04. Uncomfortable Cohabitation (7)

[“He really sucks!”]

The atmosphere in the room froze in an instant because of the sudden outburst of Kertatus.

I hurriedly covered my mouth with my hand, but Yoon Seo-hee’s pupils were already shaking as if an earthquake had struck.

“Lee, Lee Jin-ah… ?”

“No, Seo-hee! Must be wrong! That’s not what I just said… !”

I tried to explain the situation by waving my hand to clear up this impatient misunderstanding.

However, taking advantage of the moment his mouth was free, Certatus began to move his tongue again.

[“I tried to hold it in for a while, but I can’t stand it because it’s disgusting!”]

“Woah, disgusting… ?”

[“Yes! My stomach feels so numb! What is this atmosphere? And you! Human bitch! If there’s anything you want to say, say it straight up. Don’t say it vaguely- Eup!”]

‘Shut up, please!’

I desperately shut her mouth and sent a gesture to Seon Yoon Seo-hee saying that everything was a misunderstanding.

Yoon Seo-hee, who had been confused for a while, somehow understood my gaze, and narrowed her eyes as she controlled her emotions.

“That’s not what Jini Lee said. Is that the devil you just talked about?”

“Ugh!”

I nodded eagerly, holding his mouth shut with both hands, fearing that the devil would start talking nonsense again if I took my hands apart.

“This… It’s much more serious than I thought, isn’t it?”

Yoon Seo-hee’s expression became more serious, and I was desperate to regain control of her body from the demon.

The devil’s backlash was unusual today.

I shouted incomprehensible words such as asking me to give up my body from the depths of my consciousness, saying that a person who would normally make noise about something insignificant is fucking with a pair today, and that this is mental torture.

After barely suppressing Kertatus’ consciousness to the very bottom, I was able to remove my hand that was blocking his mouth.

“… Whoa, that’s enough.”

“Lee Jin-ah, are you okay?”

“Yes. Quiet now.”

Is there such a thing as stamina even for demons who are only conscious? Sometimes when they react violently, after suppressing them like this, they calm down for a while, as if they lost their energy. Of course, it wasn’t just the devil who was exhausted, I was too.

I could feel the consciousness of Kertatus spitting out double curses while hanging limply like wet cotton.

I sometimes struggle to control my body like this, but it was the first time since Baek Ji-soo handed over Jin-gi that even a part of my body was actually taken away.

‘It’s a bit dangerous….’

One of the reasons I rushed to leave the hospital was that I was feeling fine, but I also thought I couldn’t waste any more time at the hospital.

Certatus is getting stronger day by day and I had to find a way to solve this somehow.

She seemed to be looking for ways to do it in her own way, but rather than entrusting her everything to her, I should do something together.

While she was thinking about that, Yoon Seo-hee was also thinking with a serious expression, keeping her mouth shut.

“Are you Seohee?”

“… Lee Jin-ah.”

I called her because I wanted to be engrossed in her thoughts, and Yoon Seo-hee raised her head at the sound of her voice, filled with certain determination.

“I’ll try my best.”

“What?”

“I won’t let the devil take you away like this. I will find a way too.”

“Uh, yes… thanks?”

Yoon Seo-hee is happy to help her willingly, but she honestly doesn’t know.

Baek Ji-soo, a regressor, has no way right now, but no matter how genius she is, how can Yoon Seo-hee, who is still only a student, find a way to deal with the demon inside me?

However, Yoon Seo-hee hurriedly got up from her seat to see if she had thought of something.

“I’ll go first, Lee Jin-ah.”

“Already?”

“Yes. I suddenly remembered something I had to do!”

Without a moment to dissuade her, Yoon Seo-hee smiled and said goodbye to her, and then she hurriedly left the hospital room.

No, how long has it been since you came… I could have some more. She wanted to hear what the newly made golden orchid was like.

Suddenly, I felt a strange feeling to myself for having such a thought.

Did I just regret that Yoon Seo-hee left?

In terms of experience, it’s as if we’ve met after a few weeks, so it’s nice to see you, but I can’t help but feel regret that we broke up soon after seeing each other for the first time in a while. I’ve never had anything like this before.

‘Maybe it’s because they’re first friends.’

I realized anew that I had changed a lot in the few months I met her.

At that moment, a man’s voice rang loudly in my head.

[Fuck your friends! You sound like a friend. Child, are your eyes decorative?]

Why is this guy messing around again?

Now I didn’t mind even when this filthy voice resounded in my head.

Since me and Kertatus became one, this guy has been chattering in my head every day.

Most of them are profanity, and he only speaks when he wants to talk, so he’s usually quiet, but he couldn’t figure out why he was exceptionally loud today.

[Don’t you know? Don’t you know why I’m doing this? Like that mixed-race mongrel from last time, and the human girl just now! What the hell are you doing?]

‘Ah, what is it really?’

I think he’s talking about Baek Ji-soo and Yoon Seo-hee, but I have no idea why he’s doing this.

I opened the bottle of juice left in the refrigerator and drank it. It would be a waste to throw it away, so I was thinking of drinking it before leaving.

[Ha! Just by looking at it, it was the eyes of a female in full heat looking at you, a child! Are you talking about being friends? A bastard like you doesn’t notice?]

“Pooh-woop–!! Cool, Cool! Come on!”

I could hear a tickle in my throat and squirt a cool juice.

What did this bastard say? Horny Ah, female?

“Hey! Are you crazy?”

Unbeknownst to me, just thinking about it brought enough things out of my mouth. Because it was such an embarrassing thing to say.

Rather, Kertatus snorted in his head as if he was disgusting.

[Just by looking at her eyes, she had the same expression as the females in the Demon Realm who are anxious to drag me into bed. Can’t you even see it? Ah~ Now I get it. Baby, are you a kid?]

‘Ah, you bastard?’

I couldn’t figure out what Kertatus was saying when I heard the word for the first time in my life.

[What? Don’t you know this? This is pure brute… Do you have capital with a woman! Isn’t it? Didn’t this become a man too? All right, all right. What will the child and I say?]

“No really!”

My mouth was pierced… No, no mouth! I pushed Kertatus, who kept talking nonsense, deep into his consciousness. Hearing it made me uncomfortable, but there was no reason to continue the conversation.

His mind went quiet again, as if Kertatus had no intention of talking any more.

Throwing the empty juice bottle in the trash, I packed up and left the hospital. The cost of treatment for the victims of the terrorist incident was all supported by the state and Klaproth Industries, so I didn’t have to pay extra.

I searched for the route on my smartphone and boarded the bus. Since he was rushed to the nearest university hospital in Samseong-dong, where the fairgrounds were located, the way home from the hospital was quite long.

As I was sitting on the back seat of the bus watching the scenery passing by, Kertatus spoke to me again.

[Hey, kid.]

I reflexively frowned at the voice in my head, but unlike before, I could feel that Kertatus’ voice had calmed down a bit.

‘Why.’

[It will be useless anyway.]

‘What are you talking about all of a sudden?’

[It means sealing me. No matter what those two girls do, they can’t completely suppress this body.]

‘Are you talking about that again?’

It was a story I had been hearing from this guy for several days. It’s no use anyway, so I’m going to go to the middle of the day, etc. If you give up now, you’ll be comfortable. It wasn’t something worth listening to.

I tried to ignore it, wondering if it was the same as usual, but Kertatus continued.

[Listen first. This body is the greatest demon, second only to those who drank in the Demon Realm. Even if you lose your body and only your soul remains, it’s not worth putting down with an absurd seal.]

‘I’ll have to try it.’

If I give up like this, is there any other ending other than losing my body to this guy?

I didn’t like that kind of ending, so I thought of doing whatever I could. I don’t have the confidence to keep listening to this guy swearing and threatening me in his head.

[Yes, I understand that your will is quite tenacious for an insignificant human being. And it seems that the skills of the girls next to you are not average.]

‘I know. Did you think about giving up?’

If this guy just gives up and disappears, he’s perfect.

But Kertatus snorted as if my words were ridiculous.

[No matter how persistent you are, you will eventually become a human being. The resurrection of this body cannot be prevented. But… Yeah, I hate to admit it, but… It is true that it will take some time until it takes over your body.]

“… ….”

The atmosphere is different from usual.

Until now, Kertatus’ pattern was all about looking for an opportunity to take over my body through question-and-answer dance. Did he change direction now that he thinks it doesn’t work?

‘Stop procrastinating and tell me what you want.’

[Huh, even I, who was praised as a demon of struggle, became a laughing stock. How could someone like that speak so arrogantly… However, forgive me.]

Certatus continued with a self-deprecating laugh.

[I also have a purpose. I don’t want to procrastinate just to occupy a human body.]

[So, let’s make a deal.]