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I stared at Kim Olim, amazed. But soon, a cold voice came from behind me and pierced through our warm embrace. “Why don’t you stop clinging to him, hm?”
It was Seo Dawon.
In one natural movement, he hugged me from behind and pulled me out of the Paladin’s arms.
She let me go, but also added pitifully, “Jealousy… You’re such an eyesore, Seo Dawon.” 1
“You’re not the only one who can’t stand still when you see someone so helpless.”
“What?” For some reason, I felt like those words were very pointed…and pointed at me. When I looked back, I could see that Seo Dawon stared back with a troubled expression. Just as I had expected–those words truly were an accusation directed at me.
The Mage didn’t stop there. He spoke in a frustrated tone, as if he were confronting a cheating lover, “Lee-kyung-ah, are you always going to be this easy?” 2
“W-What are you saying! I’m just…”
But, before I could make my excuses, Kim Olim bluntly cut through. The atmosphere began to change into something strange. “Are you trying to monopolize Choi Lee-kyung’s hugs? How ridiculous.”
“Of course–Lee-kyung-ie is mine.”
“I won’t believe in something that occurred while you steadily brainwashed Choi Lee-kyung when he was in a feeble state of mind and body.”
“How horrible of you to describe my efforts to take care of Lee-kyung-ie when he was sick while simultaneously letting him know my feelings like that, Olim-ah.”
This absurd verbal war between those two only stopped after the Golem hidden underneath the sand slowly rose and appeared.
The half-revealed [Sand Golem]’s head was tilted back; Choi Kyung-sik jumped out of the Golem’s control seat. Next to him, Jung Garam followed, rubbing his eyes with an exhausted expression.
“It’s in better condition than I expected!” As soon as Choi Kyung-sik quickly dismounted, he immediately ran and began to examine Ryu Hyerin’s body.
I flinched slightly when I saw the Priest, who I had forgotten during the Paladin and Mage’s childish bickering. In fact, this was the first time I saw the aftermath–the corpse–properly, so I felt a bit perturbed when I saw the miserable state of her body. The rigor-mortis-hardened, pale arms especially disrupted my calm.
However, Choi Kyung-sik continued to scavenge the body with an excited face. Ryu Hyerin’s upper body was raised up. Fortunately, though, the Priest had her eyes closed as if she were asleep; if I didn’t look any lower than her neck, the body felt a little less disgusting. Besides, Choi Kyung-sik had covered Ryu Hyerin’s torso, so the wounds were hidden.
Garam-ie quietly stood between me and the Alchemist before walking my way. He looked a little tired, but he soon buried his face in my chest and wrapped his arms around me.
The Mage and the Paladin, standing at my sides, almost simultaneously glared at Garam-ie. However, Garam-ie did not budge and languidly called out my name. “Choi Lee~ Kyung~….  It was so difficult to maintain that barrier.”
“Y-You did well…”
“You know how hard I tried, right?”
“Huh? Uh… Of course.”
“Then, you’ll let me sleep next to you tonight? Hm?”
I almost nodded at his words because I could clearly see the dark circles underneath Garam-ie’s eyes.
In fact, as we plotted to lure Ryu Hyerin to this location, we even had in mind a scenario in which she would flee battle, injured. We also had to think about the possibility of her calling Bae Jaemin or the other traitors over the phone.
That’s why, in case Ryu Hyerin chose to run away, we picked a desert terrain covered with sand for our battle. The overall area was quite far from the Hub’s downtown and was occupied by undeveloped areas that had not yet been built. This desert was the least visited and most remote location in this district.
As a place to lure and attack someone, this desert was the best; there were no convenient facilities nearby, and the radio connection here was spotty. The [Sand Golem] was the first thing we made from the golem ingredients we had bought last time.
The golem’s attack power was poor, but it was a great unit to explore and search in special terrains like the desert. And, above all, the price was so low that Choi Kyung-sik could be on standby, waiting within piles of sand and perched on the [Sand Golem].
Likewise, Garam’s role was incredibly important as well: the young Assassin implemented an extensive [Maze] that made Ryu Hyerin lose her sense of direction.
Actually, if I were to summon Jung Garam, this skill wouldn’t require so much effort. However, I had to summon Kim Olim, so Garam-ie had to tightly maintain his [Maze] on this vast terrain while constantly guzzling Choi Kyung-sik’s potions.
Thanks to this, we were able to continue our battle with Ryu Hyerin without encountering any vehicles or visitors that might pass through this region. In other words, this operation could have failed without Garam.
“No.”
“No.”
Nevertheless, Seo Dawon and Kim Olim turned down Garam’s request (?) quite fiercely.
Honestly, his request was directed at me! Why did they refuse for me? But, I felt that…their expressions looked so determined that I couldn’t even say a peep.
“Mm? Lee~ Kyung~ Ah~…” Of course, Jung Garam, ignoring the two’s blazing, formidable glares, clung to me.
“You gay bastards. Let’s go home. Home.” This tense atmosphere was resolved thanks to Woo Ragi, who walked a bit crookedly with an echo blade perched on his shoulder. He was lucky his interruption helped, otherwise he would have been in trouble again. Taking advantage of the Swordsman’s sudden appearance, Seo Dawon picked up Jung Garam, and the Assassin was eventually forced to unlatch himself from my side.
“W-What are you doing! Put me down! I’m going to hug Lee-kyung-ie!” Jung Garam shouted.
“You used to say that Hyung was the only one for you.”
“When did I ever say that?!”
Seo Dawon pretended to be sorrowful while keeping Jung Garam in his arms, and Garam-ie shouted that he was going to break his Hyung’s fingers. However, the Assassin was eventually calmed by the Mage’s embrace.
Woo Ragi had waited the furthest away from all of us; he was stationed at the edge of the [Maze] just in case Ryu Hyerin succeeded in getting out. Though it didn’t seem like much happened on his end, his complexion didn’t look too good.
I recalled the penalty that would intensify when the distance between [Master] and [Servant] increases–something I had learned just before this operation. However, judging by the gradual relaxing of his furrowed brows, the limitations must ease once we entered each other’s line of sight.
‘Still, I’m glad he didn’t ask me to hug him…’
After a sly glance at Woo Ragi, I checked on Choi Kyung-sik, who was busying himself by loading and transporting Ryu Hyerin(?) from one place to another. Once I confirmed the status of all servants, I held Lackey in my arms. I knew that the skeleton could walk normally now that it had recovered its body, but, when my brain recalled the sight of its broken bones, my heart hurt. My hands automatically reached out to the skeleton.
[Clack Clack!]
[Please hug me!]
Lackey must not have minded my concern either, since the skeleton clung to my neck.
Choi Kyung-sik quickly started to overturn the place where Ryu Hyerin’s body used to lie using the [Sand Golem]. It was quite strange to see blood-soaked sand being sucked into a black pit.
Time passed quickly as we began to carefully erase each trace of battle. Before we knew it, the rising sunlight began to pierce my pupils. I looked around and said to my servants, “Well… we should return.”
Kim Olim showed up with a four-wheel-drive car that could run on sand.
We boarded the car and drove down a less-traveled, long road. After traveling for some time, I relaxed; I began to doze off and hit my head on the window.
Seo Dawon immediately leaned my head towards him. “Lee-kyung-ah.”
I could hear Seo Dawon softly whispering to me, but my awareness was gradually submerging into the deep waters of unconsciousness, and I couldn’t remember what else he said.
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a bedroom illuminated by the bright rays of the midday sun. And… Garam-ie lay beside me with his eyes closed. “Jung Garam…?”
Garam-ie woke up at my call.
When I looked closer at his red eyes that had become slightly transparent in the sunlight, the Assassin’s figure gave me a bit of a hazy feeling. On one hand, Garam-ie seemed to have been asleep for a long while; on the other, he looked as if he didn’t sleep one wink.
Worried about the young Assassin’s unusual disposition, I touched his forehead unwittingly. Of course, as my hands reached his skin, I wondered to myself what on earth I was doing.
""
Jung Garam chuckled, “Pfft…What is that…Are you trying to see if I have a fever?”
“N-No… But, you… You seem to have little energy.”
“It’s because I’m hungry.” Garam-ie said, sending me a sly glance.
I hesitated for a moment before lowering my voice and asking him, “Do you perhaps…need my blood?”
In lieu of answering, the Assassin blinked his eyes. He looked hesitant.