Necromancer Survival

Chapter 240

“Since back then and until now, Seo Dawon has been a leader who, if nothing else, has never spouted bullshit nor led me wrong…”

“……”

“Therefore, I can respect that he’ll deal with his personal life on his own. I’m not bothered by that.”

I couldn’t see Woo Ragi’s expression, but I could hear the swordsman’s trust through his voice. He didn’t even ask me for my opinion as he confessed all this to me. Woo Ragi probably had little interest in whether I’d praise or curse the Mage.

I was surprised by his attitude. After all, I had always thought that Woo Ragi was someone who’d sneer at blind loyalty.

After being speechless for a brief moment, I said, in a subdued tone, “How…unexpected. I just thought you and Seo Dawon… I don’t know if these are the right words, but…”

“……”

“I thought you guys were equals in your friendship. That isn’t to say that you’re Seo Dawon’s subordinate or anything…”

“Ah.” Woo Ragi seemed to hem and haw over his words before fixing his grip on me and continuing to walk. Contrary to my expectations, he didn’t seem too upset with my comments. Soon, he answered without much malice, “I think I’ve heard that before…”

“……”

“Ryu Hyerin said the same thing.”

“What?” It felt like I was hit in the back of the head by something blunt.

However, Woo Ragi didn’t stop there and continued to be harsh, “She didn’t have any friends either… I guess your loneliness was similar to hers?’

“W-What are you saying…!”

“One thing is different though–she tried to test people.” He sounded deeply disillusioned then. While I blinked, Woo Ragi continued to drop one bombshell after the other, “Did you know?”

“What…?”

“Bae Jaemin and Ryu Hyerin had been seeing each other since before the [Tower of Command].”

“W…What?! No way… Ryu Hyerin was two-timing them?!” ¹

“And, Seo Dawon probably knew about it? He’s more perceptive than me.”

“……”

My head was spinning–it felt like it was set ablaze. Woo Ragi, seeing my dumbfounded expression, unsuccessfully tried to hold back his snickers.

Honestly, how could he laugh in this situation? Because of his reaction, I wondered if Woo Ragi was simply lying just to make fun of me. However, when I opened my mouth to argue, he blocked my mouth with one hand and shushed me. Then, he whispered softly, “Be quiet… you’re too noisy.”

“Mmmph…!”

“You’re not forgetting that we’re passing by monsters right now, right?”

“……”

It felt frustrating to be suffocated and treated as a loud individual, but the thought of the gargoyle statues froze my lips. I was definitely curious to learn more, but I didn’t want to be chased by monsters because I had asked a question.

I bit my lip and nodded softly to show I understood. Woo Ragi noticed my cooperative attitude and quickly took his hands off my mouth. He then lowered his voice to a whisper and continued, “I never liked whoever Seo Dawon dated. They kept pestering me as well…”

I stared at the origin of voice with an expression laden with deep disbelief. It was unlikely that Woo Ragi would have been kind to any of the Mage’s past girlfriends. Even subtle, appreciative glances would need some sort of encouragement…who would flirt with a rude person like him?

However, Woo Ragi pressed his finger into my forehead when he saw my distrust. My teeth clenched, and I shook my head at his immediate chastise.

In a derisive tone, he answered, “I’m telling the truth, alright? Besides, it wasn’t just me. They were good at making messes and being *indiscreet* with others around me.”

“…….”

“Kim Olim suffered a lot too. Honestly, I thought that all of Seo Dawon’s lovers were talented novelists.” ²

“……”

“Isn’t it strange?”

From Woo Ragi’s tone, I could feel that he had genuinely suffered due to Seo Dawon’s past lovers.

As I listened to him blankly, my mind began to draw imaginary scenes. I could imagine how the servants struggled as these ex-lovers did unnecessary things to attract the Mage’s attention.

I also didn’t like that those women had said things to Kim Olim… However, though I hated to admit it, I could sympathize with their feelings. My lips instinctively twitched.

Woo Ragi read into my minute body movements, “Seo Dawon? You want to know what Seo Dawon was like?”

“……”

“He was a little different from what you’d expect, probably.” And, with such a meaningful remark, Woo Ragi ignored me and just continued walking.

I thought Woo Ragi was trying to ridicule me, so I tried to say something. But, as soon as I moved, I felt his fingers press down on my lips. I realized that we might be walking through a dangerous section and had no choice but to wait quietly.

However, while I waited, complicated thoughts burrowed into my brain. What on earth did Woo Ragi think I assumed? I…

[Grrrrrrrrngh…..]

However, before I could fall deeper into my thoughts, an ominous sound came from above our heads. That sound was accompanied by the sound of pebbles rolling and clattering. I instinctively grabbed the swordsman’s arms.

“Honestly…” Woo Ragi cursed and gripped my hands tightly. At the same time, I heard something heavy hitting the ground beside us.

Crash–!

“Argh!” Though I shouted in fear and astonishment, Woo Ragi was unfazed.

However, he mumbled to himself in a frustrated tone, “Why’d they wake up? Was there some kind of condition?”

“W-What happened?”

“Do you think I would know? Isn’t it your fault?”

“What? What did I do….?!”

“Because, I perfectly stealthed myself.”

“Even so, what does that have to do with me…Don’t Laugh! You were the only one chatting away up until a moment ago.”

“Shut up.” Woo Ragi grumbled and hugged me tight enough to steal my breath; he quickly dodged to the left. He moved so fast that a whirling wind swept past my ears.

However, perhaps the monster following us was larger than I imagined. The swordsman quickly changed direction and ran at a tremendous speed; he couldn’t easily shake the monster off his trail, though. He released his frustrations on me, “Haah. I can’t even set this thing down somewhere…”

”D-Don’t put me down!”

“You’re fucking heavy.”

“……” I wanted to refute those last words, but I reigned in my retort. After all, it couldn’t be easy to run around with an adult man on his back.

Instead, I clung close to the swordsman’s body because I was worried he’d throw me onto the ground. I didn’t forget to grab Woo Ragi’s collar as hard as I could. As soon as I did so, he snorted as if he couldn’t believe me, but, fortunately, he didn’t shake my hand away.

“[Unsheathe].” And, like that, he called out a skill. Of course, I had no idea how that skill manifested. I was still bathed in darkness; I couldn’t even distinguish a single ray of light.

However, as soon as he activated his skill, I felt an ice-cold energy, amorphous energy above our heads. It felt like we were hiding behind a pillar of ice?

In addition, it felt like Woo Ragi’s upper body became rigid. His arm–the one that wasn’t holding me–reached back.

Soon, I could hear loud noises in the distance–like fireworks going off. The swordsman sighed in irritation, as if he couldn’t hit his targets.

Well, I didn’t think much more about that…My thoughts were interrupted by what the swordsman said afterwards, “Hey, wrap your legs around my waist.”

“What?”

“It’s cumbersome to have you dangling. I need to run fast.”

I looked at Woo Ragi’s face–or where I assumed his face was–with a blood-drained complexion, but he was already tapping my legs with his knee. It was as if he was telling me to hang onto him with my own strength.

I loathed doing so, but I had no choice and inevitably squeezed my thighs around the swordsman as hard as I could. Though, I tried not to think about anything else…

However, Woo Ragi’s clothes proved to be a problem. What were they made out of? They were so slippery that I had to fix my position several times when I slipped down to the swordsman’s waist. I felt strangely embarrassed, and my mouth felt dry.

However, Woo Ragi, this psycho, didn’t lend a hand and instead began to make sarcastic remarks. “I told you to wrap your legs around me, not rub them all over my body…”

I couldn’t endure anymore, so I shot back, “Then why don’t you cooperate and lend a hand…”

“Are you happy molesting me with that kind of excuse?”

“I’m not molesting you…! I also hate this! I don’t like you either! Your clothes are slippery–what am I supposed to do?!”

However, my protests were futile in the face of his homophobia, “Homos like to rub against guys like this, don’t they?”

“I have eyes too, you know.”

“You’re blind right now.”

“Argh, honestly!”

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TL: It’s interesting to see the underlying mechanics of Woo Ragi and Dawon’s professional dynamic. I was honestly just as surprised as Lee-kyung to see that Dawon and Ragi weren’t equals. In a sense, I can see why Woo Ragi comments that he’s not used to leading or figuring out scenarios…and can’t find out what triggered the monster’s awakening. (Lmao Lee-kyung, you’re not alone? Or Maybe, considering the swordsman’s advantages, you’re not so bad after all?). That seems to have been Dawon’s job. This reminds me of how Dawon called Garam a genius; Garam leveled incredibly fast–all on his own. Similarly, Dawon trusted Garam to go off, during the Tower of Command scenario, to try and find hints. Perhaps the ability to see through dungeons is what separates the normal Users from the extraordinary.

Also… Why are Ragi and Lee-kyung’s interactions like a sitcom lmao. Like, I want to duct-tape the homophobia out of his mouth, but… The way they interact is somewhat funny.