Necromancer Survival

Chapter 183

Koo Hui-seo spoke as if he knew everything. Therefore, I retreated as many steps as he approached me.

Koo Hui-seo stared at me before smiling incomprehensibly. “Why…? Does Lee-kyung-ssi also hate me because I’m dirty…”

“It’s not because you’re dirty… More than that, how much do you know?”

“About what?”

“About the servants… Did Chairwoman Shin talk to you about it?”

“……” Koo Hui-seo adopted an expression that belied his ignorance and looked behind me. It was as if he were staring at the servants standing behind me.

I watched his gaze nervously. Koo Hui-seo, in a tone that still conveyed he had no idea what I was talking about, continued to speak slowly. “Those lumps, every day they would follow Lee-kyung-ssi. Well, it’s not like I can see them clearly, but…”

“……”

“I felt a violent energy from them… And since Lee-kyung-ssi is a Necromancer… I assumed they might be vengeful ghosts contracted to you.”

Even though he had such a blank expression, his words hit the nail on the head. I looked back at Seo Dawon, my eyes pleading at him to decide on our next actions.

“It’s alright, Lee-kyung-ah. Summon me.”

“… [Seo Dawon.]” Left with no choice, I followed Seo Dawon’s suggestion and summoned him.

The mage’s outline next to me slowly filled in with vibrant colors. When his shadow, created by the lighting near his feet, was finally formed, Koo Hui-seo looked at Seo Dawon emotionlessly. “Hello…?”

“If you had noticed what I was to some extent, you should have been quick to talk about it.”

“You’re trying to offset towards Lee-kyung-ssi during summoning with my blood?”

“That’s right.”

The two talked without much agitation from either side–to the point where I, who had been a ball of anxiety, had relaxed.

However, unlike before when Koo Hui-seo was so eager to give blood, he suddenly rolled his eyes and looked at me. As if he had no desire to talk to Seo Dawon.

“Do you… have anything you’d like to say?” I asked.

“If I were to give you my blood, will Lee-kyung-ssi do anything for me?”

“Lee-kyung-ie was the one to stop me from just grabbing you and digging out your eyes.”

“……”

Seo Dawon immediately squashed his superficial question, but, when I saw Koo Hui-seo’s sunken eyes, I felt guilty. It was true that Koo Hui-seo had helped us a lot.

So, after looking at the mage once, I sighed and replied to Koo Hui-seo. “… Nothing perverted, but, if there’s anything you want, I’ll listen.”

“This isn’t the time to pretend to be nice.” Woo Ragi remarked sarcastically behind me. Of course, I also began to regret my words as soon as Koo Hui-seo’s eyes began to sparkle excessively…

“T-Then… Will you come by my house next Sunday?”

“Absolutely not.” The mage said.

“Without Seo Dawon-ssi…”

Seo Dawon refused, as if there was nothing more that he needed to hear from Koo Hui-seo, but I observed the guild master’s desperate face.

It was difficult to turn a blind eye to Koo Hui-seo’s gaunt cheeks; when I lowered my gaze I even saw his bitten fingernails on both hands. I have to ask someone who looked like that to give me all that blood in one go…

“You won’t do anything weird? Anything perverted?” I asked.

“Lee-kyung-ah.”

“Yes…! Yes, yes!”

“I’ll be back home by five pm that day. If I’m to go, you can’t cling onto me or confine me. At five, you must return me home.”

“Of course…” Koo Hui-seo’s two cheeks shined brightly with joy. Seo Dawon’s eyes, pleading me not to agree, pierced me in the back of my head, but I eventually nodded.

I made that decision because I thought it’d be better to neatly detail the deal with Koo Hui-seo, but it was painful to be glared at by someone I liked. I couldn’t even bear to look at the Mage and could only mouth, ‘sorry…’ to him.

“Fine. On Sunday, I’ll go to Koo Hui-seo-ssi’s house.”

“I-I then… Will Lee-kyung-ssi come alone?”

“…Fine.”

At this response, the servants who were watching with their arms folded across their chests began to try to dissuade me.

“……”

“Choi Lee-kyung, are you crazy?”

“Your liver’s come out of your stomach.” ¹

“That was a rash response, Necromancer.”

Of course, I expected their dissent. We already know how bizarrely Koo Hui-seo acted around me.

However, because the other couldn’t hurt me due to the contract conditions and because I had prevented his perverted behavior just now, I thought it wasn’t likely for there to be a big issue. Also, I wanted to ask why he invited me to his home while wringing his trembling, anxious hands…

‘As expected, this is a gamble…’

Still, I didn’t want to regret my decision, but, when I looked up to see Seo Dawon avoiding my eyes, I wanted to cancel my offer immediately.

‘Haah…’

I inwardly sighed deeply and stepped aside, allowing Koo Hui-seo to enter. Koo Hui-seo stepped through the threshold, wearing the brightest smile I had ever seen on him.

* * *

Afterwards, Seo Dawon was frighteningly quiet and made Koo Hui-seo stop in the living room. The Mage roughly grabbed and stood Koo Hui-seo’s thin body, making the guild master stagger; however, Koo Hui-seo maintained a despicably cheeky and nonchalant smile. It was as if he was purposefully drawing Seo Dawon’s ire…

‘If he keeps on acting like that, what’s he going to do if Seo Dawon stabs him painfully…?’

Could I say the guildmaster was courting punishment? Seo Dawon placed Koo Hui-seo in the middle of the living room, and, as if giving him a command, said “Take your top off.”

“Urghh… Supply without demand…” Jung Garam, standing behind me, grumbled something strange and retreated. I also wondered if I should turn my head away because Koo Hui-seo dithered while looking at me. As expected, it must feel uncomfortable changing clothes in front of others?

“If you look at me like that… I’ll get excited…”

“Understood, damn it.”

However, rather than being embarrassed, Koo Hui-seo twisted his closed thighs together oddly. Fed up and annoyed, I turned my back and stood looking the opposite way. I heard the soft rustling of thin clothes disrobing, and silence fell over the living room soon afterwards.

Strangely though, the room’s atmosphere changed a little after he took off his top.

The other servants were staring at Koo Hui-seo, so I thought they’d start ridiculing him or say mean things for no reason. However, it was strange to see their mouths closed–their eyes unable to tear away from his body.

In particular, Kim Olim, standing right next to me, looked a little shell-shocked; a firm expression returned to her face when she felt my eyes on her, though.

‘What’s this? Is there something on Koo Hui-seo’s body…?’

I was curious, but I remained silent and still–I thought it’d be too ridiculous for me to look after I had already turned around. Not long after, the faint scent of blood began wafting around the tips of my nose.

Almost simultaneously, the golden lines on the living room floor, shining bright into my eyes, were slowly rising upwards. I stood at the edge of the magic circle, and I had no idea what state Koo Hui-seo and Seo Dawon were in…But, I couldn’t afford to look at them because I was reeling from the gust of winds blowing against my back.

As I kept almost falling forward, Woo Ragi looked annoyed. He grabbed at my collar with two fingers–with enough force to strangle my neck.

“Cough…!”

“Don’t make a fool of yourself and cling onto me because you’re about to fall.” Ragi said.

“W-Who would…! More than that, my neck hurts…!”

“Don’t whine.”

That bastard must think he’s doing me a huge favor, but, from my point of view, it would be better to just roll over from that strong wind. Until Jung Garam came from nowhere to hug me, I gulped in gasps of air, strangled.

Plop–

Finally, the golden light that filled every crevice of the living room vanished, and the faint blood smell faded as if it had been washed away.

The wind pushing at my back stopped completely, so I was able to stand properly, back upright, without the help of these two. Woo Ragi made a show of shaking off his fingers, and Jung Garam leaned against me, hanging off my waist.

I stumbled under Jung Garam’s weight and barely managed to look back. Behind me were Koo Hui-seo, who now was fully clothed, Seo Dawon, standing with his eyes closed, and a brilliant crimson jewel floating between them.

‘That jewel is probably something that contains Koo Hui-seo’s blood, right?’

I glanced once more at the fist-sized jewel before observing Koo Hui-seon again. Since he originally had such pale white skin, it was hard to properly assess his condition. His expression didn’t change much either… I guess he’s alright?

“I-Is it over?”

“Yeah.”

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TL: Lee-kyung-ie asserting himself and going against Dawon >.< Honestly I would trust Koo Hui-seo as far as I could throw him with my noodly weak arms. However, it’s good that Lee-kyung is pressing his own agency.

RIP Hui-seo though. Seo Dawon looks mad.