Episode 5
Ten seconds passed.
Contrary to expectations, nothing appeared.
From a distance, a voice called out, "Young Miss, we're all hidden now!"
'It's supposed to be here!'
I read about this in a book.
'If the maids come, it'll be a disaster!'
Her anxiety grew stronger.
Before she knew it, her own heartbeat was pounding loudly in her ears.
At that moment, something flashed through Airi's mind...
'Magic spells!'
To summon a friend, one must recite a spell!
Airi recalled a spell she had heard in an animation and eagerly muttered,
"Key with the power of darkness...?"
But nothing happened.
Airi clenched her fists and sank deep into thought.
In her dreams—no, in what felt like a past life—she had clear memories of being 'Lee Arin.'
But just then, a crisis struck Airi.
"Young Miss, Seeker! Aren’t you going to come find us?"
"Round Little One, did you bump into an old tree and hurt yourself?!"
Oh no.
The impatient maids from the North were already showing signs of returning to Airi.
The little hero found herself in a dire crisis.
And at that moment...
Thanks to watching countless animations, a spell suddenly popped into her mind, shining brightly.
"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo. Moon Prism Power. Avada Kedavra!"
Airi clasped her hands together in prayer as she gazed into the knothole.
'Come out already!'
Thump, thud-thud.
In her mind, the background music from Regent, the Hero of Justice reached its climax.
And finally...
Tuk, tudu-duk.
Time stopped, leaving only Airi and the tree.
For a brief moment, a dense mist swirled around the entire tree.
Airi's eyes widened as she stared into the empty space.
[The greatest summoned creature of the Ortezo family was sealed along with the spirit of the beech tree. It had longed to obtain a physical form through a contract with a human.]
'So it's finally going to get a body and appear...!'
[The summoned beasts of the Ortezo family were powerful allies that would make its summoner the strongest.]
Strangely enough, she remembered this part word for word.
At that moment—
The mist thickened.
Was it finally appearing?
That legendary summoned beast?!
Airi clenched her fists tightly.
"At last, I am free from my seal! Hahaha!"
A thick, dense fog surrounded everything.
A voice, sinister and villainous, echoed through the mist.
Suddenly, an eerie cluster of fog rippled through the tree.
Airi clenched her sweaty fists, staring intently at the tree.
Despite the tension, her heart was racing with anticipation.
‘They said it would be an incredibly terrifying magical beast, right?’
What kind of magical beast would it be? Would it have sharp, pointy horns on its forehead?
If so, she should probably use ‘Taekwondo Stance 3’ to assert dominance right away.
But no matter how long she waited, the mist remained.
Time seemed frozen as she continued staring into the knothole.
Waiting... and waiting... until eventually, she started feeling hungry.
‘I want to eat the ginger cookies Grandma gave me.’
Just thinking about cookies made her mouth water.
If she had known the summoning would take this long, she would have brought some to eat while waiting!
‘No, I have to endure. I’m not just an ordinary five-year-old—I’m a brave nine-year-old who remembers my past life!’
So, she continued waiting patiently, staying as still as possible.
And then, a few seconds later—
As if responding to her unwavering belief, the mist slowly began to clear.
And then…
“H-huh…?”
Through the thinning fog, a figure gradually emerged.
A round head. Round arms and hands. A round body. Round legs, too!
The summoned creature was no larger than the palm of her hand and took the shape of a ginger cookie.
Its chocolate-chip eyes blinked, and a mouth, drawn with white chocolate icing, curved into a smirk.
‘It appeared! The summoned creature!’
Airi finally smiled brightly.
“Hello!”
“…Kukuku, hero destined to save the world alongside the great me…!”
“Nice to meet you!”
The cookie had been stretching out its hands ominously toward Airi, but at her cheerful greeting, it faltered, looking bewildered.
“Kukuk... Nice to—wait, what? Why are my arms so short?”
“I don’t know!”
Airi tilted her head in confusion as the cookie rubbed its chocolate-chip eyes.
Then, suddenly, it burst out in frustration.
“You’re the one who made me a cookie!”
“Me? I-I didn’t do anything!”
Airi’s flustered expression made the cookie stomp its foot.
It was clearly trying to appear dignified, but the motion only made it seem even more ridiculous.
“Summoned creatures take the form their summoner desires!”
“Huh?”
Those were difficult words—she didn’t understand them.
“You! You wished for me to appear as a cookie!”
Well…
Right now, Airi was very hungry, and she had been craving the ginger cookies her grandmother made.
That was all.
After explaining the situation, the cookie’s chocolate-chip eyes trembled violently.
“You mean to tell me that this magnificent form of mine was reduced to mere cookie crumbs because of a fleeting moment of hunger?!”
As the ginger cookie shuddered in shock, Airi mumbled in confusion.
“Huh? But why a cookie?”
The cookie furiously kicked its tiny round feet and shouted,
“I was once summoned by the first head of the Ortezo family! Back then, I was the strongest dragon to ever walk this earth!”
“Whoa! That’s so cool!”
"That's right! I'm awesome! And after that—! I was summoned once more by a ninety-year-old Swordmaster, a legendary hero. That time, I took the form of a revered phoenix!"
"Wow! A phoenix sounds amazing too!"
"But, but...!"
"But what?"
The cookie let out a defeated sigh and plopped onto the ground.
"These crispy brown arms!"
"They're perfectly baked!"
"My chocolate-chip eyes! Everything looks blurry!"
"Gasp, you're adorable!"
"And, and... this bald head!"
"........."
The cookie let out a dramatic sob and collapsed in despair.
"My glorious form... reduced to nothing more than a pathetic, palm-sized cookie!"
Airi gently scooped up the flailing cookie in her hands.
It had deflated completely, like a soggy cookie that had been dunked in milk for too long.
But to Airi, this was still her precious hero friend.
"There's nothing bad about it at all! Cookies are super delicious. They're crispy! If you add chocolate, they're sweet. If you add salt, they're savory!"
"........."
The cookie remained silent, so Airi added one more thing.
"Sweet and salty!"
At her words, the ‘sweet and salty’ cookie slumped its shoulders in resignation.
The cookie seemed to have given up on reasoning with Airi and decided to change the subject.
"So, why did you summon me?"
"Well… to save the world together with you!"
A dry wind blew across the barren ground.
"…You?"
"Yup!"
"And what abilities do you have?"
Airi confidently clenched her fists.
"I know how to do poomsae, and I can spar too!"*
"......…?"
"I'm super strong!"
Airi enthusiastically raised her fist, and the cookie let out a long sigh.
"I used to be the right-hand of the strongest heroes… How did I end up as a babysitter for a little kid?"
But there was no changing things now.
The cookie extended its small, round, brown hand toward Airi.
"…Well, regardless, since you summoned me, that means we’ve formed a contract."
As Airi’s tiny white pinky touched the cookie’s round brown hand,
A soft, glowing white light briefly enveloped them, as if sealing an oath.
"Let’s set off on our journey to save the world together."
Airi firmly grasped the cookie’s hand and took a step forward.
A contract was officially formed between one cookie and one child.
It may have seemed insignificant, but it was the first step toward something truly great.
***
After pretending to play tag with the maids a few times,
Airi returned to her room with the cookie.
"…...…"
"…...…"
The grand resolve they had earlier seemed to have vanished,
Leaving only an awkward silence between them.
And that was because…
"…So, you’re saying you don’t know how to use your powers?"
"Yup! I was definitely called a ‘purifier’ meant to save the world! But I have no idea what a ‘purifier’ is supposed to do!"
The cookie looked at Airi with utter disbelief.
"Hmph, in that case, let’s check your stats."
"Wow! That sounds amazing! You can do that?"
"My ability is to help my contractor grow into the strongest being, so of course I can."
The cookie tightly shut its chocolate-chip eyes, then opened them again.
At that moment—
Tiny beads of sweat, like miniature ice cream scoops, formed on the cookie’s forehead.
Airi held her breath as she anxiously watched the cookie.
And then—
At last, the cookie’s mouth opened with grandeur.
🌼; *Poomsae (품새) is a Korean term used in taekwondo to refer to a pattern of movements that simulate combat against an invisible opponent. It consists of a series of pre-arranged techniques, including kicks, blocks, strikes, and stances, performed in a specific sequence.
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