Heart Decks and Beyond Spirits
Before we knew it, we were half-working, half-not-working our way through the evening, scrambling to get everything ready for the pension trip.
There wasn't that much to prepare, truth be told, but since neither Yumi nor I had ever done this kind of thing before, we ended up flailing around more than we needed to.
"Oh, right. We're booking two pensions. One for the kids, one for the adults. You know what that means, right?"
"I have absolutely no idea."
"Same here."
"Hey now. Look at these two."
Ga-eun was loading up on alcohol and tossing out a certain kind of invitation. We both had a pretty good idea what she meant, but we played dumb and moved on, then went to greet the kids as they came back.
"Whoa, Mom, why haven't you gone home yet!?"
"Because I knew you'd show up here~."
Naturally, Taeyang was startled the moment he walked in and found Manbok with the group. Ga-eun flashed her son a V-sign with her fingers, then left the kids alone to make noise and play until after dinner, when she finally headed out.
Han River was with the group too, of course, but she didn't look particularly surprised. Unlike Saetbyeol or Chaerin, Rina seemed to have every intention of staying the night — she was still in the living room, laughing her head off and locked into a game against Taeyang and Yumi in front of the TV.
What is this domestic vibe. Am I getting too used to life here?
While the three of them were at it, I finally sat down with Princess for the first time in a while.
"You said you had something to ask me?"
A red-haired beauty projected herself above the card on the table like a hologram, facing me head-on.
Her pupils were bright yellow, and her outfit was a blazing red bikini armor. For someone with "Little" stuck in front of her name, she had the mature figure of a college student — the kind of design that would carve some very questionable tastes into younger viewers. As I'd noted before, she looked like a bishoujo version of a Red Dragon, with thick, imposing horns and membrane-webbed wings that left a strong impression.
"Before that — did you braid your hair?"
"Oh, you noticed. Auntie Yumi did it for me!"
She spun her thickly bound braid behind her like a rope, humming a little tune with obvious pride.
"Taeyang has zero sense for this stuff. His partner goes to all this trouble to fix herself up, and he doesn't notice at all."
"What exactly do you expect from a grade-school boy that age."
"Still, wanting someone to notice even the tiniest change is a girl's heart~! Which means you should be careful too, mister. Auntie Yumi looks easygoing, but she's incredibly delicate!"
"Not you too. Ga-eun's the same way. What exactly do you all think is going on between us that makes you keep pushing like this?"
"Just watching the way you two look at each other is enough. Anyone who isn't a complete idiot like Taeyang or Rina would probably figure it out."
As if on cue, the two kids gaming in the living room seemed to sense their names had come up and called back, "Did you say something?" We assured them it was nothing and lowered our voices after that. Princess, deciding the timing was perfect, took the lead and dropped something rather chilling.
"For the record, I already know what happened between Gracia and Auntie Yumi. About Seol-ah and Rina's true identities too. I heard enough of the story."
"Did Yumi tell you?"
"Auntie Yumi didn't bring it up first. My friend Gracia suddenly vanished, so I asked about it. She was agonizing over how to explain her ace card disappearing, and she eventually spilled everything."
Right. In this world, even the cards socialized with each other like neighbors.
And Yumi and Taeyang were mother and son. The cards born from them would have been looking at each other for a long time…
"Sorry."
"It's fine. It's rare, but a Beyond card changing masters isn't that shocking. And if it was an accident, I can't really blame you. It's just… a friend I knew suddenly becoming a pregnant succubus. That part bothers me a little, that's all."
"Want me to arrange a meeting?"
"Later. That's not why you called me, is it?"
Princess was still remarkably adult for someone with "Little" in her name.
No — she was clearly a full-grown adult, same as us.
"I was thinking about why the Locust people are targeting you, and some questions came up."
"If it's something I can answer, I'll tell you. What do you want to know?"
I kept the Great Leader's identity under wraps and asked about Little Princess's true nature instead.
She was a powerful card, no question — but she still fell within the range of an ace card. So why were the Locust people so fixated on her?
"I see. You don't have your memories, so you couldn't reason past that point."
"What do you mean?"
"Before I talk about who I am, there's something you need to understand. This should be obvious, but we Beyond cards don't just pop into existence for no reason. Somewhere on this Earth, there's another world hidden away called the Beyond World. Heroes and monsters of every kind who lived there crossed over into this one, became cards, and now coexist with humans."
Ah. I'd heard that kind of setup plenty of times before.
I could understand why Princess had been impressed that I didn't already know this.
"Why cross over into this world at all?"
"We Beyond spirits absorb energy through human emotions — we can even gain happiness from them. Hobbies, tastes, anything works, but a human whose private chemistry matches yours is ideal. We carefully choose the humans we like, become cards for their sake, and cross into this world through a door called the heart."
"So that's why a Heart Deck always manifests as the deck closest to its master's disposition and true nature."
"Exactly."
Crystal clear, Princess.
With the conversation going this way, I had a pretty good guess about her identity too.
"So on that side, you were a princess?"
"More precisely, a queen. There were various circumstances — a bit of rebellion, a bit of national usurpation, that sort of thing."
"So that's what the Wyvern text was about. Wait, if you became a card, what happened to the country you seized?"
"I left that with my little sister. So right now, I'm free as a bird~!"
She'd pulled off something massive and then dumped the cleanup on someone else.
The more I listened, the more of a heavyweight she turned out to be.
"You've roughly figured it out, right? The me you see now isn't at my peak. The 'Little' got stuck on because I was weakened to match Taeyang's power when I became a card. The original me is a monster on a completely different level."
She was already an astonishing card as she was. Going even further than that…
She'd be on the level of an original card. Honestly, I neither wanted to see it nor face it.
"When do you get your power back?"
"Taeyang as he is now has great chemistry with me and is a solid battler, but he's still a frog in a well. It's going to take more time and experience before he becomes a battler who can draw out my true power."
"So Locust is after you because they know what you're really capable of."
"Even if I'm just an ordinary ace card right now, if my true form descends, a battle wouldn't even be able to take place. They might want that kind of power to dominate this world — or maybe even to put their hands on the Beyond World itself."
Well, they were an evil organization. Ambitious goals came with the territory.
Which only made me more determined not to let them take Princess. She let out a thoughtful little hum, as if something were weighing on her.
"What is it?"
"The truth is, there are a few dragons who could rival me. I don't know if any of them have appeared in this world yet, but it would be a problem if they fell into those people's hands."
"I get that, but that's not something Yumi or I can do much about."
"I know. I'm just telling you in case."
She asked me to let her know if I ever got information on a powerful dragon card.
I had no reason to refuse, so I nodded. Princess shot me a thumbs-up the way Taeyang always did, then turned the questions around.
"Oh, right. How's your body doing?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. You seem stronger than before. You got a new card this time, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Just one."
I'd taken Baek Seol-ah's soul and one card from her deck.
It wasn't an ace card this time, though. There was something I'd seen during that battle that hit me hard, and that was the one I took.
"You're a proper Beyond battler now, so getting stronger is a good thing. But I'm worried you might be getting corrupted by the Demon God that much more."
She was thinking back to when I'd first used my deck, and worrying about me.
"I was wary at first too, but…"
"But?"
"That guy matches me way too well. Just yesterday we were snickering over some stupid nonsense together. I don't think that's going to be a problem anymore."
"Must be some seriously good chemistry. Well, you didn't pick it up off the street — it's a Heart Deck, so that's normal."
If Princess was right, Centauros had found a master who matched him, and that master was me.
"Just what about you is filling that Demon God's needs, mister~?"
"Want me to ask him?"
"Don't. My compatibility with that guy is terrible. If you want to play with him, do it when I'm not around."
Fair enough. It definitely wouldn't be some mild, wholesome reason.
I was sure any conversation about it would veer into uncomfortable woman-related territory, so I shelved it for now.
"By the way, what exactly is this 'Demon God' you've been talking about?"
"If I'm the queen who ruled over the dragons, the Demon God was the king who reigned over the cards of the shadows. Beyond that, I don't really know. We managed different territories and barely ever interacted. What I can say is that the Demon God, like me, is not in his true form. The stronger you get, the more of his real power he'll be able to use — so treat him well."
She also told me that as the deck evolved, new followers and magic cards might start appearing.
That was good news for me personally. Honestly, my current deck was way too heavy.
"Got everything you wanted to hear?"
"One last thing. What happens if you discard a Heart Deck?"
"Another spirit looking for a master might show up. Or since you abandoned a deck once, you might get blacklisted and everyone goes quiet around you. Honestly, it depends?"
"So that means you can hold multiple Heart Decks?"
"The spirit you already have won't like it, so I don't recommend it. The worse your relationship with a spirit gets, the weaker the cards become."
Princess gave me an extreme example.
Cost: 30
[Follower][Menhera][1 / 1]
[Effect? As if I'd give you one!!]
A card that ended up like this couldn't even be removed from the deck, she said.
"If you have a reason to use a different deck, explain yourself and talk it over. The spirit will work with you."
"Be flexible about it, basically?"
"Before that. We're people too. It's about showing each other some basic courtesy."
Yeah, I got it immediately.
Knowing Centauros's personality, he wouldn't refuse me out of hand — so that was one less thing to worry about.
"Any other questions?"
"Not for now."
"Then, getting back to Auntie Yumi~."
"Oh, come on. This again? Why? What's your angle here?"
"Do you know what she said to Taeyang recently?"
Princess giggled.
She looked exactly like a little kid who'd just found a fun new toy.
"Hehehe."
"Why are you laughing like that. What did Yumi say?"
"Wanna hear? Do you wanna hear what she said?"
Just as I leaned in, ears pricked, wanting to know —
Thump-thump-thump! Deliberately loud footsteps came up behind me, and a palm came down on the card with a slap.
"—Ghk!"
"Princess. Baek. It's about time for bed."
"Ah…"
It was Yumi.
She had her palm pressed down on the card Princess inhabited, pinning her mouth shut.
She was smiling, but it wasn't her usual sunny smile at all. If I didn't leave right now, that palm was definitely coming for my face next.
"Ah, yes. Have a good night~."
"Wait! You coward, don't run! You said you were curious too!!"
"I don't know anything! I didn't hear a thing~!"
"You spineless old man!!"
Princess's scream rang out behind me, but I bolted for my room before any of the fallout could hit me.
"Princess. I told you not to say that, didn't I? Hm?"
"Ah, wait! Auntie, I'm sorry! It was just a joke! A jo~ke!!"
"Shall we change out your sleeves for the first time in a while? I just got some new ones in. They're extremely stiff — the reviews against certain cards are outstanding."
"Those are the pervert sleeves they sell near Auntie Ga-eun's shop! Aaaaah! Not those—!!!"
Namu Amitabul, Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
I prayed that Princess had gone to a better place, and drifted off to a peaceful sleep.