The Wind Spirit King
"Wait—you're really planning to stay with me?"
Having left Alfheim and arrived at his front door, Do-ha looked over at Selenia beside him.
After declaring she would follow him, she had already finished speaking with the Elf Queen. Not a single person had tried to stop her.
"You might vanish on your own again, Do-ha. Someone has to keep an eye on you."
"Keep an eye on me…"
"But didn't you come back a little early?"
Canteas tilted his head. Wouldn't it have been fine to linger in Alfheim a while longer?
"Alfheim is going to be a mess right now anyway."
And for good reason. Demons had invaded, and many elves had died. His return might have felt like a godsend to them, but the atmosphere was hardly one for celebration.
Beep.
Do-ha unlocked the door and ushered Selenia inside. He wasn't planning for them to live together permanently—just to let her stay in his room until she found a place of her own.
I'll sleep in the living room.
"So this is your house, Do-ha…"
Seeing an Earth building for the first time, Selenia looked around with open curiosity. Everything was new to her, and every object held a spark of wonder.
"It's small, right? Grandfather lived here alone originally, so…"
He had meant to move ages ago, but after purchasing land in Paju he had decided to wait and relocate there instead—which was why he was still in this house.
"No. I love how cozy it is. A big house is only harder to manage."
She smiled and shook her head. Her home back in Alfheim had only been one room larger than this. A smaller space was no trouble at all.
"Okay, but why did you tag along?"
Do-ha turned to Canteas. He had already found the lich a place of his own—so why was he still glued to Do-ha's side?
"What, now that Selenia's here you're just dumping me?! You want to be alone with her, is that it?"
"What are you talking about? You have that house you love so much. Why are you here?"
"Don't lie to me! This is exactly why couples are—"
Pat.
"Hey! Don't comfort me!"
Selenia wordlessly patted his shoulder, and Canteas snapped in irritation. Being mocked would have stung less. Being pitied like this only made him angrier.
"Tsk tsk. What's so great about romance? Spend that time training and get stronger instead."
"You stay out of this."
Cheon Seol-gyeong's scolding drew a sigh from Canteas. At the same moment, Do-ha sighed too. Four people crammed into an already small house made the place feel truly tiny.
At the very least, could someone reverse-summon Cheon Seol-gyeong already?
"Do-ha, do you have any water?"
"Oh, thirsty? I've got orange juice, actually. Here—it's a drink."
Orange juice had always been her favorite. Even in Belhart, taverns sold it, and she had loved the stuff.
"Just tell me where it is and I'll get it myself. You don't have to fuss over me."
"No, you're a guest. At least let me—"
Slip.
Crash.
Rising together, Do-ha and Selenia both stepped on something in front of the refrigerator and went down at the same time.
"Ah—I spilled sesame oil this morning and forgot! I was making bibimbap and—"
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. You caught me, so I didn't get hurt."
Even as they fell, Do-ha had swiftly cupped the back of her head, shielding her from the floor.
"You damn bag of bones! If you spill something, clean it up right away!"
Then—
Beep.
The door lock chimed, and the front door swung wide open.
"Do-ha, Grandfather's ho—oh my!"
Bang!
Baek Chul took one look at Do-ha in the living room, yelped in shock, and slammed the door shut.
Just now, his grandson had been on top of some young woman… ahem.
"You, uh… g-go ahead and finish what you were doing. This old man has no sense of timing…"
"Grandfather! It's not what you think!"
"I'll come back in an hour—no, three hours!"
"It's not like that!!"
Do-ha scrambled to his feet and chased after Baek Chul, who was already fleeing into the distance.
"So this young lady is…"
"Hello. I'm Selenia Kairamos, a companion of Do-ha's. Please just call me Selenia."
"Well now, it's a pleasure. I'm Baek Chul—Do-ha's grandfather."
Selenia offered a gentle smile as she introduced herself, and Baek Chul chuckled warmly, nodding. Once the earlier misunderstanding had been cleared up, Do-ha had promptly explained who she was.
"To think such a beautiful elf is our Do-ha's companion. Haha."
He occasionally saw elves working at markets and coffee shops, but the young woman before him was dozens of times more radiant than any of them.
"I've wanted to meet you for so long."
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Baek Chul. For more than forty years she had watched Do-ha yearn for his grandfather. Naturally, she had grown deeply curious about the man named Baek Chul—and now, at last, they had met.
"Me?"
"Yes. Do-ha used to talk about wanting to see you all the time. It was like a habit."
"Haha. That boy."
Baek Chul, clearly pleased, ruffled Do-ha's hair. But hadn't Do-ha's memories returned only recently, after which he had come looking for him at once? When had there been time for it to become a habit?
"That's why I wanted to meet you too, Grandfather. If you're Do-ha's family, then you'll be family to me as well."
"…"
Something in her phrasing made Baek Chul narrow his eyes. He hadn't lived this long for nothing. Even in a chaotic world, he had developed a sharp eye for people. Looking closer, Selenia's tone carried a clear affection for Do-ha—not the simple praise of a colleague, but something tender and deep.
"Do-ha."
"Yes?"
"I've been meaning to tell you this for a while now…"
"?"
"It's time you moved out."
"Excuse me?? Wait, what are you—"
His grandfather's sudden order to leave the house left Do-ha thoroughly flustered. Was he being kicked out like some troublemaking child?
"This old man would like a little peace and quiet for once."
"Even so, you can't just suddenly—"
"And look at you, boy. You're a grown adult. How long do you plan to keep living with me?"
"…"
Do-ha scratched his head at Baek Chul's words. Truthfully, he had already figured out why his grandfather was saying this.
He must have picked up on things between Selenia and me…
That was why he was trying to push Do-ha out. With himself around, Baek Chul would only feel like he was getting in the way.
"Grandfather, don't worry. Once the Paju construction is finished, we'll all be living separately anyway."
"That's one thing, but starting today—"
"Even if I move out this very day, whatever you're hoping for is not going to happen!"
In the end, Do-ha and his grandfather started bickering in earnest.
Honestly!
No matter how eagerly he waited for good news—kicking them out on the spot wasn't going to make a great-grandchild pop into existence!
Hmm… but how can a human possess the Whisper of Nature…
While Do-ha and Baek Chul squabbled, Selenia tilted her head. Elves called it the Whisper of Nature; in the Central Plains it was known as Seongi—Pure Qi. Not the character for "good," but the one for "cleanse." Almost no humans possessed this energy. Even among elves, those who held Pure Qi rather than mere Vital Qi were vanishingly rare.
And yet that energy was flowing from Baek Chul.
Fssshh.
—Do-ha.
—Has Grandfather contracted with a spirit, by any chance?
—No. Why?
—He's overflowing with the Whisper of Nature.
—Huh? Pure Qi?
Her telepathic message startled Do-ha. Elves could sense Pure Qi by nature. And she was sensing it from his grandfather?
—He went through a Marrow Cleansing last time… that wouldn't cause it, would it?
—No. Marrow Cleansing doesn't produce Pure Qi.
If it did, the majority of cultivators in the Central Plains would already have contracted with spirits.
—Then… Grandfather can form a spirit contract?
That was something even Do-ha himself had never managed. He had no Pure Qi to begin with—couldn't sense it, didn't possess it—and so he had never contracted with a spirit.
Of course, a contract was still possible without Pure Qi. Most elves used Vital Qi to perform spirit arts. But Pure Qi was a far rarer power, and virtually no human ever held it.
"Grandfather."
"Hm?"
Baek Chul looked over at Selenia's call.
"This may be a little difficult, but would you try repeating after me?"
"?"
She spoke the words slowly, making them easy to follow, and Baek Chul carefully repeated each one. Do-ha had no idea what this was about, yet he watched intently, as if he already understood something of it.
"Answer my call."
After a long stretch of strange incantation, the final line came out in Korean—a summons to answer the call.
A full minute passed.
"…"
"Nothing's happening?"
Canteas, who had been watching quietly, tilted his head. The chants they had just recited were the ones used for a first contract with a spirit.
"You must have sensed Vital Qi from Grandfather."
Do-ha couldn't feel Pure Qi himself, so she would have been the one to mention it.
"No—Pure Qi."
"Huh?? A human with Pure Qi?"
Canteas jolted in shock.
"I don't know what any of that means, but it seems it didn't work out."
"I'm sorry. I got your hopes up for nothing…"
"Ah, nonsense. I don't even know what I just did. It's all right, dear."
Baek Chul smiled and patted Selenia's shoulder as she hung her head.
In that instant—
KWAHHHHHH!
WHOOOOSH.
A tremendous gale erupted around Baek Chul, and Do-ha immediately threw up a shield spell around his grandfather. Wind pressure of that magnitude could bring the entire villa building down.
"H-how…"
Watching Pure Qi surge and whirl, Selenia herself was the one thrown into confusion. Energy on a scale this vast could mean only one thing.
SHWAAAAA.
RUMBLE.
Inside the shield, the raging gale suddenly compressed, beginning to take shape.
And then—
SHWOOO.
FLASH!
In a blaze of overwhelming light, someone appeared before Baek Chul.
"…What on earth…"
A towering, powerfully built figure. Erial, the Wind Spirit King, looked upon Baek Chul and smiled.
"…"
"…"
Do-ha and Selenia locked eyes, both wearing the same stunned expression.
From the moment Pure Qi had been sensed, a spirit contract had seemed inevitable. Even if it failed today, anyone who possessed Pure Qi would eventually be able to summon a spirit.
But no one had expected a Spirit King.
Not a single elf in Alfheim could currently summon a Spirit King—not Selenia, and not even the Queen. And yet a human from another dimension had just called one forth.
"Do-ha, what in the world is going on?"
Utterly unable to make sense of the situation, Baek Chul looked to his grandson. A Spirit King—wasn't that the kind of being that showed up in comics and novels? He had read plenty of those as a boy, so he had a rough idea of what they were. But why was one standing right in front of him?
"Haha. Congratulations, Grandfather. You've done something even I never managed."
Of everyone present, Do-ha was by far the happiest. From this moment on—setting aside Demon Kings and dragons—no one would be able to harm his grandfather. He would still need to properly master spirit arts, of course, but once he did, Do-ha would never again have to worry about Baek Chul's safety.
"Looks like a new Cheon-oe-cheon just appeared."
Do-ha slapped the table and burst out laughing.