HKWM | Chapter 22

In the end, without having obtained a sword, we wrapped up our brief outing to the capital and returned home. Noah seemed disappointed, but he didn’t cling to the idea of staying in the capital. He seemed to understand what I told him earlier—that anytime he wishes, he can go anywhere he wants, and that there could be many more enjoyable experiences like visiting the capital or walking by the sea at night.

As soon as we got home, Kimaris started a major cleaning with the new supplies we had bought, and Phoras began drawing a summoning circle for elementals in the training area behind the mansion. Noah looked quite excited about it.

I added cautiously, to avoid any potential disappointment.

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“Noah, don’t get your hopes up too high. Even with a trick up our sleeve, only a few manage to actually make a contract and become elementalists.”

Summoning and making a contract were indeed separate issues. Summoning wasn’t as hard as one might think. Elementals, being inherently curious, often respond to summoning if the summoner’s energy is sufficiently intriguing or surpasses a certain threshold. The problem is that not all summoned elementals choose to make a contract; many just leave.

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“Yeah, I’m just curious to see what an elemental looks like, so it’s all good.”
“That’s good to hear.”

Drawing the summoning circle took quite a while. The complexity of the pattern was one thing, but more so, the process of making the concoction was quite cumbersome.

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By the time Kimaris had finished the major cleaning and came out to see the summoning circle, Phoras had already placed the purchased materials in the appropriate spots and was excitedly calling out.

“Master Noah, come on in!”

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Noah stood in the very center of the intricately complex circle.

“And now?”
“Just stay there. The summoning circle itself acts as a portal and door to the realm of elementals, so they will come to you.”

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Essentially, we had opened a door and were just waiting for the elementals to show up. I muttered to myself about the complexity of the process as we waited, and sure enough, as Phoras had said, one by one, the elementals began to appear.

There were elementals that looked like colorful blurs of light, indistinct in form, and others that had clear shapes. However, they all just circled around Noah above the summoning circle and then disappeared.

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Watching this, Phoras checked the fading circle and let out a sigh.

“Hmm, the gate will close soon… It seems Master Noah does have some affinity since the elementals responded to the summoning, but perhaps not enough to make a contract.”

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At Phoras’s words, Noah, who had been watching the elementals with fascination, suddenly closed his eyes. As I watched, curious about what he was doing, mana from within Noah stirred momentarily and then flowed out, tracing a path somewhere.

Then, along with Noah’s energy, a small lizard-like elemental climbed up through the summoning circle.

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Eeek!

And it did so with a seemingly reluctant scream.

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Hey, let me go! What are you?!

It turned out Noah had traced the elemental’s energy back and forcibly pulled it. Phoras burst out laughing and clapped at the scene.

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“So this is possible too!”
“Master Noah is truly exceptional.”

As Phoras joyfully took notes and Kimaris looked on satisfied, I suddenly felt a headache coming on.

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Let me go!

As I massaged my forehead, Noah, who was tilting his head curiously, spoke to the elemental.

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“Jin doesn’t like noise, so shut up.”
“It’s not because of that….”
“What?”
“Never mind….”

Yeah, my child is indeed a good one… I trailed off and shook my head.

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“…Just let that elemental go. It looks like it’s about to pass out.”

Indeed, the elemental, tightly gripped by Noah’s mana, seemed about to roll its eyes back in its head. As Noah released his mana, the elemental collapsed on the ground and gasped for breath. Wait, do elementals breathe?

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What are you doing?!

As the elemental regained its composure, it snapped angrily, and Noah responded with alarming calm.

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“No one else would make a contract with me, so I just thought maybe.”

The elemental seemed taken aback by the flimsy excuse.

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No elemental would ever make a contract with you!
“Why?”
Because your soul is too close to that of a demon!

As I felt my anger rise and unintentionally released magical energy, Phoras gasped and hid behind Kimaris, and the elemental, terrified, took cover behind Noah.

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Seeing the magic wafting from me, the elemental looked as if it might faint at any moment.

You, you’re not… a real demon, are you? An actual demon? Were you a demon contractor?! Ah, but then the summoning wouldn’t have worked…

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“Is that your last word?”
Wait! Just listen to me! I didn’t mean it in a bad way!

As I pulled back my magic, the elemental, still wary, didn’t stray from behind Noah.

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“Noah is not some mere demon contractor, you little thing.”
Oh, I see…
“And it’d be wise to explain yourself well. I am the Archdemon ‘Wrath,’ and I do not let offenses go easily.”

The elemental began to tear up, looking rather sinister than pitiful, as lava seemed to flow from its eyes instead of tears.

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Whimpering- I’m really scared…
“Stop crying and explain yourself.”

The elemental, stuck to Noah’s back, sniffled a few times and then hesitantly started.

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So, you see… Demons typically don’t have rules or balance, they just follow their instincts.

While demons might be one thing, an Archdemon has some sense of balance. Typically, we engage and coax a contract with offerings, but he tracked my energy and pulled me out forcibly. How is that different from what demons do?!

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As the elemental became increasingly agitated, I frowned.

“Perhaps it’d be better if you just shut up before I actually annihilate you.”

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Finally, the elemental clammed up, which somehow made it even more annoying. However, I really had no intention of annihilating it, so I forcibly severed the connection with the elemental and even dismantled the summoning circle. How dare they insult my child!

I brushed that aside and checked on Noah, worried that he might have been hurt by the elemental’s words. Fortunately, he didn’t seem affected, perhaps putting on a brave face just for my sake. I moved closer to him.

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“Noah, don’t worry about what that little thing said.”
“I’m really okay. Actually…”
“Yeah?”

Noah flashed a small smile and seemed about to explain something, then hesitated, scanning my face before shaking his head as if it was nothing.

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“What’s for dinner tonight?”

It was obvious he was changing the subject, but I decided to let it slide. As long as he wasn’t hurt, that was all that mattered.

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“Let’s ask Kimaris.”

After Noah had gone to bed, the three of us gathered in his study for a meeting.

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“Today’s parenting meeting is about discussing how to integrate Noah with humans.”

Now that he’s been taught all the basic knowledge he needs, including language, it was time to start thinking about our real purpose.
My principle was clear: to learn to live an ordinary life, Noah needed to interact with humans, not just worn-out demons like us.

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“Did you find out more about the school?”

Sending Noah to school seemed like the best option under the current circumstances, but I had asked Phoras to do some more research because there could be aspects we were unaware of that might negatively affect Noah.

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“Yes, there’s a school in this domain, and it operates as I’ve previously mentioned. It’s partly a welfare project, but it does require tuition, so mostly children from somewhat affluent families attend.”
“Doesn’t seem like there’s anything concerning?”
“That’s true, but I haven’t investigated the information about the human children attending there. I could look into that if you think it’s necessary.”
“No need to go that far.”

I hastily shook my head. As worried as I am, spying on children is a bit much…

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“Can he start school immediately?”
“If we pay the entrance fee and a year’s tuition upfront and he passes the placement test, he can start right away.”

I nodded, thrilled at the thought of Noah making friends at school.
What if he enjoys playing with his friends so much he doesn’t want to come home? It’d be bittersweet.

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“If Noah starts going to school, we’ll need to be extra cautious. If any strange rumors start, it could cause unnecessary harm to him.”

Prejudices and aversions can spread easily and lead to exclusion, especially in a place like this, where unseen or conceptual beings are rampant, and things that aren’t sins could be perceived as sins.

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“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Especially since human senses are sharper than one might expect, and they are particularly attuned to anything out of the ordinary. They could easily notice anything alien about us.

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“Let’s try not to cause any trouble.”

Of course, I wasn’t really expecting anything particularly unusual to happen. How could it? We hardly ever go out anyway. It was just a precaution…

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“Actually, I saw you from afar yesterday but didn’t get a chance to say hello. There’s no hidden meaning behind this… I just wanted to ask your name.”

I hadn’t anticipated that we would need to be careful this soon.

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