It was an ordinary room.
A narrow bed where only one person could barely lie down.
Textbooks and notebooks were stacked neatly on the desk.
The bookshelf was packed with Hunter-related volumes.
On the calendar hanging in front of the desk, a red circle had been drawn.
The room’s owner—a boy—stood still, staring blankly at that circle.
Beneath the circle, in small handwriting, were the words: *Final Evaluation.*
*If I fail again this time…*
“Ugh.”
The boy shook his head, chasing away the gloomy thought.
In the middle of the room sat a summoning circle, drawn with painstaking care.
Not a single line was out of place.
He had practiced countless times.
It was always perfect.
…Except for the results.
The boy knelt down in front of the summoning circle.
He pressed his hands together and drew up his mana.
He closed his eyes.
“Please…!”
A desperate voice slipped out.
“Please, just let *something* come out…!”
The summoning circle began to glow with bright light.
A signal that it was activating successfully.
As always, it was fine up to this point.
But the result was always the same—nothing summoned.
Until now.
This time, something was different.
“…Huh?”
The boy’s eyes flew open.
The light grew stronger and stronger.
Black smoke rose from the summoning circle, and then violet flames began to bloom.
“Whoa—!”
He had attempted summoning dozens of times up until now, but not once had anything like this ever happened.
The boy knew it instinctively.
It worked.
It’s working.
*Whoosh!*
The flames surged all the way to the ceiling.
“Wha—wha—wha—wha!”
The boy scrambled backward in a panic.
And then the light exploded.
***
The first thing she felt was the air.
Strange air flooding into her lungs.
No—not strange.
*I know this.* She was certain of it.
This air.
This smell.
This temperature.
“…”
The white demon stood still and breathed it in.
*Inhale.*
*Exhale.*
And then—a grin.
She smiled.
“Ah.”
A laugh escaped her.
“Hahahahahahaha—!!”
It burst out of nowhere.
She spread both arms wide.
Spun in place.
Once, twice.
Laughing up at the ceiling.
She didn’t know why.
The laughter just came.
For the first time in hundreds of years, she felt something.
The demon stopped laughing and looked around.
It was a small room.
Light was coming in through the window.
Sunlight.
A real sun.
The demon ran to the window and pressed both hands against it.
It was warm.
“Heh…”
Another smile came on its own.
She was back.
Back on Earth.
“Kihihi.”
She turned around.
A desk.
A bookshelf.
She padded over lightly and looked around.
*Hunter?*
*Academy?*
The shelves were crammed with books she didn’t recognize.
“Hmm, hmm~♪”
Humming to herself, she flipped through one book, then another.
“Oh—!”
Then she found something important.
A pitch-black monitor.
A rectangular keyboard.
A computer!
She ran her hand over the monitor with an expression of pure wonder.
And then—
Her gaze met something huddled in the corner.
A young boy.
Eyes wide as saucers, back pressed flat against the wall, barely able to breathe.
The white demon tilted her head slightly.
“Who are you?”
She watched the boy’s throat move as he swallowed.
The demon walked toward him with light, easy steps.
“Eek—!”
The boy threw his arms up to cover his face.
Like a frightened puppy.
The demon didn’t particularly mind.
“From the looks of it, you’re the one who drew this summoning circle.”
“Y-yes…! I summoned you.”
The boy forced his voice out, mustering his courage.
“Heheh. Ahahaha!! *You* did—!”
The demon doubled over laughing, clutching her stomach.
As if she’d just heard the funniest thing imaginable.
“Phew—!”
After laughing for a good while, she wiped her eyes and said:
“Thank you. Because of you, I was able to come back here.”
“C-come back…?”
The boy asked, puzzled, but the demon didn’t answer.
“Heheh. I’m in a good mood, so I’ll grant you one wish. Whatever you want.”
*Swish.*
The demon leaned down smoothly, and a large shadow fell over the boy.
*Shift.*
Something vast swept across his field of vision.
“Wh—ah…. U-um—!”
The boy’s eyes trembled, and he shot to his feet and shuffled stiffly across the room.
“…?”
The demon tilted her head.
The boy snatched the blanket off his bed.
Then, eyes squeezed shut, he held it out toward her.
“F-first, could you just…”
The white demon looked down at the blanket.
Then looked at the boy again.
His ears were red enough to burst.
“…Please cover yourself.”
“Oh?”
The clothes she’d been wearing had all burned away when she crossed between dimensions.
***
The demon snapped her fingers.
*Whoosh!*
Flames engulfed her body.
“Ahhh—!”
Se-ha yelped.
Fortunately, the fire vanished in an instant.
And standing there was—
“…!”
A pure white suit.
Se-ha found himself looking her over before he even realized it.
A blood-red shirt and a black tie.
His gaze traveled downward.
At the end of long legs: polished black shoes.
Then his gaze drifted back up, and their eyes met.
The demon asked, perfectly composed:
“Done looking?”
“N-no! I’m sorry!”
Se-ha bowed his head hastily.
The white demon moved a finger, and the chair tucked under the desk slid out on its own.
The demon sat down, crossing her legs, and slowly looked around the room.
Her gaze stopped at the bookshelf.
She’d skimmed through it earlier.
They were all similar books.
Gate strategy guides, fundamentals of mana control, Hunter training manuals.
“…Hunter.”
“Yes?”
“I just saw it in one of those books. People who clear Gates?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
The demon rested her chin in her hand.
When she had been on Earth, that profession hadn’t existed.
Gates had been sprouting up everywhere and causing chaos, but still.
*Given how long I was in Hell… I suppose things were bound to change.*
The demon let it go without much thought.
“I know about Gates. They form when dimensions warp.”
“That’s right.”
“Are you a Hunter?”
“Ah, n-no…. I’m still an Academy student.”
“Academy.”
The demon turned the word over.
“They train Hunters there?”
“Yes, that’s right. Once you enroll, you receive formal Hunter education, and after graduation you can start working right away, so…”
“Hmm.”
The demon nodded, looking vaguely uninterested.
Then she looked around the room again.
The bookshelf.
The calendar.
The red circle.
“That circle.”
“…Yes.”
“Is it important?”
Se-ha’s expression darkened.
“It’s an evaluation exam. Tomorrow.”
“Ah.”
The demon’s interest seemed to end there—she didn’t ask anything more.
Se-ha tightened his hands where they rested on his knees.
He had to ask now.
If he didn’t ask at this moment, he felt like he never would.
“U-um.”
“Yeah?”
The demon’s gaze returned to Se-ha.
“Earlier, you said you’d grant me one wish.”
“I did.”
“I… my ability is demon summoning.”
“Hmm.”
The demon made a small sound.
Demon summoning, huh.
An unusual ability.
It was probably thanks to this boy’s ability that she’d been able to return to Earth.
Normally, it should have been a lower demon she’d incinerated that came through—not her.
The boy, interpreting her reaction however he did, kept talking.
“For summoners, the evaluation exam scores are based on the rank of the summoned creature.”
“Right.”
“…Honestly, it’s not a hard exam. Since summoners are supposed to grow alongside their summons, they take it into account even if the summoned creature is weak. So as long as you succeed in summoning something, it’s basically a pass.”
“But?”
The boy bowed his head, looking embarrassed.
“…But I’ve never once succeeded in summoning anything. Not until today.”
“I see.”
“W-would you… would you be willing to be my summon!? Or… if that’s too much, then just until tomorrow, please…!”
The boy kept his head bowed as he made his request.
His heart was pounding.
The demon looked at the boy for a moment.
Truthfully, getting him to Earth was all the boy had been useful for.
She had no real obligation to grant him anything.
Her eyes drifted to the boy’s neck.
Should she just kill him and leave?
She slowly reached out a hand.
Her pale white hand moved toward the boy’s jaw.
The boy hadn’t noticed anything was off, and stayed still with his head bowed.
*Tap.*
The moment her fingertip touched his cheek, the boy flinched.
“…”
The demon looked down at him with a cold gaze, then soon lost interest and looked away.
There was no particular reason to kill him right now.
He didn’t look like he’d be any fun to kill, either.
If anything, keeping him alive and watching his reactions seemed like it would be more entertaining.
With that thought, the demon spoke.
“But you know.”
“Yes?”
“Wasn’t your wish to get the blanket?”
“…Oh.”
“You clearly said it. Cover yourself up.”
The boy’s face went red.
“Th-that was just—! No, I mean—!”
“Whatever.”
The demon smirked at the flustered boy.
“I was getting bored anyway. I’ll grant it.”
The boy snapped his head up.
“…Really?”
“Yeah.”
“O-okay! Thank you! Truly…!”
He bowed again and again, over and over.
He looked like someone with very little self-confidence.
He’d clearly been through a lot of heartache—but to the demon, that was neither here nor there.
“Hmm~.”
The demon stood up and began wandering around the room, looking at everything.
“Hey.”
“What now?”
The boy spoke up.
“What’s your name? The demon’s name?”
*Pause.*
The demon’s hand, reaching for a book on the shelf, stopped.
She stood frozen, saying nothing.
“…Name.”
“Yes…. Summons usually have names.”
“I don’t know.”
“Pardon?”
“My name. I forgot it.”
The boy blinked.
“It’s been too long. You give me one.”
“M-me?”
“If you don’t want to, forget it.”
“N-no, I’ll do it!”
Se-ha answered quickly and looked at the demon.
Bleached hair.
Crimson eyes.
A red dress shirt.
Horns that curved with a powerful sweep.
“…”
The boy studied her carefully, then opened his mouth with care.
“…Da-hong.”
“Hm?”
“Your eyes and your shirt are da-hong—that deep red-orange color.”
The demon looked down at Se-ha.
“…Da-hong.”
“…Da-hong?”
Her expression shifted, subtly.
It seemed like she’d been expecting something more impressive—something grand, or fearsome.
And on top of that, her shirt and eyes were a chilling, blood-like crimson.
Yet looking at them, he’d come up with *Da-hong.*
“…Well. Whatever.”
The demon—Da-hong—shrugged and turned her gaze back to the book.
At the same time, she asked:
“Boy, what’s your name?”
“M-me?”
“Yes. I have a name now too, so we should introduce ourselves properly.”
“Oh!”
The boy stood up straight.
And stiffly extended his hand.
“M-my name is Yu Se-ha! Yu Se-ha!”
“Se-ha.”
*Thwap.*
Da-hong closed the book she’d been reading and walked over to Se-ha, taking his hand.
And then—a grin.
Her smile stretched all the way to her ears.
“Nice to meet you.”