Chapter 162

Chapter 162

Spendthrift Necromancer (162)

“Mom.”

“Oh my, my baby. Why are you so thin? I heard you've been really busy lately. Are you feeling better now?”

“……

Yeah. You've been doing well too, right?”

“Of course. I've been well. Thinking about my Sia.”

Kim Haeun answered with a smile.

Her mother, smiling at her just as she always had.

Nothing had changed.

Seeing that, Han Sia felt relieved inside.‘She doesn't love me?’Remembering Kim Minwoo's words, she sneered inwardly.

Impossible.

That was a smile only real family could show.

Her mother loved her.

There was no room for doubt.

Still.

Curiosity wasn't something you could simply control.‘I'm just going to check once.’That much was fine, wasn't it?

She loved me anyway.

Rather than stay unsettled for no reason, it would be better to confirm it for certain and put her mind at ease.

That was all this was.

It absolutely wasn't because she doubted Kim Haeun.

Having made up her mind, she looked at her mother.

“Did you eat dinner? Want something? Maybe spicy braised chicken?”

“I'm not hungry yet. Later. But, you know…… I'm a little scared.”

“Of what?”

At that moment, Merhen's magic activated.

Her senses became painfully clear.

As though she'd transcended.

Perhaps that was the price.

A headache struck.

Han Sia shook her head and spoke.

“……

Going back to the family. My health is already bad…… what if they lied to me? What if something goes wrong?”

That was when.

Kim Haeun's hand trembled slightly.

Her breathing grew rougher.

Han Sia saw her pupils dilate. Normally, she never would've noticed.

The difference was far too subtle.

But now was different.

Her amplified senses caught the anomaly.

And instinctively, she couldn't help understanding what it meant.

Han Sia's eyes trembled.

While she hurriedly lowered her head.

Kim Haeun smiled and stroked her hair.

“There's no way. Mom checked everything. Sia is going to be free. There won't be any more surveillance either.”

“……

Really?”

“Of course. It's true. You've given them everything you're supposed to. If those bastards are human, they should let you go now.”

Through the hand touching her head.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

A pulse much faster than before pounded against Han Sia's head like thunder.

She stared blankly at her mother.

She wanted to doubt her ears.

No, she wanted all of this to be nothing more than a terrible nightmare.‘N-No…….’Han Sia shook her head.

Maybe this was a mistake. Or maybe Kim Minwoo had deliberately planted some trick.

That had to be it.

Wasn't Merhen an incredible Mage? Deceiving an empty husk like her, stripped of almost all her talent, would be effortless.

She was sure of it.

And yet.

The doubts kept coming.

Was it really true?

Had Kim Haeun truly intended to send her to certain death while knowing she'd die?

Han Sia moved her lips for a moment, then forced herself to calm down and grabbed Kim Haeun's hand.

“M-Mom.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you…… happy these days?”

“Me? Well…… I'm fine, I guess?”

Unlike before, the answer came with perfect calm.

Her pulse was the same.

Lies and truth.

The reactions were too different. Han Sia asked several more questions.

What side dishes she liked.

How she was getting along with the neighbors lately.

Completely ordinary questions.

Questions that gave her no reason to lie.

Maybe that was why.

Her pulse remained utterly calm, unlike before.

After the questions continued, Kim Haeun tilted her head as if finding it strange.

“Did something happen? You're asking all kinds of questions you never ask.”

“N-No. Nothing happened. It's just been a while since I've seen you…….”

“Don't be silly.”

“Th-Then, you know…….”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

“……

Mom, do you love me? You do, right? Right? You always said you did. That you loved me.”

“Of course I love you. What kind of question is that?”

The pulse she felt through their clasped hands became a little faster.

Han Sia asked urgently.

“H-How much……?”

“More than anything in the world. More than absolutely anything.”

Words she'd always heard.

Words she'd always believed.

Words she'd never had reason to doubt.

And yet…….

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Kim Haeun's pulse was beating faster than ever.‘Why?’Every time Han Sia asked about love.

As though the answer were a lie…….

Why did it keep beating like this?

At this moment, her amplified senses felt like a curse.

Her throat went dry.

Every breath made her chest ache.‘She doesn't love me?’Why?

Why?

It's a lie.

It's just a lie.

Yet tears ran down her cheeks.

The mere thought broke something inside her, and she couldn't stop the sobs from pouring out like water through a burst dam.

“Sia. Why are you suddenly crying? Hm?”

“……

I-It's just…… seeing you after so long…… makes me happy…… and…… I feel relieved…….”

Han Sia answered with a sorrowful smile.

Her headache felt like her skull was splitting apart.

Even though it was early summer, she felt freezing cold.* * *Nineteen counseling sessions remained besides Han Sia's.

Merhen handled all of them.

After all, they were conversations with Mages.

Leave specialist work to the specialist.

Fortunately, Merhen was fairly good at counseling.

“My god! Is this that Magic Amplification?”―Try it like this. Did you take notes?

“Yes! Thank you!”

All she had to do was guide their magic a little, and they left utterly satisfied.

Then, once the counseling sessions ended.

Merhen stared at him and spoke.―Minwoo, she used it.

“Really?”―Yeah. She's been using it for a while. Her body can't handle that.

“Is it dangerous?”―A little? She must have a lot she wants to know.

“Probably.”

Humans were curious creatures by nature.

And when the subject involved the most precious thing in your life, Pandora's box was impossible to leave unopened. Han Sia seemed to be the same.‘It'll shock her, but…….’There was no helping it.

Sometimes shock treatment was the answer. Han Sia was one of those cases.

Her physical condition was worse than he'd expected.

In other words, Lucas needed to be taken down quickly.

That was probably the only way to recover the talent she'd lost.

“You said earlier she isn't a Mage anymore.”―Yeah.

“If she gets her talent back, does she become one again?”―Hmm…… probably not?

“No?”―I'll give you an example.

A round lump of clay appeared over Merhen's palm. It wriggled, then gradually formed a shape.

A figure wearing a round pointed hat and gray robe, holding a long staff.―Minwoo, what comes to mind when you look at this?

“A Mage.”―Right? Why did you think that?

“Because of the staff, hat, and robe?”―That's magical talent. But Han Sia doesn't have any of those anymore. She's basically naked now. Maybe you'd call her unemployed.

He roughly understood.

Without any of those things, the figure wouldn't be a Mage, just ordinary passerby A.

But he had a question.

“If I kill Lucas, doesn't she get everything he stole back?”―She won't get back exactly the same things. He used a tool. It was probably already altered from that moment onward.

A tool.

Was that why she'd lost eighty percent when she should've only lost fifty?

Either way.

That wasn't the important part right now.

The most important thing was…….

“So what does she become when she gets it back?”―I don't know either.

“You don't?”―Yeah. It'll probably change into whatever that girl wants.

“Then it doesn't sound like she'll be a Mage…… will that be okay?”―The total amount of talent will be preserved.

“Then fine.”

Maybe in this worldline, instead of Mage Han Sia, he would end up seeing Han Sia with a different Class.‘Not bad.’If the total talent was preserved, then she'd still be a genius even if she chose another Class. That was enough.

A genius of that caliber would be useful no matter what she became.―It's over. Looks like she's coming back now. Are you going to meet her?

“I should.”

Her illusion had probably shattered.

That was the whole point.

Now that he'd achieved that, it was time for the next step.‘Recruitment.’Han Sia was never a character who could act well. Her mother, Kim Haeun, on the other hand, had extremely sharp intuition. Good acting was usually rooted in being skilled at observing others.

Would she really fail to notice something was wrong?

Probably not.

Then she'd search for the variable.

There was no need to overthink it.

One counseling session and suddenly this girl is a wreck?

She'd have a rough idea who was responsible.‘If they've already identified me.’Then speed was the answer.

Move before they could properly react.

Kim Minwoo stood.

He strode straight toward the women's dormitory. Of course, he brought the principal along to avoid any room for misunderstanding.Room 707.

The room Han Sia and Laura shared. When he knocked, Laura came out, glaring at him with obvious wariness.

“……

What do you want?”

“I'd like to see Miss Han Sia.”

“Sia is sick right now. Come back another time.”

“Sick? She looked fine earlier.”

Kim Minwoo tilted his head as though he knew nothing.

Laura ground her teeth at the sight.

Kim Haeun had already contacted her.

Bringing back Han Sia after she'd started burning with fever had happened almost immediately. There wasn't really any treatment for this.

She'd been weakened too badly for magic or medicine to work properly anymore.‘This bastard…….’Nine times out of ten, he'd planted something in her head.

Otherwise, there was no explaining why she'd sought out her mother the moment counseling ended, nor why she'd acted so strangely afterward.

Naturally, Laura had to stop another meeting at all costs. She had no idea what this bastard might try next.

“Then I'll be going. I need to take care of her.”

Just before she closed the door.

A foot slid into the gap.

“What changes because you nurse her? Doesn't seem like it'll mean much.”

“And what changes if you come?”

“A lot. I have medicine. So open the door.”

“……

Medicine won't help.”

“This is far more precious than ordinary medicine. Something you can't easily buy even with money.”

“What is it?”

“An Elixir. You've heard of them, right?”

Laura's eyes widened.

She'd heard items like that existed.

A kind of universal restorative.

The problem was how rarely they appeared as rewards. If he really had one, it might actually heal Han Sia's body.

Still.

Laura couldn't tell whether letting Kim Minwoo meet Han Sia like this was the right decision.‘But I can't stop him either…….’There were Griff loyalists inside the Academy, but not many in absolute numbers.

And this was Kim Minwoo.

Could Laura and a handful of people stop him by force?

No.

Even if the family's Magic Knight Orders poured in, she couldn't guarantee it.

In the end, she had no choice but to compromise.

“If you really have one, show me.”

“Here. Satisfied?”

Laura squeezed her eyes shut.……

It really was an Elixir.

She lost on justification and on strength. Even Principal Han Seongil, whom the family had explicitly warned, was personally accompanying him. It was already obvious whose side the principal had chosen.

“Just in case, I should stay too…….”

“Miss Laura. You really can't read the room.”

“……

Excuse me?”

“I have no intention of talking to Griff's dog, so leave. You're in the way.”

“Ha. You're doing this while knowing who I am? You approached her deliberately?”

“What you need to do is simple. Report upward. A lackey only needs to carry out the orders he's given, doesn't he?”

Laura ground her teeth.

But reality was reality.

If she refused to leave voluntarily, she might be dragged away by force.

“Fine. I'll leave. But one warning. Stop shaking Han Sia. She's a valuable asset of the family. If you touch her carelessly, we won't stay still.”

“An asset. That tells me roughly how you treat her.”

“If you're thinking of opposing us over one measly Mage, you'd better forget it.”

“And who's the one obsessing over that one measly Mage right now?”

Kim Minwoo shrugged and gestured toward the door.

A signal telling her to get the hell out.

“……

Then I'll leave you to it.”

Laura stepped outside and glared at Kim Minwoo while grinding her teeth.

She had no strength to drive him away right now. All she could do was send him a cold warning glare.

Ignoring it completely.

Kim Minwoo and the principal walked inside.

Thud.

The door closed.

Inside, Han Sia lay groaning under every blanket on the bed.

The principal looked at Kim Minwoo and quietly whispered.

“……

You're really going to use the Elixir?”

“I have to. This happened because of me.”

Han Sia and an Elixir.

It was obvious which mattered more.

“Miss Han Sia. Wake up.”

“……

You…….”

Even through the haze, Han Sia gritted her teeth and looked at him.

Her eyes were bloodshot, full of grief and anger.

“Take some medicine. It's good for you. Merhen?”

Merhen flicked her fingers.

Han Sia's mouth opened.

Drip.

Not a single drop of the Elixir was wasted as it flowed into her mouth.

“How is she?”―She'll recover somewhat. It won't heal her soul, of course.

“That's enough.”

What mattered was whether she could get well enough to talk.

Fortunately, the Elixir worked well.

Han Sia's complexion gradually stabilized.

“Works well, doesn't it? That's expensive stuff.”

Her body improved thanks to the Elixir, but her heart remained heavy. Betrayal and shock left her feeling as though she stood at the edge of a cliff.

Now that her faith in her mother had collapsed and she'd realized how miserable her position truly was, there was no medicine capable of healing that wound.

Which was why Kim Minwoo's kindness actually made her uncomfortable.

She couldn't understand why he was helping her, so she had no choice but to remain wary.

“……

Why are you doing all this for me? What are you trying to get?”

She asked.

Kim Minwoo.

From beginning to end, everything about him was incomprehensible.

He'd met her and immediately asked whether she wanted to escape the family, then started talking about her mother.

After giving her the disease, so to speak, now he'd given her expensive medicine. She couldn't understand why he was doing any of it.

“If you're trying to use me to fight the family, there's no point. Even Merhen said it. I'm not even a Mage anymore. I have no talent…….”

“Miss Han Sia. That's a pretty serious case of self-importance. Do you really think I'm doing this because you'd be useful in taking them down?”

“N-No. Probably not. That's why I don't understand. Why are you doing all this……?”

“You know what buying the dip is?”

“……

What?”

“You make the big score by picking things up while they're cheap. People and goods aren't any different.”

Kim Minwoo answered with a smile.