episode_0257

When you think of pets, dogs immediately come to mind.

Whenever I happened to run into you on the street or saw you through a screen, I thought you were cute.

A tail that wags, a tongue that sticks out cutely, and fur that makes you want to stroke it gently in your hand.

I’ve thought about raising one.

They are cute and magical creatures that want affection from their owners, so I think I also wanted the affection of a puppy.

But I didn’t raise it.

Because I didn’t have the confidence to take responsibility.

When things got a little better, it was tough, but I doubted whether I could take responsibility for it until the end, so I didn’t raise it.

I was also afraid of breaking up.

Should I die first or should my pet die first?

I imagined my pet leaving first and me being left alone and lonely.

I couldn’t raise it because I thought I would want to die with it.

– Woof woof!

– Grrr…

– Heh heh heh…

[… … ]

My wish to have a pet came true in a strange way.

The once green forest was filled with color. The spirits rose to the ranks one after another.

The second-rank spirit is in the stage where its own uniqueness blossoms. It is said that each form is different.

… But for some reason, my spirits have a particularly high proportion of puppies.

The colors are limited to five, but the shapes are all slightly different.

There are breeds of dogs that I know, and there are also dogs that look like them.

-Wow!

The same was true for the Lightning Spirit who had just been promoted.

I picked up the puppy with a strange expression.

Ta-da-da-dak! The tail attached to the buttocks spun around like lightning. The electricity flashing along with the tail was quite scary, but fortunately, no harm came to me.

I looked at the shape. The ears are wide and the legs are long.

It often looked like a Welsh Corgi.

‘Oh my god, an electric Welsh Corgi…’

– Hehehe…!

[Yeah… ticklish]

The spirit that had been panting suddenly licked my cheek. It wasn’t awkward. I had already promoted more than half of the spirits to lieutenant, and they had been hit hard.

Even the children who now sit quietly on the floor were at first expressing affection by rubbing their bodies and sticking out their tongues.

That was… honestly, it wasn’t a bad feeling

– Heh heh heh…

At the same time, it made me feel complicated in many ways.

The reason I learned spirit magic is because it has great power in battles with large armies.

When entering a dungeon or fighting on the front lines like in a magic realm, a large number of spirits provide great help.

There is also a high possibility that a large amount of monsters will flow back from behind. Even then, the necromancy will be a great help.

In other words, the reason for making a contract with a spirit is to use it in battle.

…I use spirits in battle who desire my affection and who wish to be loved.

When I realized it belatedly, my heart felt like it was being squeezed.

‘Phew… ‘

I put complicated thoughts aside for now. I’ll think about it later.

– Grrr…

He rubbed the spirit in his hand and his cheek and placed it on the floor. The guy who was twitching his legs as if something was wrong soon collapsed on his stomach a little way away.

There are nearly 200 spirits settled around.

At first it took 5 minutes for each upgrade, but later it was done in just over a minute, so it was going quite quickly.

[I think it will take more than a day?]

But even taking that into account, it seems like it’ll take more than a day.

Professor Rihanna put her hair behind her ear, embarrassed.

“That’s right. I forgot to include the time it takes to share the image… ”

[okay… … …?]

I nodded to him, then suddenly observed her other arm, which was moving repeatedly.

A puppy… no, a wind spirit was being petted by Professor Riana.

‘… … ‘

I turned my gaze slightly. Elia was right next to me. She was also gently stroking one of the spirits scattered around.

“Oh… I think I feel a little more clear now that I’m a lieutenant.”

“Because existence is more directly established. It can’t be because of my mood”

“Does your appearance change when you become a higher spirit?”

“Yes, there are many cases where it changes as you get higher up.”

While I was concentrating for a moment, they were talking to each other in a casual manner.

Did his hands get bored during that process? It seems he was relieving his boredom by stroking the spirits placed next to him.

I could understand. I, too, have often fiddled with random things whenever I was bored.

– Phew…

“… rate?”

“Lee Ha-ryul Cadet?”

I understand, but honestly, there was nothing I could do about the lack of communication.

As the wind blew against my cheeks, the gazes of the two people who had been talking to each other were fixed on me.

There was confusion in his gaze as he looked at my chubby cheeks.

[jealousy]

[jealousy]

[jealousy]

A necklace of confession that keeps clicking.

I felt somewhat embarrassed by the emotions that poured out in my voice, but more than that, I also felt a strong childish desire for someone to recognize my lack of communication.

“Oh, come here.”

I was momentarily taken aback by my chubby cheeks.

Professor Rihanna picked me up, sat me on her lap, and patted my back.

“I’m sorry for looking away, I had a hard time talking to you or touching you because you were so focused on me.”

Elia also turned her attention to me. She gently patted my shoulder with a somewhat smiling expression.

The warmth and soft touch that had grown closer. The hands stroking my back and head in turn, and the attention pouring in made my dissonance melt away.

[Ahem]

… shame followed later. There was also the realization that my previous actions had been very childish.

But I didn’t want to get out of this situation. I quietly let out the wind on my cheeks and changed the subject.

[… The magic power is a bit burdensome. I didn’t know it would consume this much magic power.]

“Ah, that can’t be helped. The more magical power the contractor has, the more magical power is deducted for promotion.”

[aha…]

“I also had a hard time in the past. Since the magic tank was so big and spirit magic was a skill that didn’t consume much, I almost never felt the magic drain.”

Professor Riana shrugged and patted my stomach.

“I’ll ask again, do you have a headache or feel nauseous or anything? If you feel exhausted, you should tell me right away.”

[Yes, it’s really okay. I also brought some elixirs with me because I thought about that.]

“Elixir?”

Professor Riana blinked. She took out the wooden box she had kept separately in her arms and showed it to him.

[This is a magical item I happened to get. I heard it consumes a lot of magic power, so I brought it to consume.]

“It’s an elixir… Just a moment.”

Professor Riana tilted her head and examined the box.

“Oh my, it’s a potion made in Taesan? And the ingredients are… ”

Professor Riana, who was examining the source and ingredients engraved on the wooden box, suddenly stopped talking. Her green eyes opened wide.

“Fairy tree?”

[Yes, to be exact, the root is the main ingredient]

The elixir’s ingredient is the root of the fairy tree. After examining it directly with my power, I can confirm that it is a genuine product produced by the Taesan family.

“It’s a fairy tree… Is it okay to consume it?”

Professor Riana, who had been rolling her eyes for a moment, spoke cautiously. It must be a problem related to my race. I nodded, saying that I was not worried.

[Yes, it will be okay]

[It would actually be better for your body]

Professor Riana had a worried look on her face, but she eventually nodded after my repeated persuasion.

“Well, when the tree bears fruit, the fairies will be the first to eat it… ”

Fortunately, I was able to convince him.

It also helped convince me that this elixir was processed for safety.

It’s not like it’s an elixir that will cause your body to explode if you eat it.

… Of course, in my case, I collapsed and vomited blood, but it’s different now than it was then.

At that time, I had no awareness that I was a fairy, but now my body has changed and my awareness has also changed.

Even if there are signs of something similar happening, I can stop it. And it’ll be okay because Professor Riana is right here with me.

‘Fairy tree…’

A tree species born for fairies to live and dwell in.

In the past, when people drank a potion made from the roots of this fairy tree and collapsed, vomiting blood, was it because of the influence of the race?

I didn’t expect it at all at the time.

So I plan to pick it up again today and check it out.

It’s a situation where my magic power is almost empty. It’s the perfect situation to eat it to replenish my magic power.

– Exactly

As I opened the lid of the wooden box, a refreshing magical energy rose up from the middle of the forest.

The spirits who had been lying there blankly suddenly raised their heads. Inside the wooden box where their eyes were focused, there was a blue elixir that was shining brightly.

‘hmm…’

I nodded, feeling the magical power of the drums tapping on my nerves.

The appearance and energy of the elixir I received from Hong Yeon-hwa a while ago are similar. Although the date of manufacture is different, it seems to be a similar elixir.

[Then, shall I eat it right away?]

In the gaze of Professor Riana, who is sitting in my arms, and Elia, who is staring at me from right next to me.

He nodded and put the elixir into his mouth.

It was the same as before.

The elixir that went up onto the tongue melted stickily and flowed down the throat.

At some point, my consciousness faded.

* * *

The forest, with sunlight streaming through the leaves, was extremely quiet.

– Koo…

A thin breathing sound echoed through the silence.

“I fell asleep.”

“You fell asleep.”

It was Lee Ha-yul’s breathing.

Rihanna looked down at Lee Ha-yul, who had fallen fast asleep in her arms, with a strange expression.

The relaxed facial muscles, the cheek pressed against the chest, the arms wrapped tightly around the waist, and the comfortable, rumbling sound of breathing…

I fell into such a deep sleep that I wouldn’t even notice if someone kidnapped me.

Fortunately, the spirits scattered around had already been summoned, so there wasn’t much noise to disturb Lee Ha-yul’s sleep.

– Ugh…

[Ticklish]

Rihanna, with a strange expression on her face, pressed her cheek. Lee Ha-yool, who was flapping his wings weakly, buried his face deeper into her arms, his mouth agape.

“There’s nothing wrong… I just fell asleep.”

“Hehehe, so cute.”

Elia, who was sitting somewhat quietly next to him, giggled.

As I reached out and stroked his head, Lee Ha-yool rubbed his head while making a groaning sound.

That cute, puppy-like behavior, coupled with Lee Ha-yool’s constant insistence that he has nothing to do with puppies, made me laugh even harder.

‘You’re being greedy again.’

At the same time, I remembered the scene where she puffed out her cheeks and complained that the spirit had touched her.

While he was always whining about having several women in his mansion, Elia was really greedy, whining that she was patting his spirit.

Of course, Elia was rather happy with that kind of exclusivity.

“Um… Is this the end of the spirit upgrade?”

“That must be it. Since you fell into a deep sleep while digesting the elixir, you won’t be able to wake up even if you wake up.”

It is common for a body that has consumed a magical substance to fall into sleep.

I don’t see any problems even after looking closely, so this may be the case again.

I’ll probably sleep soundly today and wake up tomorrow after replenishing my magical powers.

– It’s so annoying

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

As the two people thought so, a strange sound was heard in their ears.

Something breaking, tearing… not a very nice sound.

For a moment, the two people who had been frozen stiff met each other’s gazes in the middle. And at the same time, they lowered their eyes to the source of the sound.

– It’s so annoying

It rang again.

The place where the sound came from was Lee Ha-yul, held in Rihanna’s arms.

Lee Ha-yool’s body, which had been held quietly in his arms, trembled as if convulsing, and his wings, which had been spread out softly, hardened.

[pang]

[Hotness]

[Flame]

[pain]

– Click click

The necklace of confession rang through the cold silence, revealing the user’s emotional state.

“… … ”

“… … ”

Both of their faces turned pale.