If You Touch What's Mine, I'll Burn You

A cold voice, completely unlike her usual tone, stabbed into me as if it would freeze the entire classroom solid. In contrast, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠temperature around us was spiking sharply. That was only natural—flames were roaring so fiercely they looked ready to devour everything in sight.

"Hey... Hana, just calm down a little. The situation looks perfect for a misunderstanding, but nothing like that ever—"

I stood up from my desk, trying to soothe her somehow.

"And who the hell are you, approaching Seha like that?"

But Hana shoved me aside with one hand and grabbed the collar of a seated Jeong Harin with the other. Harin, smaller in build than Hana, ended up dangling in the air, her shirt bunched in Hana's grip.

"Hahaha... Hana, aren't you being a bit too rough just because I spoke to Seha a little? Everyone around us is watching. Do we really need to make such a flashy scene right at the start of the new semester?"

Harin spoke in a slightly cowed voice, forcing a smile as she desperately tried to talk her way out of this.

As Harin said, the whole classroom atmosphere had shifted. Even the kids who had been sleeping were now awake and staring in our direction. If a teacher showed up, we'd be in serious trouble.

But Hana didn't seem to care about any of that. Instead, she grabbed Harin directly by the throat.

"Kkhk... I can't... breathe..."

"Lee Hana, use your words! Words! You're actually going to hurt her!"

The angel boy who'd been watching finally shouted as he rushed over to stop her. The angel friend with Kim Jemin on his name tag tried to pull the dangling Harin down somehow.

But the moment he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠touched her, the even fiercer heat radiating from Hana forced him to let go and back away.

"Grade-rep pigeon friend. Don't even think about intervening. Stay quiet."

"Damn it... I knew she was a demon..."

Jemin gritted his teeth, a yellow light glowing across the back of his hand. When even he failed to stop Hana, no one else dared to get involved.

"Hey, Lee Hana, enough. That's plenty. Even an idiot would've understood by now. Let go before this gets any worse."

It was so hot. Wasn't I supposed to be protected by the Balrog's Blessing? The moment I grabbed Hana's arm, an intense heat that felt like it would scorch me wrapped around my hand. Still, I clenched my teeth and endured it, pulling her flame-wrapped arm down as I spoke.

"...I'm only stopping you this much because it's you."

Hana finally released Jeong Harin's throat. Harin collapsed to the floor, still coughing and gasping for air.

"Are you okay, Harin?"

Jemin shone the yellow light he'd summoned earlier onto her as well. Being an angel, it looked like he could use holy recovery magic. But this wasn't the time to stand around watching.

I still had to calm Hana down completely.

"Why is this class so rowdy? And it's burning up in here like someone turned the heater on full blast. Everyone, sit down~ We need to start second period orientation."

Break time must have ended without us noticing. The teacher for the next class had arrived.

Jemin spoke briefly with the teacher, then took Harin to the infirmary. I was a little worried she might tell the truth when the teacher asked about the burns. But Harin simply said she'd spilled water from her tumbler. Why? If she told the truth, Hana would at least be dragged to the staff room for a lecture and penalty points.

Using magic that threatened someone was punished far more severely than a normal attack. That was the Demon King's will—to prevent those with power from oppressing others through sheer force.

Hana still hadn't cooled off. Even when I tried talking to her, she turned her head away and stayed stubbornly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠silent. At least her tail was wrapped around the leg of my chair now. It seemed like her mood had improved a little compared to earlier...

The new semester had gotten off to a properly twisted start. Too many things had exploded in the span of a ten-minute break; my head was throbbing.

"There we go. Opening the windows makes it a bit more bearable. Teacher here is a werewolf, so I feel the heat worse than most~ Anyway, nice to meet you all. I'm Lee Minsu, and I'll be teaching PE with you this year. My race is a werewolf, like I said! Just so you know in advance, I don't go around howling 'Awoo~' at the full moon, so don't ask about it during question time. Every single year, if I don't say this, someone asks. Every year."

The PE teacher seemed to have a pretty cheerful personality. Fluffy purple fur covered his arms and legs while the rest of him looked human, but his thick, bushy tail wagged constantly, making his werewolf nature obvious.

"You're second-years, right? For third-years they tell us to just make them self-study, so you guys are lucky. Except for performance evaluations, my PE classes are mostly just running around and playing on the field. You're still young—you should be outside running for at least an hour, don't you think? You already received gym clothes back in first year, so no need to apply for new ones... From the next PE class onward, just change and gather on the field. Have you picked a class president yet? Ah, not yet? Okay. Hey, the hound kid sitting up front. You take charge of leading the class until next period. I'm asking as one musclehead to another. I'll give you a protein shake later~ Thanks, thank you, thank you~"

"Phew..."

The teacher's explanation ended simply, followed by time for questions and chatter.

When I turned my head again, my eyes met Hana's. Had she finally calmed down enough to talk?

"Feeling a little better? I can finally explain what happened."

"No. It still feels like a volcano keeps erupting in my chest. Yoon Seha. Just how far did you progress with that bitch while I was in the bathroom?"

"Haah. Before I make any excuses, let me make one thing crystal clear. I'm a victim here too. I was taking a nap and got blindsided by her out of nowhere."

"Are you two in contact separately? Or did you know each other from before?"

"No, seriously nothing. You can put me through the Trial of the Soul if you want. I saw her for the first time at yesterday's entrance ceremony."

"You're making me ask again. Then why is she acting like that toward you?"

"I really don't know... She said something about my soul being to her taste? What the hell does that even mean? Do souls have handsome and ugly types too?"

"Haah... so that was the reason? I get it now... No, knowing the reason just makes me even angrier..."

Hana muttered while biting her nails.

"High-ranking demons like me, angels, and of course girls from the succubus race like Jeong Harin can see the souls of living beings. For Balrogs like us, it's possible because we form contracts using each other's souls. Succubi tend to view souls through the lens of instinct, unlike us. It goes back to the previous Demon King rather than the current one—back to the 'Eternal Winter' when they fought the angels. They've been sucking the life force from living beings and converting it into energy ever since. That's why they're extremely sensitive to souls with high purity. To succubi, a living being's soul is essentially food. But just like humans don't eat anything and everything, they don't devour just any soul. Out of countless souls, if they find one that perfectly matches their taste—like the current situation—they'll rush in just like she did."

It was a rather long explanation. But in the end, that's what it boiled down to.

"So to summarize what you said, to Jeong Harin's eyes, my soul looks like the ultimate delicacy?"

"Wow, not even a three-line summary but a one-line summary? Exactly right, Yoon Seha."

"Hey, then that means my soul is about to get sucked dry by a succubus. Is this really the time to be calmly analyzing it??"

"Hm? The human friend in the back row, do you have a question too?"

I'd reacted without thinking, and the PE teacher had turned to look at me.

"Ah... I was just wondering what your main sport is, sir."

"Seha, right? Not sure if I read the name tag correctly. Anyway, to answer your question—teacher likes soccer the most! I love both playing and watching. My favorite league is the Wyvern League! I've been a die-hard fan of Wyvern Madrid since my military days. If any of you are fellow fans, come tell me later~"

Good. I'd asked randomly, but the teacher had taken it well.

I turned back to Hana.

"Anyway, it means my soul is in mortal danger right now. Correct?"

"Your soul is definitely food to her, but that doesn't mean you'll die if it's eaten. You already know other races can't just threaten humans recklessly."

"But you said the soul gets sucked. Isn't that basically the same as dying?"

"No, back in middle school I caught you watching porn in your room red-handed. You're not some monk who's completely detached from the world, so why are you pretending not to know? Since she's a succubus, it means you'll be devoured in the sexual sense, you idiot."

"Ah... so that's what 'eaten' meant. I got so flustered for a second I forgot basic common sense..."

"Look at you acting all dense. Completely draining a soul dry is a story from the old Demon King era. In this current age, they don't suck vitality to the point of threatening someone's life. Still, she's a succubus, so she'll definitely suck you to the limit."

"For a solo guy, isn't that basically winning the lottery?"

"Do you actually want to take a shower in a pillar of fire? Are you solo right now? Well, technically yes at the moment, but... anyway, you two have a deep enough relationship that you received the Balrog's Blessing."

Hana mumbled, clearly glossing over her words.

Well, I did have a soul contract with her.

Wait a second. From Hana's perspective, this was a situation where someone had almost stolen the soul she'd already marked as hers. No wonder she'd gotten so angry she even grabbed Harin by the collar.

I finally understood everything.

Honestly, it felt a little strange knowing my soul had become an auction item between two monsters. Still, if I had to choose between the two, I'd obviously pick Hana. After all the years we'd been through, I couldn't ignore that.

"This is the soul of our Seha that I've cherished and protected since kindergarten... Am I supposed to just stand by and watch some succubus bitch take it with both eyes wide open?"

Hana's flames looked ready to flare up again.

"Cool your emotions, Hana. There's still a little class time left."

I placed my hand over hers and pressed down gently, soothing her. When Harin came back from the infirmary, I'd have to find some way to keep the two of them apart.

That was easier said than done, though...