Humans: The Worst Kind Of Demon

——— Mira ———

Oh, man… I'm in trouble…

But I had no regrets. After seeing Kimus go on his knees and apologize in front of all of my classmates, I knew any consequence that might come after that would be worth it. 

And here I was again, at the headmaster's office. With my trusty Human Minho standing next to me.

"Mira, I observed your little duel with Kimus earlier"

Lord Kinsky, the headmaster, spoke in a not soft tone. 

Yup, I knew I was in trouble. 

"You've unleashed your Human Demon against the summoned monster of another student, outside of the sanctioned Monster Battle Contest that is yet to begin"

"I'm sorry, Lord Kinsky"

"Could you please explain what happened?"

"That bastar-"

"Language, Mira"

"Sorry. Kimus kept on insulting my family and just wouldn't stop. So I challenged him to a duel"

"What was at stake?"

"His apology, of course"

"What if you lost?"

"Losing was never in my mind, Lord Kinsky"

The headmaster let out a chuckle, then a sigh, then leaned back on his leather cushioned chair. 

"You were confident in your Human's ability?"

"Yes, my Lord"

"Mr. Minho - what did you exactly due in that battle?"

Kinsky then asked my Human directly, probably trying to figure out what really happened and how Minho could tame Kimus' beast so easily although at the start it looked like he was just running away. 

"I remembered a few things about tigers from my old world and used something that I knew, erm…, that tigers and big cats like - in general"

"And what would that be?"

Hey, I don't want my Demon's secret to be revealed so easily, I have to stop hi-

"It's called catnip"

"Catnip?"

"Do you have cats in this world?"

"Yes, we do"

"But you've never heard of catnip?"

"No"

"Er, it's a kind of herb that get them high"

"What do you mean 'high'?"

"They feel euphoric, excited, but also relaxed and soothed"

"So it's kind of like a Mind Manipulation Magic?"

"More like just biochemistry, Lord Kinsky"

"Like alchemy?"

"I guess you could say that"

It now sounded like there was no real harm in letting Minho talk about how he won the duel, although I would have preferred to hear about these things from him later and keep things between us. 

"My Lord, was that explanation from my Demon sufficient?", I asked. 

"That will do for now, but Mira"

"Yes, Lord Kinsky"

"What you have summoned here… is very unusual. Humans have not been seen for millennia in our world"

Damn, right. That's how great I am!

"I need you to be aware that there are a lot of eyes on you and Mr. Minho here"

I felt proud that even Lord Kinsky was referring to my summoned demon with a proper title. 

"And I have already reported to the Association of the Royal Mages that we have a Human in our hands"

Oh, dang.

"Does that mean I'm in trouble?"

"Far from it. I have not heard back from the Association yet, but I'm sure everyone will be thrilled to observe what a Human can do - but with caution"

"Don't worry, My Lord. Minho here is fully under my control"

"That leads me to two questions that you must answer"

"Please go ahead, Lord Kinsky"

"First, how did you summon a Human?"

I had a feeling that this question was going to come up someday, but I had no intention of exposing the fact that I've used an as-plain-as-it-can-be ring that was my family heirloom to summon Minho. Unexpectedly, the ring did not get consumed after the summoning and I have been wearing it on my finger ever since. Although I had no idea 'how' they were related, it was clear that there was a connection and I better not take any chances. The last thing I wanted was to get my ring taken away, which might lead to the Human being unsummoned. 

"I just followed the procedures I've learned during the class"

"What artifact did you use for the ritual?"

"A magical gem given to me by my father, My Lord"

"What kind of a magical gem?"

"It was a third-grade Blue Gem of Spirits. My family could not afford anything higher"

"You summoned a HUMAN using a third-grade gem?!"

"I believe there was a large element of luck involved, my Lord. Or perhaps, destiny"

The headmaster leaned forward and I could feel the growing pressure in me as his gaze probed what was behind my eyes, but defense against the Probing Eyes was a second nature of any Illusionist worth her salt. As high-level a mage as Lord Kinsky was, when it came to illusion magic the Kakwaszavoot Clan had talent and skills that were passed down from generation to generation. We honed these skills to perfection since our birth and a little impromptu probing here wasn't going to reveal anything, I was confident. 

"I will leave it at that for now. The next question - how are you keeping him under your control? The biggest concern we have is that you are not capable of containing his power. I'm not belittling you, but it is a fact that a Human's power far exceeds your own"

This was an answer that Minho and I had discussed and prepared in advance, as the answer to this question would be more convincing if it came from his mouth. 

"May I? Lord Kinsky?", Minho spoke, as rehearsed.

"Please go ahead, Mr. Minho"

"I am a demon, and as evil as you may think demons are, once we make a contract we are irrevocably bound by it. I've made a contract with Mira that I shall follow her command"

"Even after the Monster Battle Contest is over? How do you plan to return to your world?"

"I will decide after the contest whether I want to return, or to stay serving the young mage Mira here."

Lord Kinsky was a little taken aback. 

"You… may continue to 'serve' Mira?"

"Yes, Lord Kinsky. If I wish to do so, I will"

Welp, only because we had no idea how we could unsummon him. But this was as good an answer as we could give at this stage.

"But as long as you are in this world you will be bound by contract to serve Mira?"

"Yes"

"May I ask… why would such a powerful demon accept a contract with a young mage who is still an apprentice?"

I straightened my back and was ready to pull off my best smug face, because Minho was about to say, "Because she is the mage with the greatest potential I have ever seen".

Yeah, say it now, Minho. I will forgive you for some of your foolish mistakes from before. 

"Because she's kinda cute and I've grown fond of her"

WHAAAAT?!!!!