Humans: The Worst Kind Of Demon

——— Mira ———

That sly slime is certainly trying to seduce Minho.

When Celestine personally greeted us at the gate of her mansion, she was dressed in a beautiful pearl-colored silk dress - who the heck dresses like that at HOME?!

Then the slinky snake pulled at Minho's sleeve to lead him through the luscious garden with flowers that glowed in the evening sun, probably most of them collected from some exotic places around the Empire. 

What a show-off.

I wasn't going to lose this battle so easily though, so I also went up to my Human Demon and grabbed his sleeve. But both of them had bigger strides - not that I was short, they just had long legs. That's all - which made me look like an idiot dangling onto Minho.

I don't like this one bit. 

"Please make yourself at home"

"Thank you"

Minho sat on a very luxurious-looking sofa that Celestine led him to, and she also gestured for me to sit on another sofa across the tea table. 

You wish.

"Scoot"

With that, I sat right next to Minho on the same sofa. Luckily, it was spacious enough to fit both of us, and have some room left over. 

I want to assert my ownership here but it's not like I wanted to be rubbing our knees together or anything like that. 

Celestine raised an eyebrow, then giggled, and rang a bell which brought the maids in with tea and…

CHOCOLATES!!! FOR REAL?!

"Have you ever tried these before?", Celestine asked Minho, not minding me. 

Chocolates were peak delicacy and super expensive. I only had it a few times in my entire life when some particularly generous and wealthy audiences for our family circus gifted some to us after the show. That was superb. Taste I would never forget. 

"Oh, man. I've been missing these. May I?"

"Please, go ahead. As much as you want", Celestine didn't look so sly anymore in my eyes. 

Whatever you were scheming earlier, girl, I forgive you. For now. 

I took a piece and it was absolutely delicious. Eruption of pleasure in my mouth and a jolt of electric tingle down my spine. 

Right, I will forgive you for the next time as well. Just once. 

Minho seemed to be having a similar reaction.

"Oh wow… this is even better than the ones they have where I come from"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, this is TOP quality chocolate"

"Heh~, glad to hear that. Please, enjoy yourself"

After about three pieces of heavenly indulgences though, I knew I had to pull myself together. 

"Ahem, hm-hm. So, Celestine, what made you bring us here"

"I just wanted to get to know you guys better, that's all"

Suspicious. 

"You mean you wanted to know more about my demon, eh?"

"I can't deny I am curious and interested about a thing or two, yes", she grinned. 

"Ask away. I'll answer anything I could", Minho responded a bit too gratuitously for my liking. 

Don't be fooled by her looks - She's no angel!

"Why don't we enjoy some music in meanwhile?"

Celestine nodded to a maid who was standing by, who went away and returned shortly with a man carrying the Six Strings. 

"Is that… a guitar?", Minho asked. 

"Hm? Is that what you call them in your world, Minho?", Celestine seemed amused. 

"Yes. It's a very popular instrument"

"Ha! I know how to play them! I'll show you!"

Yup. Playing instruments was a big part of a circus. It was all about entertainment after all and everyone in the clan was taught to play multiple instruments. I was pretty good at the Six Strings myself. 

Without letting the man play - a bit eager to show off finally, something I was actually genuinely good at, I took the Six-Strings from him and started to play a tune. 

Celestine actually seemed delighted by my performance and clapped along, as Minho sat there looking pretty impressed too. 

Hehe, behold Mira's musical talents. 

After I was done, I received a round of applause from all in the room, including the musician and the maid.

"You are really good, Minakong. But say-, I feel like I've heard this song before"

That can't be. It wasn't just any folksong.

"Hm… where did I hear it? Maybe in some show…? What show was that? My memory fails me… I'm sorry. Nevermind, after all, heh~"

DANG. 

This cow knows. 

I shouldn't have played it. Why didn't I think of it earlier? She's rich. Probably well traveled. It's not inconceivable that she's been to one of my family's circus shows. We had a lot of rich guests in some of our performances close to the capital too. 

"I… I think I heard it from a show as well. Yeah, when I was a child. I think my parents took me to some kind of a show. But me too, my memory fails me. He… he… heh~"

Right. That should do it. 

"May I try as well?"

To our surprise, Minho raised a hand and I passed him the Six Strings. He played each string one by one, listened to the tone carefully, and asked the musician who was still hanging around. 

"Do you mind if I change the tuning a little?"

"Oh? Yes, please go ahead. Do you use some special tuning?"

"Well, where I come from, yes. We tune our guitars differently"

Not we were all intrigued.

After some fiddling around, Minho strummed the Six-String, which made harmonies that I've never heard before. 

That's my demon there! Ha!

What happened after made our jaws drop though. 

He started off casually enough, doing some nice pickings, creating a nice melody, then he started to strum it, like really strum it HARD as if he was going to break the instrument, hitting the low notes making chug-chug sound, banging his head in the air, stomping the ground - what in the world is this?!

After he was done, all of us were a little too stunned to speak and Minho just scratched his head with an awkward smile. 

"Oh dear, what kind of music is this? Is this type of music popular in your world?"

"Er, it's called Death Metal"

"How demonic! 'Death' Metal! You've certainly treated us to something delightful here"

"My, thank you"

Well, that was impressive indeed although it gave me a bit of a headache and teary eye to the musician who examined his Six-Strings to find that the strings were run ragged, and a maid who now stood many steps away from us trembling in fear at the horror of the true demonic music. 

"Ahem, now, now. Since we got that out of our way - why don't we get to the business."

I have to take charge of the scene again here.

"Now, Celestine. What did you REALLY want to talk about?"

"What's the hurry, Minakong? We are just getting started, heh~"

That stupid 'Heh~' again. I bet guys all over the school fall for that, but Minho would not-

WHY THE HELL DO YOU LOOK SO FLABBERGASTED!!!

:Bonk:

"Ouch, Mira. What was that for?"

"Concentrate, you fool."

"Heh~, you guys certainly have a funny relationship"

"Nevermind, and-, hang on. Right. I got it. Let's make it fair. You've seen MY summoned monster, but I haven't seen yours. If you want to talk about things openly - whatever THAT is, shouldn't you be showing your monster too?"

Yes, this was a chance to find out what this top-tier mage hid under her Concealment Spell. If I were to go on to win the contest with Minho, I'd have to face her at some point. 

But instead of undoing the Concealment Spell, Celestine grinned and spoke,

"Very well. Here she comes"

Celestine snapped her finger but nothing happened. 

"Huh? I don't see it"

"She's here now. You can't see her, Minakong?"

"No… what trick are you playing?"

"I'm not playing any tricks. This is the nature of my summoned monster. She is invisible to the naked eye"

"That can't be fair!"

"Now, the interesting question is… Minho - Mr. Human Demon, do you see her?"

Minho looked visibly shaken though and his face had gone pale. 

"What's wrong?", I asked him but he did not directly respond. 

"Mr. Minho, let me ask you again. Do you see her?"

"No"

Darn it! Even my Human can't see Celestine's monster?!

"But… I can feel her"

Celestine looked a little taken aback, but her startle slowly turned into a look of amusement. 

"What can you feel, Minho?", she asked. 

"The hair on the back of my neck is rising, and I can feel the chill down my spine. I've felt it before and I will never forget this feeling. This can only mean one thing"

Silence hung between us as Celestine leaned back on her sofa, crossed her legs, leaned her face on one palm, and waited for Minho to continue. 

"What is it?! Tell me what you feel, fool!", I couldn't hold back anymore.

"Mira… she has summoned a ghost from my world"