chapter 40
The spirits quickly gathered around the Spirit King.
Undine’s eyes were welling with tears, Sylph was beaming brightly, and Salamander looked deeply relieved.
— Your Majesty! If you were here, you should’ve helped us sooner!
— Did you really come all the way here because of us?
— As expected, our king is the best!
White smoke lazily drifted from the Spirit King’s red lips.
“What are you talking about? I just dropped by while passing through.”
The spirits, who had been buzzing about in the air, halted awkwardly.
The Spirit King wiggled his red eyebrows playfully as he looked at them.
“But I knew it. I knew you lot would get into trouble eventually.”
— W-What kind of trouble did we cause…?
“I told you not to cover up Gnome’s wounds with dark emotions. You never listen, and look what happened.”
— N-No, we knew that, but we didn’t have a choice… We’re sorry! Waaaah!
— We’re really sorry, Your Majesty.
— Damn it, what were we supposed to do?! Just let the kid become a dark spirit?! You were just standing there watching too!
The Spirit King flicked the ash from his cigarette with a long finger—then promptly kicked Salamander.
— GAAAH!!
Undine and Sylph watched Salamander fly off into the forest with complete indifference.
He never learns, Undine shook her head.
— Your Majesty, can you help us move Lian?
“You do realize I’m a being that maintains balance, right?”
— We’re not asking you to reverse the transformation or anything. Just move her to her bedroom. Isn’t that a little too dramatic for such a small favor?
— We’re not even asking you to take her side. It’s just… if we leave her out here, she might get eaten by a wild animal. That’s why we’re asking, Your Majesty.
“But wouldn’t that be unfair to the animal that could survive a day thanks to eating that crow?”
With that, the Spirit King effortlessly silenced Undine and Sylph with a mischievous grin.
— Then… why did you even come here? Just to calm Gnome down?
“I told you. I was just passing through.”
The Spirit King was known to leave the spirit realm and wander the human world quite often.
To collect treasures.
What kind of Spirit King is that materialistic? Undine grumbled inwardly, but then asked casually,
— By the way… Your Majesty, did you already know that Lian’s body summoned the Demon King?
The Spirit King gave no answer—he just shrugged. Sylph nodded slowly.
— So, as expected, Your Majesty knew everything. Then, do you know how to erase the summoning circle?
“As someone who maintains balance, I cannot interfere in human affairs.”
— Then at least give us advice. We decided not to tell Lian that the Demon King’s familiar is a crow.
— We want to know… Did we make the right choice, Your Majesty?
“As someone who maintains balance…”
— Ugh! We’re not talking about Lian, the human! We’re asking as spirits!
The Spirit King made an odd expression at Undine’s outburst.
Then his alluring lips formed a vague response:
“Trust your decision.”
— …Your?
“Yes. Yours.”
Not “yours” plural, but singular. It was advice meant for the contractor, not the spirits.
What the heck? Undine and Sylph were startled—then their brows furrowed.
They had no idea what he meant.
Not even a hint of which decision he was referring to.
Maybe this was the best the Spirit King could offer as the guardian of balance—but it was still a letdown.
Undine pouted.
— Sure, thanks a lot. You know humans make dozens of decisions a day, right? Super helpful.
— Thank you for the advice, Your Majesty.
The Spirit King gently laid Gnome down beside the unconscious crow.
“Keep this guy close to the contractor. He’ll heal on his own that way.”
— Isn’t there anything else you want to say? Leonhart’s people are about to figure out who Lian really is!
— Sir Owen apparently developed the ability to see auras. We think he sensed dark magic… The situation isn’t looking good, Your Majesty.
“How long are you planning to keep Lulu in the spirit realm?”
Lulu was the name of the Ego Sword Adela once used.
Whenever she infused it with magic or swung it fast, it would hum, luluuuung—so she named it Lulu.
— …Why are you suddenly bringing up Lulu? You’re the one who took it, Your Majesty.
— You said it had absorbed too much demonic energy and might turn into a demon sword if left unattended…
“Her owner has returned. Lulu must go back to where it belongs to restore balance.”
The spirits simply stared blankly at the Spirit King and his string of cryptic comments.
He cleared his throat.
“Ahem. Anyway, make sure your contractor doesn’t cause any trouble. Got it?”
— …Got it.
— Have a nice trip, Your Majesty.
True to his title, the Spirit King, guardian of balance, never stayed in one place for long.
As he disappeared like the wind, a fresh scent of grass lingered before fading away.
Moments later, the spirits exchanged glances.
If the Spirit King was a master of vague speeches, they were experts at extracting meaning from them.
— Well, at least he solved one problem for us.
— Right? I didn’t realize Lulu was the key.
The Ego Sword, Lulu—saturated with demonic energy—was the perfect cover to hide Owen’s aura detection.
All they could do now was wait for Adrian to wake up.
‘Ugh… My back hurts.’
It felt like I was lying on rocks. My back was sore and aching.
I groaned and forced my eyes open.
A line of ants was marching by, carrying food.
‘Right… I’m in the forest.’
It had been pitch black when I’d passed out. Now, the sun was starting to rise.
‘I must’ve slept for about three hours?’
Still, the fatigue clung to me.
And after dreaming about memories I never wanted to revisit, I felt even worse.
“Ugh… I’m dying out here… huh?”
I groaned mindlessly and suddenly paused. I lowered my head to check.
At some point—I had turned back into Adrian.
“Haah… Thank goodness.”
Who knew I’d be so happy just to hear words come out of my mouth instead of animal sounds?
I looked up at the rising sun to estimate the time.
In an hour or two, the maids would probably burst into my room—at least, if things were normal.
I had to get back before then.
Otherwise, everyone would assume I spent the night at the Third Prince’s palace.
And if people got the wrong idea and started rumors about us being a couple…
‘That’s when Leona would actually murder me.’ Especially since she already misunderstood that Adrian couldn’t let go of Leonhart.
I remembered the conversation I had accidentally overheard when I was avoiding Leonhart.
My guest room was directly above the parlor—perfect eavesdropping location.
To be fair, they had every reason to be suspicious of me. But I knew how to handle this.
‘Owen’s ability is the problem. He can see auras now…’
It was an ability Owen gained in Part 2 of the story.
I had no idea how to deal with it—it was nothing I’d ever encountered before.
‘He said it was a color he’d never seen before… it’s probably the aura of a dark sorcerer.’
But he couldn’t be sure I was one.
‘Because even he’s never seen a dark sorcerer’s aura before.’
He’d probably just start doubting me. The aura color didn’t match any known abilities.
‘Should I just say my magic awakened late?’
While it usually awakens in childhood, it’s not unheard of for it to appear in adulthood.
‘But they’re not idiots. With a weird aura color, they’ll definitely be suspicious…’
Ugh, whatever. I’ll just claim it. What are they gonna do?
It’s not like they can demand a blood test from a duke’s daughter to check for dark magic.
‘I’ll just play dumb and bulldoze through.’
Groaning, I finally managed to sit up.
My body was wrecked. Every muscle felt stiff and sore.
My legs were okay, but my arms and shoulder blades felt like they had been roasted over a fire.
The backlash from moving around as a crow had finally caught up with me.
“Phew… Guys, come out. We need to talk… huh?”
To my surprise, the spirits were already out beside me.
Undine was sprawled out like a starfish, Sylph lay on her back with her hands over her stomach, and Salamander was curled into a ball.
They weren’t even bothering to hide themselves. Just sleeping out in the open.
‘Seriously? What if someone sees you like this?’
Sure, the stuff we went through at dawn wasn’t normal, but still…
‘Wait, where’s Gnome?’
I looked around and spotted a little sprout poking out from behind a tree.
‘Why is he hiding alone?’
Ignoring the pain, I walked over.
Gnome was sitting with his back to the tree, hunched over, and lifted his head when I approached.
“Gnome, what are you doing here? Playing hide-and-seek by yourself?”
— …Sorry.
Gnome… spoke back.
I was so shocked I even forgot the pain for a moment.
But I couldn’t quite grasp why he was apologizing.
I didn’t bother pressing him for details.
When someone says sorry, there’s only one thing to say in return.
“It’s okay.”
Gnome’s pitch-black eyes began to shimmer—and he teared up immediately.
Then he flew straight at me and latched onto my face.
I now had a teary Gnome dangling from my cheek as I began waking up the other spirits.
“How can you sleep in a situation like this?! Get up, all of you!”
