17. Necromancer
"Get in."
"Move it, hurry up!"
The knights dragged me out of the room and shoved me into yet another one.
"Ah, fuck... Why the hell are you pushing, you bastards."
I stumbled in from the shove on my back, and the door slammed shut right behind me. The room was fairly spacious and empty—no furniture in sight except for a single desk-and-chair set smack in the center, the kind you'd see in some old middle or high school back home. And on top of it sat something awfully familiar.
"This is... a communication orb."
A magic tool for long-distance communication. I'd used one back in Sierra's territory. Since this was the only thing in the room, it was probably meant for me to sit down and use it. I took a seat in the chair and waited a moment. Then the orb flashed, vibrated, and let out a bizarre ringing tone.
...What the hell kind of ringtone is that? Whoever made it, I'd love to see their face. Anyway, they wouldn't have dragged me here just to chat with some stranger. Given that I'm a hostage, the ones contacting me now were almost certainly Cheong-ah, Bella, or Dina. Obviously them.
Finally, a chance to see their faces and hear their voices after so long. Now, how do you answer one of these again? I'd only ever had Sierra handle them, never done it myself. I fiddled around with it... and tapped the top with my palm once.
The flashing orb shifted to a display.
"Oh... there we go."
A worried voice came through immediately.
"Ian...! How are you? You okay?!"
"Bella?"
Bella's face appeared, and right away, chaotic voices erupted from either side of her. Familiar faces shoved into frame, crowding her out.
"Hubby, you there?! Lemme see too!"
"This body as well! This body wishes to see Yeonja! Yeonjaaa!! Is your body well?! This body... this foolish body has caused Yeonja such hardship! Forgive me!!!"
"Ah, hold the fuck up, you crazy bitches! What the hell is this shit?!"
"......Yeah."
Looks like Bella's been through hell while I was gone.
"One at a time, one at a time. I won rock-paper-scissors earlier, so I'm first. Beat it."
"That's cheating, Bella."
"Cheating it is, beast."
"No, fuck. You rotten bitches! We agreed I'd represent us, what bullshit is this?!"
After a bit of bickering, Bella apparently won out as the spokesperson. Her face filled the orb again.
"Ahem. Whatever. There was a little commotion."
"I can see that. Good work."
Her face looked a bit worn, uncharacteristically so. Her hair was a mess, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Laughing your ass off? Guess you're doing fine then, punk."
"Eh, hanging in there. The surveillance is tight, that's all. So, what's the deal? Communication orb out of nowhere?"
"What do you mean, 'what's the deal'? It's one of the negotiation terms. Those fuckers claim they haven't laid a finger on you, but how the hell are we supposed to trust that pig bastard? So we demanded orb access."
"And they agreed?"
"What were they gonna do, say no? I was already geared up to storm in and beat the shit out of everyone. We held back for negotiations. If they won't even give us this, why the fuck should we?"
"Fair point."
"Yeah, well. Can't be too often, but at least once a day until negotiations wrap. Hang tight. We'll bust you out soon. Behena worked something out with the pig—royal mediation. Splitting the territory halfsies. Just needs the Durumil royal seal."
"...Got it. Thanks."
"Don't thank me."
I nodded with a smile, and Bella shrugged.
"No torture, then?"
"Nah, they offered negotiations right when I got nabbed. Thanks to that. Oh, and Regina..."
The moment Regina's name left my mouth, Bella's face went ice-cold. She cut me off.
"Hey, why the fuck are you bringing up the bitch who kidnapped you?"
"What? She's treating me fine, that's why. Why make it weird?"
Why's her face suddenly so murderous? I scratched my cheek awkwardly. Was there really such a thing as women's intuition?
Bella's next words made me flinch.
"Fuck, did you do something with that bitch? Spill it. What'd you do?!"
"Wh-what the hell? Do what? You're talking crazy."
Damn... how'd she know?
"Then why'd her name come up? I'd chew that cunt up right now."
"N-no, she's been good to me... Thanks to Regina, I'm pretty comfortable. And she didn't hand me over to the count, so no immediate torture. That's all."
I couldn't exactly say my conscience is clear, nothing like that happened... Because, well, a handjob or two. Didn't cross the line, but it wasn't nothing.
"...For real? Fuck, husband. Look me dead in the eye. I'll make you do it for Cheong-ah later too. For real? Nothing with that slut?"
"F-for real. You don't trust me? Can't trust your own husband?"
I stammered but corrected quick, staring her down as confidently as I could while she glared through the orb.
"Hah, bullshit... I trust you. But I don't trust your dick. That's how you hooked me, remember?"
"Bella, Dina can hear you—what kinda talk is that?!"
"This body is no child, shrew. This body can handle it now..."
"Ah, both of you shut up. Ian's probably cheating over there right now!"
"......What?"
"What mean you by that?"
Cheong-ah and Dina's voices turned frosty. Especially Cheong-ah's—I could picture it all too well. Pupils losing focus, head tilting slightly. Cold expression, long hair draped over her smirking lips. That ghost-from-a-virgin's-tale look. Just imagining it had sweat beading despite the non-heat, chills running down my spine.
"No, nothing like that! What are you talking about?!"
"Move, Bella! I need to talk to Hubby...!"
"This body shall speak, Yeonja! Men must not let their lower halves sway them so weakly! Next is this body's turn..."
"......Dina? What're you saying?"
...This was bad. Time for the ace up my sleeve. That classic movie and drama trope.
"Huh? Zzt— Sig... nal's... weird... ca... n't... hear!"
"What're you doing? Ian, don't pull that shit!"
"Wha... can't... hear... connection... bad..."
Fuck, how do you turn this orb off? Sierra always handled it. I tapped the top twice, and it shut down.
"Done."
Phew... crisis averted. I knew it was just a lame excuse, but future me could deal with the fallout. For now, peace was all that mattered.
Meanwhile.
Behena's fortress. In a small room, Bella was yelling at the communication orb she'd just used to talk to Ian.
"Hey, fuck...! Ian, Ian...!"
Fuming, she screamed. Dina and Cheong-ah, who'd been chatting behind her, approached.
"What's up, Bella? What happened?"
"What ails thee?"
Bella answered incredulously.
"That punk hung up. Some bullshit excuse about bad connection."
"Hung up? Wait, an excuse?"
"Yeah, made static noises with his mouth and cut off. Even acted all weird."
In Ian's old world, bad reception might fly. But here, mana powered everything. With mana abundant everywhere, connections didn't drop.
"He's spouting nonsense?"
"...Yeonja hides something."
"We'll ask later. Hubby can't lie well anyway."
"What? He lies fine. It's just obvious."
"Isn't that the same?"
To Bella, Cheong-ah, and Dina—who'd only known this world—it was a laughable excuse. Only fueling their suspicions more.
Oblivious, Ian patted himself on the back for handling it well, brainstorming more excuses.
After the call.
I waited a bit, and the door opened. The same knights who'd dragged me here entered.
Time to head back? But as they grabbed me, the direction was different from my previous room.
"...Excuse me, knights. Isn't my room that way?"
No answer. They silently hauled me along. We ended up at the top of a tower in one corner of the castle.
The room wasn't bad. Better than my usual inn stays. Not luxurious, but decent.
The problem? Tiny window meant barely any light. At least there were candles...
...No way.
As I fretted, the knights tossed me in.
"Solitary from now on."