Exchange

—Yoga—

I was stunned by that tidbit of information. Who would've thought that the most stern and strict student was already married? Certainly not me!

But it kind of makes sense why she kept it a secret. Marrying a Jinn wasn't the same as getting a new boyfriend that was rich or handsome. One would rage on social media when you dump him while the other could curse you and your descendants if you look at them funny.

Yeah, not a relationship you could brag about…

We were now sitting in the living room. The room itself was very traditional, most of its furniture was made of wood. For example, the chairs were bamboo with woven rattan as its cushion. The only thing that wasn't wood was the plates and mugs which were made out of metal.

In the real world, these things could only be found in some old folks' homes in some rural areas of Java. That, or in a museum.

I was served tea by Yuni before she returned to hugging her hubby. My brows twitched at the display. She was making noises that even made Joko look uncomfortable. He gave me a wry smile as he patted Yuni's back.

Oi, was she seriously making me a third wheel in this situation?!

At some point, Yuni stopped making noises and instead lightly snored.

Great, now she has fallen asleep, what was she? A baby?

Joko coughed. It was a loud cough, but it failed to wake Yuni, it only managed to move herself in a more comfortable position. With a strained smile, Joko said, "I-I'm sorry, Adi. Yuni… she's very clingy to me because I can't be with her most of the time."

"Tch, don't worry about it, man." I said with a click of my tongue, "...but really, is she bringing me here just so I can watch her being lovey-dovey with you? Did she think I'm a soap opera background character? Does she do this often?"

If she did, then it was probably her fetish, but Joko deny it.

"No, never. In fact, you're the first human she brought here."

I raised a brow, "not even her friends?"

Yuni was one of the popular girls in school. She had friends in every year, even the graduates. I never saw Yuni alone in school, she always would be with someone or some group.

Joko scratched his head and laughed uneasily, "hahaha, yeah, I don't think that's a good Idea since… you know?"

Ah yes, how could I forget the horrors beyond human comprehension living their life(?) just outside the door? They scared the hell out of me and they would no doubt scare the living shit of any mundane friend Yuni had.

Joko then proceeded to ask me about Yuni's school life which I… don't know much about. I only told him the basic thing I knew; about the time she became the student council president for two years straight during middle school and later our class representative at high school.

Now that I think about it, I… wasn't that close to any of my classmates despite sharing classes with them, some even as far as from elementary school.

Am I really that apathetic?

Should I connect with them?

Something to consider, I guess…

At some point, Joko exhausted his line of questioning and we lapsed into an awkward silence. Seeing that he wasn't going to ask anymore questions, I asked mine. It was a question that had been bugging me since the revelation earlier.

"Sooooooo… are you really married to Yuni?" I couldn't hold the skepticism in my voice. I heard stories about people marrying Jinns, but I always thought that they were just making shit up for clicks.

Joko shook his head lightly, "Yes, but not in the sense that we're husband and wife. Yuni just likes calling me that. Hahaha!"

I tilted my head in confusion, "how so?"

Joko had a thoughtful expression, "hmm… how do I explain it?" He cupped his chin for a while before saying, "You see, Yuni came from a long line of Dukun, an old and known family of Dukun that is very in tune with this side. From the smallest Tuyul to the biggest of Genderuwo, everyone knows Yuni's family and respects them."

Joko's pride was palpable when he said that. He then glanced down at Yuni with a wry smile, "which was a problem for Yuni."

The Jinn sighed, "in her family there's a tradition of handing their power to the first born. It was an old tradition dated back to the first generation of her family. The goal of this tradition was to cultivate their power, making it more powerful each time it was passed down. Once a first born reaches their 7th birthday, the family head will prepare a ceremony and pass the power to them. Yuni's mother was a second daughter, her brother died before his ritual, and she skipped the line of succession. So, by right, it was Yuni's turn to receive this power and cultivate it further. but…"

"Yuni doesn't want any of that…" I finished the Jinn.

Even if I knew the girl on a surface level, I knew Yuni wasn't one to hold a grudge or harm someone. In shounen terms, she didn't have a fighting spirit, she was a passive protagonist who preferred to lecture someone to change their way, and oftentimes it worked. Hell, one of her best friends was her bully.

Joko nodded with a somber smile. He caresses Yuni's hair as he said, "Yuni… has a pure soul. She doesn't want to hurt someone even if they do her wrong. She preferred to talk things over and make peace… which was the complete opposite of what this culmination of black magic that had been cultivated for 200 years all about. "

Joko paused for some time, his expression later became grave. "Yuni, she has a curse. A curse casted by her own grandfather."

"!!!" Yuni was cursed by her own granddad? Why? Why did he curse his own flesh and blood?

Joko began to explain, "it happened when Yuni still lived in Java. That day, Yuni reached her 7th birthday and her family had prepared for the passing down ritual. They waited for the grandfather to arrive, and when he arrived, instead of proceeding with the ritual, he put a curse on Yuni.

"At the end of the day, Yuni fell sick with pain continuously assailing her body. No medicine, mundane nor supernatural, could alleviate her pain completely, all they could do was to ease it for a time. This curse was designed to kill her in 7 days. It will be 7 days of torturous pain where she could hardly eat and drink. It was a curse made with 200 years and 4 generations worth of knowledge. She would not survive."

"...but she did survive."

Joko nodded, his expression softened. "It was after her parents became so desperate that they visited every priest of every religion for a way to free their daughter of this curse. At that time, money was the least of their worries, they even sold their house so that their daughter could be healthy again. One day, a priest gave them a solution; it was to marry a Jinn."

The Jinn became thoughtful before explaining, "I know not of the intricacy of the ritual, I, by Jinn standard, am young, but essentially, our marriage made a connection between us and Yuni would inevitably 'feed' me her curse, then the priest would seal this link without cutting it off completely. It used the same principle as the contract between a human and spirits."

Hmm, from what I could gather, making a contract with Jinn means we have to 'feed' them and we would get something in return. A relationship of equivalent exchange.

"I see… so, am I correct to assume that the curse is still in effect?" I guessed and Joko nodded gravely.

"That is the reason I stay in the village. If I stumbled upon someone who exorcized me, it would sever my connection with Yuni and the curse would return in full force. back then, she had one day to live left before we sealed her curse."

So, their marriage was one of necessity where Yuni got to continue living, but… "if it's work on the basis of contracts, then I guess you got something in return?"

Joko nodded, "you're sharp, Adi. Yes, I do get something in return in this relationship." he smiled, "but unlike other Jinn contracts, my payment is a long term one."

Joko sighed fondly as if he recalled a dear memory, "...you see, her ancestors, their goal was to get stronger for the sake of being strong. It was aimless, a path with no end. It was pale in comparison with Yuni's dream."

Joko shot me a radiant smile, "Yuni wanted to be an astronaut. Her dream is to soar the heaven and pave a path for humanity's future upon the stars. it might sound naïve, even another Jinn would mock me if they heard of it, but its good enough for me."

…No wonder she was very studious. I couldn't recall the last time she didn't have a book in hand.

I nodded and mirrored his smile, "it is a good dream."

"It is, right? When I heard it the first time, I was stunned. I had expected she wanted to be the most beautiful or the strongest, but no, she just wanted to mingle around the stars. For someone like me, who will forever be chained upon the earth, it was the most beautiful dream I've ever heard. Seeing this dream come true is enough payment for me."

"I see…"

We lapsed into silence. I was processing this information about my classmate when a thought occurred. "...do Yuni ever learn why her grandfather cursed her?" I asked Joko who shook his head.

"No, but I think her parents knew the reason. They spoke with the despicable man before leaving for this place. Maybe he knows that Yuni won't cultivate it like he wanted, or maybe he just snapped that day because of all of his contracts, honestly who knows?"

"..."

Sick bastard, no matter what his motive was, it doesn't matter. Torturing a 7 year old like that was wrong no matter the reason.

One thing I got from this conversation was; the supernatural world was dangerous and unkind. I knew this from fiction, but hearing it for yourself was an another matter entirely. Not gonna lie, this somewhat dampened my curiosity.

After this talk, we switched to lighter topics. Joko was curious about the human world because the last time he came out was 100 years ago, so I spent the rest of our talk showing how humanity had changed since then. With my phone I presented to him the wonder of human society.

At some point, Yuni woke up and dragged me out of the house.

At last, we finally did what we came to do.

~

The moment we stepped out of the house, I made sure I was close to Yuni again. I still wasn't used to the villagers around me, they were just that terrifying.

We ran around the market, and when I said we, I mean Yuni, she was on a shopping spree, buying ingredients that sounded like something coming out of some fantasy game.

Fairy ears? Deerling's hooves? White tiger teeth? Fucking umbilical cord!?

Were we going to summon a Great Old One?!

Most of these ingredients came in the form of powder, I am at least glad I didn't have to touch an intact, dried umbilical cord. I shoved these bizarre items into my [Inventory] as soon as Yuni gave them to me.

When Yuni was haggling for a pack of Jenglot's nails, I suddenly felt a shiver down my spine.

I whipped my head around, ignoring the hideous Jinns around me.

What was that? What caused this sinking feeling I was feeling? Did I accidentally offend one of the djinn here? Shit, that would be bad, very, very bad! I heard of a story where a guy offended a Jinn or something and he lost his junk!

Agh, It was a fate worse than death!!!

I prayed to god that it was just a feeling because I was unused around Jinn, I even kneeled on the ground. I don't want to lose it, god, please!

I ignored the looks and insults thrown at me. Yuni had to drag me from that point forward. she didn't even bat an eye at me!

Some time later, I calmed down and we returned to Joko's house. It was time for us to return to the human world. Yuni exchanged sweet farewells with Joko that made me both sick and diabetic. The girl then invited Joko to come to the human world with her, "you know, mama and papa would be happy seeing you again."

Joko sighed and smiled sadly, "you know as much as I wanted to, I can't."

"mou, we'll think of something... I know! why don't we use Adi's ability, he can carry you to our home safe and sound!"

"what do I look like, private driver? or are you implying your hubby is a package or something? He's not a body pillow, you know!" I retorted from the side.

Yuni looked at me and pouted, "aw come on! can't you help a friend, please?"

"Nope. sorry, no matter how are you trying to act cute, it simply don't work after seeing you shoved trash down your gullet!"

"I told you its a waste leaving them to rot!"

"they already rotten, woman!"

Joko laughed seeing we argued. he said, "its good seeing you making new friend, Yuni." he shook his head, "but I'm sorry, I still can't follow you. maybe one day."

Yuni turned to Joko, she held a up pinkie with a smile, "promise?"

Joko grinned and returned the gesture, "pinkie, promise!"

Yuni grinned, she then remembered something, "oh, yeah I forgot that flower, I'll be back!" she said before running back to the market, leaving me and Joko alone.

"look at her go. heeeeh~ I really want to go, you know, but situation isn't so good." Joko said and I just nodded. the Jinn then had a troubled look before it vanished and replaced by a serious one. he opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.

"you want me to look out for her?" I asked as I glance at him. Joko looked surprised before donning a smile.

"how do you know, are you a seer?"

"nah, I'm just know this kind of things. I watched too much media to know the flags."

Joko shook his head, "I'm not sure I understand, but yes, I ask you to watch her back for me. can you do that, my friend?"

"...sigh... I'm not a babysitter, you know..." I breathed out a sigh and scratched my head. I then gave him a nod, "...but I'll try my best."

Joko smile became a grin, "that's all I ask."

our conversation ended almost at the same time as Yuni's return. After one last hug, Yuni and I bid our goodbye, we then finally left the village.

Unlike our arrival, our departure was uneventful. I was told to close my eyes again as we passed through the gate, this time Yuni explained the reason.

If I see what lies beyond the gate, it would unlock my Mind's Eye that would allow me to see supernatural beings in the human world. And seeing my experience today…

Yeah, let's leave it closed for now.

As we trekked back to the embrace of human civilization, Yuni explained about the supernatural world after some asking from me. She was talking about spirits.

"There are many spirit types in the supernatural world, Jinn is one of them, they're known for making contracts with humans and are more reasonable than the rest. Wraith, and ghouls, these two spirits hate humans, they'll harm us in every chance they get. Jinn, phantoms, and elementals, these are the middle ground, the neutral parties. Humans often make contracts with Jinn and elementals. Then, there's Qorin, the mirror of ourselves, our parallel selves. Not much known about this type of spirit other than they look like you to the smallest details"

I nodded as I digested the information, I then asked, "you said we often make contracts with Jinn and elementals, does that mean making contracts with Wraith and ghouls is possible?"

"If you're suicidal enough, anything is possible." Yuni said simply, ending our conversation.

We trudged in silence and at some point we finally got out of the forest.

I basked in the sunlight for a bit before taking Yuni back to her home. Good thing I parked my bike not too far from the entrance, cause I was tired as shit.

Her house was located near Sugarstar, thankfully. The house was a simple two story house with a small garden in its yard filled with vegetable plants and some flowers.

After giving Yuni her things, she thanked me and said, "if you're still interested, I can teach you a thing or two about spiritual healing. But, in order to do that, we need to open your Mind's Eye, so take your time and think about it."

I nodded in agreement. I had a feeling that I needed Mind's Eye to learn more about the other side. I was still processing the information I got today, it was good that Yuni gave me time to decompress.

learning about the other side was a must, at least for me to power up.

"I'll give you my answer when school starts." I said to her and bid her goodbye.

~

Once I returned to the café, it was near closing time. Rio was nowhere to be seen, Miss Satin said she was in Penny's world looking for a place to set up her workshop. She had been away for 2 hours, it seems she finally found the perfect location.

I went to the counter and ordered iced tea. I chatted with Miss Satin as I was enjoying my drink. with nothing to do, I decided to finally used my Gacha Tickets. I decided to tear the three of them at the same time.

I got [Science Proficiency +5 (C)], a [Silver Dagger (R)], and [Skill: Phantom in the Mirror (SR)]

well, that was a nice haul. let see what this new skill about.

[Phantom in the Mirror]

[Can summon a clone with the same abilities as user. clone is slightly weaker than the user. cast range: 2m. cooldown: 5 minutes. upgradable.]

"Thank you lord for the power up!" I thanked god, eliciting a chuckle from Miss Satin.

At some point, the door slammed open loudly, prompting us to look.

It was Penny and Issei, they were looking haggard with soot and dust on their body. They also didn't look good.

Issei was being supported by Penny who had most of her skin melting, revealing the white plates underneath.

I quickly approached them and helped support Issei. We took Issei to a seat and Penny began treating some of the gashes on his body with a first aid kit she took out of her inventory.

Miss Satin also helped clean the wounds before casting what looks like a healing spell on them.

"What happened?" she asked seriously. Issei winced while Penny started recounting. When she finished, it could be surmised to five words.

'They stumbled upon the plot.'