The Demon's Name Was an Ordinary Room
The demon's name was an ordinary room. A narrow bed barely big enough for one person. Textbooks and notebooks were neatly stacked on the desk. The bookshelf was crammed with hunter-related books. A calendar hung on the wall in front of the desk, marked with a red circle. The room's owner, a boy, stood still, staring blankly at that circle.
Under it, in small letters: 'Final Evaluation.'
If I fail this time too...
"Ugh."
The boy shook his head vigorously to shake off the ominous thought.
In the center of the room sat a meticulously drawn summoning circle. Not a single line was smudged. He'd practiced it countless times. It was always perfect.
...Except for the results.
The boy knelt before the summoning circle. He clasped his hands together and drew up his mana. He closed his eyes.
"Please...!"
A desperate voice leaked out.
"Please, anything—just come out...!"
The summoning circle began to glow brightly. A sign it was activating successfully. Things were fine up to this point, as always.
But the result was the usual nothing.
Until now.
But this time, something was different.
"...Huh?"
The boy's eyes snapped open. The light grew stronger. Thick black smoke billowed from the summoning circle, soon igniting into purple flames.
"Whoa...!"
He'd attempted summons dozens of times before, but nothing like this had ever happened. Instinctively, he knew.
It's working. It's really working.
Fwoosh!
The flames shot up to the ceiling.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
The boy scrambled backward in a panic. Then the light exploded.
The first thing she felt was the air. Unfamiliar air flooding her lungs.
No, not unfamiliar. She knew it. She definitely knew this air, this scent, this temperature.
"......"
The white demon stood there, inhaling deeply.
Suuu...
Haaa.
And then, hehe.
She smiled.
"Ah-ha."
A laugh slipped out.
"Hahahahaha—!!"
It burst out of nowhere. She threw her arms wide and spun in place. Once, twice. Laughing toward the ceiling.
She didn't know why. The laughter just came.
For the first time in centuries, she felt something.
The demon stopped laughing and looked around. A cramped room. Light streamed in through the window. Sunlight. Real sunlight.
She dashed to the window and pressed her hands against it. It was warm.
"Heh..."
Another laugh bubbled up unbidden.
She was back. On Earth.
"Heehee."
She turned. Desk, bookshelf. She skipped over lightly and examined them.
Hunter?
Academy?
Books filled with unfamiliar terms.
"Hmm~♪"
Humming a tune, she flipped through them one by one.
"Gasp...!"
Then she spotted something important. A pitch-black monitor. A boxy keyboard. A computer!
With an entranced expression, she stroked the monitor.
And then her gaze met something huddled in the corner.
A young boy. Eyes wide as saucers, back pressed flat against the wall, barely breathing.
The white demon tilted her head slightly.
"Who're you?"
She saw him gulp.
With light steps, she approached the boy.
"Eek...!"
He threw up his arms to shield his face. Like a frightened puppy.
The demon didn't mind.
"Looks like you drew this summoning circle."
"Y-yes...! I summoned you."
The boy mustered his courage and squeezed out the words.
"Hehe. Ahahaha!! You...!"
The demon clutched her stomach and burst into laughter. As if she'd heard the funniest story.
"Whew...!"
After laughing for a good while, she wiped tears from her eyes.
"Thanks. I got to come back here because of you."
"C-come back...?"
The boy echoed in confusion, but the demon didn't answer.
"Hehe. I'm in a good mood, so I'll grant you one wish."
Swish.
She bent at the waist, and a huge shadow fell over the boy.
Jiggle.
Something enormous blotted out his view.
"H-hey... um...!"
The boy's eyes trembled, and he shot to his feet, scurrying somewhere with a squeak of bedsprings.
"......?"
The demon cocked her head.
The boy yanked the blanket off the bed like a lifeline. Eyes squeezed shut, he thrust it toward her.
"F-first, could you... cover up...?"
The white demon looked down at the blanket. Then back at the boy.
His ears were beet red.
"......Please cover yourself."
"Ah?"
The clothes she'd been wearing had all burned away crossing dimensions.
The demon snapped her fingers.
Fwoosh!
Flames engulfed her body.
"Agh—!"
Seha cried out. Fortunately, the flames died down in an instant.
And there she stood.
"......!"
A pristine white suit. Without thinking, Seha's eyes traced her figure. Blood-red shirt and black tie. His gaze drifted lower. Long legs ending in glossy black shoes.
Then his eyes traveled back up—and met hers.
The demon asked calmly,
"See enough?"
"N-no! Sorry!"
Seha bowed his head in a fluster.
With a flick of her finger, the chair from the desk slid over on its own. The demon sat with her legs crossed, slowly scanning the room.
Her gaze stopped at the bookshelf. She'd skimmed it earlier, but now...
All similar books. Gate raiding guides, mana control basics, hunter training manuals.
"......Hunter."
"Yes?"
"Saw it in the books just now. People who raid gates?"
"Ah, yes. That's right."
The demon propped her chin on her hand. No such job existed back when she was last on Earth. Gates had popped up everywhere causing chaos, but still.
I've been in hell so long... things change.
She brushed it off.
"I know about gates. Dimensional rifts, right?"
"Yes."
"You a hunter too?"
"N-no... I'm still an academy student."
"Academy."
The demon rolled the word around her mouth.
"They train hunters there?"
"Yes. Once you enroll, you get official hunter training, and after graduation, you can start working right away..."
"Hmm."
The demon nodded without much interest. She scanned the room again. Bookshelf. Calendar. Red circle.
"That circle."
"......Yes."
"Important?"
Seha's expression darkened.
"It's the evaluation exam. Tomorrow."
"Ah."
The demon's interest seemed to end there; she didn't ask more.
Seha clenched his hands on his knees. He had to ask now. If not this moment, he'd never do it.
"Um..."
"Yeah?"
The demon's gaze turned to him.
"You said you'd grant one wish earlier."
"I did."
"My... my ability is demon summoning."
"Hmm."
The demon hummed. Demon summoning... unusual ability. Probably why she'd returned to Earth. Normally, a low-rank demon—one she'd burned—should've appeared instead.
Not sure how to take her reaction, the boy pressed on.
"For summoners, the evaluation scores based on the summoned beast's rank."
"Yeah."
"...It's not really a tough exam, honestly. Summoners grow alongside their beasts, so they account for weak summons. Succeed in summoning, and you're basically pass."
"And?"
The boy hung his head in shame.
"...But I've never succeeded. Until today."
"I see."
"W-will you... be my summoned beast!? Or... just until tomorrow, if you don't want...!"
He bowed his head, pleading. His heart pounded.
The demon eyed him for a moment. Technically, her business with him ended the moment she arrived on Earth. No obligation to help.
Her gaze shifted to his neck.
Kill him and leave?
She slowly reached out. Her pale white hand neared his jaw.
Oblivious, the boy kept his head bowed.
Tap.
Her fingertip brushed his cheek; he flinched.
"......"
The demon looked down at him coldly, then lost interest and looked away.
No real reason to kill him now. He didn't even look fun to kill.
Watching his reactions while keeping him alive seemed more amusing.
With that thought, she said,
"But you know."
"Yes?"
"Wasn't your wish to cover up with the blanket?"
"......Ah."
"You said it clearly. 'Please cover yourself.'"
The boy's face flushed red.
"Th-that was just...! I mean...!"
"Whatever."
The demon chuckled at his fluster.
"I was bored anyway. I'll do it."
The boy's head snapped up.
"...Really?"
"Yeah."
"O-okay! Thank you! Really...!"
He bowed repeatedly. He seemed to have terribly low self-esteem. Probably suffered a lot, but the demon couldn't care less.
"Hmm~."
She stood and began wandering the room, poking around.
"Um."
"What now?"
The boy called to her.
"Demon-nim... what's your name?"
She froze mid-reach for a book on the shelf.
The demon stood rigid, silent.
"......Name."
"Yes... Summoned beasts usually have names."
"Forgot."
"Pardon?"
"It's been too long. You name me."
"M-me?"
"Don't want to? Fine."
"N-no, I will!"
Seha answered hastily and studied the demon.
Bleached hair. Blood-red eyes. Red dress shirt. Boldly curved horns.
"......"
After careful thought, he ventured,
"......Dahong."
"Huh?"
"Your eyes and shirt are crimson—like dahong."
The demon looked down at Seha.
"......Dahong."
"......Dahong?"
Her expression shifted subtly. Maybe expecting something grander, scarier. Majestic or fearsome.
Her shirt and eyes were an eerie blood-red, after all. Yet he'd named her Dahong from that.
"......Whatever."
The demon—Dahong—shrugged and turned back to the books.
As she did, she asked,
"Boy, what's your name?"
"M-me?"
"Yeah. I have a name now, so introductions."
"Ah!"
The boy stood straight and extended a stiff hand.
"My name is Seha! Seha!"
"Seha."
Thud.
Dahong closed her book, approached, and took his hand.
And hehe.
She grinned ear to ear.
"Nice to meet you."