I'll Start with a Shower
I handed the completely paralyzed Yun Chae-ho over to the police.
"You've done excellent work. Both of you are still students, yet you showed such courage—Korea's future looks bright."
The officer's face was a complicated mix of brightness and something darker.
Guilt over having to leave the response to academy students because precious combat personnel couldn't be concentrated in one place after the academy itself had been hit by terrorism.
Inferiority and admiration tangled together at the realization that those same academy students were stronger than most police officers.
In truth, the officer had no real reason to wear that expression.
After all, the students standing here were far from ordinary people.
If the contractor of the Archangel Gabriel—whom no one in the country didn't know—and the contractor of Marbas, one of Solomon's Seventy-Two Demons, were merely ordinary academy students, then Korea would already be the number-one nation in the world.
"You'll be able to receive the investigation results as soon as the inquiry is complete."
"Haha, I really appreciate that."
Leaving the police behind, I approached Kim Gabyul, who was perched on the railing, carefully tending to her sword.
"So, is everything finished now?"
"Yeah. You worked hard today. I didn't expect you to put in this much effort. I'll make it up to you later."
Kim Gabyul spoke with an apologetic look.
"Haha, I'm a little tired, but I'm fine. I was also curious about what the culprit looked like."
Why canst thou not be honest? Why not simply say that thou enjoyed accompanying her?
It's not that much.
I ignored the lion plushie's words.
Even in the original work, information about these people hadn't been abundant.
All that had been revealed was that the culprits were three siblings whose parents had died in a villain's indiscriminate terrorist attack.
Now that I'd handed them over to the police, results would come out soon enough.
I could simply rest at home and check the text message when it arrived.
And as a bonus, I'd receive a hefty reward—two birds with one stone.
"Still, we were out until this late at night…"
"Come now, all I did was follow you around, didn't I?"
I cut off Kim Gabyul's next words with a playful tone.
"Hahaha, well, that's true too. But I am definitely going to repay you."
"If you insist… then I'll look forward to it."
I returned home.
The interior was so pitch-black it seemed to have swallowed every scrap of darkness in the world, ominous enough that a ghost might appear at any moment.
Curtains drawn so tightly that not even moonlight could enter.
What was visible through that absolute darkness were dolls—dolls, and more dolls. Countless dolls.
They looked ordinary at first glance, yet the longer you stared at them, the more an inexplicable unease crept over you, an urge to leave the place where they sat as quickly as possible.
Dolls of that sort were placed throughout the house.
Because of them, anyone who entered felt an ominous chill and tried to leave.
That had been my calculation: make them want to get out of this house as fast as possible.
Yet that person named Seo Jia hadn't seemed to feel a thing.
No—it would be more accurate to say she hadn't found it noteworthy at all.
She had held out against those dolls without using any power whatsoever—literally none—until I arrived.
She had even lain on my bed in the bedroom and shed tears.
No matter how I looked at it, she had clearly been completely unaffected by the dolls I had arranged.
Well, I had made them as a hobby anyway.
I hadn't seriously intended to use them in actual combat.
…Though, to be honest, I had planned to use them in combat.
The grand dream of creating my own doll army like a necromancer.
It was the kind of romantic fantasy every black mage—no, every man—harbored, and I had intended to make it real.
Judging by their current state, however, that plan would have to be scrapped.
I woke up.
My mind cleared rapidly, and I checked the time.
Ten-thirty in the morning.
Considering I had fallen asleep at dawn, I had woken up early.
Or, given that I was a student, one could say I had slept in quite a bit.
Going back to sleep feels awkward now.
I simply sat up.
Still seated on the bed, I turned my palm upward.
Great Demons possessed many abilities.
Marbas, one of Solomon's Seventy-Two Demons and the President who received reverence and worship from countless other demons, was no exception.
There were the famous authorities that represented Marbas—the power to transform people into various animals, the power to create diseases that plunged people into agony or to heal those already afflicted—
and of course the abilities any demon would have, such as summoning monsters and manipulating souls.
A translucent cube rose above my palm.
This, too, was one of Marbas's many authorities.
The black cube floating above my hand used my mana as fuel and changed size according to my will.
From the size of a small die, it instantly expanded until it nearly touched the ceiling.
Then the enlarged cube vanished just as quickly.
A hollow, translucent cube that could be freely created, destroyed, and resized.
Its applications were many.
First, I could imprison someone inside it like a jail cell.
By placing magic within, I could even absorb the captive's mana to extend the authority's duration, making it truly ideal as a prison.
I could also use it as a defensive barrier to protect my body,
or send bombs or cursed objects to an enemy for a nasty surprise—another excellent use.
This authority was the one I had used most often ever since contracting with Marbas.
I could use the others if I wanted, but I simply never felt the urge.
For now, this one alone was enough.
"Lord Marbas. Do you happen to have any other contractors besides me?"
Marbas, currently serving as Miho's pillow while she lay on the bed, answered.
There are countless Transcendent Beings in this world. And most of them choose to contract with humans. Knowest thou why? Because humans become a source of power for them. The more influence they spread across the human realm, the stronger a Transcendent Being becomes. That is why the majority of demons contract with humans—to grow stronger. Tch. That such weaklings dare call themselves demons…
Ah, so thou asked whether this body has other contractors? None. They all died long ago. Not only do I take no pleasure in contracting with many humans at once, but for a Transcendent Being of this body's caliber, further contracts hold little meaning. Even so, this body contracted with thee simply because thy disposition and black mana suited me well.
Marbas poured out even things I hadn't asked about in a continuous stream.
He had been talkative even before our contract, so it wasn't strange.
The point was this:
At the level of Solomon's Seventy-Two Demons, whether one contracted or not no longer mattered much.
"Then what about Kim Gabyul's case? I heard she has been contracted since birth."
Marbas dismissed my question with a single line.
That old hag was probably just bored.
I let out a hollow laugh at the unexpected answer.
Miho, who had been lying on the bed using Marbas as a pillow, also burst into laughter.
I turned my head and looked at the orange-haired doll.
It looked as vicious as Chucky.
I thought of Seo Jia.
Black hair, black suit, black stockings—she had been blackness itself.
That woman had claimed I was the boss of some organization.
What was the organization's name again?
Heuksu? Heuksa? Heuksi?
I had transmigrated into The Reincarnator Wants to Live, and of all characters, I had to end up as this one.
An academy student who was also the leader of an organization with one foot in the underworld—anyone looking at it would assume he was a villain from the original story.
Come to think of it, in the original, when Kim Gabyul was seriously injured fighting a villain who had infiltrated the academy, there had been wounds inflicted by black mana… or maybe there hadn't…
…Was that me, by any chance?
Unfortunately, the possibility was extremely high.
To injure Kim Gabyul that badly meant the villain had to be at least as skilled as she was,
and had managed to pierce the notoriously tough durability unique to holy mages.
Of course, that alone wasn't enough to identify the villain.
I still didn't know what the original Baek Sejin had done before I transmigrated.
But the situation had changed.
A person named Seo Jia had appeared, and she was highly likely to know a great deal about my past.
Moreover, Seo Jia was running the organization in my place.
I suddenly wanted to visit that organization once.
I needed to go in person and find out what kind of group it was and what atmosphere it had.
I had nothing else to do today anyway, so why not?
I called Seo Jia.
She answered before the ringtone even finished sounding.
Yes, Baek Sejin-nim. I have been waiting.
"I would like to visit that organization today."
I will prepare at once. May I come pick you up now?
Seo Jia replied immediately upon hearing my words.
"Now is a bit inconvenient. I haven't showered yet. Ah—would you wait at my house while I shower? That seems more efficient."
I heard the sound of her swallowing on the other end of the line.
Th-then I shall impose upon you.
Seo Jia answered in a strangely trembling voice.
"Yes. Then I'll go take my shower."
I hung up.
While I was enjoying a pleasant shower under the warm water, I heard the sound of the door opening.
Seo Jia must have arrived.
When I stepped out fully dressed, my eyes met those of Seo Jia, who was staring fixedly at the door with her face flushed red.
The moment our gazes locked, she made no effort to hide her fluster.
Then, her face completely scarlet, she cleared her throat.
"Ahem! Th-then… yes. Shall we go?"