As befitted an Immortal, the Butterfly Immortal relocated through space with mystical arts and sat down beside Iri. Instead of the dress worn earlier at the photo zone, they were now dressed in an everyday hanbok like Iri. Still, the jeogori was a luminous spring green and the skirt a brilliant scarlet, glowing vividly.
Iri motioned for Dojin to sit, then greeted the Butterfly Immortal.
“It’s been a while, Butterfly. Dojin is only a candidate for King for now, so don’t say anything that dangerous.”
“Yes. I’m the one who will become the new King. Hello, Immortal.”
Dojin immediately regretted not sitting beside Iri first and instead took the seat across from them. The Butterfly Immortal narrowed their eyes and slowly swept their gaze over Dojin from the tip of his head to his feet. Dojin didn’t avert his eyes, enduring the scrutiny with a proud, steady posture.
“A Jangsa?”
The question wasn’t directed at Dojin but at Iri, so Dojin didn’t answer.
“He is.”
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen a Jangsa this grown since General So. Anyway, where did you even find a kid like this?”
“He fell right into my arms on his own. I was lucky.”
“You’re lucky, and this kid’s lucky too. When are you planning to hold the ‘Gidoseok’?”
The ‘Gidoseok’ was a ceremony held when an Immortal formally accepted a disciple, and it could only take place in the True Mortal Realm. The King of the True Mortal Realm would attend, along with invitations sent to the Four Great Forces—the Underworld, Paradise, the Heavenly Flower Garden, and the Heaven-and-Earth Seas—making it an extremely grand event. However, Dojin hadn’t accumulated enough virtue to even enter the True Mortal Realm yet, so it couldn’t be held.
“I’m aiming for sometime this fall.”
“His virtue still seems woefully insufficient.”
“I’ve got a method in mind.”
“Right. With a guardian like you, I suppose there’s no need to worry.”
“Oh my! Immortal Iri, greetings. It’s been such a long time.”
Jangmito, who had come running after their master, greeted them belatedly. After greeting Iri, Jangmito also exchanged pleasantries with Dojin and then politely sat beside him. The Butterfly Immortal selected a few Polaroid photos from the ones just taken and handed them to Iri.
“They turned out well, didn’t they? You can have them.”
“…Thanks.”
“Why does my master have to keep your photos?”
Dojin, who never held his tongue, immediately protested. With a demure expression, the Butterfly Immortal pulled out one more photo and handed it to Dojin.
“Alright. I’ll give you one too. If you want it, you should just ask—what kind of disciple tries to snatch something from their master?”
“…….”
They had a talent for completely extinguishing the will to pick a fight. Beside them, Iri chuckled softly.
The Butterfly Immortal instructed Jangmito to go buy drinks from a nearby café that was open. When Iri casually said, “I’ll have hot tea,” Dojin ordered the same. Jangmito transformed into a bespectacled man with a gentle-looking face and went off to run the errand.
“Having retainers is really convenient. Once they message me saying they’ve bought the drinks, I can just summon them right back to my side.”
For a moment, Dojin thought, So retainers are basically errand-running servants, huh.
“So, have you been well? Is the rental shop still busy?”
“It’s gotten a lot better thanks to Dojin. That said, I heard you recently had a shapeshifting duel with Yori-iki. Haven’t you heard you’re not supposed to do shapeshifting duels with dokkaebi or fox yokai?”
“…Huh? How did you know? That my next opponent is a Silver Fox.”
“…….”
“It’s just a Silver Fox that’s barely two hundred years old. I’ll definitely win this time.”
“And what do you gain by winning?”
“The honor of defeating a fox yokai in shapeshifting! How would the esteemed Master of All Things ever understand this feeling?”
The Butterfly Immortal spoke as they loosened their neatly rolled hair.
“If my fame grows, more kids will want to become my retainers. Then, just from the virtue my retainers accumulate, I can easily cover my True Mortal Realm resident tax. I’ll finally live the life I’ve always dreamed of—lounging around and living off others.”
“That doesn’t sound very Immortal-like….”
“Doesn’t everyone have at least one grand dream? Iri, you must have a cherished wish of your own too.”
Dojin looked at Iri, eyes filled with curiosity. Iri idly touched his bracelet and replied calmly.
“My only wish is for Dojin to ascend the throne…. That aside, what brings you down to the human realm in person? Do you need a curio?”
“I can’t even tell whether I need a curio or not.”
The Butterfly Immortal pressed their temples as if a headache were setting in.
“I came to report the deaths of my retainers.”
“…….”
Iri’s eyes widened. Retainers who had received an Immortal’s power did not die easily. Even if they’d been mere minor yokai before gaining awareness, the moment they became an Immortal’s retainer, they turned into intelligent, virtuous spirit beings.
Spirit beings were not creatures that died easily. Even Underworld reapers hesitated to collect souls of spirit-grade beings or higher—and if that spirit was an Immortal’s retainer, they would never take the soul unless death was absolutely certain.
“When, and how many died? In the human realm? Were they murdered? Were they spirit-grade or higher?”
“Strictly speaking, they’re at the yokai level—retainers of retainers of retainers of my retainers’ vassals…. But still, they’re children I’ve cared for like family, no different from my own retainers, and they’re dying.”
“…Please be precise. You scared me.”
Iri let out a sigh. Beside him, Dojin was twice as shocked as Iri had been.
“Wasn’t that a lie just now…?”
Dojin pointed at the Butterfly Immortal and asked in bewilderment.
“In the end, they’re not actually your retainers, right? But you said your retainers were dying—doesn’t that make it a lie? Master, I thought Immortals couldn’t lie.”
“When did I lie? I was just joking a bit. Our King’s rules aren’t that inflexible, you know?”
“So that level doesn’t count as a lie?”
“Iri, if your disciple becomes King, won’t the rules get ridiculously strict? Maybe I should just throw my support behind the Hyeonmu candidate instead.”
The Butterfly Immortal shot Dojin a sharp glare. Dojin jutted his lips out crookedly, clearly wanting to grumble but holding back because the other party was an Immortal.
Just then, a message came in from Jangmito saying the errand was done, and the Butterfly Immortal summoned their retainer. Jangmito returned laden with four drinks and dessert cookies. They chattered about how they’d had to go quite far to find a café serving parfaits in March—information no one had asked for—then reverted to their original form.
Returning to the original topic, the Butterfly Immortal continued.
“Last winter, there was an incident where yokai-grade earthworms died en masse. Since it happens every cold winter, I didn’t think much of it. But the Kangnim Herald sent word that the cause of death wasn’t freezing and told me to pay closer attention to my domain. So I looked into it and found that 321 yokai had died from a plague.”
“A plague….”
Iri recalled the highly lethal winter-borne diseases. Jinhae, Donghae, Apgol, Sain, Corpse Rot, Saksin….
“When I searched the village where the earthworms lived, I found decayed outer skins.”
“So it was Saksin.”
“That’s what I thought too, so I set up defenses against Saksin and left. That was three months ago. But this time, in a completely different region, ten bee and butterfly yokai were infected by a plague and died again. I checked the cause of death, and once again, it was Saksin. It seemed strange, so I came down to report it to the ruler of the Middle Realm.”
“They selectively spread plagues with long incubation periods and high fatality rates.”
Iri frowned.
Plagues among the Wia do not arise naturally. They can only spread if someone deliberately creates and disperses them. Those who wander around spreading such plagues are called ‘Guests’.
Iri traced through the known habitats of the Guests in his mind.
“As far as I know, the Guests are currently in the Lower Realm… when did they move up to the Middle Realm?”
“I don’t think they fully moved up. Right now, the plague spread, everything died, and the situation ended. If they were staying in the Middle Realm, another plague would be spreading somewhere by now, and you’d have received a report. And Princess Chalma said it herself before, didn’t she? That she doesn’t want war anymore. Maybe the Guests just acted up on their own without listening.”
“War? You don’t mean a human war. Did the Wia have wars too?”
Dojin, who was still studying Wia history, interjected. The Butterfly Immortal answered in Iri’s stead.
“Yes. There was a war once, a thousand years ago. You know who stands above the Guests, right?”
“Yes. Above all the Lower Realm clans stands Princess Chalma.”
In the True Mortal Realm, there is the King.
In the Middle Realm, Immortal Iri.
In the Lower Realm, Princess Chalma.
Dojin had heard that these three beings maintained balance and peace in the world.
“In the past, the clans of the True Mortal Realm and the Lower Realm clashed constantly, and since the battlefield was the Middle Realm, innocent humans often suffered. Then, a thousand years ago, the King became truly enraged and declared war.”
“It must’ve been incredibly fierce.”
“Fierce? Not at all. It ended in a single day.”
“What?”
With a spoon still smeared with parfait ice cream, the Butterfly Immortal pointed at Iri.
“Your master joined the war.”
“…….”
“The moment the war was declared, Iri killed three of Princess Chalma’s direct subordinates. Just like you are now, we were utterly shocked. The Jade Emperor treated Iri coldly for nearly five hundred years afterward.”
Dojin felt like he might be distant with Iri himself for at least five minutes.
“Princess Chalma, having lost half her forces the moment the war began, declared surrender. And in just one day, peace returned to the world. That’s why some people call it the ‘One-Day War’.”
