Necromancer Survival

Chapter 437

"Please maintain some dignity, Garam-kun." If it weren’t for Bang Eunji clicking her tongue in disappointment, Garam might have continued his childish behavior until the bitter end. But with even his rival(?) Eunji treating him like a child, his pride seemed wounded enough to silence him, albeit with a sullen expression.

This didn't mean that the other servants stopped making their own jabs at the situation. In particular, Woo Ragi and Choi Kyung-sik–as befitting their abrasive personalities–continued to make sarcastic remarks. At least they didn't say anything to me…

"Can’t believe you’d even get hard seeing that mess."

"Are we even certain that it’s even worth having sex with him… is that guy even human…" 1

Both muttered just loud enough for Dawon to hear; their previously deferential (at least toward Seo Dawon) attitudes were now nowhere to be found.

With my face burning red, I buried myself in my bowl of porridge, pretending not to hear the peanut gallery. In the meantime, Dawon continued to attend to me without even flushing–a textbook example of ignoring ‘the noise.'

“Eunji must say, though…It’s refreshing to see the Guild Master so gentle and mild-mannered. Ah! It seems Ham-Lee-kyung has finally won his approval!” Out of the blue, Eunji chimed in, looked at her guildmaster, and said strange things. She pretended to wipe away tears that didn't even exist with a lace-lined handkerchief.

I was puzzled because I didn't quite understand what she was talking about, but the other servants kept their mouths shut. Even Dawon, who held a cup of water up to my mouth, didn't refute those words.

"What are you talking about?" It wasn’t like Dawon was suddenly becoming kinder or anything… wasn’t he just acting as he usually did?

At that time, Choi Kyung-sik, who just happened to meet my eyes, only sighed deeply and averted his eyes without replying. Olim, standing next to him, did the same.

Dawon smiled at my puzzled self and, as if joking, said lightly, "They're all jealous, I suppose."

"I… don't think that's it." Even with my lack of social awareness, I could tell that much.

I shot Dawon a skeptical look as he responded so nonchalantly, but, since everyone else seemed intent on staying silent, as if they’d tasted something especially sour, I had no choice but to let it slide. Though, I did feel uneasy.

Afterwards, Choi Kyung-sik handed me another potion after I finished my meal. At this point, just seeing one of his potions made me reflexively grimace… But, surprisingly, this time the potion tasted sweet and resembled a normal (?) matcha latte.

"Oh?" I exclaimed.

When I commented that this potion was delicious, Dawon raised his eyebrows and stared at Choi Kyung-sik.

Choi Kyung-sik, meanwhile, stood awkwardly near the wall; he stared at the blank plaster with a guilty expression. Of course, Dawon wasn’t about to let him off easily. In a chilling tone, the Mage began to interrogate him, "I guess you only feel like messing with him when I'm not around, hm?"

"…I don't know what you're talking about."

Watching their exchange, I realized that Choi Kyung-sik had likely been deliberately making the potions taste horrible. A deep sense of betrayal welled up inside me. "You're too much!"

"The sweet powder ran out a while ago, that's all." Choi Kyung-sik replied in a drawling voice. Then, he glanced at Dawon before responding in a somewhat deflated tone, "Now… there’s plenty."

‘Good grief…' I was dumbfounded, but I couldn't feel too upset–the sweet drink after the deluge of unpalatable potions felt satisfying. My mood remained elevated, and I didn't carry too much resentment.

Also, it felt a little strange to see the servants surrounding me while I leaned against the fluffy headboard, my belly full and content. While I knew I couldn't fully let my guard down yet, having everyone gathered around me somehow gave me a rare sense of peacefulness. With all the elite members of the Red Lotus surrounding me, I felt reassured.

"Now that we're all together…"

However, my line of thought was broken as soon as Olim opened her mouth. Unlike me, who was happy to reminisce, she seemed to think that this gathering was a great opportunity to run a meeting.

"Seo Dawon, I think you owe us an explanation. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

It wasn’t even a meeting; it felt more like an interrogation targeting Dawon. In response, Dawon shrugged without showing any signs of discomfort and asked back. "Are you talking about the incident with Moon Issak?"

"That's right. The magic you used at the time… That wasn't a Mage's power. But, you didn't explain it at all at that time–can you explain yourself now?" Olim didn't back down.

The other servants quietly observed the two. I was a little nervous and worried for the Mage, but… I also was curious about Dawon's shadow which had subdued me at that time.

So, I gripped Dawon's hand, which was placed gently on my stomach. Dawon glanced down at me for a moment, fell briefly silent, and spoke, "…First, there's something I should tell you."

Dawon fell silent again for a few minutes before continuing, "It’s about the ‘Tragedy Collectors’ I told you guys about."

"I remember that."

"And those two–Bae Jaemin and Lim Jisoo–they probably know about the existence of the [Tragedy Collectors] as well. They probably knew about them before…the [Tower of Command]."

I was taken aback by the unexpected revelation, but, with a little bit of logical reasoning, one could deduce that those two also were aware of this knowledge. Especially considering how they consistently interfered with [Red Lotus]'s tragedies and resurrection, it seemed reasonable to suspect that they were acting under the [Tragedy Collector]s orders or goals.

"Rather than just ‘knowing' about them, I think they're those bastards' puppets." Woo Ragi frowned–his thoughts ran similar to mine.

Dawon nodded in agreement. "That's what I think as well. Look at the way Bae Jaemin obsessively fixated on the ‘Beatrice's Prayer', which wasn’t even that useful to him in the first place…"

Olim murmured to herself, "Could Moon Issak's search for the goddess's icon also be tied to them?" 2

"…We can't be certain, but we can't ignore the possibility. After all, he's also joined forces with Lim Jisoo."

"*Whine*…" Puppy Jo Chan-young drew our attention with a peculiar whimper, but no one paid him much mind.

In anycase, if the [Tragedy Collectors] truly manipulated Bae Jaemin or Lim Jisoo to bring about the [Red Lotus]' or Seo Dawon's downfall…

"Why on earth would they cooperate with the Tragedy Collectors?" I murmured to myself, unable to understand their motives.

Bang Eunji was the one to respond to my musings. "If you look at the eventual outcome, the answer is clear."

"Huh?"

"Currently, Bae Jaemin is the guildmaster of the most famous guild in Korea. Originally, that position would have belonged to us, the [Red Lotus] and Guildmaster-nim."

"……"

"A vacated seat will always be filled by another."

But shouldn’t there be a baseline limit to how selfish someone can be, even when pursuing their own goals? Of course, by this point, expecting such moral boundaries from Bae Jaemin seemed futile…

I gave up on trying to understand the Priest and turned my gaze towards Dawon-ie. Whether he was being used by the [Tragedy Collectors] or being used for another's gain, what truly mattered now was how we would confront our enemies moving forward. Further, whether or not the power that Dawon used to subdue Moon Issak could be controlled would probably become an important factor as well.

‘However, though I couldn't fully explain or substantiate my hunch… What I felt back then told me that it's ominous…perhaps even harmful to Dawon.'

I was concerned that Dawon did not seem to feel any happiness or sense of triumph while wielding that overwhelming power.

At that moment, Dawon was filled with despair. I vividly remembered that moment–I had tried to call out to him a dozen times though I was rendered mute.

"…To be frank, when I confronted Moon Issak, I was rather over-confident." Dawon spoke calmly, but his eyes betrayed the turmoil within him. The criticism pointed towards himself within his self-deprecating tone prompted me to raise my head.

"I thought that, no matter what Moon Issak did, I would inevitably kill him that day. I even anticipated he might use his heart as a separate energy source to power the dungeon or attempt something similar. So, when events unfolded as we had predicted, I quickly assumed that there would be no more deviations from our plan. That was my mistake. Our real opponent was not Moon Issak, but Lim Jisoo, who was sent by the [Tragedy Collectors]."

"……."

"So, I was caught in their bird-cage trap… As soon as I entered, I knew…" I noticed Dawon’s cold hand gripping mine tighten slightly. It wasn’t just my hand; it felt as though my heart was being clenched as well.

The Mage continued, "I knew that the technique used in that trap… was the very same ritual used to bind my soul in the [Tower of Command]."

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TL: The translation inn this chapter was harder than usual tbh. Maybe my brain is muddled or maybe the wording was awkward.

But also, what do you think about Bae Jaemin and Lim Jisoo? Conscious cooperation or unwitting Pawn?

1. it's hard to tell, but I think Choi Kyung-sik is ripping Dawon for being perhaps not even human enough to have sex with. I’m actually unsure of this one. Even in the raw it’s a weird sentence.
2. Icon = a religious statue, picture, or relic that depicts the god's likeness.