Necromancer Survival

Chapter 61

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     My skeleton looked at me with upturned eye sockets, as if to say ‘Don’t be upset, I’m here!’ With deep affection in my heart, I patted its smooth skull; Lackey quickly became elated and settled into my arms.

     After minutes of giving it lots of love, I raised my head and realized that Seo Dawon had been staring at us for a while.
He pointed at Lackey rubbing its forehead into my palm and said something ridiculous, “Hey.
Do you think it has separation anxiety?”

     “Huh? Who…Lackey?”

     “Look behind the sofa?”

     Confused, I wandered to the location Seo Dawon indicated with Lackey still dangling from my arms…

     Oh my god.

     There lay a cushion with its cotton insides torn away and pieces of ripped tissues.
I saw Lackey stick out from behind the sofa when I returned home, so there was no doubt that it was the culprit of this mess.

     You rascal! What’s wrong with you these days?

     “Lackey! Why did you do this?” I said, frustrated.

     However, the skeleton didn’t seem to properly understand my words.
It only inferred from how my tone raised that I was scolding it; Lackey shrunk in on itself and peered up, pleading ignorance.

     What’s wrong with it nowadays, anyway? When the two of us lived together alone…nothing happened when I left it home alone for a short while?

     I looked at Dawon, suspecting him of harassing the other servant once again, but I could glean nothing from his expression.
Rather, his perplexed face also informed me that he too was wondering if there was something wrong with my skeleton.

    “Lackey, status window!” I opened the system to check Lackey’s current mood.

 

          ╔═════ ∘◦ ✾ ◦∘ ══════╗

Current Mood: Master’s palm was injured…I can’t see him…The smell of blood…He left! Why?… I don’t want to be left alone……Am I still so useless? 

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          ╚═════ ∘◦ ❈ ◦∘ ══════╝

 

     As soon as I read Lackey’s mood, I could make an educated guess at why the poor skeleton has been fussing and acting out.

     Come to think of it, I’ve never explained anything to it.
From its perspective, its master purposefully cut his own hand.
When it rushed to stop me from hurting myself, I disappeared from its grasp–how confused and despairing this situation must be for Lackey…

     Besides, just now…

     I thought Lackey was just trying to beg for affection by stroking its forehead into my palm…But, after reading its [current mood], I wondered if Lackey was looking for the wound on my palm–checking for breaks in the skin or any other irregularities.
Though it had little desire to shake off my arms hugging its body, it still was curious to find traces of my injury…thus it used its forehead…

     Haa…

     In the end, it seems like I was the cause of Lackey’s anxiety.

     Though I knew logically that Lackey was at a different level of intelligence compared to Seo Dawon and Jung Garam, I often forgot that fact on a daily basis.
Since I understood the skeleton’s feelings, I decided to let its tantrum slide without further explanation.
“Lackey-ah.
I’m not hurt anymore…It’s alright.”

     On one hand, I felt extremely sorry, on the other I was so touched that I could barely say anything else and just hugged it tightly.
Lackey couldn’t understand my overflowing gratitude and simply tilted its head with a [Clack clack?]

      I put Lackey on the floor while I removed the de-cottoned cushion and the tissues.
Haa…I have tears in my eyes, seriously.

     “Why are you suddenly tearing up?”

      I had no explanation for Seo Dawon’s absurd question, so I just simply shook my head.

      But Seo Dawon crawled with me and started to pick up the garbage together, “Did you find out what’s wrong with Lackey? Can you even converse with it?” He asked, persistently.

      “No, it’s nothing like that…It’s just…I got the rough gist of why it’s been so upset…”

     “So, what’s the reason? It even tried to attack me; I almost smacked it away.”

     “Don’t hit it! Do you want to die?”

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     “???”

     There’s no reason to smack such a small baby…

     Although, from Seo Dawon’s point of view, maybe there was a reason for his strange hostility with the skeleton.
Since he can’t read Lackey’s [current mood] as I can, he has no way of understanding its feelings; instead, he must feel as if he’s living with a rabid dog that’s gotten free of his muzzle.

     In addition, ever since Seo Dawon approached me, Lackey began to growl at him.
Even before we manage to kill Bae Jaemin, our team might be embroiled in an internal feud.

     So, I swallowed a sigh, leaned closer to Seo Dawon, and whispered into his ears.
“You’re…smarter than it is, so be the bigger man.”

     I thought Lackey should really have been shaped more like a puppy–it sure acts like one.
For a skeleton of a human child, it’s a bit lacking in the mental faculties.
Though for a dog, it would be considered a genius.

     When Seo Dawon heard this, he bowed his head with a mysterious yet pleased expression.
He whispered back in kind, “Is that so? But why are you whispering that in my ears?”

     “If Lackey hears this, it might feel bad.”

     However, Seo Dawon started laughing openly, throwing the ruined cushions in the garbage bins.

     What’s so funny about this?

     I tried to quiet Seo Dawon, but my eyes met Jung Garam’s, who looked as if he had seen something utterly strange.
“You…you don’t know?” The Treasure Hunter asked.

     “Yes….? Know what?”

      “You might think you’ve been whispering…But to my ears, I’ve heard everything clearly.
Maybe it’s because we’ve signed a contract with you?”

“What?” At first, I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but gradually, as my mind caught up, I could no longer keep my mouth shut.
When I was trying to keep quiet, they could hear it all?

      Was he implying that my servants could also hear me mumbling to myself? “B-but…Seo Dawon! You knew everything?!”

      “About what?”

     “A-all of my mumbling…Have you been listening to everything?”I didn’t know if I could believe what Jung Garam said, so I asked my first contractee, Seo Dawon…To my dismay, he nodded nonchalantly! “I could even hear Lee-kyung-ie’s quiet sleep talk.”

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     “Y-you’re crazy…! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

     “I didn’t want to make you feel too self-conscious.” He shrugged his shoulders.

     I didn’t appreciate Seo Dawon’s ‘consideration’ one bit! Why didn’t he tell me anything and instead listen in like some pervert?! Is he crazy?!

     Despite my shocked expression, Jung Garam did not stop expressing his acerbic opinions.
“By the way, you have a lot to say–moaning and groaning under your breath all the time.” 1

     “Y-you…”

     “It’s because Lee-kyung-ie doesn’t have many friends.
He doesn’t have much experience talking to many people…” Seo Dawon teased.

     “Wow…A honmono?” Jung Garam whistled.
2

     Bastard.

     What would you know, Seo Dawon? I swallowed curses and hid my fierce gaze with a sweet exterior, staring intensely at the Mage who excitedly teased me.

     Then, in a trembling voice, I asked them, “Wha…What else?! Tell me quickly.
What else changed after signing a contract with me…!”

     However, Jung Garam was the one who answered, bringing the conversation back to a topic I desperately wanted to avoid.
“Hey, I’m curious about one thing…Do I really look so cute to you?”

” ”

     Ack!!!

     When I saw Jung Garam’s wicked smile, my face blushed bright red, and I eventually escaped to the bathroom.

     Stupid! Stupid!

     Did I say all that out loud?

     No, that’s not the most important part–did he hear everything?!

     “You’re too much! You’ve never once told me that I’m cute.” Seo Dawon called out.

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     “Ara? After seeing hyung, Choi Lee-kyung didn’t say anything?” Jung Garam replied.

     “Of course…He’s muttered a few times that I’m handsome.”

     “Oh? Hey, Choi Lee-kyung! I have another question.
Who’s cuter, me or Dawon hyung?”

     Fuck, fuck, fuck….

     Did I say all those things to myself? I’ve been a bit lonely after arriving at the Hub…After being alone with Lackey all day, I’ve developed the habit of talking to myself.

     Ah…I want to die…But if I die, those idiots will probably giggle at me, asking if I’m a newcomer to the spirit world.

     Damn!

[Clack Clack!]

     Lackey, unaware of my embarrassment, started knocking on the bathroom door, asking to enter.
Even though I begged inwardly for it to just leave, the knocks started banging harder.
It seemed, from the inside, that the door would crash through.

     Inevitably, I was forced to open the door…Not only Lackey but Seo Dawon and Jung Garam all stood in front of the door.

     “You did well, Lackey.” Seo Dawon’s detestable voice was encouraging the skeleton from behind.

     I lowered my head and mumbled, “Please, just go away…”

     But none of these three so-called servants obeyed my orders.

 

 

TL: Ngl, I’d die if I was MC and I knew these two have been listening to me calling them handsome and cute.

Footnotes

꿍얼꿍얼 gives the connotation of complaining but only so that you can hear it.
Sort of like a useless and vain complaint.
I felt that moaning and groaning was similar enough nuance.
A 혼모노, honmono, is a slang term that means an otaku that other otakus avoid.
Ex.
a super-fan that would sing anime OSTs in the cinema or bother non-fans with their interests.