Necromancer Survival

Chapter 77

In order to save Kim Sangyoon, I asked him to buy some coffee sold on the first floor.

After ignoring his protests that room service would suffice, I sent him on his way. I shook my head at Jung Garam, who was still laughing like crazy, begging him to stop laughing. Of course, no seeds of restraint took root…

“Haah…Kim Sangyoon is extremely funny…” After a while, Jung Garam stretched out on the couch and continued to giggle.

“Sangyoon’s quite cute.” Seo Dawon said, chillingly.

Is that the expression one makes when calling someone cute…?

“I-I don’t think…your personality is that bad…” I tried to gently flatter Seo Dawon–to soothe his ruffled feelings

However, Seo Dawon tilted his head, implying that my words hurt more than they helped. “Not that bad…Is that all? After I was so warm to Lee-kyung-ie?”

“I-I didn’t mean…Your personality is good…Yeah.”

“You wound me…” Seo Dawon stared at me with an expression that betrayed his desire to be mean rather than hurt. He then suddenly stretched my cheeks with both hands, as if he were pinching a child’s cheek.

Of course, once I snapped back to my senses I wanted to immediately remove myself from this humiliating position.

Seo Dawon muttered to himself, “What should I do to soothe this broken heart…”

“Let go…”

“Should we rain punishment and rewards down on Kim Sangyoon until I feel better?”

“……”

“Of course, the one who wounded me was Lee-kyung-ie…But I’m just a lowly servant; how could I dare turn on my master.”

Geez

In the end, I allowed him to knead my cheeks like he was squeezing some slime.

I didn’t want to turn Kim Sangyoon into a dog using the reward/punishment system…If I could relieve his mood by suffering through some pinches and squeezes, then I’d willingly make that sacrifice–though it would be less embarrassing if we could avoid Jung Garam’s stinging gaze. He looked as if he saw an infectious disease carrier…

“As for drawing out Moon Issak, leave it to me.” After playing with me for so long, Seo Dawon must have soothed his aggrieved feelings; he let go of my inflamed cheeks.

I looked towards Seo Dawon–my palms on either side of my face to cool down the heat from my cheeks. “W-what are you going to do?”

“Moon Issak and I have a few things in common. Including. My. Fussy. And. Arrogant. Personality….” He spoke in an emphatic voice. He grinned, “I bet you’re so curious you can’t stand it.”

* * *

The next evening, we gathered together before leaving the room.

The most neatly dressed person in the party was Kim Sangyoon, who wore a clean navy suit without all the burdensome gold accessories he usually wore.

At first glance, he seemed to be a completely different person–he had even let loose his red hair which was usually styled in an updo. Moon Issak was rumoured to hate people that looked like punks or gangsters, so he made an effort to appeal to the man.

“Sangyoon-ssi, you look good in a suit.” I lobbed a simple compliment at his modest style to relieve his tension; the warrior had been fiddling with his collar–tight as a leash–obviously bothered by the unfamiliar outfit.

“Y-yes…” Kim Sangyoon’s face became red at my compliment. He responded with a brown-nosing voice and, fortunately, stood still with his hands now calmly at his sides.

“I’ve already sent the invitation. All he has to do is to stop himself from speaking uselessly.” Jung Garam said curtly and gently pushed the black invitation on the desk with his hand.

I quickly grabbed it and turned to Kim Sangyoon. “This is the invitation. And…It would be best if you spoke as little as possible in front of Moon Issak.”

“Yes!”

The invitation’s true identity was a bait to lure Moon Issak…It contained Jung Garam’s VIP pass to the Black Market–obtained as a reward from achieving the “Matara’s Assassin” title.

<The ‘Matara’s assassin’ title grants you priority on all assassination related contracts. Additionally, you can use the [Black Market]’s VIP ticket at any time.>

Ever since I signed the contract with Jung Garam, I was a bit curious about the [Black Market]–it sounded so impressive…Strangely enough, Jung Garam dismissed it with nothing more than feeble explanation: “It’s just a place to sell things that are a bit questionable to sell elsewhere.”

Seeing my still wondrous expression, he reluctantly continued, “Like…a dragon egg, for example.”

“Whoa…So you could raise a dragon?”

“Am I a tamer?”

“N-no…It’s just…you said they were on sale…”

“That’s why I said it was a place that sold questionable goods at an expensive price to half-wits like you.”

As I stared at him, speechless, Seo Dawon, who was listening at my side, kindly paraphrased. “Black Market merchants sell defective goods or items they can’t guarantee to buyers because they can’t identify it themselves…It’s hard to get a proper product from the [Black Market] unless you know the exact name and have a good eye for appraisal.”

Jung Garam immediately added, “You. Do you know the difference between a La Quézac and a La Quésec?”

“….Rather than…knowing the difference…it’s the first time I’ve heard of them…”

“Hmm, then do you know where Tegak’s horns are from?”

“….No.”

When I couldn’t answer correctly, he shrugged his shoulders, as if he expected me to fail–how annoying…

However, I’ve gauged the vibe of the [Black Market], so I ceased any further questions and returned to the current business at hand. “By the way, is Moon Issak interested in something like that?”

“Since long ago, a rumor had been circulating about Moon Issak searching for an item at the market.”

However, it was impossible to gain access to the [Black Market] without evil-attribute affiliated quests or titles. Users that weren’t so wicked-minded must receive their tickets through acquaintances.

Because Moon Issak was a Holy Knight, one of the pinnacle classes of the holy attribute, he could never acquire any evil tendencies or walk that path.

Seo Dawon said, not caring to hide his disdain, “However, no evil-attribute User would care to give Moon Issak an invitation.”

“Um……Why?”

“Moon Issak won’t even rub shoulders with evil-attribute Users. He was relentless to them even in dungeons; he was often seen killing or crippling evil-attribute Users under the pretext of legal authority.”

I know he’s said to hate gangsters and bullies…This was more bombastic than just upturning your nose and wrinkling your forehead at them?

Jung Garam gritted his teeth. “All those holy attribute bastards must have sent a part of their brain to their beloved god…They’re so hypocritical–I can’t even communicate with them at all.” He continued without lowering his voice, “Ha. Before Bae Jaemin did me in, he was the one that I wanted to kill the most…” He muttered mournfully.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose once again.

Considering Jung Garam’s role as an assassin and his personality, it’s amazing that Moon Issak was still alive…As expected, he’s a tough opponent.

“T-then this Moon Issak person…How violent is he? He’s a part of the [Korean Dungeon Association]–a police-like organization…Can he act like that?” (Oh bb, police brutality…) I asked Seo Dawon, a bit scared now.

He pondered my question thoughtfully before answering, “Think about it this way: Let’s say someone smoked in a non-smoking area. Usually, that person would just pay a fine. Most wouldn’t take a knife and stab that person’s lung claiming that the smoke rotted it.”

“Hnngh….H-he’s allowed to do that?”

“The harshest penalty he’d receive was a 7-day suspension. Actually, he’d rarely receive the full 7 days as well.”

He explained further that the [Korean Dungeon Association] was not a storied institution with a long history. Due to its youth, there were still many holes in User related laws, and there were little to no regulations for law enforcement for interpreting their role and the law so excessively.

Furthermore, few protested against Moon Issak’s methods because he tended to direct his excessive violence against evil-attribute Users…

In addition, most evil-attribute Users tend to be individualistic–their unwillingness to meddle in other’s affairs when Moon Issak psychotically targeted them exacerbated the problem.

“I told you that bastard’s a real loser?” Jung Garam said. “He’s someone that converted within the hub; that bastard serves a god called ‘Atania.'”

Most Users think of Hubs and Dungeons as high-risk virtual reality games…When I heard that Moon Issak had actually converted according to the hub’s lore, I felt dizzy–my mind went blank.

Is he one of those…overly immersed otakus? ¹

“What he’s searching for at the black market is a [religious idol of Atania].” Jung Garam said to my shocked, uncomprehending body.

“What’s that?”

“I guess it’s a holy relic within their religion? I’ve never seen it before either.”

“It’s not sold in the Black Market?”

“Only devotees with appropriate holy power would be able to know if it’s real or fake, after all.”

The plan to invite Moon Issak to dinner using the Black Market ticket was as follows:

Using the hospital staff, we made a reservation at the [Tea Banquet]. The reservation was set for three with Kim Sangyoon, Moon Issak, and Bae Jaemin in mind. I sent someone else to deliver a message to Moon Issak, telling him that he would receive a ticket to the [Black Market] if he were to attend the dinner appointment.

“Kim Sangyoon holds an important role here…Bae Jaemin must think that Kim Sangyoon is part of Moon Issak’s team, and Moon Issak must think that Kim Sangyoon is part of Bae Jaemin’s team. He must not be caught red-handed as a third party.”

Jung Garam’s role was to assist that most delicate balance. Additionally, he served as extra eyes to watch the Warrior for any unexpected actions.

They needed to buy time by dragging out the conversation for as long as possible–allowing Seo Dawon and I to find Koo Hui-seo.

TL: I bet MC’s cheeks are pretty squishy~