The Weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings – 3

The man, unable to even reach the yard, is dragged back into the kitchen.

His body and face, scraping against the floor, wiped the dust-laden room.

Lyrical Star sat him back on the chair and tied his wrists to it with a magical rope.

“Hoo….”

Long past her bedtime, she pressed her tired eyes.

She hoped she wouldn’t have to use the magical rope again.

About three minutes later, the clumsy escapee regained consciousness.

Awakened, he quickly scanned his surroundings, and upon seeing his wrists firmly bound to the chair, he seemed to resign himself and turned his gaze to her.

“Can’t you just stay still without wasting your energy?”

She pointed to the staff leaning against the chair with her finger.

It was a silent warning that no matter what he did, catching him again wouldn’t be difficult.

The man took a deep breath. His raised shoulders slumped down.

“Okay, what are you curious about?”

“Just a moment.”

As the man finally showed his willingness to cooperate, Lyrical Star smiled and lifted the staff, holding it by the neck.

“I, I said I’d cooperate!”

The man recoiled, as if remembering the stinging pain from before.

“Purity of Starlight, discern truth from falsehood. Libra.”

As the incantation finished, a green Libra, sparkling like starlight, floated above the table.

“Now, look at the Libra and repeat after me.”

Lyrical Star said, making eye contact with the man.

“I swear to the Libra that I will only speak the truth.”

The woman spoke first,

“…I swear… to the Libra that I will only speak… the truth.”

The man followed.

As their words finished, the Libra shone brightly.

“It’s Libra magic. Only truthful words can create weights.”

“Weights? Dog weights?”

The man tilted his head.

“…Counterweights.”

Lyrical Star quietly showed her annoyance.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, why are words and weights suddenly coming up?”

“It’ll be faster to show you than to explain. What did you say your name was again?”

“Kang In-ho.”

As the man answered her, a small weight was placed on one side of the scale.

The scale tilted to the right.

“Like this, if you answer the question truthfully, a weight will be added. And conversely, you can ask a question. But, it has to be a question of equal value to the answer you gave.”

“In short, it has to be the same question.”

“Theoretically, it doesn’t matter as long as the value is the same. Of course, it’s difficult to assign value to questions, so it’s common to return the same question.”

“…What’s your name?”

“I am Kim Sung-ah.”

As Kim Sung-ah finished speaking, a weight was placed on the empty plate. It was the same size as the weight created by Kang In-ho’s words.

The scale balanced.

“My turn again. What’s your purpose? Why are you in this state?”

At the somewhat vague question, the man frowned. He seemed to be deep in thought.

“I am… survival?”

But no weight appeared. Lyrical Star’s face hardened.

It meant it was a lie. Kang In-ho closed his mouth and organized his thoughts.

“The end of a tiresome chain.”

After a moment of silence, his answer created a somewhat heavier weight than before, tilting the scale.

It was a truthful answer, but it was difficult to understand what it meant.

“What’s your purpose in capturing me like this?”

The same question was thrown at Kim Sung-ah.

“I am a Magical Girl. My purpose is to protect this city from the forces of evil. You are one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and therefore a subject of my interrogation.”

At Kim Sung-ah’s words, the man shrugged.

“My turn again. Do you have any intention of harming people in any way right now?”

“No. …Ah, unless they try to kill me first, of course.”

Another weight appeared.

They exchanged words like that, placing weights on the scale several times.

The light of the Libra on the table began to weaken little by little.

“This seems like it will be the last question.”

Kim Sung-ah moistened her throat with water from a glass and asked Kang In-ho.

“Are you human right now?”

She scanned him up and down with distrustful eyes.

“…I think I’m human?”

As Kang In-ho answered, the weight was placed on the scale, and at the same time, the light that made up the Libra scattered.

A moment of silence flowed.

Kim Sung-ah glanced at the clock in the living room. 4 AM.

She released Kang In-ho, who was tied to the chair, and got up from her seat, heading towards the closet.

Opening the closet door, she took out a sleeping bag. The musty smell of the sleeping bag reached Kang In-ho in the kitchen.

“You said you have nowhere to go anyway, so live in this house. It’s easier for me to keep an eye on you too.”

“Surveillance?”

“I know you don’t have hostile intentions, and I know you don’t have any memories. But to me, you’re a risk factor.”

“Where did you sell the principle of presumption of innocence?”

“Do you think such merciful principles would work on the forces of evil?”

She tossed the sleeping bag. Inho caught the heavy thing.

“Sleep in the sleeping bag for today, I’m going to create a barrier with magic, so don’t even dream of escaping.”

“I don’t even have any intention of escaping. But you….”

“Me what?”

Lyrical Star’s eyes widened at the other party’s sudden hesitation.

“Are you going to sleep like that?”

As Kang In-ho pointed to her attire, Kim Sung-ah finally realized that she hadn’t undone her transformation yet.

“…I, I’m going to change!”

With a flick of her finger, she returned to her normal clothes in a flash of light.

“Sleep somewhere appropriate and let’s see each other tomorrow.”

Her ears flushed red, she was about to go up to the second floor when Kang In-ho called her back.

“But you know.”

“What is it now!”

Exhausted and sensitive from the encroaching Sleep Demon, she retorted sharply.

Kang In-ho tilted his head and scanned Kim Sung-ah up and down.

His face was one of utter incomprehension.

“You clearly look younger than me, are you going to keep using informal speech?”

“Wh, what?”

“You’re not using honorifics.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. How old are you?”

“I’m over thirty?”

“……..”

With her foot awkwardly on the stairs, Kim Sung-ah froze like a statue.

It was difficult to choose whether to ignore him and go up, or to answer his words.

“Use honorifics from tomorrow.”

Kang In-ho, already inside the sleeping bag and wriggling like a caterpillar, passed by Kim Sung-ah with bizarre movements.

Even as she watched his comical figure moving by hopping while bound in the sleeping bag, Kim Sung-ah could only mutter to herself.

After confirming that Kang In-ho had settled down under the sofa, she turned off all the lights on the first floor and returned to her room on the second floor.

Exhausted, she didn’t even wash up before collapsing onto the bed. The Sleep Demons she had barely held back rushed at her.

At the edge of her fading consciousness, she thought.

‘How long has it been since the house was this noisy?’

It must have been a very, very long time ago.

She soon fell asleep, breathing softly.

And so, the cohabitation with the enemy began.