Mermaid Princess Challenge Commotion (2)
The undines lay sprawled around the slushie dispenser. And right there in the middle was Aqua.
“Aqua!”
I jolted in surprise and rushed to her side in one breath.
“You okay……?”
[Ehnya?]
Aqua perked her head up with a sparkle in her eyes. I let out a sigh of relief at how fine she looked—but only for a moment. She squinted her eyes and giggled.
[Dost thou wish to try some slushie too?]
She held out an empty slushie cup to me. The familiar scent wafting from it was thick with dog laurel.
Dog laurel?
Only then did I take a proper look around. The undines were collapsed and giggling uncontrollably. Even those barely managing to stand were staggering on their feet.
[Hnyuuu…….]
[Fuuuiii…….]
The undines clutched their slushies tight, even with their faces all flushed and wobbly.
[Eungnya…….]
Aqua let out a slurred mumble as she buried her head deep into my chest.
Someone must’ve mixed dog laurel into the slushies.
Water spirits always got tipsy and wobbly after drinking anything with dog laurel. There was no way the restaurant staff would’ve added it to the slushies on purpose, so this had to be someone else’s doing. And conveniently, this restaurant was full of folks who loved pulling pranks like this.
Sylphs, huh.
I scanned the area.
[Heeheehee!]
Up on the chandelier, Jeong Ri-on’s three sylphs were hiding and peeking down, their eyes brimming with mischief and smug satisfaction. They looked utterly impish.
“Heh heh heh……”
I glanced at Jeong Ri-on, who nodded with a face that said, That’s my spirits for you.
Talk about spirits matching their contractor.
Wind spirit users tended to have personalities just like their wind spirits—playful and free-spirited. It was partly because they grew to resemble what they loved, but mostly because wind spirits chose mischievous, pure-hearted contractors from the start.
[Where art thou looking?]
Aqua called out to me in her tipsy slur. When I looked down, she was grinning dopily with half-lidded eyes.
[Is there something fun to see?]
Her tongue was all twisted up, but she looked utterly delighted.
Even wobbly, Aqua was adorable. I chuckled softly and shifted my arm to make her more comfortable.
The other water spirit users were tending to their own undines too.
[My contractor~!]
[Wanna try some toooo~?]
The undines giggled happily in their contractors’ arms.
It was a sudden dog laurel fiasco, but with all the spirits safe and in high spirits, no one was mad about it.
Except for one person.
“You rascals!”
Mulsuja barked in fury, startling the sylphs. She glared up at them on the chandelier.
“We’ve got afternoon training! How am I supposed to handle undines getting drunk like this?!”
[Wh-what? It was just a prank!]
“You think it’s funny to ruin the whole schedule?!”
[Why are you yelling?!]
The sylphs pouted and fluttered behind Jeong Ri-on for cover.
[See that?! The vice-captain yelling at the captain’s spirits!]
[This guild’s totally backwards!]
[You’re in for it now!]
They stuck their tongues out at Mulsuja from behind him. But Jeong Ri-on just stayed quiet.
[Don’t just sit there—say something……?]
The sylphs checked his face and gaped. Just moments ago, he’d been smugly enjoying their prank, but now his eyes were squeezed shut.
[……Captain?]
[……Mister?]
“Zzz.”
That half-hearted snore made the sylphs bulge their eyes in disbelief.
[No way, he’s faking sleep?!]
[Abandoning his spirits in their hour of need?!]
[Help! Save us!]
Even their desperate pleas didn’t budge his closed eyes. With no one in her way now, Mulsuja huffed and stomped toward the sylphs.
“Get over here!”
The sylphs glanced pleadingly at Jeong Ri-on, but their contractor didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow.
[What kind of contractor are you?!]
[Traitor!]
[The sylphs will never forget this!]
With that final curse, the sylphs got nabbed by the scruffs of their necks and dragged off pitifully.
Watching the scene, I finally understood who the real disciplinarian of the Spirit Knights was.
“Arms straight up!”
Mulsuja perched Jeong Ri-on’s sylphs atop the slushie dispenser and made them hold their arms high. They sat there with sullen, humiliated pouts, enduring their punishment.
[Why like thiiiis~.]
[Don’t scold usss~.]
Mulsuja’s undines, buzzed on slushie and feeling frisky, climbed onto her shoulders and cooed sweetly. Her lips twitched into a reluctant smile at their charm.
Swoosh—the sylphs eyed that smile and slyly started lowering their arms.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Mulsuja’s glare sharpened instantly, and the sylphs shot their hands sky-high again.
“Haa……”
She sighed and shook her head. Afternoon training was definitely getting derailed.
But she was the only one who seemed to care.
The water spirit users were all too busy doting on their tipsy undines.
And I was no different. Hee hee hee—Aqua let out a goofy laugh as she chugged more slushie. Glug glug—the ice went straight down, and she let out a satisfied “Pah!”
[Dog laurel slushie is the best, is it not!]
Her body had taken on the brownish hue of the dog laurel slushie.
[What? Already empty?]
Aqua peered into the empty glass, stuck out her tongue, and shook it to squeeze out the last drops. Plop—a chunk of slush landed on her forehead.
[Eung?]
She blinked in surprise, then giggled and wiped it off with her finger, popping it into her mouth.
[Hee hee hee…… So goooood…….]
Aqua melted into a gooey puddle and flopped right onto my arm as a pillow.
I couldn’t hide the smile creeping across my face as I watched her. Brown-tinted and staggering with laughter, she was just too cute.
Like a living, breathing dog laurel jelly?
I bet she’d taste sweet and tangy if I took a nibble.
Pillowed on my arm, Aqua took a deep breath and let it out with a poof.
[Hnyaah~.]
Every time she lolled her head side to side in a daze, her plump cheek squished against my arm like it might burst.
Too adorable—I couldn’t help but poke it with my finger. Boing—it jiggled like a ripple.
[Ung?]
Aqua finally noticed my finger, a beat too late. Boing, boing. The fun texture had me poking away.
[Wh-what art thou doing?]
She swung her arm lazily at empty air, her eyes all glassy. She was totally smashed.
I took advantage of the opening, poking her cheek and nose.
Annoyed by the teasing, she flailed her arms wildly.
[Stop thaaat! Stop thaaat!]
“Pfft!”
Her slurred speech was all garbled and babyish.
“Ahahaha!”
I burst out laughing. Aqua shot me a quick glare, then huffed and squeezed her eyes shut.
She’d given up.
That’s when Jang Gilsan, sitting next to me, cautiously poked her cheek too.
“Whoa……”
He stared at his finger in wide-eyed shock.
“This texture’s beyond imagination. Softer than a baby’s cheek!”
“It’s water itself. Your guild has spirit users too, right? Never taken a close look at an undine?”
“Not many, and no real chance to. Come to think of it, your spirit looks a bit different from the undines.”
“She’s special.”
Jang Gilsan shook his head like he was done talking about it.
“Spirit users, man.”
Right then, Mulsuja’s angry shout rang out.
“You’re not done with punishment—where do you think you’re running off to?!”
Sylphs really were the ultimate pranksters of the Spirit Realm.
With the undines all passed out en masse, the Spirit Knights’ afternoon training was ultimately canceled.
The gnomes and salamanders were munching on their favorite snacks and playing around too.
“Honestly, days like this are necessary.”
The spirit users were enjoying the rare downtime.
“Two days off a week isn’t enough, let’s be real.”
“We’re risking our lives out there—gotta have three days off at least!”
“Should buy the sylphs some wine later as thanks.”
They chatted amiably, all pleased with how things turned out.
But Mulsuja thought differently.
“We’re training on Saturday to make up for today.”
The spirit users went quiet for a moment, then shook their heads.
“Whoa, is she even human?”
“Knew it—she’s our vice-captain through and through.”
“Iron-Blooded Vice-Captain, no kidding. Bet she wouldn’t bleed if you stabbed her.”
“Don’t spirits pick good-hearted contractors?”
“She’s gotta pay overtime for weekend work, right?”
That last one came from Jeong Ri-on. Mulsuja stared at him in disbelief, then exploded.
“You’re the captain—you shouldn’t be asking that! Weekend training’s your call in the first place!”
“But I wanna play on weekends.”
“Ugh, spirits and contractors alike!”
Mulsuja shot to her feet like she couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’m stepping out for some air!”
She stormed off toward the terrace—politely, despite her fury—cradling her two thoroughly sloshed undines.
Jeong Ri-on watched her go, confirming she was really gone before lifting his shirt. Beneath it, his three sylphs were hiding.
So that’s where the sylphs escaped to……
The three pouted up at him, clearly still sore about him not helping earlier.
Jeong Ri-on grinned at them.
“I pretended not to notice back there to sneakily hide you guys, got it?”
The sylphs’ eyes went wide.
“By taking Mulsuja’s side, she’d never suspect I hid you.”
Their eyes grew bigger, and they crossed their arms in unison, bursting into “Ahaha!”
[Of course!]
[That’s our contractor!]
[Jeong Ri-on would never betray us!]
Feeling better, the sylphs buzzed around excitedly. Jeong Ri-on watched them go, then leaned toward me.
“Hyunwoo. Got a question.”
“Sure, ask away.”
“You’re not F-rank, are you?”
I froze, my hand halting mid-motion at the sudden question. Jang Gilsan perked up, listening in with wide eyes.
Spirits like Jeong Ri-on catch on quick.
Spirits and contractors could sense each other’s spirit power or Spirit Affinity, but pinpointing exact ranks wasn’t easy. Common knowledge held that even someone with A-rank Spirit Affinity like Jeong Ri-on couldn’t easily distinguish lower affinities than their own.
But Jeong Ri-on’s no ordinary spirit user.
Korea was the world’s top hunter nation. And he was the captain of the Spirit Knights in a guild second to none, leading countless spirit users.
“Yeah. D-rank.”
Nothing to hide, so I answered honestly. I’d just planned to keep it under wraps a bit longer to avoid hassle, but it’d come out eventually anyway.
Jang Gilsan frowned and asked, “Traits level up that fast?”
Jeong Ri-on answered for me. “Traits evolve plenty. Especially Spirit Affinity. But growth this rapid is definitely noteworthy.”
Jang Gilsan nodded slowly. Jeong Ri-on sipped his cold Americano.
Something tense was brewing at the table—I could feel it.
Atmosphere’s getting weird.
I was wondering how to defuse it when—
[Eh…….]
Aqua’s voice.
“Eh?”
All three of us at the table turned to her. Aqua lifted her head from her seat, mouth agape, staring blankly into space.
[Eh…….]
“Eh……?”
[Atchoo!]
A tiny sneeze like a baby bird chirping sent Aqua tumbling backward.
She couldn’t handle her own sneeze’s force and rolled right off the table.
[Eek?!]
“Whoops.”
I barely caught her back as she fell, cradling her gently in my arms.
[Ung?]
Aqua blinked in confusion, still clueless, and looked around from my embrace.
“Ahahaha!”
The table erupted in laughter.
“Knocked herself over with her own sneeze……!”
“Too cute, seriously? Kekeke!”
The heavy mood flipped in an instant.
“Ahahaha!”
I laughed too, stroking Aqua’s back. She still looked utterly baffled.