Chapter 163

Chapter 163

Spendthrift Necromancer (163)

“Thinking back, I suppose it was always like that. Mom's eyes were so lifeless whenever she looked at me. I always pretended not to notice. Just imagining what it meant made my head feel like it would split.”

“Turning your head away doesn't make the truth disappear.”

“……

You're right. I think that's why I cried so hard. Accepting it was…… shocking.”

Han Sia spoke with a bitter smile. Then she looked directly at Kim Minwoo and asked.

“Now that I know nobody ever loved me, should I say thank you?”

“Of course. You should be grateful. You've been given a chance to reset.”

“Reset?”

“Why do you think nobody loved you? Simple. Because the environment surrounding you was fucked. Now you have a chance to change it.”

“……

There must be a reason you're helping me. What do you want from me? Should I expose the family's dirty secrets?”

“You can if you want. Or not. That's not what's important.”

“Then what……?”

“I know you've had it hard. So join our guild. We'll help you.”

Han Sia fell silent.

He was telling her to join an organization.

Could she trust him?

What if she was betrayed again?

Even Kim Haeun, the person she'd loved most, had abandoned her. She'd tried to send Han Sia to her death while knowing she would die.

Would a complete stranger like Kim Minwoo really be so different?

She looked at him with eyes filled with anxiety and suspicion.

Then asked, trembling.

“……

Do you want my talent too?”

“Yes.”

“……

I see.”

“But comparing me to that man Lucas because of that would be a pretty serious insult.”

“What's different?”

“Human goodwill. I like you quite a bit, Miss Han Sia. If you want, you can check. That magic should still be left in your body.”Maximum recovery for three days.

That was the Elixir's effect.

After drinking it, using Sense Amplification a little wouldn't leave her burning with fever like before.

“……

I can?”

“Why not? Just as I checked you, you have the right to check me too.”

“……

All right.”

Gulp.

She swallowed and activated Sense Amplification. With her five senses developed to an almost transcendent level, she asked.

“Is that true? That you feel goodwill toward me.”

“Of course.”

Kim Minwoo answered without a moment's hesitation. His pulse and bodily reactions remained as calm as ever.

Meaning it was true.

“……

Can I ask more?”

“Ask anything.”

“What am I to you, Guild Master Kim Minwoo?”

“Precious. Very.”

Han Sia's eyes trembled.

“Wh-Why?”

“Why else? Because I've watched you for a long time. And because I think you'll be a great help to the guild.”

“You've…… watched me for a long time?”

“Obviously. If I'd approached you blindly, would I have known about your connection to the family?”

“That's true.”

“I investigated everything before approaching you. And along the way, I felt some sympathy. I also thought you'd fit perfectly in our guild.”

“When you say I'm precious, you mean in a purely human way, right? No room for misunderstanding.”

“More or less. Obviously.”

That was when.

Kim Minwoo's pulse thumped a little harder.‘……?’Han Sia tilted her head.

Precious in a purely human way. Was there a lie in what he'd just said?

Kim Minwoo noticed it too.‘Damn.’He could roughly guess why.

Han Sia.

A character he'd played for more than 400 days. Why did he know her so well?

Because he'd played her himself.

Because he'd lived through that body himself.

Because he'd watched countless other players' runs and strategy videos.

Naturally, saying he had no affection for the character would be a lie.

How could anyone enjoy a game without that?

He was attached to every main character.

Hell, he'd even been attached to Kim Minwoo despite his fucking difficulty.

“Don't misunderstand. It's absolutely not like that. You think I recruit guild members because I have ulterior motives?”

Han Sia narrowed her eyes.

His mouth and expression remained calm, but his pulse always told the truth.

Thump.

Han Sia narrowed her eyes further.

“……

Then Seo Yerim too?”

“I recruited her entirely for her ability.”

Thump.

“W-Wait. Then what about Park Siwoo……?”

“Same thing.”

Thump.

What the hell?

Women were one thing, but why Park Siwoo too?

There were two possibilities.

Either he was bisexual.

Or it was simply an emotion somewhat different from love.‘Th-The second one, right?’Surely not the first.

Just thinking about the rumors that had circulated about him a year or two ago was enough.

A complete wastrel and womanizer.

That had been Kim Minwoo's image.

Naturally, no men had appeared on that list.

Taking that into account, the bisexual possibility was eliminated.

Then only the second remained.‘……

Thank goodness.’Han Sia relaxed.

Apparently he was talking about something slightly different from love.

Human affection, perhaps.

Kim Minwoo relaxed too.

Judging by her expression, she'd nearly reached some strange misunderstanding.

Fortunately, Park Siwoo had saved him.

“Shall we wrap this up?”

“W-Wait. One last thing. Just one.”

“Go ahead.”

“If I join the guild…… you won't abandon me, right?”

“No.”

“……

No matter what happens?”

“No matter what.”

With that, Sense Amplification ended.

Perhaps thanks to the Elixir, the side effects were lighter than expected. She'd only broken into a little sweat.

Han Sia looked at Kim Minwoo.

This one exchange hadn't made her trust him completely.

Still, she felt like she understood Kim Minwoo a little better.‘And…… I need somewhere safe.’Laura's side had already sensed something was wrong. If this dragged on, the family might intervene. They could use measures like sending her to another country instead of letting her remain in Korea.

If she ended up back with the family after that, she was finished. She still couldn't trust him completely, but…….

“……

I'll join. The guild.”

“Excellent. Our guild's getting pretty big now. Four whole members.”

One more and they'd complete a five-man party. But resolving Han Sia's situation came first.

“How are you going to deal with the family? The family head will never let me go…….”

Lucas had sent Shadows after her for years even in Korea.

He wouldn't give up merely because she joined a guild.

“I know. That old man's pretty obsessive.”

“……

Yes. He is.”

“We'll start with the public-opinion battle. I'll handle dismantling them, so don't worry too much. What do you want to do about your mother?”

“……

My mother?”

“Honestly, as a parent she's a complete failure. But even if she's lost some of her usefulness, those bastards will keep trying to use her.”

“Ah…….”

Han Sia nodded as though she understood. Her mother had been her shackle.

Even if Han Sia now understood her true nature, that role wouldn't vanish overnight. The family would keep trying to shake her with it.

“What should I do?”

“News just came in about Miss Kim Haeun. Looks like she's about to leave the country.”

“……

Leave the country?”

Han Sia asked in surprise.

She and Kim Haeun had lived together for more than twenty years.

And now she was leaving?

“They probably want to move her somewhere far away first. If she stays in Korea, they could get caught.”

“I-I want to stop her.”

She spoke urgently.

Even if her mother didn't love her.

She was still her mother. More than twenty years of one-sided love couldn't disappear in a single day.

If she left Korea now?

Han Sia might never see her again.

That was why.

Her answer came instinctively.

“It'll happen the way you want.”

“Can we do that?”

“Of course. Did you forget where we are?”

Korea.

This was Ilseong's land.

“Let's go. To the airport.”

Kim Minwoo stood.

Han Sia followed behind him.* * *Laura.

After being practically thrown out of the room by Kim Minwoo, she hurriedly sought out the head of Griff's Korean branch.‘This is beyond me.’To stop Kim Minwoo's rampage, someone with equivalent weight needed to step forward. There was only one person they could use right now.‘Magic Swordsman Jonas.’Magic Swordsman.

Exactly what the name implied—a dual Class that used both magic and swordsmanship.

The drawback was the same as with every Class like it: there was a high chance of becoming mediocre at both.

Put another way, if someone could master both, the resulting power would exceed imagination.

Jonas was an overwhelmingly powerful Awakened who stood near the pinnacle of Magic Swordsmen.

An S-rank Awakened.

His Level was well over 1,500. He was also one of the seven highest-ranking members of the family.

And that wasn't all.

He was also commander of the Third Magic Knight Order among the family's ten orders, ‘Windfire.’ He'd been dispatched as the overall person in charge because of Han Sia's importance.

Laura found him and bowed politely.

“Lord Jonas. I need help.”

“I heard. Kim Minwoo. That bastard's trying something, isn't he?”

“Yes.”

Jonas nodded.

Kim Minwoo's approach.

Han Sia's strange reaction around Kim Haeun.

And now he'd even forcibly driven away Laura and the other Shadows. Anyone who wasn't an idiot could tell what Kim Minwoo wanted.

To win Han Sia over.

The family's answer was simple.―First, extract the mother. If anyone interferes, any level of force is authorized. Afterward, withdraw to Germany.

Kim Minwoo.

He'd chosen precisely the moment the family head entered closed-door training.‘What a lucky bastard.’That was why Griff's response had been slightly delayed. But they had no intention of delaying any further.

“We'll retrieve Han Sia later. First priority is extracting her mother, Kim Haeun. We're going to the airport. Laura. Call in every Shadow. I'll mobilize the Trees as well.”

“……

Has her departure been blocked?”

“Yes. A travel ban was issued against Kim Haeun.”

“What about lobbying……?”

“Useless. Ilseong—no, Kim Minwoo's influence is much stronger than we expected. If words won't work, we'll have to force our way through.”

Kim Haeun was an important tool for controlling Han Sia. Even if Han Sia had acted strangely today, a relationship spanning more than twenty years wouldn't break overnight.

They only needed to get Kim Haeun out of Korea.

Then they could threaten her life, cajole Han Sia, use whatever methods they wanted to shake her.

Eventually, Han Sia would crawl back to her nest on her own.

They could deal with Kim Minwoo afterward. And so every force Griff had in Korea began moving.

Toward the private jet waiting at Incheon Airport.Fifty Mages belonging to the ‘Trees.’

Magic Swordsman Jonas.

With the Shadows added in, the force exceeded one hundred people. Even an entire guild would shake its head at that amount of power.

A single knight order vastly exceeded guild-level strength.

That was the power of Griff, rulers of Germany, the world's fourth-greatest Awakened nation.

When they arrived at the airport.

Government Awakened who had already been waiting stepped forward.

“I'm Han Younggil, Team Leader from the Gate Management Department. It looks like Miss Kim Haeun is among your group. Surely you aren't planning to force her out of the country despite the government's request.”

“We spoke politely and you still failed to understand. Did our family look that easy to push around?”

“This is Korea. In Korea, you follow the Korean government's orders.”

“No. We follow Griff's orders.”

Jonas drew his sword.

The Magic Knight Order followed.

They might be Mages by Class, but every one of them was an elite who had undergone rigorous sword training too. Han Younggil and the other Awakened stiffened.

“This is a Korean airport. You'd better put those down.”

“Make us. If you can.”

The Griff forces sneered and used magic.

It wasn't offensive magic.

Korea might be a weak Awakened nation, but if bloodshed erupted at an airport, even Griff would have trouble handling the consequences.

It was closer to support magic used to sweep garbage aside.

Windfire.

Befitting a Magic Knight Order that handled fire and wind, powerful gusts began pushing everything around them away.[Whirlwind(A)

activates…….][Giant's Breath(S)

activates…….]

Whoooosh……!

The government Awakened began getting pushed backward. The Griff forces advanced with triumphant expressions.

“Hold!”

The Awakened activated Skills and desperately dug in. Griff might be powerful, but this was still Korea. They'd been dragged into Kim Minwoo's situation, but they had no intention of silently enduring tyranny that went beyond simple disrespect.

Even so, their bodies kept sliding backward.

Han Younggil frowned.‘……

Damn it. So this is a magic family.’The power of their magic exceeded imagination.

The government's Mages were using magic too. The problem was simply how many enemies there were.

Fifty Mages?

That was by no means a small number.

Especially when they were Griff elites.

“You dare attack government Awakened?”

“Attack? It's merely some wind blowing.”

Jonas shrugged with both hands raised.

Han Younggil thought hard.

The best defense was offense.

Simply blocking them like this had no answer. Unless his side launched a proper counterattack, stopping Griff would be difficult.

But that was the last resort.

Even though this was Korea, if they attacked first, no one knew what might happen. A horrific bloodbath could erupt.

And if it did, who attacked first would become a critical issue.

The wind magic had opened a path, but strictly speaking, it was difficult to classify that as an attack.

Jonas and the Mages drew closer and closer to the runway.‘Damn it…….’The logic of strength.

Just as the government Awakened realized they couldn't stop them.

The magic pushing them away vanished as if washed clean.

The runway became a windless zone in an instant.

Flutter!

With the sound of beating wings, a woman appeared in the sky.

“It's Merhen!”

“Kim Minwoo is here!”

The Korean Awakened brightened.

Literally.

Kim Minwoo had appeared in the distance.