Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Semi-Formal Speech
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"Whoa, it's gotten tiny."
I said that while holding Isia in my arms. What came into view was the wind, shrunken compared to just moments ago.
Unlike when it had taken on a monster's form, it couldn't even muster a proper breeze now. It looked like an old man on his deathbed, and I found myself kicking off the ground without thinking.
Isia let out a shriek like "Kyaaak--!!" but there was no time to wait. If I didn't sprint now, it might slip away into the spirit realm.
[50.]
What the hell. What kind of countdown is that. You gotta tell me. As I ran, listening to the cat's voice counting down in an unmistakably anxious tone, Isia clung even tighter to me with her eyes squeezed shut.
This is driving me nuts.
I get that she's scared, but nuts is nuts. The one being held might be clinging out of fear, but the one doing the holding? Not so much.
And what was up with that thank-you earlier? Lately, it feels like the maids are finally realizing how precious I am.
Come to think of it, that's only natural. After all the effort I put in for them, I'm glad they're catching on now.
"Thank you for finally recognizing my awesomeness."
"What?! That's not it!"
What do you mean? Are you denying my greatness? Then what are you thankful for?
"Then what is it?! If you're grateful, just say it!! Great and mighty Lee Seong-hoon!! Thank you so much for all your help so far!!"
"Kyaaaaak!! Stop shaking me!! That's exactly why I'm grateful, so don't shake!!"
"As expected, you've realized how precious I am. Unlike a certain blonde."
"Wiping out all that gratitude in three seconds flat? That's a talent if I've ever seen one!!"
Thanks for the compliment. That's high praise coming from me.
As I bickered with Isia like that while running, the spirit came into view before I knew it. The fierce winds that had enveloped its body were gone, revealing its true form.
It looked like a cloud, but it had eyes. It resembled a kid's drawing of a cloud—kinda cute—but this thing was strong, nothing like that.
"I'm a total specs freak."
"What's that supposed to mean? More importantly, why is that spirit showing its true form? Spirits usually hide themselves when they're rampaging—"
Quiet. Don't ask weird questions. Anyway, it's berserk. I shook Isia hard to keep her mind off anything else and charged straight at the spirit.
Its sharp eyes locked onto mine. Glare all you want. You're about to head back to the spirit realm anyway.
「You bastard.」
"Hey."
I cut off the spirit's words. My hands didn't stop, though. I opened my [Inventory].
"Why's the loser yapping so much?"
What I pulled out was the [Death Reaper]. Before it could say another word, I shoved the scythe right in its face. Holding Isia with one arm was tough, but thankfully she's light.
"I told you. No negotiating with terrorists."
If you negotiate with them, everyone's gonna pull terrorist stunts. Subdue first. Sure, it was because of me, but it still committed terrorism.
No exceptions to the rules. Yeah, that's how it is.
I thrust the scythe toward it. Not swinging—just thrusting.
The proper way to use spirits is enchantment. Enchant a weapon or yourself with the spirit's essence to borrow its power.
That's the basics of spirit arts. Spirits have a habit of dwelling in things, after all.
What I'm getting at is—
"Go!! Monster Ball!!"
A weakened one like this can be forcibly enchanted into a weapon. It's not a normal method.
You can't use the spirit's power that way anyway—it just builds resentment.
But what can you do? The resentment's already there, and I can't just let it go.
Grilling it comes later. Capture first. Plus, the [Death Reaper] is a vessel for souls to begin with. After evolving from rare to higher, it can definitely hold a spirit.
「You baaaastaaard!!」
The moment the spirit got sucked in without a trace, I tossed the [Death Reaper] back into my [Inventory].
Just in case, I'll have Lily keep an eye on it. And with that—
"One down!!"
"Is this really okay?"
You think it's not?
"Hmmm..."
Isia was lying in the new lodging we'd returned to. The original island had been totally wrecked, so we'd moved to another one and booked a different hotel.
I'd contacted her dad, and he'd wired money over, letting us rest comfortably. Of course, I didn't forget to book rooms for the idiots whining "What about us?!"
"......."
Isia lay on the bed and raised her hand, clenching it once before opening it. Total chuunibyou move, but she had no idea.
Her head was already filled with other thoughts. The memories were still fresh.
Dashing across the Maldives resort rooftop, chanting spells. The cool wind, the tickle in her chest.
Using magic had felt amazing. Seeing Lee Seong-hoon's serious face while chanting had been great. Being held in his arms had been the best.
Her face flushed bright red in no time, and she dropped her hand. She buried her face in the pillow, rubbing furiously to cool it down.
'What do I do.'
It was her first time realizing she had feelings like this—and her first time harboring them. So the confusion and dizziness were only natural.
She had no clue what to do. What should she say starting tomorrow? And memories of things she'd done without realizing flooded back.
"Aaaahhh!!!"
Stuff she'd done just because she wanted to. Like slipping a ring on his left ring finger. Sticking right next to him in the limo. Asking weird questions. Insisting on being on the same team.
All sorts of bizarre behavior. Things she hadn't noticed at the time came crashing down on her all at once, and Isia's mind couldn't take it.
Everything in the world is karma. That's what Buddha said.
"Aaaaaaaah--!!!!!"
After writhing and screaming on the bed for a good while, Isia suddenly shot upright.
She'd calmed down a bit, but she still had no idea how to act starting tomorrow.
'Too many rivals.'
Starting with the blonde glued to his side, the silver-hair always waiting for a chance, and the blue-hair whose thoughts were a mystery.
Too many people to push aside, and this was all new to Isia.
Her knowledge was lacking, naturally. A girl who'd spent her life buried in magic books could only lean on books and data.
"Let's see. Using polite speech might make me seem distant? Push and pull? What's this...?"
Once she cracked open a book, Isia dove right in. She searched the internet for related questions and eventually ended up—
[How to Use Banmal Naturally]
—searching stuff like that. She had no idea nothing worthwhile would come from queries like these.
She was just...
"Whoa. Ahem. Hi? Nah. Nice to meet ya...? No...."
...amazed by the ocean of information.
"Yahalong? That's it!!"
The next morning.
I woke up in the hotel Isia had booked. Sleeping in a bed so plush it put my one at home to shame made all my fatigue melt away.
Isia had handled explaining everything to the late-arriving heroes too. All I had to do was kick back and enjoy life.
This is nice. Real nice?
[What're you gonna do with the spirit nya.]
"Tame it."
[How nya?]
I'll think about it slowly. It's not urgent. There are plenty of ways to win over a spirit.
Me? The guy who made a devil submit?
[You didn't do jack nya.]
Shut up. What do you know. You know nothing. What do you know about my efforts? Even breathing is hard work.
Ignoring the cat's sigh, I headed to my meetup spot with Raphael. We'd stayed in a place Isia booked last night, so naturally, Raphael and I had separate rooms.
Sleeping under the same roof every night then splitting up felt a little lonely, and I kinda missed the bustle, but...
Still, I slept great, so I'm satisfied. Yeah. Definitely didn't miss that damn blonde.
[Daddy!!!!]
As I walked along rationalizing to myself, two golden heads came into view in the distance.
The little blonde came bouncing over, so I crouched down and scooped her up.
"Levatein!! Sleep well?"
[Yeah!! Woke up and Daddy was gone, got scared!!]
"Missed me?"
[Yeah!!]
Honest answers are the best. I stroked her head right away. So cute, giggling like that.
"Wanna grab some yummy breakfast?"
[Yummy?!]
"Yeah. Anything you want."
[Yay!!]
Levatein let out a happy "Kyaa!!" Thanks to her, I couldn't help but flash a dad smile.
"Raphael, anything you wanna eat?"
"Anything's fine for me. I love all yummy stuff. Especially if it's with Levatein. Oh, I'll make room for Seong-hoon too. Specially!!"
"Thanks."
Aw, thanks for adding me to the special people list. I patted Raphael's head as she stood there proudly with an "Ahem!"
Her head dropped with that usual smile. Back in the day, I'd hold back, but now this feels natural.
Levatein seemed to think it was fun too and plopped her hand on Raphael's head, petting away.
"Gonna catch fire."
"Won't."
"Yeah, right."
What am I supposed to be if she says obvious stuff like that? After petting their heads for a good while, we were heading to a restaurant when someone blocked our path.
The heroes should've gone back by now? Wondering what it was, I looked up and saw—
"H-Hi?!"
Isia, with her black hair in curls. She couldn't meet my eyes, her face a bit flushed as she said that.
What the heck is this? The blonde next to me seemed intrigued too, muttering something like "Oh, new neo Isia."
"Wh-Why no answer?"
[Hi!!]
"Ah. Hello."
[Yeah!!]
"But you, Raphael!! And Seong-hoon, why no answer!!"
Why banmal just to me? Going sudden like that makes it hard for anyone to respond.
What wind blew her this way? Raphael just shrugged like she had no idea.
"Yo!!"
And then she tacks on polite at the end.
"Pick one."
"W-Weird?"
"Not weird. Kinda friendly. I like it."
"Then... keep banmal?....yo."
"Is that it? Half-formal?"
"Nah? That's basically calling you an idiot."
"Idiot explains it perfectly."
"I've been slacking lately, huh?!"
I pressed down on Raphael's head as she lunged, looking at Isia. Sticking to polite speech does kinda overlap with Raphael's vibe.
"I like it. Feels like we're closer. My heart's pounding!!"
"P-Pound?!"
For the record, humans die if their heart doesn't beat.
"Wanna join us for breakfast?"
[Sister too?]
"Oh, Isia's a sister now?"
[Yeah!!]
"Who said you could join--!!!!!"
With Isia's nod and Raphael's scream ringing out, we headed off for breakfast.
While Lee Seong-hoon was kicking up a storm and enjoying his chaotic Maldives trip...
Something he never could've imagined was happening elsewhere.
"Dad, this is the kid who'll be doing guild experience over break. Her name's—"
A girl with brown hair smiled as she spoke. A black-haired man stepped out from behind her.
"Kim Tae-hyun."
Cold expression. Yet with sculpture-like beauty, he simply stood there impassively.
"I want to learn as much as possible."
"Hmm. If my daughter's bringing 'em, gotta teach 'em!!"
With that hearty laugh, the wheel of fate—desperately held back by someone—began to turn.