Chapter 45: How to Enjoy a Festival (3)

The pain didn't last long.

It was just like when a speck of dust gets in your eye, hurting for a moment and then disappearing after shedding a few tears. A tiny pain that disappeared when Lee Serin blinked a few times, rubbed her eyes, and shed a few tears.

But the shock was anything but small.

[ He had countermeasures against spiritual vision? And not just ordinary spiritual vision, but countermeasures strong enough to block spiritual vision performed with the power of divine authority? ]

The demon muttered as if surprised.

"Ugh, my eyes... This was even more surprising than when I tried to peek into the faculty room."

Serin said this while repeatedly closing and opening her eyes forcefully.

Lee Arin, who was beside her, was looking at her with an expression that seemed to say "why is she suddenly acting like this?", but Serin didn't even pay attention to that and only stared at the smartphone.

"The fishy smell is gone now..."

The beast-like smell that had been stinging her nose was no longer there.

[ It's not just the smell. You probably won't be able to see secrets anymore either. ]

The demon said this and whispered in her ear.

[ Contractor, your non-blood-related brother seems to have been quite a capable sorcerer. I was wondering what he was doing with such a low-grade, unidentified ritual, but if he can block spiritual vision through divine authority... ]

While the camel was snorting and saying this, a text message arrived on the phone.

Not on Lee Arin's smartphone that Lee Serin was holding, but on her own.

Lee Serin checked the message without much thought, as she always did.

『 Even if you like peeking, it would be better to be selective about who you peek at, or to take precautions. 』

She froze at the content that seemed to pierce her lungs.

Then, suddenly coming to her senses, she sent a reply with trembling hands.

『 No 』

『 I don't really like peeking 』

『 If you say that, it makes me look weird 』

『 I just tried to check this because it was strange 』

『 I don't have any weird hobbies 』

Lee Serin's hands moved at an incredible speed.

Lee Arin even let out an impressed "Ooh".

Lee Serin bombarded Jinseong with text messages as if making excuses, and with a serious and earnest face unlike her usual gloomy and stuttering self, she kept texting. The content was more like pushing her own assertions to forcibly persuade rather than making excuses.

But Jinseong's reply was brief.

『 Don't lie. 』

It was a short one-line text unlike the long messages Jinseong usually sent.

But the impact of that one line was quite strong as if a long sentence had been compressed into it, and Lee Serin couldn't help but freeze again.

[ Tsk tsk. Contractor. I have to take your brother's side on this one. Liking secrets and being curious is your nature, not a hobby, isn't it? Contractor. My curious contractor. It seems right to just admit this. ]

"N-no..."

Lee Serin tried to deny it, but she had to close her mouth at Jinseong's following message.

『 It seems you didn't pay much attention to things like spiritual vision blockers or defensive curses because you relied too much on divine authority. When you come to Japan with Arin, I'll make and give you some. If you carry that, you won't have to worry about getting caught peeking or getting into trouble. 』

『 There's no need to feel burdened. It doesn't take a great deal of effort to make them. However, there are some materials I'm short on, so if you're coming, it would be good if you could get those materials and bring them. 』

Jinseong had completely concluded that she liked peeking.

He seemed to have no intention of changing that thought, whether Lee Serin sent a barrage of texts or not.

My image... has become weird...

Lee Serin handed Lee Arin's smartphone back to her as she was rolling around on the bed looking glum, and was about to put her own smartphone in her pocket.

But then, the demon stopped her.

[ Wait a moment. ]

Why?

The demon quietly looked at Jinseong's message that had come to Lee Serin.

[ I don't understand why your brother keeps trying to call you to Japan. ]

What the demon felt was a sense of incongruity.

If an ordinary person had said such things, one might think they were just looking after their family.

It wasn’t strange to recommend a place you're enjoying to your family, was it? Especially since they weren’t short on money, and although Lee Arin and Lee Serin were here as exchange students, it wasn’t like they couldn't make time at all, so such an invitation... Yes. It could be something completely normal, with nothing strange about it.

But if you looked at how Jinseong tried to bring them to Japan saying he had good information even before it was decided they would go to Russia, something felt off.

Questions.

Questions kept arising.

What was this good information?

Why did he suddenly go to Japan as if he had an urgent matter when they were assigned to Russia?

Why was he quiet for a while without even checking on them, even though he clearly went to Japan?

What was the image of the fox seen during spiritual vision?

Why did he take countermeasures against spiritual vision?

What on earth was the reason for trying to call his sisters to Japan?

[ It probably isn't anything bad. There shouldn't be anything harmful to you two... But the smell of sunlight and iron, and the fishy smell I smelled today. I don't know why such smells are coming, and I don't know what will happen if you go. ]

Jinseong already had a heterogeneous karma.

If that Jinseong did 'something' that even a demon couldn't guess, would it be nothing but good for Lee Arin and Lee Serin?

The demon made a decision to protect them from uncertainty.

[ Contractor. My contractor. Can you trust me and send a text message like this? ]

U-uh? Yes! I trust you, our Gremory!

[ Yes, my cute contractor. Thank you for trusting me. Now, try writing this down. Because we're in the middle of adjusting... ]

*                     *                     *

『 It seems difficult to go to Japan because we're in the middle of adjusting. I'm sorry. 』

『 Oppa! I want to see Japan too, but it seems difficult now, so take me when we have a vacation later! 』

Jinseong smiled as he looked at the messages from Lee Serin and Lee Arin.

"Somehow I thought it might turn out like this."

He muttered this as he removed a ring attached to his smartphone case and threw it on the floor.

The thorn, which was so dark it seemed to absorb light, appeared to be made of a plastic-like material but had no shine at all, and as soon as it fell to the floor, it weathered and turned into a pile of dust that was blown away by the wind, suggesting it was no ordinary object.

When the ring disappeared, Jinseong grabbed the air to pull out two small thorns from inside the slime's body and bent them to form rings. Then he plucked one of his hairs, put it between his fingers and rubbed it to turn it into ash, and then carefully applied the ash to one of the rings.

The ash melted into the ring as if it were liquid as soon as it was applied.

Then the ring became an ornament that looked exactly like the one Jinseong had thrown on the ground earlier.

But if there was a difference from before, it was that the one Jinseong made now had a luxurious sheen while being black.

He attached it to his smartphone case.

"Om-"

Then he approached Rise, who was looking curiously at the floating ring, and plucked one of her hairs.

She let out a small "ouch" and shed a tear, probably because her hair was suddenly plucked.

Jinseong did the same as before, putting Rise's hair between his fingers and rubbing it to turn it into ash, then carefully applying it to the floating ring before giving it to her.

"It's a gift. Attach it to your smartphone case."

"A-a gift?"

Rise received the ring with a dazed expression.

Then, as if remembering something, she looked at him.

"...What does this mean?"

Jinseong answered Rise, who asked with a dazed expression.

"It's a cursed object that can block spiritual vision. It's not made through a ritual so it doesn't have great power, but it should be far superior to what you can get on the market, so attach it to your smartphone."

"Ah..."

"Even if it falls into someone else's hands, it won't be effective. Since it's made with your hair, it will only be effective for you. Additionally, if someone uses spiritual vision, you'll be able to notice immediately, so you'll be able to instantly notice if someone is monitoring you or something like that."

"Thank you..."

Rise muttered with a mix of slight emotion and bewilderment.

"It's the first time I've received something like this from a man..."

"It's nothing special."

Jinseong said this and then used space contraction to move somewhere.

Rise continued to examine and fiddle with the ring curiously for a long time even after Jinseong had left, and perhaps curious about this, the Saetani stopped bothering the slime and came down with its grotesque movements to approach her.

Then, with an expression that seemed unable to contain its curiosity, it jumped up and down while circling around, and spoke to her with a broken voice while rotating its head.

"Me, too."

"Let me see too."

"Cu-ri-ous."

"Curi-ous."

"Me too."

Then it slightly extended its hand as if asking for it.

A foul smell was emanating from its blackened nails and dirty hand, and its fingers were twitching like tentacles as if urging her to place it quickly.

The Saetani looked at Rise while spinning its head.

"No."

Rise firmly refused, even while recalling the fear she had experienced in the dream within a dream.

"Just."

"Just a moment."

"I'll just look for a bit."

"I'll give it right back."

"Curious."

But even after being refused once, the Saetani kept circling around Rise as if unwilling to give up, and the whining continued until Rise's annoyance towards the Saetani overcame the fear she had felt in the dream within a dream.

"I said no!"

Then the Saetani seemed to become sulky, dropping its head and approaching the slime again, climbing up to its head.

The slime wobbled as if to say "why are you bothering me again?", but the Saetani paid no attention and kept slapping the slime's head with its palm, and the slime threw the Saetani towards the wall again.

Rise glanced at this scene and quickly attached the ring to her smartphone case.

"Ahem."

Then she quickly went out of the main hall, afraid that the Saetani might whine again.

Her steps looked quite light.