Pinya's Assignment
As class ended and we all headed home together, Serena spoke up.
“Wanna stop by that dessert shop in front of the Academy?”
“Who’s paying?”
“Hehe… can we put it on Master’s tab?”
Well, I guess there’s no helping it.
I have the most money anyway.
It’s not like I’m broke like before, so there’s no reason to be stingy.
“What the heck is this place?”
“It’s just so good…!”
A thin trail of drool slipped from the corners of Eileen’s and Serena’s mouths as they remembered the taste from last time.
When we opened the shop door, the same luxurious interior greeted us, along with Lirith who was busy devouring a cake.
She froze.
“Oho, it’s Lirith. Wanna do some club activities together?”
“I don’t have much allowance left…!”
In the end, we made Lirith treat us to a ton of desserts.
This time it wasn’t the cake we had last time but an orange cake, and it was insanely delicious.
Lirith had no choice but to wipe away her tears.
“Hmm… shall we check if she did her assignment properly?”
The assignment I gave Pinya was simple.
Take a selfie in her pajamas right before bed and send it to me.
Obviously I was the one paying for the communication orb fees.
I had more than enough money anyway.
Especially now that finals were right around the corner, tons of people had commissioned me for lucky talismans and talismans of courage.
“Gotta earn while I can. A shaman should always have plenty of cash.”
Pinya usually went to bed at ten.
Most shamans stayed up late into the night.
But she didn’t need to do that anymore now that she belonged to me.
It was honestly impressive how she still hadn’t grown any taller despite going to bed so early.
“Oh right, her growth had stopped.”
It was already eleven o’clock.
Plenty of time had passed since I told her to send it, so I slotted the communication orb into its holder.
I’d gotten this orb after asking Estelia for a favor.
“Hmm?”
She still hadn’t sent anything.
There had been more than enough time.
I was wondering what was going on when a message finally arrived from Pinya.
Ding!
When I opened our chat window, I saw that Pinya had sent a selfie.
“Tsk tsk… how timid.”
[Your armpits aren't visible enough. Do it again.]
[I sent it properly! You can see them!]
[A. Gain.]
The reason she hated this so much was because I specifically told her to take the photo so her armpits would be clearly visible.
When she screamed at me asking why I’d turned into such a pervert, I almost kidnapped her on the spot and gave her a good petting.
Ding!
The next selfie arrived shortly after.
This time she’d taken it from below so everything was properly visible.
“Kyah, that’s what I’m talking about!”
As expected of Pinya.
She understood feedback instantly.
[Success!]
[…I'm going to sleep. Don't look for me.]
Embarrassed, Pinya vanished from the chat.
She might have said she was going to sleep, but I was sure she was currently kicking her feet under the blanket in shame.
“Heh heh, this is great.”
Before long, it was time for another dungeon raid.
It felt like we had to do this at least once a month.
“Lirith. Wanna come with us?”
“…Fine.”
She clearly looked like she hated the idea.
But if she refused, her allowance would definitely get cut, so Lirith was dragged along against her will.
The other party members who usually tagged along were all just a bunch of bootlickers anyway.
Their skills were mediocre at best.
“Cadet Kanahan. I’ll be counting on you again this time.”
“Okay. In return, shave off some of my demerit points.”
“Okay…? Understood. I’ll award three store points to everyone in the party.”
“Nice. Deal sealed.”
“One more demerit point for speaking informally.”
Attending class and using the welcome department was fine, but I skipped too many classes and had racked up way too many demerits.
At this rate I might drop out of the top spot next year.
After finishing negotiations with the graduate student again, I returned to the party members.
“If you all do well this time, everyone gets three store points.”
“For real?!”
Estelia had been late last time because she stayed at home too long trying to calm down after getting angry.
She was overjoyed at the chance to make up for her demerits.
“Yeah. Should we use the dungeon core for our club dinner?”
“Ooh, sounds good! As expected of Kanahan!”
“I like it, Master!”
Club expenses were basically just a legal way to cover dessert costs.
Lirith seemed to agree since it meant she could save her allowance.
“By the way, where’s Lirith?”
“She’s at the Magic Department!”
“Ooh, what’s her ranking?”
“…Fourteenth.”
Unfortunately she wasn’t first or second.
But whatever, it didn’t really matter.
While we were chatting, our turn finally came.
After listening to the instructions, we crossed the gate and a cave-shaped dungeon appeared before us.
“We’ve got protective talismans, two Masters, and a 6th-circle mage. We should be fine, right?”
“We should be fine. Anyway, we need to get the ingredients quickly. Is the ducal house really that powerless?”
“Everything you asked for is stuff that can’t be obtained even with money…!”
If Radiance couldn’t get them, I’d just sell some talismans to the emperor and check the imperial treasury.
While I was thinking that, I noticed Eileen trying to head into the cave.
“Ah, it’s fine. Gabriel. Do a good job.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Hiiik…!”
Eileen let out a startled squeak at the knight who suddenly appeared from the shadows.
He was a wraith, so physical attacks didn’t work on him anyway.
“Now that I think about it, you reached Master rank?”
“Yes. O great lord, I shall remain your sword for all eternity.”
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
Having said that, Gabriel entered the dungeon.
It seemed Gabriel’s talent was better than I expected.
He had grown even more than Cheongbing-i.
At this rate, he could probably surpass Radiance in pure combat strength alone.
Since physical attacks didn’t work on him anyway… he’d probably just steamroll everything.
“What the? That guy?”
“Ah, he’s my shikigami. It’s fine. He’s a Master.”
“…A Master?!”
I had a Master under my command—something most people would never see even once in their lifetime.
Estelia stared at me with an incredulous expression.
“As expected of Master…! You even have a Master as your subordinate!”
“Eh…? That knight is a Master? No wonder… that’s why Father…”
Serena quickly ran over and clung to my arm.
Luka was muttering to herself, and the whole situation was a complete mess. A total mess.
In the end, we sat down to rest at the simple base Serena had created.
“Kanahan! Fight me! I’m going to become 6th-tier too!!”
“Huh…? What, you want to become 6th-tier?”
Luka gave me a look that said ‘obviously.’
“Isn’t that obvious? I’m a warrior of the North too.”
“Really? Then come here.”
Luka walked forward without a word.
I sat her down and placed my hand on top of her head.
Grab.
“You are my contractor.”
Oooooooooooong!
Crackle… crackle…
“Ugh… ngh…!”
Something inside Luka’s body was snapping apart.
It was the star she had contracted with.
[YOU BASTAAAAAARD! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME!]
“Hey. Shut up and get lost. You wanna die?”
[How dare… how daaaare… my contract… ugh!]
“This was going to happen eventually anyway.”
Cracklecrackle… Clang!
The tattoo on Luka’s body was destroyed in an instant.
And soon after, a new tattoo filled its place.
It was made up of both Chinese characters and Korean letters.
The shamans here used Chinese characters anyway.
Obviously, since the author is Korean…!
“Done. Now I am your star.”
“What the… what the heck?!”
While the person in question, Luka, stayed quiet, Eileen next to her screamed.
“Aish, I just became her star. I’m a Transcendent too, you know.”
“That’s true, but… doing it so one-sidedly?”
I grinned.
“I already took care of everything before coming back.”
“Crazy bastard…”
Eileen looked at me with a fed-up expression.
Man, that felt good.
Luka was quietly staring at her own hand.
Like she couldn’t believe it.
“Then… can I stay with you even when I go to the heavenly realm…?”
“I can’t go to the heavenly realm. I have to stay here forever. Let’s live here together for a long, long time.”
“Ooooooh…! Yes! We’re married! Estelia, I got married first!!”
Married…?
I guess that’s not wrong.
We had become lifelong partners after all.
While I was lost in thought, Estelia suddenly shot to her feet.
“I-I can’t accept this! No…! Cancel the contract and do it again! Marry me first and then do it!”
“Nope. I did it first, right? You can’t do anything about it, right? What are you gonna do about it, huh? What are you gonna do?”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Estelia finally exploded at Luka’s childish tone.
She threw a tantrum, insisting she couldn’t accept it.
Luka kept poking at Estelia from the side.
“Wow, what a shitshow.”
“Can a princess even say something like that?”
“Hup.”
Lirith quickly covered her mouth.
Hmm… but it was true though.
Suddenly Serena shouted.
“Wait! I wrote the slave contract first, didn’t I? So doesn’t that mean I’m first?”
“Eh…?”
“…No way… this can’t be happening… I’m supposed to be third…?”
Thud.
Estelia collapsed to the ground.
I wondered how I should calm this situation down.
…But did I really need to?
Watching the three of them fight each other was actually quite heartwarming.
Yes, fight more for my sake…!
Smack!
“Hey, what’s with that expression! Aren’t you going to stop them? They’re really going to start fighting for real!”
“It’s fine. Oh, Gabriel. You’re back?”
“Yes, my lord. I’ve collected all the corpses and stored the core as well.”
“Good work.”
While Gabriel and I sorted through the loot, the women continued fighting among themselves.
Eileen was eating the popcorn I had brought.
“Give me some too.”
“Here.”
“You can speak casually. Just call me sis.”
“Okay. Sis.”
Crunch. Crunch.
The two of us happily munched on popcorn while watching the catfight.
Estelia was sobbing uncontrollably now that Luka had reached 6th-tier, and Serena was wedging herself between them, insisting she was the first wife.
Luka teased Estelia while correcting Serena, telling her it wasn’t marriage but slavery.
Looking at it now, Luka’s tongue was terrifyingly sharp.
“Alright, alright, that’s enough. Let’s go.”
“No. We’re settling this here before we leave.”
“How?”
At Eileen’s question, Estelia put on a confident expression.
Even though her makeup had smudged a bit from crying.
Still maintaining her beauty, she declared.
“Because I’ve already gone all the way with Kanahan, you know?”
“…!!”
“?!”
“Wow…”
Everyone froze at her bold statement.
Plop.
Lirith even dropped the popcorn she was eating.
Then Luka spoke up.
“Hmph… we’re pretty much the same then. And that last part? We can just do it when we get home tonight.”
“What…! You’re his little sister!”
“Heeeng, we’re not blood related.”
It was a mess again.
Eileen picked up the popcorn Lirith had dropped and ate it.
There was a mat so it wasn’t dirty.
Crunch. Crunch.
“Tasty.”
“Want me to sprinkle some cheese powder on it?”
“Ooh, that sounds good.”
Crunch. Crunch.
…When is this going to end?