Chapter 65: Leveling Up Summon Partners (1)

“Ppodong?”

“Eh…?”

A soft noise came beside him. It was almost a whisper, and it was followed by the sound of something rolling softly.

Lloyd was jostled out of his thoughts. He looked to the side, still pressing his nose against his sleeve.

“Ppodong?” called Lloyd.

“Ppodong!”

Ppodong was standing on top of the work table. He was looking up at Lloyd with his puffed cheeks and dark eyes. He wasn’t alone.

“Bangul!”

“Hamang!”

Behind Ppodong was Bangul, who slithered near Ppodong from the corner of the table. Hamang, not wanting to be left behind alone, rolled and came into Lloyd’s view. They all looked up with their round and dark eyes.

“Hmm? What are you all doing here?” asked Lloyd.

“Ppodong!”

“Bangul!”

“Hamang!”

“What? You want me to play with you?”

“Ppo!”

“Bang!”

“Ha!”

The three creatures stood in one line and nodded with all their might. It was already late into the night, and Lloyd was preoccupied with the experiment. So he was slightly flustered by their sudden demand to play with them.

“Uhm, I’m sorry, but can we play next time?” said Lloyd, apologizing.

“Ppodong?”

“Bangul?”

“Hamamang?”

“Really,” said Lloyd, “I am a bit slammed today. I’ve got a lot to think about and experiment with. I really need to pull this off no matter what.”

“Ppo-do-dong?”

“Bba-bangul?”

“Hamang…?”

“I’m sorry. So let’s play another time. Okay? I’m actually working right now even though I have a nosebleed. In all honesty, I just want to put this work behind me and play with you all.”

“Ppodong!”

“Bangul! Bba-bangul!”

“Hamamang!”

“No, no. I’m not saying that we can rest and play now…”

“Ppo-do-dong?”

“I wish I could, but my hands are tied. I’m sorry for getting your hopes up. Truly. So let’s play next time.”

Lloyd smiled, not knowing what to do.

He indeed wanted to rest.

He wanted to go out and play just for a bit.

But that was impossible.

He had confidently told the count that he could do it. He had bragged to the count about his special construction method and how he could use it to erect the statue.

He had put himself in this position by making those grand declarations. However, he was already stuck in the preparation stage. Making cement was much more complicated than he’d thought. He didn’t want to imagine the whole construction ending up in a failure after being unable to overcome this obstacle.

“So, I need to hold on and move forward even if times are tough right now. Don’t worry about me. I can do it. Okay? Let’s have a lot of fun after this project is finished.” Lloyd smiled as he patted his three friends.

They were naturally obedient creatures, so Lloyd thought that this explanation would be sufficient for them. However, that wasn’t the case this time.

“Ppo-do-dong!”

“Bangul!”

“Hamang!”

For some reason, they resisted firmly, and making things worse, they simply lay down in stubbornness and started rolling on Lloyd’s notes where his ideas on the cement mixture were written.

“Ppo-do-do-dong!”

“Bangul! Bba-ba-bangul!”

“Hamamang! Hamang!”

“Eh? You guys?”

Lloyd continued to soothe his friends afterward, hugging, patting, and rocking them in his arms. However, none of it worked. For the first time ever, they completely turned a deaf ear to Lloyd and obstinately demanded to go outside. Their eyes later started to grow moist as they all looked up at Lloyd.

“Ppo-do-dong…”

“Bangul…”

“Hamaaang…”

They were just seconds away from breaking into tears and writhing in sadness. In actuality, these three summons had their own reason for doing this. It wasn’t a simple stubborn and childish tantrum. It was their desire to protect Lloyd. That feeling was what was moving the three of them.

Ppo-do-dong. Ppodong…

Pets noticed what was going on with their owners surprisingly better than the latter thought. There was only one reason behind it. They spent all day looking at their owners. So, these three summons knew Lloyd’s current state better than he knew himself.

Bangul…

They noticed how Lloyd had been pushing himself too much lately for the past few days. They saw how Lloyd hadn’t properly slept for many nights now and how he was preoccupied with the experiment at every waking moment.

Lloyd was overworking himself to the point of exhaustion. It was, in turn, narrowing his view and compromising his ability to think.

Hamang…

So they had to force Lloyd to take a small break. He needed to put down his work and have a change of pace for at least a moment. So that was why they acted more obstinate in resisting Lloyd. They wiggled their butts really hard. They rolled around, whimpering. They licked the back of Lloyd’s hand and his cheeks. They wagged their tails and stretched out their short legs. They looked like dogs demanding their owners to take them for a stroll. That was how they appeared in Lloyd’s eyes. As he gazed at the three summons, they reminded him of an old fluffy friend in the past.

Gaeul.

Gaeul was his childhood dog. The dog was no longer with him and perhaps that was why he blurted out something he used to say every day to his pet.

“Then shall we go for a walk?”

“Ppodong!”

“Bangul!”

“Hamang!”

The three summon partners nodded their small heads. Ppodong and Hamang high-fived with their short hands in celebration when their operation succeeded. Bangul, who had no hands, joined with her fat tail.

“Goodness, are you guys that happy?”

The sight put a wry smile on his face. Lloyd swooped all of them in his embrace and walked out of the forge and into the dark street.

It’s cold.

It was early winter at the pier. The wind was abnormally cold here. Lloyd raised the collars of his coat and looked down.

“Are you all okay?”

“Ppo!” “Bang!” “Ha!”

They answered in unison as they were tucked inside his inner pocket. Lloyd’s wry smile deepened.

“Hey, you three. I don’t think anyone can call this a stroll, don’t you think?”

“Ppo?” “Bang?” “Ha?”

“I’m the one walking, and you all are just being carried by me. Not to mention, for free.”

“Ppo-o?” “Baang?” “Ha-a?”

“Oh, yeah? You’re going to tilt your heads and play dumb, eh? You know you look cute like that. Fine, you are cute. So cute. Haa.”

This is more like I’m being walked by them, not the other way around.

Lloyd found himself letting out a chuckle. The creatures gazed at him with their beady eyes, and they reminded Lloyd once again of his old dog.

Gaeul was just like them.

He was a puppy with white curly fur. A mixed breed of a Poodle and Maltese. The previous owner explained that he was immigrating to the United States, and therefore, could not bring the dog with him. Gaeul was less than a year old when he became Lloyd’s family.

This happened when Lloyd was in middle school. He thought that the puppy would stay by his side forever. Gaeul whimpered and threw tantrums all day, even when he took him out for a stroll and played ball.

It was especially the case when Lloyd studied for an exam. He asked the dog for a raincheck each time it happened. He smiled and refused to take Gaeul out, saying, “Next time.”

He thought that he’d always have the luxury of time, and it would simply remain static and unmoving.

I should have played with him more back then.

He went to high school and entered university. Gaeul grew just as Lloyd did. Before he knew it, Gaeul was already old, and by the time Lloyd got back from the military service, the senile dog had a hard time going out on a stroll.

Even so, Lloyd wasn’t able to pay much attention to him. The shadow of debt hung heavily over his family. It made everyone suffocate and suffer. Their days were tough and hard. Everyone no longer had any time or care to give for the small puppy. On one clear day, when it was as chilly as the early winter of mid-November, Gaeul quietly died in peace.

Lloyd was filled with nothing but regret for not taking care of him.

Shoot. I was trying not to think about him.

He became upset every time he thought about it. So he decided to push away from the memory as much as possible. Brushing off the sudden burst of emotion once again, he walked along the street at night, sometimes blowing his hands against the cold winter and chatting with the three summon creatures in his inner pocket.

Each time he did so, Ppodong, Bangul, and Hamang gleamed in his eyes. They smiled in joy as if they were basking in the moment. At that sight, Lloyd thought to himself, and he reflected on his past behavior.

I might have been just taking advantage of them.

Ppodong, Bangul, and Hamang had feelings. They could feel emotions. Up until today, he only sought them when needed, treating them as nothing but tools and construction equipment.

If this continues, it’ll be the same as when I said goodbye to Gaeul.

Come to think of it, he realized that he had been acting selfishly. Clenching his fists, he accepted that he did them wrong and decided to do better. He then turned around to get back to the forge when a message appeared in front of him.

Ding dong.

[The summon creatures are acknowledging your sincere feelings.]

[They consider you a part of their family.]

[Your relationship level with these creatures has increased from to .]