon potential!
The fire spirit community admin, Flame Captain, had called the salamanders that.
Dragon, huh…….
Spirits grow resembling their kings. Like Aqua and Terra taking after Uluru, Mandu might grow into a dragon like Pompeii.
“Mandu's busy.”
[Then Terra!]
Terra squatted by the jar stand in the yard corner.
[Mm?]
Aqua tilted her head following my gaze. I smiled faintly.
Our chief curiosity officer, Terra, was hugging a jar tight.