Chapter 24
[Harry, where are you?]
I called out for Harry as I squeezed into the crowd gathered around the shell game. Although I had left Harry inside the mansion when I went out, Harry could always answer me, no matter when or where.
[You were so excited to go on a date with the Knight that you ran out, so why are you suddenly looking for me?]
The reply came back swiftly, as if he’d been waiting, and it was quite snippy.
[Are you sulking because I left you behind? I had no choice. I couldn’t bring a dog to a complicated festival.]
[Do you think I’d sulk over something like not getting to see a festival with you? A festival like that is nothing to a great demon like me!]
[Hey, come on. Don’t be like that. Cheer up.]
[I said I’m not sulking.]
Anyone listening could tell from his voice that he was sulking.
[For a demon, you’re really bad at lying…]
[No, I’m not! I’m a really good liar!]
‘Yeah, right.’
I barely swallowed the words that would have made Harry jump if he heard them and spoke to him.
[I need Harry right now. Can you come?]
[Why should I? Aren’t you with that Knight?]
[Well, yes, but…]
I glanced back. Ridden and Elle were talking with serious expressions.
[It doesn’t look like they’ll be back soon. It’ll just be for a little while, so come here.]
With my power, which didn’t know the first thing about gambling, I couldn’t teach a professional shell game hustler a lesson. I needed Harry’s power. But Harry, with his contrarian nature, never agreed to my requests outright.
[Am I a dog? Do I come when you call and go when you tell me?]
[Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Harry *is* a dog. My pet. Isn’t that right?]
[I. Said. I’m. Not!]
Harry’s shout rang deafeningly in my head. It was so loud it was almost painful.
“Really, he’s impossible.”
I let out a sigh, rubbing my muffled ears.
“Who’s impossible?”
Just then, a man appeared with a annoying voice and slung his arm over my shoulder. It was Harry in his human form, whom I hadn’t seen in a while. It wouldn’t be good if this form was discovered. I needed to resolve the situation and send Harry back before Ridden and Elle came over.
“Why are you in this form?”
“To show you clearly who I am. Do I look like a dog now?”
Harry gritted his teeth and shoved his face close to mine. When his unrealistically handsome face came right before my eyes, my mind went blank for a moment. Seeing me dazed with my mouth open, Harry smiled satisfactorily.
“Who would make that face looking at their own dog?”
‘Good grief.’
His smile, combined with that handsome face, was even more devastating. Thanks to the sudden appearance of a handsome man, the people crowded around began to stir. That brought me sharply back to my senses.
“What are you doing using that face like this?”
“Like what?”
“You just used it to bewitch people!”
“Hmm…”
At my scolding, Harry narrowed his eyes.
“Master, have you been bewitched by me?”
“To be precise, it’s not Harry I’m bewitched by, but by Harry’s face.”
Harry tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.
“What’s the difference?”
“It’s a very big difference. It means I like Harry’s shell, but I don’t really like the core inside.”
“What? What’s wrong with my core!”
“Put your hand on your heart and think about it. What your core is like.”
At my words, Harry immediately put his hand on his chest, and before even 10 seconds had passed, he tilted his head again.
“I put my hand on my heart and thought about it, but I still don’t get it?”
He looked as if he’d been deep in thought.
‘At least pretend to think about it, you demon.’
“If you’re going to say ‘no matter how much I think about it,’ shouldn’t you at least ponder for over a minute?”
“I don’t get it. Why are human conditions so demanding?”
“It’s because you’re being overly lenient.”
I let out a sigh and pulled Harry’s arm. As our bodies pressed close together, I felt him flinch.
“See that?”
I pointed at the shell game hustler who was busily moving his hands. Harry’s gaze slowly followed my fingertip.
“I see him. What about that shell game hustler?”
“Doesn’t his triumphant look bother you a bit?”
“…You know what? You just sounded really demonic.”
“Must have picked up some demonic traits from being around someone.”
“An excellent change.”
“So, I’m planning to cause a bit of a scene.”
“A sce…”
Harry seemed speechless at my choice of such a drastic word, his mouth hanging open.
“No time to be surprised. We need to resolve this before those people come back.”
I glanced anxiously at Ridden and Elle. Their conversation seemed to have reached its conclusion, as the atmosphere was much more relaxed than before.
“How do you plan to cause a scene?”
“There’s only one way to cause a scene in a shell game. Figure out the trick and win the money.”
“That’s a good idea, but wouldn’t that method take a bit too long? There’s a simpler and more certain way.”
Harry grinned and, without even waiting for my answer, simply snapped his fingers. As soon as the light, crisp snap ended, flames shot up from the peaceful shell game stall.
“Ahhh!”
People panicked at the sudden fire and scattered in all directions. Regardless of the process, the stall was definitely disrupted.
“How is it? Simple and certain, just like I said?”
Harry puffed out his chest with a proud face. His face looking at me seemed to be filled with the words, ‘I did well, right?’ Although setting the shell game stall on fire was a ridiculous solution, seeing his innocent, expectant smile made it hard to get angry.
‘It’s all because of that face.’
Even if I came running furious, seeing Harry’s smiling face seemed capable of quelling a thousand years of rage.
‘He definitely knows the power of this face well. That’s why whenever something happens, he shoves his face in my face like this.’
I sighed and patted Harry on the back.
“Oh, you did so well. I’m at a loss for words, it’s so splendid.”
Even with my drained praise, Harry looked satisfied.
“Since I did well, you’ll give me a reward, right?”
“A reward?”
“Yeah. When a pet dog does something cute, you give it a reward, right?”
“You said you weren’t a dog earlier.”
“Yeah. I did, but now I want to be Master’s dog.”
“Why do you only become a dog when it’s convenient for you?”
“Because that kind of opportunism is our clan’s strong point?”
“That’s not a strong point, Harry.”
Harry pretended not to hear me and grinned, just like when he set the shell game stall on fire. Somehow, I had a bad feeling about this too.
“Come on, this way.”
Harry grabbed my arm, which was looking at him suspiciously, and pulled me along.
‘Just where is “this way”?’
I was dragged along by Harry before I could even ask.
***
As we left the noisy square and entered an alleyway, the festival’s clamor faded slightly. The bustling voices of people and the cheerful music blended together to create a pleasant noise. Indeed, just enjoying the atmosphere of a festival was enough to lift one’s mood.
‘Except for the fact that it’s a bit cold.’
Although Emma had thoughtfully dressed me, the lingering winter wind was still chilly. I was shivering without realizing it. As I hunched my shoulders against the cold, Harry stared at me intently, as if pondering something. His gaze seemed curious.
“You seem so weak. Shivering from cold like this.”
“It’s not that I’m weak, it’s that Harry is excessively strong.”
“No matter how I look, I don’t see anyone else shivering like you?”
Harry looked at the passersby and tilted his head. Just as he said, the residents of Erel were walking the streets with calm expressions, wearing lighter clothing than me.
“Yep, you really are weak.”
Harry concluded. I secretly agreed.
‘Well, Iviria wasn’t particularly sturdy.’
She wasn’t the type to collapse easily, but true to a noble lady who had never known physical training in her life, her stamina was below average. After observing my shivering for a while, Harry took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders.
‘Now this is an unexpected show of manners.’
I opened my eyes slightly and looked at Harry.
“Why are you looking at me like that? As if I’ve done something bad.”
“I’ve heard one should be cautious of a demon’s favors.”
“My favors are fine.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m your demon. I serve you with body and soul, loyal to you.”
‘Loyalty, my foot.’
There was no way a demon had such a concept.
‘If using sweet words to coax people is demon-like, then it’s very demon-like indeed.’
I let out a snort and tightly wrapped Harry’s coat around me. Harry’s sweet talk wasn’t very helpful, but Harry’s coat definitely was.
“What did you do with that Roytz family crumb?”
A subtle hostility could be felt in Harry’s voice as he asked.
‘Just a while ago, he was saying he liked strong humans and showed favor.’
A demon’s whims were truly impossible to predict.
“What do you think we did? We just walked around awkwardly and looked at the festival.”
“Is that all?”
Harry looked at me with suspicious eyes. His gaze was as if he were interrogating me.
“Am I being interrogated right now?”
“Yep. That’s the atmosphere.”
“How did it suddenly become that kind of atmosphere?”
‘What did I do wrong?’
When I asked discontentedly, he brushed my hair behind my ear and laughed.
“Did you know demons have strong possessive streaks?”
How would I know that? But ‘demon’ and ‘possessiveness’ seemed to pair well together.
“I’m yours, right? Conversely, that means you’re mine too.”
“What kind of logical leap is that?”
“Is what I said wrong?”
“Of course it’s wrong. Harry is mine, but I am not Harry’s.”
“Why am I yours, but you’re not mine?”
“Because an owner can possess a dog, but a dog cannot possess its owner.”
“That’s a pretty unfair rule.”
“Life is inherently unfair… Ah!”
Someone tugged on my collar, causing a reflexive scream to escape. When I turned my head in surprise, a kind-looking old woman was beaming at me.
“Miss, take this.”
The old woman held out one of the rings scattered on her stall. It was a ring with a red gemstone.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not buying.”
“I’m not telling you to buy it. I’m telling you to just take it.”
“You’re just giving it to me? Why?”
“Because this belongs to you.”
“I think you’re mistaken. That’s not my ring.”
“That can’t be. Look closely, Miss. It’s definitely your ring.”
The old woman held out the ring again with a confident voice. Pushed by her forcefulness, I blankly accepted the ring.
At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary ring. Except for the strange, indistinct pattern inside the red gemstone.
‘Huh?’
The moment I saw the pattern, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.
‘This ring…’
A memory from the past surfaced in my mind.
‘Isn’t that the ring I bought on a business trip?’
On the way back from that trip, the plane crashed, and I died and ended up here…
The connected thoughts abruptly cut off.
‘Then why is it here?’
It was an object that shouldn’t be here. Startled, I jerked my head up. I had too many questions for the old woman.
But when I looked up, the old woman was already gone. Only her stall remained, looking lonely in its place.
“Harry, where did the grandma who gave this go?”
“The grandma? She went down that alley.”
I quickly ran in the direction Harry pointed, but there was no trace of the old woman there either. Staring at the empty alley, I clenched the ring tightly. Goosebumps rose all over my body.
