"Where have you been all this time! You abandoned me!"
[My child. I have never abandoned you for even a moment. I have been searching for you all along, even going as far as forming contracts with various summoners.]
Yuna burst into magnificent tears while still in her dragon form. The tears poured down like a waterfall, completely drenching Yu-Han and Alice. Looking like a drowned rat, Alice asked Yu-Han,
"Dragon's tears. Isn't that a legendary magic ingredient?"
"No, it's just dirty bodily fluids."
When Alice actually analyzed the composition, it turned out to be ordinary bodily fluid containing water, electrolytes, and some impurities. She was glad she had already learned washing and drying magic in advance.
"Phoenix! If there was such a story, you should have told us!", Alice said.
[The situations every time you summoned me weren't exactly suitable for bringing up such a story.]
"Come to think of it, you're right."
[...Shall we move to a place more suitable for having a private conversation?]
No one opposed the Phoenix's suggestion. At that moment, a disgruntled voice rose from under Yuna's foot.
"...When are you going to move this smelly foot?"
"Oh my~ Was there something under my foot, which is totally never smelly?"
Yuna deliberately pressed down harder, trying to crush Kim Ga-eun even more earnestly. Unable to endure it any longer, Kim Ga-eun mutated part of her body into a sharp spike. Only after feeling the prick did Yuna reluctantly lift her foot...
***
Since Yuna only ever operated in New Seoul, she had nowhere familiar to go in Old Seoul. Naturally, they ended up at the Cheong-Am Center.
"Haa... I need to calm down by petting a cat or something."
Kneeling right beside her on the sofa, quietly letting herself be petted, was Yi Rang.
"I'm a tiger, ya know..."
"Tiger or cat, it's all the same, isn't it?"
To a twenty-meter dragon, there really wasn't much difference. Yi Rang looked up at Alice with teary eyes, trembling, but Alice simply gave her a thumbs-up and mouthed, "You're doing great."
[It seems I need to tell you about the past between this child and me. We used to...]
"Wait! Birdbrain! Don't hijack my flashback!"
Yuna cleared her throat. Somewhere in the distance, a sorrowful violin melody began to play...
"A long, long time ago, there lived a boy who 'accidentally' summoned a baby dragon. That boy must have been stupid, because he didn't even know how to send me back. But he was also kind-hearted… He took warm care of me..."
"Then what about the Phoenix?"
At Alice's question, Yuna snapped.
"Don't interrupt! I'm telling the story! Anyway, while he was looking for a way to send me back to my original world, that boy 'accidentally' summoned this birdbrain too… So the birdbrain ended up taking care of me together with him."
[Calling me birdbrain is too much. You don't have to be shy—you can call me Mama like you used to.]
"Quiet!! Anyway, I thought we were spending such happy days… But that damn summoner abandoned both the birdbrain and me! And in the end, the Phoenix abandoned me too!"
[My child. I didn't abandon you. The summoner's mana was cut off, so I had no choice but to—]
"In the end, you abandoned me! It's the same thing!"
Listening to Yuna's story, Alice wondered just how many things that damn boy had accidentally summoned. Kim Ga-eun, who had been watching quietly, finally spoke up.
"So after dragging out all these old stories, what's the actual point? What do you want us to do about it?"
"This insolent little—!"
Yuna's hand tightened around Yi Rang's head as she petted her, stretching the poor girl's face upward. Yu-Han shot Kim Ga-eun a sharp glare.
"Shut up, Kim Ga-eun. Don't make it worse."
"Yes~ If that's what Yu-Han C wants!"
Yuna almost gagged at the coquettish voice but barely held it in and continued.
"Anyway, hand over that birdbrain to me!"
"The Phoenix isn't my property. I only made a contract with her."
"Then let me make a contract too!"
At Yuna's demand, the Phoenix shook her head.
[No. No matter how much we were like family, you are substandard as a contractor. Contracts are not a joke.]
"See! In the end, this birdbrain abandoned me again! After acting all like a mom!"
As if fed up with Yuna's tantrum, Kim Ga-eun pointed outside the window.
"This probably isn't the time to be whining. What are you going to do about that?"
When Yuna poked her head out the window, a swarm of reporters had already gathered like sharks smelling blood.
"Yuna Nim! Were you really a dragon?!"
"What is your relationship with the divine beast Phoenix?! Why did you call her Mama?! Just like a kid!"
Yuna immediately shut the window, came back inside, and let out a deep sigh.
"I forgot about those swarms of flies… After making such a fuss, how am I supposed to live from now on?"
At that moment, the Phoenix's wise eyes sparkled.
[My child, I have an idea… A brilliant move that will restore your image, let you see me often, and benefit these people as well…]
***
There was once a figure called 'Yi Sin-je,' practically a saint of Korea. He left behind a single prophecy: that one day, a being who commands both the Azure Dragon and the Vermilion Bird would appear and save Korea from its suffering.
"To think that damn BulDak was planning to use that prophecy."
The day after meeting Yuna, Yu-Han grumbled as he arrived at Yuna's building with Alice.
Hearing the Phoenix's proposal, Yuna accepted without hesitation. It was obvious she could overcome the current crisis and her viewer count would skyrocket. Surprisingly, she was very good at calculating things like this.
"A savior? Can I be one? I'm a robot right now."
"Alice, it's the trend these days to replace incompetent humans with robots! The savior role is included in that package! From now on, we're going to write the myth of the 'Messiah Bot.' Maybe Dr. Yang can play the role of the Magi."
"I don't think the Doctor would agree to that, Yu-Han."
As the two grumbled and stepped off the building's EV, Yuna greeted Alice warmly.
"You're here! Alice! Hurry up and make the contract… Wait, why did you bring this piece of trash again?"
"Our highly capricious Dragon-nim might suddenly attack Alice, you know? I couldn't let her come alone."
"Who do you take for having intermittent explosive disorder!?"
Yu-Han and Alice both thought at the same time, 'Obviously you'. Alice decided to appease the foul-tempered dragon for now.
"Don't worry. Once the formal contract is done, I won't bother you anymore."
"Haa~ If only I hadn't gotten tangled up with the likes of you, I wouldn't have to do this."
Actually, it was Yuna who had picked the fight first, but Yu-Han wisely chose not to point it out.
A short while later, inside one of the building's rooms.
Alice summoned the Phoenix. The Phoenix looked satisfied seeing the magic circle for the contract already drawn on the floor.
[You drew it well, just as I instructed. Then, shall we begin the ritual?]
"Ah, finish it quickly. I have a schedule!", Yuna yelled.
Yu-Han grumbled inwardly about whose time was the only one that mattered, but he kept his mouth shut.
[Yuna. Then read these exactly as they are.]
"Fine… Article 1, do no harm to the contractor. Article 2, grant the summoner's requests, but a veto can be exercised against unreasonable demands… Article 3… Why are there so many clauses?"
Grumbling, Yuna read the entire contract text. The magic circle on the floor began to hum and glow.
"Oh… Kind of cool? So what do I do now?"
The moment Yuna asked, the Phoenix's wise eyes flashed sharply. She struck Yu-Han's back with a mana-infused wing, shoving him straight into the magic circle. Yu-Han, who had been lost in thought, was pushed in defenselessly.
"Wh-What?!"
The two were engulfed in a pillar of light. When the light vanished, both of them stood there with foolish expressions, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"...What was that just now, birdbrain? Was dumping trash part of the ritual?"
[No. The contract is complete… This man is now your contractor.]
Alice looked at the Phoenix in panic. Yuna's face instantly turned red, then blue. Yu-Han also looked furious at the unexpected turn.
"This fucking Buldak… What kind of trick is this?!"
Yu-Han voiced his complaint.
[This contract will make you grow, human boy.]
But Yuna seemed to disagree completly.
"Grow, my ass… Who said I want to grow with trash like this?! If this guy dies, the contract breaks, right?!"
Yuna raised her magic wand to smash Yu-Han's head, but her body froze in that exact posture.
"Wh-What's wrong with me now?!"
[The clause about not harming the contractor—don't you remember?]
Yuna struggled desperately to hit him even while paralyzed. Yu-Han, suddenly remembering something, smirked.
"Is there even any point in making a contract with a bitch like this? Does she even listen? Hey! Call me Master!"
"Yes, Master. No, why is my mouth moving on its own again?!"
"Why don't you lower that club first?"
"I won't lower it, absolutely not!"
Yuna began resisting Yu-Han's commands with her immense mana. Watching the ridiculous scene, Alice also turned to the Phoenix.
"Why are you doing this arbitrarily without even consulting me?! Those two are one thing, but what about my position?!"
[...You must be resentful of me. However, the day will come when you understand everything, Contractor Alice.]
"I need to beat up that damn birdbrain first!!"
Yuna postponed killing Yu-Han and instead hurled her magic wand at the Phoenix. The Phoenix simply turned into spirit form and dodged it easily.
[I hope you fix that spoiled temper while interacting with humans, my child.]
The Phoenix returned to her own world with a benevolent tease. A dragon's roar filled with rage echoed through the room, and Alice learned an important lesson: a summon that is too smart to control is also a problem.
***
[Everyone, as a comrade of the savior, I have realized my mission! I have formed a contract with Center Director Alice! Look, this mark on the back of my hand!]
At the press conference, Yuna spoke proudly as the contract seal on the back of her hand shone brilliantly. Everyone would naturally think it was a contract with Alice… Of course, Yuna was internally screaming 'fuck' over and over.
That night, lying in bed and smoking a cigar, she stared at the seal on her hand. Yu-Han had said this to her earlier:
"How dare he… not even want to get involved with me, a top influencer and noble dragon?! That bastard… I'll kill him someday!!"
And in another place, there was one more sleepless girl.
It was Kim Ga-eun, who had just heard the news about Yu-Han and Yuna.
"That damn bitch… I didn't like her from the first time I saw her, and now she's wagging her tail after becoming Yu-Han C's pet?! That rotten bitch… I'll tear her to shreds and not leave a single cell behind!!"
A clash between the two bloodthirsty girls seemed inevitable…