Chapter 10

“Alright then, I should probably start teaching Chae-a a few things while we wait for the Spirit Master to arrive.”

“For example, this red rock isn’t actually a rock but a soda cap, and what a phone is used for?”

“Honestly, since her true form is that of a Spirit Beast, even if I left her be, there wouldn’t be much of an issue.”

“But still, in this tough modern world (though honestly, it’s changed so much I don’t really know), information is essential for survival.”

“So, one by one…”

Determined to help Chae-a develop common sense, I nodded my head.

“First off… let’s introduce her properly to the counselor teacher.”

“Earlier, I unilaterally introduced Chae-a to the counselor without any real introduction between them, so…”

Deciding to start with the basics, I picked up Chae-a and began speaking.

“Chae-a, when you meet someone, you need to introduce yourself first.”

“Introduce…?”

“That’s right. You tell them your name or what kind of person you are. It’s good!”

Chae-a, emboldened by my words, looked up at the smiling counselor teacher—but…

“…”

Unlike how she acted with me, it seemed she was unexpectedly very shy, as she suddenly panicked and hid behind me.

Caught off guard by Chae-a trembling behind me, I was flustered until the counselor teacher smoothly extended her hand and spoke to Chae-a.

“Hi there? I’m Teacher Jung Soo-a. What’s our little miss’s name?”

With a gentle and calm voice, Chae-a peeked at the counselor teacher and hesitantly began her introduction in a small voice.

“A… Hello. I’m Chae-a, the Spirit Beast…”

Did Chae-a want to say she was a Spirit Beast?

Regardless, since she did better than expected in introducing herself, I gently patted her head in approval.

“Good job!”

After being patted on the head, she seemed happier again, shaking her pink hair from side to side and clinging back to me.

“If I leave her like this, she’ll probably cling to me all day…”

Trying to maintain some decorum for the soon-to-arrive Spirit Master, counselor teacher, and viewers, I attempted to gently push Chae-a aside—but the moment I did, she froze and asked:

“Does Chae-a… make you dislike her?”

Startled by this reaction, I quickly shook my head to deny it, but Chae-a didn’t seem convinced. She fidgeted with her fingers, glanced at me, then dejectedly lowered her head and tried to move away.

Seeing this, I feared she might cry, so I had no choice but to pat her head again like before and comfort her as much as possible.

“Hehe…”

As I patted her head, laughter soon followed. Chae-a seemed happy again, wiggling her body while giggling and repeatedly saying she liked it as she clung back to me.

“She may look like me, but she’s truly a baby, so I need to be extra careful…”

While soothing her back and comforting her, Chae-a seemed fully recovered. She rubbed her cheeks against mine, then stood up and said:

“…Then, I’ll go get a present! Wait for me… Okay?!”

Confused by this sudden mention of a present, I wanted to ask why she was going to get one, but seeing her already climbing onto the bed made me keep quiet.

“It’s not good to force her to do too many things…”

Deciding to let her do what she wanted, I opted to show some maturity.

[A wealthy and suspicious viewer – They’re almost here. They should arrive in about 10 minutes.]

[One-day-wait-DLC – Is Chae-a a spirit? That’s fascinating. Pink hair is a first for me.]

[If-your-hair-is-weak-your-body-suffers – Normally, red hair means a fire spirit, blue means water, but pink… this is a first.]

I was pretending to sit up straight casually when interesting comments started popping up in the chat.

[Seorin-Seorin – Good job, Hae-un! That’s right; sitting on a cold floor isn’t good, so always use a cushion. Got it?]

[Spirits-are-so-cute – This Chae-a spirit seems to be a newborn baby spirit. They usually don’t appear this young.]

[Regression-5-times – Babies are just adorable! I want to spoil her rotten.]

The more time passed, the more curious I became about Chae-a’s identity.

Watching Chae-a explore around the bed, I prepared a chair for her ahead of the Spirit Master’s arrival.

“Woahh…! I found something super amazing!”

Chae-a happily held up a chocolate bar she found hidden in the blanket. Remembering I’d stashed it there earlier, I chuckled softly. Chae-a ran over holding the chocolate and told me:

“Eat this, contractor! If you don’t eat, you’ll hurt… You have to eat a lot!”

“If I don’t eat, I’ll hurt…?”

“Yeah. Like this: ow ow ow.”

Could she have been hungry before?

Shocked by the possibility that she suffered from hunger, I glanced at the chat window where alarming comments were appearing.

[Spirits-are-so-cute – Typically, spirits consume mana instead of food, so they rarely eat directly themselves. But if she’s searching for food, it looks like she hasn’t received mana for a long time.]

[Dragon-is-not-a-lizard – Don’t spirits die if they don’t receive mana?]

[Spirits-are-so-cute – Yes, that’s correct. So, she must’ve eaten food to replenish her mana to avoid dying.]

“…”

My heart aches.

I felt a strong desire to help Chae-a, just like how I’ve been helped here, and decided to give her all the snacks I’d received as gifts.

Just as I was about to offer her the snacks, Chae-a shoved a piece of chocolate into my mouth and grinned.

“Doesn’t it hurt?!”

The chocolate was sweet, but my taste buds were bitter.

As I chewed and nodded, I fed her some chocolate in return, trying to act mature.

“Chae-a, if you’re hungry, you should tell me, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine now!”

I praised her bright smile by patting her head as we heard a knock on the door.

“The Spirit Master must’ve arrived.”

Thinking I’d prepared well, I glanced beside me and saw…

The muscular man in his 30s or 40s who’d accidentally destroyed my lair—no, he broke it by mistake—entering the room with an awkward smile.

“Hey Hae-un, nice to see you again.”

“…”

Though I knew the previous incident was an accident, the ingrained fear made my body shiver.

As I hugged myself and slightly trembled, Chae-a quickly approached us, spreading her arms wide like a panda to protectively block me.

“I’ll protect the contractor…!”

Her protective action was touching, but knowing our behavior was quite rude, I was about to tell her it was okay when…

“Ah, is this the child? Pink hair… definitely a first!”

He naturally stroked Chae-a’s head and handed her a jelly pack from his bag.

Confused at first, Chae-a blinked before gleefully sucking on the jelly, her eyes lighting up.

“Woahhh, this is sooo yummy!”

“Right? My kids love it too.”

Clearly skilled at handling children, he seemed to be a genuine Spirit expert, as noted by the suspicious viewer.

Chae-a toddled over to me and offered the jelly.

“This is yummy.”

Trying to preserve social dignity, I refused, but my body ignored my rationality and instinctively bit into the jelly.

Savoring the fresh orange flavor, I blinked as the man observed me and spoke.

“Sorry about breaking your lair last time. Truly, I apologize.”

I waved my hand to indicate it was unnecessary, but he kept apologizing until he finally lifted his head.

“I’ll help rebuild your lair later, so you must call me, alright?”

“Yes…”

“Anyway, you mentioned wanting to know about this child’s identity, right?”

Nodding, he gestured in the air as he explained.

“According to this, she’s the Spirit of Life.”

“Life…?”

“Yes, life. Judging by her name, she seems to possess abilities related to life.”

What could life-related powers be? Can she make flowers or crops grow faster?

I pondered this while watching Chae-a intently eyeing the jelly in front of me.

[What-what – The Spirit of Life? Are there such spirits? Fascinating.]

[Tuna-Sandwich – Seriously, never heard of it. This needs verification from the association level.]

[Yum-yum – Is there no fan signing event here?]

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter much.”

No matter what kind of spirit Chae-a is, it’s not overly important now.

Gently patting Chae-a’s swaying pink hair, she suddenly snapped out of it and exclaimed:

“Right! We need to contract! Become my contractor, and we can be friends forever!”

[Magic-girl-Rung – Whoa, did my hair…?]

[Seorin-Seorin – For spirits, contracting is like becoming friends, I guess. So cute!]

[Wealthy-and-suspicious – If you contract with a spirit, they protect you for life, so it seems like a good choice.]

If there was any issue, the Spirit Master beside us would’ve intervened.

Hesitantly extending my hand toward Chae-a’s outstretched one, I agreed with a smile.

---