Interacting with the Demon (2)
It was a weekend morning. The sunlight was warm. The breeze felt nice.
"Nice weather, huh."
"Yeah."
"Makes you almost regret heading into a gate."
"Nyaah."
The three of them arrived at the academy's main gate. A crowd had gathered.
Harin. A girl with red twintails. Her weapon was a battle axe bigger than she was. The first time they'd met, she'd been furious at Seha.
Jinho. A plain face with no standout features and a tall build. His gear was a tower shield. He was always the one mediating whenever Harin got mad.
Both had set down massive cases at their feet. And next to them, Isol with a scabbard slung over her shoulder.
And beside her.
"Hm."
Short ponytail, holding a scabbard just like Isol's. The leader of the party they'd met in that F-rank gate. It was Jisu.
They were weak, but their teamwork was solid. Dahong recalled that memory.
"Seha! Over here!"
Isol waved. Seha quickened his pace. Dahong strolled along slowly. No reason to hurry.
Seha arrived first and exchanged greetings.
"You're late."
Harin said.
"It's still before the meeting time, though?"
"Still, you're the last one here."
"……."
Seha blinked in bewilderment.
"Don't mind her. She's been fidgety since earlier. Must be excited."
"When did I—!"
As Jinho teased, Harin let out a sharp nyaaack! at him.
Ruby poked her head out from Seha's arms.
"Nya."
"Hey, Ruby."
Isol greeted her. Ruby looked back and forth between Isol, Harin, and Jinho, then extended a paw toward Harin.
"She's asking you to pet her. She knows you like her."
"……."
Harin shot Seha a pouty glare at that. Seemed embarrassed to have her fondness for Ruby found out. Still, her hand reached out toward the cat.
"Grrrumble grrrumble."
Ruby closed her eyes, savoring the touch.
Just then.
"Dahong unnie!"
Jisu approached with a bright smile. Affectionate demeanor.
Dahong looked at her.
"Jisu."
"You remember me!"
Jisu bowed deeply.
"Thank you so much back then. If it weren't for you, our party might've been in real trouble."
Thanks, huh. Dahong mulled the word over internally. She didn't recall doing anything particularly praiseworthy. Ruby had sneezed, fire had come out, and the wolf had fled. That was it. Yet this girl was thanking her. Strange.
"What about the uncle who was gonna buy food?"
"Uncle Mansu? He'll be here soon."
With that, Jisu turned and approached Seha.
"So you're Seha?"
Seha turned.
"Ah, hello."
"Heard a lot about you from Isol. You're the summoner of Dahong unnie, right?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Thanks to Ruby too. If she hadn't breathed fire, our party would've been wiped out."
"Ah, I heard about that from Isol. Said you chased off the field boss."
"Yeah. She was amazing."
"Nyaong."
Ruby puffed up her tail proudly.
Jisu pulled out two paper bags from behind her.
"Here, as thanks for back then."
One for Seha. One for Dahong.
Seha opened his bag. It was a strap belt for the waist. Sturdy material with multiple potion holders. Beside it, three small potions in thin glass tubes were pre-inserted.
"It's a gate utility belt. For potions and consumables."
Jisu pointed to the potions.
"Red for health, blue for mana, green for antidote. Put in the basics for you."
"Whoa… thank you."
"In real combat, stuff like this is your lifeline. Especially for summoners—you gotta take care of yourself."
Seha examined the belt. Lightweight, with solid locks.
Dahong, watching him, opened her own box. Inside was a small pouch. She sniffed it. A fishy, salty scent.
"It's for Ruby!"
Isol chimed in.
"Bought something that's super popular with beast summons!"
"Nyaong!"
Ruby's eyes went wide as she stared at Dahong's hand. Whether she understood the words or caught the scent, she clearly knew it was for her.
Dahong gazed at Ruby steadily and said,
"I got it. So it's mine."
Her eyes said she had no intention of sharing.
"Nyaaang!"
Ruby meowed loudly in protest.
Isol blinked.
"Uh, humans can eat it too, but… it probably doesn't taste great?"
"Smells fine."
"Well, yeah, but…."
Just then, a voice came from the parking lot.
"Ooh! Jisu! Kids are already here!"
A burly middle-aged man approached. Park Mansu. The tank of Jisu's party, wielding shield and stun baton.
Beside him, Dohyeon. A tall young man who looked like a college student.
Mansu headed straight for Seha.
"Oho, you're the summoner of Dahong? Nice to meet ya. Name's Park Mansu. Heh heh."
Thwack. He clapped Seha on the shoulder, making him stumble.
"Ah, hello."
Jinho approached Mansu.
"I'm a tank too. Nice to work with you."
"Oh ho! Junior tanker! Wait, by rank, I'm the junior? Hahaha!"
Then.
Vrrrooom.
A low, heavy engine roar echoed. A bright red sports car slid into the lot. The car stopped, and the driver's door opened. A petite woman stepped out. Squinting against the sunlight, she pulled out a wide-brimmed hat and put it on.
Dahong glanced at the woman briefly. Someone new. She oddly resembled Haneul. But the mana she carried was incomparably vast.
She's pretty strong. By far the strongest human here. A spark of interest.
"Eh, Teacher Noeul?"
Seha's eyes widened.
The woman called Noeul strode right up to Dahong.
"Hm."
She let out a grunt, staring up at Dahong intently.
Dahong looked down silently.
"You're Dahong?"
"Yeah."
"……."
Noeul eyed Dahong with a sleepy expression. Dahong gazed back down. Quite the height difference. Noeul was even smaller than Haneul, and Dahong was tall. But Noeul showed no sign of intimidation.
"Oh come on, unnie! She's fine, I told you!"
Then Haneul hopped out from the passenger side in a rush. She grabbed Noeul's arm.
"Unnie, stop it. Everyone's watching."
"……."
Despite Haneul's plea, Noeul didn't drop her guard.
Seha fidgeted between them.
"Um, Teacher Noeul? Why are you here all of a sudden…."
"Heard my cousin might be heading into a gate with a dangerous demon."
"…Cousin?"
"Ah, me, me… haha."
Haneul laughed awkwardly.
Noeul spoke in a languid tone.
"Hey, demon."
"Yeah."
"Touch my little sister, and you're done."
"Hmmm."
Dahong's eyes lit up. A sign she'd heard something intriguing.
Then Haneul flushed red and yelped.
"Unnie! I'm nineteen this year!"
"I know."
"There are kids younger than me here—what's with the embarrassing act?"
"Eek."
Haneul shoved Noeul's face while apologizing to Dahong.
"Sorry, Dahong unnie. My sister's just a worrywart…."
"It's fine."
Dahong brushed it off casually.
"Eh, Haneul. Who's this?"
Mansu eyed Noeul, prompting Haneul for an intro.
"Ah, my big sis. Lee Noeul. She got worried about me going to a D-rank gate and tagged along…."
"That's not it."
"It totally is!"
"Aha… well, one more person at this point doesn't change much. Mind a quick intro? We should know each other's abilities…."
Noeul glanced around at Mansu's words. Everyone stared back with curious eyes.
Ahem.
"Name's Lee Noeul, 27. All-around magic specialist. Hunter rank: S-rank."
"S-rank!?"
Shocked reactions erupted. Who wouldn't be stunned at an S-rank joining a D-rank gate?
"You sure that's okay? An S-rank on a mere D-rank might be overkill, no?"
As Mansu asked, Noeul looked down and said,
"Don't worry. I won't join fights unless it's life-or-death. And I'll pass on loot shares."
"……."
Everyone exchanged glances. An S-rank mage was beyond imagination.
Jisu took charge, clapping to refocus attention.
"Perfect! With an S-rank, we can relax in emergencies. And we can ask her all sorts of questions."
"Yeah. Ask away if you're curious."
"Haha, thanks. Then Noeul unnie and Haneul can ride in unnie's car, and the rest split between my car and Uncle Mansu's."
Mansu nodded, snapping out of it.
"Yeah, yeah. It's a hike from here, so let's prep and roll out."
They piled into the cars. Jisu's: Isol, Seha, Dahong, Ruby. Mansu's: Dohyeon, Harin, Jinho. Noeul's: Haneul.
A line of cars pulled out of the academy lot.
40 minutes later. On the outskirts, away from the city. In the middle of a barren lot floated a blue rift.
A D-rank gate. Management Bureau staff had set up simple booths to handle entries. A few teams lined up ahead.
Seha stepped out and looked up at the gate. His second gate after the C-rank dead Behemoth nest.
Back then, he'd known nothing. No Ruby, no prep. But now was different. He could draw aggro with mana bullets, Ruby could breathe fire. The weight of the belt at his waist felt reassuring. Three potions: red, blue, green. Enough for emergencies.
"Nervous?"
Isol asked from beside him.
"…A little."
"It's fine. With this crew, D-rank's a breeze. We cleared a C-rank, remember?"
Isol tapped her scabbard with a grin.
"True, but…."
Back then, he'd been dead weight. But now? This time, my goal is to pull my weight.
Seha clenched his fist.
"Nya."
Ruby yawned hugely from his shoulder. Utterly relaxed.