Necromancer Survival

     I didn’t know what mental state I was in as I exited the building, but when I returned back home, the sigh that I had been restraining was automatically released.
At the same time, Jung Garam, who was itching to speak this entire time, jumped on my back.
I crumpled to my feet on the carpeted living room floor.

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     “Choi Lee-kyung! What was that eloquence earlier!! Are you really the nerdy Choi Lee-kyung I know?”

     Of course, even if I fell down Jung Garam didn’t care and only spouted what he had to say.
If Kim Olim hadn’t lifted the young Assassin by the scruff of his neck, I would have stayed there, laying down underneath the other boy for a while.

     “Gahh…” As soon as I could breathe again, I sputtered out some groans and splayed out in the living room.
Perhaps I was just too nervous.
I had no strength to even stand; my body felt like it was pricked sore.

     “Noona, Let me gooo.” 1

     “You’ve overdone it in front of Moon Issak.
We should have called a lawyer if you were going to put on airs and speak so obscurely.” Kim Olim looked at me, who was still sprawled out, and spoke harshly.
However, it seemed to come from a place of concern rather than her reprimanding me.

     Ragi glanced at me briefly before speaking to Seo Dawon.
“What do you think Bae Jaemin’s reaction will be?”

     “Probably wary–he doesn’t know the extent of Moon Issak’s knowledge.”

     “Then, will he make a fuss with Moon Issak?”

     “He’ll probably…try to kill him?”

     At the mage’s indifferent response, I looked towards him.
He calmly added, “After all, if these suspicious trails are caught, one by one, they’ll spin quickly out of control.”

     “Should we say it’s like cutting down sprouts? Moon Issak’s not the type of young master to get killed obediently either.”

     “That’s right.
So, while Moon Issak draws Bae Jaemin’s attention, we’ll have to advance with Kyung-sik’s summoning.”

     Everyone fell silent at the mention of a new summons that fell from Seo Dawon’s lips.

     Of course, the mage was correct.
We still had more servants to summon, and it would be advantageous to proceed while Moon Issak and Bae Jaemin were distracted with each other.

     However, since I had suffered physical damage for the first time with Woo Ragi’s summon, measures for further Vengeful Ghost Memories had not been discussed yet.
Nevertheless, pushing ahead despite all that would be…

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     ‘The most important thing to Seo Dawon is…’

     It was definitely revenge and resurrection, right?

     Even though this was an obvious fact, an unintelligible sorrow formed within me.
Not wanting that sorrow to be noticed by the mage, I immediately followed up with a contradictory statement, “I’d be fine with that! But, to summon a new servant, my level is still…” I pretended to be completely fine and agreed.

     However, Seo Dawon, who looked as if he had more to say, looked at me briefly, stopped his train of thought, and replied, “We probably exhausted all the level-ups that could arise from these sorts of summonings.
You had no level-ups while Woo Ragi was summoned, right?”

     “Ah, that’s right…”

     “Things have changed, starting from Ragi’s summoning.
The conditions have become more severe.
Previously, you could easily access the [Vengeful Ghost Memories] with just a little bit of your blood, but now it seems you’ll need way more blood or mana.”

     Then, not that I remember this past revival fully, will I have to follow the summoning method and lose pints of blood yet again? This time, I hesitated a little because my well-being and physical condition had yet to fully recover.

    As if he had perceived my worries, Seo Dawon responded, “We’re not going to use your blood for summonings anymore.
Kyung-sik’s summon is likely to be more dangerous than Woo Ragi’s.”

    “Then…”

    “I’m thinking about using a different sacrifice.”

     Was that why he so confidently suggested summoning another servant? I was relieved on one hand and curious as to the ‘different sacrifice’ on another.
When it came to black magic offerings, plenty of creepy things came to mind.

Ding Dong–

     “…Huh?”

     At that moment, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Since I had no one slated to visit, I looked around at the servants.

     Seo Dawon nodded his head and said, “Just in time–the sacrifice is here.”

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     “…What?”

     The mage, acting naturally as if some parcel delivery man had arrived, hurriedly motioned for me to stand up.
I ran to the intercom to investigate who had come to the door.

     However, when I saw the visitor’s face on the intercom’s screen, I looked at the mage with a dumbfounded face.
“W-Wait a minute… That’s Koo Hui-seo?”

 

* * *

 

     Clearly visible in the intercom screen was Koo Hui-seo, wriggling his hands and standing with cheeks stained red.

     He was holding a bouquet big enough to cover his face… I held onto the hope that the flower bouquet would be the sacrifice and turned towards Seo Dawon.

     However the Mage, as if he were evaluating meat displayed at a market, said, “Koo Hui-seo is a flawless specimen as a sacrifice.
He’s got witch’s blood flowing through him; he’s been exposed to black magic for a long time, making his blood easy to process.
It would be nice if we could pull out his eyes or heart, but, for the time being, he’s more helpful to us alive…”

     Seo Dawon spoke so placidly, I thought I heard him wrong.
Of course, I didn’t like Koo Hui-seo much either…still, I’d never thought of another human being like some meat on sale.

     So, I hurriedly cut off the Mage and asked him once more, “No, wait! Did you even discuss this with Koo Hui-seo? He’s given permission?”

     “What are you talking about?”

     “You want his blood…”

     “Do I need his consent? He’s your slave anyway.” The mage’s words were unbelievably calm.

     Meanwhile, Koo Hui-seo kept ringing the doorbell [dingdong dingdong dingdong], urging us to open the door.
Come to think of it, would someone ring the doorbell with such excitement if he knew the people behind the door were aiming for his blood…? It was obvious that he came here in such a good mood without knowing anything…

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     Head aching, I pressed the connect button on the intercom, trying to at least stop the doorbell sound.
Ignorant to my emotions, Koo Hui-seo greeted me in an excited voice as soon as the call connected.

[Ah, Good day… Lee-kyung-ssi…]

     I felt even more pity for his ignorant voice, whose words trailed and lilted a little at the end of his words.
Even though I knew he was an untreatable pervert…

     I first blocked the intercom transmitter with my palm and asked Seo Dawon another question.
“His blood… How much do you need?”

     “About 1.5 or more liters.”

     Wasn’t that a lot? 2 liters would usually be enough to cause death by excessive bleeding.

     However, none of the other servants seemed to share my opinion of how cruel this situation was.
I chewed my lower lip and pleaded to Seo Dawon, “Do we… have to harvest it all in one day?”

     “It’s more convenient to have it all done in one day.”

     “No, so what I’m saying is… If Koo Hui-seo-ssi dies or is admitted to the hospital…it won’t be good for us either…”

     “I won’t let him die.
We still need the [Red Dragon] guild master seat.”

     “B-but… if Koo Hui-seo came here without knowing anything, and we only bleed him dry…he may harbor some negative feelings towards us…”

     “……”

     Even though I was saying such obvious things, I felt so upset that the servants looked at me with expressions that seemed to say, ‘and why should we concern ourselves with that?’ They truly didn’t treat Koo Hui-seo like another human being…

     “Tch, so you find him pitiful, huh?” It felt as if Jung Garam sympathized, but then he pretended to wipe away his tears.
“Sniffle Sniffle… We have no blood to give since we’re dead…” His tone was incredibly effective in twisting others’ words into trash.

     “That’s not what I meant…!”

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     “If you ask Koo Hui-seo for his blood, he’ll gladly give it to you.”

     “What?”

     “The reason why I felt no particular need to ask was because it was obvious I would have no need to do so,” Seo Dawon added, overly confident.
I looked doubtfully at Seo Dawon, but the mage remained unshaken.

     Eventually, I couldn’t maintain this stalemate and opened the front door.
Ignorant to my inner thoughts, Koo Hui-seo rushed in, almost kicking the door in his eagerness, and stood in front of me without stopping his stride.
“It’s been a long while…”

     I felt even more stifled at the sight of him handing over the bouquet, but… In anycase, there was no one else to pose the question if not for me.
So, I looked down at the flowers, closed my eyes, and opened my mouth.
“Excuse me… Hui-seo-ssi.”

     “Ye-es.”

     “I’m sorry, but… by any chance… Do you have any thoughts of sharing your blood with me?”

     “Ye-es.” Koo Hui-seo answered without even a second of hesitation.
I sighed and looked at him once more.
No matter how I stared, judging by his blank expression, it didn’t seem as if he properly understood my question.

     “Excuse me… Please listen to me seriously,” I said.

     “I was listening, though…”

     “…I need a lot of blood.
You might even faint.”

     “Are you planning on using it for summoning?”

     I inadvertently opened my eyes wide at the other’s words.

     Koo Hui-seo flushed shyly while looking at me… “I’m jealous.
If I were to die, it would be nice to be summoned by Lee-kyung-ssi…”

Footnotes

Garam is trying to act cute here.