[WAAAAAAAH—!!!]

A Child Deity was dangling from Yoo Cheongil’s thick fingers.

It hung there, bobbing—his hand moved, so it even swayed a little rough.

Maybe it hated the jolt.

Or maybe it hated Yoo Cheongil’s terrifying face.

Either way, the Child Deity started bawling like it had lost its mind.

It filled the room with a sound that was genuinely like a baby crying.

“Hu... huuuuhk...!!”

The shaman everyone called Misa Fairy gagged like she was about to vomit at the sight.

“Little Lord...! Wh-why... why are you like this...!”

[WAAAAH... WAAAAAAAH—!!!]

Misa Fairy panicked and called to her Child Deity, but the crying didn’t stop.

“...Why are you acting like that?”

Murong Yeongsun asked, eyes wide at Misa Fairy’s strange behavior. Naturally, she couldn’t hear any crying from the Child Deity.

To her, it probably just looked like the shaman suddenly having a seizure at empty air.

‘Ah, this rotten shit.’

For me, it was a cold-sweat situation.

‘That crazy old bastard, seriously.’

I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand like it was hot. It wasn’t hot at all—this was all cold sweat.

You might think, what’s the big deal if a kid is crying?

[WAAAAAAAH—!!!]

FWOOOOOOOM—!!!

As it cried, vibrations started spreading through space.

Seeing that, I nearly screamed inside.

‘...Fuck. I need to bolt, don’t I?’

A Child Deity is a baby god.

Not just a ghost—literally a god.

Do you know what the difference is between an ordinary ghost and a god people worship?

If you want to be technical, there are a lot of differences, but the biggest one is—

‘They can exert direct influence.’

Whatever it is, they can exert direct influence directly.

From what I’d experienced, the gap was heaven and earth depending on the god’s rank.

If I had to give one example—

‘I think one time I pissed off a higher god’s disposition and a building got wrecked.’

I was on a job, moving around, and I touched the wrong nerve on a higher god.

A few buildings collapsed back then.

Luckily, I ran like my feet were on fire and kept it from turning into casualties.

‘...It was absolute hell.’

I never wanted to go through that again.

And after that, if I could help it, I tried not to get tangled up with gods at all.

That’s when I learned it.

‘Gods and me don’t get along.’

More precisely, the things called gods didn’t like me very much.

So I avoided them as much as possible.

‘Goddamn it.’

And of course I got tangled up now.

And in a really bad way.

[WAAAH. WAAAAAAH—!!]

The harder the Child Deity bawled, the stronger the vibrations in the air became.

WOOOONG—!!!

“L-little Lord! Calm down...!! Please, calm down...!”

Misa Fairy begged, trying to soothe it, but there was no way the Child Deity was going to listen.

Watching, I realized one thing.

‘That shaman can’t see Yoo Cheongil.’

She only seemed to see the Child Deity shaking around, and it looked like she couldn’t see Yoo Cheongil shaking it.

‘What do I do?’

It’s lucky, in a way, but...

WOOOONG—!! WOOOONG—!!

spirit-qi whipping through the air was not lucky. Not even a little.

‘Ah, I’m fucked. I’m actually fucked.’

Even if the Child Deity is a lower god, a god is still a god.

A Child Deity is what you get when a soul that should’ve been born with spiritual sensitivity can’t be born and dies instead.

If it feels like it, who knows what kind of influence it’ll cause while spewing spirit-qi like that.

‘...And it’s not even purely a lower god.’

Just looking at the spirit-qi it was pouring out, it wasn’t just a lower god. If anything, it had enough spirit-qi to aim for mid-tier.

‘Tsk.’

What do I do? Is the building going to collapse at this rate?

At that level, it could even interfere with restraints.

‘...If there’s something like gold involved, it’s even more dangerous.’

There are all kinds of restraints.

Put simply, it drags forward what was supposed to happen later.

That’s what it was when a higher god collapsed buildings.

Taking a flaw in a building that would collapse in the future and maximizing it.

You can’t exert influence on something that doesn’t exist.

But when it comes to something that will happen eventually, it’s possible.

If that Child Deity does something, it’ll be that kind of thing.

I hid my cold sweat and tried to think of a method.

‘What do I do?’

The simplest answer is deliverance.

Get the god out of here. That’s the simplest.

‘...Ah, I really don’t want to.’

In my past life, I tried to deliver a higher god and look what happened to me.

I succeeded in the end, but I suffered like hell for a long time cleaning up the karma that piled up from it.

Killing a god meant that.

‘Tsk.’

But there’s no choice.

I couldn’t help it. If I left it like that, I had no idea what would happen.

I moved my fingertips.

Just as I was about to scratch in the air and write out an incantation—

[Look at you. That cry’s got some lungs on it.]

THUD—!!

“...!!!”

I had to panic at what happened.

Frowning, Yoo Cheongil made a massive fist and flicked the Child Deity right on the head.

The lunatic hit a god.

[Uhh... uhh...?]

The Child Deity stopped crying from the hit.

Like it couldn’t understand what had just happened, it stared at Yoo Cheongil with a face full of tears.

Time passed like that.

[Hhk.]

Then, just as the Child Deity realized it had been hit and was about to start crying again—

[Hey!]

[Hic!]

At Yoo Cheongil’s bark, the Child Deity flinched.

[You little brat! What kind of man cries like that! You want this grandpa to scold you again until you come to your senses?!]

[Hic... uhhk... uuuh...]

Yoo Cheongil chewed it out, and the Child Deity shut its mouth, sniffling.

Watching, I had to keep pinching my thigh over and over.

‘...What the hell is that.’

Why is a god getting scolded?

‘How is he scolding those arrogant things?’

Every single god was arrogant.

It wasn’t even arrogance so much as them viewing humans like simple pets.

‘And on top of that, their relationship with ghosts should be insanely bad.’

Beings classified as gods despised ghosts formed from lingering attachment and resentment.

Even if they’re both spirits, they’d see themselves as a different level.

And in that situation—

‘...He’s scolding a Child Deity?’

Yoo Cheongil’s behavior left me speechless.

Not only is a ghost scolding a god, the god is accepting it.

‘...No. It looks like it’s just scared.’

A god was scared of Yoo Cheongil.

It was too ridiculous to process.

[Is that how you should glare in someone’s face?]

[...Uhh...]

[Is it?]

When Yoo Cheongil asked twice, the Child Deity shook its head.

[Right. You shouldn’t do that. Got it?]

[...]

It couldn’t even spit out words—just nodded.

Then it flew over and hugged into the shaman’s arms.

“L-little Lord... you’ve calmed—”

That instant—

WOOOONG—!!

“Huuuhk!!”

Misa Fairy suddenly trembled in the eyes and slumped forward, her head dropping.

‘...Oh, come on.’

I covered my mouth as I watched.

‘Look at that crafty little brat...?’

The Child Deity dumped the recoil it had suffered straight onto Misa Fairy, and she couldn’t withstand it—so she’d blacked out for a moment.

“...What is this?”

The one who was naturally flustered was Murong Yeongsun.

She came to get a Four Pillars Reading, and the shaman was just doing crazy shit.

“Hey. Hey. Get it together.”

“Huuuhk!”

When Murong Yeongsun called out with irritation, Misa Fairy snapped awake quickly.

The problem was—

“Th... this... you....”

All of a sudden, she glared at me with blazing eyes.

“You... you malicious ghost...!”

“...Me?”

“G-get out! Get out, you malicious ghost!!”

“...Huh?”

She was calling me a malicious ghost and spitting curses.

“...Ma’am?”

I tried to calm the shaman down like, what the hell are you doing, but—

“A malicious ghost’s entered. You’re a malicious ghost...! What did you do to the Little Lord?!”

“No, listen... that wasn’t me...”

Whatever she heard from the Child Deity, her reaction was off the rails.

This is bullshit. I didn’t do anything.

I could see she was overheated, so I tried to soothe her anyway—

“Right now... right now I’ll—!”

Misa Fairy couldn’t calm down, eyes turning red as she started raging harder.

And just as she was about to hurl the fan she was holding at me—

GRAB—!

Murong Yeongsun seized Misa Fairy by the wrist.

And then—

“Malicious ghost?”

A chilling voice spilled out of her.

“Say that again.”

“...H-hk...?”

“Who are you calling a malicious ghost?”

Murong Yeongsun spoke with a voice that seeped cold.

“You.”

The grip on Misa Fairy’s wrist visibly tightened.

“Do you want to die?”

[Now that’s something.]

Yoo Cheongil let out an impressed exhale at the murderous words.

[...What a terrifying little girl.]

Even Yoo Cheongil—that Yoo Cheongil—looked like he might flinch.

Watching Murong Yeongsun steadily pour out that icy aura, I realized something.

‘Yeah. This is...’

The fortune-telling was probably completely fucked.

*****

“That damn bitch, seriously.”

The moment we stepped out onto the street, Murong Yeongsun spat it out. She ground her teeth as she spoke—furious.

“...Calm down.”

I sighed as I said it. We’d already made a scene inside the shop, and she was still like this.

“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down.”

“If you don’t calm down, what are you going to do? Didn’t you see? That person was shaking like a leaf because of you.”

I remembered Misa Fairy shoved into a corner, pushed back by Murong Yeongsun’s pressure.

If she was really a shaman who served a god, I couldn’t tell—her terrified face under Murong Yeongsun’s aura was something else.

“She should shake. How dare she call someone a malicious ghost.”

“...I got cursed at, so why are you the one acting like this?”

Anyone would think she was the one who got called a malicious ghost.

I took the abuse, but Murong Yeongsun was the one raging.

“I went through the trouble of reserving a slot just to get a Four Pillars Reading, and you ruined everything. You could’ve just held back for a second.”

“Are you insane? Hold back ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) on that? And I stepped in because it was obvious you’d ‘hold back.’ Because it was obvious you’d get played again like an idiot.”

“It’s not being an idiot. It’s being rational. There was nothing to gain from fighting there.”

“Right. You’re amazing. I’m always the frustrated bitch.”

“...That’s not what I meant...”

I stopped mid-sentence. Because I shouldn’t have been saying any of this.

“...Just. Thank you.”

Thanks for getting mad for me.

That was what I should be saying right now.

“...”

Murong Yeongsun’s shoulders trembled slightly at the words.

Then—

“Hmph.”

She huffed and turned her head away.

That meant she’d cooled off.

For someone like her, she was surprisingly simple.

Like she didn’t want to show me her face, Murong Yeongsun cranked her head away and spoke.

“...And why are you casually dropping formality? You said we’d act like strangers when we saw each other again.”

“Ah.”

Right. We did say that.

I realized too late.

“...Sorry.”

“...Yes. Right.”

She looked like she felt something like disappointment, but I forced myself to ignore it.

“...So, are you really okay? You said there was something you really wanted to see.”

“...Forget it. There’s nothing to see in a damn place like that.”

“What were you trying to see, exactly?”

At the question, Murong Yeongsun looked at me.

“...There’s something.”

“...”

From her eyes, it was obvious she wasn’t going to tell me.

“Haah.”

I let out a deep sigh. The sigh reeked of regret.

“Seriously. How did I end up with a guy like—”

“I can hear you.”

“I’m insulting you so you do hear it. So listen.”

Tsk tsk. She clicked her tongue and strode ahead with those long legs.

The way her steps were fast, she must’ve been really pissed.

I followed after her through the county seat.

The plan was to head back to Blue Moon Sect, but after we’d walked a while, Murong Yeongsun suddenly stopped.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

She called, so I answered. Then she pointed at something with her hand.

“Buy this for me.”

“...What?”

I looked, and it was jewelry laid out on a street stall.

And among it—

“A necklace?”

“That’s right. That one.”

It was just an antique necklace.

She wanted me to buy it?

“...Why?”

Why do I have to buy you that? I asked because I genuinely didn’t understand, and Murong Yeongsun’s face twisted like she was the malicious ghost.

“If I tell you to buy it, just buy it. It’s the last time—do you have to talk so much?”

“...No...”

I felt like I’d asked something reasonable, and I got my head bitten off.

I made an aggrieved face, but at “last time,” I scratched my cheek and spoke to the vendor.

“Give me the one she pointed at.”

The vendor’s face lit up and he handed it to me immediately.

It was disgustingly expensive.

It was obviously a scam markup, but I decided to just pay.

‘If you’re going to do this, at least pick the one next to it.’

Next to the necklace Murong Yeongsun chose—

It looked like a ring, and I could feel spirit-qi coming off it.

The energy wasn’t ordinary.

I stared at it a moment, then spoke to the vendor.

“...How much is the one next to it?”

When I tried to buy the ring too, the vendor’s face practically bloomed.

Luckily, the ring wasn’t expensive.

It must’ve been something that never sold, so he’d knocked the price down.

“Whatever. I’ll use it well.”

Murong Yeongsun put on the necklace right away and spoke in her usual tone.

Hearing it, I held out the ring I’d just bought.

“Take this too.”

“...Huh?”

Murong Yeongsun flinched at the ring in my hand.

“...Why?”

Instant wariness seeped into her voice.

“Sorry?”

“...What are you going to ask me for? You’re going to ask me again to never come back, or to keep my distance, or to not show up because I bother you. Something like that.”

“...What kind of—”

I shut my mouth mid-sentence.

Because those were all things I’d said.

“It’s not like that...”

“Then what is it.”

“No, if I’m giving it to you, why are you suspecting me first?”

“Because you’d never give me something like that.”

“...”

That was fair.

I scratched the back of my head, then just said it straight.

“It’s a birthday present. It’s your birthday today.”

“...”

This time it was Murong Yeongsun who fell silent.

An awkward silence settled, time passed, and then Murong Yeongsun spoke.

“...You knew?”

“Not right away. I remembered during the day.”

“So that’s why you came with me?”

“More or less.”

“...”

Behind the veil, I could see her lips move.

“...Bad man. Doing this and then acting like—”

I heard her muttering, so I just tossed the ring. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Murong Yeongsun caught the ring floating through the air.

The instant she caught it, she shouted at me.

“Are you insane!? Why would you throw it!”

“Then what, am I supposed to put it on your finger?”

“Putting it on me is what makes sense in this situation!”

“Like hell it does. If you don’t want it, throw it away.”

I spat the words and walked ahead.

“...So damn annoying, seriously.”

As I passed, I heard Murong Yeongsun mutter.

A sour feeling rose in my chest.

Yeah. Like always—getting tangled up with her as little as possible was the right answer.

Back then as a kid.

And even now, today—finally becoming what I am.