Before heading to school.
Se-ha was deep in thought.
“Is it okay to bring Ruby to the Academy?”
“She’ll cry if you don’t.”
“Cheep—.”
“But she might disrupt class.”
“She needs to be fed every two hours, you know?”
“Meow.”
“….”
Se-ha looked at Da-hong.
More precisely, at the pitch-black ball of fluff sitting on Da-hong’s chest.
“What are you staring at, you pervert.”
“I, I’m looking at Ruby.”
Honestly, the best option would be for Da-hong to stay home and watch Ruby, but…
“Da-hong, you have no intention of staying home quietly, do you.”
“Nope.”
“….”
Se-ha let out a sigh.
Leaving this demon alone at home felt far more unsettling than the mild awkwardness of keeping her by his side.
He had no choice.
“…Come with me, then.”
“Okay.”
“Meow.”
***
Outside.
The morning air was still chilly.
Ruby poked her head out from Da-hong’s arms.
There were so many things she’d never seen before.
“Mya-ang.”
She spotted a roadside tree.
“Mya-ong.”
She spotted a traffic light in the distance.
She spotted a person walking by.
“….”
Ruby’s golden eyes darted busily from one thing to the next.
Se-ha watched her and smiled.
“Lots of interesting things, huh?”
Ruby paid him no mind.
This time, Ruby caught sight of her own reflection in a shop window.
She froze.
A pitch-black ball of fluff with tiny horns and golden eyes.
She stared for a long moment.
“….”
She cautiously raised one paw.
The Ruby in the glass raised her paw too.
Ruby tilted her head.
The Ruby in the glass tilted her head too.
“So cute.”
“She really is….”
The two of them stood side by side, watching Ruby for a moment.
Ruby seemed to want to investigate the creature in the glass—she pressed her nose against it.
The Ruby in the glass pressed her nose forward too.
Thwap.
The cold sensation startled Ruby half to death.
“Mya-ong.”
“It’s okay. It’s just glass.”
Se-ha said.
Ruby looked at the window again.
This time she didn’t approach—she just stared at it with suspicious eyes.
That was when it happened.
Vroooom—.
A car sped past on the road.
“!!”
The sudden rush of wind and noise made Ruby’s fur stand straight on end.
Her claws shot out and latched onto Da-hong’s collar.
“Adorable.”
Da-hong stroked Ruby.
Ruby burrowed deeper into Da-hong’s arms.
Her tail, now twice its usual size, puffed out behind her.
Ruby kept her head down the entire rest of the way to the Academy.
The three of them arrived at the classroom like that.
Slide.
The classroom door opened, and Ruby lifted her head.
Her tail had returned to its normal size.
“Oh, what’s that?”
Someone called out the moment they walked in.
A girl who’d been chatting with her friend.
“A cat?”
“Eek! It’s so cute!”
Whoosh.
The girls swarmed around Da-hong.
“Ugh.”
Thud.
Se-ha got shoved aside by the crowd.
“Summon-unnie, can I pet it too?”
“Ask Ruby.”
“Her name is Ruby! So cute!”
Da-hong set Ruby down on the nearest desk.
Ruby landed lightly on the desk, spun in a circle, and looked up at the people surrounding her.
“Mya-a—.”
“She’s so tiny!”
“Wait, she has horns and wings?”
“There’s something like a gem on her forehead too.”
“A demon cat?”
“Is she a summon?”
“Yeah, she’s Se-ha’s summon.”
“Yu Se-ha’s…?”
One of the girls carefully reached out her hand.
Ruby sniffed the back of it.
Sniff sniff.
Then she tapped it with her paw.
A pink little paw pad tickled the back of the girl’s hand.
“Oh my—! She touched me!”
“Me too, me too!”
Ruby looked at the hands rushing toward her all at once.
Her fur bristled slightly.
“Oh, did we startle her?”
“Sorry~.”
Just then, Ruby spotted Ha-rin hovering at the edge of the crowd.
She’d been sneaking closer, trying to sneak a pet without being noticed.
“Mya-a.”
Even so, she was a face Ruby had seen before—Ruby perked up and padded toward her, tail held straight up.
“Huh?”
“She’s going to Ha-rin.”
The other students stepped aside, revealing a flustered Ha-rin.
“Wh, what!?”
“Meow.”
“Ha-rin, she wants you to pet her!”
“Come on, give her your hand.”
“U, um, okay.”
Ha-rin carefully held out her hand.
Ruby sniffed her fingers, then rubbed her chin and cheek against them.
“Eek!”
“You’re so lucky!”
“….”
Ha-rin stood perfectly still, barely breathing.
Da-hong watched the scene with quiet interest.
Then.
Tap tap.
“?”
The sound of someone knocking on the window.
She turned to look—Seo-yeon was standing outside, looking at Da-hong.
It seemed like she was asking her to step out for a moment.
Da-hong left Ruby and Ha-rin to their own devices and stepped out into the hallway.
Being just before class, the hallway was quiet.
Seo-yeon walked first.
Da-hong followed.
The further they got from the classroom, the more the noise faded.
They stopped at the far end of the hallway.
Seo-yeon turned around and looked at Da-hong.
“I have a few things I want to ask you.”
“Sure.”
“Five months ago. There was a dismemberment murder case in an alley.”
“….”
Da-hong said nothing.
Her expression didn’t shift either—she kept that faint smile, perfectly still.
“Five victims. All hunters.”
Seo-yeon crossed her arms and continued.
“There was one witness.”
She paused briefly and drew a breath.
“The statement said: while being robbed, a white-haired, horned woman appeared and killed everyone before leaving.”
“Hmm.”
Da-hong made a small sound through her nose.
As if she were hearing a story that had nothing to do with her.
Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes and pressed on.
“And a few days after that, there was the hellhound escape incident. Five hellhounds being transported broke out of their cages. The ones who handled it were first-year students Han I-sol and Yu Se-ha, who happened to be passing by.”
“Right. I was with them then.”
“And lastly, Iron Claw Guild.”
Seo-yeon uncrossed her arms.
A snow-white eagle flew in from somewhere and perched on her arm.
A summon with sacred markings on its beak and talons.
“Most of the guild members vanished overnight. Including the guild master and S-rank hunter Moon Jeong-hyeon.”
“….”
“And Moon Jeong-hyeon had lost his son in the dismemberment case I mentioned earlier.”
“Is that so.”
“Was that you?”
Red eyes turned toward Seo-yeon.
“And if it was?”
“….”
Seo-yeon’s body went rigid.
She hadn’t really expected a denial or deflection—but hearing it said outright still felt different.
“What was your reason.”
“I was bored.”
“…And Iron Claw?”
“They came at me first.”
“You killed dozens of people for reasons like that?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“Of course it’s not.”
Seo-yeon exhaled slowly.
Her eyes sharpened.
Mana began to gather at her fingertips.
“Why are you staying by Se-ha’s side.”
Da-hong smiled crookedly.
“Because it’s fun.”
“…And when it stops being fun?”
“I’ll kill him and leave.”
“….”
In an instant, a mana formation deployed.
Shwaaang—!
A massive demonic spear erupted from a summoning circle.
“I can’t have a dangerous demon like you anywhere near my student.”
White wings.
Not a pegasus.
Six pairs of wings.
An archangel.
Da-hong’s expression changed.
“You think you can win?”
“….”
Seo-yeon gritted her teeth.
She knew that wasn’t a frightened reaction, or a bluff.
Da-hong was looking forward to this.
Genuinely.
Boom.
The angel summon stepped forward.
Immense mana pressed down on the hallway.
“Angel-type summons hold an absolute advantage over demon-type summons. Let’s see how long you keep smiling.”
“…Kihik!”
Da-hong’s mouth split into a vicious grin.
Just as two massive forces of mana were asserting their presence—
“Ruby! Where are you going!”
Se-ha’s voice rang out from inside the classroom.
Both of them instantly reined in their mana.
Seo-yeon recalled her summons.
Patter patter patter, slide.
The classroom door flew open and Ruby shot out.
“What’s going on? Oh—Da-hong? And you’re here too, Seo-yeon-ssi?”
Ruby trotted over.
“Meow.”
Se-ha hurried after her and scooped her up.
Then he sensed the strange tension between the two and tilted his head.
“…Did something happen?”
“Nothing at all.”
Da-hong smiled and spoke first.
Seo-yeon turned away and said:
“…Go inside and get ready for class. And keep your Behemoth in check.”
“Ah, yes!”
Se-ha scrambled back into the classroom.
Seo-yeon stepped up to the lectern as if nothing had happened.
“Take your seats.”
The murmuring classroom settled.
“This practical exercise—every group returned safely without any serious injuries. You all did well. I wasn’t able to observe every group personally, but the other professors evaluated you carefully, so there’s no need to worry. And starting this week—.”
Seo-yeon turned to the board and began writing out the week’s curriculum.
A pair of red eyes stared unblinking at her back.
***
After school.
Se-ha and Da-hong walked down the street.
Ruby had been pestered by students all day and was exhausted—she was asleep in Se-ha’s arms.
Se-ha looked at Da-hong and asked.
“Da-hong.”
“Yeah.”
“What happened with Seo-yeon-ssi this morning?”
“Nothing much.”
“It didn’t look like nothing—the atmosphere was off. What did you two talk about?”
Da-hong glanced sideways at Se-ha.
Se-ha was looking up at her profile.
“Just some personal advice.”
“…Personal advice?”
“Yeah.”
“Whose?”
“Seo-yeon-ssi seemed like she had something on her mind.”
“…Hm.”
Se-ha looked forward again.
“What kind of thing?”
“We ran out of time before I could hear all of it. But she seemed pretty busy with work.”
“Why would she come to you for that….”
“Who knows.”
Da-hong shrugged.
As if she genuinely had no idea.
“….”
Se-ha didn’t press any further.
***
Late at night.
Seo-yeon sat at her desk.
The blue glow of the monitor lit up the darkened room.
A report form was open on the screen.
Information about Da-hong.
The cursor blinked.
There were many blank fields.
Type.
Demon.
Grade.
Lower-class.
Clack clack.
She deleted the entries.
That grin—splitting wide at the sight of an archangel.
*’You think you can win?’*
“….”
She’d heard that many demons were battle-hungry, but that wasn’t something that could be explained away so simply.
“If we’d actually fought, what would have happened.”
Seo-yeon fell into thought.
An S-rank hunter and top-tier summoner.
Given her nature as a summoner, there were almost no situations where she’d struggle in a one-on-one fight.
She could force any battle into a many-against-one scenario.
On top of that, having formed contracts with divine beasts and angel-type summons, she could be called a demon’s natural predator.
But….
*Something doesn’t sit right.*
Seo-yeon tapped her lips with her pen.
Then the face of her student, Yu Se-ha, surfaced in her mind.
Top marks in written exams, top marks in practical.
The student who entered the class ranked first.
Yet throughout the evaluation semester, he’d failed to summon a single summon and received failing grades—and on the first day of school during the sparring exercise, he’d placed dead last.
“…Because it’s fun, so she stays by his side.”
After a long moment of deliberation, Seo-yeon made up her mind.
She set down her pen and began typing.