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Chapter 286
If you run into the person you like after you’ve done something they’re sure to hate… You’re sure to act as I did.
“Ha. Ha. Ha… Since. When. Were. You. There?”
“……?”
That is to say, you’d also be unable to make eye contact or talk properly due to the piercing guilt.
It’s the perfect way to be outed as suspicious. For example, I really didn’t have to freeze, unable to breathe in the aftermath of Seo Dawon’s slow gaze across my body… Damn, I really hate that I’m like this, but I can’t really fix my character.
Seo Dawon looked at me calmly; the corners of his lips raised up. His expression clearly stated, ‘Just what is this guy scheming now?’ Honestly, even I thought I was fucking questionable.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“W-What do you mean…”
“Your expression tells me that you’re hiding something.”
Seo Dawon leaned towards me, face tilted and certain. I stuttered, at a loss for what to say. At this rate, I was sure to confess everything.
However, the person who saved me…was Woo Ragi.
“Get a room, please.” Woo Ragi cracked down on our interaction as if he could no longer bear to see any ‘homoerotic’ behavior. At this moment, I felt grateful for his disgusting personality.
Seo Dawon tore his gaze off me and looked at the Swordsman. Then, he sluggishly responded, “Since this is Lee-kyung-ie’s house, shouldn’t Ragi be the one to leave?”
“Are you out of your mind? Time and place.”
“I! Am all~ for it! However, let me in too!”
“What kind of disturbing things are you saying Jung Garam!”
Fortuitously, even Garam-ie butted into our conversation…
Seo Dawon’s interrogative atmosphere was disrupted; I sighed with relief and slipped out of the Mage’s arms. Of course, Seo Dawon immediately grabbed my wrist, so I failed to escape completely.
Seo Dawon stared down at me with an awkward smile and asked the Servants, “Did something happen to Lee-kyung-ie today?”
“Mmm…Who knows. Ah! Maybe the coffin…?”
“Coffin?”
Choi Kyung-sik muttered, as if he had just remembered something while cautiously wiping the golem’s core clean. Seo Dawon continued to press on for more detail. I hesitated, and Woo Ragi answered before I could open my mouth, “We found your staff.”
“Where?”
“It was within Geum Miyoung’s stash. She had gathered our keepsakes–the items that were perhaps too troublesome to discard.” Woo Ragi revealed his hidden sword and tilted the handle forward. A butterfly-shaped decoration was woven to the hilt with thread; the ornament was tilted slightly to the left.
As he showed his death keepsake, Woo Ragi shrugged, “I was wondering where the other side of this thing was…”
“Ahh…” Seo Dawon finally released my wrist and sighed quietly. He patted my head lightly and smiled bitterly, “You didn’t really have to tread on eggshells around me, though.”
“……” His misunderstanding was to my benefit, but my deception left a bad taste in my mouth. I took out the staff I had previously packed away and handed it to him wordlessly.
The Mage lifted the cracked staff. My heart felt uneasy as I saw him stare into the weathered and broken surface of the weapon. It was heartbreaking. And, my heart felt conflicted–my mind couldn’t decide whether or not it was okay to keep deceiving him…
“Lee-kyung-ah, will you buy me a new one?”
“A…Alright.”
“I’m glad.” Seo Dawon placed down the staff without any hesitation–as if it were some mass-produced industrial product and not some sentimental masterpiece. He then asked me to buy him a new weapon–it was obvious why he asked me for this favor.
‘…He didn’t want me to feel too melancholy.’
At that moment, I felt shaken again. I wanted to confess my deception to the Mage and instead persuade him to my cause instead.
Everyone here had their own burdens. There must be stories that couldn’t be told with these death mementos alone. However, perhaps the servants were trying to be considerate of me by staying silent. Just like how Seo Dawon asked me to buy him a new staff.
‘Therefore… It wouldn’t be good to place another burden on them.’
Seo Dawon would definitely be concerned about the implications behind my newly updated ability. To be honest, I suppose, if I were the Mage, I couldn’t help but be concerned as well. After all, my life was the most important aspect of our contract… Also, though I’m a bit embarrassed to say this myself, Seo Dawon likes me… Well, probably.
And, I’m not taking my life for granted. If possible, the correct way forward would be to increase my friendship levels with my servants and increase my dominance over them.
‘This is…a last resort option.’
Therefore, for the time being, I decided to hide this skill from everyone.
If they looked at the skill description, they’ll just think that I can summon the servants. Although, this could become troublesome if they ask for me to practice the skill.
If I were to reveal the side effects, everyone will tell me not to use the skill. However, there will be circumstances where I can’t avoid summoning more than 1 servant. Then, even if I were to willfully summon these people, they’ll feel useless guilt for stealing away my life.
This is how I can do my part.
Resolve steeled, I scratched my head and took out my cell phone. “Do you want me to buy it on Market Raid? I’m talking about…your staff.”
“Let’s take a look.” Seo Dawon sat down at the table and took my cell phone. The servants, who had finished roughly sorting the loot, began to gather around.
However, even after we scrolled down for a long while, no one reacted. Unlike his previous nonchalant attitude, the Mage concentrated hard on the screen.
“Nothing catches your eye…?” I asked, after 30 minutes of breathless, tiring window shopping.
Seo Dawon answered without raising his head, “Mm.. There is… But the price is a bit…”
“Ah, really?” How expensive is it for someone like Seo Dawon to worry? I paused momentarily before continuing forward, letting curiosity show in my voice, “You don’t have to worry about the price.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. To be honest… I wouldn’t have any money without you guys.”
His expression now bright, Seo Dawon entered [Lee Dojin] into the search bar and clicked on his [Made to Order] tab. I flinched momentarily, but, because I felt guilty for deceiving him and because I wanted to buy him some excellent equipment, I kept silent
The Mage sorted the available designs by price and pressed on the coolest-looking one. Then, without any hesitation, he continued to add more and more paid extras to the staff.
I slipped my gaze away–I’m sure the ordered staff would cost an astronomical amount. Not looking at the price would probably be better for my mental health.
However, the problem wasn’t solely Seo Dawon. The observing servants piped in with their own two cents.
“My dagger is also… it’s almost corroded.”
“There’s a small crack on the bottom of my shield…but you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Usually one replaces the flight stones of a echo blade on an annual cycle, but it’s already been three years…”
“Lee-kyung-ssi. There’s a 30% discount coupon targeted at Alchemists. 30% discounts on Golem Nucleuses aren’t so common…”
I looked at every servant, one by one; they all had such tearful, pleading faces. Ah, come on… Isn’t making that kind of expression cheating?
“O-Of course… I’ll buy them. For you guys too…” Eventually, I readily(?) opened my wallet.
Seo Dawon, who continued to add extra add-ons with no end in sight, raised his head when he received the notification [No more extras can be added.]. From my brief glance at his face, I could see a slight rosy red blush on his face; for the first time, I thought he looked his age. ‘So cute…’
“Thanks, Lee-kyung-ah.” He approached me, as if he had read my thoughts, and hugged me tightly.
It was my first time seeing Seo Dawon act like this, so, drunk on the atmosphere, I began talking nonsense. “It’s nothing… haha! Isn’t there anything else you want to buy?
“Mm, a cape? After all, Mages…look cooler when casting magic when they’re wearing a cape.”
“T-That’s right… Very important.” Though inwardly I didn’t think this was right, I kept nodding. I couldn’t help myself.
* * *
–Hello! This is the ‘Market Man.’ Are you home? There are delivery items that need to be signed by the order recipient… Let’s see… There’s about 130 items! Wow–you’ve ordered so much.
“…Yes, I’m at home. What time will you be coming?”
–I think I’ll arrive in an hour. The delivery car is almost filled up completely with Choi Lee-kyung-ssi’s items. Ahahaha. You must have just moved in?
“Yes…well. Haha…ha.”
As Market Raid boasts a fast delivery rate, the delivery day from hell started a day after our order was placed.
Aside from the [made-to-order] times, the Servant bastards kept asking to buy them more stuff, saying they needed this and that. Later on, they didn’t even ask for my permission and continued to add things into the car…eventually, it all turned out this way:
I recalled the utterly sweet, cute, affectionate, and lovable Mage from yesterday.
‘I honestly super liked it…’
As a result of being drunk off the atmosphere, without really being able to relish the loot we retrieved from Geum Miyoung’s stash, we used it to buy new equipment. The money that was left in my bank account was nearly empty as well.