Chapter 153

After Jun-sang finished his bath and felt a little refreshed, he went outside. Lyches, who had her cheeks puffed out like a frog with a mouthful of fruit and a happy expression, quickly chewed and swallowed what was in her mouth, then looked away with a feigned haughty expression. It seemed that even though she was captivated by the fruit, her displeasure at being abruptly reverse-summoned had not subsided.

Henes gave an awkward smile, but Jun-sang didn’t pay them any mind. He sat on the bed and spoke quietly.

“Go wash up.”

“Okay.”

Henes stood up and said to Lyches, “Your Majesty, let’s go together. I’ll wash you.”

Lyches, who had been glancing at Jun-sang’s face to see if he cared about her pouting, pouted again and silently followed her.

Once the two disappeared into the bathroom, Jun-sang summoned Mong-mong and the Elemental Dragon, letting them loose. He then divided the fruit that Henes had peeled for him among them, and got into bed. The increased wait time definitely made him feel more relaxed. After lying on the bed and enjoying a moment of rest, Jun-sang’s curiosity about the contents of the bag Mong-mong had found was suddenly piqued.

Jun-sang got up, spread a mat on the floor, took out the bag, and examined the contents.

“…”

Inside were some cash, a few ID cards, and some clothes. He put the small amount of cash aside and looked at the ID cards. However, the photos on them were clearly different from the appearances of the people he had killed, and the number of IDs did not match the number of victims. If they weren’t their own, then they must belong to their victims.

He decided to have Seo-yoon investigate the IDs later. For now, he carefully checked if there was anything else hidden. But he couldn’t find anything more.

This can’t be all…

Jun-sang looked at the bag with a questioning expression for a moment, then called Mong-mong, who was lying on the table enjoying the fruit like a sea otter, with a piece of fruit on his belly.

“Come here.”

When Jun-sang called, Mong-mong quickly put the piece of fruit he was holding into his pouch and scurried over, tilting his head as if to ask what was wrong.

“Is there anything else hidden in here?”

Mong-mong tilted his head again, then quickly went to the bag and began to gnaw at its leather surface. Not long after, he brought a small metal plate to Jun-sang.

“What’s this…”

Jun-sang picked up the metal plate and examined it with his Insight ability. He could see a faint light emanating from the plate.

“Good job. Here’s a reward.”

Jun-sang took out a chocolate bar for Mong-mong and was about to use Item Confirmation. But before he could even execute the command, messages came pouring into his vision.

Congratulations!

The loyalty of your pet ‘Mong-mong’ has reached 100.

: The higher the loyalty, the more effective the pet’s skills become.

• Loyalty can be increased up to 120.
• When loyalty is 100 or higher, a pet’s skills can evolve if specific conditions are met.

Jun-sang was about to dismiss the message, but he paused at the last line. Skill evolution? Was it possible for a pet’s skills to evolve? There was a condition that ‘specific conditions’ had to be met, but this was undoubtedly useful information.

Congratulations!

: You have reached 100 pet loyalty for the first time.

• To commemorate your achievement, the title ‘Loyalty!’ has been granted.[Click here to view title details.]

As expected, a new title had been granted. Jun-sang checked the details.

[Loyalty!]

: A title granted to one who has reached 100 pet loyalty for the first time.

• Effect: The number of pets that can be summoned simultaneously increases by 1.
• The title effect is automatically applied upon acquisition.

Just like before, the number of pets that could be summoned at the same time increased. It seemed that all pet-related titles had the effect of increasing the number of simultaneously summonable pets. With this, the total number of pets he could summon at once was now five. Since he had no Pet Collars, these slots would remain empty for a while, but just like his inventory, the more he had, the better.

Jun-sang put the chocolate bar back in his pocket, stroked Mong-mong’s head, who was munching on the fruit he had taken out with his front paws, and then used Item Confirmation on the metal plate he had found.

Item Information

Name: Crude Communication Magic Circle

Level Requirement: None

Type: Communicator

Grade: Common

Effect: Simple message reception function

Seed: None

Description: A crude communication magic circle that has the ability to receive short, simple messages. This magic circle has a unique serial number, and it is a crude communicator that can only receive messages and not transmit them.

“…”

The item itself was nothing special. In terms of performance, it was no better than a pager, let alone a cell phone. They probably received their orders from “him” through this. The fact that it was a receiver-only device was a problem, but if he used it well, it could become a powerful tool to get a lead on the organization that was shrouded in secrecy.

“You really did a good job.”

When Jun-sang said that again and stroked his head, Mong-mong tilted his head once and then immersed himself in eating the fruit again.

Now then…

The problem was how to use this to get information or track their movements. But the solution was surprisingly simple. Wasn’t there a being with a powerful ability unmatched by anyone else in this world when it came to magic, who was currently bound to Jun-sang as a pet? It was the Fairy Queen Lyches.

“Well now…”

Surely, for Lyches, analyzing a crude magic circle like this would be nothing. Even if her abilities were limited because she was not in the Fairy Realm, her knowledge of magic itself had not disappeared. She was still a bit pouty, but if he offered a proper price, she wouldn’t refuse.

After a while, Henes and Lyches came out of the bathroom after a quick wash. Lyches had used magic to dry herself and was wearing her flimsy clothes, while Henes came out wearing only a bathrobe, her skin still moist.

Jun-sang first gathered the items and put them back into the bag with the torn outer layer, then he called Lyches.

“Lyches.”

“Yes?”

Lyches, feeling good after her bath, answered reflexively with a pleasant expression. She then remembered that she was still mad at Jun-sang and quickly turned her head. Henes smiled at the cute display, but Jun-sang found Lyches’s sulky attitude a bit tiresome.

Then he suddenly remembered. He had gained a new skill. He was honestly skeptical if it would have any effect on a Level 99 Lyches, but he had received so many fairy kisses and had even gained the side effect of the Radiance effect, so it wouldn’t hurt to try. If it didn’t work… he could always give her a bunch of chocolate bars. He was a little worried about inflation, but that gluttonous fairy wouldn’t refuse food.

Jun-sang immediately equipped the Charm skill and called Lyches.

“Lyches.”

“…”

Lyches glanced at him when he called her name and flinched. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt as if a bright light was pouring from his face.

“Wh-what…”

Jun-sang’s expression was still bland and as stoic as ever. But why did that expressionless face look so cool at this moment?

In fact, Lyches didn’t truly dislike Jun-sang. If she really hated him, the moment she found out that the Spirit Gate existed in his body, she would have stormed off and returned to the Fairy Realm. She believed that once she returned to the Fairy Realm, she could use the miraculous ability she had gained by reaching the rank of a demigod, and even if she couldn’t break the Pet Collar, she could at least minimize its influence.

But she didn’t do that. It was partly because she didn’t want to return to the terribly boring Fairy Realm and once again bear the responsibilities of a queen, but it was also because she wanted to get to know Jun-sang, the human the fairies had chosen as their partner.

Of course, a girl named Henes was already by his side. But to a Fairy Queen who had lived for over ten thousand years, a human who lived for only a hundred years or so could never be a rival in love. She had been stuck in the Fairy Realm for ten thousand years and then slept for another thousand. The very concept of time was different for her than it was for a human.

The reason she was sulking and resisting being reverse-summoned was ultimately because she was interested in Jun-sang. Because of this, when the small trigger of Charm was pulled, she immediately reacted.

The same went for Henes, who was watching them from the side. Her heart and soul were already completely captivated by Jun-sang, but whether it was due to being head-over-heels in love or something else, at this moment, Henes looked at Jun-sang and felt ecstatic.

“…”

Jun-sang easily realized that the skill had worked as he watched Lyches blush and steal glances at him, and Henes, with a dreamy look in her eyes, looking like she was about to jump into his arms at any moment.

“Lyches.”

When he called her name again, Lyches, with a flushed face, stammered in response.

“Why?”

Jun-sang showed her the metal plate Mong-mong had found, to the Lyches who couldn’t even meet his eyes.

“Can you analyze this?”

“…”

Lyches glanced at the metal plate and immediately answered. “Is it a communication magic circle? It’s quite crude.”

As expected of the Fairy Queen. She was able to figure out its purpose with just a glance without any other verification process. Her ability was truly worthy of her reputation.

But then, in the next moment.

Henes, who had been fidgeting next to them, suddenly threw herself into Jun-sang’s arms.

“Henes?”

When Jun-sang called her name, Henes breathed heavily and answered in a trembling voice.

“I… I feel strange…”

“…”

Only then did Jun-sang realize his mistake and quickly deactivated the Charm skill, but it was already far too late.

Author’s Note: Is an explanation still needed?