[28] SUMMONER’S DEPARTMENT

Another peaceful day went by without any crazy developments.

I finally received the letter of approval my school principal told me about but.. the informant wasn’t from the principal but a staff from the summoner's department, which was a surprise. Today is the date we would need to head over to the department to have Liliath registered as a ‘summoned’ person or— if possible, get her a proper identity certificate. Calling Liliath my summon honestly just sounds weird.

That said, the thing from before.. it still bugs me..

Liliath acted as if that night never happened at all— 

She continued studying the materials on mathematics and science I gave her, independently searching for answers to things she didn’t understand.

If anything, she opted to ask my sister whenever she got stuck.

Guilt.

This feeling.. it’s heavy.

It’s crazy. There’s still this one part of me refusing to believe Liliath wasn’t plotting something.

Damn it..

Liliath helped out with the chores, slowly learning the dos and don'ts of the family.

In the late afternoon, I saw Liliath dipping a tea bag into a cup of warm water— I think my sister helped her with that since she was playing around with the laptop I borrowed from her, my headset sandwiched between her head.

Up and down and up and down.

Liliath continued to lift and drop the tea bag... it was a weird habit I noticed her do a number of times.

I casually sat down on the empty chair opposite to Liliath and acted like I was reading manga, a physical copy.

Liliath didn’t say anything, playing with her tea.

My mom was making a call out in the living room, which was why the three of us were holed up in the kitchen. Something to do with stock portfolio, real estate, economic trends, PA ratios and share prices.

I’m not into economics— no idea what she was talking about.

“Hey, Liliath um..”

She drank her tea, placing it down, she asked, “Anything?”

“I’m sorry about the other day.”

About Prune... she never replied. There was nothing I could do— I had no idea what she was thinking. 

“Nevermind that, I was wondering how the people of this world drink tea. Does the repeating motion of lifting and dropping the teabag signify anything?”

“...”

Hm.. there are two different trains of thought going on in my mind right now. First was that Liliath had been skillfully avoiding the topic by dragging the conversation elsewhere— everytime. Second was— WTF. Moving the tea up and down: does it signify anything?? What does she mean by that? Did I teach her something wrong? I was the person who first introduced her to instant tea right?

“There isn’t any meaning behind lifting the teabag.. it’s just a lazy way to stir the drink.”

“Is that so? I thought there was a deeper meaning behind it..” She placed her finger to her chin. After which she drank the tea again, staring into the cup.

An awkward silence ensued, accompanied by the background sound of my mom’s conversation on the phone. My sister was using headphones, so no sound— go figure. 

“Liliath, do you know what my sister is watching?”

Liliath tilted her head a little to peek. “It’s that same thing she frequents on the television. The chicken and farmer are chasing each other.”

Ah.. that cartoon again. Why in the fuck was my sister interested in that kind of show when her bookshelf is filled with porn— ahem. I did or did not take a peek inside her room at one point in time.

“Heroes were destined to subjugate the demon lord— in one record, there was once a hero summoned with an unbearably low basic status. He was kicked out of the castle due to the excuse of uselessness— though not being trained or told of the dangers of the world, he killed the demon lord and demon queen nonetheless, treated as a hero by the kingdom afterwards.”

Liliath spoke as if reminiscing. I was surprised to hear her say that.

“Do you feel that way?”

“Quite so,” she stood up.

“Hey Liliath. Don’t leave.”

“..what are you trying to imply?”

If my understanding was correct, Liliath’s anecdote meant that she was planning to leave. She must have thought that there was a secret purpose in her life she was meant to accomplish. Not that she had any.. 

Her becoming a beggar is the last thing I’d want.

“Don’t go. I’m sorry about.. everything..”

“And why should I comply?”

“Because I summoned you?”

She stayed silent for a moment, before sitting back down with a straight posture.

“Noel. Just tell me what I need to do already. What is my purpose? Why did you summon me here?”

“It happened on a whim, just live life. That’s it.”

She was misunderstanding. Totally misunderstanding.

“I don’t believe it.”

“That’s the truth Liliath.”

Maybe Liliath does have a secret purpose? I have no idea.

“Or is my purpose to serve you as a maid?” She glared at me.

“No. Not in that sense...”

“So what is it then?”

What is Liliath’s purpose? A purpose comes from oneself.. I understand Liliath came from a world where fate and destiny are intertwined but this sort of concept just doesn’t apply in the current world. If anything, these things are really just a concept to make life all the more drama-filled and sentimental.

Or should I decide on a purpose for her?

No. I should really first understand why she’s so adamant about finding her purpose.

“Liliath, is a purpose so important to you?”

“It isn’t about the importance of having one, everyone has a purpose they need to fulfil in the world.”

Ah.. talk about drama.. 

Oh, I just remembered, she’s a demon queen.. go figure.. maybe that’s why. She grew up as a demon queen, thinking that it was her fate, pushing herself through hell because of this divine ‘purpose’... I think?

Wait.. I got an idea.

“Maybe the quest board has a clue,” It’s a lie. 

“The quests... sounds plausible.”

I looked at one of the quests.

===

Quests: Gaining affection:

Play around with her hair. 10P

...

===

Hahaha.. 

Haha.. 

Ha..

Okay. No way. There’s no way the answer to Liliath’s life purpose lies within these stupid tasks.

Liliath sent me a sideways glance.

Ah yeah.. looks like I lost Liliath’s trust.. 

There’s no way I can regain Liliath’s trust all that easily anyways.

Like damn these quests do really tell Liliath and I about ourselves. The random tasks are somehow presented based on our current situation...

Could it be that someone is stalking us..? 

“It’s almost time. Please get ready, and how about we stop by Prune’s place for dinner?” my mom who finished her call came in to inform us.

Liliath froze at her words.

Um yeah.. my bad. I honestly have no clue if that was a good idea for my mom to suggest that but.. perhaps I would have a chance to explain the situation to Prune— also perhaps attempt to mend their somewhat odd relationship— I don’t know. Prune might not even be at the diner.

“I’ll go change my clothes,” I stood up.

Liliath was already in a black dress— as usual but the attire was a little too stimulating...

“Liliath, um.. are you sure you’re going to wear that?”

“It’s alright Noel. I’ll wear something to cover up my skin,” Liliath remarked.

To her words I remembered that she got herself an outer coat or something.. perhaps it was for this occasion. I guess I’ll leave it at that.

“Noel, have you prepared Liliath’s photo?”

“Done,” and I was brought back to some pretty annoying memories.. I could barely keep the camera still when trying to take a photo of Liliath.. I wasn’t too sure if it was because my photo taking skills suck or that Liliath’s cuteness somehow shot up to 200% when she posed for the photo.

Why a photo? Well, it’s a requirement by the summoner’s department, a photo of the summoned ‘creature’ has to be prepared beforehand. And thus why..

“Mom. Can we use a different photo? The one big brother took isn’t nice at all,” the little devil who I thought wasn’t listening to our conversation turned the laptop screen to face our way and, “I recommend this one!”

My mom gasped in astonishment.

Liliath and I stiffened and...

“DELETE THAT!” “REMOVE IT!”

We retorted at the same time.

That fucking devil— I will kill her someday.

The picture in question was me holding Liliath’s hand.. SINCE WHEN?!

“Eh? Why? Big brother told big sister Liliath that she was yours, didn’t you? This is a commemoration photo!” The shitty devil giggled.

Fuck what?!

My mom giggled in the background while I heard Liliath gritting her teeth and.. blushing..

Ah crap.. did I say that? I only said I summoned her, didn’t I?

I reached over and forcefully shut down my laptop.

“Liliath, I didn't mean it literally what I said to you earlier! You’re a free human alright!”

“I understand, I understand..” she repeated the phrase, nodding hastily

Damn it she’s so cute... I grinded my teeth and glared at the little devil who had both hands covering her giggling mouth.

“Oops. I think I already sent it to father.”

“YOU!!”

[29]

The government office building. A supertall skyscraper that had about 40 floors. Our car was parked in the basement and we made our way up to the interior of the building.

“I could never get used to this,” Liliath said as we entered the sliding door. The cold air seeped into her skin.

She wore a white overcoat with beautiful embroidered patterns. Most of her exposed shoulders were covered but her cleavage remained quite prominent... I didn’t comment on that. It should be fine..

On the other hand, I wore a normal whitish collar shirt with a tint of blue and dull-ocher-coloured pants.

The large information counter in the middle was made of wood, crystals that dangled down from above glittered in iridescent lights. Circular sofas and indoor plants arranged on a red carpet spread across the floor.

And sitting on the sofa was Principal Rachel in a suit— the female kind— she looked like a professional secretary if anything— the kinds you’d see business people wear— tight skirts and all.

“You’re here,” she called out to us.

“Yeah, good afternoon principal,” I greeted. 

“Good afternoon,” Liliath curtsied.

My mom merely nodded her head. Oh, by the way, the little devil was left at home— I hid my laptop in my room so there was absolutely no chance that she would tamper with it in any way. That said— I was afraid of what she would do when left her own devices... that devil could do anything if she put her mind to it..

“Let’s get going,” Principal Rachel went right to the elevator. 

Liliath tottered a little when the elevator accelerated upwards.

“Are you alright?” I wanted to support her but..

She shook her head, holding onto the guardrails installed at the side.

Huh? Hah? I heard a loud intentional cough.. ah yeah sorry Principal.. I wasn’t trying to flirt with her or anything— DON’T GET ME WRONG!

We went up to the seventh floor. To one side was a glass window, overlooking the beautiful landscape that is the city of Gilgamesh.

Liliath gazed at the sight in awe.

“Is this your first time seeing this Liliath?” The Principal asked, which I found rather weird.

“The buildings could be said to be rather bizarre.. I’ve never seen such a city,” Liliath replied.

Principal Rachel raised her brow, “Does she always talk like that?” 

“Yeah,” since Liliath was engrossed with the scene, I don’t think she heard that... or not.. she looked my way and tilted her head. An expression of: did I do something wrong? No, you didn’t do anything wrong.

We proceeded to the summoners department, walking by various other departments that dealt exclusively with problems and issues in regards to TALENTS. 

We entered a room, the scent of incense. Row upon rows of seats packed with people, creating an aisle that stretched forward to the counter from the entrance.

The principal walked up to the receptionist at the front counter. Saying a few things and showing a letter, the receptionist looked at her in dismay before passing her a ticket, supposedly our waiting number.

3233.

The number on display was 3225.

Which meant that there were 8 people before our turn.

Turning to the seats— it was sure busy.

Various people of different ages patiently waited for their turns. Interesting yet was that a number of them had a ‘pet’ together with them— summoned creatures.

A silver wolf dog-like creature, a goldfish in the air that looked to be a spectre, a horned rabbit nibbling on a carrot, a large round blob— a slime?!

I’ve never really met with people who possessed a summoning TALENT as they were quite rare but to see this many here.. I was thinking perhaps there were more summoners in the world than I thought.

“May I see the summoned creature?” The receptionist asked in a speculative voice, looking behind the principal and at us.

“Miss, which person here is the said summoner?”

“Noel,”

“Yes?”

“You explain.”

“Huh? Eh?”

What’s that look.. the Principal looked like she had given up? Huh? What? Huh?! WHAT?

Liliath stepped forward.

“I’m sorry? But are you referring to me? I, Noel’s familiar, am the aforementioned summoned creature?” Liliath spoke with a modest smile— it was twitching.

The already cold temperature seemed to drop a few degrees but.. the receptionist didn’t seem to understand Liliath’s statement.

“Uh, miss— Hilda rather than a summoned creature, it's a summoned person..” I slipped over to the front of the counter and gave the receptionist a quick explanation in a hushed tone. Fortunately, her name tag was in place.

“You mean that girl is your summoned creature?”

I sensed bloodlust from behind me..

“Please don’t call her that.. like a said.. summoned person— A PERSON.”

The receptionist laughed, “Are you joking with me?”

“The letter already explains so hasn’t it?” Principal Rachel’s cold voice caused the receptionist Hilda to stiffen.

“My apologies, My apologies Miss,” Hilda stood up and bowed with a laugh.

Liliath glared daggers at the receptionist, which made her jump.

Cold...

And within the freezing atmosphere— whispers.

Numerous small whispers I looked around and noticed that everyone’s gaze was directed at us— at Liliath.

“Bealga? What’s wrong?”

“Puuchi— gah?!”

Blurb. Blurb.

The summoned creatures were afraid of Liliath?

They were clinging onto their owners in fright.. the goldfish retreating behind a girl, the horn rabbit hiding inside the guy’s shirt and— oh crap did that slime just swallow the dude?! 

— He seems to be alright though..

Liliath dropped her tense shoulder, releasing the— I assume to be a bloodlust area of effect.

That said.. the creatures..

‘3233– please enter the private office. 3233– Please enter the private office.’

Such an announcement was made through the PA system..

I’m guessing this is preferential treatment? I’m not sure.. aren’t we supposed to wait in line?

“Tsk.. what a troublesome guy,” Principal Rachel clicked her tongue before we followed her through a door that had the sign that said: staff only.

The creatures that came close to Liliath tried to struggle free from the owner's grasp.. except the dude in the slime— Liliath showed a troubled smile.

Hm....

In any case, we entered the back room.

“Good to see you again Rachel,” a man with a sturdy build wearing glasses called out. He sat behind the counter, apparently typing something into the computer.

“Likewise, Keaton.”

“Another troublesome TALENT I presume?” The man named Keaton adjusted his glasses and looked at us, “Liliath, Miss Diana and Noel was it? Nice to meet you.”

“Uh, nice to meet you too urm.. Mr. Keaton.” I spoke.

“Likewise,” my mom replied with a nod.

“Pleasure to meet you too Mr. Keaton.” Liliath curtsied.

“Interesting, interesting. She indeed doesn’t look like a person from this place. Would you mind following me inside, we’ll discuss the matter further there,” he stood up and walked over to one of the rooms.

“Very well,” Liliath replied, which caused Keaton to chuckle.

“Could you be summoned from another world?”

“It is as you said, mister.”

“Interesting. Now, if you don’t mind,” Keaton pushed open the door to allow us into a spacious office, furnished with multiple cushioned seats, indoor plants, a desk, a coffee table, and a wide-open view of the city.

Waiting there was a female personnel wearing a suit, his secretary?

“Long time no see Rachel,” the secretary called out.

“Didn’t we meet a few days ago?”

“Ufufufu. I suppose. Last time it was a wolf girl with white hair.. I wonder what problematic TALENT it is this time.”

Wolf girl with white hair.. Prune? 

Wait.. my TALENT is classified as problematic?

“Now, I’ll start with a few simple questions, shall we. Please take a seat,” Keaton took a seat on his desk.. I think. “Miss Diana, Noel was a late bloomer correct?”

“It was about two days after his birthday that Liliath appeared,” my mom said. The supposed secretary came over and poured us tea— which surprised me.

“Oh. Thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

“Alright, alright. Now, Noel, when did anything specific happen before the summon happened?”

[30]

Anything specific huh? I called it. I had been anticipating this question so I know exactly how to answer.

“It happened in my room, a summoning circle appeared on the floor— initially I thought it was a portal but when it settled down what I found was her— Liliath,” I said. It’s the truth, right? That said, I think it’s essential that I hide the information regarding my phone. I know that there are people who possess TALENTS that could read one’s mind but.. if that's the case then there’s nothing I can do. However, I will try my best to avoid leaking this information— at least by not making what I say sound suspicious.

“A summoning circle? Have you ever thought that it may not be your TALENT?”

Of course I have. 

“Mister Keaton, I believe you have understood it wrong. He was the one who summoned me without a doubt; however he himself cannot explain how such an event occurred,” Liliath spoke on my behalf.

“Hm? I see,” for a second I saw Keaton look to his secretary, she gave a nod— was that a sign?

“So it’s like that.. then can I assume that you are Noel’s familiar?”

“Yes,” Liliath replied with a firm tone.

My mom chuckled, breaking the mood.

Seriously.. 

“Sorry,” she said, covering her mouth.

I had already briefed Liliath about hiding the matter in regards to my phone so I don’t doubt she would adeptly twist her words in some unimaginable way to avoid exposing anything.

Fortunately there were less questions directed at me than there was towards Liliath— the expert here.

The conversation went on with Liliath and I answering a number of questions thrown at us by Keaton. Basic questions that confirmed our identity as a summoner and a summoned. Also included was a simple test for Liliath to test her general knowledge of this world.

By simple I mean...

‘A picture of a plane’

— A divine mechanical dragon.

‘A gothic church’

— The demon’s chapel.

‘A long-haired female ghost with white clothing dripping in blood’

— A slave with long hair.

‘A conceal flask with some blue acid’

— Mana potion.

‘A round egg-shaped pudding with frosting on top’

— Christmas slime.

WHO THE HELL CREATED THIS TEST?!

“When Keaton said ‘answer honestly’ he didn’t mean it in a literal sense.. you know Liliath?”

I said to no one.

I wasn’t allowed to help her. Liliath had been asked to go to a separate room to fill in the forms while we— still in the office — watched her do so from the surveillance camera.

Eh wait.. Liliath celebrates Christmas in her world?! Wait.. how... or it could be the effect of direct translation. Like how ‘duck’ could mean ‘dodge’ in another language—

I had my fingers pinched between my nose bridge, Keaton let out a surprised noise at every answer, the secretary clenched her stomach with a puffy mouth and tears in her eyes, the principal remained quiet— or was rendered speechless, while my mom focused on the painting on the wall.

When she returned the printer on Keaton’s desk started rolling out the form in a printed state.

“D-did I do something wrong?” Liliath asked, hesitating when she noticed the mood of the room.

Hearing that the secretary bawled out laughing.

“You did well Liliath. YOU DID ASTRONOMICALLY WELL. AHAHAHAHA,” she continued to laugh like that while holding onto her stomach.

Liliath hung her head.

“It’s alright.. at least it proves that you’re from a different world,” I said as a means to console Liliath.

“I understand,” Liliath sat back down.

“With this, I would like Rachel to stay while the rest of you wait outside while I discuss with her the possible actions we would have to take in this situation,” Keaton got up from his seat and opened the door for us.

Huh.. can we not tune in?

“Alright, thank you.”

“Sorry for troubling you, mister Keaton..”

“It’s alright, you gave me some useful information to work on, please don’t be too down, Liliath.”

===

Keaton, instead of returning to his desk, sat on the couch facing Rachel.

“You found an interesting one,” he crossed his legs and smirked.

“And so? He’s going to leave again?” Rachel frowned.

“Unfortunately so... his TALENT.. it’s a troublesome one. I can’t seem to wrap my mind around it.”

“Huh? So he has a TALENT,” the secretary raised a surprised voice

“They didn’t lie during the questioning session did they?”

“They didn’t ... but there was a half-truth mixed inside once.”

The secretary, Quinn’s TALENT was the ability to perceive truths, lies and half-truths.

“Let me hear it.”

“It seems the boy is doubting whether or not summoning the girl was his TALENT.”

“That’s strange indeed...” Keaton contemplated. “That boy Noel.. he holds a TALENT that is a combination of internal and external.”

“That’s rare.”

“No. It isn’t all that rare in fact, the white-haired girl— I think her name was Prune, she had a minor external TALENT too. In fact, most TALENTS are both internal and external TALENTS, the difference is the degree and distribution.”

“So you’re saying my student is somewhere around 50/50?”

“40/60, more or less..”

“How about the girl? I’m curious?”

“My TALENT didn’t react to her, I think it’s because she isn’t from this world. Even a TALENTLESS possesses some kind of frequency I can perceive but for her.. I sensed nothing.”

Keaton’s TALENT was the ability to vaguely analyze one’s TALENT.

“So what’s your conclusion Keaton?”

“I believe it’s best to move him, Rachel. I have a feeling that something isn’t right.. it’s best we put him under observation. It’s the second time I’ve seen someone with such a weird TALENT— he could become a dangerous existence if not treated carefully.”

“Eh? He isn’t even sure if he has a TALENT though?”

“Quinn, I’ll confirm with you one more time here, you are sure he did not lie— correct?”

“Correct. I can tell if there’s something jamming my TALENT but I’m 100 percent sure what they said was genuine.”

“Hah.. another top student gone just like that,” Rachel dropped her weight on the sofa.

“Is that so.. my condolences,” Keaton said with a sympathetic smile. “That said..” 

Keaton looked at the answer sheets that had been filled up by Liliath.

“What exactly is his TALENT?” He murmured in wonder.

===

“In the end, it has been decided by the government that you would be changing schools— isn’t that great?” My mom said while keeping her eyes fixed on the road. She turned the steering wheel and pulled up to a curb.

Swaying in the car I read the forms that had been given to me. Liliath holding a ball of light in the air for me. The sky was now glowing orange.

Liliath would have to do a medical check-up.. review her abilities.. receive her identity card.. school transfer form..

There are a lot of documents. I have to look through them one by one to understand what in the hell Liliath has to do before she can officially become a citizen of this country— the thing that bothered me was the creature register form.. Liliath wasn’t a creature so why did I have to fill in this form? I think I’ll have to ask Keaton again.

Apparently, Keaton wasn’t in charge of the summoners department, and a letter of approval wasn’t necessary to actually go to the summoners department to register one’s summoned creature. Rather, the letter of approval’s purpose was to invite Keaton, who was a big shot in the government department that dealt with troublesome TALENTS. A chairman of sorts you could call it? But I wasn’t too sure about his corporate rank or posting and all that confusing hierarchical order.

In any case, he asked me to contact him if I found any issues with the form he prepared. Since my case was the first of its kind, he had trouble attaining the required items. And he said that not everything had been approved yet so there were still more documents coming my way..

Ugh...

“We’ll pick up Novelle and head over to Prune’s place for dinner, any objections?”

I turned to Liliath, she just smiled.

I had no idea what that implied.

“No problems.. I guess.”

Getting out of the car I first placed the documents in my room before checking in on my laptop— which fortunately had no signs of being used. She had apparently been binge-watching that same cartoon on television while we were away.. what’s up the marathon? I was expecting something to happen.. I can’t believe that exception was betrayed..

Still though..

So Prune’s TALENT had been classified as a troublesome TALENT? Why, though? 

Hm.. wait..

From what I heard those who have troublesome TALENTS would attend a special school built just for them which means..

‘Prune, I’m headed over to your family restaurant.’

I texted her and left it at that. I wasn’t sure if she would come to meet Liliath and I but it’s worth a shot. 

I wonder if letting the two meet is a good idea? I think I understand why Prune would feel that Liliath is a dangerous person. Prune is a half-human, half-animal now, and Liliath's presence naturally scares the shit out of animals— as seen back at the summoners department... I wonder why pigeons don’t drop dead from the sky though..

I think I should try to clear up this misunderstanding.

Liliath isn’t a dangerous being— she’s honestly just a frail Princess that went through hell in her previous world.

The best I can do is to not let her experience such a thing in this world ever again..