An Unexpected Gift
"[Waaaaah---!!!]"
The child deity was dangling from Yoo Chun-gil's massive finger.
It swung back and forth precariously, shaken rather roughly by the ghost's movements.
Whether it hated the rough motion or was simply terrified of Yoo Chun-gil's fearsome face, the spirit reacted instantly.
It began to wail at the top of its lungs.
A sound identical to a human baby's crying filled the room.
"H-Heavens...!"
The shaman, known as Misa Seonnyeo, gasped in sheer horror.
"Little One... Why? What is wrong?!"
"[Uwahhh... Uwaaaaaah---!!!]"
Misa Seonnyeo frantically tried to soothe her child deity, but the crying showed no signs of stopping.
"...Is something wrong?"
Moyong Yeong-sun asked, looking bewildered by the shaman's bizarre behavior. Naturally, she couldn't hear the child deity's wails.
To her eyes, the shaman probably looked like she was having a sudden fit directed at empty air.
'Oh, for crying out loud.'
Cold sweat began to bead on my forehead.
'That crazy old man is really doing it now.'
I wiped my brow with the back of my hand as if I were hot, though it was entirely due to the cold sweat.
One might wonder what the big deal was about a crying child, but this was no ordinary child.
"[Waaaaah---!!!]"
Vrooooom---!
As the spirit wailed, a heavy vibration began to ripple through the air.
I panicked internally.
'Shit. Do I need to run?'
A child deity was a baby god.
It wasn't just a ghost; it was literally a deity.
Do you know the difference between a common ghost and a deity that people worship?
There were many differences, but the most significant one was simple.
'They can exert direct physical influence.'
They possessed the power to directly affect the physical world.
Of course, in my experience, the extent of that power varied wildly depending on the deity's rank.
To give an example from my past life...
'I think I once accidentally angered a high-ranking deity, and a whole building got pulverized.'
I had been working on a case and crossed paths with a high-ranking god.
A few skyscrapers had collapsed back then.
Fortunately, I ran like my feet were on fire to evacuate everyone, so there were no casualties.
'But man, that was an absolute nightmare.'
It was an experience I never wanted to repeat.
Ever since then, I had done my best to avoid dealing with deities altogether.
That was when I realized it.
'Deities and I do not get along.'
More precisely, those so-called gods didn't seem to like me very much.
So I had tried my best to keep my distance.
'Goddammit.'
Of all times, I had to get tangled up with one now.
And in the worst possible way, no less.
"[Uwahhh! Uwaaaaah---!!]"
The harder the child deity wailed, the stronger the vibrations in the air became.
Vrooooom---!
"L-Little One! Please calm down...! I beg of you...!"
Misa Seonnyeo desperately tried to soothe the spirit, but the child deity was in no mood to listen.
Watching this play out, I realized one thing.
'That shaman can't see Yoo Chun-gil.'
She could only see her thrashing child deity, completely blind to the ghost holding it by the scruff of its neck.
'What do I do?'
It was a relief, but only a small one.
Vrooooom! Vrooooom!
The spiritual energy surging through the room was definitely not a good sign.
'Ah, we're screwed.'
No matter how low-ranking a child deity was, a god was still a god.
They were born from the souls of children who possessed spiritual sensitivity but died before they could be born. If a child deity unleashed its spiritual energy in a fit of rage, there was no telling what kind of disaster it would cause.
If it decided to exert its influence, things would get ugly fast.
'And it's not even a low-ranking one.'
Judging by the sheer density of the spiritual energy, this wasn't a minor spirit. It was strong enough to border on a mid-ranking deity.
'Tsk.'
What should I do? Is this building going to collapse?
At that level, it could easily interfere with the laws of causality.
'If there are any structural flaws in this place, we're in deep trouble.'
Causality could manifest in many ways.
Simply put, it meant accelerating events that were already destined to happen. That was how the high-ranking deity had collapsed those buildings in my past life—by maximizing the minor structural flaws that would have eventually caused them to fall decades later.
They couldn't create something out of nothing, but they could force an inevitable end to happen right now.
If this child deity decided to act, it would do the same.
I suppressed my cold sweat and racked my brain for a solution.
'What do I do?'
The simplest solution was exorcism—sending the spirit to the afterlife. Getting it out of my sight was the cleanest way.
'But I really don't want to do that.'
I remembered what happened in my past life when I tried to exorcise a high-ranking deity. Though I succeeded, I had to spend ages cleansing the massive amount of negative karma I accumulated from killing a god.
That was the price of slaying a deity.
'Tsk.'
Still, I had no choice. If I left it alone, there was no telling what kind of havoc it would wreak.
I began to move the tips of my fingers.
But just as I was about to trace a sealing character in the air...
"[Well, well. You certainly have a loud pair of lungs, little brat.]"
Thud!
"...!!!"
I stared in absolute disbelief at the scene unfolding before me.
Yoo Chun-gil frowned, formed a massive fist, and delivered a sharp flick right to the child deity's forehead.
The crazy old ghost had just physically assaulted a deity.
"[Ugh... Huh...?]"
The child deity instantly stopped crying. It stared at Yoo Chun-gil with tear-filled eyes, looking utterly bewildered as if it couldn't comprehend what had just happened to it.
A tense silence stretched over the room.
"[Sniff.]"
Realizing it had just been struck, the child deity opened its mouth to wail again.
"[Quiet!]"
"[Hic!]"
At Yoo Chun-gil's booming shout, the child deity flinched violently.
"[You little brat! How dare a boy cry so easily! Do you need this grandfather to teach you another lesson before you behave?!]"
"[Sniff... Sob...]"
Scolded by the ghost, the child deity whimpered and shut its mouth tight.
Watching this, I had to repeatedly pinch my thigh to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
'What in the world is happening right now?'
Why was a deity getting scolded like a naughty child?
'How is he even lecturing that arrogant little thing?'
Deities were notoriously prideful creatures. Rather than prideful, it was more accurate to say they viewed humans as nothing more than simple pets.
'And spirits are supposed to absolutely despise ghosts.'
Entities classified as deities usually looked down on ghosts, who were born from lingering regrets and grudges. They considered themselves to be on a completely different level, even if they were both spirits.
Yet here we were.
'He's actually scolding a child deity?'
I was utterly dumbfounded by Yoo Chun-gil's actions. Not only had a ghost scolded a deity, but the deity was actually accepting it.
'No, wait. It looks like the kid is just terrified.'
The deity was genuinely scared of Yoo Chun-gil. It was the most absurd thing I had ever witnessed.
"[Is it proper to glare at someone when you look them in the face?]"
"[...Ugh...]"
"[I asked if it is proper!]"
When Yoo Chun-gil demanded an answer a second time, the child deity quickly shook its head.
"[Indeed, it is not. Do you understand?]"
The child deity couldn't speak, but it nodded its head vigorously.
Then, it flew straight back and buried itself in the shaman's embrace.
"L-Little One... Have you calmed—"
At that moment...
Vrooooom!
"Agh!"
Misa Seonnyeo's eyes suddenly rolled back, and her head slumped forward.
'Oh, look at that.'
I covered my mouth to hide a smirk.
'What a sly little brat.'
The child deity had dumped all the spiritual backlash it received directly onto Misa Seonnyeo, causing the shaman to lose consciousness from the sheer shock.
"...What is going on?"
Naturally, Moyong Yeong-sun was completely bewildered. She had come to get a fortune read, only for the shaman to start acting like a lunatic.
"Excuse me. Hey. Wake up."
"Ah!"
When Moyong Yeong-sun called out in an annoyed tone, Misa Seonnyeo quickly snapped awake.
The problem was what came next.
"You... You..."
She suddenly glared at me with bloodshot, trembling eyes.
"You evil spirit...!"
"Excuse me?"
"Begone! Begone, you vile demon!"
"...Huh?"
She was pointing at me, screaming curses and calling me an evil spirit.
"...Uh, Priestess?"
I tried to calm her down, completely baffled by her reaction.
"You are possessed by a demon! You are a demon yourself...! What did you do to the Little One?!"
"No, wait... It wasn't me..."
Her reaction was intense, likely because of whatever the child deity had whispered to her. I felt incredibly wronged. I hadn't even done anything.
She was clearly hysterical, and I tried my best to soothe her, but...
"I will... right now...!"
Misa Seonnyeo couldn't contain her rage. Her eyes flushed red as she prepared to hurl the fan she was holding straight at my face.
Grab!
Moyong Yeong-sun suddenly caught the shaman's wrist mid-air.
And then...
"An evil spirit?"
A chilling voice slipped from her lips.
"Say that again."
"H-Huh...?"
"Who are you calling an evil spirit?"
Moyong Yeong-sun spoke to Misa Seonnyeo in a voice dripping with pure ice.
"You."
I could see the veins bulging on the back of Moyong Yeong-sun's hand as she tightened her grip on the shaman's wrist.
"Do you want to die?"
"[Oho.]"
Yoo Chun-gil let out an impressed chuckle at her terrifying threat.
"[What a fearsome young lady.]"
Even the great Sword Saint seemed slightly taken aback. Watching Moyong Yeong-sun radiate a murderous aura, I came to a realization.
'Yeah, this is a wrap.'
Our fortune-telling session was officially ruined.
"That damn wench."
Those were the first words out of Moyong Yeong-sun's mouth the moment we stepped onto the street. She ground her teeth, her anger still burning hot.
"...Calm down a bit," I said with a sigh.
She had already caused a massive scene at the shaman's house, yet she was still fuming.
"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?"
"If you don't, what are you going to do? Didn't you see her? She was shaking like a leaf because of you."
I recalled Misa Seonnyeo cowering in the corner. For a shaman who claimed to serve a deity, her terrified expression under Moyong Yeong-sun's pressure had been quite a sight.
"She deserved to shake. How dare she call you an evil spirit?"
"...I was the one who got insulted. Why are you the one throwing a fit?"
Anyone would think she was the one called a demon. I was the target of the abuse, yet Moyong Yeong-sun was the one raging.
"I went through all the trouble of making a reservation just to get our fortunes read, and she ruined everything. If you had just tolerated it for a second..."
"Are you insane? Tolerate that? I only stepped in because I knew you would just stand there and take it like an idiot."
"It's not being an idiot; it's being practical. There was nothing to gain from picking a fight there."
"Right, you're always so smart. I'm just the frustrating one who overreacts."
"...That's not what I meant."
I stopped myself. I realized this wasn't the kind of response I should be giving her.
"...I just wanted to say thank you."
Thank you for getting angry on my behalf. That was what I needed to say right now.
"..."
Moyong Yeong-sun's shoulders flinched slightly at my words.
Then, she huffed and turned her head away.
"Hmph."
That meant her anger had subsided. She was surprisingly simple in some ways.
Moyong Yeong-sun kept her face turned away, clearly not wanting me to see her expression, as she spoke.
"...And why are you suddenly speaking casually to me again? You were the one who said we should act like strangers the next time we met."
"Ah."
Right. I did say that.
I realized my slip of the tongue a moment too late.
"My apologies."
"...Yes. Well."
She sounded slightly disappointed, but I chose to ignore it.
"...So, are you really alright? You said there was something you specifically wanted to ask the shaman."
"...Forget it. There's nothing worth hearing in a trashy place like that anyway."
"What was it that you wanted to ask?"
At my question, Moyong Yeong-sun turned to look at me.
"...It doesn't matter."
"..."
Judging by her eyes, she had absolutely no intention of telling me.
"Sigh."
I let out a deep sigh, unable to hide my regret.
"Seriously. How did I end up with a guy like you..."
"I can hear you."
"I said it out loud so you could hear it. On purpose."
Tsk, tsk. I clicked my tongue as she marched down the street with long strides.
Judging by her brisk pace, she was still quite annoyed.
I followed her down the road.
We were heading back toward Cheongwol Gate, but after walking for a while, Moyong Yeong-sun suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"Hey."
"Yes."
I answered her call. She pointed toward a nearby stall.
"Buy this for me."
"...Excuse me?"
I looked to see what she was pointing at. It was a street vendor selling cheap accessories.
Among them...
"A necklace?"
"Yes. That one."
It was just a cheap, antique-looking necklace.
She wanted me to buy that?
"...Why?"
I couldn't understand why I had to buy it for her. When I asked, Moyong Yeong-sun's face contorted like a demon's.
"If I ask you to buy it, just buy it. It's our last day together, do you really have to be so difficult?"
"...Well, no..."
I thought I was asking a perfectly reasonable question, but I just ended up getting scolded again.
I wore a wronged expression, but at the mention of it being our "last day," I scratched my cheek and spoke to the vendor.
"Give me the one she just pointed at."
The vendor's face lit up as he immediately handed over the necklace.
The price was ridiculously inflated.
It was a blatant rip-off, but I decided to just pay it.
'If you're going to make me buy something, you should have picked the one next to it.'
Right next to the necklace Moyong Yeong-sun had chosen was a ring.
I could feel a faint trace of spiritual energy radiating from it.
The energy was unusual.
I stared at it for a moment before speaking to the vendor again.
"...How much for the one next to it?"
When I offered to buy the ring as well, the vendor's smile grew even wider.
Fortunately, the ring wasn't expensive.
It seemed like it had been sitting there unsold for a long time, so he practically gave it away.
"Well, I'll make good use of it," Moyong Yeong-sun said in her usual haughty tone as she immediately put on the necklace.
Hearing that, I held out the ring I had just purchased.
"Take this too."
"...Huh?"
Moyong Yeong-sun flinched as she looked at the ring in my hand.
"...Why are you giving me this?"
Her voice instantly became guarded.
"What?"
"...Are you going to ask me for a favor? Like telling me never to come back, to keep my distance, or to stop showing up because I'm a nuisance?"
"...What kind of ridiculous..."
I trailed off and shut my mouth.
Everything she just listed was indeed things I had said to her before.
"It's nothing like that..."
"Then what is it?"
"Why do you always suspect the worst when someone gives you a gift?"
"Because you're not the type of person to just give things away."
"..."
She had a point.
I scratched the back of my head and just decided to be honest.
"It's a birthday present. Today is your birthday, isn't it, Lady Moyong?"
"..."
This time, it was Moyong Yeong-sun who fell silent.
An awkward, startled silence stretched between us before she finally spoke.
"...You remembered?"
"Not immediately. It crossed my mind earlier today."
"Is that why you followed me?"
"More or less."
"..."
I could see her lips twitching slightly behind her veil.
"...You're a terrible man. Doing this after everything..."
I heard her murmuring something under her breath, so I just tossed the ring to her.
Moyong Yeong-sun caught the ring as it flew through the air.
The moment she caught it, she yelled at me.
"Are you crazy?! Why would you throw it!"
"What, did you expect me to slide it onto your finger myself?"
"Given the circumstances, yes, that would be the normal thing to do!"
"As if. Throw it away if you don't want it."
I turned around and began walking ahead.
"...You are so annoying, seriously."
I heard her mutter as I passed by.
A lingering bitterness welled up inside me.
As I thought, it was best not to get involved with her if possible.
It was true back when we were children.
And it was still true today.