The Demon and the Infirmary
Sunlight slanted through the windows of the infirmary. A faint medicinal scent wafted from the neatly organized medicine cabinet, and Seha lay on the bed behind the white curtains. An ice pack rested on his forehead.
"You okay?"
Isol sat in the chair beside the bed, looking down at him.
"It's not broken, right?"
"The nurse checked and said it's not...," Seha replied, pressing the ice pack with his hand. His eyelid was bruised and swollen purple.
"Ow..."
"Why'd you go out there without your summoned beast, you idiot?"
"I thought the summon would work..."
Seha closed his eyes in embarrassment.
"What about Dahong unnie?"
"No idea. She just vanished at some point."
Isol sighed.
"What am I supposed to say when she shows up?"
"...Don't do that."
Seha tried to stop her. The last thing he wanted was to see them fighting. Still, he let out a small sigh of his own.
Bottom of the class again.
Even with a summoned beast, nothing had changed. And how was he supposed to get Dahong to listen to him? She was his first summon, so he had no feel for it at all.
That was when it happened.
Creak.
The infirmary door slid open, and Dahong appeared.
"There you are."
She mumbled around a mouthful of pizza bread.
"Dahong-ssi..."
"Dahong unnie."
Isol stood up, hands on her hips.
"Where'd you go during class?"
"The snack bar."
"Why?"
"Wanted some bread."
"Seha almost got seriously hurt because you weren't there."
Oh no...
Seha sat up, trying to intervene.
"No, Isol, I'm fine—"
"...Sorry."
"......Huh?"
Seha blinked, as if he'd heard wrong. Dahong was apologizing with a genuinely downcast expression.
"I wanted to eat bread with Seha."
"......?"
Seha doubted his own eyes. Dahong had apologized. With a look of deep remorse, no less.
Isol glanced at the dejected Dahong, then sighed helplessly.
"Jeez, you're a summoned beast, so you might not know the class rules yet. Just don't do it again, okay?"
"Got it."
"??????"
Seha could only blink at the unbelievable scene. Who was this? Some impostor wearing Dahong's face? ...Or had he been misunderstanding her all this time? Maybe she really wasn't used to modern life and just acted like a weirdo because of it?
"Here. Yours."
Dahong approached with the same sullen look and held out a cream bun to Seha.
"Th-thank you."
As Seha took it in a daze, Dahong flashed him a sly hee-hee grin that only he could see.
"...!"
Seha's eyes widened. It had all been an act.
This... this demon!
The moment Seha glared at her, the infirmary door opened again.
"Yu Seha, you okay?"
"Teacher."
It was Seoyeun. She'd probably come straight after class ended.
"What'd the nurse say?"
"Just bruises. Should go down in a few days..."
Seoyeun sighed.
"Why didn't you summon your beast?"
"Ahaha... It's not that I didn't. I couldn't."
"......?"
Seoyeun furrowed her brow. Couldn't summon? What did that mean?
"I've always failed summons, so I've been flunking. Dahong-ssi was my first success..."
"...What?"
Summoners did sometimes fail, usually from poor mana control or botched rituals. But that only happened to novice summoners. Seha's circle earlier had been flawless.
What's going on here?
Seoyeun eyed Dahong suspiciously. Dahong stood there casually sipping apple juice, browsing the medicine shelves.
"It's not just that you can't dismiss it?"
"...Seems that way."
Seha rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
Seoyeun pondered.
Can't dismiss and resummon. Maybe an issue with the mana pathway. But then how did she summon in the first place?
After a moment's thought, she asked, "Can you tell me about the first summon?"
"Th-the first one...?"
Seha flushed red. Memories of that chaotic day flooded back—specifically, naked Dahong. He snapped out of it under Seoyeun and Isol's odd stares and shook his head vigorously.
"N-nothing special... Just a standard low-rank demon ritual."
"Standard, huh."
Seoyeun's gaze shifted back to Dahong.
"Hey, summoned beast? Mind chatting with me?"
Dahong's red eyes turned to her. Seoyeun approached.
"Where'd you go earlier? You vanished mid-class."
"Snack bar. Wanted bread."
"Hmm... I see. Try to hold back next time."
"I'll try."
"You can go pretty far on your own, huh? Usually, the farther from the summoner, the weaker the mana supply. Doesn't bother you?"
"Nah. Not really."
"Fascinating..."
Clack.
Seoyeun circled Dahong, scanning her appearance.
No tail or wings. Not a succubus...
"Might be rude, but what's the contract?"
"Contract?"
"......None?"
"Nope."
"......???"
Seoyeun couldn't hide her shock.
No contract?
Summoned beasts couldn't exist without one. It was basic principle: summoner supplied mana, beast consumed it under contract terms. No contract meant not a summoned beast.
Composing herself, Seoyeun continued, "No contract, but you're still here how?"
"Just am."
"Just...?"
"Yeah."
Seoyeun stopped scrutinizing her.
'Just am.'
Not something a summoned beast would say. They needed the summoner's will and mana to exist. Independent existence was impossible.
Seoyeun scanned her again. White hair. Thick, ram-like curved horns. No wings. No tail. Humanoid form. Demons grew more grotesque with rank—lower ones resembled humans. By that logic, this should be low-rank.
But.
Exists without contract. No mana needed, no dismissal. Ignored summon signal.
Nothing a low-rank demon could do.
Quietly, she asked, "...What's your rank?"
"Dunno."
"Don't know, or won't say?"
Dahong met her eyes.
"Nobody ever told me."
"......"
Red eyes met brown.
Then.
"Um..."
Seha interrupted.
"Yes?"
Seoyeun turned, and Seha had his hand half-raised.
"Actually, on the first day Dahong-ssi came, I made her ramen."
"......Ramen?"
"Yeah, she said she wanted some."
Seoyeun narrowed her eyes skeptically.
"So that's the contract?"
"Probably."
"......"
Ramen for a contract. Not impossible, but... really? For a demon summon, infamous for harsh terms?
Then.
Ding-dong-dang—
The end-of-class bell rang. Seoyeun tucked the attendance book under her arm.
"That's it for now. We'll look into your summon later. Yu Seha, rest up. Skip the rest of today's classes."
"Th-thank you."
Seoyeun headed for the door. She glanced back at Dahong one last time. Dahong sipped her juice calmly, looking elsewhere, uninterested.
Seoyeun closed the door silently.
Alone in the hall, she paused.
A bowl of ramen.
'Contract's a bowl of ramen.'
She muttered low, "What the hell."
Slurp.
Dahong stared at the spot where Seoyeun had left.
Pretty strong human. Probably strong enough to take down an upper demon? The strongest she'd seen so far. Korea's top academy lived up to the hype—even the temp teacher was impressive.
Still.
What's her goal?
She could feel the probing curiosity. Hidden, maybe, but pointless against Dahong's sensitivity to gazes.
Just curiosity? Felt too persistent.
Maybe some other motive.
...Whatever.
Dahong's interest ended there. No hostility, no line-crossing. Just an enthusiastic teacher.
Then.
Seha sat up.
"Got permission to leave early, so let's head home, Dahong-ssi."
"No more classes?"
"......Truth is, I'm too embarrassed to go back. Fainted so dramatically."
"Hmm."
As Seha rose, Isol did too.
"Guess I'll head out then. Take care."
"Yeah, thanks."
"Damn it!"
Thud!
Rustle—
Sangjun kicked a tree, shaking the dense leaves.
"Th-that bastard. Dared to run off with his tail between his legs?"
He fumed, grinding his teeth. Salamander hadn't responded again, and he'd lost the spar pathetically. To a loser who couldn't even touch his toes normally.
Even his lackeys, who used to watch his mood, kept their distance now.
"All because of Yu Seha."
He gnashed his teeth. He wanted revenge, somehow. Hated seeing that smug face after one win.
But no way to do it.
Any ideas?
Then.
"Hey, student."
"......?"
A suited man called to him.
...Not a teacher or prof.
"Who're you? Outsiders aren't allowed."
Sangjun snapped warily. Bad luck drawing in peddlers, he thought.
"Don't be like that. Got a question. Here's me..."
"......Iron Claw Guild?"
Sangjun squinted at the business card. A decent A-rank guild. But he already had a contract in progress.
He started to refuse casually, then paused.
...Wait, no.
With Salamander ignoring summons, his deal might fall through. Better prepare backups.
Sangjun took the card.
"What do you want?"
His tone softened a bit, and the man smiled amiably.
"Like I said, a few questions."
The man glanced around and lowered his voice.
"Looking for someone. Seen her? White hair, red eyes. Horns on her head, woman."
Sangjun's eyes twitched at the description. Yu Seha's summon. No doubt.
Yu Seha again?
He ground his teeth inwardly.
"Why you looking?"
The man’s eyes sharpened as Sangjun clicked his tongue.
"Ah, one of our guildmates clashed with her. Need to talk about it."
"Clashed...?"
"Yeah... Got a debt to settle. Can't say more."
The man’s eyes burned.
"......?"
Not scouting Yu Seha?
Sangjun narrowed one eye. Not what he'd expected.
"Looks like you know something. Can you share? Won't be stingy with compensation."
Sangjun hesitated, then nodded.
"Sure."
The man's face lit up.
"But."
"......?"
Sangjun tilted his chin up.
"My terms first. Guild-related business."