When I was in the Demon World, after inheriting a certain level of “divinity” from the Demon King.
Just before I was ready to cross over to the Middle World, I had an idea while chatting with Changyeom.
“Is it impossible to cross over using an avatar, or a manifestation body?”
“A manifestation body for a Duke of Hell?”
“Yes.”
Like many in the Middle World who handle ‘reincarnation’ spirits, I wondered if I could summon someone into the Middle World as I would a spirit.
“First, you’ll need an enormous amount of faith.”
“There are various ways to gather faith. After gathering faith, isn’t the important part whether you can summon a Duke of Hell or not?”
“Well, you’re not wrong, but there are two problems.”
Changyeom raised two issues regarding summoning a demon from Hell.
“First, it requires an immense amount of faith, and it’s not just about the number of people. The amount and quality of mana each person has is also important.”
“Specifically?”
“You’d need about 500 people with the potential of students at the Academy, fervently showing support and faith towards you, saying something like, ‘He’s like a god!’ even as a joke.”
“And after solving that problem?”
“There’s a crucial premise: are you willing to risk being detected by Angels, or do you want to avoid detection?”
The possibility of being discovered by Angels was significant, even beyond gathering faith.
“Of course, the premise is to avoid detection by Angels. How would it work if that’s the case?”
“It’s random.”
“Random?”
“Even if you open a dimensional gate from the Middle World to perform a summoning ritual to the Demon World, it’s like creating a series of coincidences leading to an inevitability.”
“Without the magical jargon, what’s the core point?”
“The dimensional gate opens randomly in one of the Seven Domains. Since you’re crossing with not only your mana but the core of [the Demon King’s Divine Essence].”
“Oh.”
Sometimes, having too high of a specification causes challenges in specific situations.
“So it’s because I don’t only have a fire attribute but also all the ‘remaining seven’ attributes?”
“Exactly. Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Dark, Light, and Divine, along with the extra attribute you possess. Though that attribute won’t react now, the others will. Summoning in the form of a ‘spirit’ depends on the summoner’s magic talent.”
If I attempt to summon one of Hell’s seven Dukes as a “spirit” in the Middle World, it will heavily depend on the summoner’s magical aptitude.
What if all talents were at “level 100”?
Then, it would be a one-in-seven chance of summoning each attribute. If all attributes are at 99, except for the fire attribute at 100, there’s a 99% chance the fire attribute spirit will be summoned, with the remaining 1% split among the other attributes.
So, unintentionally, it becomes a completely random summoning.
Whoever of the seven Dukes is summoned from Hell will strive for the revival of the Demon World and the downfall of Heaven and will always be waiting for the summoning.
But just as there are rivalries among people, there is one particular Duke among Hell’s seven who has an extreme incompatibility with me.
“Don’t worry. What are the odds of a one-in-seven chance happening? And it probably won’t be the first one.”
But in life, whenever you think “there’s no way,” it somehow happens.
“Even if it does, it’s manageable, right?”
“It is… though easy enough…”
It’s largely in the realm of luck.
“If I summon that one, I swear I won’t make any desserts involving ice cream until the next summoning.”
* * *
And now.
“Riding the wind, this body appears. The name I go by is the Wind Wolf of Hell’s fiery gust.”
Before me stood a girl with a cute mint-green cat ear accessory in a white magical girl dress.
“My name is Kim Fenrir!”
“But your last name isn’t Kim.”
“Does it matter?”
“And you’re not a cat.”
“According to Changyeom, you like cat-eared, neko-maid girls, so it’s fine.”
“Hah…”
Let’s just say this girl has a very distinct and self-centered personality.
“To think you called upon me, the first among the seven! As expected, you must-”
“No.”
“Love mint-chocolate, without a doubt!”
“No.”
Not exactly love.
I’m not one of those people who call mint chocolate things like toothpaste or detergent.
As someone who walks the path of a master baker, who also dabbles as a pâtissier, I cannot carelessly dismiss, deny, or loathe any flavor.
“Do you dislike mint-chocolate?”
“I do like mint-chocolate. It’s refreshing, sweet, and once you get into the unique scent, it’s quite nice.” “Then that settles it!”
“But you turn everything into mint-chocolate.”
From the moment I summoned [Fenrir of the Wind], my dessert life was pretty much over.
“I was at least hoping for something strawberry.”
“Wait, did you want Changyeom? That’s so obvious. Here I am, a cute girl here to help, and I, Kim Fenrir, can at least assist in creating all sorts of mint-chocolate dishes.”
Fenrir picked up the sword at her waist, extending it with concentration to create something.
“Hup!”
“Oh god.”
She drained my mana.
If you ask if others do things like this, some do, but none as recklessly as Fenrir.
And with the mana she took from me, she began crafting an “item”.
“Tada!”
“Hah…”
“This is the miracle brought by the Mint-Choco Lovers Guild! The ultimate Six Mint-Choco!”
“I didn’t order this as a punishment, you know.”
Fenrir had conjured food based on my mana and memories, and it appeared before me.
A huge tub filled to the brim with mint-chocolate. Like ordering six scoops at a place where you can get 31 flavors, but having them all be mint-chocolate—it sat there, right in front of me.
“Oh, you don’t like this? Then how about this one?”
“Stop draining my mana.”
“But it’ll refill once you eat, so what’s the big deal?”
Fenrir laid her sword horizontally, and atop the other end appeared yet another tub of ice cream.
It’s like when people joke about asking someone to buy them a tub of Haagen-Dazs.
But instead of vanilla, strawberry, or even pistachio—it was mint-chocolate.
“Hehe, if you want to recover your mana, obediently eat the mint-chocolate!”
That’s right.
Fenrir, out of all the flavors and foods in my memory, could only recreate those related to mint-chocolate. A true mint-chocolate enthusiast.
If you asked if she was always this way—
‘How would I know?’
As one of Hell’s Dukes, she’s usually a ferocious Wind Wolf tearing apart everything in her path when she appears on the surface.
If the raid boss [Fenrir]—her avatar and sub-spirit form—was actually someone who spread a mint-chocolate craze wherever she went, then players of Bread Academy would start eating a tub of mint-chocolate each in real life to recruit Fenrir as an ally.
“Don’t worry, nyah. Even I won’t cover all ice cream with mint-chocolate when I create it from mana.”
“Really?”
“If you choose three flavors, at least one must be mint-chocolate. Let’s call that our compromise!”
“Of course.”
In life, you’re bound to meet someone who insists on adding mint-chocolate to every assortment tub they order.
“Anyhow, nice to meet you again, nyah!”
Fenrir flicked her fingers toward the mint-chocolate sitting on her sword, dispersing it into the air like a breeze.
Whoosh.
When I breathed through my nose, the minty aroma filled my senses, and when I inhaled through my mouth, it was as if my whole tongue tasted mint-chocolate, fresh and cool.
It wasn’t bad.
The only downside is that unless it’s the real thing, my brain will start interpreting everything as mint-chocolate for a while.
If it weren’t for that non-side-effect, she’d be the ‘perfect choice’ as the Demon King’s vanguard infiltrating the Academy and dreaming of the fall of Heaven.
“Fenrir.”
“What?”
“For the record, it’s still only the first semester.”
“Wait, really?”
Especially at this point.
“What’s the date? Final exams? Seems early. Most people assumed at least one would get summoned after the first year.”
“Even earlier than finals.”
“Then… midterms? No way, has that much faith already been gathered?”
Fenrir laughed, waving her hand.
“No matter how powerful you are, there’s no way this world has gathered enough faith to summon one of us in just a few months without some kind of mint-chocolate revival, right?”
“…”
“…What’s today?”
“The second weekend of March, in the year 997 of the Continent.”
“Eh.”
Fenrir dropped her sword.
“No way.”
“Thanks to the situation working out in my favor, enough faith has been gathered to summon one of the Seven Dukes already.”
“T-Then…!”
Fenrir ran up to me, grabbing my clothes.
“Revive mint-chocolate in this world! Make it glorious!!”
“…Not sure if it’ll be profitable.”
“It definitely will! It’s always in the top three bestsellers among the 31 flavors! Plus, it would increase my faith…!”
Fenrir brushed her hand across her chest, looking up at me with a serious expression.
“And as my mint-choco faith increases, I too shall… grow!”
“I don’t know if the Silverstar folks even like mint-choco. Hah.”
Well.
That’s how it is.
One of Fenrir’s sources of faith is mint-chocolate, and the more people who like it, the stronger Fenrir becomes.
And the Celestials had removed mint-chocolate from this world.
“When you’re with me, ice cream will always taste like mint-choco, won’t it, Nyah!”
“You accursed mint-choco fanatic.”
“Kishaaaa!”
Kim Fenrir has descended.
Let it be known.
The revival of mint-chocolate shall come to this world.
