The Arrival of the Puppy's Master
Kang A-jin and I descended to the third basement level of her house.
A-jin, clearly thrilled at the prospect of seeing her master, hummed a little tune as she began the preparations she'd mentioned earlier.
I gazed at the enormous ring placed in the center of the vast underground space.—I always thought this, but A-jin's house seemed to defy the normal laws of physics. It was some mysterious device whose purpose I couldn't even guess.
A-jin's preparations revolved around that massive ring in the center. She laid out various tools and books that looked like they were for sorcery, then knelt on the floor.
Though she'd told me to come along, there was really nothing I could do. I just had to watch her work.
As A-jin chanted her incantation, she tossed out talismans. A dozen or so of them positioned themselves around the ring. They began emitting light, and that light connected them all together.
Talismans linked. Waveform forming.
A sharp chiiiing rang out, and a powerful ripple formed in the center of the ring.
Oh!
I could roughly picture what A-jin was trying to do. In short, this ring served as a warp zone.
No matter how you sliced it, someone couldn't just fly in suddenly from the other side of the Earth. Even A-jin's master couldn't pull that off.
Probably, this ring acted as the warp zone to make it possible.
Even so, this was still an astonishing feat. There were plenty of hunters who could teleport or move as fast as Kim Seol-bi, but who could cross half the globe in one go without even boarding a plane?
If that were easy, the world would descend into chaos. National borders would mean nothing to some hunters.
As those thoughts ran through my head, A-jin spoke into the air.
"It's ready, Master."
I suddenly wondered why A-jin spoke Korean to her Brazilian master. Well, that mystery would be cleared up soon enough.
A-jin extended both hands and chanted faster.
Chiiiing—
The light shooting from the talismans intensified, and the large ring began spinning with a loud rumble.
Ching, ching, ching, ching—
For a moment, I worried the thing might roll off like a wheel and tear through the room.
But soon after, the ripple in the center of the ring wavered, and something appeared.
Unlike what the situation might suggest, a woman emerged with utterly calm steps.
I was startled when I saw her. Based on what A-jin had said, this had to be her master—but the woman who appeared was far younger than I'd imagined.
Her red curly hair cascaded down to her waist. She wore a top that exposed half her enormous breasts and a long skirt that hugged her slender lines below. She was already incredibly tall, but the high heels with their steep incline made it even more striking.
I don't know what I'd pictured, but I'd half-expected her to show up in witch robes or carrying a staff and spellbook.
Instead, stepping through the ring was a woman with a figure so stunning she could pass for a model or actress, exuding exotic allure.
Is she really A-jin's master?
While I stood there dumbfounded, the woman from the ring and A-jin embraced warmly.
"Puppy! Have you been well?"
"Master!"
They looked like sisters reuniting after years apart, not master and disciple. No hint of a teacher-student dynamic—just close siblings a few years apart.
"I told you not to be so formal. I've already stepped down from my position. Just call me sis~"
"No, even so... how could I call my master 'sis' after all you've taught me..."
"You're perfect in every way except this stiff attitude. I almost thought all Korean people were like you. If you keep it up, I'll head back to Brazil?"
"Ah, no, Master!"
"Again with the 'Master'!"
"Sis..."
"Yes, Puppy!"
The woman from Brazil hugged A-jin tightly, as if cradling a beloved doll. It was the first time I'd seen A-jin like this.
I knew some people online called her "Puppy," but anyone who'd met her in person wouldn't dare say it to her face, given the unique aura she exuded.
Yet this foreign master hugged her without hesitation, calling her "Puppy!" over and over.
I'd imagined a stricter master-disciple relationship...
Even so, seeing A-jin humming happily in preparation and now them embracing like this, their bond was clearly special.
As I watched this unexpected reunion, a faint sense of dissonance crept in. It didn't seem like A-jin's master had come through the ring alone...
And sure enough, I realized there was someone standing right in front of the ring, silently watching us.
"Gasp!"
Was her presence just that faint? Or did she have an ability like Kim Eun-bi's to erase her aura? It took me a while to even notice her.
When had she come out? Had the warp sorcery malfunctioned, pulling in some other-dimensional entity?
Her appearance was so unusual it sparked those thoughts. She wore something between a fantasy maid outfit and princess attire, standing around 160cm with a petite frame.
Her skin was pale white, her face expressionless. Platinum blonde hair was braided into twintails draping down her back.
She looked human, but somehow lacked that human warmth.
"Master, did you bring Lisa too?"
A-jin asked while still locked in the embrace, glancing toward the ring.
"Ahh~ Of course. Once I stepped down, our Lisa had nothing to do. Who else would look after her if not me? But you said 'Master' again, didn't you?"
"Haa..."
Lisa? That's how I learned the name of the girl standing awkwardly by the ring, staring at me.
"Hm?"
A-jin's master noticed Lisa staring intently at something and followed her gaze to me.
"Ooh~"
She placed one hand on her hip and let out an exclamation.
"So this is the one. The guy who dragged our pure little Puppy into the swamp of lust."
"Master... no, Sis!"
A-jin's master eyed me with a strangely burning gaze.
"I wondered what kind of amazing man it was, but he's surprisingly average-looking? What rank did you say? C?"
Her reaction was oddly dismissive, like she was incredulous.
"Puppy, I favored you specially among all my disciples because I thought you were the only one who could control your lust. And yet, how long has it been since we parted, and you're already falling for a man? Boo-hoo."
"It's been over five years!"
A-jin's master put on an exaggerated show of sorrow that was obviously fake. A-jin, meanwhile, bristled at some irrelevant detail.
What the...?
I got the feeling A-jin's master wasn't exactly welcoming me. It felt like the way a rival might look at a love interest.
A rival...? No way...
"I've told you so many times. True love isn't between man and woman—it's between women. You kept rejecting that beautiful truth, and now you're sharing your body with a man... If that's how it was gonna be, you should've given me your purity ages ago."
"Sis!!"
Ah...
I realized A-jin's master had unexpected tastes.
She's a lesbian?
I had no prejudice against that, but I was still surprised. Given A-jin's usual demeanor, it was hard to imagine her learning under someone like this.
I couldn't picture what their sorcery lessons must have been like. My head was spinning.
"But still..."
A-jin's master stared at me intently. Her gaze felt like it pierced my skin straight to the bone, as if she could see right through me.
"I see."
She nodded, then whipped her head around and extended a hand to Lisa.
"Don't be shy, come here, Lisa."
Lisa trotted over at the gesture, taking her hand like a mother and daughter. It was striking.
"No contact all this time, and now you come to me for advice on a man? This is why raising disciples is pointless."
"No, it's not that simple..."
"Yeah, yeah. I got curious myself, wondering what man could conquer our Puppy."
"Conquer...? That's not..."
A-jin's master narrowed her eyes.
"Don't tell me..."
Her gaze shifted to me.
"You two haven't had sex yet?"
"Yah-ho!" she shouted gleefully.
"So you're still a virgin? How about giving it to your sis instead?"
"Master!"
"Hohoho."
Listening to their conversation was making my head spin. Even amid the chaos, Lisa kept staring at me. Her gaze pierced too, but it felt softer and more innocent—not unpleasant at all.