Evil Duchess Summons Me, the Heavenly Demon

Ephre doubted her eyes.

In fact, his face was rotting in real time. Even worse than when Sofia pretended to be modest in front of others.

How should I put it? A feeling of fundamental twisting inside.

At some point, she had unconsciously become relaxed in front of her summoned creature, Cheon Sang-geuk, but if he saw her current expression, he might become disgusted and turn away.

She couldn’t let that happen.

Even while thinking this, her eyes couldn’t leave the Ouija Board.

Coolbeautycontinentbestbeauty: Ah… don’t worry about the name! Angel-chan isn’t insisting on being called Angel-chan! It’s okay for big sisters and big brothers to call Angel-chan ‘cool beauty’ or whatever. All of those refer to the cutest, prettiest, most adorable one in the world, right? ♥

“Ah, I really can’t stand to watch this.”

Vulgar words flowed out unconsciously. For a moment, she had forgotten that she was a duchess.

I’ve heard that as you continue training to strengthen your mental power, various anxieties and unpleasant things from your mind cross the abyss and approach you, which perfectly matches the current situation. Like filth gathered together to form a human shape…

Absolutely.

There was no way she could show this to Cheon Sang-geuk. Well, there would never be a way for him to see it, but she meant she couldn’t tell him about it.

Ephre looked at the man while barely enduring her terribly painful feelings. He was also looking at her. Eyes that seemed to expect something.

Soon, he asked:

“What’s wrong? You seem to have encountered something shocking. Is there something good in it?”

Ephre answered firmly:

“No, sometimes there are good things and sometimes not, but at least right now… it’s the worst, really.”

The man’s eyebrows twitched.

“The worst, you say.”

“Yeah, really, really terrible. Someone seems to have newly connected to the Ouija Board, but they don’t seem normal. I’ve been interested in family affairs and social dynamics since I was young, you know? So I can somewhat see through people just by their words.

But from what I can see, the one who just used the Ouija Board… no, that old geezer is clearly an attention-seeker who begs for people’s attention. A very severe case at that.”

“…One should not judge hastily, lest they ruin matters.”

“No, really. This person probably has ‘that.’ You know what I mean? Even though you’re a summoned creature… you look like a man, so you understand.”

Had she never imagined that she, a noble duchess with a graceful, radiant, cute, and elegant appearance, would say such things?

Cheon Sang-geuk’s expression gradually hardened.

Ephre continued, with a slightly reddened face. What’s important now isn’t who talked about genitalia.

“It happens sometimes. An old man who mistakes himself for a pretty girl and takes out his frustrations, no, role-plays, on these kinds of Ouija Boards. Usually, they’re revered by people, but then they make an absurd mistake, their identity is exposed, and they get beaten up… ah, it’s really disgusting every time I see it.”

“If it’s to hide one’s identity, wouldn’t it be rather acceptable? For instance, it might not be an old man but someone extremely powerful and refined. Having reached his later years, he might be deliberately lowering himself to interact with growing saplings.”

“No, those who usually think and talk like that are invariably eyesores. What does it matter if only they think that way? Others should also see and think of them that way.”

Cheon Sang-geuk’s eyes narrowed very thinly. With a slightly irritated voice, he muttered as if he had realized something:

“That would be as unsightly as someone who deludes themselves into thinking they receive love from everyone. Just like a person who, despite being a troublemaker beyond measure, a villain or antagonist, thinks of themselves as pitiful and pathetic.”

Ephre blinked her eyes. Then, as if in admiration, she let out a small “Wow.”

“That sounds exactly like someone I know. That rotten Sofia.”

Cheon Sang-geuk’s expression openly twisted.

Being her summoned creature, even though they hadn’t formed a soul bond yet, he sympathized with his master’s(?) feelings and shared her frustration.

She couldn’t help but feel touched.

Despite his verbal grumbling, he secretly worried about her, and beyond sympathizing, he had completely assimilated (identified) with her—wasn’t that proof?

Perhaps his postponement of the contract was also because he worried that his legendary achievement as an ancient or fantastical species would be dimmed if his kind-hearted inner self was revealed.

Ephre cleared her throat with a “hmm-hmm” and brightened her eyes. She subtly moved her body to the desk. Naturally placing a part of her body on it, she parted her lips.

Then, with a slightly trembling voice that she had made up, she said:

“So, about that… won’t you formally become my summoned creature now? I know that beneath your grumbling, you’re worried about me. I also know that you’re trying to teach me summoning magic, and that you look at me with satisfaction because I show enthusiasm. Lastly, that you find my ‘enemies’ distasteful.”

Cheon Sang-geuk remained silent, as if lost in thought. Now she understood. That too was his own way of expression.

Half-convinced, Ephre continued her momentum:

“You give me power, and I’ll give you knowledge. Wouldn’t that work?”

Swish.

The woman extended the back of her hand bashfully. While she didn’t want a kiss on it, just having him grasp it would be satisfying enough… Huh?

Ephre’s head tilted upward. That meant the man had stood up.

He spoke, emphasizing each syllable:

“This lord does not bow his head to anyone. Rather, I am in a position where I receive adoration from all.”

Whisk. His piercing gaze directly stared into the woman’s eyes.

“Additionally, I’m not sure how useful the knowledge I’d hear from you would be, given your eyes that cannot distinguish between right and wrong and judge things too easily. Especially since the cultivation of knowledge would be sufficient through the books here.”

“W-wait a moment! There are things you can’t know just from books, right? Magic itself is like that…”

But Cheon Sang-geuk didn’t wait and turned his body. He made the books he had chosen float with something like a levitation spell, following behind him.

♦♦♦

Insult, humiliation, contempt… I didn’t particularly feel such emotions.

How long has it been since I reached the supreme position? A master who cannot easily handle emotions cannot exist. Especially if the subject is the absolute authority of the Divine Sect and the living incarnation of fire, the Heavenly Demon.

The reason my mood wasn’t particularly good wasn’t because someone’s self-portrayal, enacted with a blood-vomiting heart, was insulted by cold gazes.

Nor was it because I was scratched by the words “completely old.”

Nor did I flare up at being called a “severe attention-seeker.”

…?

To clarify, anyway, it’s none of these. Because no such thing exists.

My mood was purely due to Ephre’s attitude.

The summoning magic she so desires, in other words, the true nature of the summoning magic she might gain by contracting with me, is martial arts.

Not only martial arts within the Divine Sect, but having read martial arts manuals regardless of good or evil sects, and having trained or meditated, I’ve comprehended the principles and subtleties of most martial arts.

If someone not born into the martial world wants to learn such things, what should they do?

Instead of asking ‘Is this possible?’ or spending time in doubt, they should have a more open view and mindset, trying their best to learn.

Moreover, the one in front of her is the best educator in the central plains who can explain everything according to her level of understanding, and simultaneously the only one who can help her build the foundations of martial arts study and extend to that high place.

In the first place.

Whether the soul binding or whatever would engrave martial arts formulas or parts of mental cultivation in her mind, whether a dantian would form, whether her blood vessels would open, is still unknown.

It doesn’t even matter if none of those phenomena occur (the air here is full of energy, so the environment is rather better compared to the other side).

Yet, such an ignorant and narrow-minded attitude.

My heart, which had been considering her as close to a disciple, cooled rapidly. I was very displeased.

“You, where are you going! Let’s go together! What’s wrong? Is it because you’re embarrassed? But we need to make a contract soon so that your existence can have stability…!”

Because I walked with large strides, she had to follow with small steps. No, she practically had to run. Not even knowing library etiquette, that damned thing.

The librarian Farrin, who had risen and hurriedly run as if she had been there all along, as if she hadn’t been monitoring, asked while catching her breath:

“Would you… like to… borrow the… books?”

I frowned silently.

The librarian, who was rolling her eyes around, seemed to inwardly explode with a “Ugh!” sound, then spoke again in an extremely awkward manner:

“Please use them, no, read them cleanly.”

As I nodded and was about to leave, I avoided a hand trying to grab my clothes without even looking at it.

“Phew, your steps… haa, really. Are fast!”

As I looked at the detestable child who was belatedly trying to act cultured, suddenly, a brilliant idea occurred to me.

She wants teaching?

I’ll personally let her know.

“To perform this lord’s magic, there are fundamental things, each of which is by no means easy. Can you truly do it?”