Necromancer Survival

It was Seo Dawon.

“Huh…?”

Actually, I was only surprised that Dawon had held me from behind; his touch didn’t feel strange at all. Nevertheless, what had surprised me was the warmth permeating from Dawon’s hands… different from his usual chill.

I widened my eyes and held onto his hand. It was completely different from when I summoned him or when I touched his spiritual apparition. It felt as if I were touching a living person.

“Is it warm?” Seo Dawon smiled at my reaction and entrusted his hand to me. I swear I wasn’t the type to create such a fuss over something so trivial, but… But honestly, Dawon’s soft and warm touch felt so nice.

Still, I didn’t want to seem so obvious, worried that I’d incur more teasing; I slowly relaxed my grip, “No… I’m just fascinated.”

“And, because you’re just a soul, your left hand is fine.”

“Huh? That’s right…” I looked up at the Mage. ‘He’s really concerned about my left hand…’

I didn’t want him to feel guilt or other such negative emotions, even though that may be inevitable. So, I sneaked glances at the Mage as he held my hand.

Though I felt excited and happy watching Seo Dawon, I felt strangely anxious as well. Perhaps I’d feel less tense if he reacted angrily, as Olim had.

‘Besides… Seo Dawon… It’s been a while since I lost trust in him.’

Disregarding the fact that I liked him a lot, he sometimes behaved recklessly or acted behind my back, so I held his hand tightly as I looked him straight in the face, “You know… You shouldn’t act willfully–without my permission, right?”

“So suddenly?”

“I was worried you’d go crazy and leave for somewhere because of my left hand.”

“Hmmm… Well. Don’t tell me, you want to spare Moon Issak’s life?”

As soon as Seo Dawon said that, the servants suddenly stopped moving. Even Woo Ragi and Jung Garam, who were in the middle of a spar, stopped and looked at me.

Flustered by the changed atmosphere, I sputtered, “No, it’s not that, but… I meant… Don’t overdo it. Our goal is, first and foremost, resurrection.”

“……”

Even Olim-ie, who would have said her two cents at other times, became expressionless and remained silent. I was incredibly surprised. Honestly, were they focused on killing Moon Issak even if it were to delay their resurrection?

Fortunately, although it was a bit belated, Woo Ragi opened his mouth, “Of course, we can take care of him after resurrection.”

Rejoicing, I responded, “Right?! Anyway… Even if you leave him be, he won’t be able to lead a normal life from now on.”

“I’m not sure how long the counter skill will last though,” Choi Kyung-sik finally chimed in.

I glanced at him before refuting, “Even if Moon Issak recovers, you’ll win that battle after being resurrected. Rather than trying to get rid of him when you’re unstable…”

However, this time, Seo Dawon pulled on my arm gently and said, “To be concerned about Moon Issak to this extent… I don’t think you’re doubting my ability, but I’m a bit angry, Lee-kyung-ah.”

“Uh? Th-That’s not what I meant…”

“I’m just letting him go for now because I can’t think of a satisfactory way to kill him or spare him.” Dawon-ie smiled as he usually did.

I was a little bewildered by that smile. The candid emotions I had seen from him and started to grasp as we became more intimate seemed elusive. What kind of emotions was he hiding behind his calm and composed demeanor? “I…”

“Hmm. It seems as if Ham-Lee-kyung-ssi sees us as disobedient elementary students…”

“What?”

At that time, Eunji, who had been sitting quietly reading a book called [The Princess’s Costume] or something like that, murmured–her pink eyes peeping over the top of the book. Then, completely ignoring my reaction, she gave Seo Dawon an idea. “Guild-master-nim. I am against killing Moon Issak-ssi. Instead, I’d like to cut the tendons on his hands and feet, clean him thoroughly, shave off all his hair, and place a cute wig on his head. Of course, dolls don’t have genitals, so we’ll remove those obscene things; since it’ll be hard to take off his nails, it’d be better to take them all out in advance and suture the skin. Then, touch up all of his unattractive parts, and then keep him like that.”

My mouth fell open when I heard the cruel words she uttered in one single breath.

However, perhaps he was interested, Seo Dawon listened to her with shining eyes.

Empowered by his silent encouragement, Eunji perfectly wrapped up her response, “I especially don’t like those rotten, frozen pollack-like eyes. I have a doll’s eye that I really like; we can replace his with ones that have a pretty color.”

“Oh? That sounds good. But, wouldn’t Eunji find it tiresome to take care of that for a long while?”

“Not at all! Eunji has always wanted a doll like that. However, due to Eunji’s high social status during her lifetime, Eunji had to give up this fantasy.”

My mouth became even wider as I listened to Eunji. Unlike my shocked self, Seo Dawon continued to have a pleasant conversation with this dangerously imaginative girl with Peter-pan syndrome.

“Well, since we’re already dead, it wouldn’t be so bad to take advantage of our situation.”

“Right?! And Eunji currently likes pink eyes. Color lenses are a bit… How should I put it? They feel fake… But right now, Eunji’s eyes are actually pink!”

“It suits you. You’ve always liked pink.”

“Ye~es! As expected, you remembered…!”

My head hurt when I saw her staring at the Mage with floating hearts in her eyes.

I looked at Kim Olim, hoping she’d stop them. Fortunately, she frowned as if she found the content of their conversation strange…

“What do you think about segmenting his joints? If he’s going to become an ornament anyway, then you might as well make everything non-functional. Also, removing only his tendons might create an increased risk of escape. Even if he has Priest skills, it’ll be difficult for him to restore wounds that have already been sutured and healed over…”

She said something even more terrible.

I was shocked that even the trusted Kim Olim was actively involving herself in the [Moon Issak doll-making] project.

“What are you talking about?” I shouted.

Choi Kyungsik ignored my pale expression and lightly commented, “Hmm… In that condition, he wouldn’t be able to last one year. Even with preservatives. However, if we dry it well, it could potentially be sold to a collector as a part of their valuable collection. Let’s try making a long-lasting preservative.”

After listening to Choi Kyung-sik, Jung Garam pouted, dissatisfied, “I’ll buy it. In anycase, there’s a use for him somewhere. Hmm… Like a sparring mannequin.”

“Or how about putting him on the black market? It’d be an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime auction. Don’t Users involved in something like this like rare and interesting things?”

“You can’t sell something like that!” I shouted.

However, the servants didn’t respond. Even Woo Ragi didn’t seem to think of the conversation as something wild or strange. So, I glanced at him as my last chance for help.

Woo Ragi read my expression quickly and smiled as if he understood me. “Hey. You know you’ll be hit if you disagree at this point?”

“But…”

“Also, I’ve always hated perverted people like Moon Issak, alright? It might be a little awkward for Eunji to remove dicks, so I’ll cut them off neatly.”

He really thought about his own role in this plan, didn’t he? Only then did I realize that their discussion was simply them notifying me of their plan.

Seo Dawon hugged me and my gaping mouth from behind and whispered into my ear, “Lackey has something to say.”

“What?” Listening to the Mage, I looked down at the skeleton hugging my knee. Its head was lifted high, as if it had been staring at me for quite some time. Its pupils narrowed.

[Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack–!!]

[I want to eat what’s left–!!]

“Eat? What do you mean you want to eat?!” Could Seo Dawon have influenced Lackey in my absence? I lifted the skeleton, held it close, and glared at the Mage.

Then, when I was about to blurt something out–

Knock Knock–

I heard a light knocking sound. The door opened.

“Lee-kyung-ssi…” Koo Hui-seo peered out from behind the door.

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TL: My proofreaders are as bloodthirsty as the servants this episode.