The Wind Spirit King's Contractor

Scraping chairs.

A long scrape of legs across the floor.

As Do-ha rose, the rest of them stood up one after another from their seats.

"Aigoo, sit down. Sit."

Seeing them all get up, Baek Chul waved his hands with an awkward look on his face.

Thud.

"Do-ha. When you're with other people, don't stand up just because I walk in."

"Huh? Why not?"

"What do you mean, why, you little rascal. Because of you, everyone else stands up too!"

Baek Chul gave Do-ha a light smack on the shoulder.

Since Do-ha was a Cheon-oe-cheon, everyone else read the room and rose with him. Only Canteas stayed seated — and with the whole table on its feet, the whole thing felt needlessly heavy.

"It must be hard on you, dealing with our Do-ha."

"Aigoo, not at all. Hard? Not in the least."

The Association President forced a smile and shook his head.

It wasn't that Baek Chul was difficult because he was the parent of a Cheon-oe-cheon. Strangely, standing face-to-face with the old man simply crushed one's spirit.

Was this what years of experience looked like?

Even his eyes had grown sharper, and the aura he gave off was anything but ordinary.

"Hm? The aura he gives off…?"

Muttering to himself, the Association President suddenly felt something off and tilted his head.

Come to think of it — why could he sense energy coming from Baek Chul?

He wondered if he was imagining it, but no matter how he looked at it, the energy was there.

"Um… Elder."

"?"

"Have you… by any chance awakened? I think I can sense energy from you…"

"I'm not the only one who thought that, right?!"

"Actually, I've been thinking the same since earlier…"

At the Association President's words, everyone from Roseina to Manager Han nodded.

Ever since Baek Chul had appeared, some unidentifiable energy had been hanging in the air.

"How should I put it… it feels like a rather sharp kind of energy."

"Same here."

"I find it comfortable and warm, though…?"

"Warm?"

The Association President looked at Roseina.

It wasn't a suffocating killing intent, but it was hardly something one would call comfortable.

"Heh heh. It's probably because Grandfather's energy is spirit power."

In the end, Selenia broke into a smile and explained it to Roseina, a fellow elf. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠There was nothing strange about her finding it warm. Elves, after all, had a high affinity with spirits.

"Spirits… you said spirits?!"

Roseina jolted in shock and stared at Baek Chul.

How could a human have contracted with a spirit…

No — of course, spirits did contract with humans from time to time. But an elderly man of his age forming a contract? That was a first.

"Th-then that means the Elder has also awakened…"

"That's right. There's not a single ordinary person left at this table."

Watching the stunned Association President, Do-ha nodded. He had meant to tell them eventually — this worked out well.

"Wow, congratulations!"

"Congratulations, Elder."

"Truly, congratulations!"

"Aigoo, this is embarrassing."

Under the round of applause, Baek Chul scratched his head. What was all this clapping for?

"Which spirit did you contract with?? What's their personality like? Do you get along well?"

Knowing full well how delightful a spirit contract could be, Roseina fired questions at Baek Chul one after another. She still hadn't contracted with one herself, so she had plenty of curiosity to spare.

"The name is Ariel, I believe. I've only just started getting to know them myself, so I don't know the details yet. Personality's solid and reliable, and we seem to get along well enou—"

Arms folded, nodding along, Baek Chul suddenly caught sight of Roseina's expression ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and shut his mouth.

What was this…?

Why was she looking at him like she wanted to devour him?

"…Who did you say…?"

"Ariel… the Wind Spirit…"

"Waaaah!!!"

Roseina finally screamed.

A Spirit King?!

A contractor of Ariel, the Wind Spirit King?!!

"Se… Se… Lady Selenia, is that true?!"

"It is. Do-ha and I were both witnesses. It was my first time meeting Lord Ariel as well."

"Wow, that's insane!"

"Hey, what? What's with all the fuss? Who's Ariel?"

"Association President! It's a new Cheon-oe-cheon!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Elder Baek Chul contracted with a Spirit King! If you measure his rank right now, it'll come out as SSS-Rank for sure."

"What?! I-is that true?!!"

He shot to his feet.

Hearing her words, the Association President leapt up from his chair in excitement.

He already knew what a Spirit King was — Roseina had told him more than once. His secretary was an elf, after all. Whenever they chatted about this and that, the Spirit Kings always came up at least once.

"Th-this is no time to sit around. Elder, come with me to the Association— no. No, stay right here! I'll bring a measurement device, so…"

"Now, now. Calm yourself."

Baek Chul smiled gently and laid a hand on the excited Association President's shoulder.

He understood the standing a Cheon-oe-cheon held in the Republic of Korea. Of course the man would be thrilled. Still, there was no need to get this worked up.

"I'm not going anywhere, so just settle down a little."

"Ah, my apologies."

The Association President took a deep breath and nodded. Hearing the Elder speak so quietly really did clear his head.

"I got far too excited. And this is a public place, besides… hm?"

Glancing around, the Association President suddenly realized he couldn't hear a single sound and tilted his head.

What?

They were on the terrace, yet none of the voices from the customers inside the shop were reaching them.

"Canteas. Drop the magic."

"Sure."

Snap.

Noise flooded back in.

The moment Canteas flicked his fingers, the surrounding sounds returned.

"Ah… Silence…"

As someone who studied magic, the Association President recognized the spell at once. He had been talking far too loudly, so they had cast it.

"I'm sorry, Do-ha… I made a serious mistake…"

"It's fine. Just be careful, please."

He would have blocked it himself either way, but the Association President had gotten far too carried away. Do-ha understood the excitement — he just didn't want his grandfather drawing attention yet.

I'll have to keep this hidden until Grandfather can properly control the spirit's power.

Scraping chair.

"I'm fine, so don't worry yourself over it. If this rascal says anything, I'll scold him for you."

Baek Chul held out a beer to the Association President and patted his shoulder. When people got excited, they raised their voices. It happened.

"Do-ha would never get angry with me. He's a good person. Please don't worry."

"A good person, my ass…"

At the Association President's words, Canteas muttered under his breath.

If that lunatic was a good person, then everyone at this table was a Buddha. A Buddha!

"Grandfather, don't just drink beer — have some chicken too… wait, what?! Where did all the chicken go??"

Moving a plate, Do-ha stared at the empty dishes in shock.

They had clearly ordered five whole chickens. Where had they all gone?!

"Hm? No chicken left? I only had a few pieces."

"…Of course you did. Your mouth ate them, didn't it."

Do-ha narrowed his eyes and stared at the bone bucket sitting in front of Canteas. The way those bones had been cleaned, you could practically summon something with them.

"What?! Th-this isn't what I ate!"

Canteas shook his head hard at the pile of bones in front of him.

Wow. This was genuinely unfair…

He really had only eaten about three pieces. He had already eaten at home before coming to the beer hall, so he had mostly just been drinking.

"You ate the whole lot trying to put meat on those bones of yours, didn't you?"

"I'm telling you it wasn't me?! Wow! This is so unfair!"

"You rascal, Canteas is allowed to eat a little. You shouldn't harass someone over food."

"Grandfather! I really didn't eat it!"

Amid the noise, Selenia — who had single-handedly demolished five whole chickens — quietly wiped the fried crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

"Heh heh heh heh."

In a dark space behind drawn curtains, someone was laughing over a photo on a phone.

"Good… Outlet B is running favorable articles… Outlet C too… wait?! What is this! Why isn't Outlet R running anything favorable?!"

Bang!

Furious over the articles, the figure slammed a fist down on the desk.

"Hey, get the car ready! We're going to Outlet R. These bastards, just because I was being nice about it…"

At that moment—

Bang!

Someone kicked the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠door open and strode inside.

"Hey, Park Seok-jun!"

It was Do-ha.

This was Assemblyman Park Seok-jun's office. The one who had been staring at his phone until a moment ago was none other than Park Seok-jun himself.

"Do-ha!"

The moment Park Seok-jun saw him, he practically flew across the room and bent at the waist.

"How long has it been since you graced us with a visit! Please come more often!"

"…Huh?"

Even Do-ha was thrown off by that.

What was with this guy…

He had come here pissed off because the man kept doing weird things — so why was he welcoming him like this?

"I've been agonizing over whether I should go find you myself."

"Why would you look for me?"

"Because I wanted to see you, of course! Now, don't stand there and tire your legs — come this way…"

"…"

"Did he get hit so hard his brain broke?"

Even the great Do-ha was left speechless, and Canteas whispered. Maybe all that tooth-pulling and healing last time had finally snapped something.

"Ah! I know what this is!"

"What?"

Canteas clapped his hands, and Do-ha turned his head. Had he thought of something?

"Stockholm syndrome! When a hostage starts identifying with their captor and—"

Smack!

Canteas took a hit and trembled.

Thud.

"The reason I came here is…"

Clink.

Rattle.

Pour.

The moment Do-ha sat on the sofa, Park Seok-jun set down a teacup with lightning precision and poured perfectly warmed tea. The whole process was so crisp it was finished in the blink of an eye.

"…"

"I set it to ninety-three degrees — the temperature at which tea tastes best. I never know when you might arrive, so I always…"

"Sit."

"Yes."

Park Seok-jun settled onto the sofa across from Do-ha.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you protesting because I hit you last time? Or is this revenge?"

"How could you say something so hurtful! I have become a true fan of yours from the bottom of my heart. That hand that struck me last time… was it not a loving correction meant to guide me onto the right path?"

Press. Press.

A sudden headache made Do-ha press his temples.

Ah, damn…

Maybe he shouldn't have hit him last time…?

"Wait… how do you even know my name?"

He was still operating under the alias A.

"Did you not take the redevelopment zone list last time?! The investor listed there was Baek Chul. And his grandson is Baek Do-ha. That is how I learned it."

"When I was dealing with the redevelopment matter last time…"

"Of course. I would never dare share a table with you so casually! We met over construction permits for the redevelopment area."

"R-right."

"But what brings you all the way here on such a difficult journey?!"

"Can you do something about that way of talking and acting?"

"This is comfortable for me."

"I'm the one who's uncomfortable, me!"

"Ah… such a sad thing…"

"?"

No — he said the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠speech and behavior were uncomfortable, so what was suddenly sad about that?

"To think no one has ever served you with such devoted sincerity… if such people had existed, you would already be used to this…! Do not worry! From now on I will always…"

"I swear, I'll just…"

Flinch.

The moment Do-ha raised a fist, Park Seok-jun shrank into himself.

"Don't. Stop overdoing it like this. That's why I came. Stop running articles that praise me! Because of that, people are getting suspicious!"

This damn man kept pouring out nothing but favorable coverage, and now even the comments were asking whether the two of them were in collusion.

"If you really care about me, keep it moderate. Got it?"

"Yes, understood. Whose command would I dare ignore!"

"…Ugh, my head."

Letting out a deep sigh, Do-ha shook his head and stood up.

"Ah! Do-ha, just a moment…!"

Clatter.

Scraping.

Thwap!

Park Seok-jun frantically pulled a document from the safe and held it out to Do-ha.

"What's this?"

"Critical information known only to me. Someone might overhear, so please read it quietly on your own."

"…Fine, just back up a bit."

"Ah, yes."

Park Seok-jun, who had been whispering right into his ear, immediately stepped away.

"Then please go carefully! And visit again! May you have a peaceful day to—"

Bang!

Do-ha shut the door and walked off.

"Keheheheh, you got stuck with a total lunatic."

"Ha… from now on I'll have to regulate how hard I hit him."

"That was a cultist, not a fan. Anyway, what did he give you?"

"Dunno. Some kind of paper…"

Do-ha fluttered the sheet, then his eyes went wide at what was written on it.

"What? What is it?"

As Do-ha fell silent, Canteas stepped closer.

Muttering through the contents, Canteas jolted in shock and stared at Do-ha.

Harder than steel, light as a feather, a dull mineral holding a silver light.

There was only one thing that fit.

Orichalcum.

A Gate leading to an Orichalcum mine had appeared at Sagi Cave Amusement Park.